_____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE June 8, 1987 ISSUE #56 _____________________________________ Publisher/Editor Ron Kovacs Assistant Publisher Ken Kirchner _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG INDEX 56 -1-RI ACE Zmag User Group of June 1987 -2-INTERVIEW PART 1 Tom Harker of ICD -3-ZMAG ENTERTAINMENT WIRE Dolby SS Theatres -4-ANALOG Highlights in ISSUE 55 June 1987 -5-ZMAG NEWSWIRE News Shorts on Atari/Comdex/more.. -6-ZMAG SYSTEMS UPDATE More Sweden Systems Online -7-ZMAG CAPSULE REVIEWS Hacker, Spell, Black... -8-GUEST COMMENTARY In Defense of Hackers _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH JUNE .....Rhode Island Atari Computer Enthusiasts RI ACE..... _____________________________________ RI ACE, by Alan Roseman RI ACE, Rhode Island Atari Computer Enthusiasts is a club on the upswing. Long one of the East Coasts largests ATARI groups, RI ACE continues to grow. The advent of the ST as a serious entry into desk top and business applications has introduced a steady stream of new members with varied interests. When you add the crop of new members to an established base of knoledgable Atarians, you form the nucleus of a grade -A- users group. RI ACE prides itself on it's active persuit of new and worthwhile products for the ATARI community. Be it hardware modifications and upgrades, or a software application RI ACE has an expert a phone call away. Special after meeting hardware modificattion classes are not uncommon. In this way we introduce people to the inside of the micro, adding to their understanding of the computer they have come to depend on. RI ACE meetings are a plesant mixture of ST demos and SIGS, tempered with a heavy dose of eight-bit support and disscussion. Public Domain software is available at every meeting from our extensive collection for both the eight-bit and ST series of computer. RI ACE meetings boast a very helpful question and answer period as well as a swap shop and much more. RI ACE produces a monthly newsletter called the -RI ACE REPORTER-. It is prouced using a 520 ST with publishing Partner software and is printed with a laser printer for optimun quality. We also offer the areas best 24 hr BBS. The -The RI ACE EXPRESS-. Our BBS is currently in the process of being changed from an eight-bit system to a new 520 ST. You can become a member of RI ACE by sending a check or money order to: RI ACE c/o Steve Dunphy 192 Webster Ave. Cranston, R.I. The dues are $20.00 yearly. 24 hr BBS # 401-521-4234 in Prov. R.I. At RI ACE we believe our members are our strength. Join us and help keep the support for your computer strong. _____________________________________ Xx INTERVIEW WITH TOM HARKER PART 1 (c)1987 HDUG (Hard Disk Users Group) _____________________________________ This is a compilation of a 15 minute interview with Tom Harker of ICD, by Chuck Leazott (Mr.Z) Under the firm control of President Tom Harker, ICD has exploded it's arsenal of Atari oriented hardware and software. They've blasted their way into the hearts of Atarians worldwide. The very structure of Atari oriented equipment will never be the same...nor do I ever want it to be. Anytime a company can design and manufacture a hardware, software or firmware product that will allow the Atari computer owner to advance, I'm all for it. ICD is one such devoted company. In the short time ICD has produced it's wares, it has become one of the top suppliers of high quality new Atari gear. Got a problem --Ask ICD!!! Thus we present Tom Harker at ICD. TH=Tm Harker CL=Chuck Leazott CL) First off, being President of ICD sounds like fun, but what, exactly, do you do besides give phone interviews? TH) Well around here I call myself glue. CL) Glue?? TH) Yeah...I fill in a lot where ever I am needed, and sort of hold things together. CL) Cute. Say Network: Atari is writing it's first newsletter for HDUG, and I have a list of questions here from some of the folks (and myself), that have joined the new User Group. Care to answer a couple? TH) Sure. Fire away. CL) The first is, when using the MIO as an interface for a Hard Drive, which controller do you recommend? TH) Well, I can't really say that I recommend any particular one, but we like the Adaptec controllers since they are the most flexible. Adaptec controllers can handle the larger sized drives like the 30 MEG, etc... We've tested others, like Western Digital, Shugart and Xebec. Any of them are fine, but for those looking to run the larger drives, Adaptec is best. CL) Then you prefer the Adaptec? TH) Well, we write the software to handle all of them. It depends on what you want. We've already got software written for most of the standard controller and disk drive configurations, but if you have another type that you would like to use, we'll write a software package for it. CL) What's the going rate for that software? TH) Oh...we can fix you up for around $45.00, even if you need software written for new ones that we havent tested yet. CL) Will all of those controllers handle a double HD setup? I mean 2 Hard Drives with one controller? TH) Most do. Some are better than others. Again, the most flexible are the Adaptec, like the ACB4000A and ACB4070. Also the Western Digital WD1002-SHD and the Xebec 1410 and 1410A. There are others. There are some integrated controllers that handle single drives like the Seagate ST-225N, the Rodime RO652 and the Alpha and Beta series. CL) So, you really have to know what you want to do with the HD system, as far as future use is concerned, before you decide which system to buy. TH) Sure, just like anything else. CL) OK, when using one of the controllers that handles a double HD configuration, must you use the same type/style of HD in each sot? TH) Not with the Adaptec controllers that we talked about. Again, Adaptec is more flexible. If you use Supra controller, at least the one that they have now, and some of the others mentioned, you have to use identical drive configuratons in each slot. Things like number of heads, cylinders and capacity usually have to be the same. CL) Which controller do you need to run on the RLL configured drives? TH) Well, first of all, the drive isn't RLL, it's the controller that sets up the RLL configuration. A good example is the Adaptec 4070A used on the Seagate ST-238 Hard Disk. Normally, the ST-238 is a 20 MEG drive, and can be used as such, but when you use the 4070A controller, it configures the HD with 1.5 times as much storage space. So, you have a 20 MEG drive that's now capable of having 30 MEG. Same drive, different controller. CL) Is that true for other drives? TH) No, just on those designed for RLL. CL) So what does RLL stand for, and what exactly does it mean? TH) Well, RLL stands for -Run Length Limited-. Again, the controller itself puts out the RLL which gives you 1.5 times the density. The sectors are therefore shorter --Shorter sectors..Run length limited. CL) OK, but some drives are also referred to as MFM. Without any jokes, what's it mean? TH) It stands for Modified Frequency Modulation. It's kind of hard to describe without going into detail, but it's similar to a CB radio. The older CB's used to have 23 channels, and now they have the 40 channel models. So, basically the frequency modulation is modified. Again, from 23 channels to 40 channels, like from FM to MFM. We conclude this segment here. In next weeks edition we will continue the conversation and get more info on ICD's Hard Disk products, Problems with the ICD Doublers, MIO, and more. _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG ENTERTAINMENT WIRE _____________________________________ Dolby Stereo(tm) Theatres Equipped with 70mm Stereo Surround Sound as of 5/22/87 By: Eric Carter The following movie theatres are equipped to present specially mastered 70mm films with Stereo Surround tracks. (Left, Center, Right, Boom track, Left Rear, Right Rear) Location of Theatre Theatre Name _____________________________________ Century City Century Plaza Fremont Cinedome Seven #1 Fremont Cinedome Seven #2 Hollywood Chinese #1 Hollywood Cinerama Dome Hollywood Paramount La Mirada Gateway 5 #1 Newark Cinedome Sevenplex #1 Newark Cinedome Sevenplex #2 Pleasant Hill Century 21 #1 San Francisco Cinema 21 San Francisco Northpoint Westwood National Westwood Village Littleton Southbridge Eight #1 Litleton Southbridge Eight #2 Washington Uptown Arlington Ridge Plaza #5 Calumet City River Oaks #1 Chicago Evergreen #1 Downers Grove Grove Theatre #4 Downers Grove Grove Theatre #5 Niles Golf Mill #2 Des Moines Riverhills #1 Boston Cinema 57 #1 Dearborn Movies at Fairlane #5 Las Vegas Cinedome 6 #1 Manhattan 34th Street Showplace #2 Manhattan Astor Plaza Manhattan 23rd Street Triplex #3 Manhattan Ziegfeld Austin Arbor #1 Dallas Prestonwood 5 #1 Alderwood Grand #5 Bellevue Factoria #5 Riverton Heights Lewis & Clark #1 Seattle Oak Tree #3 - CANADA - ---------- Calgary Palace #1 Calgary Sunridge #1 Edmonton Londonderry #1 Vancouver Denman Place #1 Vancouver Stanley #1 Victoria Coronet #1 Newmarket Glenway #1 Toronto Cedarbrae #1 Toronto Hollywood South #2 Toronto Palace #1 Toronto Towne & Country #1 Toronto University #1 Montreal Claremont #1 Montreal York #1 _____________________________________ Xx ANALOG ISSUE 55 .........June 1987.......... _____________________________________ Here are some features in this months edition of Analog Magazine. -*- The Making of Atariwriter Plus By: Frank Cohen -*- Fast Sets By: Darryl Howerton -*- Trade Secrets Part 1 By: Clayton Walnum -*- Variable Searcher By: Steve Anderson -*- Window Graphics By: Howard Green RVIEWS -*- PC Board Designer By: Matthew Ratcliff -*- Speed King By: Matthew Ratcliff -*- NX-10 Printer By: Greg Knauss -*- Isgur Portfolio System By: Steve Panak All this in more at your local newstand now!!! _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE _____________________________________ ATLANTA (June 5, 1987) The annual spring COMDEX trade show opened this week in Atlanta with some 600 exhibitors and 50,000 visitors by Thursday's close. Jack Warner of United Press International said that, as usual, most of the exhibits are geared toward IBM compatibility and -- also as usual -- Apple Computer Inc. was not represented. Chairman David A. Norman of the Businessland Inc. computer retail stores made the keynote address, saying that a major problem in the computer industry involves manufacturers with inconsistent pricing and distribution strategies. Norman said while a company's dealers may be -cordially invited to go through extensive training and support qualifications to sell new, advanced products, the direct sales organization of the same manufacturer is selling the same products at deep discounts. This discount philosophy is at odds with value-added, advanced -technology products.- The problem of value-added versus discount dealers is passed on to the customers, Norman said. -Imagine this. A customer's (local area) network goes down. He realizes the network he assembled consists of one manufacturer's file server, another manufacturer's CPUs, still another vendors's multi-user software product, and peripherals from numerous other manufacturers. Who is the customer going to call for service?- Incidentally, Norman believes the day of the local area network finally has dawned. -Businessland currently installs 250 local area networks and over 2,000 local area network connections per month,- he said, and at least a third of the PCs his company sells go into LANs, while another third are connected to minicomputers or mainframes, according to Warner. ACTIVISION and INFOCOM have published thir -Fun, Fame, and Fortune- redemption coupon booklets containing over $245.00 in special offers, free products, and other bonuses. This promotion covers many of the Activision and Infocom titles and is good through August 1987. Speaking of INFOCOM...Infocom is offering FREE -InvisiClues- booklets for BUREAUCRACY, HOLLYWOOD HIJINX, MOONMIST, and LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS with the purchase of any of these titles. Redemption coupons are available through your software dealer or can be obtained directly from Infocom. MINDSCAPE has purchased CBS SOFTWARE, and will shortly be re-releasing their most popular titles under the new name. SPINNAKER SOFTWARE, publisher of such famous titles as IN SEARCH OF THE MOST AMAZING THING, TRAINS, and numerous other educational and children's games, has recently acquired HAYDEN SOFTWARE, publisher of the long-dead software known as the MICRO MATH SERIES (including MICRO ADDITION and MICRO DIVISION). BUFFALO ATARIFEST at the end of April seemed down in attendance and involvement of vendors. Twenty-nine -vendor- vendor areas included about seven user groups, with some notables as HYBRID ARTS not attending. ATARI didn't bring the MEGA ST to show, but they DID bring the LASER PRINTER prototype. (This article ctsy MICHIGAN ATARI MAGAZINE) ATARI announced that many of their new products will be in manufacturing by June, and will be on the shelves soon after. These include the NEW Atari game machine (which will include a cartridge version of FLIGHT SIMULATOR II plus scenery disks), te 1 MEG ST and LASER PRINTER, the PC-CLONES, MODEM, and some software titles. (CTSY M.A.M) _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG SYSTEMS UPDATE _____________________________________ Zmag Sweden correspondent Lennart Ollsson, has informed me this week that Zmag has been added to the following Swedish BBS Systems. Kisa Monitorn 011-46-494-12997 SysOp-Hans Karlsson First Star 011-46-0340-51117 SysOp-Thomas Plersch These systems are 300 ccitt Baud. Look for a Zmag exclusive report on the German Computer Show going on this week in Frankfurt. We should have information next week. Recently added to the growing systems list: Bates Motel 716-875-7376 Ol' Hackers 516-884-4140 PAUGS 602-242-4259 JACG BBS 201-298-0161 Whittkes 201-254-7984 Griffons 402-466-5339 Mr. Message 516-454-7698 Mach Ch. 8 207-784-0631 New Haven 203-776-9723 Lost Byte 617-586-8840 River City 201-928-0487 Conans Den 416-896-7173 The Bunker 212-617-0153 Please give these systems a call and let them know you appreciate their time and effort. _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG CAPSULE REVIEWS _____________________________________ THE BLACK CAULDRON Sierra On-Line, Inc. Sierra On-Line Building Coarsegold, CA 93614 (209) 683-6858 $40 c.1985 Six arcade sequences enliven this role-playing adventure based on the recent Disney animated film. You get extended play life because the game can be -solved- in a variety of ways. Ages 12+. -- JAMES DELSON HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Reviewed on IBM PC/PCjr.* Also for 128K Apple IIe/IIc, Atari 520ST. Joystick or mouse optional. Color monitor recommended. BACKUP POLICY: 90-day warranty. $5 thereafter. RATINGS ------- OVERALL RATING: Good DOCUMENTATION: Average PLAY SYSTEM: Good GRAPHICS QUALITY: Good EASE OF USE: Average VALUE: Good --================-- HACKER Activision 2350 Bayshore Frontage Rd. Mountain View, CA 94043 (415) 960-0410 $25-$45 c.1985 You're in trouble as soon as you turn on the computer in this original adventure game that has no instructions. The goal here is to save the world, but how you go about it is a mystery! --JAMES DELSON HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Reviewed on IBM PC/PCjr.* Also for Amiga, 64K Apple, 64K Atari 800/XL/XE, Atari 520ST, C 64/128, Macintosh. Joystick or mouse. BACKUP POLICY: 90-day warranty. $7.50 thereafter or for backup. RATINGS ------- OVERALL RATING: Good DOCUMENTATION: n/a PLAY SYSTEM: Good GRAPHICS QUALITY: Good EASE OF USE: Difficult VALUE: Good --=============-- SPELLBREAKER Infocom 125 Cambridge Park Drive Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 492-6000 $45-$50 c.1985 The final game in Infocom's -Enchanter- trilogy is a knockout txt adventure for experts. Use your wits, a spell book, and found objects to figure out why magic is failing in this fantasy world. --JAMES DELSON HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Reviewed on Apple. Also for Amiga, Atari 800/XL/ XE, Atari 520ST, C 64/128, IBM PC/ PCjr,*Macintosh. BACKUP POLICY: 90-day warranty. $5 thereafter. User makes backup (Apple, Amiga, IBM, Mac). RATINGS ------- OVERALL RATING: Excellent DOCUMENTATION: Average PLAY SYSTEM: Excellent GRAPHICS QUALITY: n/a EASE OF USE: Difficult VALUE:Good _____________________________________ Xx GUEST COMMENTARY .......By Fred Harvey....... _____________________________________ Right up front let me say that I approve of computer Hackers and feel that we need more of them today! I like to think of myself as a Hacker, even if it is only to feed my ego. Now before a righteous mob rises up to smite me with their joystick cables let me explain what I mean. A Hacker is a person who has the desire to gain as much in depth knowledge as possible about the computer that they are using. They not only know how to operate the superficial controls and run programs, but know how to modify programs and operating systems to fine tune them to their own applications. These are usually the ones people turn to when they have a computer question because the Hacker either knows the answer or can get it. Twenty years ago all computer users were Hackers. They needed to be in order to operate the hardware of the time. A person who didn't understand Assembly language and the internal architecture of the machine just did not use a computer. As electronic chips were improved it was these same Hackers that developed Basic, Pascal, Forth and all the other higher level languages that we use today. When hardware prices fell to where it was possible to produce computers for the home, the Hackers moved into a whole new area. They were just as fascinated by the new breed of computers as they were by the mainframes that they were used to using. This burgeoning home computer industry also allowed a whole new group of Hackers to emerge. It was the desire to customize programs of the time that motivated Hackers to start tinkering with the 8-bit software that was available. It may be hard to imagine but just five years ago a standard floppy disk cost about $5.00 each! That's probably close to $6.00 in todays money. A self boot program that only used about 15% of a disk was horribly wasteful. So one of the first things they did was to convert the programs to binary files. Yes, that did make them easy to copy but the motivation was intellectual and economic, not selfish. It was from the productive minds of these Hackers that we received the many utilities for examining files and modifying disk sectors that are available today. Unfortunately, as in every human endeavor, there were some unscrupulous individuals that used their knowledge badly. These are the ones that broke into business, banking, school and government computer systems. Often just to see if it could be done but sometimes with the idea of causing as much disruption as possible. It was this group that first sullied the name of Hackers. Then came a much larger group. These folks spent a large wad f money for software and hardware mods that allowed them to copy commercial software. They spent their time copying and distributing every prgram that they could get their hands on while proudly proclaiming themselves to be HACKERS! The death knell for the good name of Hackers began to ring! This wholesale pirating of software has dealt a serious blow to the software industry. People are just beginning to recognize this and many now refuse to trade in copied programs. The problem is that many people also shun Hackers because they feel it means the same thing as pirate. They don't seem to realize that although some pirates are Hackers, not all Hackers are pirates. All of this is not to imply that I think everyone should be a Hacker. One of the nice things about the computer industry is that it allows people of varied interest to participate to any degree that they like. Just as I use my refrigerator to keep food cold but don't care too much how it does it, there is a large market for people who wish only to use their computers. The GEM operating system used on the Machintosh, Amiga and Atari ST computers was specifically designed to allow people with minimal computer experience to profitably use a new machine in a very short time. This is a fine thing because of the new markets for hardware and software that it opens up. However, I still feel that there is room for the person who enjoys -hacking- away at a program because not knowing how that certain sub-routine operates is keeping him awake at night. In our head long dash for newer, bigger and faster machines lets try to pause long enough to restore the term Hacker to the status it rightfully deserves. _____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE ISSUE #56 June 8, 1987 Please Contribute (c)1987 Ron Kovacs/Syndicate Services _____________________________________