1090 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
1090 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
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Zmagazine February 23, 1987
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Issue 40
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-----------------------------------
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Zmag Staff:
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Publisher/Editor in Chief:Ron Kovacs
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Editor/Coordinator:Alan Kloza
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-----------------------------------
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ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
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*** C.H.A.O.S. ***
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Capitol Hill Atari Owner's Society
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Lansing, Michigan
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Call Their BBS at:
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(517) 371-1106
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____________________________________
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This Week in Zmag......
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<*> ATARI CORP. POSTS EARNINGS--
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1986 A PROFITABLE YEAR
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<*> EXPRESS! STATUS REPORT--
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NEW VERSIONS FORTHCOMING
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<*> LEDBETTER RESIGNS AS
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SIG*ATARI SYSOP
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<*> CHICAGO ZMAG EXCERPTS--
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI MAGS
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<*> GAMES COMPUTERS PLAY NOW
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PLAYING WITH THE ST'S
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<*> FIRM ACCUSED OF PIRATING
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SHAREWARE PROGRAMS
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<*> ADDING A HARD DRIVE TO YOUR
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ATARI 8-BIT--STEP BY STEP
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All this and more in this weeks
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edition of Zmagazine.....
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG NEWSFILE--ATARI NEWS
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....Atari Corp. Posts Earnings......
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_____________________________________
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FEB 20,1987
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(ATARI) (ATC) Atari Corp.
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Reports 1986 sales up 82 percent.
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Net income up $59 million
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SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BW)--Atari Corp.
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reported Friday record results of
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operations for the year ending
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Dec. 31, 1986.
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Sales for the fourth quarter were
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$92,667,000 vs. $65,350,000 for the
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prior year, an increase of 41.8
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percent. Income before extraordinary
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credit for the fourth quarter was
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$11,950,000. Net income was
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$22,997,000, or 87 cents per share,
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vs. $14,899,000, or 64 cents per
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share for 1985.
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Sales for the year ending Dec. 31,
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1986, were $258,131,000 vs.
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$141,987,000 for 1985, an increase of
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81.8 percent. Income before
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extraordinary credit for 1986 was
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$25,050,000 vs. a loss of $14,314,000
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for 1985.
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Net income for 1986 was $44,516,000.
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Net income per share was $1.89 in
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1986 vs. a loss of 62 cents in 1985.
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-Our strong performance in 1986 is
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the result of growing consumer
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awareness of the value of the ST
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personal computers and a resurgence
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in demand for video game systems,-
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said Sam Tramiel, president.
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The ST is steadily gaining market
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share in the United States and is
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already one of the largest selling
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personal computers in Europe. Sales
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of video game systems continued to be
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strong, with the company enjoying one
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of its best Christmas seasons for
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video game sales in recent years.
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Tramiel said the introduction of
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advanced computer and video game
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products will drive the company's
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growth in 1987. Atari announced
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important new products in January,
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including an IBM PC clone that will
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sell for less than $500; more
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powerful multi-megabyte versions of
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its ST computer line and a laser
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printer for desktop publishing; and
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the powerful XE video game system.
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-We're operating from a position of
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strength now,- Tramiel said. -We are
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virtually debt free and have a solid
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equity base on which to build the
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company's future.-
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Atari Corp. is one of the largest
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manufacturers and marketers of
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personal computers and video game
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systems in the world. Atari Corp. is
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located at 1196 Borregas Ave.,
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Sunnyvale, Calif. 94086. Telephone:
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408/745-2000.
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CONTACT: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale
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Greg Pratt, 408/745-2349
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or
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Amidei and Co., San Francisco
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Gary Frank or Hunter Gooch,
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415/788-1333
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG NEWSFILE--8-BIT NEWS
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....Express! Status Report
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_____________________________________
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[The Terminal Programs]
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1030 Express-Currently at Version 2.1
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850 Express-Currently at Version 3.0
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MPP Express-Currently at Version 1.0
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The scheduled release of 3.0 for
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the 1030 and MPP has been delayed.
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Probably won't be released till
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summer at the earliest.
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[The BBS Programs]
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1030 Express-Currently at Version 2.0
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850 Express-Currently at Version 1.0
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ST Express-Currently in Beta Test
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The ST version of BBS Express! is
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currently running in beta test. Call
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the Midnight Express BBS at (804)
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379-4156 and at elf Express (219)
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233-5777 to check it out for
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yourself.
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We are currently recording all
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suggestions for additional features
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for the 1030 and 850 versions of BBS
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Express!. We are also looking into
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ways to incorporate some of these
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suggestions. At this time and until
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a solution to the memory limitation
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can be worked out, we do not have any
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scheduled release dates for upgrades
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to the 1030 and 850 versions.
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As the status of the Express! series
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of programs change, we will update
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the status here, so you can get the
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inside scoop here instead of the
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'Rumor Mill'.
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If you currently own the 1030/XM301
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version of BBS Express! and would
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like to upgrade to the 850-compatible
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version, send your original disk
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(again?!?), $14.95, plus $2 to cover
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shipping and handling (total $16.95)
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to us. Please include a note saying
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that you are upgrading to the 850
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version of the BBS.
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The 850-compatible version of BBS
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Express! is now shipping! To run the
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850 version, you must have an 850
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interface (or compatible [P:R:]) and
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your modem MUST be able to hang up
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with the DTR lead.
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Watch for more Express updates and
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status reports as they become
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available.
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_____________________________________
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Xx..Ledbetter Leaves SIG*ATARI......
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_____________________________________
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**********************
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From: Keith Ledbetter
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To: SIG*ATARI Members
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**********************
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Effective Saturday, 2/14/87, I am
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resigning as a SYSOP on SIG*Atari. I
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have accepted a new job that requires
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relocation, and I feel that the
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requirements of the job will no
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longer leave me the time needed to
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hold a SYSOP title here.
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I plan on staying active on
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Compu-Serve as time permits, and can
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be reached under my non-SYSOP ID of
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72457,3442.
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I would like to thank everyone on
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Compu-Serve for the enjoyment that I
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have gotten out of this job. And, a
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big thanks to the other SYSOPs of
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SIG*Atari. I have greatly enjoyed my
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time here, and look forward to
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continuing to be a part of the fine
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SIG*Atari network.
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Keith Ledbetter
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE--CHICAGO ZMAG
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...Excerpts From The 2-10-87 Issue..
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_____________________________________
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Bruce Kennedy (the originator of
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Zmag in Chicago) is now at work on a
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local Rhode Island edition in
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conjunction with RIACE (Rhode Island
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ACE). This will bring the number of
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local Zmag editions up to 3 (that I
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know of)-- Chicago, New Jersey, and
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Rhode Island.
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If you know of any others, drop me a
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line. If you'd like to write to
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Bruce, send it to:
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Bruce Kennedy
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310 Spring Valley Drive
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E. Greenwich RI 02818-1912
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***********************************
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* Mag-Bytes *
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* Atari Points of interest from *
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* Antic and Compute *
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***********************************
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February Antic:
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If you're worried about 8-bit
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support, one look at Datasoft shows
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that there are still companies who
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are still interested in supporting
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our machines. They have 4 new
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programs out, with 6 more on the way.
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Present titles include 221B Baker
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Street, Alternate Reality (The
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Dungeon), Theatre Europe, and Mind
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Pursuit.
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The six new ones are Video Title
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Shop, Mercenary:The 2nd City,
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Tobruk, Bismark, Swords and Sorcery,
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Saracen, and Black Magic.
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If you're interested in using the
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extra memory of the 130xe, Bill
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Wilkinson (normally seen in Compute)
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has an informative article on how to
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do it.
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What goes on at the Atari Corp BBS? A
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great deal of work to provide us
|
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users with a direct-link to Atari.
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Check out the article to see how they
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do it and why.
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February 28th is the deadline for the
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Batteries Included Buy one get One
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free offer. Purchase any BI product
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and choose between Home-Pak and
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B-Graph on the 8-bit or Timelink and
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I*S Talk on the ST. The coupon and
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details are on page 65.
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March Antic
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First off, there are some impressive
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new changes to Antic Online.
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1. You will be able to d/l Antic
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programs, and as they're replaced
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they'll be placed in the Sig*Atari
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file section.
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2. Vidtex Pictures will be in Antic
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Online, allowing you to see
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pictures that accompany the story.
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3. You can subscribe to any Antic
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publications online and be billed
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for them later.
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The STEREO-TEK 3-D glasses are now
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available for $149.95. The first 3-D
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titles are Stereo-CAD 3-D 2.0,Stereo
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Cybermate, Stereo Ray Tracing, LCS
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Wanderer, and Stereo Maps and Legends
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3.0.
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QMI's New Deskcart! gives you 14
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powerful desk accessories for the ST
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on a cartridge that doesn't use up
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memory. It also has a built-in
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clock device. The 14 accessories
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include: Terminal program with u/l
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and d/l, Keyboard Macros for any
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program use, Ramdisk, Print
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Spooler, Screen Dump, Memory Test,
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and Control Panel with load and save
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options. The cartridge goes for
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around $70.
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Compute March
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First off, there's 2 demo disk offers
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that ST owners can take advantage of.
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For $2.75 Epyx will send you a demo
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version of their new Sub Battle game.
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This is the first program in their
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Masters Collection. The coupon is on
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page 1.
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Activision will send you a demo of
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their strategy game Shanghai for
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$3.00. This demo contains a sample
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puzzle. Send your check or money
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order to:
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Activision,Inc.
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P.O. Box 7287
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Mountain View,CA 94039
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Commodore has just released their new
|
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Amiga 2000. It costs $1500.
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Features include 1 megabyte of
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memory, standard printer and modem
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ports, operating system in Rom,
|
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built in clock, and card slots. I
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wonder where they got the ideas for
|
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some of those features? Too bad
|
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that the MegaST 1 will have the same
|
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features for $500 less.
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG NEWSFILE--ST NEWS
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...GCP Expands Horizons...
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_____________________________________
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Finally! The long awaited ST version
|
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of GCP is now available. You ST
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owners no longer have to feel short
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changed because you can't access GCP.
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We are happy to welcome you back and
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we have much to offer.
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Lords of Space has been released,
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revised, and is about to be expanded
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further, online rates have been
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lowered, and upload time is now FREE!
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The ST software is GEM-based and runs
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in low or medium resolution (color
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system required), so you can have
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your desk accessories available
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online.
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The entire system fits on a single
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disk, so you won't have to shuffle
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disks anymore. This disk combines
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the Boot, City, and Lords of Space
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disks of the 8-bit version (sorry,
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CyberWorld and BioWar are not
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available for the ST).
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As you would expect, the ST version
|
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is much faster than the 8-bit
|
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version, and the Lords of Space
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graphics are stunning!
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The ST version is posted as a
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download in the ST SIG on GCP's new
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text service (see below). Since text
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service does not require special
|
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software, you can logon with your
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favorite terminal program and just
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download the program from the ST SIG.
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Detailed instructions on how to do
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this are posted in the ST SIG.
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If you do not wish to download the
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software, you can order the software
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from GCP for only $9.95. This
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includes the disk, shipping, and
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$5.40 worth of online time. You may
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also order the software through the
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GCP Office by leaving your name,
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address, and MasterCard or Visa
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number.
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GCP is no longer just the most
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advanced graphics online service. It
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is now the least expensive text
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service. With the recent
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introduction of a new text-only
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service, GCP introduces a truly
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affordable system.
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The text service offers a variety
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of SIGs. They all offer conferences
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(message bases) and download
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libraries where you can find the best
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in public domain software. Since
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uploading is free, the libraries are
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expected to grow faster than ever.
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Since GCP is now also a text service,
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you can logon without the special GCP
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software. Boot your favorite terminal
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program, and you're off!
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If you have any questions, you can
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leave a note in the GCP SIG, or call
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GCP at (717)848-2660.
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GCP has reduced its online rates to
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the following:
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[TEXT SERVICE ONLY]
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BUDGET TIME..............$2.95/Hour
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(2am-7am Weekdays)
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(2am-10am Weekends)
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STANDARD TIME............$4.50/Hour
|
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(6pm-2am Weekdays)
|
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(10am-2am Weekends)
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PRIME TIME..............$15.00/Hour
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(7am-6pm Weekdays)
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For graphics service (standard GCP
|
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service), add .90/Hour to text rates.
|
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All times above are LOCAL times.
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Rates are the same for 300 and 1200
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baud access.
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Lords of Space (LOS)is expanding and
|
|
improving! GCP has been collecting
|
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comments and suggestions that the LOS
|
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players have made over the past few
|
|
months and are now working on
|
|
dramatic new features for Lords of
|
|
Space.
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|
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These new features include faster
|
|
colonization, improved team activity,
|
|
more effective planetary defenses,
|
|
and expanded fleet rules. Full
|
|
details of the proposed changes are
|
|
available online in the new text
|
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service in the GCP SIG and in the
|
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LOS bulletin board in your company's
|
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station. User comments are welcome,
|
|
so get your opinions to GCP and you
|
|
may see your suggestions
|
|
incorporated into the game!
|
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|
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Games Computers Play, Inc.
|
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112 East Market Street
|
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York, PA 17401
|
|
(717)848-2660
|
|
|
|
_____________________________________
|
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ZMAG GENERAL NEWSFILE
|
|
....Computer With A Sniffer.........
|
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_____________________________________
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|
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You might say Dr. Michael Baudry has
|
|
a real nose for computers.
|
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|
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Working with a team of experts, the
|
|
University of California computer
|
|
scientist has invented a computer
|
|
that can smell.
|
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|
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The computer can recognize more than
|
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20 odors by analyzing their chemical
|
|
makeup.
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|
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Here's how it works:Researchers feed
|
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the computer an odor in the form of
|
|
it's chemical components and the
|
|
computer matches it by sorting
|
|
through it's memory bank.
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|
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Why make a computer with a sniffer?
|
|
|
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Baudry says programming a computer
|
|
with the capability of smell is the
|
|
first step in creating computers that
|
|
work like the human brain.
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|
|
Other applications of such a
|
|
brainlike computer system include
|
|
voice recognition, speedy information
|
|
retrieval and automatic data sorting.
|
|
|
|
Source: Copley Radio Network
|
|
Submitted by: Dave Brehm
|
|
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx Money And Banking Software
|
|
_____________________________________
|
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|
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COMPUTER PROGRAM TELLS STUDENTS
|
|
ABOUT MONEY -
|
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|
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ELKHART, IN - A special computer
|
|
software program known as -Money and
|
|
Banking is being made available by
|
|
Midwest Commerce Banking Company.
|
|
|
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The program, developed by Data Trek
|
|
of Encinitas, Calif., is used in
|
|
twelve states and allows students to
|
|
learn the fundamentals of credit,
|
|
savings, checking and budgeting.
|
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|
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Software for IBM and Apple is
|
|
available. Teachers can duplicate
|
|
this -freeware- as well as the
|
|
accompanying Teachers Guide in
|
|
unlimited quantities.
|
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|
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Money and Banking comprises in-depth
|
|
tutorials on credit, savings and
|
|
checking, plus a simulation excercise
|
|
that allows students to develop a
|
|
savings plan. The program was
|
|
recently distributed to high schools
|
|
in Elkhart County, Indiana by Midwest
|
|
Commerce Banking Company and it's
|
|
parent Company NBD Bancorp Inc.
|
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|
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Through color graphics and
|
|
computer-generated sound, students
|
|
make decisions, manipulate variables
|
|
and solve problems. Feedback is
|
|
immediate, the program's providers
|
|
said.
|
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|
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-Money and Banking- is suitable for
|
|
use in business education, social
|
|
studies or home economics curriculum.
|
|
If you're interested in the program,
|
|
I suppose you could check with your
|
|
local back or with Data Trek.
|
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|
|
Source: South Bend Tribune
|
|
Submitted by: D. Brehm
|
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|
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____________________________________
|
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Xx Pirating 'Shareware'
|
|
____________________________________
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|
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FIRM ACCUSED OF PIRACY
|
|
(Feb. 19)
|
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|
|
Jim Weisz, author of the Ramtest
|
|
shareware package, feels that some
|
|
commercial firms may be taking
|
|
advantage of shareware authors.
|
|
|
|
Weisz released Ramtest about two
|
|
years ago but recently began
|
|
receiving calls from users who had
|
|
no documentation, and had purchased
|
|
their copies from commercial outlets.
|
|
|
|
Further investigation led to two
|
|
mail-order firms who were copying the
|
|
software and selling it at what Weisz
|
|
considered to be an illegally
|
|
inflated price.
|
|
|
|
One of the firms was convinced by
|
|
Weisz's attorney to desist from
|
|
selling the program. However, the
|
|
second firm was not so accommodating.
|
|
Weisz says that USA Electronics has
|
|
neither responded to threatened legal
|
|
action nor stopped shipping Ramtest.
|
|
In addition, USA Electronics is
|
|
accused of supplying pirate copies of
|
|
IBM's PC-DOS with the shareware.
|
|
|
|
Understandably, Weisz feels strongly
|
|
about firms that appropriate the work
|
|
of software authors. He also points
|
|
out that commercial copiers charge
|
|
users 2-3 times the suggested
|
|
registration price of shareware. And
|
|
too often, users are supplied with an
|
|
outdated and unsupported version of
|
|
the shareware.
|
|
|
|
Weisz's comments were blunt:
|
|
|
|
-Places like USA Electronics give the
|
|
entire industry a bad name with their
|
|
blatant disregard for both the law
|
|
and the customer. [Users should]
|
|
take a firm stance against this sort
|
|
of piracy. Perhaps public pressure
|
|
can accomplish what asking nicely
|
|
couldn't.-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
____________________________________
|
|
Xx ZMAG PANORAMA
|
|
....Hard Disks For The 8-Bits.......
|
|
____________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is the story of how one user
|
|
achieved the 8-bit Atari owner's
|
|
dream--upgrading his floppy disk
|
|
system to 1/4 meg RAM and a 10
|
|
megabyte hard disk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
It all began when I heard the rumors
|
|
about a device called MIO promised
|
|
from a little cottage industry
|
|
company called ICD in Rockford, Ill.
|
|
The specs for the MIO looked
|
|
impressive enough; RS-232 Serial
|
|
interface, parallel interface, built
|
|
in print spooler, additional memory
|
|
for RAMdisk in 256K or 1mb flavors,
|
|
resident configuration program in ROM
|
|
and communication along the long-
|
|
neglected Atari parallel buss.
|
|
|
|
What really captured my imagination,
|
|
was the promise of a SCSI/SASI
|
|
interface!
|
|
|
|
The original impression that I got
|
|
was that you could hook up a Hard
|
|
Drive right to the MIO and be in
|
|
business. Not quite! Admittedly, ICD
|
|
had done most of the difficult stuff
|
|
inside the MIO, but there are
|
|
several important steps to follow
|
|
before getting your HD online.
|
|
|
|
Before I go on, let me say a word
|
|
about a subject that people have
|
|
given me a rough time about for quite
|
|
some time. Yes, I confess, (just like
|
|
the Kellogg Frosted Flake
|
|
commercials) I am a SpartaDOS user,
|
|
and I love it! A lot of people have
|
|
said to me, -how can you USE
|
|
SpartaDOS, there are so many commands
|
|
to learn, and there is no
|
|
prompting!-.
|
|
|
|
Since I use MS-DOS based systems so
|
|
heavily at work, the similar commands
|
|
in SpartaDOS are welcome indeed.
|
|
For those of you who don't feel good
|
|
without a menu, SpartaDOS 3.2 has a
|
|
MENU command file built in that
|
|
looks similar enough to good old
|
|
Atari DOS 2.x to get most people up
|
|
to speed.
|
|
Programmers and people who keep big
|
|
software libraries will appreciate
|
|
the Time/Date stamping of each file
|
|
too. When all is said and done,
|
|
SpartaDOS brings your Atari into the
|
|
-Big Time,- but still keeps full DOS
|
|
2.x compatibility.
|
|
|
|
Back to the hard drive. What
|
|
they really don't explain very
|
|
clearly is a minimum parts list for
|
|
a successful HD installation on an
|
|
8-bit Atari. The following list
|
|
gives you an idea of how much a
|
|
hard drive and its associated
|
|
cables and interfaces will set
|
|
you back:
|
|
|
|
ICD MIO 256K model $199.00
|
|
Adaptec 4000a Controller 135.00
|
|
(if you can find one)
|
|
Controller to MIO Cable 14.95
|
|
Controller to HD Cable 12.95
|
|
Power Supply (HD & Cont.) 40.00
|
|
Case For PS, HD, Cont (opt.) 30.00
|
|
Hard Disk (10mb) 250.00
|
|
|
|
Now Put on Your Peril-Sensitve
|
|
Sunglasses- The answer is: $681.90!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
I guess that the only good news on
|
|
this price chart is that adding
|
|
another HD Unit will only cost you
|
|
the drive itself as the controller
|
|
will support 2 HD units and
|
|
the MIO will support 2 controllers.
|
|
According to ICD, a single 8-bit
|
|
Atari now has a practical maximum
|
|
storage size of just a shade under
|
|
100 million bytes.
|
|
|
|
Now that we have the cost factor
|
|
out of the way, if you are still with
|
|
us, let's go through the steps needed
|
|
to install a HD on an 800XL (XE's
|
|
require an additonal $20 adapter for
|
|
the ECI).
|
|
|
|
Hooking up the MIO to your Atari is
|
|
easy, just take a screwdriver and pop
|
|
the cover off of the parallel buss
|
|
cover plate on the back. This done,
|
|
carefully slip the short ribbon
|
|
cable on the front of the MIO into
|
|
the buss opening and onto the
|
|
edge connector. It is a perfect fit.
|
|
You should have no problem doing it
|
|
right the first time. Next, plug in
|
|
the MIO power supply (actually the
|
|
same as an 850 p/s or a Disk Drive
|
|
p/s). The MIO installation part is
|
|
now done unless you have serial or
|
|
parallel devices to connect.
|
|
|
|
The first stumbling block that I ran
|
|
into was finding a 50-conductor SCSI
|
|
cable to connect the MIO to the
|
|
Adaptec Controller. I looked around
|
|
the area a bit, and even asked some
|
|
computer repair shops that I do
|
|
business with, but had no luck. I
|
|
finally gave up and bought one from
|
|
ICD directly. They sent me a cable
|
|
that was about 50 times longer than I
|
|
really needed, so if you are going to
|
|
install one sometime soon, let me
|
|
know; since I have a LOT of cable
|
|
left over after I shortened it to a
|
|
more manageable length (two feet).
|
|
|
|
If you buy a MIO with the intent of
|
|
hooking up a HD to it, save yourself
|
|
some hassle and buy all of the cables
|
|
that you need at the same time, their
|
|
prices at ICD aren't too bad.
|
|
|
|
Once you have the cable in your paw,
|
|
you need to get a flat file and take
|
|
about 1/16- off of the ends of the
|
|
cable clamp that will go into the
|
|
MIO. Maybe it was the cable that I
|
|
had, but it was just barely too wide
|
|
to slip into the slot on the right
|
|
side of the MIO. Make sure that the
|
|
colored stripe on the cable points
|
|
toward the REAR of the MIO as this
|
|
identifies pin#1.
|
|
|
|
This is an ongoing problem with
|
|
connecting cables in this
|
|
installation. Most ribbon cables
|
|
are -keyed- so that you can't put
|
|
them on wrong. ALL of the supplied
|
|
cables and hardware are NOT KEYED, so
|
|
it's easy to put them on wrong and
|
|
go nuts wondering why things don't
|
|
work right.
|
|
|
|
The next task is to connect the SCSI
|
|
cable to the Adaptec controller.
|
|
Before we do that, I might suggest
|
|
that you make a modification to your
|
|
controller board that I did.
|
|
|
|
Place the controller board on a flat
|
|
surface with the -select- LED in the
|
|
upper right-hand corner (away from
|
|
you). The Drive control edge card
|
|
pins can be seen on the lower left
|
|
side next to the power jack. The
|
|
drive control connector is marked
|
|
-J2- in white letters on the PCB.
|
|
With GREAT CARE, take a fine-tooth
|
|
hacksaw and CAREFULLY cut a notch in
|
|
the PCB between pins 2 and 3 of J2.
|
|
This will -key- J2 so that you can
|
|
use standard cables that are keyed on
|
|
the pin 1 end. The reason that I did
|
|
this is because I was making my own
|
|
cables out of junk cables and
|
|
had only keyed female edge
|
|
connectors. If you buy ICD's cables
|
|
YOU DO NOT have to do this.
|
|
|
|
That done, hook the SCSI cable from
|
|
the MIO to the 50 pin connector on
|
|
the top right side of the controller
|
|
(next to the red LED). BE SURE to
|
|
have the controller on a flat surface
|
|
so that you don't screw up the PCB
|
|
traces when plugging in cables! Make
|
|
sure that the colored stripe on the
|
|
cable points toward the LED or things
|
|
won't work right.
|
|
|
|
Now is a good time to hook up the
|
|
data line cable, it should be a 20
|
|
pin ribbon cable. Plug it into the
|
|
plug on the lower right side. This
|
|
plug is marked -J0- and has an
|
|
identical plug right next to it, the
|
|
second plug would be used if you were
|
|
hooking up 2 disk drives to one
|
|
controller. Make sure that the
|
|
colored stripe on the cable points to
|
|
the LEFT. I am using a Seagate ST-412
|
|
MFM Disk drive, so I did not want any
|
|
special options enabled on the board.
|
|
|
|
Make sure that there are no jumpers
|
|
between the jumper blocks (marked J5)
|
|
in the middle part of the board (as
|
|
they come from ICD they are set up
|
|
with no jumpers). There is only one
|
|
other jumper set to worry about, It
|
|
is not identified on the PCB, but is
|
|
in plain sight just above the plug
|
|
marked -J1-. Most drives should have
|
|
this jumper set for R-PU (Write
|
|
Precompensation Turned off for both
|
|
drives), fortunately this is how they
|
|
come from ICD, so unless you are
|
|
using a weird drive, you should not
|
|
change ANY jumpers on the
|
|
controller.
|
|
|
|
The manual that comes with the
|
|
Adaptec ACB-4000 series controller
|
|
is very clearly illustrated and
|
|
contains more information than you
|
|
will ever need. Just for the record-
|
|
I never had to refer to it once
|
|
during my installation.
|
|
|
|
Once both drive cables are attached
|
|
to the Controller board, you need to
|
|
find the corresponding edge
|
|
connectors on the back of your hard
|
|
drive. In the case of the Seagate,
|
|
the connectors are clearly marked and
|
|
keyed so there should be no problems
|
|
with hookup. Just be sure that the
|
|
colored wire on the cable points to
|
|
the side of the connector marked -pin
|
|
one- or maybe just with a -1-.
|
|
|
|
You might want to check the switch
|
|
settings or jumpers on your HD to be
|
|
sure that it is set as unit #0 and
|
|
that it has a TERMINATION RESISTOR
|
|
installed (most drives come this way
|
|
from the factory). You may have to
|
|
consult your drive manual for more
|
|
information on this. Again, I lucked
|
|
out and didn't have to change a
|
|
thing.
|
|
|
|
The last step on the hardware side is
|
|
to hook up your power supply to both
|
|
the controller and the HD. If you are
|
|
using a standard HD power supply it
|
|
will have white Keyed power plugs
|
|
that are difficult to install wrong.
|
|
They are a bit of a snug fit though,
|
|
so take it easy, especially on the
|
|
controller board.
|
|
|
|
At last, plug in and turn on your
|
|
MIO and HD Power supply.
|
|
|
|
Basically there are 6 steps you have
|
|
to go through to -prepare- the HD
|
|
before use.
|
|
|
|
Step One: SET MIO CONFIGURATION.
|
|
|
|
After you have Booted your 800XL
|
|
from a SpartaDOS diskette and set
|
|
the date and time, hold down SELECT
|
|
and press RESET. this will take you
|
|
to the MIO configuration menu.
|
|
|
|
Now you have to tell the MIO
|
|
what device you want the HD to be.
|
|
It can be any device number from D1:
|
|
to D8:. Make sure that you do not
|
|
have address conflicts with
|
|
diskettes and RamDisks already on
|
|
the system (including the MIO
|
|
ramdisk). The slick part of this
|
|
is that later you can SWAP drives
|
|
after the system is up! If you want
|
|
to make your HD Drive 2 and a
|
|
diskette Drive 1, you can change your
|
|
mind later and SWAP addresses for
|
|
these devices. This makes it possible
|
|
to BOOT from the HD, or from a
|
|
RamDisk for that matter! This is an
|
|
extremely powerful feature.
|
|
|
|
In configuring the MIO for the HD,
|
|
you need to know some specs on your
|
|
hard drive, such as: the number of drive heads, cylinders, and max number of sectors for your type of
|
|
drive. MIO manual appendix D lists
|
|
33 popular HD types by manufacturer.
|
|
|
|
The ST412 is a 4 head, 306 cyl,
|
|
39,168 sector device. Just enter
|
|
this information in on the
|
|
configuration menu. Make sure that
|
|
if you are using one controller and
|
|
drive that ID/LUN is 0/0. This is
|
|
not well explained in the docs.
|
|
Press RESET when you are done and
|
|
you will return to DOS.
|
|
|
|
Step Two: PHYSICALLY FORMAT THE HD
|
|
|
|
The MIO comes with a diskette of
|
|
utilities to help you set up the HD.
|
|
The low-level format program is
|
|
called HDFMTPH.COM in the docs and on
|
|
the disk. I found out when I bought
|
|
the MIO that there was a revised
|
|
HDFMTPH program called HDFMTPH4.COM.
|
|
You can get this revision off of the
|
|
ICD BBS.
|
|
|
|
This program asks you some questions
|
|
about the HD hardware much the same
|
|
as the MIO config does. Enter in the
|
|
# of heads, etc. etc. at the prompts.
|
|
The actual formatting takes a while,
|
|
so go out and have a beer. Mine took
|
|
about 15 min for the format process.
|
|
|
|
When the program finishes, it will
|
|
display a -total number of available
|
|
sectors on drive- which may be
|
|
different than the -official- number
|
|
of sectors for your drive. Make sure
|
|
that you write this number down,
|
|
because you will need to change the
|
|
MIO configuration to reflect the
|
|
actual number of sectors formatted.
|
|
|
|
The reason that this is important is
|
|
that the Physical Format Program will
|
|
-lock out- bad sectors it finds on
|
|
the media, and the MIO config needs
|
|
to be told of the exact number of
|
|
available sectors. Just for
|
|
information, mine came out a little
|
|
larger than its -official-
|
|
specs. The number? 40,392 double
|
|
density sectors- about 10.3mb!
|
|
|
|
Step Three: PARTITION THE DRIVE
|
|
|
|
This is only necessary if you have a
|
|
drive that is larger than the
|
|
SpartaDOS maximum of 16mb or 65535
|
|
double density sectors. This is done
|
|
by going back to the MIO config
|
|
program by pressing SELECT-RESET and
|
|
entering in the Start sector (in my
|
|
case -0-) and End Sector+1 (in my
|
|
case 40393). The configuration menu
|
|
is well documented in the MIO manual
|
|
so you should have no trouble with
|
|
this.
|
|
|
|
Step Four: SAVE THE CONFIGURATION
|
|
|
|
When you take option -4- from the MIO
|
|
config menu and answer -Y- to the
|
|
-Are you sure?- prompt, the entire
|
|
MIO configuration is written to HD
|
|
number 0/0. This will automatically
|
|
reconfigure the MIO if you should
|
|
happen to turn it off by saving the
|
|
config. information to sector 0 of
|
|
the HD.
|
|
|
|
Step Five: DIRECTORY BUILD
|
|
|
|
Again, ICD supplies a utility to
|
|
write a main SpartaDOS directory to
|
|
your HD. If you are using another
|
|
DOS, you will have to fend for
|
|
yourself. When asked for the -drive
|
|
number?,- give the DOS ID number for
|
|
the LOGICAL unit, such as D1:, D2:
|
|
etc. (in my case I entered in -2-.
|
|
This program takes about 30 seconds
|
|
to create the main directory.
|
|
|
|
Final Step: SET UP DOS
|
|
|
|
Copy SpartaDOS 3.2d to each logical
|
|
Drive partition that you may want to
|
|
boot from, as I said earlier, the MIO
|
|
will let you boot from whatever drive
|
|
you want, so there is no reason not
|
|
to have DOS on your HD even if it is
|
|
not D1:. Once DOS is copied into the
|
|
Main directory, use the -BOOT-
|
|
command to set the boot flag to that
|
|
file. The syntax is -BOOT
|
|
Dn:X32D.DOS- where -n- is your drive
|
|
ID. The BOOT command is well
|
|
documented in the MIO manual and in
|
|
the SDCS manual.
|
|
|
|
That's it!! Now you are ready to
|
|
amaze your friends with HUGE online
|
|
storage! Even with making up cables,
|
|
the total time for installation
|
|
for me was around 1 hour. If you
|
|
are a BBS operator or a user with
|
|
a large file inventory, it makes
|
|
good sense to upgrade to a hard
|
|
drive. If you've got the bucks to
|
|
do it, it's easy!
|
|
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
Zmagazine #40 February 23,1987
|
|
Please Contribute
|
|
------------------------------------
|