*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE Issue #129 October 30, 1988 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* Publisher/Editor: Ron Kovacs Post Office Box 74 Middlesex, NJ 08846-0074 Contents ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (*) Editors Desk................Ron Kovacs (*) ZMAG Newswire........Ctsy Antic Online (*) Wordperfect Offer Extension......Antic (*) US Robotics Rebate Certificate (*) HOT News Shorts (*) ST Transformer Update....Darek Mihocka (*) ZMAG Update (Correction for #128) (*) PC Pursuit (More for Free)...K Whitton (*) GEnie RTC Help............Marty Albert (*) Ronstat Press Release Editors Desk ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Our deepist sincere thoughts to Neil Harris on the passing of his mother. We are awaiting proposed changes at GEnie and look forward to a return shortly. The ZMAG Survey will be released next week. If you haven't sent in your address, Please do so quickly. If you prefer, I will make the survey available as a file for downloading. Stay tuned for details. Happy Halloween! Remember to search the candy before you eat it!! ZMAG Newswire ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ctsy Antic Online 26-Sep-88 ATARI ZAPS PIRATES (From combined Wire reports) Atari corp said it raided several stores in New York City that were selling imitations of its copyrighted video game consoles, joysticks and cassettes. Michael Katz, president of Atari's Entertainment Electronics division, told Reuters the raids are part of the company's continuing effort to combat manufacturing and sales of products that imitate its popular video game product line. He did not know the extent of such sales in the New York area. -We're hoping that these nine stores were either the only or the majority (of stores selling the pirated products).- On September 17 and 19, Atari's representatives seized more than 700 consoles and joysticks that strongly resembled Atari's 2600 line of videogame products, along with many imitation cassettes, at nine stores in New York City. Howard J. Schwartz, of New York law firm Davis and Gilbert, the company's attorneys, said the defendants have agreed to open their records to Atari, which will allow the company to pursue the distributors that supplied the imitations, and to destroy the seized material. He said they have also agreed to sell genuine Atari products. Atari's videogame consoles are manufactured in Taiwan. Earlier this year, Atari raided retailers in Los Angeles that were selling pirated versions of its videogame products. Katz said the company is likely to make further confiscations of imitation products based on information obtained from the records of the New York retailers. Later, Atari Corp. said it reached a settlement in U.S. District Court with New York City retailers that were selling counterfeit Atari 2600 personal computers. On Sept. 16, Atari said it conducted an unannounced raid of six stores and confiscated more than $100,000 worth of Atari game consoles and related game equipment. Under the agreement reached today, the stores will purchase a like number of new systems from Atari, and become authorized Atari dealers, Atari said. The copies of the 2600 game consoles, which Atari said were made in Taiwan, will be destroyed, it said. NOTWITHSTANDING... Atari Corp expects sales of its video game products to continue to boom this year, despite intense competition from Nintendo Co. of Japan, the market leader. Michael V. Katz, president of Atari's Entertaiment Electronics Division, told Reuters that the company hopes its video game sales will double this year, compared with 1987 when they were -about 100 million dollars.- Katz said he could not comment further on Atari's financial outlook, although he said video games account for about 25 percent total annual sales. WordPerfect Offer Extension ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1988 REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. WORDPERFECT EXTENDS ATARI USER GROUP BARGAIN DEADLINE WordPerfect Corporation announced September 29, 1988 that they are extending the deadline on their special discount to Atari user group members. The special offer allows user group members to purchase WordPerfect for the Atari ST for only $155, a saving of $174 off the list price of $329. Originally running only through the end of September, this promotion has now been extended through December 31, 1988 -- an added incentive to holiday buyers, according to WordPerfect Corp.'s Todd Ashman. User group members must show proof of Atari user group membership to be eligible for the special offer. All Atari WordPerfect orders qualifying for the special price must be accompanied by a WordPerfect Corp. user group purchase agreement, available from WordPerfect Corp. Interested groups can call (800) 321-456 or (801) 227-5800 to request the user group purchase agreement, which must then be submitted directly to: WPCorp Atari Orders 315 N. State Street Orem, UT 84057 For more information about the ST version of WordPerfect, or the user group promotion, call (801) 225-5000. (If you don't know of any users groups in your area, check the list of users groups in the Mailbox section of ANTIC ONLINE.) US Robotics Rebate Offer ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (Ed. Do NOT modify this rebate offer.) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * USRobotics Courier HST 9600 * * $50.00 REBATE CERTIFICATE * * * * * * This offer is valid towards any new customer who buys the * * HST modem upon the recommendation of a Sysop presently * * operating the Courier HST. This offer does not apply to * * Sysops who buy the HST directly from USRobotics, nor can * * it be used in conjunction with any other promotional * * efforts conducted by USRobotics. * * * * Users of this board may take advantage of this offer by * * downloading and printing the entirety of this certificate. * * Then, simply attach it to the warranty card of a Courier * * HST modem with proof of purchase and return it to * * USRobotics. The entire text of this rebate certificate * * must be included with the Courier HST warranty card. NO * * REQUESTS WILL BE PROCESSED WITHOUT THE INCLUSION OF THE * * PROPER PAPERWORK. * * * * USRobotics will send the customer identified on the * * warranty card a check for $50.00. This offer is open to * * commercial and institutional customers as well as * * individual endusers. * * * * Please allow four to six weeks for processing and mailing * * of rebate checks. * * * * * * BBS ID# 30001___ (must be included) * * * * * * Sysop Name_Keith Petersen__________ * * BBS Phone #_SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL_[26.0.0.74] * * * * * * USRobotics reserves the right to cancel this offer at any * * time, as well as refuse rebate requests sent in without * * proper documentation. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (((((((((( HOT NEWS ))))))))))) UPDATE ----------------------------------------------------------------------- News Shorts Daisy Dot 3 #: 216001 S5/Application pgms 26-Oct-88 20:44:29 Sb: #Daisy-Dot 3 in works Fm: ROY GOLDMAN 72347,3705 To: All I've got some good news: I've started Daisy-Dot 3! I'm working on the new font editor first -- this is the time to make suggestions. Any ideas for more editing commands? How about Koala Pad support? Let's hear ya! If you're wondering why a new font editor is even needed, there's a good reason (which of course I'll keep a surprise!) Release for DD3 is a long way off and I don't want to make any release predictions now. But I'll keep everyone updated! Roy Goldman New Access for Michigan Area Effective Nov. 8 in Lansing, Mich., the 110- to 1200-baud access number, 517/487-2140, will replace 517/321-2388 and the 2400-baud access number, 517/487-2182, will replace 517/321-3850. By using the CompuServe network, members save substantial communications surcharges levied by supplemental networks and receive higher quality service and quicker response time. 8 Bit Extenders #: 216183 S6/DOS Related Q & A 30-Oct-88 00:39:04 Sb: #216169-EXTENDERS Fm: Karel Chovancik 73707,716 To: JOE PECORARO 76060,1437 (X) ALF - This file is actually a set of files compacted into one using a program called ALFcrunch. To turn this file back into its original format, you need AlfUnCrunch, or an UnArc'ing program that will handle the AlfCrunch format. ARC - Arc is the program where AlfCrunch originated. This is again a storage format where a set of files is compacted into one for easier transmission over the modem. You need UnArc, or SuperUnArc to -decompact- these files. DCM - This is a Diskcomm file. The Disk Communicator is yet another file to compact a disk of files, or a boot disk into one file for transmission over the modem. You need DiskComm to convert this file into its original format so you can run it. AMS - This is a music file. THe only way to play this music file is with an AMS (Advanced MusicSystem) player, or the actualy AMS program. Ron Kovacs/Ralph Mariano in Conference The Atari Forums will be sponsoring a national online teleconference on Wednesday, November 9, 1988 at 8:00 PM EST. Our guest speaker will be Ralph Mariano (-REX READE-) who is the the managing editor of the often controversial ST REPORT weekly online news magazine. Also joining -Rex- will be Ron Kovacs, publisher of ST REPORT. The ST REPORT Conference will be held in the Electronic Convention Center(tm) (GO CONVENTION). Please read ECC.TXT in LIBRARY 17 for detailed information on how to use the Convention Center facility. This is your opportunity to share your thoughts, opinions, and/or concerns with the management of ST REPORT. Please join us! Carina Update Captured from ZMAG NORTH (The Launch Pad) You can now become the game master of the incredible World of Zenobia, the most detailed online adventure ever to be seen on a home computer- based BBS! Zenobia comes complete and ready to use, consisting of over 16 program modules, dozens of support files, and complete online documentation. Zenobia is designed to be used with the Carina II bulletin board system and requires 300k of disk space as well as Basic XL or Basic XE to opperate. It prefers to sit on a RAMdisk, though it is perfectly happy on a Hard Drive, as well. Complete installation instructions, inside hints and tips, update and support info, and sysop documentation is included in an easy-to-use guide. Registered owners of Zenobia will be able to purchase new modules, updates, and modifications. Plans for future expansions include new fighting modules, more cities to explore, new interactive user competitions, and even a networked world that will allow Zenobia adventures consisting of citizens from across the nation! The 3-disk (6 sided) set of Zenobia costs $35.00 prepaid, including shipping costs and the sysop guide. All prepaid orders will be shipped on Novemember 25th. All orders received after this will cost $45.00 and will be shipped imediately upon arrival. The ONLY acceptable means of payment is with a MONEY ORDER. Send all orders to: Katt-Ware Productions P.O. BOX 1391 Martinez, CA 94553 Please include your name, phone number, and return address as well as your BBS name and phone number. Experience Zenobia on The West Coast Syndicate at (PCP node CAOAK) 415-825-2952. ST Transformer Update ----------------------------------------------------------------------- by Darek Mihocka I know it's not the first of the month yet, but next week (Nov. 6) I'll be at the First Canadian Atari Users Convention in Toronto getting as many new registered Xformer users as possible. Anyone within driving distance of Toronto (3 hours east of Detroit, or 90 minutes north of Buffalo) is welcomed to attend. I'll be demoing the latest Xformer 2.2, with the 8 bit drive interface, and if time permits, I'll be giving a sneak preview of the Xformer 2.5 130XE emulator now in the works. 10am - 6pm. The address is: Airport Hilton, 5875 Airport Rd., Toronto. Speaking of the 130XE emulator, it will be, as I said before, strictly an 8 bit Atari emulator. Apple and C64 support has now been dropped due to lack of support from either company, and the extra space freed up will allow for the 130XE emulation. Also, ST Xformer Jr. will become a thing of the past, as this new version will run (I should say, _should_ run) on a 520ST when completed. It will still be GEM based, and on a 520ST it will only emulate a 65XE, due to the limited memory. Since final exams are coming up for me in December, I don't anticipate this one being finished until February. When it is, I'll be posting another bulletin. Registered users will be able to upgrade for about $5, while for the rest of you, it will still be the regular $20 shareware. It will of course, still support the drive cable and virtual disk drives. A few people have started calling about the Xformer BBS. Due to difficulties in getting straight answers from anyone at QMI about some problems I am having with the ST Talk Autopilot language, it seems that I will not be running the Xformer BBS, since I can't finish writing it. However, about a month ago, several sysops of various BBSs did contact me about setting up Xformer sections on their BBSs, and unfortunately at the time, I declined their requests. So far I do have one BBS planning to convert, and if the other sysops would contact me again, we can arrange something. I would like to have 4 BBSs, one in Canada, and 3 in the States (west coast, east coast, and south) which would provide Xformer-ready .SD and .DD files, as well as Xformer support. Hopefully I'll have some numbers by next month. Anyone who sent money for the drive interface cables may experience some delays. All orders received by the middle of October have been processed and the cables are on their way, and may have already arrived. Due to ill health earlier this month, and other delays, I was not able to start shipping them until 2 weeks ago. As I mentioned, next weekend I'll be in Toronto, with all my remaining cables and Xformer registered user kits. If I run out, new disks and manuals are no problem to make, but the cables are. Assuming UPS takes their usual 2 or 3 weeks to deliver my next shipment of parts, I won't have any new cables available until mid-November, so anyone who orders one after Nov. 6 (i.e. I receive your order after that date) will experience a small delay. Unfortunately, the cables are outselling the Xformer registrations by a large margin. I hope that this does not imply that ST users are just too cheap to pay for shareware. Rather, I'll assume that the sudden increase is due to the usefulness of the cable. If you buy a cable, please register too! Support other shareware as well. How many of you have paid for ARC Shell or DC Formatter or other shareware? I have! I have been asked whether or not the cables allow PC Ditto to use the 8 bit drives. The answer, as far as I know, is NO. All 8 bit drives, like the 810, 1050, Indus GT, Rana, Trak, etc. are single sided, and some of them are not even double density. Therefore you can't read a 360K IBM disk on a disk drive that only supports 90K or 180K of storage. The XF551, which I have, is double sided double density, but thanks the extremely useful XF551 manual, which will try to convince you that the XF551 is just a single sided 1050, I have not been able to find out whether or not the XF551 can read IBM disks. I have been trying to get an answer from Atari for weeks, and all I've been told so far is that they're looking into it. Arghhh! I have been benchmarking my new 130XE against the emulator, and can finally give a more exact figure of the emulator's speed. On the average, in Atari BASIC, text mode, the 6502 emulation runs at 41% the speed of a real 8 bit. This is for straight number crunching. Due to other factors, such as graphics mode and type of graphics being displayed, the _apparent_ speed will vary from between 30% and 40%, on average. Some programs are slower, and some are actually full speed. If time permits during the development of Xformer 2.5, I will implement one of the speed enhancements I am planning for Xformer III, which will raise the speed of the emulator to 48% (or so the calculations show!). The next issue of ST LOG will have an article explaining the inner workings of ST Xformer II, updating the information they published about a year ago. I will post the source code to Xformer 2.1 this weekend, so anyone who is into self-inflicted pain, and has Megamax C or Laser C might be interested in it. I for now have dropped support for Apple and C64 emulation, but the source code contains all the code one would need to improve it. I would like to see someone take over the task of the Apple and C64 emulators. Look for the code on Compuserve, in ATARIPRO, in DL 16. On Genie, the ST Roundtable, file #8547. On Delphi, in the ST LOG Recent Arrivals library. The latest issue of Computer Shopper also talks about the emulator, but be aware that the piece was written before the drive cable was available. That's all until next month's bulletin. Hope to see you all in Toronto. - Darek Mihocka 310-D Bluevale St. N., Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA N2J 4G3 (519)-747-0386 evenings ST Xformer II registration is $20 (US or Canadian). The 8 bit drive cable is $25 US or $30 Canadian, plus $3 for postage, $5 less if you register. Money orders only, please. ZMAG Update ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a correction in Issue #128 of ZMagazine. #: 215908 S7/HOT News/Rumors 24-Oct-88 01:33:10 Sb: #215889-Zmagazine Fm: SYSOP*Don LeBow 76704,41 To: Ron Kovacs (ZMAG) 71777,2140 (X) Ron... I like the issue! It's the best example of what Zmag is all about. Broad support! Alas, in proofing, I noticed I made slip in the CIS UPLTYP file! The correct syntax using FILEFIX is EOL=ATARI RETURN. CR/LF=ASCII (control-m) (control-j) ... I'm sure most people using the program would pick that up, but I thought I should take the hit and confess to a slip o' fingers. Sorry! Keep up the good work. >>don PC Pursuit -More for Free- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- by Mr. Goodprobe (Keith Whitton) Reprinted from ZMagazine 1987 Archives Recently there has been an influx of information regarding PC Pursuit that has finally reached the Atari user. I wish to correct one common misconception I have seen time and time again on bulletin boards across this fine land of ours regarding this service, and then proceed to demonstrate how you can expand the areas PC Pursuit presently covers legally and at absolutely NO extra cost! Numerous messages I have seen, and even some out-dated text files which contain information on the money saving network called PC Pursuit lead the user to believe that there is in effect, a one hour time limit on phone calls made to the area code of your choice. This is at present absolutely inaccurate, for the only real time limit one has on this phenomenal service is the hours which are from 6p-7a on the weekdays, and 24 hours on Saturday, Sunday and several holidays. I, as well as many other Atari/PCPursuit users can attest we enjoy on the weekend seeing our timers that inform us of the length of our modem visits roll over the 10 hour marK...imagine if we were using a normal long distance service! And quite honestly, when you stop to think about it, the fact that the charge for this service is only $25 a month means that the young -hackers- that persist in using illegal codes and the like are not only committing a crime, but also lacking sense as this is a very small charge to be legal and avoid the severe penalties they could and will receive if they are ever caught. I would urge them to consider the MANY benefits of PC Pursuit, and they may in turn be surprised at how easy it is to convince their parents of the assets of belonging to such a network!!! Now, how a modem user can ever wear out 25 jam packed area codes I will never know, but how would you like to be able to add 3 more heavily populated area codes to your bulging list! Does the thought of 50 more Atari 8 and 16 bit bulletin boards tickle your fancy? Heres the scoop: 1. While in the 212 area code (NYC), you can access the 718 area code, which is right next door by dialing as follows: ATZ At the HELLO, I'M READY prompt type: D At the NUMBER? prompt type: 1 718 numbers If you are fortunate the bulletin board you are calling will not be busy and you will connect as usual. The reason you and I can do this is because of the vast amount of people living in the New York City vicinity, the phone company decided to break it into separate area codes to help with billing procedures. Not all 718 area code numbers are available through this method, but a very large portion are and stand awaiting your call! Another fine area code is the Washington, D.C area code which is 202. Another quirk allows you to be able to dial the 301 (Maryland) and 703 (Northern Virginia) areas from this access port. You need to do nothing differently than you are presently accustomed to in order to be able to dial the 301 and 703 area codes while connected to the 202 area code. Merely dial the BBS number of your choice as if you were calling the 202 area code itself, and many more fine bulletin boards will unfold before your awaiting eyes! And please, while you are on these systems, make it your practice to leave a message or two to help promote healthy discussions which are so vital to the thriving and in fact survival of these fine computer bulletin board systems! Enjoy! And don't stay up to late calling all these new boards! GEnie RTC Help ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Guidelines for Participating in Formal Real Time Conferences This short HELP file is intended to help you, the Atari 8-Bit RoundTable Member, to get the most out of the -formal- conferences that we have from time to time online. The formal conferences are held for three basic reasons: 1> To let the various online developers pass along information about their product(s) to you. 2> To let you ask the questions of the developers that you want to see answered. 3> To stimulate interest in the many new products being offered for the Atari 8-bit computer and for the computer in general. Many, if not most, of you will have attended one of our regular Thursday night -open- conferences. With all the people there, it is easy for important information to get lost. For a -formal- conference, that is eactly what we DON'T want to happen! To prevent this, and to prevent the developer from being buried under all the questions, we go to the -formal- format. In a formal RTC, there is a ROOM LEADER that has complete control of the room. The room is placed in a LISTEN ONLY mode. That is, you are not able to send messages that can be seen by the others in the room. After placing the room in LISTEN ONLY mode, the ROOM LEADER will start the conference by introducing the guest speaker. After the speaker has had a chance to make a few opening statements, the ROOM LEADER will ask for questions from the Members there. To ask a question, just use the command: /RAI to raise your hand. The ROOM LEADER will make a note of your hand being raised and will call on you in order received. PLEASE! If you have RAIsed your hand once and are waiting to be called on, DO NOT issue the command a second time! When you are called on, the ROOM LEADER will introduce you and you will be able to enter your question for all to see. Once your question has been answered, you will be returned to the LISTEN ONLY mode. Note that you may carry on a conversation -on the side- by using the: /SEN # command. See below for more details on the commands. In order to give as many Members as possible a chance to ask their questions, please don't ask more than 2 questions each time that you are called on. You may, of course, RAIse your hand again after your first questions have been answered and you have been placed back in LISTEN ONLY mode. At the end of the formal conference, the ROOM LEADER will open the room for open discussion. Note that the developer may or may not stick around for this free-for-all! A Few Useful Commands This is just a brief listing of the more useful commands for formal RTCs For a complete listing, go to the RTC and type: /HELP /RAI -- Raise your hand with a question. /SEN # -- Will send a private message to the Member with job number #. For example, if you type -/SEN 1 Hi!-, you would send the text -Hi!- to job number 1. See the /STA command for the job number. PLEASE! Do NOT send messages to the guest speaker as they have enough to do as is! /STA -- Will show you the GEnie Mail address, nick-name, and job number of each user in the RTC. /HEL -- Gets you HELP!! /BLA -- Forces GEnie to send you a blank line after each message from another person in the RTC. Makes the text MUCH easier to read! /USE -- The number of people in the RTC. /EXI -- Exits back to GEnie. A Few More Hints To make the RTC more readable and enjoyable for you, try this: Log on to GEnie with a terminal program that supports a -type ahead- buffer in HALF DUPLEX. When you enter the RTC area, set your terminal program to FULL DUPLEX and turn on the -type ahead- buffer. Now, when you type, it won't mess up your screen display! Remember to reset your duplex to HALF when you leave the RTC area! If you have -call waiting- on the telephone line that you use to call GEnie, remember to TURN IT OFF!! For tone telephone lines, dial -*70- before the number and for rotary phones, dial -1170- before the number. Note that not all phone companies have the ability to turn off the call waiting. Write your questions down! That makes it much easier for you to ask them when the time comes. Be sure to watch the SoftWare Libraries for the transcript of the RTC a few days later. Summary Just remember to follow these simple rules and you'll have a much more enjoyable and informative conference: 1> Use /RAI to ask a question. 2> Ask only two questions at a time. 3> Make your questions to the point. 4> DO NOT /SEN to the speaker! 5> Be polite. 6> Use /EXI to leave the RTC. 7> Use /HEL to get help. PRESS RELEASE ----------------------------------------------------------------------- October 21, 1988 Contact: Ron Schreiner (312) 520-8003 RONSAT Technologies Inc. 368 Lexington Drive. Buffalo Grove, IL. 60089 STonehenge--Atari ST Memory Expansion Alternative. A solid state disk drive for the Atari ST is now available as a kit from RONSAT Technologies Inc. The STonehenge kit, based on an -Application Specific Integrated Circuit- (ASIC), emulates a hard disk by interfacing the ST's DMA port with a block of DRAM. The STonehenge advantages over internal memory expansion include; ability to utilize lower cost 200 nano second DRAM parts; memory expansion in 256KB increments (8 DRAMs/bank); does not depend on the ST's power supply; it's external, you don't take your ST apart; data is preserved even though a ST power cycle. When the kit is fully assembled it provides up to 2 meg of very fast external storage. If you need more that 2 meg, the DMA pass thru feature can be utilized to dasiy chain more kits or mechanical hard drives. Software developers will find that STonehenge's speed and after crash data integrity make it a very attractive place to keep their development tools. Animators will enjoy STonehenge's ability to sequence image files at animation rates. The STonehenge kit priced at $169.95 includes; STonehenge ASIC Double sided PCB 20MHZ crystal DB-19 connector Documentation Software PGA socket for the ASIC The Documentation and Software can be ordered separately for $10.00 (refundable with future purchase). The builder of the kit must provide the DRAMs, a 5V 2A power supply, and a few miscellaneous components that are readily available from electronic suppliers. Additional support kits that provide all the components are also available. For more information or to order contact: RONSAT Technologies Inc. Voice: (312) 520-8003 Modem: (312) 520-7812 Orders placed by modem receive a 5% discount. Dial-in (312) 520-7812, hit carriage return until -Login: - is the prompt, then enter -info-. Next Week --------------------------------------------------------------------- Comdex Starts Survey Released Kovacs/Mariano in Conference ZMAG Returns to GEnie Atari in The Middle East AND MORE!! *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* Syndicate ZMagazine (C) 1988 American Publishing Enterprises, Inc. ALL Rights Reserved *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*