675 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
675 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
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ZMAGAZINE APRIL
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HOT ATARI NEWS AND REVIEWS
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ISSUE 48
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_____________________________________
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April 20, 1987 Happy Easter/Passover
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_____________________________________
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Zmag Staff:
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Publisher/Editor in Chief: Ron Kovacs
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Managing Editor: Alan Kloza
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Special Correspondent: Steve Godun
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Columnist: Eric Plent
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Publisher: Syndicate Services
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Asst Publisher: Ken Kirchner
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_____________________________________
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This week in Zmagazine New Jersey
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<*> Atari vs. Commodore
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Lawsuit is Settled
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<*> ST Express--New Publication
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For ST Users
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<*> Electronic Arts Buys Out
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Batteries Included
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<*> DataTrieve Review
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<*> New CoinOps From Atari
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In The Arcades
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<*> Plent's Page
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----------------------------------
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Xx ZMAG ATARI NEWSWIRE
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Atari and Commodore Settle Lawsuit
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----------------------------------
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Atari, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA. and
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Commodore International Ltd., West
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Chester, PA, announced that they had
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settled all pending litigation between
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Atari and Commodore's subsidaries,
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Commodore-Amiga Corp. and Commodore
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Business Machines Inc.
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The companies would not comment beyond
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a joint statement that said that the
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suits had been -settled and
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discontinued on terms satisfactory to
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both sides.- A Commodore spokesperson
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said -Commodore is giving out no
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information whatsovever- about the
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lawsuit.
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Both firms said that a condition of
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the settlement agreement was that they
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not disclose or discuss details.
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Observers said they expected the
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settlement of the suit to relieve
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pressure on Commodore, which has been
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financially troubled during the last
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three quarters and has recently
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introduced new versions of the Amiga
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and a new MS-DOS based PC -clone-.
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The companies would not discuss
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whether Atari would receive payments
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from Commodore, but informed sources
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hinted this to be the case.
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The Amiga was at the center of the
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litigation between Commodore and
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Atari. Jack Tramiel, chairman and CEO
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of Atari and former President of
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Commodore, sued Commodore shortly
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after he purchased Atari from Warner
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Communications in 1984.
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That suit charged Amiga Inc. with
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breach of contract. Atari had
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negotiated a technology license
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agreement with Amiga, Inc. which
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developed the support and graphics
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chips for the Amiga Computer.
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Commodore, which acquired Amiga in
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late 1984, was later included in the
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lawsuit.
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Atari later sued Commodore, again
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alleging that the Amiga infringed on
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Atari patents.
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AUTODUEL INCOMPATIBILITY
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------------------------
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If you've got an ICD doubler installed
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in your 1050 or are using an INDUS
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drive, you'll want to be very cautious
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before purchasing ORIGIN SYSTEMS new
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AUTODUEL game. Basically all you get
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is an endless repeat of the title
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screen!
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Previous ORIGIN Systems products ran
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fine on these drives. They have
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apparently switched to a new
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copy-protection scheme. Unfortunately,
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the scheme has the effect of zapping a
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lot of honest users of the software.
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If you use an ICD Doubler or an INDUS,
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don't purchase AUTODUEL--at least not
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until they come out with a version to
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work on those drives.
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---------------------------------
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NEW ST PUBLICATION--ST EXPRESS
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---------------------------------
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Even if you're an ST owner you may not
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have heard of ST X-PRESS. Why?
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Because it's a fairly new magazine for
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the ST's. It's been in publication
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for only four months, but has already
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undergone some drastic
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transformations-- going from a dull
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black and white cover with spiral
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binding into glossy full color
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magnificence.
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Currently there are five language
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columns (Assembly, C, Forth, GFA
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Basic, and Pascal). There also is a
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MIDI column by Stefan Dastrom (a
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programmer at Hybrid Arts), review
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columns, an extensive ST BBS list, and
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a vast public domain library.
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ST Express is also available in disk
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version with all the source code and
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ready-to-run programs from the
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magazine. The disk version includes a
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few bonuses each month (last month -
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digitized photos of the Mega ST's and
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the Atari PC). If that's not enough
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there's also a compilation of all the
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ST related material from Zmagazine!
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Ask your local Atari dealer for
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ST-Express. If he doesn't carry it,
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he can call the publisher for a
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complimentary issue and stocking
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information.
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If you're interested in a mail
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subscription, you can call or write:
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Rich Decowski Editor of ST X-PRESS
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P.O. Box 2383 La Habra, CA 90632
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(213) 691-8000
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ST X-PRESS BBS (217) 877-9740
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------------------------------------
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Xx ZMAG COMPUTER NEWSWIRE
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....EA Acquires BI..................
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------------------------------------
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San Mateo, CA, April 13,
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1987--Electronic Arts announced today
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its acquisition of the assets of well-
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known software brand Batteries
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Included, a Canada-based publisher of
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creativity and productivity products
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for leading home computer systems.
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Under the terms of the agreement
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Electronic Arts will acquire most of
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the company's fixed assets,
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inventory, artist contracts and key
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trademarks and brand names. Trip
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Hawkins, president of Electronic Arts,
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indicated that as of May 4, 1987 all
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operations of Batteries Included will
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be consolidated into the San Mateo
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offices of Electronic Arts.
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-In December of 1986 Electronic Arts
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was divided into separate publishing
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and distribution groups. This
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division has allowed us to focus our
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attention on building new channels of
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distribution and maximizing our
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development of products in specific
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categories, including creativity and
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productivity,- explained Hawkins.
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-The acquisition of Batteries Included
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will significantly strengthen our
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product line in these categories.
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We're especially excited about the
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award winning PaperClip word
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processessing series, Degas, a design
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and entertainment graphic arts system,
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and Thunder, a spell checker and
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abbreviation expander.-
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Batteries Included has been highly
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recognized by critics in the computer
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software industry and has received
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several awards of excellence.
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PaperClip received the award for Best
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Buy of the Year from Computer Shopper
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and 1986 Best of the Year award from
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Commodore Magazine. Degas received
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the Critic's Choice Award from Family
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Computing Magazine and Thunder was
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selected as Editor's Choice/Best Buy
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of the Year from MacUser Magazine.
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-Batteries Included has always had an
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excellent reputation,- Hawkins
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explained. -We knew that their home
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productivity and Atari ST compatible
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software would be complementary to our
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own products, and that our sales force
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could increase their presence and
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sales results in the retail channel.-
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Hawkins noted that the acquisition
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evolved after the founders of
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Batteries Included indicated a
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preference to sell the company.
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The Batteries Included name will exist
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as a separate line of products within
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the creativity/productivity division
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of Electronic Arts. -Based on demand,
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we will take a number of existing
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quality products to market
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immediately,- said Hawkins. -And we
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are currently conducting work sessions
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with the artists from Batteries
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Included to complete products already
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under development. These products,
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supplemented with our own and those
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planned for the future, will establish
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a comprehensive line of high quality
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products for all leading home
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computers.-
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The transition of the Batteries
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Included operations to Electronic Arts
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will begin immediately. Hawkins
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explained that the Electronic Arts
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customer service department is already
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preparing itself to fulfill all
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requests for upgrades, warranty
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replacements and promotional offers
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from Batteries Included customers.
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-By May 4 our customer service
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department will be able to assist
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these consumers with all product
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related inquiries,- said Hawkins.
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-Electronic Arts is committed to
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supporting its customers, and we
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expect to afford Batteries Included
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customers better service than ever
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before.-
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Beginnning May 4, all inquiries
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regarding Batteries Included products
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may be directed to the Electronic Arts
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customer service department at (415)
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578-0316.
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------------------------------------
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29% OF HOME COMPUTERISTS HAVE MODEMS
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------------------------------------
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It's not the most cheerful assessment
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we've ever heard, but...
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Computer + Software News, a
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prestigious trade newspaper that
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covers the software industry, recently
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surveyed home computer users about
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what peripherals they have on their
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systems and found that only 29 percent
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have modems.
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Furthermore, only 11 percent of them
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said they plan to buy a modem in the
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near future.
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Dan Janal, a New York correspondent
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for CompuServe's Online Today
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electronic edition, says at least part
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of the problem for the depressed (and
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depressing) sales may be a lack of
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consumer understanding of modems.
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Carl Gritzmaker, president of
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modem-maker Migent, says, -It's a
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question of educating consumers and a
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question of the variety of sources of
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information available to consumers
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over the phone lines. The modem will
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become essential as consumers do more
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banking and paying bills by phone with
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new vertical market software programs.
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-One of the reasons there's a lack of
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penetration of modems is the
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disproportionate price between a modem
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and the PC system.-
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Maybe so. Certainly gives us something
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to reflect upon...
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----------------
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BUSINESS BRIEFS:
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----------------
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-- US Sprint Communications Co.
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will move control of its planned
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2,000-mile transcontinental fiber
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optic network to the Kansas City area
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from Atlanta. It will set up a
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telemarketing operation in Lenexa,
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Kan., creating 260 jobs this year.
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-- GTE Communications Systems
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Corp. and Fujitsu America Inc. will
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work together to develop voice and
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data business communications systems
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through a new company called Fujitsu
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GTE Business Systems Inc. Its product
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line in the beginning will include the
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Omni Series and the GTD-4600 digital
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PABXs and the SBCS and Starlog digital
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Hybrid KTS/PABX systems.
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-- Pacific Bell's -Project
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Victoria,- the experiment in multiple
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voice and data transmissions on a
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single line, is ready for its second
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round of tests, as soon as the FCC
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gives its go-ahead. Michael Eastwood,
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director of PacBell's new network
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applications, says that this time the
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system will be tried out in the
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-residential market,- including such
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things as meter reading, interactive
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TV, alarm services and electronic
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university and shopping services.
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-------------------------------------
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ZMAG PRODUCT REVIEW BOARD
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....DataRetrieve for the ST........
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-------------------------------------
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I just recently made what turned
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out to be a very wise
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purchase. Having wanted a filing
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system for research notes for
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some time, I finally invested in
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DataRetrieve by Abacus Software.
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My only experience with databases
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previous to this was on
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the Apple, and I must say, working
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with the ST and DataRetrieve is
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a far cry from that. For one
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thing, DataRetrieve's files can be
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quite large - up to 64k
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characters. For me that means I am
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able to set up files that
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will store long quotations.
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DataRetrieve saves these files
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on the disk dynamically, which I
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guess means that it does not
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save the empty spaces you do not use.
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The long and short of it is
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I can save the equivalent of over 250
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3x5 note cards filled with
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information, publisher, author,
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quotes, page number, etc. on
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a single 350k disk. And the best
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thing is that DataRetrieve is
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compatible with a ram disk (which it
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comes with) so that searching
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and file manipulation takes seconds.
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Besides all this, DataRetrieve has
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lots of bells and whistles:
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You can create your own masks on the
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screen so you actually enter
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the data in a nicely designed form,
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with 6 different fonts. More
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importantly, you can set up printer
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forms that allow you to print
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out reports in almost any form,
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including form letters,
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multicolumned reports, 3x5 note cards,
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roledex cards, and so on.
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All of this involves some very
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sophisticated logic. Thus,
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another plus is that DataRetrieve
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is entirely Gem and mouse-driven--
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to set up forms you just draw
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boxes (the commands are echoed on
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the keyboard). To flip
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through the files you simply click
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the mouse on the
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appropriate token. And it is all
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clearly and intuitively organized
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so that a novice (like me) can set up
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a filing system with little or
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no difficulty.
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But the best thing about DataRetrieve,
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the reason why I got it,
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is the price. It lists for $49,
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and you can get it
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mailorder for about $33.
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So if you are in the market for an
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inexpensive yet powerful
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database/filing system, check out
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Datatrieve!
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--Philip Pennie
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG PANORAMA
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...What's New in Coin-Ops............
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-------------------------------------
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By Steve Godun
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Zmag Special Correspondent
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Let's go on an imaginary trip to the
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local video arcade. WHAT?? You
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haven't been to an arcade in HOW
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LONG?? Well, hold on to your hats;
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several new HOT video games are
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waiting to steal your quarters...
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Our first stop is at Atari's latest
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coin-op titled -Rolling Thunder-. Just
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like previous Atari hits (-Gauntlet-,
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-Paperboy-, and -720-, for example),
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this one uses the power of an Atari ST
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for its graphics and speed. Full
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color animation, smooth right-to-left
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scrolling, and fast action make this
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the next hit from Atari.
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In the guise of a super spy-type
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person, your mission is to move
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through several levels of dangers
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while avoiding all bad deeds. On your
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side is your cunning, speed, agility,
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and an occasional visit to a weapons
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or ammo storehouse. Working against
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you is strength (it's not that hard to
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become weaker), numerous baddies, and
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several sharpshooting villans. And
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did I mention the little things like
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traps and hiding thugs? This baby is
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sure to snatch up a few bucks...
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On our next stop is a not-so-new (but
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also not-so-widespread) game called
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-Outrun-. In this game, you're
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driving a Ferrari (that's what it
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looks like) convertible in a race
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against time. Sound like a popular
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Atari racing game? It plays a lot
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like it. The graphics are quite
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stunning, especially the fast-moving
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scenery and the multiple car styles
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you pass (or pass you) such as the
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familiar Porsche and Volkswagen Beetle
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styles. You can even choose between
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three musical melodies played while
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you travel!
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But the real standout of -Outrun- is
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the reality element involved. Before
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I explain that, I should tell you that
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-Outrun- comes in two styles; the
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stand-up cabinet version (costing
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between .25 and .50 per game) and the
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sit-down full-car version (costing
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between .75 and $1 per game). When
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playing the stand-up version, you may
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occasionally be surprised to find the
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steering wheel SHAKING IN YOUR HANDS!
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This happens during a collision or
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running off the road. The designers
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of the game should be given extra
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points for that! The sit-down game is
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even better; The ENTIRE SEAT (mounted
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in a car body, of course) MOVES WITH
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YOUR STEERING! The whole thing is
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very realistic - all you need now is a
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fan blowing in your face. Collisions
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cause the car (with you in it) to
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shake violently. This is NOT a game
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for the weak-stomached.
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Our final stop (for today) is at
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-Contra-, Konami's newest entry in the
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coin-op world. Set as a freedom
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fighter-type person, you (and/or you
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and a friend - this can be played with
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two players at once) jump, flip,
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shoot, swim, and duck your way through
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a right-to-left scrolling screen while
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torching or blasting automated defense
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stations, weapon-bearing bad guys, and
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various traps and bombs. Hence, all
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hope is not lost! Along the way,
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you'll find helpful goodies (more
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powerful weapons) to increase your
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chance for survival. Among the better
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ones are a laser beam weapon, a flame
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thrower, and what I like to call the
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-scatter-shot cannon-. The first two
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are your standard variations of the
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common rifle, but the last one is
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really great. Fire it, and your
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shot(s) spin in a spiral pattern
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devastating everything in its path.
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More fun than a hand grenade without
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the safety pin...
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-Steve Godun
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PS: If you ever see the initials
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-TRS- or -KID- on an arcade
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hi-score screen, that's me.
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-----------------------------------
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Xx ZMAG COLUMNIST
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....Plent's Page...................
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-----------------------------------
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Eric Plent
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Zmag Columnist
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Mail order is probably the best way to
|
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get good prices on hardware and
|
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software. The down side to this is
|
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that there is sometimes a long wait.
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Not always, but sometimes.
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While I have not used mail order that
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often, I know that most mail order
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software companies pride themselves on
|
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quick service. This was not the case
|
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with Carina Software Systems. I placed
|
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an order for their BBS system around
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the middle of Feburary. Three weeks
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later I still didn't have the software
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in hand.
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I called the voice number printed in
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the ad, but could never get an answer
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no matter what time I called. I
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finally gave up on it. I found the
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number for the Carina BBS and gave it
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a call. Guess what the first thing I
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saw was? -Please do NOT use this BBS
|
|
to ask questions about orders. Use the
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|
voice number for all ordering
|
|
questions-. Helpful, 'eh?
|
|
|
|
I dropped them a Feedback letter
|
|
asking where my order was. Two days
|
|
later I had the software (which was
|
|
postmarked the day I called the BBS).
|
|
|
|
The whole point here is don't be
|
|
afraid to call mail order places about
|
|
orders. I know some people would have
|
|
waited longer, but I am not the type
|
|
that likes to wait for anything longer
|
|
than I have to.
|
|
|
|
I am not putting Carina Software
|
|
Systems down. They seem to be a very
|
|
good outfit, and I like their software
|
|
very much, but I, as I said, hate to
|
|
wait.
|
|
|
|
Trenton Computer Festival 1987
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|
-------------------------------
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|
|
|
WOW!! My head is still spinning from
|
|
this show! I know many of you have
|
|
probably been there, and have had
|
|
mixed feelings about it, but for me it
|
|
was great! This was my first time
|
|
there, and I really didn't know what
|
|
to expect. I had heard stories about
|
|
it from friends--stories about great
|
|
deals on hardware and software for all
|
|
types of computers. It's TRUE!!
|
|
|
|
Ok...rather than let my emotions get
|
|
the best of me, let me report on some
|
|
of the things I saw at this year's
|
|
show.
|
|
|
|
Spread in buildings all over the
|
|
Trenton State campus were workshops
|
|
and demos of some the following:
|
|
|
|
Computer User Group Displays
|
|
Packet Radio
|
|
Non-Commercial Exhibits
|
|
Commercial Exhibits
|
|
Hands-on workshops
|
|
The GEnie Information Service
|
|
The CompuServe Information Service
|
|
BYTE Magazine's BIX Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
And then there was the flea market.
|
|
This is the place where all the REAL
|
|
deals are. For example, at one table
|
|
there were 30 Megabyte hard drives
|
|
(complete w/controller and pwsupply)
|
|
going for $389. I kicked myself for
|
|
not having the money right there. Ah
|
|
well..I didn't really want a hard
|
|
drive anyway, did I?
|
|
|
|
Going up and down the rows of tables I
|
|
saw whole computer systems for $100.
|
|
Keyboards for $10, CB radios (which I
|
|
bought) for $10, chips everywhere (I
|
|
could have bought a 68000
|
|
microprocessor for $1) and computer
|
|
books on every subject imaginable.
|
|
Most vendors in the fleamarket area
|
|
were willing to deal and the best buys
|
|
came late in the day as dealers
|
|
dropped prices rather than take unsold
|
|
merchandise home with them.
|
|
|
|
Admission was $7. for adults, and $3
|
|
for students. I found it well worth
|
|
the price and urge you to attend next
|
|
year's festival.
|
|
|
|
--Eric Plent
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------
|
|
Zmagazine #48 April 20, 1987
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|
Please Contribute..................
|
|
-----------------------------------
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