717 lines
31 KiB
Plaintext
717 lines
31 KiB
Plaintext
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*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
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SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE Issue #129 October 30, 1988
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*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
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Publisher/Editor: Ron Kovacs
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Post Office Box 74
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Middlesex, NJ 08846-0074
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Contents
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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(*) Editors Desk................Ron Kovacs
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(*) ZMAG Newswire........Ctsy Antic Online
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(*) Wordperfect Offer Extension......Antic
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(*) US Robotics Rebate Certificate
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(*) HOT News Shorts
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(*) ST Transformer Update....Darek Mihocka
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(*) ZMAG Update (Correction for #128)
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(*) PC Pursuit (More for Free)...K Whitton
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(*) GEnie RTC Help............Marty Albert
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(*) Ronstat Press Release
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Editors Desk
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Our deepist sincere thoughts to Neil Harris on the passing of his mother.
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We are awaiting proposed changes at GEnie and look forward to a return
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shortly.
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The ZMAG Survey will be released next week. If you haven't sent in your
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address, Please do so quickly. If you prefer, I will make the survey
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available as a file for downloading. Stay tuned for details.
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Happy Halloween! Remember to search the candy before you eat it!!
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ZMAG Newswire
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Ctsy Antic Online
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26-Sep-88 ATARI ZAPS PIRATES (From combined Wire reports)
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Atari corp said it raided several stores in New York City that were
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selling imitations of its copyrighted video game consoles, joysticks and
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cassettes.
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Michael Katz, president of Atari's Entertainment Electronics division,
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told Reuters the raids are part of the company's continuing effort to
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combat manufacturing and sales of products that imitate its popular video
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game product line. He did not know the extent of such sales in the New
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York area. -We're hoping that these nine stores were either the only or
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the majority (of stores selling the pirated products).-
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On September 17 and 19, Atari's representatives seized more than 700
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consoles and joysticks that strongly resembled Atari's 2600 line of
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videogame products, along with many imitation cassettes, at nine stores
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in New York City.
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Howard J. Schwartz, of New York law firm Davis and Gilbert, the company's
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attorneys, said the defendants have agreed to open their records to Atari,
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which will allow the company to pursue the distributors that supplied the
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imitations, and to destroy the seized material. He said they have also
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agreed to sell genuine Atari products. Atari's videogame consoles are
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manufactured in Taiwan.
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Earlier this year, Atari raided retailers in Los Angeles that were selling
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pirated versions of its videogame products. Katz said the company is
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likely to make further confiscations of imitation products based on
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information obtained from the records of the New York retailers.
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Later, Atari Corp. said it reached a settlement in U.S. District Court
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with New York City retailers that were selling counterfeit Atari 2600
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personal computers.
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On Sept. 16, Atari said it conducted an unannounced raid of six stores
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and confiscated more than $100,000 worth of Atari game consoles and
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related game equipment.
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Under the agreement reached today, the stores will purchase a like number
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of new systems from Atari, and become authorized Atari dealers, Atari
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said. The copies of the 2600 game consoles, which Atari said were made in
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Taiwan, will be destroyed, it said.
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NOTWITHSTANDING...
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Atari Corp expects sales of its video game products to continue to boom
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this year, despite intense competition from Nintendo Co. of Japan, the
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market leader.
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Michael V. Katz, president of Atari's Entertaiment Electronics Division,
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told Reuters that the company hopes its video game sales will double this
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year, compared with 1987 when they were -about 100 million dollars.-
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Katz said he could not comment further on Atari's financial outlook,
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although he said video games account for about 25 percent total annual
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sales.
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WordPerfect Offer Extension
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1988 REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
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WORDPERFECT EXTENDS ATARI USER GROUP BARGAIN DEADLINE
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WordPerfect Corporation announced September 29, 1988 that they are
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extending the deadline on their special discount to Atari user group
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members.
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The special offer allows user group members to purchase WordPerfect for
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the Atari ST for only $155, a saving of $174 off the list price of $329.
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Originally running only through the end of September, this promotion has
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now been extended through December 31, 1988 -- an added incentive to
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holiday buyers, according to WordPerfect Corp.'s Todd Ashman.
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User group members must show proof of Atari user group membership to be
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eligible for the special offer. All Atari WordPerfect orders qualifying
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for the special price must be accompanied by a WordPerfect Corp. user
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group purchase agreement, available from WordPerfect Corp.
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Interested groups can call (800) 321-456 or (801) 227-5800 to request the
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user group purchase agreement, which must then be submitted directly to:
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WPCorp Atari Orders
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315 N. State Street
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Orem, UT 84057
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For more information about the ST version of WordPerfect, or the user
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group promotion, call (801) 225-5000. (If you don't know of any users
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groups in your area, check the list of users groups in the Mailbox section
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of ANTIC ONLINE.)
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US Robotics Rebate Offer
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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(Ed. Do NOT modify this rebate offer.)
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* *
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* USRobotics Courier HST 9600 *
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* $50.00 REBATE CERTIFICATE *
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* *
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* *
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* This offer is valid towards any new customer who buys the *
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* HST modem upon the recommendation of a Sysop presently *
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* operating the Courier HST. This offer does not apply to *
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* Sysops who buy the HST directly from USRobotics, nor can *
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* it be used in conjunction with any other promotional *
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* efforts conducted by USRobotics. *
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* *
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* Users of this board may take advantage of this offer by *
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* downloading and printing the entirety of this certificate. *
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* Then, simply attach it to the warranty card of a Courier *
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* HST modem with proof of purchase and return it to *
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* USRobotics. The entire text of this rebate certificate *
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* must be included with the Courier HST warranty card. NO *
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* REQUESTS WILL BE PROCESSED WITHOUT THE INCLUSION OF THE *
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* PROPER PAPERWORK. *
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* *
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* USRobotics will send the customer identified on the *
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* warranty card a check for $50.00. This offer is open to *
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* commercial and institutional customers as well as *
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* individual endusers. *
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* *
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* Please allow four to six weeks for processing and mailing *
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* of rebate checks. *
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* *
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* *
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* BBS ID# 30001___ (must be included) *
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* *
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* *
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* Sysop Name_Keith Petersen__________ *
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* BBS Phone #_SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL_[26.0.0.74] *
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* *
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* *
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* USRobotics reserves the right to cancel this offer at any *
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* time, as well as refuse rebate requests sent in without *
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* proper documentation. *
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* *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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(((((((((( HOT NEWS ))))))))))) UPDATE
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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News Shorts
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Daisy Dot 3
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#: 216001 S5/Application pgms 26-Oct-88 20:44:29
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Sb: #Daisy-Dot 3 in works
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Fm: ROY GOLDMAN 72347,3705
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To: All
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I've got some good news: I've started Daisy-Dot 3! I'm working on the
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new font editor first -- this is the time to make suggestions. Any ideas
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for more editing commands? How about Koala Pad support? Let's hear ya!
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If you're wondering why a new font editor is even needed, there's a good
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reason (which of course I'll keep a surprise!)
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Release for DD3 is a long way off and I don't want to make any release
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predictions now. But I'll keep everyone updated!
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Roy Goldman
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New Access for Michigan Area
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Effective Nov. 8 in Lansing, Mich., the 110- to 1200-baud access number,
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517/487-2140, will replace 517/321-2388 and the 2400-baud access number,
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517/487-2182, will replace 517/321-3850.
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By using the CompuServe network, members save substantial communications
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surcharges levied by supplemental networks and receive higher quality
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service and quicker response time.
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8 Bit Extenders
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#: 216183 S6/DOS Related Q & A 30-Oct-88 00:39:04
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Sb: #216169-EXTENDERS
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Fm: Karel Chovancik 73707,716
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To: JOE PECORARO 76060,1437 (X)
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ALF - This file is actually a set of files compacted into one using a
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program called ALFcrunch. To turn this file back into its original
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format, you need AlfUnCrunch, or an UnArc'ing program that will handle the
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AlfCrunch format.
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ARC - Arc is the program where AlfCrunch originated. This is again a
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storage format where a set of files is compacted into one for easier
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transmission over the modem. You need UnArc, or SuperUnArc to -decompact-
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these files.
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DCM - This is a Diskcomm file. The Disk Communicator is yet another file
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to compact a disk of files, or a boot disk into one file for transmission
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over the modem. You need DiskComm to convert this file into its original
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format so you can run it.
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AMS - This is a music file. THe only way to play this music file is with
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an AMS (Advanced MusicSystem) player, or the actualy AMS program.
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Ron Kovacs/Ralph Mariano in Conference
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The Atari Forums will be sponsoring a national online teleconference on
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Wednesday, November 9, 1988 at 8:00 PM EST. Our guest speaker will be
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Ralph Mariano (-REX READE-) who is the the managing editor of the often
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controversial ST REPORT weekly online news magazine. Also joining -Rex-
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will be Ron Kovacs, publisher of ST REPORT.
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The ST REPORT Conference will be held in the Electronic Convention
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Center(tm) (GO CONVENTION). Please read ECC.TXT in LIBRARY 17 for
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detailed information on how to use the Convention Center facility. This
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is your opportunity to share your thoughts, opinions, and/or concerns
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with the management of ST REPORT. Please join us!
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Carina Update
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Captured from ZMAG NORTH (The Launch Pad)
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You can now become the game master of the incredible World of Zenobia,
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the most detailed online adventure ever to be seen on a home computer-
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based BBS!
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Zenobia comes complete and ready to use, consisting of over 16 program
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modules, dozens of support files, and complete online documentation.
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Zenobia is designed to be used with the Carina II bulletin board system
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and requires 300k of disk space as well as Basic XL or Basic XE to
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opperate. It prefers to sit on a RAMdisk, though it is perfectly happy
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on a Hard Drive, as well.
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Complete installation instructions, inside hints and tips, update and
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support info, and sysop documentation is included in an easy-to-use
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guide. Registered owners of Zenobia will be able to purchase new modules,
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updates, and modifications. Plans for future expansions include new
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fighting modules, more cities to explore, new interactive user
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competitions, and even a networked world that will allow Zenobia
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adventures consisting of citizens from across the nation!
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The 3-disk (6 sided) set of Zenobia costs $35.00 prepaid, including
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shipping costs and the sysop guide. All prepaid orders will be shipped
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on Novemember 25th. All orders received after this will cost $45.00 and
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will be shipped imediately upon arrival.
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The ONLY acceptable means of payment is with a MONEY ORDER.
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Send all orders to:
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Katt-Ware Productions
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P.O. BOX 1391
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Martinez, CA 94553
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Please include your name, phone number, and return address as well as your
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BBS name and phone number. Experience Zenobia on The West Coast Syndicate
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at (PCP node CAOAK) 415-825-2952.
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ST Transformer Update
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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by Darek Mihocka
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I know it's not the first of the month yet, but next week (Nov. 6) I'll
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be at the First Canadian Atari Users Convention in Toronto getting as
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many new registered Xformer users as possible. Anyone within driving
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distance of Toronto (3 hours east of Detroit, or 90 minutes north of
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Buffalo) is welcomed to attend. I'll be demoing the latest Xformer 2.2,
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with the 8 bit drive interface, and if time permits, I'll be giving a
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sneak preview of the Xformer 2.5 130XE emulator now in the works. 10am -
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6pm. The address is: Airport Hilton, 5875 Airport Rd., Toronto.
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Speaking of the 130XE emulator, it will be, as I said before, strictly an
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8 bit Atari emulator. Apple and C64 support has now been dropped due to
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lack of support from either company, and the extra space freed up will
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allow for the 130XE emulation. Also, ST Xformer Jr. will become a thing
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of the past, as this new version will run (I should say, _should_ run) on
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a 520ST when completed. It will still be GEM based, and on a 520ST it
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will only emulate a 65XE, due to the limited memory. Since final exams
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are coming up for me in December, I don't anticipate this one being
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finished until February. When it is, I'll be posting another bulletin.
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Registered users will be able to upgrade for about $5, while for the rest
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of you, it will still be the regular $20 shareware. It will of course,
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still support the drive cable and virtual disk drives.
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A few people have started calling about the Xformer BBS. Due to
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difficulties in getting straight answers from anyone at QMI about some
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problems I am having with the ST Talk Autopilot language, it seems that I
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will not be running the Xformer BBS, since I can't finish writing it.
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However, about a month ago, several sysops of various BBSs did contact me
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about setting up Xformer sections on their BBSs, and unfortunately at the
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time, I declined their requests. So far I do have one BBS planning to
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convert, and if the other sysops would contact me again, we can arrange
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something. I would like to have 4 BBSs, one in Canada, and 3 in the States
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(west coast, east coast, and south) which would provide Xformer-ready .SD
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and .DD files, as well as Xformer support. Hopefully I'll have some
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numbers by next month.
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Anyone who sent money for the drive interface cables may experience some
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delays. All orders received by the middle of October have been processed
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and the cables are on their way, and may have already arrived. Due to ill
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health earlier this month, and other delays, I was not able to start
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shipping them until 2 weeks ago.
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As I mentioned, next weekend I'll be in Toronto, with all my remaining
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cables and Xformer registered user kits. If I run out, new disks and
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manuals are no problem to make, but the cables are. Assuming UPS takes
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their usual 2 or 3 weeks to deliver my next shipment of parts, I won't
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have any new cables available until mid-November, so anyone who orders
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one after Nov. 6 (i.e. I receive your order after that date) will
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experience a small delay.
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Unfortunately, the cables are outselling the Xformer registrations by a
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large margin. I hope that this does not imply that ST users are just too
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cheap to pay for shareware. Rather, I'll assume that the sudden increase
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is due to the usefulness of the cable. If you buy a cable, please register
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too! Support other shareware as well. How many of you have paid for ARC
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Shell or DC Formatter or other shareware? I have!
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I have been asked whether or not the cables allow PC Ditto to use the 8
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bit drives. The answer, as far as I know, is NO. All 8 bit drives, like the
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810, 1050, Indus GT, Rana, Trak, etc. are single sided, and some of them
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are not even double density. Therefore you can't read a 360K IBM disk on
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a disk drive that only supports 90K or 180K of storage. The XF551, which
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I have, is double sided double density, but thanks the extremely useful
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XF551 manual, which will try to convince you that the XF551 is just a
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single sided 1050, I have not been able to find out whether or not the
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XF551 can read IBM disks. I have been trying to get an answer from Atari
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for weeks, and all I've been told so far is that they're looking into it.
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Arghhh!
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I have been benchmarking my new 130XE against the emulator, and can
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finally give a more exact figure of the emulator's speed. On the average,
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in Atari BASIC, text mode, the 6502 emulation runs at 41% the speed of a
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real 8 bit. This is for straight number crunching. Due to other factors,
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such as graphics mode and type of graphics being displayed, the _apparent_
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speed will vary from between 30% and 40%, on average. Some programs are
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slower, and some are actually full speed.
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If time permits during the development of Xformer 2.5, I will implement
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one of the speed enhancements I am planning for Xformer III, which will
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raise the speed of the emulator to 48% (or so the calculations show!).
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The next issue of ST LOG will have an article explaining the inner
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workings of ST Xformer II, updating the information they published about
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a year ago. I will post the source code to Xformer 2.1 this weekend, so
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anyone who is into self-inflicted pain, and has Megamax C or Laser C might
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be interested in it. I for now have dropped support for Apple and C64
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emulation, but the source code contains all the code one would need to
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improve it. I would like to see someone take over the task of the Apple
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and C64 emulators.
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Look for the code on Compuserve, in ATARIPRO, in DL 16. On Genie, the ST
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Roundtable, file #8547. On Delphi, in the ST LOG Recent Arrivals library.
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The latest issue of Computer Shopper also talks about the emulator, but be
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aware that the piece was written before the drive cable was available.
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That's all until next month's bulletin. Hope to see you all in Toronto.
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- Darek Mihocka
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310-D Bluevale St. N., Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA N2J 4G3
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(519)-747-0386 evenings
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ST Xformer II registration is $20 (US or Canadian).
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The 8 bit drive cable is $25 US or $30 Canadian, plus $3 for postage,
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$5 less if you register.
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Money orders only, please.
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ZMAG Update
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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The following is a correction in Issue #128 of ZMagazine.
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#: 215908 S7/HOT News/Rumors 24-Oct-88 01:33:10
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Sb: #215889-Zmagazine
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Fm: SYSOP*Don LeBow 76704,41
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To: Ron Kovacs (ZMAG) 71777,2140 (X)
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Ron...
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I like the issue! It's the best example of what Zmag is all about. Broad
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support!
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Alas, in proofing, I noticed I made slip in the CIS UPLTYP file! The
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correct syntax using FILEFIX is EOL=ATARI RETURN.
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CR/LF=ASCII (control-m) (control-j) ... I'm sure most people using the
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program would pick that up, but I thought I should take the hit and
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confess to a slip o' fingers. Sorry!
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Keep up the good work.
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>>don
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PC Pursuit -More for Free-
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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by Mr. Goodprobe (Keith Whitton)
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Reprinted from ZMagazine 1987 Archives
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Recently there has been an influx of information regarding PC Pursuit that
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has finally reached the Atari user. I wish to correct one common
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misconception I have seen time and time again on bulletin boards across
|
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this fine land of ours regarding this service, and then proceed to
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demonstrate how you can expand the areas PC Pursuit presently covers
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legally and at absolutely NO extra cost!
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Numerous messages I have seen, and even some out-dated text files which
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contain information on the money saving network called PC Pursuit lead the
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user to believe that there is in effect, a one hour time limit on phone
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calls made to the area code of your choice. This is at present absolutely
|
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inaccurate, for the only real time limit one has on this phenomenal
|
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service is the hours which are from 6p-7a on the weekdays, and 24 hours
|
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on Saturday, Sunday and several holidays.
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I, as well as many other Atari/PCPursuit users can attest we enjoy on the
|
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weekend seeing our timers that inform us of the length of our modem
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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<cr>
|
|
<control-e><cr>
|
|
|
|
At the HELLO, I'M READY prompt type:
|
|
|
|
D<cr>
|
|
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 <usually Craig, Darlah, or myself>
|
|
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. <Amodem 7.xx and Express! both allow this> 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 <return or enter> until -Login: - is the prompt, then
|
|
enter -info-<return>.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
|