*************************************** Syndicate ZMagazine Issue #126 October 9, 1988 *************************************** American Publishing Enterprises, Inc., PO Box 74 Middlesex, NJ 08846 *************************************** Publisher: Ron Kovacs General Manager: Ralph Mariano ZMag Editor: John Deegan Assistant Editor: Carlos Hernandez GEnie Correspondent: John Nagy *************************************** Publishers Desk by R. Kovacs ############################# ZMagazine returns to 40 column publication with this issue. It will appear shortly after release of this 80 column edition on CompuServe and the Launch Pad BBS. If you are interested in 40 column over 80 column, NOW is the time to feedback your opinion! Unless we receive positive response on 40 column, we will discontinue it. I felt compelled to write an extensive rebuttle or commentary article on the recent Sam Tramiel conference. Since John Nagy's article just about duplicates my feelings, I will not print it here. Please take a few minutes out and be sure to go over the transcripts, I am sure you will find them interesting. Although the bulk of discussion pertains to the ST, you will notice where Neil Harris got his roots in public speaking! ####################################### =====CONTENTS===============> /// Publishers Desk /// Editors Desk /// Sam Tramiel Conference Transcripts /// Sam Tramiel Conference Reaction /// Software Copyrighting Help /// Washington AtariFest Report /// Conference Symbols and Meanings /// Atari-8 Bit Color Radar Viewing /// History Will Teach Us Nothing /// MTOS Update /// Bill of Rights /// Epic 2400 Modem Review ####################(c)1988 APEInc##### =====Editors Desk===========> by John Deegan In the middle of final production of this issue, I was informed MAM replied to questions submitted by Ron Kovacs. I am not sure what the results are, but as soon as I can get more facts on this, we will print them here. The Atari CO follows, I must stress that this is a very poor conference, and I find it difficult to accept the attitude that is projected below, but again, what do I know?? The Turbo816 is still on schedule for release in mid November, stay tuned to ZMag for the latest! Thanks to John Nagy for gracing the modems in ZMagazine. ########################### =====Sam Tramiel Conference=> Captured and edited by Ron Kovacs for ZMagazine. This material is Copyright (c) 1988 CompuServe SIG Atari. Reprinted by permission. % The ATARI President Sam Tramiel conference is beginning Your moderator is Job 11 SYSOP-Ron (SYSOP-Ron) Hello everyone.... Tonights special CONFERENCE with Sam Tramiel, the President of ATARI Corp., will begin in just a few seconds. To ask Sam a Question, you must type /QUE to get into the queue. I'll recognize the next person in line one at a time. Please keep your questions simple and ask only one question at a time. Mark Jansen of ATARI will be typing for Sam tonight. Does Sam have any opening statement before we open the floor for questions? (ga Mark) (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Sorry for not being available last Monday night. There was a conflict with a Jewish holy day. There is another Jewish holy day today but I dared not do it again. :-) So here we are. (SYSOP-Ron) thx Sam. We all appreciate you showing up here to answer some very nagging questions. okay first user. % Moderator recognizes queue #1 Mark Woolworth <32> (Mark Woolworth) I really dont want to start out on a negative point, but here goes. I was one of the people that was demonstarting the new machines at the fall COMDEX show last year, and most of these machines were promised for sometime this year. At least at the present point I have not seen any of these machines released. What is the status on them, and when will they be out in the United States? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) You were clever not to mention the model names. At present I think that we are shipping all the models in Europe, even the Abaq to developers. We will start shipping in earnest to the US market in early 1989, including the st and the line of pc compatibles and our new members of the ST family. The Abaq is now called the ATW (Atari work Station) ga % Moderator recognizes queue #2 RICHARD MATAKA <43> (RICHARD MATAKA) Hello Sam...first of all, i want to congratulate you and your sons and others who have resurrected Atari from an almost certain death..but I am still somewhat questioning the support from Atari US. As you know, there are only a few US publications supporting the ST. Now Compute ST has decided to no longer publish and with the questionable support from Atari, Word Perfect Corp seems to have put their product developemnt on hold. Also other software 3rd party companies are not supporting the ST. How will you convince these companies and others who may start a company to suport the ST? What kind of incentives will you be offering or will you just let everything come out of Europe which is where the current bulk of ST support is based? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Thank you for the fine complement regarding my sons but they are only 7 and 4 years old respectively. I am the son of Jack Tramiel and Leonard and Garry are my brothers. I am as frustrated as you are and probably more so. The present problem is that the dram problem is causing us great delivery problems and we can not keep up with the demand in Europe and other parts of the world. We just signed a major deal with a big Dram supplier and the situation will get better I hope in early 1989. We will and do support developers all over the world and suggest that US developers learn how to export which would help themselves and the economy. I am sorry to see Compute drop the ST mag but I hope that they will revisit the issue when they see tens of thousands ST's sold monthly in the US. Last month I was in Germany for the Annual Atari Fair in Dusseldorf. It was incredible, over 30,000 over the weekend. ga (RICHARD MATAKA) Sam, i appreciate your answer but while the support in Europe, (I agree), is great, here it is another story. As you may or may not know, I was an author for ST XPress for about a year writing Critics Corner and the public view of Atari support is quite contrasting to Atari's version. How will you and Atari hope to change this US view of your marketing strategy so that support will be forthcoming for the Atari computer products?......ga (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Right now we do not really have a major marketing thrust as you know. However, we do think that we have user support and good in house people at Atari US that are more than willing to help. (RICHARD MATAKA) Sam, I think that maybe where your main problem is user support is excellent however, development support is very very (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) with almost any problem. WE definitely plan to bring in software from Europe but -development support is very very...what?- (RICHARD MATAKA) strained..and it is the development people that you have to win over if you are going to be a serious computer competitor in the US. (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We are not strained, and are happy to help anyone. I am sure once we are selling large quantities in the US, any strains that exist will disappear. % Moderator recognizes queue #3 charles medley <16> (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) In the meanwhile, export to Europe. (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We do, and we like it! :-) (charles medley) OK.... I have 3 questions. 1) What is REALLY in the NEW TOS. 2) What is the final news on the 68030 TT? Can a MEGA be used for it. What is the fate of the 68030 box? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We have already published the details of new TOS to developers and will do so for the rest of the users when it is released. We are working on the TT, and hope to show it in early '89. % Moderator recognizes queue #4 Michael Lynch <21> (Michael Lynch) Do you have any plans for an IBM 286 board for the ST line? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) No. % Moderator recognizes queue #5 Steve Mortimer/NNQ <5> (Steve Mortimer/NNQ) Many developers and dealers are not going to support the ST anymore or are on the brink of that decision. It is essential to retain what support we have left. Will you consider advertising to increase awareness till the -big push- or sign up a national computer chain stocked with a few STs diverted from Europe? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We feel that advertising without product availability is helpful in selling our competitors' machines, and therefore, will just waste money. As far as a national computer chain is concerned, we are already diverting machines to the US and ship them to our few but loyal ST dealers. ga % Moderator recognizes queue #6 =Bandit= (tm) <13> (=Bandit= (tm)) BALLPARK Date/Price of new TOS ROMS to USERS? (=Bandit= (tm)) Who is Neils replacement? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Date: early 1989, depending on ROM deliveries... Price - Reasonable. (SYSOP-Ron) C'mon Sam. -Reasonable-??? How about a price range? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) You know that we are always reasonable, Ron. % Moderator recognizes queue #7 Ed Waldorph <39> (Ed Waldorph) There has been much talk from dealers and former dealers and employees about the difficulty of making a business selling the ST line in the U.S.. Much criticism has been leveled at Atari for lack of dealer support. There is some indication that the situation is changing but in this entire forum only _one_ dealer has spoken out to defend the company. What is Atari doing to increase its delear support? How are you going to increase the delear base? Have you considered setting up a section for dealers here or over at Genie so they can talk directly to Marketing and Sevice and among themselves, and encouraging them to use it? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We already have a system for Service Centers, Sales Reps, and dealers, run from Sunnyvale. % Moderator recognizes queue #8 Rex Reade <17> (Rex Reade) Sam, Why was Mike Dendo [VP- SALES] telling people in Michigan that Atari HAD 3 soft quarters and needed strong 4th to survive! (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We just had three RECORD quarters, and I am sure that someone misquoted Mike. % Moderator recognizes queue #10 Bob Dolson <55> (Bob Dolson) Why don't you provide an easier upgrade path for memory, drives, etc, so that the 'poor' owners of 520 STFM's for instance would find it easier to get double sided drives, and more memory? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) It is a tradeoff between cost and upgradability. Adding the upgradability will increase the cost of _every_ unit. % Moderator recognizes queue #11 Joe Fowler <22> (Joe Fowler) Mr. Tramiel. We heard a lot about the ST tonight. I would like to know what future plans Atari has for the 8 bit line of machines, the best made on the market? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We agree that the Atari 8-bit line is the best available. However, the US market seems to want more powerful machines. We are selling many tens of thousands of the XE/XL line in Europe, and in the middle east, and in Latin America. We are trying to push the XE Game System in the US, as a computer and a game for the same price as the Nintendo, with an exercise mat. (i.e. $149) % Moderator recognizes queue #12 edward giertuga <28> (edward giertuga) You folks make a beautiful machine, but your marketing strategy is scaring the heck out of me. Have you read David Small's message (#111539) regarding Neil Harris' resignation? It's worth reading. Any comments? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) By the way, there is now a fifty dollar rebate on the XE Game machine. To be honest, I have not read David Small's message, but I The conference is ending due to a system shutdown. (Ed) At this point, CompuServe ended the conference via an unwanted shutdown of the area. After a short pause and minor confusion, the conference restarted and continued) % Moderator recognizes queue #40 SHAWN SMILEY <40> (Dave Groves) could Sam answer Ed's query? ga (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) As I was saying before that -glitch- I wish Neil alot of success in his new job it was a pleasure to work with him over the years that I have known him. (SHAWN SMILEY) Are you planning to make any additions to the ST like stereo sound and speach synthesis? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) No comment. Sorry, but we do not want to promise new things until they are ready. % Moderator recognizes queue #42 tc <3> (tc) What about the portable ST? Fact or fiction? ga (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Fact. We are working on it, and will ship it as soon as it is ready. % Moderator recognizes queue #43 Steve Mortimer <10> (Steve Mortimer) Do you forsee any major changes at Atari or the ST market in the near future? This includes the possibility of a revamped ST based on new technology like the 68020/30 while remaining ST compatible? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) I hope so...we plan for Atari to be number two or number three in the world personal computer market and we hope to make the ST one of the standard machines in the US during 1989. (Steve Mortimer) Any specific plans to achieve that goal? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) I would prefer not to comment on details of future ST or TT machines at present. (SYSOP-Ron) I would like to apologize, But I just have been informed by Sam T. That he has to leave in 5 minutes. He is willing to reschedule another CONFERENCE in the (near) future. So Since we have so many unanswered questions. I dont know if it would be fair to all concerned to let 1 or 2 more go, so I'll just end it here. Would Sam like to make some general closing comments in his last few minutes? (Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Closing comments: I appreciate the support of all of you, and I really hope that in 1989, you will not be such a minority in the US personal computer world. It is a pleasure to see Atari so successful in Europe and I'm sure that with more DRAM as we expect in '89, we will be able to be successful in the US as well. Good night. (SYSOP-Ron) I'll throw the CO facility open to all folks.... % The conference has ended Thank you for attending ######################## =====Sam Tramiel Conference=> ***Reaction*** ATARI TALKS: NOTHING SAID. REFLECTIONS of a CONVENTION by John Nagy Yes, ATARI spokesman NEIL HARRIS has resigned. Known unaffectionately by many names including -the MOUTH-, Neil carried the brunt of -ATARI BASHING- for the last several years, usually due to promises, timetables, and products that never materialized. Neil was in a difficult position, being told to announce things for political and economic reasons, even when he knew (and we knew) differently. What angered many of us was his enthusiastic zeal and razor tounge while defending ATARI positions that would too frequently be revealed as embarassing falsehoods or blue-sky vapor. In some ways, Neil became the whipping-boy, someone on whom to take out our frustrations with ATARI in general. It kept ATARI itself a bit cleaner looking. However, the communication problem at ATARI is FAR from over. In what was billed as an INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION, CompuServe had a live conference with SAM TRAMIEL, CEO of ATARI Corp. It was held online at 9PM EST on October 3. And it was awful... and goes a ways in this writer's mind to indicate that Neil was, indeed, just passing on the tone of upper ATARI, and maybe wasn't as self-taught in his obnoxia as we had thought. The -event- was rescheduled after Sam cancelled the original September 26 date, reportedly because it was a Jewish Holy Day. Well, October 3 was another one, but they held it anyway. Perhaps it was moved because Neil was supposed to handle it with Sam... but he resigned 3 days too soon. When the conference opened, it was announced that -Sam Tramiel, CEO of ATARI, is here to talk about the future of the ST-. Well over 100 people were tuned in to read the -real facts- from the top. Two hours were allotted for the convention, and the question que filled almost instantly. We were hopeful. We were dissapointed. Some good and wide questions were asked, and were either avoided completely or narrowed to a yes/no answer... all without Neil's help. It is also interesting to note that Sam referred to ATARI machines in the US as having been -diverted- from their European destinations! Even the CompuServe Sysops were obviously shocked when Sam cut off the conference after little more than an hour. Perhaps we were seeing more concern over the connection time fees that were to be lost than over the possible loss of information exchange. (Consider 100-200 people all paying CompuServe $7 to $13 dollars an hour to witness the conference...it MUST have been a financial dissapointment not to go at LEAST the planned two hours!) There WAS some actual information passed, although most of it was fairly old or well-rumored. Like, there WILL be an ST-Portable... someday. Sam says, -We are working on it, and will ship it as soon as it is ready.- Like wine, not before its' time, I suppose. Sam had nothing at all to say in this conference, and didn't care to reachout to the real and troubling questions of the users. And the -event- gives us a glimpse of what Neil had to go through to be the daily buffer between ATARI and the public. I am left feeling that ATARI really doesn't care about what you or I want or need... they have their company, it's going just the way the want it, and they can't understand why we won't just let them play by themselves. I bet Neil hasn't got any second thoughts about leaving. =====Software Copyrights====> INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT APPLICATION M. Lee Murrah Attorney at Law 6504 Hillcrest Rd. Roanoke, Texas 76262 Metro 430-3760 (Area 817) Information Needed 1. Full name and nationality (or domicile) of author. 2. Birthdate of author, unless the copyright is to be owned by a company. Date of death if author is dead. 3. If multiple authors, description of what each contributed. 4. If the applicant is different from the author, a description of how the applicant obtained ownership of the software. 5. If the registration is to in the name of a company, the full name and address of the company and the name and title of the officer who will make the application. If the software was written as an employee of a company, the software is considered a -work for hire-, and the company is considered the -author-. 6. Year the software was created. 7. Full date the software was first published (if it has been published), and the country in which first published. 8. If the software is being published commercially, the name and address of the publisher. Documents Needed 1. A full printout of the software source code for file documentation purposes. Be sure the source code has a comment or remark at the beginning with the title of the software and your copyright notice. 2. A printout of the software object code (hexadecimal listing) for file documentation purposes. Be sure the object code includes a copyright notice that appears on the initial screen EVERY TIME THE SOFTWARE IS RUN. 3. Three (3) special copies of the software for deposit with the application. The guidelines in 1 and 2 immediately above regarding copyright notice should be followed, EXCEPT that certain portions of the deposit copies may be omitted or be blacked out as described below. 4. Documentation for the software. Be sure the documentation has a copyright notice on the title page. 5. Copy of registration previous version of the software, if any. Software Deposit Guidelines You have three options for making deposits of software with your application: 1. Deposit the first 25 and last 25 pages of the SOURCE listing. If less than 50 pages, then all must be submitted. 2. Deposit all the object code under the -rule of doubt.- 3. Deposit the source and/or object code with portions omitted or blacked out, with a special -petition for special relief-,as follows: (a) Submit the first and last 25 pages of the SOURCE code with up to 50% blacked out. (b) Submit the first and last 10 pages of the SOURCE code with none blacked out. If less than 20 pages, then all must be submitted. (c) Submit the first and last 25 pages of the OBJECT code plus any 10 or more consecutive pages of the SOURCE CODE. If the object code is less than 50 pages, then all must be submitted. Clearly, in any case you would want to do two things: (1) place the -meat- of the program in the middle part which may be omitted under the guidelines, and (2) double or triple space your source listing. RECOMMENDATION: Option 3 with the option ( a, b, or c) which reveals the least amount of sensitive code is usually the best choice. =====AtariFest Report=======> by John Deegan/Brian Biggs Last weekend, Oct 1, the Washingtion area was pelted with another AtariFest. As we have been hearing through ST- Report and ZMagazine. The most recent to date, previous to the Washington Fest, was the Glendale AtariFest. (See ZMAG125 for details on that show). Well, the Washington AtariFest is underway, and the Fairfax High School was *packed* with tons of folks, and dealers. Of the many dealers that showed up, only one dealer did not set up, Migraph (the EZDraw folks). One of the hottest items around -- Spectre 128 -- was selling out on the spot. Mr. David Small arrived and set up (sort of...) in the midst of a mob of 20 or so people waiting to get a coveted copy of the Mac emulator. Nearby, an entranced group stood around watching someone putting the Translator One through its paces. At the dealer show room, Mac Roms (64k) were available, while orders could be taken for 128k rom's. (The price was $30 for the 64K's and $115 for the 128K's). This Fest was divided into two principle display areas, the demonstration rooms including setups for several interests. We stopped by the Education and the Handicapped, and Telecommunications rooms to talk about the ST with the demonstration personnel. In the dealer area, NeoDesk and the Universal Item selector were being actively demoed by the CalCom folks, to people attracted by the CyberPaint Animation sequences (-...it's like watching Saturday morning cartoons-). Throughout the display hall, hundreds of titles were available, with perhaps less than half being games, the remainder being productivty software and development tools. All of the pricing noticed was very reasonably. Additionally all type of hardware were available from plugs and wire to monitor switchers to computers. Topped off with a rather full speaking schedule, this Fest had the makings of a success. Where is Atari during these successful events?? =====CO Symbols ??==========> :-) humor. :-> humor variation. %-} humor variation. :-( sad. :-< sad variation. %-{ sad variation. :_) tongue in cheek :-! foot in mouth <:-) for dumb questions. (:-) dealing with bicycle helmets. (8-) for dealing with owls. d:-) for dealing with baseball. d :-o hats off to your great idea q:-) for those who wear their caps backwards. @= for dealing with nuclear war. o>-<|= for interest only to women. ~= to annotate flaming messages. oo somebody's head-lights are on ;-) say no more, nudge nudge. :-$ your money where your mouth is >:-> leer ;-} leer? (terminal dependent) |-<> kissy face :-| man playing an harmonica O:-) for those innocent souls [:|] from a robot/other AI project :>) from someone with a big nose :<| from someone who attends an Ivy League school :%)% from someone with acne =:-) from a hosehead :-(*) someone who is about to vomit :-)8 someone who is well dressed 8:-) from a little girl :-)-{8 from a big girl #-) someone who partied all night %-\ from someone hungover :-* someone just ate a sour pickle -:-) someone who sports a mohawk :-'| from someone who has a cold :-)' from somone who tends to drool ':-) from someone who accidentally shaved off one of his eyebrows 8:] from a gorilla (:)-) from someone wearing scuba mask P-) from someone getting fresh |-) someone who is falling asleep .-) from someone with one eye :=) from someone with two noses :-D from someone who talks too much Miscellaneous: (-:|:-) Siamese twins :~/ Really mixed up the invisible man {:\/ sounds like a duck .\/ duck variation :-0 |:-O %+{ from the loser of a fight ___ / \ | RIP | |_____| from someone who is dead ------- So you see, bit-mapped displays are really quite unnecessary :-> ###################################### =====Atari 8-bit Color Radar> by Lawrence Estep ***On-line viewing*** Unfortunately, on-line viewing of GIF graphics is not available yet, but I understand that the possibility is being discussed. Stay tuned for further updates on this. ***Off-line viewing*** To view the CompuServe Color Radar images, you need the file AT8GIF.OBJ, and the doc file AT8GIF.DOC, which are both available in Library 4 of the Atari 8-bit Forum on CompuServe. The next step is to download the map. ***Graphics mode*** To download the latest Color Radar image, type GO COLMAPS at any Compuserve Information Service! prompt. When prompted for your graphics mode, enter 4 for Other. ***Number of colors*** Next enter 256 when prompted for the number of colors your graphics mode supports. You will then be prompted for your choice of GIF maps. Enter the appropriate number for the U.S. Radar Map. ***Color settings*** You will then be prompted with a menu that will look something like this: 1.Display Map* 2.Download Map 3.Change Color Settings Choose option 3 to change the color settings. You will then be prompted with 6 levels: 1 Light: 2 Moderate: 3 Heavy: 4 Very Heavy: 5 Intense: 6 Extreme: Next to each will be the default colors. The default colors do not produce a very pleasing image on the 8-bit. Type 1 to begin changing the colors. You will be prompted with the following: ENTER COLOR YOU WISH TO USE 1 Dark Blue 2 Dark Green 3 Dark Red 4 Dark Magenta 5 Dark Yellow 6 Dark Cyan 7 White 8 Light Blue 9 Light Green 10 Light Red 11 Light Magenta 12 Light Yellow 13 Light Cyan I have found that the following colors produce the best image: 1 Light:Light Blue (8) 2 Moderate:Light Cyan (13) 3 Heavy:Light Green (9) 4 Very Heavy:Light Yellow (12) 5 Intense:Light Red (10) 6 Extreme:Light Magenta (11) ***Downloading*** After changing each color level, return to the options menu, and choose option 2 to download the map. This is better than capturing it, because you eliminate errors. ***Displaying*** After downloading the map, you can go offline, and view it. The best way to view the map with the AT8GIF.OBJ program is to zoom in on various sections, as a full U.S. image is rather distorted looking. See the file AT8GIF.DOC for more information on the zoom feature of AT8GIF.OBJ. ***Modifying*** If you wish to add titles, the easiest way that I have found is with Video Title Shop. To use this, you must first write a copy of your GIF image to disk. This creates a MicroPainter compatible file (62-sector format). This will then enable you to choose the Load Canvas option of VTS, and add your titles. This also enables you to chain several maps together in a continuous slide show. ***Printing*** If you own an Okimate 10 printer, you can make a hard copy of your map by using the Color Print software that came with your printer, and a color ribbon. Just load the converted Micropainter file, and choose option 7 from the Color Print menu for MicroPainter files. ***Example files*** The following files are available in Library 4 of the Atari 8-bit Forum on CompuServe to help you (Note: All files are in the converted MicroPainter 62- sector format): *MAPCOL.PIC-This is the suggested color code for the Color Radar images. *NERAD.PIC-This image is of the Northeastern portion of the United States using the suggested color code in MAPCOL.PIC. *GILBRT.PIC-This is a rather vivid image of the precipitation associated with Hurricane Gilbert throughout the state of Texas. This image was from 09/16/88 at approx. 7:30 P.M. E.D.T. This image uses the suggested color code in MAPCOL.PIC. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or complaints, please leave me an Easyplex E-mail message to user i.d. #71450,1050. I hope this text has been of use to you! Watch for future modifications to this file, as GIF images improve, and new options appear! ################################## -HISTORY WILL TEACH US NOTHING...- Reflection by John Nagy ################################## Weeks ago I wrote in detail in COMPUTER SHOPPER and MICHIGAN ATARI MAGAZINE about how ATARI Corp was asking for the help of user groups. Sam Tramiel, Atari Chief, appealed to users to help spread the word about Atari and to be their advance sales and promotion force. Further, he asked that users and dealers work together to resolve the penetration problems of Atari marketing. Echoing with commmon feelings of frustration with the Tramiel business ethic, several readers have written to me in response. One in particular summed up much of the mood. The writer asked not to have his name printed, as he was -still leery of Tramiel!- Here's a few excerpts of a long and thoughtful letter from a concerned and mature user. -More than 10 years ago I became a Commodore dealer. It was required that I put XXX dollars up front for my initial inventory... to become -authorized-. Commodore shipments did not start up until more than three months later and were strung out over a 2 or 3 month period. It seems they were -changing distributors-... -Factory representation to the dealer was nil. The attitude of Commodore (Tramiel) was terrible... Personnel changes were constant and you could never call the factory and establish continuity with anyone in the department. -What Tramiel did not know was that at one time he could have OWNED the entire personal computer industry if he had treated his dealers halfway fairly. He had a good computer and good software support. He lost it all to Apple. -About 5 years ago I sold my computer business and moved to Florida in retirement... I saw this account of the ATARI 520ST... bought the works and loved it. ...I was ready to become an ATARI dealer! -Then I began to see the Tramiel syndrome setting in... Atari was going to be sold only by discount houses. Atari was only going to be sold by mial order houses. People were being fired. No user could contact the factory. Please don't bother us. Talk to your local Atari dealer. The entire charade was and is a replay of the Commodore charade. -So I bought an XT clone system. Plenty of software? WOW!! ... Sure - the XT isn't the machine the ST is, but under the circunstances, who cares?? Not me. -So Tramiel(s) want help eh? Want dealers and user groups eh? Well, Tramiel will reward you for all your love and kindnesses. He has a special award for those who get near him. It's called the barbed wire shaft with the purple cluster. Avoid this turkey with all your might - this is another Ayatolla. Good product? Who cares - it ain't worth it. -...Tramiel could have cut himself a nice slice of market, but now needs -help- from users groups and dealers simply because he does not know how to treat human beings. Tough, Jack!!- While this letter obviously presents the opinion of one person, most of us can hear the ring of the familiar and the truth in his letter. What this man's experience suggests is that the current ATARI problems are NOT the result of market pressures, NOT the fault of Japanese chip price manipulation, and NOT going to be resolved by any user group participation. He believes that the problems follow the Tramiels from company to company as a direct result of their business policies and personnel practices. How many of us are ready to challenge those assesments? Mistakes are natural, and form important boundry markers for the future...if one has the wisdom to heed them. Atari can learn to change... let's encourage them to do so. ======MTOS Update===========> Copyright 1988 by Tom Hunt Welcome to MTOS version 3.0. MTOS brings the power of the multi-tasking environment to 130XE's and Rambo compatable ram upgraded Atari 8-bit computers. Version 3.0 includes the addition of a few new features. First is the ability to switch between processes with a shift-control-number keypress combination. Second is a 40% speed increase over version 2.0. Third is the lowest memlo ever, making MTOS compatible with a wider range of software. Fourth is the fact that this version works with BOTH machines. Fifth is the ability to have foreground only processes. That means that such tasks use CPU time only when called in to the foreground. Otherwise, they are dormant. Kind of like a desk accessory. Some of the more sophisticated features that were in 2.0 have been left out of version 3.0. Namely inter-task messaging, binary file loading from exec, Atari dos compatability, wait_ next_event, and the amount of tasks for the 256k version has been cut from 6 to 4 tasks. Of course, the system variables can be found at the same place so that old programs that you have made under 2.0 will still work under the new 3.0 version. However, if you made calls to system routines, your program will crash. ___________________________________ Footnote: It was my intention that MTOS would find it's way into being accepted by commercial software developers, and that commercial software would be produced around the MTOS kernal. That has not been the case. There isn't really that much commercial software being developed for the Atari 8-bit computers these days. MTOS has been used mainly by programming buffs, and those fortunet enough to have enough experience with code hacking to integrate it into their own programming environments. I release the use of MTOS to ANYONE who wants to use it in an non-commercial way. That means that if you make a p.d. or shareware software package using MTOS, then that's ok with me. If you want to go big-time, then you have to get in contact with me. If you have any questions, feel free to call my bbs (Closer To Home BBS) at 419-368-4413. You can also find MTOS utilities and programming examples on the C.T.H. bbs. The bbs is undergoing changes right now to make it easier to find MTOS related files. This is the official MTOS version 3.0 support bbs. =====Bill of Rights=========> Extracted from -Bill of Rights for Software Users-, by David Browning The following version of the Bill of Rights for Software Users was presented for approval by the Capital PC User Group, Inc. Board of Directors at the May 1985 board meeting, and has been distributed to the press, industry and to legislators. This bill is intended to set forth in writing our needs as software users, and is not intended to take away the right of software vendors to protect their products or compensation. It is time we let the industry leaders know how we need to use their products so they will know better how to interact with us. I may be contacted on this subject by writing at: WBS and Associates, Inc. 7620 Little River Turnpike Suite 600 Annandale, VA 22003 BILL OF RIGHTS FOR SOFTWARE USERS 1. Right to Product Quality: The user has the right to expect a software product to perform with a level of quality consistent with industry specified or implied standards. 2. Right of Functionality: The user has the right to expect a software product to perform basic functions common to the generic program type, with any exceptions or caveats fully disclosed prior to purchase. 3. Right of Continuous Service: The user has the right to have on hand sufficient backup of program packages and authorization devices to continue operations uninterrupted by loss of or damage to the primary package or authorization device. 4. Right to Program Support: The user has the right of access to information from the software manufacturer concerning known errors, fixes or temporary work arounds. The user also has the right to reasonable updates to the released versions for the correction of errors. 5. Right of System Integration: The user has the right to integrate software products into his or her system environment without undue constraint or interference from copy-protection, software authorization, or other extraneous program functions. File Ctsy of: Capital PC User Group P.O. Box 3189 Gaithersburg MD 20878 (703) 978-4339 =====Modem Review===========> A Review of the Epic 2400 Plus External Modem by Doug Acker Copyrighted 1988, Pegasus Technology, all rights reserved Epic Technology 5680 Stewart Avenue Fremont, CA 84538 (415) 683-0932 [insideCA] (800) 634-9992 [outside CA] (415) 683-0935 [FAX] Epic 2400 Plus External Modem - A 2400 baud External Modem The Epic people first made their debut last year at the 1987 San Francisco AppleFest with their internal modem for the II series. While interviewing them, I found out that this company was formed when they left another modem manufacturer and formed their own company. Epic currently has products for the IBM, Mac and Apple II line. The modem itself is slightly larger than some other modems I have seen lately. It is 8- x 5.5- x 1.5- so if you are tight for desk space, this might be a factor. The case comes in a beige color with a blue face with 5 indicator lights on it. On the back is a RS232C female connector, two modular phone inputs [one for the phone line and one for a phone] and the connector for the power supply. In addition the on/off toggle switch is in back. One of the first things that I noticed is the placement of the on/off switch. It is right between the RS232C connector and the power supply connector. Unless you have small fingers [unlike me], turning the modem off and on is not straightforward. On the front side, the indicator lights are a plus. These include POWER, XMIT, RCV, SPEED and SIG. The power light and speed are essential in order to determine if the modem is turned on and has power while the speed light is to see if you are in 2400 baud mode or not. The SIG lamp informs you if its connected to you computer. The RCV and XMIT lights flash when the modem is either receiving or transmitting information. These lights are adequate for normal operation. However if you are a BBS operator, not having an auto- answer mode indicator and a carrier detect and off-hook indicator will be quickly noticed. In actual operation I called various local and long distance BBS's and online services such as GEnie (TM). The line noise rejection was quite good, [i.e. the lines seemed -clear-] at 1200/2400 baud rates. However, every now and then I will see some garbage -sneak by- on my screen. This is better than alot of modems I have seen, however it is not the best. The manual also has some strengths and weaknesses. It has *nothing* about how to connect your modem to your computer. It assumes you know that step. This is sometimes a very big assumption. It does list some communication packages and the appropriate setups for each which is helpful. In additionit has a *very* nice glossary. It does list the hayes compatible codes and registers for the modem however it does not explain what they mean. The modem does have a 5 year warranty and a troubleshooting hotline Monday through Friday. For me, this modem seems like it is the -middle of the road-. In documentation, it has its strong and weakpoints. In the acutal use of the modem, its alot better than most but not the best. Price-wise, this modem is a good value. If I was looking for a modem, I would not discount this modem however, I would not rush out any buy it without looking at others on the market. /// Syndicate ZMagazine // Issue #126 October 9, 1988 (c)APEInc, 1988 ####################(c)1988 SPC########