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


  January 05, 1990                                       Vol. IV ~ No.401
  =======================================================================
  
                       CPU NewsWire Online Magazine
                                 featuring
                             STReport ~ Online
                        __________________________
                          Post Office Box   6672
                          Jacksonville,  Florida
                               32205 ~ 6672
  
                               R.F. Mariano
                            Publisher - Editor
                 _________________________________________
                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                  BBS:  904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST/14.4
                    FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________
  
                  **  F-NET NODE 350 ** 500mb Online  **
          Our support BBS carries ALL issues of CPU/STR Newswire
                                    and
               An International list of private BBS systems
               carrying STReport for their users  enjoyment

    __________________________________________________________________ 
    
 > Issue: #401 CPU Newswire   The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! 
   ------------------------ 
     - The Editor's Podium                   - CPU REPORT
     - FCC T/A Delays, REAL?                 - LYNX -> HOT!!
     - TOS 1.6 & STE Overview                - CIS & BIX  DEAL
     - Detroit's Atari Dealers               - CHAOS STRIKES BACK II
     - BATMAN THE MOVIE An Overview          - CPU Confidential

         ---===*** SEARS FUMBLES LYNX TELE-CATALOG Nos. ***===---
                  ---===** CES PRELIMINARY INFO **===---
                     ---==* FCC CLEARS THE AIR! *==---

 ==========================================================================
                               CPU  NEWSWIRE
                     "UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
                              -* FEATURING *-
        Current Events, Up to Date News, Hot Tips, and Information
             Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
 ==========================================================================
 CPU/STR's support  BBS, NODE  # 350  invites systems using Forem ST BBS to
 participate in  Forem BBS's  F-Net mail  network.   Or, Please  call # 350
 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging ideas about
 the Atari ST computers through an excellent International ST Mail Network.
 ==========================================================================
       AVAILABLE ON:      COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  BIX
 ==========================================================================
  
  
 > The Editor's Podium


     Next week, CES will be  in  full  swing.    You  can  expect pertinent
 highlights  from  the  Consumer  Electronics  Show  to be featured in next
 week's edition.   For  now,  contained  in  this  issue  are  a  few major
 developments and 'hope to' items which will be covered in depth next week.

     In an  on-going attempt to enhance and streamline our online editions,
 we have made some modifications to our publication,  we will  be featuring
 special departments which will focus on specific subjects.  Also, STR will
 showcase various usergroups and, at the same time,  provide an opportunity
 for  the  those  usergroups  to  have  articles  written  by their members
 published for all the users to enjoy.

     Henceforth; we will be known as:
  
                       CPU NewsWire Online Magazine
                                featuring 
                            STReport ~  Online

     As some of you may have noticed, we  have already  changed the headers
 and area  titles to reflect this change.  You may ask why the name change?
 Easy!  We are  engaged in  staying contemporary  with the  recent positive
 advancements  made  by  Atari,  with  the new titles reflecting an edition
 featuring much more than simply ST coverage, we have allowed ourselves the
 opportunity to  provide, in  depth, coverage  of the Portfolio, STE, Megas
 and of course, the complete lineup of Atari computers.  

     OOPS! Almost forgot .....The  Lynx!!   Now this  is a  dynamite little
 goodie that  is simply  entrancing and spectacular!  According to the most
 recent  reports,  the  LYNX  is  now  generally  available   in  Maryland,
 Virginia, Atlanta  GA., Glendale CA. in Montgomery Ward, Toys R Us and K &
 B Genius stores.  Sears appears to be temporarily sold out.
  
     Our volume numbers and  issue numbers  will reflect  some changes too.
 Its not complicated, they simply point to the year and issue number in one
 number, therefore, they will change annually.  

 example: 401:   [4] volume no.  [01] issue number this volume.

     STR Publishing promises to continue  to  provide  late  breaking news,
 interesting articles,  technical information  and of course, our extensive
 and exclusive reporting will bring  you,  the  reader,  the  finest online
 tabloid possible.  Your suggestions and ideas are appreciated.

     STR Publishing is proud to provide one of the best information sources
 available online today.


                         Thanks for your continued strong support,


                                              R.F. Mariano
                                           STR Publishing Inc.




                         "THE NEW WAVE OF ATARI!"



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




                          IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 
                          ====================== 
    
    
     Please, be advised that beginning with the current issue, CPU NewsWire
 will be  available for Download regularly between 6 - 7pm friday evenings.
 The reason for the recent fluctuations over the past few weeks are far too
 numerous to  mention here.   The fluctuations are however, at an end.   We
 apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.  Henceforth, you
 may  rely  on  our  being  on  time, with the latest info and news Fridays
 between 6-7pm. 
    
     With the advent of ARCSHELL 2.1 and ARC 6.02, with their ease  of use,
 increased  speed,   reliability  and  efficiency  improvements,  PLUS  the
 portability of the arc format to many other computers than just the ST has
 given us  good reason to no longer upload CPU/STR Newswire in dual formats
 of ARC/LZH.  Therefore, beginning this week, 01-05-90,  we will  upload to
 the major  services in  the ARC  format only.   Please, do not misconstrue
 this decision to stay with the latest arc format as a blanket denunciation
 of all  other file  compression techniques  as this  is definitely not the
 case. 
    
    
                                         Thanks for your support, 
                                             Ralph F. Mariano 
                                          STR Publications Inc.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ***********************************************************************


   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 of;

                        CPU NEWSWIRE ONLINE MAGAZINE
                                 featuring
                         STReport Online Magazine
                         """"""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"

                         NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!

             Call any of the St Report  Official BBS numbers 
                              (Listed Above)
                                    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 #48
   ---------

 by Michael Arthur


 Remember When....

       In the Autumn of 1985, Steve Jobs sold 1,350,000 shares of his Apple
 stock for  $22 million  after being  pushed out  of Apple Management, with
 rumors circulating that he was  going  to  start  another  venture  in the
 computer industry,  and how Steve Jobs (at that particular time) still was
 Apple's largest stockholder, with over 9 percent of the company's shares?


 CPU Systems Roundup XIX
 ========================

              Graphics Processors, TIGA, and the TI 34020 Chip
              ------------------------------------------------


       Graphics processing has come  under a  lot of  attention recently in
 the  computer  industry,  as  many  graphics-intensive  tasks, such as ray
 tracing, realistic animations used in real-time simulations, and even work
 in normal  3-D CAD programs, often take up a comparatively enormous amount
 of CPU time.  However, while advances have been made, most graphics chips,
 such as  the Amiga's Agnus and Denise chips, or the ST's Blitter chip, are
 either custom-designed for a  particular system,  not powerful  enough for
 sophisticated  tasks,  or  aren't  versatile  enough to handle many of the
 operations involved in computer  graphics  by  themselves.    For example,
 while the  blitter chip can display a circle which is generated by the GEM
 VDI very quickly, it cannot draw the circle itself.  Texas Instruments has
 developed their  340x0 line of graphics processors, which claim to provide
 the  speed  and  versatility  needed  for  fast  graphics   operations  on
 workstation-class systems.  Since Atari is readying to introduce its TT030
 line of microcomputers, which will provide workstation-level capabilities,
 it  is  necessary  to  examine  the options and needs of workstation-level
 computers.  In order to understand what potential  graphics processing may
 have, let us examine this example....


       The  TI  34020  chip  is  a  graphics  processor.    Unlike graphics
 coprocessors, which only handle specific commands  given to  it, this type
 of  chip  is  a  general-purpose  microprocessor,  which is geared towards
 performing graphics operations.  The TI 34020 can  independently access to
 the main  CPU's DRAM and VRAM, has a local and host bus interface, and can
 be fully programmed like a normal processor.  It is the descendant  of the
 TI 34010, the first of TI's 340x0 line of graphics processors.

       The TI  34020 is  a 32-bit  chip with  a 512 byte instruction cache,
 which is capable of performing 10 million instructions per second, or from
 5-10  times  faster  than  the  TI  34010.    Designed to perform graphics
 operations, it supports most standard  graphics  and  text  operations, as
 well as  providing functions like area fills, Bit block moves (or BitBlit,
 one of the functions of the Atari ST's Blitter chip does), calculations on
 fields in  memory, and  built-in support  for windowing.  It supports data
 transfer rates of up to 20 megabytes per  second, and  is also  capable of
 displaying fonts, by storing them as bit-mapped patterns.  It has an array
 of raster operations as well.   It  goes  far  beyond  the  concept  of an
 ordinary graphics  coprocessor, providing  many of the amenities needed in
 graphics work.


        TT Video Boards, Standardization, and the TIGA Specification
        ------------------------------------------------------------

       Given its  capabilities,  several  hardware  companies  began making
 graphics cards which used the TI 34020 as a graphics chip.  However, these
 boards were very diverse in abilities, and were  all incompatible, meaning
 that video  drivers had  to be written for each of them, and that software
 programs had no standard with which  to  truly  utilize  the  34020's more
 sophisticated  capabilities.    In  order  to  solve  this  dilemma, Texas
 Instruments announced TIGA, a  software  interface  for  34010-based video
 displays which  works independent  of graphics resolution, the size of the
 color palette, and the amount of displayable colors available on a board.

       TIGA is actually a set of functions, or  primitives, which  act as a
 programming "language"  in much  the same way that a program can use GEM's
 VDI to display graphics.  TIGA is made up of three elements:


       - Applications Interface, which is the actual set  of commands which
 applications  use  for  graphics  operations.  This basically provides the
 same function as GEM's VDI.

       - Communications Driver.  This is a TSR program which sends commands
 given by the AI to the 340x0-based video circuitry, and passes the results
 back to the computer.

       - Graphics Manager.  This program communicates with the CD, and acts
 as the  board's driver  software.   It accepts commands given to it by the
 CD, processes them with the video  circuitry's hardware,  and outputs them
 back to the CD.


       While the  Graphics Manager makes a 34010 board TIGA-compatible, the
 Applications Interface  is  the  foundation  of  the  TIGA  Standard.   It
 consists of over 150 functions and primitives, which come in three types:

 1)   Core Primitives:   These  instructions, which are standard with TIGA,
 perform basic graphics functions, such as screen clears,  cursor shape and
 displaying, and background/foreground colors.

 2)   Extended Primitives:   These  instructions (which are used only if an
 application needs  them)  provide  more  sophisticated  commands,  such as
 performing  drawing  operations.    This  set supports most of the 34020's
 capabilities, such as drawing  lines or  circles, array  functions such as
 BitBlit (which  is performed  by the ST's Blitter Chip), displaying fonts,
 and CAD operations like panning and zooming into pictures.

 3)  User-extended (Custom) Primitives:   Programmers can  design their own
 TIGA primitives,  in order  to make the 34020 perform operations which are
 typical  of  the  graphical  user  interface  which  is  in  use.    Texas
 Instruments itself  wrote a  TIGA Device  Driver for  Microsoft Windows by
 designing Custom primitives, so all of Windows' screen operations could be
 performed directly by the 34020 chip.

       Since Extended  and Custom  Primitives are  basically the same, a PC
 Windows application would perform  just  as  quickly  with  a  TIGA Device
 Driver for  MS Windows  as if  it were specially designed to work with the
 TIGA Extended Primitives.   This has  great portends  for operating system
 performance.    Several  months  ago,  Sam Tramiel announced (in an Online
 Conference) that Atari was  developing a  high resolution  VME Color board
 for the  68030 TT.   Given  the 34010's  capabilities, if  Atari made this
 board TIGA compatible,  and  had  Custom  Primitives  written  which would
 completely match  the commands in GEM's VDI, then such a Video board would
 bring enormous capabilities to the 68030 TT, such as:

       - Since the 68030 TT has 512K of ROM space (of which  around 300K is
 empty), Atari  could release a new version of TOS (TOS 1.8?) for the 68030
 TT which had this TIGA "Device Driver" built into it.   It  would not only
 enable TT  Users with  an Atari  video board  to run  ST GEM programs at a
 greater resolution, but would  provide  tremendously  increased  speed for
 graphics operations.

       - ST  Programs like  DynaCADD and Drafix 1 could utilize the 34020's
 special capabilities  directly  (using  TIGA's  standard  set  of Extended
 Primitives)  for  tasks  like  redraws  and  zooming  to/from  images.  On
 sophisticated CAD images, these operations are  usually CPU-intensive, and
 take up  a lot  of time.  Using the 34020 and TIGA, these operations could
 be done VERY quickly, and wouldn't have  to  take  up  a  fraction  of the
 processor time  that it would ordinarily take.  This would result in a LOT
 faster system performance....

       - If Atari wished to make a version of the  TT which  used the 68040
 chip, and  was geared towards the high-end of the workstation industry, it
 could build a TI 34010 Graphics  processor into  the motherboard,  and use
 the same  TIGA "Device Driver" to let it handle graphics operations.  This
 would mean that anyone who  bought  an  Atari  TT  video  board  would not
 suddenly have  "obsolete equipment", because the graphics chips used would
 be the same.  This is what Atari has always strived for, but it seems that
 this method would make this aspiration a lot easier for Atari....

       -  The  TI  34020  chip  is downward compatible with the 34010 chip,
 meaning that if future versions of the 340x0 chip are developed, TIGA will
 already take advantage of increased speed.

       Many  PC  Companies  are  already  exploring  options similar to the
 above.  For example, one company  wrote a  TIGA device  driver for AutoCAD
 which allowed  AutoCAD to use the 34010's capabilities.  Not only did this
 result in high-resolution graphics, but using the 34010 as a  display list
 processor    made    AutoCAD    complete    graphics   displaying   almost
 instantaneously.  However, there are several  negative marks  against this
 idea, one  of which  is the  price of  such a Video Board.  A 50 MHZ 34010
 costs around $30 - $60, and the component  cost for  making a  34010 video
 board is  considerable.   This would  mean that  if Atari  developed a VME
 Color Card for the TT, that  it would  cost at  least $700  dollars.  Even
 though the  person that is most likely to own a TT would want this type of
 expandability, this is a serious business issue.  Also, there  is the cost
 of writing  a TIGA Device Driver for the TT, and whether it is feasible to
 undertake many of the other costs which are part of designing any computer
 hardware....

       One of the favorite uses for computers are their graphics.  With the
 68030 TT both powerful and versatile  enough to  provide workstation-class
 capabilities, all  of the  available options for utilizing that power must
 be examined.  This essay on TIGA and the TI  34010/34020 line  of graphics
 coprocessors is  meant to  be a  "first step" in evaluating these options,
 and exploring the possibilities  which  microcomputers  make  so eminently
 tantalizing....

 But ponder, if you will, these questions:

 1)    What  are  other applications which workstation-class microcomputers
     make possible, and are they feasible at this time?

 2)  How  does  the  design  of  a  computer  system's  external appearance
     determine its  popularity in the computer industry, and can a computer
     make it in the computer industry based on price/performance alone?



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



 Columbus, OH       BYTE Magazine is reportedly  negotiating to  have their
 ------------       Online Service, BIX (or Byte Information eXchange),
                    merged into CompuServe.  BIX would be accessed through
                    an online "gateway".  While CIS also bought The Source,
                    another prominent Online Service, in 1989, it seems
                    that this decision may just be a way to make BIX more
                    accessible, since it currently has to use Telenet's
                    services to have a nationwide node network.  However,
                    this rumor, if true, may indicate BIX's departure from
                    the Online Service industry....

                    Compuserve is also planning to launch the Compuserve
                    European Information Service, a network which would
                    make CIS's services available in Europe at the same
                    access rates that CIS's US Userbase pays, by the Summer
                    of 1990.



 Ottawa, Canada       A bill has recently been introduced into the Canadian
 --------------     House of Commons which would give integrated circuits
                    the same rights to legal protection which is given to
                    other "intellectual property".  Other industrialized
                    nations, such as Japan and America, already have laws
                    providing this support.

                    If passed, this will protect registered chip designs
                    for 10 years, and would allow companies to "reverse
                    engineering" clones of that chip.  However, if a chip
                    design is sold to another company, then no one can
                    limit the use of that chip design....



 White Plains, NY   IBM has announced the PS/2 Model 70 486, a  new version
 ----------------   of their PS/2 computer line which uses a 25 MHZ 80486
                    chip to perform twice as fast as a 33 MHZ 80386 PC.  It
                    will come with 1 Meg of RAM, VGA Graphics, and a high
                    density floppy drive as standard.  Cost: $12,400 with a
                    60 Meg Hard Drive, and $13,000.00 with a 120 Megabyte
                    Hard Drive....

                    The Intel 80486 chip uses built-in versions of the
                    80387 math coprocessor and the 80235 Cache Controller,
                    has an internal 8K instruction cache, and is completely
                    compatible with Intel's 80x86 microprocessor line.  IBM
                    is also shipping the 486/25 Power Platform, an add-in
                    card which brings the 80486's speed to their 386-based
                    PS/2 Model 70s.



 Los Altos, CA      Paul Heckel has reached an out of court settlement with
 -------------      Apple about his lawsuit, which charged that Apple's
                    Hypercard violated patents pertaining to his Zoomracks
                    database program.  In this settlement, Apple will
                    license part of Hypercard's file format to HyperRacks,
                    a company (owned by Paul Heckel) which is developing an
                    add-on to HyperCard which will provide it with
                    abilities found in Zoomracks.  In exchange, Apple will
                    license Zoomracks' patents for a "substantial sum of
                    money."

                    The money that Paul Heckel gains from this lawsuit will
                    be used to help HyperRacks Inc. get its product to
                    market.  However, QuickView Systems (who actually owns
                    the Zoomracks patents) will use the legal precedent
                    gained by Apple's settlement to pursue other companies
                    who have violated its patents.  Paul Heckel intends to
                    use both the money gained by future lawsuits, and some
                    of the revenue which HyperRacks will bring, to both pay
                    off Quickview Systems' enormous outstanding debt, and
                    to develop GEM-based versions of Zoomracks for the IBM
                    and Atari ST, as well as a Mac Zoomracks....



 London, UK         The Software Toolworks, a US software house, has 
                    agreed in  principle to  acquire Mindscape Incorporated
                    in  the  US,  and Mindscape International, its European
                    subsidiary, based in the UK. Terms of the deal have not
                    been  revealed.     The  merger  has  been  unanimously
                    approved by the board of directors of both The Software
                    Toolworks  and  Mindscape,  and  is  now subject to the
                    approval of the  shareholders  in  Mindscape,  which is
                    expected  to  be  granted  at  a  special shareholder's
                    meeting due to be held in March, 1990.     According to
                    Les Crane,  chairman and CEO of The Software Toolworks,
                    the Mindscape acquisition gives  the company  access to
                    Mindscape's  established  European and Pacific markets,
                    as  well   as  Mindscape's   licensing  agreement  with
                    Nintendo  America.    "We're  also delighted that Roger
                    Buoy (Mindscape's  chief executive  officer) will serve
                    as   president   of   our  international  entertainment
                    divisions, and as  creative  director  of  the combined
                    companies,". . 







        +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


 > Conference Info  CPU/STR NewsWire Infofile
   ------------------------------------------




                        ONLINE CONFERENCE SCHEDULES
                        """""""""""""""""""""""""""

  

 GEnie Atari ST Roundtable
 -------------------------

 January 10, 1990:
     featuring; Bob Brodie, Atari's Manager of User Group Services

          Bob will  be the  featured guest.  Bob will be on hand to discuss
          Atari user group plans and activities  and answer  the user group
          and show  related questions  and any  other questions he cares to
          field.  (That guy knows a great deal about many things!)


 January 17, 1990:
     featuring;  "Is There Life Outside The Atari ST Roundtable?"

          This conference features SysOps  from  some  of  the  other GEnie
          roundtables as  our guests.   Get  a flavor  of some of the other
          services and entertainment that  is  at  your  beck  and  call on
          GEnie.  I'll post a guest list later.  Should be fun!



 January 24, 1990:
     featuring; Faster than Light - Software Heaven

          Our guests will be representatives from  FTL Software, the makers
          of the hit Atari ST games,    DUNGEON  MASTER  and  CHAOS STRIKES
          BACK.   Come and find out all about these smash hit games and the
          masterminds behind them.  Please join us for what is sure to be a
          VERY popular conference.


              All conferences begin promptly at 10:00pm EST.


     Hopefully,  By  NEXT  WEEK  we  will  be able to provide a schedule of
 online conferences for all the services  thus  allowing  you  to  set your
 dates and not miss any of the conferences. 
                                                  Ralph...



       ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++





 > TOS 1.6 CPU/STR Review      Taking a closer look...
   ======================





                         First Impressions of the Atari STe and TOS 1.6
                         ==============================================



 by Darek Mihocka
 Branch Always Software. (C) 1990


     It's finally here.  Atari kept its promise of shipping  the STe before
 the  end  of  the  year,  although  they  didn't quite keep their original
 promise of shipping in October.  All other developers that  I've contacted
 are still  waiting for Atari to ship them their machines, and I'm told the
 STe has yet to make its appearance in the U.S.  They are plentiful here in
 Canada, having arrived a few days after Christmas.

     According  to  Atari  Canada,  the  list  price  of  the  STe is $1100
 (Canadian) which is $900 and change in US dollars.   You wouldn't  know it
 based on  the prices that stores here in the Toronto area are selling them
 for.  Try $699 (Canadian), almost 40% off the list price, which  is barely
 higher than  what a 520STFM costs, and less than what most stores sell the
 1040ST for (although the prices are starting to come down fast).  Although
 I had  sworn to  never again  buy another Atari computer, I'm not going to
 pass up a bargain.   With  the money  I can  get for  my old  1040ST, this
 machine hardly  cost me anything, and I don't even have to pay for the TOS
 and blitter upgrade!

     So, what's inside the cardboard box?  If it wasn't  for the  very tiny
 letter E  on the  label, you'd  think you  were opening up a 1040STFM box.
 The computer itself looks identical to  a 1040STFM,  except for  the extra
 joystick ports on the left side of the keyboard and the two audio jacks on
 the back.  Yes,  unfortunately, the  mouse still  plugs in  underneath the
 keyboard.

     When the  machine boots  up, the  desktop looks just as it always has.
 Clicking on Desktop Info produces the same Rainbow TOS display as TOS 1.4,
 except that  the actual  version of TOS in the STe is TOS 1.6, with a date
 of July 29, 1989.

     Already, I ran into a bug.  It seems that in color, the machine always
 boots in  low resolution, regardless of whether you saved a desktop in low
 rez or medium rez.  This can be  quite annoying.   One  way to  get around
 this I  found is to autorun a medium rez program like Flash.  I've already
 been told that a patch program will be out from Atari in a matter  of days
 to fix this bug.

     Another item  found is,  every once  in a  while, if I click on a .PRG
 file, I get the Show Print Cancel box.  If I click Cancel and click on the
 file again,  it usually loads fine, although earlier today, I had to click
 on FLASH.PRG about 6  times before  it finally  loaded.   I have  had this
 problem happen on earlier versions of TOS, but very rarely.  On the STe it
 happens quite often and is a bit bothersome.  Let's hope a  patch for this
 comes out soon too.

     Fortunately, I  use monochrome  most of  the time, and the low rez bug
 won't bother  me too  much.   But before  switching over  to monochrome, I
 tried the new Control Panel that the Atari STe addendum mentions.  Tilt! I
 lose!  It seems Atari is shipping the old 512 color Control Panel with the
 STe.   I had  to go  in with  a debugger  and manually poke into the color
 registers to try out the new colors.  Yes, they do support  16 grey levels
 of red,  green, and  blue for a total of 4096 possible colors.  To achieve
 the 4 bits of brightness per color, the unused bit in each  nibble of each
 color register  hold the  4th bit.   This  new bit is the LSB, so it has a
 minimal effect.  Old ST software  which  uses  only  8  brightness levels,
 formerly 0  thru 7, will now actually be using levels 0,2,4,6,8,10,12, and
 14.  This seems to be fully compatible with all existing color software.

     That raises another question.   Will  we see  a Spectrum  4096 program
 soon?  I don't know what Trio Engineering has planned, but based on what I
 know about the Spectrum file format, all of the display programs out there
 will support  4096 colors  as is.   It is simply a matter of modifying the
 Spectrum  or  Unispec  programs,  or  any  number  of  Amiga  to  Spectrum
 conversion programs to generate 4096 color files.

     I'm sure that video digitizer software will be upgraded to support the
 16 grey levels.  VIDI-ST currently tries to emulate 16 grey levels  but it
 still looks  bad.   Hmmm, I  think just editing the color palette files on
 the VIDI-ST disk should allow me to do that myself. Ok, never mind.

     I tried out the RF modulator.  One of the  things that  really bugs me
 about my 1040ST is that it doesn't have an RF modulator or composite video
 output, even though the  original 1040ST  manuals all  said that  they do!
 Anyway,  I  plugged  the  RF  output  into  the  RF jack of a Sony KV-1331
 television, and the display was quite good.  Even in medium resolution, 80
 columns was readable, although I wouldn't recommend it for long periods of
 time.  Low resolution was excellent and certainly if all you plan to do is
 play video  games, save yourself the $400 cost of a color monitor and just
 use a color TV.

     After I switched to monochrome, I started to test out various programs
 for TOS  1.6 compatibility.  I'm happy to say that Quick ST and all of the
 Quick Utilities ran just  fine.   All other  programs I  tried also worked
 fine, except for the ones mentioned a bit later.

     Quick  Index  reported  that  TOS  1.6  was  installed, and gave speed
 indexes similar to that of TOS 1.4. GEM drawing speed was about  5% to 10%
 faster, while  BIOS was  about 1%  slower.   So with the debugger again, I
 took a look inside TOS 1.6.


    (This part gets technical, so if you're not a programmer, skip it)


     It seems that Atari may be planning a 68020 or  68030 upgrade  for the
 STe.   The ROMs  are coded to be compatible with any 680x0 chip.  That is,
 they support both the 6 byte exception stack frame of the 68000, and the 8
 byte  frame  found  in  the  68010/20/30.  Hooray!    TOS  1.6  should run
 unmodified on a 68030.  I hope somebody at Atari has tested this.

     The 1% slowdown in BIOS is  probably a  result of  the extra  lines of
 code  required  to  test  a  new  OS  variable  _longframe  at $59E, which
 indicates whether a 6 or 8 byte frame is being used.  A quick  look at the
 trap  #1  handler  gives  a  good  idea  of  how  to write CPU independent
 interrupt handlers, which should also run on the TT.

     Also changed are line F calls.  There are none!   This  means that TOS
 is slightly  larger than  before, but  could also be faster. This could be
 why GEM is so much faster.  Even Quick ST speeds up by about  10%. But TOS
 longer  fits  into  192K.    The  ROMs have been relocated from $FC0000 to
 $E00000.  The OS  variable _sysbase  at $4F2  points to  the start  of the
 ROMs, and programs (such as UIS II or DC ShowIt) that assume that the ROMs
 are always at  $FC0000  will  fail  to  run  unless  patched  for  the new
 location.    In  fact,  trying  to  access  the  old memory locations will
 generate a bus error and crash the system.   TOS  now uses  256K, of which
 only about 200K is actually code and the rest is empty.

     Another  problem  with  the  removal  of  line F calls is that certain
 programs that depended on hooking the line F vector will not run properly,
 such as  Hotwire.   Although Hotwire still runs if double clicked from the
 desktop, the Codeheads tell me that it will not be possible to  install it
 as an  AUTO folder  program or  use the  hotkey feature  until they fix up
 Hotwire for TOS 1.6.  A  patch program  is required  in any  case, and I'm
 told it may already be out by the time you read this article.

     Other TOS  version dependent programs may also fail under TOS 1.6, and
 may required either patches or upgrades.

                (If you're not a programmer, skip to here)

     While on  the  subject  of  compatibility,  my  dealer  tells  me that
 Populous doesn't  run on the STe.  Too bad, how sad. (I'm not a big fan of
 video games as you can tell).

     Otherwise, everything else I tried ran fine on the STe, if not faster.
 The STe  has a  built in  blitter chip,  which is  a big  plus for all the
 1040ST owners like myself who have been waiting for 4  years for  Atari to
 deliver  the  blitter  upgrade  they  promised  when  the 1040ST was first
 released.    Software  accelerators  will  still  provide  a  bigger speed
 increase than the blitter, but heck, if it's free, take it.

     I took  the patch cords from the back of my tape desk and plugged them
 into the left and right audio jacks on the back of the STe.   Sure enough,
 the keyclicks  as I'm  typing this  now are coming out both channels of my
 stereo. Reminds me of the old Atari 800 days when I did the same.

     So what about this new digital  stereo sound?   Well,  since Atari has
 not yet  shipped any  documentation for  the new  hardware, I took out the
 debugger again and just scanned upper memory for new undocumented hardware
 registers.  I found the blitter chip at $FF8A00, and sandwiched in between
 the sound chip and  blitter chip,  at $FF8900,  was the  new digital sound
 chip.

     All I  had to  go on was a recent magazine article which said what the
 new hardware is supposed to do.  So,  knowing what  to look  for and after
 several hours  of poking  around, I finally got it to play digitized sound
 files (such as  the  SATAN.SND  (the  Church  Lady)  file  downloaded from
 GEnie).  Here's the scoop on the hardware...

                         (getting technical again)

 $FF8901 - this is the location that starts a sound.

   bit 0 = store a 1 to start playing, 0 to stop
   bit 1 = a 1 in this bit will keep playing the sound over and over again
           while a 0 only plays it once
   bits 2 and 3 - they do something, but I don't know what!
   bits 4 thru 7 - seem to be unused

 $FF8903, $FF8905,  $FF8907 -  similar to  the video chip, this is a 24 bit
 starting address of the sound sample. High, medium, and low bytes.

 $FF8909, $FF890B, $FF890D - again, as with the  video chip,  this location
 gives you  the current  byte that  the chip  is processing. This is a read
 only location.

 $FF890F, $FF8911, $FF8913 - this is  the  24  bit  ending  address  of the
 sample. Note  that both  the starting and ending address must be even, and
 be in the range $000000 to $3FFFFE. If you store larger numbers, the upper
 bits are just ignored.

 $FF8920 or  $FF8921 -  this controls the speed of the sampling, as well as
 the mode (stereo or mono). According  to the  article, you  are limited to
 only 4  speeds -  50 kHz,  25kHz, 12.5 kHz, and 6.25 kHz, and sure enough,
 that's what I got.

   bits 1 and 0 - this selects the playback speed of the sound samples.
                  0 is slowest, 3 is fastest.
   bit 8 = store a 1 to play mono and 0 to play stereo.

 $8924 or $8925 - these two locations just seem to act as RAM. Can't figure
 them out.

                           (end technical stuff)

     So how  does one  use the  chip? First,  you load  a sound sample into
 memory.  It can either be a standard  .SND file,  which simply  contains a
 stream of 8-bit sound samples, or a stereo file (which I guess don't exist
 yet  except  for  the  ones  I've  created)  which  contains  a  stream of
 alternating left  and right  channel samples.  Then you store the starting
 and  ending  location  of  this  sound  sample  into  the  above  hardware
 registers, select  a playback speed and mode, and poke $FF into $FF8901 to
 have it play over and over again.

     Some sound files  may  have  to  be  slightly  modified,  depending on
 whether the sound samples are signed or unsigned 8-bit numbers.

     The sound  is played  using DMA,  so it  takes absolutely no time away
 from the  68000 and  allows other  programs to  play in  the background. I
 modified  the  SATAN.SND  file  so  that  it  is in stereo, with the right
 channel being several seconds behind the left channel.  Then  I stuff that
 into the  AUTO folder  with a small TSR to load the sound sample and start
 playing it, and off it goes, saying; "Could it be.. Satan?" over  and over
 again.

     Yes, it  gets boring after a while, but it does show quite a potential
 for new multimedia software products.   The sound  quality is  much better
 than that  of the currently available sound players which try to play .SND
 files through the monitor  speaker.    8-bit  sound  is  roughly  the same
 quality as  AM radio,  except the frequency response can be much higher if
 you sample faster.

     I took our home-built 12-bit audio sampler and  was able  to play back
 files easily.  The only  drawback of  using a  12-bit or 16-bit sampler is
 that the raw sound file will contain 16 bit samples,  so when  played back
 in stereo  mode, the  left channel will play back the sound, and the right
 channel will have garbage.   But  it is  easy enough  to convert  from one
 format to the other.

     On to  video!  The new video hardware contains two new registers which
 reminds me a lot of the Atari 800 video hardware.

     The screen memory position is now a full 24-bit address.  Video memory
 can  be  relocated  anywhere  within  the 16 megabyte address space of the
 STe, and even wraps around at  $FFFFFF.   The locations  $FF8201, $FF8203,
 and $FF820D  make up  the 24  bits.  The starting location can be any even
 address, which allows for "fine scrolling" of 16 pixels at a time.

     The other new register is $FF820F,  which tells  it how  many words to
 skip at  the end  of a  scan line.  Normally set to $00, you can store any
 value up to $FF into this register, and create a virtual screen  that much
 bigger.  For example, storing a value of $28 in monochrome will shrink the
 screen down to half its height.

     What purpose does this register have?  Well, in the good old Atari 800
 days, techniques  such as  this were  available with display lists, and it
 allowed for smooth screen scrolling in  all directions,  without having to
 actually move  any memory.   This  allowed for  some very  smooth and fast
 video games (Eastern Front is a good example).

     One non-video game application that I see is a large  screen emulator.
 Currently there  is a p/d program available called BIGSCREEN, which allows
 a 640x400 monitor to emulate, for example, a 1280x960 Moniterm monitor.

     The drawback  of  this  software  so  far  has  been  that  the window
 scrolling had  to be  done totally in software by copying large amounts of
 screen memory every second.  When running BIGSCREEN all programs run about
 30 percent  slower and  not as smoothly.  On the STe, this can all be done
 in hardware with no speed loss. Look for this feature in the  next release
 of Quick ST.

     A few  more comments  about the  machine in  general. The power supply
 seems to get a lot hotter than on the ST.  Although both my ST and STe are
 both rated at .8A, the ST has never heated up as much.  I realize that the
 STe probably draws more power due to the extra hardware, but I have always
 been in  the habit  of leaving  commonly used floppies right on top of the
 computer.  I will probably stop doing this  because of  the excessive heat
 coming out  of the  left side  of the  machine.   My 1040ST has lasted for
 almost 4 years without a hitch, so I hope the STe won't fry too soon.

     Another thing I noticed is that Flash now toggles screens EVERY time I
 click on  the right  mouse button, which of course is how it's supposed to
 work.  On earlier versions of  TOS, I  sometimes have  to click  the right
 mouse button several times for it toggle.

     Menu bars  still have the problem of appearing to lock up if the mouse
 if moved out of the menu too quickly.

     The keyboard is a bit flaky as before.  It feels a  little bit stiffer
 than  the  one  on  my  1040ST,  but  it  still has the same problems with
 pressing too many keys at once. Unlike a PC keyboard, the ST cannot detect
 when more  than 2 or 3 keys have been pressed, and when you do press a few
 together, it generates the wrong keystroke.

     Then  there  are  the  new  joystick  ports.    They  are  two  15-pin
 connectors,  like  the  ones  used  in  VGA  cards.  According  to the STe
 addendum, each port has enough pins to support two joysticks and a paddle,
 giving a  total of 6 joysticks and 2 paddles for the whole machine, and as
 the manual says, it can even support a light pen.  Once again, memories of
 the Atari 800 fill my eyes with tears <grin>.  I don't know where one gets
 the 15 pin to 9 pin conversion cables, or how to read  these new joysticks
 from software, but who cares. If you want a game machine, buy a Nintendo.

     Well,  that  about  wraps  it  up.    The STe at the current prices is
 definitely a great deal if you were planning to upgrade  your existing ST.
 I'd recommend  to anyone  who currently has a 520ST or 1040ST to dump your
 old machines while you can still get any money for  them, and  buy an STe.
 Not only can you very possibly make a PROFIT on the deal, but you also get
 a blitter chip and TOS 1.6 to boot.

     As for buying an STe if  you  don't  already  own  an  ST  and haven't
 invested a  lot of  money in  a system,  well, I  wouldn't be too quick to
 recommend it.  Regardless of what  ST owners  may think  of PCs  and Macs,
 there are good qualities in each.  I prefer to use a PC for doing any sort
 of word processing or spreadsheet work,  just because  the PC  software is
 still years  ahead of ST software. And I've seen some amazing graphics and
 digital sound hardware for the Mac II, but I can't  afford it.   The 68000
 is  still  my  favorite  chip  for  programming,  but  most  people aren't
 programmers, and Atari's future isn't bright yet.

     Probably 99% of the software that runs on TOS 1.4 will run on TOS 1.6,
 and  the  possibility  of  a  68020  or  68030  upgrade for it sounds very
 appealing.  This may turn out to be a very low end TT, something that most
 of us would be able to afford.

     I like  the new sound chip a lot.  I like the new video hardware quite
 a bit. The only question is, will future software be  written specifically
 for the STe, or for the ST (and thus be STe compatible) or are we going to
 see separate  versions for  both?   I can  really only  see this affecting
 video  games  in  the  near  future,  but the ability to have high quality
 digital sound will definitely  open the  door to  a new  type of software.
 Already on  the Mac  II, CD-ROM players are being used for some multimedia
 (the buzzword of the 90's) products.

     If Atari ever decides to ship their silly CD-ROM player, it might even
 be  possible  to  take  ordinary  audio  CDs, load sections into the STe's
 memory, edit the  sound  samples,  and  play  them  out  the  audio jacks.
 Certainly, all  of the  cheap 8-bit digitizers already out for the ST will
 be able to play the sounds samples back at very  high quality.   It should
 even be  possible to  wire up  a resistor  network to combine the left and
 right channel outputs and create a  CD quality  analog output.  Who knows,
 maybe the chip already does that.

     I  also  wonder  how  soon  it  will  be  before  some of the hardware
 accelerators and boards like PC-Ditto II  will be  available for  the STe.
 Although I  haven't taken  the machine  apart, yet,  I have heard that the
 chips are all different shapes and this should make it really fun  for the
 board makers.

     But I  can't help  wondering what Atari has planned, if anything (that
 could be asking too  much of  them).   Is this  machine just  an Atari 800
 wanna be  which will be nothing more than a very advanced game machine, or
 is this machine only intended to take away some Amiga  sales (I'm  sure it
 is), or does Atari really plan to exploit the new features?

     Who will  release the  first 68030  board for  it?   Is it possible to
 modify an existing ST to relocate the ROMs so that TOS 1.6 can be  used on
 any ST?   Will  Atari ever release docs on the STe or is it up to users to
 figure it out for themselves?   Most  of  Atari's  documentation  has been
 pretty lousy  so far.   How  soon before  the 520ST and 1040ST are totally
 phased out? Why does the STacey (which hasn't even shipped yet), still use
 TOS 1.4?   If  Atari is planning to phase out the old STs, then the STacey
 certainly isn't going to help.   And  if  the  STacey  is  being  aimed at
 musicians, then why didn't they include the new sound chip on it? Will the
 new sound and video hardware be available as  an upgrade  to existing STs?
 Since they never did come out with the blitter upgrade, I would guess not,
 unless a third party does it.

     Well, I'm sure  these  questions  will  all  be  answered  soon enough
 whenever  the  STe  finally  hits  the  U.S.  market.   I can finally stop
 complaining and get to work on the STe Xformer <grin>.






               _____________________________________________






 > TYPE ACCEPTANCE CPU/STR FOCUS     Are the delays for real??
   =============================




                       IS IT REALLY THE FCC'S FAULT?
                       ============================


 by Charles Medley
 STatus Disk Magazine

  
     Today,  January 4th,  1990,   I called  the FCC  and spoke  to various
 representatives  of  the  FCC  in  doing research for article intended for
 STatus Disk Magazine.   We  wanted  to  explore  the  phenomenon  known as
 "vaporware" and in particular, the delays caused by FCC testing.  While we
 understand  that  developing  hardware  while  conforming   to  the  FCC's
 standards  is  a  bit  rough  on  certain manufacturers, we also wanted to
 uncover some of the facts involved with getting a product  tested and type
 accepted. 
  
     For example,  let's say  you are making a portable computer.  If it is
 to be used as  a stand-alone  machine it  must be  certified as  a Class B
 computing device,  not a  Class A  industrial device.   A Class A computer
 would be tolerable  if  its  sole  purpose  was  to  drive  other  Class A
 industrial  machinery.    This  would  severely  limit the usefulness of a
 portable, and you certainly couldn't use it on an airplane! 
  
     Also, the process of getting a product certified is really  simple (in
 theory).    You  usually  design  your product, get an independent testing
 firm to put it  through its  paces, and  then they  submit an application,
 along with  the pertinent  information to the FCC.  At this point, the FCC
 will take between 2-8 weeks (in the case of most computers) to reply. 
  
     The FCC also reserves the right to pick a product,  usually at random,
 and test  it themselves.  This can add "a few weeks" to the amount of time
 it takes for the product to hit the  shelves, but  it certainly  (and this
 was stressed) should not drag on for 8-12 months.... 
  
     I also  wanted to  check on  some various  products and what their FCC
 approval dates were.  However, I  found out  very quickly  that companies,
 such as  IBM,   often buy  the work  of smaller companies who have already
 received FCC certification for their  hardware,  and  then  remarket them,
 much the  way Atari  has done the DIP Portfolio.   So, in some cases,  you
 have to be a pretty good detective in order to  follow the  threads of who
 did what  and had  gotten whatever  device approved for type acceptance by
 the FCC. 
  
     The FCC welcomes calls from the  media, as  well as  the public, about
 their policies.     The number  to use for this process is (202) 632-7000.
 This is the "information" line.  If you  know product  I.D.   numbers, you
 can  call  (301)  725-1585  and  as  for  "FCC Status" and get the current
 information regarding your favorite  products that  are in  the process of
 getting approved  by the FCC... 





          ______________________________________________________

  



 > BATMAN CPU/STR OnLine   Batman the Movie, an overview.....
   =====================


 Ctsy; GEnie Atari ST Roundtable


 Category 9,  Topic 36
 Message 1         Mon Jan 01, 1990
 JEFF.W [RTC Sysop]           at 21:23 EST
  
     Ocean Software  has turned  1989's Batman movie into a computer action
 game featuring  Batman's crusade  to stop  the Joker  from bringing Gotham
 City to it's knees.

     BATMAN is  a much  superior game to Ocean's previous BATMAN: THE CAPED
 CRUSADER.  At least, that is my opinion.  I found THE CAPED CRUSADER to be
 much to  difficult and  way too  repetitive.  On the other hand, the movie
 BATMAN game  features 5  different game  sections, although  the first and
 final segment are similar.

     In BATMAN,  you start  out at Axis Chemicals, using your Batarang (and
 rope) to climb and swing from catwalk to catwalk and as a  weapon to fight
 Jack Napier's  thugs and  goons, who  come at you from every direction. If
 you make it through the chemical  factory,  you'll  find  Jack  Napier and
 knock him into a vat of chemicals.  "Jack is dead.  The Joker lives..."

     Next, you are in control of the Batmobile.  You drive the Batmobile at
 breakneck speeds through the streets of Gotham City to outrace the Joker's
 henchmen who  are in  fast pursuit.   Avoid  crashing into  other cars and
 running off the road.  Use your  grappling  hook  on  lamp  posts  to make
 hairpin turns around corners at 90mph!

     If you  make it  through the streets of Gotham City, you find yourself
 back at the Batcave where  you  must  solve  the  Joker's  Smilex products
 mystery.  You  must  find  which  three  products together form the lethal
 Smilex compound, killing its  victims  and  leaving  them  with  a ghastly
 smile.

     After that, you take out the Batwing to save the city from the Joker's
 deadly Smilex-filled balloons.  Use the Batwing to  cut the  ropes holding
 the balloons  in place they'll drift away where they can't harm anyone. Be
 careful not to pop the balloons or fly the Batwing into the ground.

     Finally, it's time for the final confrontation with the Joker.   Enter
 the cathedral and make your way to the top.  Like the Axis Chemical plant,
 you must cut a path through thugs and goons wielding  guns and explosives.
 Oh, and watch out for the rats too. 

  
                     That's the synopsis of the game.
                            Here's my comments.


     BATMAN comes on 2 disks, and my imported version includes a foldout
 instruction  sheet  and  a  neat  bat  logo  sticker.   The disks are copy
 protected.

     The game graphics and animation are  very  nice.    I  am particularly
 impressed with  the Batmobile  and Batwing  sequences.  The sense of speed
 and the  scrolling in  these third  person perspective  sequences are good
 enough  to  be  a  game  all  by  themselves.   My only criticism of these
 sequences is that the Batmobile (and to a lesser extent, the Batwing) just
 don't seem  manueverable enough. The steering and braking aren't immediate
 enough for my taste, but then maybe that would have made the sequences too
 easy.

     The Axis  Chemical and  Cathedral scenes  are the  challenging ones to
 master in my book.  Not only are there crooks to deal with in the chemical
 plant,  but  you  must  avoid  dripping  toxic chemicals and pipes leaking
 noxious gases. And, as I mentioned in the previous message, there are rats
 that like to nibble on Bat-toes in the Cathedral, so try to avoid them.  I
 have not yet made it to the top of the cathedral myself,  so I  don't know
 if  there  are  yet  more  obstacles  awaiting  up  in  the belfry.  These
 sequences are of the platform nature, kind of like (oh gosh, I  forgot the
 name of  that popular  arcade conversion that has a little guy climbing up
 platforms in trees with a grappling hook that shoots from his arm...argh!)
 ????? or kind of like Rick Dangerous...but much better.

     The Batcave  sequence is  a ho-hummer.  No action.  Just 60 seconds to
 figure out which 3  products (out  of a  possible 8  products) contain the
 deadly Smilex components.

     BATMAN features some very nice "easter eggs" along the way.  As you go
 into each sequence, you enjoy a very beautifully  rendered image  from the
 movie.    Going  into  Axis  Chemicals,  you  see  Nicholson (Jack Napier)
 confronting Batman on the  catwalk of  the plant  with the  caption, "Nice
 outfit".   We also  are graced  with gorgeous  pics of  the Batmobile, the
 Batwing, Joker hawking his Smilex products, and that scene where Batman is
 gripping the Joker by the lapels in the belfry ("I made you.  But you made
 me first.").

     The only  aggravating  feature  of  this  game  is  that  there  is no
 save-game feature.  You must play it several times to learn each sequence.
 As you progress through the game, you must  replay all  previous sequences
 if you  fail in  a later  sequence.   But this  isn't really all that bad,
 because each sequence, except the Batcave, is fun to play.  In  fact, it's
 best that you continue to improve your time in the previous games, because
 the amount  of time  you have  left over  after Axis  Chemicals (there's a
 countdown  timer  that  starts  at  8  minutes,  I  believe) goes into the
 Batmobile sequence.  If you take a long time to get out of Axis, you won't
 have enough time to race away from the Joker in your Batmobile.

     Finally, there  is an  original score  that plays throughout the game.
 It is not based on Danny  Elfman's  score  of  the  movie  however.   And,
 fortunately, you  can toggle  the music off and on.  When you turn it off,
 you hear the various sound effects of the  batarang, gunshots, explosions,
 Batmobile engine,  Batwing's flight, etc.  Much more entertaining than the
 music.

     I'm not usually much of an arcade game player, but my interest  in the
 Batman character  in general, and the Batman movie in particular compelled
 me to buy this game when I saw it at the computer dealer's store.  And I'm
 very glad I did.  It has provided many entertaining hours of enjoyment and
 excitement.


 Category 9,  Topic 36
 Message 3         Tue Jan 02, 1990
 JEFF.W [RTC Sysop]           at 11:01 EST
  
 A correction to my previous message.  There is a  separate countdown timer
 in each event, however the time is not influenced by the time left over in
 the previous game sequence.  I made this  error because  when you  go into
 the next  sequence, the timer 'holds' the old time from the sequence for a
 few moments before it resets itself with the new time.

 When the timer finally reset itself, I  was  too  busy  with  the  game to
 notice! 






        ___________________________________________________________
  
  
  
 > CHAOS STRIKES BACK II CPU/STR Review
   ====================================



                            CHAOS STRIKES BACK
                            ==================

                              from FTL Games


 by Paul D. Gittins


      When I  heard there would be a new Dungeon Master game I could hardly
 wait.  I enjoyed the original DM game more than any other  computer game I
 have  ever  played.    I  probably  played the original DM through about 6
 times.  As you can see my anticipation was great.   I  even took  a set of
 characters  and  exercised  them  deliberately to increase their levels as
 much as possible.    (In  the  DM  game  you  start  with  very  low level
 characters and  the more  time they spend using their skills the more they
 develop.)

      The target date for release of Chaos Strikes Back (CSB) was to  be in
 time for  Christmas 1988.   As that time came and went I constantly looked
 for the release but it just was not to be.  Now here it is, Dec.  1989 and
 only two  weeks before  Christmas.   As always  the rumors  are flying but
 still I had seen nothing.  This was to be a different day for  me however.
 I walked  into the  software store and there it was in all it's glory.  It
 didn't take long for  me to  make the  purchase and  head straight  for my
 trusty old ST.

      I had  heard that  you got  into trouble almost immediately when this
 game started so I was ready.  My special characters were strong, Master or
 Expert in  nearly all  skills.   I sat  down to the computer and began the
 process.  First you are required to boot  the Chaos  Utility Disk  and use
 this to import you characters from you DM save game.  Once this is done, a
 new CSB save game disk is required for all your CSB saves.  After  all the
 preparations are complete, you are ready for the Dungeon.

      My palms were sweating and my throat was dry from the excitement.  My
 adrenaline levels  were  skyrocketing  and  little  crinklings  of nervous
 tension were  running up and down my spine.  Into the ST went the CSB disk
 and then in drive B goes  the save  game.   The screen  comes up  with the
 familiar  FTL  logo  and  then  goes  to  a  huge slab of stone with a map
 roughly etched out on it.  You may  at this  time either  enter the prison
 where several  characters have  been frozen  and left for you to select or
 you may resume your previous  game.    Since  I  had  already  made  up my
 character set  I selected  the resume  option and  after a long wait I was
 greeted with the familiar "game loaded" screen.

      As my audience watched from the rear I pressed the  button and popped
 into the  game.   Immediately I  was confronted by 3 of the ugliest golden
 brown worms I have ever seen.  They are like the purple  worms in  DM with
 the addition  of armored  plates over their heads and a little red flag on
 the end of their tails.  As any DM aficionado  knows worms  are poison and
 attack with gusto. Unfortunately all my characters were naked as jay birds
 and the only things they brought with them were their levels of  skill and
 of course my knowledge and experience.  Naturally I figured the poor worms
 didn't have a chance.  Within 10 minutes I was rebooting the  game because
 I had  gotten my  but thoroughly kicked. All my people were dead and I was
 hopelessly addicted.

      I resumed my game from the beginning and with a little fore knowledge
 was ready  for those  old worms.   I  made a mad dash for the sword on the
 floor in the center of the room and  while avoiding  the worms  prepared a
 light spell  and then  a couple of poison cloud spells and some fireballs.
 The room is square or nearly so and there is a chest in the center.  There
 are coin  slots in the walls and small cubby holes which are opened when a
 coin is inserted.  There is one obvious exit which requires the killing of
 a couple of worms to get to.

      These  FTL  people  are  devious.    To get to the exit you must pass
 through a door and go down a corridor.  Even  highly skilled  people don't
 do too  well fighting  worms while  naked so you have some poisoned wounds
 and are hurting a bit while running towards the door.   Wouldn't  you know
 there  would  be  a  hidden  floor  switch  which  immediately  causes the
 generation of a new pair of worms.

      After about 11 minutes I was beginning my third game and was a little
 wiser.  This time I knew about the worm regeneration switch and avoided it
 as much as possible.  I got the sword and from the chest in the room I was
 able to  partially clothe  my heroes.  I ran down the corridor where there
 was a pit trap on the floor.  A worm was pursuing me, but there was also a
 floor switch  in front  of me  which momentarily  closed the  pit.  If the
 timing was just right I could run from the floor switch down  the corridor
 and across  the closed  pit.   When I  woke up  and dusted  myself off, my
 heroes were hurt a bit but all were alive.  They had  to sleep  a while to
 regain  strength  and  let  the  poison  from  the worms wear off but were
 otherwise ok.  As I looked around I saw there was a  regeneration altar in
 front of  me and some writing on the wall to my right.  Each time I turned
 I saw the same thing again.  The  only difference  was the  item placed in
 the regenerator.

      This is  known as  the crossroads and is where the game truly begins.
 From this point you can select one of the four  directions and  begin your
 search in  earnest.   You may  select from KU (fighter), ROS (ninja), DAIN
 (Wizard), or NETA (Priest) pathways. The object (other than getting bashed
 ,burned, bonked, broasted and otherwise abused) is to complete each of the
 four paths and along the way obtain a special element  called Corbum which
 must then  be thrown  into a  special FUL  YA (mondo fire) pit where it is
 consumed.

      Make no mistake about it, this game is  tough!   At the  time of this
 writing I have destroyed two of the Corbum elements and completed all four
 of the  pathways up  to the  Diabolical Demon  Director level.   There are
 still a number of puzzles to solve and keys to find.  Many of the monsters
 regenerate, so there is  always a  new surprise  waiting right  around the
 corner.

      There are  new monsters  and old ones.  I know I have killed at least
 13 dragons and several of the stone golems.  I  have killed  more of those
 infernal poison  worms than  I can  count and  the place  is littered with
 rocks and boulders from the dead  rock heap  monsters.   There are several
 heaps of armor from all the Deth Knights I have taken out along the way as
 well.

      Do I like this game?  You bet!  Occasionally I get  online in  the ST
 roundtable on  GEnie to  see what everyone else has to say and the new CSB
 section is  a virtual  hotbed of  activity.   I'm certain  there have been
 over 300 messages uploaded in the past two weeks.  You can be certain this
 game is a solid hit.  The people at FTL have done a bangup job and deserve
 the heartiest  congratulations.  The game is very challenging and yet with
 persistence and skill you can win.  You must save your game  often and you
 cannot leave  any stone  unturned.   If you  are stumped you can save your
 game at that location and after turning off your computer you can  boot up
 the utility  disk.   The utility  disk that comes with CSB also contains a
 hint oracle which will look at  your save  game and  give you  specific or
 general hints  about the  particular puzzle you are looking at.  This is a
 great concept and I have used and enjoyed it regularly.  You  can also get
 information  about  the  various  monsters  so at least you know what that
 thing was that just kicked your butt all over dungeonville.

      Now that I know better, I will give a couple of hints about the first
 room and  leave you with a whetted appetite. Pick up the chest and all the
 coins you can find.   Kill  the worms  if you  need to  and take  the worm
 rounds  for  food.    Once  you  encounter the dragons you won't need worm
 rounds any more, but for now they are  useful.   Walk around  the room and
 bump into  the wall  every step  of the  way.   There is an invisible room
 containing a complete set of armor which you will need.  Pick up the torch
 and put  it into  the holder.   This  opens a  corridor and exit from this
 room.  If you are hurt  you can  rest for  a while  in the  room where the
 armor is found but when you leave you will probably find a couple of worms
 waiting.  Once you have killed the first  couple of  worms you  can search
 the room  at your leisure if you don't step on the hidden floor switch and
 make more  of the  little devils.   Finally,  use your  coins wisely, some
 items can be used many times and others only once.

      Now you  are on  your own.  You probably want to know if you must own
 the original DM game in  order  to  play  CSB.    Actually,  it  is  not a
 necessity but without DM you will find the task before you more difficult.
 It isn't only the original documentation, it's also the experience and the
 chance  to  learn  the  various  spells  and build up your heroes to their
 maximum potential.  This game requires not only  powerful heroes,  but you
 as the player must be experienced as well.

      In summary,  CSB is a great game and a fine sequel to Dungeon Master.
 At $34.95 the value is excellent.  I  have put  more hours  into this game
 series than  I ever  will with  any of my other game software.  It is fun,
 exciting, challenging, and most important of all, it is winnable.   I have
 fully enjoyed  many hours with this game and if it weren't for this review
 I would be playing it right now.  One final little hint before I  get back
 into the  action.   If you have access to GEnie, many people have uploaded
 powerful character sets which you can download and use as your own if your
 heroes are too wimpy for your tastes.  See you in the dungeon.

                               Review by Paul D. Gittins
                               Portland Atari Club 





            __________________________________________________




 > ATARI DEALERS CPU/STR Feature    A look at Detroit's Dealers
   =============================



                        Atari Support in Motor City
                        ===========================

                           An outsider's view

 by Gregg Anderson


      Hi folks, I just returned home from a little visit with the family in
 Detroit Michigan and thought I'd pass on a few tid-bits  of info. Contrary
 to popular  opinion Atari  is NOT  dead in  the heartland of America.  And
 while not as robust as it once was, Atari dealer support there is also far
 from terminal.

      Much to  the annoyance  of my  sister and  brother-in-law, one of the
 first things I did after landing at Detroit Metro was  to grab  six pounds
 worth of  yellow pages and list all the Atari dealers I could find.  Would
 you believe that there  are  seven  Atari  dealers  still  in  business in
 Detroit and  its surrounding  communities?  I thought I'd died and gone to
 Heaven.  I live in South Dakota  where  the  nearest  Atari  dealer  is in
 Denver, about 425 miles as the Jeep rolls.

      Despite some  of the  nastiest Winter weather Detroit has seen in the
 last twenty years (rain, snow, sleet, ice, power  outages, and  roads only
 an ice skating polar bear could love), I pressed on and visited six of the
 seven dealers.  The seventh is primarily a mail order business and doesn't
 have a  real 'storefront'.   What  follows is  a list  of the Detroit area
 dealers with a short description of their shop and what they offer.   I'll
 wrap  everything  up  with  a  summary  of how the surviving Atari dealers
 responded when asked about Atari and its computers.

 1)   Basic Bits and Bytes 
      34815 Ford Road (Westland), 313-595-3171.

     Basic B&B  is a  full service  Atari dealer  offering productivity and
 entertainment software  for the ST owner as well as software support for a
 handful of 'other' systems.  There was a large selection of European games
 on  display  as  well  as  the  more  familiar domestic titles.  Basic B&B
 handles the full Atari line along with a few PC  clones.   They're also an
 Atari service  center and offer a selection of domestic and imported Atari
 magazines.  There were two 1040ST systems available for demos  in addition
 to a  PC clone  or two.  Estimated cost  for a  TOS 1.4 upgrade was $99 (6
 chip) and for a 520ST 1 Meg upgrade the cost  was $150.   As  a side note;
 Basic  B&B  used  to  be  a  six  store franchise.  They are now down to a
 single sales center of average size  (though a  busy one,  the phone never
 stopped ringing while I was there).

 2)   The Soft-House Computer Center 
      32647 Ford Road (Garden City), 313-422-6760.  

     Hardware-wise the  Soft-House handles only the ST line, though they do
 offer software for a few 'non Atari' systems.  Unfortunately,  they had to
 drop their 8-Bit support some time ago.  They're serious about selling the
 ST though and were actively demoing a 1040 system to a new  customer while
 I was  there.  The Soft- House is an authorized Atari service center (with
 full time technician) and  offers a  wide range  of domestic  and imported
 Atari magazines.  As with Basic B&B, the salesperson I spoke with was well
 informed on Atari  related  matters  and  very  positive  on  the system's
 capabilities.     They  offer   a  wide   selection  of  productivity  and
 entertainment  software  and  have  a  surprisingly  large  assortment  of
 European titles  not generally  available here in the USA.  Estimated cost
 of a TOS 1.4 upgrade was  $99 (6  chip) and  for a  1Meg upgrade  the cost
 would be $200 (socketed).

 3)   Rite Way Computers 
      11557 12 Mile Road (Warren), 313-751-2454.

     In  both  total  size  and  overall  selection Rite Way is the largest
 computer dealer  I visited.   They  offer full  support for  the Atari ST,
 Atari 8-Bit, Laser Apple clone, and a number of PC Clones. As with the two
 previous shops, Rite Way is an authorized Atari  service center  and has a
 software selection that almost boggles the mind. There were literally rows
 upon rows of titles from both the US and Europe (though I must admit there
 were many multiple copies of the same package present).  All in all it was
 an impressive display of  both  hardware  and  software.    While  there I
 watched a  professional demonstration  of the ST's MIDI capabilities being
 given to a customer on a Mega4/SLM804/Megafile system.  The  individuals I
 spoke with seemed well informed about their products and more than willing
 to take the time to help a potential customer.   Interestingly enough, the
 only computer  that seemed  to attract  interest while  I was there was an
 Atari ST system.  Rite Way charges $104 for a TOS 1.4 upgrade and $175 for
 a 1 Meg upgrade.

 4)   Command Computer Systems Inc. 
      28630 Ryan Road (Warren), 313-573-8130.

     Though  an  active  Atari  dealer  since 1981, Command Systems was the
 smallest Atari dealer I visited.  This by no means implies that they don't
 support the Atari line, but it does say that they've been forced to expand
 into other systems at the expense  of their  Atari availability.   Command
 Computers supports  both the  ST and  the 8-Bit  systems and actually sold
 more 8-Bits over the Christmas holiday than they did STs.  The best seller
 for them  this year  was the  130XE.  Command Computer is an Atari service
 center and capable of handling repairs on any of Atari's systems.

 5)   Sector 1 Computers 
      At the corner of 16 Mile Road and Dequinder (Sterling Heights) 
                              313-978-2208.  

     Sector 1 was a major surprise for me, a store totally dedicated to the
 Atari 8-bit  computer.   Yes, they have an ST or two available, but 99% of
 the store is devoted to the original Atari computer and to little else.  I
 saw software and hardware items there I hadn't seen in years, in fact I've
 not seen this type of 8-bit support anywhere since early '83.  The shop is
 owned and  operated by  someone who's name should be familiar to any 8-bit
 owner; Jim Steinbrecker (father of the original A-Modem terminal program).
 Jim is  probably the  most knowledgeable  man I've  ever met  on the 8-bit
 Atari and is without  doubt the  most supportive  of that  system.   As he
 says, "it's  possible to  outgrow a  specific computer, but no computer is
 ever truly 'obsolete'.  Least of all the  Atari XE  which is  as capable a
 system as  any".   What can  I say, if you've a question or a problem with
 any 8-bit Atari computer system or are looking for that 'specific program'
 for your 8-bit than this is the shop to visit.

 6)   Team Computers 
      22205 Kelly (East Detroit), 313-445- 2983.  

     Team Computers  was the  hardest for me to find but only because I was
 starting out from the far  west  corner  of  Detroit.    Team  handles the
 complete line  of Atari  computers along with a line of Amstrad PC clones.
 As with most of the other area dealers they are a full  service dealer and
 registered service center for all Atari systems.  Team was also one of the
 few shops I visited  that  had  a  complete  Mega4/SLM804/  Megafile30 DTP
 system up  and running  on display.  In fact they had three ST systems and
 an XE system set up for demos.  Both individuals I spoke  with seemed very
 familiar with  the Atari line and only too willing to extol it's strengths
 and advantages over the competition. Team Computers even use their  STs to
 support an  active DTP  and graphics  production center  they operate from
 their store.  As with Basic B&B, Soft House, and  Rite Way,  they offer an
 impressive  display  of  domestic  and  imported software for the ST and a
 surprisingly large selection of 8-bit  software  as  well.    Team charges
 $99.95 for a TOS 1.4 upgrade and $175 for a 1Meg upgrade on a 520ST.

 7)   Innovative Concepts 
      31172 Shawn Drive (Warren), 313- 293-0730

     Don't bother  to try  and visit Innovative Concepts, they don't have a
 regular show room like the rest of the Detroit area Atari stores.   That's
 because they are first and foremost an mail-order shop for the Atari line.
 They advertise in many of the  more popular  Atari related  magazines (and
 many  of  the  larger  newsletters).    Currently  they are enjoying great
 success with their line of specialty cables for  the Blitz  back-up system
 and the  always popular  XFormer ST to 1050 cable. For specific details on
 what Innovative Concepts has to offer  be sure  to check  out their latest
 advertisement in your newsletter or favorite magazine.

      There you  have them, seven Atari dealers in the Detroit metropolitan
 area.  Since Detroit  and  its  surrounding  communities  have  over three
 million inhabitants, that works out to almost 1/2 million people per Atari
 dealer.  Not so impressive when you consider  how many  MS-DOS, Apple, and
 What-have-you dealers  are available in the same area.  Still, it's better
 than it might have  been and  may even  improve if  Atari takes  the right
 steps  over  the  next  year.    But  before  you  think  I'm being overly
 optimistic let me point out that  the present  number of  Atari dealers is
 only a  fraction of what it used to be. Three years ago Basic B&B was only
 one of six stores with the same name, and others  have 'bit  the big one'.
 Shops  like  Strom,  United  computer,  Claus,  and others have all either
 dropped the Atari line or gone totally out of business.

      But what did the remaining Atari dealers have to say  about Atari and
 its computers?  Without exception ALL were supportive of Atari's hardware.
 They  like  the  ST  and  feel  it  offers  an  outstanding  value  in the
 price/performance area.   They  like the  ST's reliability, its power, and
 even its software.  

     What they don't like is its  lack  of  availability  and  some  of the
     policies  of  the  Atari  corporation  itself.  The  number one dealer
     complaint was  Atari's  total  lack  of  national  advertising.   Most
     dealers find  it difficult  to sell  a product that no one (outside of
     the 'inner circle' of Atari supporters) knows exists. 

     The second major problem was a  serious lack  of product availability.
     1040 and Mega2 systems were in serious demand over the last few months
     here as were monochrome monitors, yet these were virtually unavailable
     to Detroit area dealers.  

     The  third  problem  (but  generally  the most mentioned) was the poor
     dealer support offered by Atari.   Often dealers  found themselves the
     last to  be notified of new products, left out of distribution chains,
     and generally ignored except when it came to paying bills.  

     Fourth was the problem of promises made but not kept.  Several dealers
     complained about  Atari's promise  to not announce or discuss products
     before shipping them, and  then  doing  exactly  that  (IE: Portfolio,
     STacy,  TT,  ect).    This  tends  to  cut badly into sales of current
     hardware.
   
     Coupled with that complaint was Atari's release of  the Portfolio with
     an  'Atari  only'  order  phone  number that totally cut out the local
     dealers long before any of them could get their hands  on a Portfolio.
     The general  difficulty in contacting and working with the local Atari
     Representative was mentioned as a problem,  along with  a reduction in
     available software support for the ST (mainly from US companies).  

     Finally the failure of 3rd party companies to repackage older programs
     'on the  cheap' and  release them  was mentioned,  though this applies
     mainly to  older 8-bit  software.   Overall the feeling of the dealers
     was that they couldn't survive as an Atari only dealer,  that most had
     to offer some clone support to stay in business.

      So how  was business?   Two of the Detroit area dealers reported that
 their Christmas season was good to very good, two reported  no real change
 and two  reported a decline in sales.  As for the overall year of 1989 the
 report was less encouraging.   Four  reported that  sales were  stable but
 generally below  expectations.   Two actually had a decrease in sales over
 the previous year, though they chalked that up  to a  generally lackluster
 retail market.   This  is not  good news folks, when the best report I can
 get is one of 'stable' overall sales.  That means trouble even  in a 'slow
 year'.   A lack  of growth is the same thing as stagnation, and stagnation
 is the first step in decay.

      Not everything  is negative  though.   Most dealers  admitted that as
 difficult as  Atari is  to work  with, they're really no worse than Apple,
 IBM, CBM or any of the  others.   In fact  several dealers  confessed that
 Atari was  generally more  willing to  listen to  them than other computer
 companies.  One dealer explained that Atari's main problem was  one of 'no
 flash', that Atari just isn't as 'noticeable' as the competition.

      So what's  my over  all feeling?  First of all that there is a lot of
 support for Atari in the Detroit area, if you're willing to drive a little
 ways to  reach it.  Second is that almost all of the area dealers are VERY
 positive on the ST system and are  willing  to  go  out  of  their  way to
 support it.  Third is that Atari itself should try a little harder to help
 and support its dealer force, and that the  Detroit area  dealers would be
 only too  willing to help them do that.  Lastly is that driving in Detroit
 is an experience in and of  itself.    It's  not  that  the  roads  are in
 terrible shape  (though thanks to the cold, salt, and traffic most of them
 are), or that they drive like it's the last lap at the Indy 500 (they do).
 It's more  a feeling  of being  trapped in  a combat zone without warning.
 All kidding aside.  Despite the rough roads, high speeds,  and ice covered
 intersections (including  the one that got my brother-in-law T-boned), the
 drivers of Detroit showed themselves to  be skilled  and courteous, giving
 this out-of-town visitor more than a few breaks.

                                                       Gregg Anderson

 Just as  an aside,  there is a large and active User Group presence in the
 Detroit area.  User  Groups such  as MACE,  GLASS, MAGIC,  and (in Windsor
 Ontario) WAUG  offer support  for area  Atari owners.   For information on
 these groups see the Detroit area Atari dealers or AIM magazine.






           ____________________________________________________







 > LYNX PREVAILS!! CPU/STR OnLine   Positive comments for ATARI'S LYNX.
   ==============================



                         EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER!
                         ========================


                             ctsy GEnie ST RT

 Category 36,  Topic 6
 Message 1         Wed Jan 03, 1990
 GCC.TECH                     at 18:17 EST
  
     The Lynx is  a  machine  with  a  lot  of  potential  --  it  could be
 considered a tiny, very fast computer more than just a game machine.  What
 sorts of things are people interested in seeing?

     One thing that would be possible is to have tons of baseball  stats on
 a card, so that you could look up player's histories when you are watching
 the games.

     You could also have multi-player wargames  and combat  games, allowing
 people to  fly planes  against each  other (like Air Warrior) or tanks, or
 even direct entire armies.

     Atari could develop a home/TV-based version  of the  Lynx so  that you
 could play  the same games on a less expensive machine (by the cost of the
 LCD  display) on a TV set, and then play on the  (portable) Lynx  when you
 are on  the road.  This would be a great competitive advantage against the
 NEC and Game Boy, which are  not comparable.   Some  way would  have to be
 arrived at  to increase  the resolution  of the  display, of course, since
 160x102 is pretty low for a video game -- perhaps  doubling the resolution
 both ways and interpolating the colors would work well.

     There  is  the  possibility  of  further expansion through the COMLYNX
 port. How about a numeric keypad and a sophisticated calculator card, or a
 keyboard and  cassette interface,  driven by a BASIC (or Pascal, or Forth,
 or LOGO or whatever)  card?   A modem  that connects  to the  COMLYNX port
 would be slick, allowing people to play each other long distance; assuming
 that the fairly low baud rate  of an  inexpensive modem  (2400 tops) would
 allow the COMLYNX to function decently.


                         CTSY; CIS ATARI Arts....

 Read action !
 #: 17054 S2/Games
 04-Jan-90  06:25:26
 Sb: #16821-A Lynx for Christmas?
 Fm: Sara Groves 76702,543
 To: Gano Haine 73230,2562

 Gano,
     I think  portability might  be a factor in a more expensive system but
 there are lots of people who think of  portability in  a system  that goes
 for $180  as a plus.  Many families do a lot of traveling and it can go in
 the back seat of the car, over to a friend's house, or (yay!) up  to their
 room.   I don't  think they ought to be taking them to school, although of
 course they will, but it's less  of a  factor in  the decision  I suspect.
 After all, your kids are, what, 3, 9, and adult? <grin>

                                                 Sara

 Read action !
 #: 17027 S8/Hot Topics
 03-Jan-90  22:48:31
 Sb: #LYNX
 Fm: Randy Magruder 73007,1227
 To: Harjinder Nagra 72727,1322

     I'd like  to interject with a comment regarding the situation with the
 Lynx vs. the gameboy.  Anyone  who's seen  a lynx  has immediately trashed
 the gameboy  as a  useless piece  of junk.   I'd  like to say that I own a
 gameboy.  There's one thing I feel strongly about.  

     It's not a lynx, but neither is it junk. It's like saying  a mac  is a
 piece of  junk because  it lacks color.  It's true the lynx blows the game
 boy away in capabilities, but then there's more to people  buying products
 than  'which  is  best'.    The  gameboy  has  something the lynx doesn't.
 NINTENDO's name on the  front,  along  with  wide  availability tremendous
 marketing clout,  and tons  of developers  releasing stuff for it. I don't
 know if I could get a good arcade football game for the  Lynx, but  I know
 the name  of the  developer releasing  one for the game boy.  I've already
 got 5 games for the gameboy.  I called Sears to order a Lynx, and no dice.
 There aren't any to be had that way (at least at this moment).  Aside from
 this, the gameboy is  smaller, has  batteries that  last me  a month under
 moderate usage,  and fit more easily into a handbag than the lynx.  So for
 commuting on the train, its ideal! 

     I'm going to get a lynx when I can, and I know I won't regret it...I'm
 looking forward to it!  But if you want a wide availability of good games,
 get both the gameboy  and a  lynx -  they both  have their  strengths - at
 least I won't have to mourn the fact that the lynx doesn't have the latest
 game that the gameboy just came out with!


 #: 17035 S8/Hot Topics
 04-Jan-90  00:05:54
 Sb: #17027-#LYNX
 Fm: Terry May 75076,3576
 To: Randy Magruder 73007,1227

 Randy...

 Agreed.  I have a Game Boy, and it is far from a piece of junk.   In fact,
 if not  for the advent of the Lynx, it would probably be given a heck of a
 lot more credit than what it  is  currently  getting.    The  graphics are
 excellent, albeit in monochrome, game play is good, the controls are good,
 and it is built _extremely_ sturdy and rock solid.   I even  like the nice
 Walkman-type shape of it.

 That  said,  the  Lynx  does  blow  it  away, and I want one bad.  But not
 everyone is  going to  be willing  and/or able  to spend  $150 or  so on a
 hand-held game  machine.  I am 'willing' to spend that much on one, but am
 not 'able' to fit it into my budget at this time.

 ...Terry



  ** Editor Note;

     How gratifying to see strong, positive comments for  Atari and  one of
 its exciting  new entrants  in the  USA marketplace.   The  LYNX, with its
 COLOR display, super smooth scrolling graphics,  and superb  sound quality
 is definitely  on its  way to  becoming THE  hand-held Game machine.  Yes,
 this editor owns a LYNX, and yes, I personally feel  this IS  a remarkable
 machine deserving of our compliments and excitement.  While I do not agree
 with the labeling of the Gameboy as a  piece of  junk, I  do humbly submit
 that the  Gameboy is  so far  out-classed by  the LYNX that it, (Gameboy),
 speaking performance wise only, cannot possibly be considered competition.
   
     As far as who would be willing to  spend $150.00  on a  hand-held game
 machine, the  overall sales  results will  show us that answer.  I do know
 this though, every person I have  shown my  LYNX to  has proclaimed  it is
 superior to  what they  had already  seen and  expressed a desire to own a
 LYNX of their own.  Additionally, the price  is not  out of  line when one
 considers the  quality and  performance of  the LYNX.  So far, the LYNX is
 taking the USA by  storm,  people  are  going  to  outrageous  extremes to
 purchase the  delightful and  elusive little goodies.  And, believe me, it
 is worth the effort and the bux!!   I highly  recommend the  LYNX for all,
 young and  old alike.   Its  performance is  superb, the colors, animation
 smoothness and sound deliver flawlessly beyond any expectations possible.


                 LYNX certainly has impressive statistics
                 ----------------------------------------

          o    16 MHz 65C02 (CMOS Version of 6502)
          o    64K RAM
          o    ROM Cards can hold 2 Megabytes
          o    16 Users supported through comlynx
          o    Comlynx could easily be used for other peripherals
          o    4 channel  sound  (each  with  Digital  to  Analog converter
               for perfect digitized sound effects)
          o    Resolution 160 x 102
          o    Hardware sprite scaling with unlimited sprites
          o    16 Colors on screen from a palette of 4096





        ___________________________________________________________




 > FCC CONTROVERSY CPU/STR Feature    Was it false?   Or not?
   ===============================



                                                  JUMPING THE GUN!
                                                  ===============

  Another viewpoint
  -----------------

  John King writes:

 RUMOR ON PROPOSED FCC RULE

 A rumor  is making  the BBS  rounds that the FCC is considering a proposed
 rule to assess a surcharge on personal computer modem users  accessing the
 nation's telephone network.


  ** Editor Note:

     For what  its worth, we found this rather exuberant reply/rebuttal was
 posted concerning a user attempting to  alert the  telecomputing community
 to  the  possibility  of  a  recently  won  decision  being  re-opened and
 possibly being reversed.   Folks, this  is not  rumor nor,  is it actually
 happening the way its related above.  The course of events began in Texas,
 where the phone company, Southwestern  Bell,  attempted  to  surcharge all
 modem operators  simply because  they were  using modems,  this matter was
 brought before various governing agencies including the FCC.  Although the
 matter has been favorably resolved, the older issues were brought into the
 picture and therefore the cause for alarm. 

     It is  comforting to  know there  are those  people out  there who are
 willing  to  question  the  decisions  of  both  the  powerhouse telephone
 companies and the governing/regulatory agencies of these companies.  



 THIS RUMOR IS FALSE!

     A telephone call to  Ms. Jerri  Payton, Common  Carrier Division, FCC,
 Telephone:(202) 632-7553, on 29 Dec 89, to find out what the proposed rule
 number was.  Ms. Payton stated  no such  rule is  under consideration.   A
 similar rule,  which was turned down, was proposed over two years ago.  No
 similar rules are pending or planned.

     Over 57 people wrote in to  the FCC  so far  about this  rumored rule.
 The vast  majority failed to provide their return address so the FCC can't
 respond to them.

     The FCC plans to issue a press release on either  Friday, 12/29/89, or
 Tuesday,  01/02/89,  discounting  the  rumor.    The press release will be
 provided to both the national and local media.

     Help put this rumor to rest.  Please pass on this message to any other
 BBS  sysop  who  unsuspectingly  posted  this  rule proposal on their BBS.
 There's no sense getting the FCC upset at modem users by answering a bunch
 of unneeded  letters generated  by a rumor when we may need the FCC's help
 in the future on real regulatory issues.


  ** Editor Note:

     Again, we see the  blatant, hysterical  accusation that  the rumor was
 false.    It  wasn't  false  nor  was  it actually occurring in the manner
 represented by the  original  message  strings  appearing  on  the various
 services.   It would have been both wise and prudent to point out that the
 item in circulation was  flawed or  did not  contain complete information.
 To simply  say, the  whole issue  was false is a gross insult to all modem
 users.  Especially when this issue was resurrected by an serious occurance
 in Texas  where the Telephone Company, Southwestern Bell, attempted to use
 the very same concepts presented in the proposal  that was  originally set
 before the  FCC two  years ago.  This time, though, they directed the rate
 INCREASE at each and every modem connected to their lines!

     Additionally, if the FCC was so  EAGER  to  claim  publicly  that this
 information was  a rumor and was entirely untrue, then, where is the press
 release?  

     The bottom line is; Never take a back seat or  allow yourselves  to be
 intimidated  by  _any_  governing  body  whose  major responsibility is to
 serve and represent you. They (the FCC) are there to SERVE THE  PUBLIC, if
 and  when  the  modem  users  need  to provide input to the FCC, there are
 rules and regulations in place to readily insure the input is properly and
 fairly considered.   Therefore,  please don't  think for a moment that the
 FCC "holds grudges or will be angry with  you"!!!   We feel  the advice to
 squelch yourselves lest "you get the FCC upset" is pure poppycock!  And we
 add ..Supervisor  of Enforcement,  Mary Beth  Hess, FCC,  agrees with this
 premise  fully  and  emphasized  that  the  FCC  welcomes  all  input from
 concerned individuals.


         This message is an example of Politics at its very best!

 Msg#:19888 *Bulletin Board* 
 12/31/89 14:39:35  
 From: JOSEPH ZUCKERMAN 
 To: JOHN KING 
 Subj: REPLY TO MSG# 19868 (FCC WANTS YOUR MONEY) 

     I have been informed by a  reliable source  that the  Senate committee
 secured an  iron-clad commitment  from the new FCC chairman that the above
 mentioned charge will not be implemented.  The  SEnate has  legislation on
 the back-burner to outlaw it.  They didn't bother to bring the legislation
 to the floor because they made  the  guarantee  part  of  the confirmation
 process.    Those  of  you  who  have  access  to usenet may have seen the
 discussion on  this.   My suggestion  is that  you ignore  the message and
 relax.
                                                            Joe

  ** Editor Summary
  -----------------

     According to  our info at the time, provided by Jim Eason a California
 radio announcer,  the  Commission  was  considering  to  'review'  the old
 findings and  then decide  whether to  continue.   It would appear that if
 they (the Commission) decide to 're-open'  the matter  it would  be months
 away  from  any  active  procedure.   (Submittals & Requests for Opinions)
 Perhaps the individual(s) who posted the information here and on the other
 services were  premature, or  maybe, they  did EXACTLY  THE RIGHT THING to
 cause squelching of the matter before it got  on its  feet.   In any case,
 being alert  and eager  to tell  all of us their findings is, by no means,
 reason to  be faulted.   My  'guesstimate' is  that the  FCC will, without
 delay, drop the entire matter before it is ever under consideration.

     It appears  that the bottom line here is now very clear.  It goes like
 this, the phone company, Southwestern  Bell,  had  attempted  to surcharge
 every modem  user in the state of Texas thus creating a strongly contested
 matter there.  In the process, the FCC  was superficially  involved in the
 hearings  as  certain  portions  of  the  old  proposal  were  invoked  by
 Southwestern Bell as precedents.  This is where the involvement of the FCC
 comes in and in NO WAY HAS THE OLD PROPOSAL BEEN RESURRECTED AS PREVIOUSLY
 THOUGHT.

     In conclusion, STR called the FCC office of Regulation and Enforcement
 and spoke to Mary Beth Hess spvsr., and Ms. Payton relative to this entire
 matter and it was thoroughly discussed.  In fact, we fax'ed a copy of this
 article to  her office for verification and correction if needed.  We have
 presented to you, the reader, the  entire  info  line  and  all  the facts
 surrounding this  matter.   Again, there was no false rumor just a release
 from genuinely concerned individual(s) that were not accurate  or complete
 in their  information.  Bland accusation of false and rather uninformed or
 unreliable advice such as ("don't get the FCC  upset") has  no place  in a
 responsible  information  network.    The  FCC, Ms. Hess & Ms. Payton have
 expressed full agreement with this article.  And, at the  same time, fully
 resolved this  matter and  cleared up  any loose ends there may have been.
 As far as we are concerned this matter is closed.  





          _______________________________________________________




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


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


 by M. Arthur


     There was no trading  on Christmas  Day.   Information on  Atari Stock
 was  not  found  on  Tuesday.    Atari  Stock  went down 1/4 of a point on
 Thursday.  It was up 1/4 of a point on Friday.  Finishing up the week at 8
 5/8 points,  Atari stock is down 1/4 of a point from the last report.


       Apple Stock is down 1 1/4  points from Friday, Dec. 22, 1989.
            Commodore Stock is up 5/8 of a point from 12/22/89.
               IBM Stock is down 1 1/4 points from 12/22/89.


               Stock Report for Week of 12/26/89 to 12/29/89

 _________________________________________________________________________
 STock| Christmas |   Tuesday   |  Wednesday  |  Thursday   |   Friday    |
 Reprt|    Day    |Last     Chg.|Last     Chg.|Last     Chg.|Last    Chg. |
 -----|-----------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
 Atari|   -----   |    -----    |8 5/8        |8 3/8   - 1/4|8 5/8   + 1/4|
      |           |             |             |             | 79,100 Sls  |
 -----|-----------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
  CBM |   -----   |    -----    |10 1/4       |10 1/4   ... |10 3/4  + 1/2|
      |           |             |             |             | 145,100 Sls |
 -----|-----------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
 Apple|   -----   |35 1/2   - 1 |35 1/8  - 3/8|34 5/8  - 3/4|35 1/4  + 5/8|
      |           |             |             |             |1,360,800 Sls|
 -----|-----------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
  IBM |   -----   |94 1/2  - 7/8|94 3/4  + 1/4|94 1/8  - 5/8|94 1/8   ... |
      |           |             |             |             |1,636,500 Sls|
 -----'-------------------------------------------------------------------'

      'Sls' refers to the # of stock shares that were traded that day.
      'CBM' refers to Commodore Business Machines Corp.
      '-----' means that information on that stock's price was not found
              on that day.




         _________________________________________________________






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




 - Lombard, IL.                 ***** CSS CLOSED DOWN BY LEVY INC. *****
   ------------


     Tuesday  all  the  employees  at  Computer  Software  Services  in the
 Lombard, IL, headquarters (main warehouse) were told to  be on  time for a
 "very special  meeting".   At this  meeting, they  were told  that CSS was
 closing its doors and everyone would be out of work.  CSS is a division of
 Charles Levy  Inc.    Many  employees will,  however, be able to apply and
 interview for  positions  within  the  Charles  Levy  organization's other
 entities.  At this time, a token management team is on duty at CSS tending
 to the 'winding down' operations.  




 - Sunnyvale, CA.         ******  ANOTHER FOOTSHOT IN THE OFFING? ******
   --------------

  
     While casually glancing through the message strings on  GEnie, a major
 international online  telecommunications information service, we found the
 following announcements or, if you will, comments passed online for all to
 see.
   
   --- In response  to a  question about  bundling basic unix (pd) software
 offerings with a  monochrome  mega  system  and  marketing  it  toward the
 scholastic community....

 (A)...Atari would  be interested in talking to any VAR that wanted to sell
 such a system to college campuses.    However,  Atari  does  not  have the
 internal organization  necessary to  make such  sales direct, nor does our
 dealer network.

   --- In response to the obvious when and where type question....

 (A)...Atari will not be showing at CEPS or any Seybold show this year.

                                             Elizabeth Shook
                                             Atari Corporation

      Quite clearly, this is no reflection on Ms. Shook.   Obviously, Atari
 is  not  trying  to  alienate  special  interest  groups  (DTP,  etc.) and
 especially the scholastic community.   It  would appear  however, they are
 completely  out  of  tune  with  reality  in  these  two areas.  The Atari
 Computer,  simply put...BELONGS in the school system.  What  better way to
 ensure the  next generation's  ability to recognize and readily accept the
 Atari computer lines as a viable alternative.

     The $60  - $70  thousand dollars  it costs  to participate  in each of
 these shows,  (CEPS -  SEYBOLD), is,  without a doubt, the least expensive
 route offering benefits that far out weigh the  already low  cost factor. 
 When  considering  the  benefits  derived..  ie;  opportunity to display a
 totally positive intent, special  interest group  support, market exposure
 and above  all else, STRONG GOODWILL..it becomes increasingly difficult to
 believe Sam rejected these two shows.  Let's  hope this  is not  a relapse
 of the "cheaps" creeping in from the bottom up.  Certainly, shunning a few
 shows because it may cost a few bucks is not Sam's Style.  The bottom line
 here is simple; ..Sam Tramiel is receiving BAD ADVICE from someone.





 - Skokie, IL.        *****  SEARS CLAIMS LYNX "NOT AVAILABLE"!!  *****
   ----------


     We  were  thoroughly  and  completely  shocked after calling the SEARS
 "800" number; 1-800-366-3000 attempting  to  order  a  LYNX  Game Machine,
 Stock  #  49TD75425.    After  achieving negative results and subsequently
 speaking to  the supervisor  of telephone  catalog sales,  Susan Dees, who
 explained  that  there  are  no  Lynx  hand  held  game machines available
 throughout the continental  USA  Sears  network  I  found  myself somewhat
 upset.    Her  parting  statement  was  quite  clear and needed no further
 explanation, she said; "they are no longer available".  

     In pursuing all the  facts concerning  this matter,  we spoke  to Dick
 Niles, TeleCatalog  Sales specialist,  who stated that the terminology "no
 longer available" usually means  'temporarily  out  of  stock'.    At this
 point, the  decision was  made to  take this  matter directly to the SEARS
 executive offices.  After all,  having  the  telemarketing  people furnish
 misleading information, because of whatever reason, is a disaster both for
 Atari and Sears.

     Please be advised, that although  the  SEARS  telephone  catalog sales
 people  had  stated  that  their  computers reflected the product being no
 longer available, we have  been assured  by Dave  Lowrey that  the LYNX IS
 available through  SEARS, although  temporarily back  ordered, and will be
 shipped by SEARS until, at least,  August,  1990.    Also,  the  new stock
 number for  the LYNX  is 49GY75425.  DO NOT USE THE OLDER NUMBER MENTIONED
 ABOVE.  In checking into this confusion, we found that  SEARS ordered 2600
 LYNX game  machines and  expects to  receive a  minimum of  1200 LYNX Game
 Machines within a matter of days.

     This information was confirmed through  the  offices  of  Dave Lowrey,
 Buyer -  Sears and Ron Stringari, Atari Corp.  At this time, both of these
 gentlemen are attending the CES show at Las Vegas and  are unavailable for
 comment.

                       SEARS TELECATALOG INFORMATION
                       -----------------------------
                         as of 01/05/90 (verified)

               49 GY 75425     $159.00     Lynx
               49 GY 75431     $ 34.50     Electro Cop
               49 GY 75432     $ 34.50     Blue Lightning
               49 GY 75432     $ 34.50     Gates Of Zendocon
               49 GY 75433     $ 38.50     Gauntlet III (not available yet)

            The toll free order line for the Sears catalog is:

                              1-800-366-3000.





 - Las Vegas, NV         ***** LYNX MAY SOON HAVE A "BIG BROTHER" *****
   -------------


     The 512k  game machine  is on  the horizon...  now, if the wizards are
 slick and shrewd, they get the "jump" on the game machine industry  in the
 states  by  making  sure  they  have  an  adapter that will allow the 512k
 machine to run the cards for the LYNX and vis/versa  thus perpetuating the
 lineage in  the game machine marketplace for Atari.  Think for moment, the
 way the customer's budget can best  be served  by making  the games usable
 on both  the new console and the LYNX.  It is reported, that at this time,
 a number of game machine manufacturers are exploring this approach  to the
 market, hopefully,  for the  next Christmas season.  At CES 1990, Industry
 mavins predict that the quality of software available for the game machine
 systems will positively decide the marketshare winners of the future.
   






    ___________________________________________________________________




 > Hard Drive Info CPU/STR InfoFile   Affordable Mass Storage
   ================================ 
  
  


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


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

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

   * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *

         32mb #SG32238   549.00              42mb #SG44710   619.00
         51mb #SGN4951   629.00              65mb #SG60101   689.00
         80mb #SGN296    729.00             100mb #SG84011D  949.00
        130mb #SG1244D  1099.00             145mb #SG3A421  1110.00
        170mb #SGT41776 1389.00             260mb #SG1244Q  2169.00
                          320mb #SGN7788Q 3295.00

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

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

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

        * Removable Media Devices NOW Available (44mb) Syquest 555 *
                      * SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICES *

                    EXTRA CARTRIDGES: 97.95  (anytime)

               * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *

     - SYQUEST 44 MB removable media drive     - ICD ST Host Adapter
     - ICD Mass Storage Utility Software       - 3' DMA Cable 
     - Fan & Clock                             - Multi-Unit Power Supply
                          (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.

                 Completely Assembled and READY TO RUN!  
                              ONLY $869.00  
  
 We would  offer floppy drives..  but Computer Shopper has 'em at the right
 price.  And.. you can plug 'em right into our cabinets and power supplies.
 Low-Boy  OR  Standard  Case  (designed  with room for another 3.5 OR 5.25"
 drive)  They're made for user expansion!  TRUE UPGRADE-ABILITY!
   
   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                        SPECIALLY PRICED  $1529.00 

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

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

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

                 Quantity & Usergroup Discounts Available!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!

                 Personal and Company Checks are accepted.

                            ORDER YOURS TODAY!

                       904-783-3319    9am - 8pm EDT






      _______________________________________________________________



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




         "Genuine Competition engenders CREATIVITY and ORIGINALITY!!"


                                           ... A moment of truth





                        "THE NEW WAVE OF ATARI!"


 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 CPU/STR           "Your Independent News Source"         January 05, 1990
 16/32bit Magazine         copyright  1990                Vol. IV ~ No.401
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the  editors,  staff,  CPU NEWSWIRE  CPU/STR  or  CPU Report.   Reprint
 permission is hereby granted, unless otherwise  noted.   All reprints must
 include CPU NEWSWIRE, CPU/STR  or CPU  Report and the  author's name.  All
 information presented herein is  believed correct,  the editors  and staff
 are not responsible for any use or misuse of information contained herein.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

