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Silicon Times Report Issue 1052
SILICON TIMES REPORT
====================
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
=============================
from
STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
December 23, 1994 No. 1052
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Silicon Times Report
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> 12/23/94 STR 1052 "The Original * Independent * OnLine Magazine!"
"""""""""""""""""
- STR INDUSTRY REPORT - Christmas Tale - MS & Vatican Hoax
- Frankie's Corner - dBase 5 WIN - Sharp Pulls Newton
- False Virus - Trekkie Christmas - Club Drive Review
- Win95 & New CD - People Talking - JAGUAR NEWSWIRE!
-* NEW Pentiums Flowing! *-
-* WIN'95 = August'95 *-
-* French Pirates NAILED! *-
==========================================================================
STReport International OnLine Magazine
The Original * Independent * OnLine Magazine
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> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
A full week has gone by and my two sons are "on the mend". While we
still have to be at the hosital every day for twice daily treatments and
re-dressing of their injuries, they are both looking wonderful. I thank
each and everyone of you for sending along your well wishes and prayers.
Please, if anyone wishes to send along a card to Ralph & Victor, send it
care of; STReport International Online Magazine at POB 6672 Jacksonville,
FL 32205. They were thrilled with the cards and letters so far. All I
can say is its certainly boosted their spirits. My heartfelt thanks to
you all once again.
Christmas is upon us. All that need be said is ....
We Wish....
A very Holy, Healthy, Peaceful and Serene Christmas Holiday to each and
every one of you. God Bless you All.
Ralph...
Of Special Note:
----------------
STReport will be branching out further to Internet's userbase in the
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we can do to make STReport available to you. we'll try it!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher -Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
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PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION
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R.D. Stevens R. Niles J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson
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Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach
Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian
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The Staff & Editors
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> STR INDUSTRY REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
"""""""""""""""""""
IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I)
===========================
Computer Products Update - CPU Report
------------------------ ----------
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Issue #52
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
******* General Computer News *******
** Intel Changes Pentium Policy **
After weeks of criticism concerning its replacement policy, Intel
this week said that they will exchange the processor for any owner of a
Pentium-based system who is concerned about the flaw in the device's
floating point.
Intel notes that the offer will be in effect for the lifetime of a
user's PC. The chip maker says it's making a rapid manufacturing tran-
sition to the updated Pentium version, and expects to be able to ship
sufficient replacement parts to meet demand during the next few months.
"The past few weeks have been deeply troubling. What we view as an
extremely minor technical problem has taken on a life of its own," says
Andrew Grove, Intel's president and CEO.
Intel will take a charge against fourth quarter earnings to cover
costs associated with the replacement program.
** Windows 95 Delayed -- Again **
Microsoft Corp this week announced that the debut of its long-awaited
Windows 95 operating software, originally set for release last spring,
will be further delayed, possibly until August.
Reports say that large corporate purchases of the new operating
system may not begin until 1996, since many companies will undergo an
evaluation process that could last several months once the product is
released.
"We have always said we will ship this product when it is ready, and
that is what we are committed to do," Brad Silverberg, senior vice
president of the personal systems division, said in a statement. "We
want Windows 95 to meet the high standards for product excellence that
our customers expect."
Industry analysts didn't seem bothered by the delay, noting that such
software product delays are not uncommon. "It's a very sophisticated
product the company is working on," said Rick Owens, vice president of
research for Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon. "It's not
completely shocking that a major project such as Windows 95 has faced
ongoing delays."
However, Owens acknowledged that as long as the delays were caused
only by bugs, it shouldn't be too worrisome. "If it's just bugs I would
be less concerned. But if there are architectural issues involved, then
it becomes more of an issue," he said.
Already in beta testing with some 48,000 participants, Windows 95
will receive additional testing in the spring when several hundred
thousand customers are asked to evaluate it. The newest operating system
will be faster and less complicated than Windows 3.1 and will be able to
run without DOS.
** Windows 95 to Support New CD Format **
Microsoft Corp.'s upcoming Windows 95 operating system will support a
new audio-CD format that will allow users to view video clips,
photographs, animation and text along with music using the same discs that
can be played on standard audio CD players.
Reports are that Microsoft is working with Sony Corp. and Philips
Electronics NV in the development of stamped multisession technology,
which will allow easier use of CD-ROMs in audio-CD players.
CD-ROM titles currently use the first track of a compact disc for
data that produces static and can potentially cause speaker damage when
played in audio-CD players. This new format will be supported by Windows
95. Microsoft will provide the record industry with a broad set of tools
to help make the enhanced audio-CD title discs.
** Pioneer Cuts CD-ROM Prices **
Pioneer New Media Technologies Inc. has cut the prices on its six disc
CD-ROM changers.
The price of the DRM-602X, a double-speed reader, has been lowered
from $1,250 to $495. The DRM-604X, a quadruple-speed reader, is now
priced at $995, down from $1,895.
The Pioneer DRM-602X and DRM- 604X changers allow users to load six
CD-ROM discs simultaneously with a patented six-disc magazine. Both
changers support the SCSI-2 interface and hold up to 4GB of data.
** Packard Bell Ordered to Pay **
A Texas district court has ordered Packard Bell Electronics Inc. to
pay a customer $1,000 in damages for selling a PC that didn't have a
certain graphics feature as advertised. The court also ordered Packard
Bell to pay $500 in attorney's fees to the plaintiff.
Sources say that the case involves personal computers with Cirrus
Logic 5434 video chips. According to the judgment, the company falsely
advertised that these computers were capable of providing extended VGA
resolution of as much as 1280 x 1020.
Also, the court ordered Packard Bell to produce within 30 days a list
of the customers who purchased these machines. The court ordered a hearing
within 120 days to determine class-action status on the case.
** Firm Predicts 200M Internet Users **
A high-tech tracking firm is predicting the number of computer users
with access to the Internet will grow from its current level of 25
million worldwide to more than 200 million by the year 2000.
Peter Cunningham, president of INPUT, is quoted as saying an explo-
sion in access to the Internet will change the way people relate to each
other, adding, "The Internet will do for personal networking what the
microcomputer did for personal computing."
The firm forecasts the consumer market will far exceed the business-
to-business market. "As entertainment, education and personal communi-
cations explode on the Internet," INPUT says "the consumer markets could
potentially exceed $200 billion by the end of the decade."
Cunningham said that he believes business-to-business electronic
commerce volumes transacted over the Internet may reach over $50 billion
by 2000 in the U.S. alone, and about half that amount internationally.
He said, "The Internet phenomenon is already creating overnight mil-
lionaires. It also poses a challenge for established services companies
who are being dragged 'kicking and screaming' into the Internet."
INPUT has studied the network services market for 20 years, and is
continuing its research with major studies and services in Internet,
CALS and electronic commerce.
** CorelDRAW May Be Delayed **
Corel Corp. says that as a result of Microsoft's decision to delay
the release of Windows 95 until August, the general availability of its
CorelDRAW 6 software may also be delayed.
Currently being developed to run on Windows 95, CorelDRAW 6's origin-
ally planned release date of late May may now be extended to reflect the
new Microsoft Windows 95 ship date, says Corel.
CorelDRAW 6 provides tools for graphic design, desktop publishing and
photo retouching. It also offers support for business presentations,
charting and animation.
** ZDS Cuts Notebook PC Prices **
Zenith Data Systems says it has cut prices on its entire line of Z-
NOTEFLEX notebook PCs. The reductions range up to 18% and result in a
new base system price of $2,369.
ZDS has also introduced new performance upgrade and configuration
options, including support for the 100MHz version of the IntelDX4
microprocessor. Additionally, the company is offering extended service
and support hours plus an expanded LCD protection policy. Under the
terms of the annual policy, ZDS will replace up to two LCD panels per
year to cover accidental damage.
The Z-NOTEFLEX line offers a range of interchangeable VGA monochrome,
passive-matrix and active-matrix displays. The notebook comes standard
with a 3.5-inch diskette drive that can be swapped for a second battery
pack, upgradeable FLASH BIOS and two Type II PCMCIA expansion slots that
form a single Type III slot. The standard 4MB or 8MB of RAM can be
upgraded to a maximum of 24MB using 4MB, 8MB or 16MB memory modules.
** Sharp Yanks U.S. Newton Product **
Sharp Electronics Corp. has pulled from the U.S. market the hand-held
computer it derived from Apple Computer Inc.'s Newton and has replaced
it with a Zaurus communicator similar to the one it sells in Japan.
Sources say, "A key difference between the Japanese and the U.S.
version, which sells for $750, is that the latter has an attachable
keyboard to make serious writing easier."
The unit can send and receive electronic mail, operate as a pager,
receive and facsimile messages, exchange data with personal computers
and store handwritten notes as graphics using an electronic ink program.
** Apple, IBM Shipping Multimedia **
Kaleida Labs Inc., the joint venture by Apple Computer Inc. and IBM,
finally is ready to begin shipping interactive multimedia software.
Kaleida representatives are quoted as confirming the firm will unveil
ScriptX, a programming language designed for multimedia software devel-
opers, and a software "player," called Kaleida Media Player Version
1.0., to help run ScriptX.
Sources say the player was developed by Apple and Toshiba Corp.,
adding, "Analysts say at this point it appears ScriptX, once aimed at
running on PCs, game players and TV set-top boxes, has been scaled back
to running on just PCs.
The Kaleida spokesperson would not discuss what platform ScriptX will
run on."
** French Crack HUGE Pirate Ring **
Paris police have arrested 37 people and seized large stocks of
computers and software in what they describe as a large-scale ring of
electronic game pirates. The pirated games were mostly produced by
Nintendo and Sega.
Reports say the arrests follow a two-year police investigation which
involved specialized inquiries into computer operations. One of the
alleged leaders of the gang is a 22-year-old Frenchman, currently held
in Virginia ... under another charge.
The suspects are accused of "cracking" programs with electronic
equipment obtained in Hong Kong and Taiwan in order to copy the games
that were then sold either as disks or delivered electronically to
users.
** Microsoft Outpaces Software Market **
Market researcher Dataquest says its preliminary estimates of the
1994 worldwide PC business software market show that Microsoft's revenue
growth outpaced the entire market.
The worldwide PC business software market grew by more than $550
million in 1994, while Microsoft s related revenue grew by more than
$650 million.
"Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, dBASE, Paradox, and Harvard Graphics once
dominated their respective categories. Today, Microsoft products have
replaced each of these one-time product category leaders," says Karl
Wong, principal analyst of Dataquest's PC Software service. "Microsoft's
Office suite has captured its competitors' leadership positions in
nearly every significant business application category."
The worldwide 1994 PC business software market grew by more than 7%
over 1993. Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec, Intuit, Corel, and Delrina all
exhibited double- digit growth during the year.
** 'Good Times' Virus Called a Hoax **
Virus experts are dismissing current rumors that a new computer virus
called "Good Times" is attached and spread by an electronic mail
message.
The virus doesn't exist, the message is a hoax, and you can't get a
virus from opening e-mail," David Schwoegler, a public information
officer at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, told writer Tim Moran of the
Modesto (California) Bee.
The problem is, Schwoegler said, well-intentioned people keep sending
along messages about the alleged virus, forming a kind of a chain letter
intended to warn people, and now tens of thousands of messages have
circulated on various systems.
Schwoegler said the labs' Computer Incident Advisory Capability Team,
which deals with security issues, determined the message was a hoax
because the description of what the virus does is technically
impossible.
"You have to execute a program to catch a virus," he said. "You are
practicing safe computing if you just open e-mail."
Moran notes that on most online systems a file can be attached to an
e-mail message, but a user would have to download the file and try to
execute it in order to risk getting a virus.
Phil Talsky, manager for the anti-viral software products of McAfee
Inc. also told Moran that "Good Times" is a hoax. He said his company
discovers 200 to 300 new viruses a month, including 100 to 200 samples
sent in by users of its anti-virus software. "If it were real, one of
our users would have found it and sent it to us," he said.
** GOOFY HOAX EXPOSED **
** Gates Didn't Buy Catholic Church **
Flash: Bill Gates isn't acquiring the Roman Catholic church.
In the shaggiest shaggy dog story to hit the cybersphere in long
time, a prankster has circulated around the Internet a dispatch faked to
look as if it came from The Associated Press saying the software giant
was eying the Vatican.
Under a Vatican City dateline, the phony story went on, "If the deal
goes through, it will be the first time a computer software company has
acquired a major world religion," adding the purported deal called for:
-:- Microsoft to get exclusive electronic rights to the Bible.
-:- Pope John Paul II to become the senior vice president of the
combined company's new religious software division.
-:- Two Microsoft senior vice presidents to be invested in the
College of Cardinals.
The yarn also said Microsoft chief Gates promised to use a Microsoft
network to "make the sacraments available online for the first time."
Well, you guessed it: enough people called Microsoft this week
thinking the tale might be true that the company had to release a
statement labelling it all a hoax.
__________________________________
> Frankie's Corner STR Feature
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Memphis Math
***
The Kids' Computing Corner
==========================
by Frank Sereno
I'd like to add my wishes to those of the STR staff and management to wish
everyone a very Merry Christmas. May you enjoy love and friendship on
this and every day in the coming year. Peace!
Memphis Math
by
WordPerfect Main Street
1555 N. Technology Way
Orem, UT 84057-2399
phone 800-451-5151
Windows CD-rom
MRSP $59.95
ages 8 to 14
IBM Requirements
CPU: 486SX Graphics: 256-color VGA
Hard disk: 4 megs RAM: 4 megs
OS: Windows 3.1 CD-rom: double-speed
Sound: MPC compatible sound card
Developed by WordPerfect with the Waterford Institute, Memphis Math is an
adventure game with math lessons and some history too. Using a
combination of detailed and interesting visuals, an entertaining sound
track and tricky puzzles, Memphis Math is sure to intrigue and delight
many children.
The child will play the game as Dr. T. C. King, a college math professor
and collector of Egyptian antiquities. The goal is to find the three
pieces of the Sacred Scarab and find the path to the tomb of Tahp Ra-Men.
The tomb has been rumored to hold incredible treasures and the secret
equations of the pyramids.
The child will have to explore three ancient ruins to find the three
pieces of the Sacred Scarab. To enter each ruin, the child will make a
proper math equation from the stones of the ruin. If the child answers
incorrectly, he will lose health points and his character will die after
several incorrect answers. The child has three lives to solve the
mystery. Once inside each ruin, he can gather ancient artifacts by
successfully solving math problems. By checking his inventory, he can
learn about the history and usage of the artifacts.
Upon finding a piece of the scarab, the child will be confronted by an
Egyptian god who will challenge him with math story problems. If the
player answers five questions correctly, he retains the scarab piece. If
he answers wrongly, he will lose a life. Upon obtaining the third part of
the scarab, the player will be rewarded with an end game animation showing
the discovery of the tomb.
Memphis Math is very pleasing visually. Some animations are slow when run
from the CD-rom. Still screens are very detailed and colorful. This is
one of few programs that recommends using a 32,000 color display but it
looked great in 256 colors. The sound has excellent quality but it isn't
used to full advantage. Once the player is inside a site, no sound is
used. Background music is only used in the opening credits, the
introductory story and the end of game animation. All voices are spoken
with excellent diction.
The interface has many rough edges. No audible help is given, but the
program uses the standard Windows Help interface. Unless you are familiar
with Windows, it is easy to get lost searching for information. Another
problem is the program moves from one kind of math problem to another but
it never explains the math problem before launching into a new series. I
would like to see an animated example solved for the player so he will
understand the concept before he attempts to solve problems. The
interface does have its good points as well. The program can track the
progress of ten students. Each student can have his own settings for
speed and accuracy to progress. The program automatically moves the
student from one category of math problem to another as he builds skills.
Memphis Math is fairly entertaining. I think it needs to better use
multimedia to be more attractive to children. The game is an enjoyable
challenge the first few times through, but it doesn't change much from
play to play except having to solve new kinds of math problems. Positive
feedback is very subtle and this may discourage younger children.
Educational value is good. The program will teach over one hundred math
concepts including fractions, decimals and percentages. Memphis Math has
over 1800 math problems. The program will graduate a child from one
concept to another or a specific set of problems can be chosen at program
startup. I do feel that Memphis Math could have used better multimedia
means to explain the concepts.
Memphis Math has high suggested retail price. I would hazard a guess that
it could be found for near $40 at discounters. If the game changed more
from play to play I would give it a higher score here but I fear many
children will lose interest after a few plays. It will take many plays to
go through all the math concepts that Memphis Math can teach.
Ratings
Graphics ........... 8.5
Sounds ............. 8.0
Interface .......... 7.5
Play Value ......... 7.0
Educational Value .. 9.0
Bang for the Buck .. 7.5
Average ............ 7.91
###
Mental Math
by
WordPerfect Main Street
Floppy diskette for IBM compatibles
MRSP $49.95
Ages six to fourteen
IBM Requirements
CPU: 8088 Graphics: 256-color VGA
Hard disk: 8 megs RAM: 640K
OS: DOS CD-rom: none
Sound: sound card recommended
Mental Math uses seven arcade games to teach children to solve math
problems without pencil and paper or a calculator. The program covers
hundreds of math concepts and variations and allows each child to progress
at his own pace. The program can track the budding math skills of ten
students or each child can choose his own concepts to study.
Moon Flight is a rocket launching game. Solving math problems will boost
the rocket toward orbit while incorrect answers will cause the rocket to
fall back to earth. Correctly answer enough problems and the rocket will
land on the moon.
Math Match is a concentration game which requires players to not only find
matching cards but also to solve the math equations on the cards. If the
cards do not match or the problem is answered incorrectly, the cards will
be turned back over. Match all twenty cards to see an animated picture.
Tip-a-Duck is a simulation of a shooting arcade. The child answers math
problems as they move across the screen on the sides of tin ducks. Each
round has twenty questions and children can earn various "prizes"
depending on the number of correct answers.
Maze requires mental agility, logic and dexterity. Children guide a mouse
around a maze by solving math problems to change directions to gather
cheese and avoid traps. The game is completed when five levels have been
finished or the child has run into three traps.
Fraction Fish involves fraction math problems. The game is a version of
checkers played on a smaller board. The child will play against the
computer. If the child answers a problem correctly, he will get to move
one of his fish checkers. If he cannot provide the correct answer within
fifteen seconds, he will lose his turn.
Mental Blocks is a variation of Tetris. The blocks are numbers and math
symbols. The object is to assemble valid math equations in horizontal,
vertical and diagonal rows as the blocks fall. To prevent the game from
being impossible, wild card blocks can be used to represent any number or
math symbol to form a valid equation.
The final game is the raccoon race. Children race the clock to solve
twenty math problems. The reward for successfully completing the problems
is a short animation of Rusty Raccoon. Each successful race will bring
Rusty one step closer to home.
Mental Math has pleasant, colorful graphics but these are not state of the
art. The images appear to have jagged edges and are not finely detailed.
The animations are passable. The program looks several years old.
Setting up the program to use your sound card is not as easy as many other
programs. It does not automatically detect IRQ or addresses or even
recognize the card. The sounds are quite good once you have the program
set up properly. The program uses no digitized speech.
The interface has no audible help. Help screens are provided but the font
is difficult to read. Moving to various portions of the program is done
with the mouse. The escape key can be used to exit the games in progress.
The program does track ten students and moves them to more difficult math
concepts when they are ready. The program does lack a parent's section to
gauge each child's progress or to make individual settings. To make
adjustments, the parent must run a utility program and type arcane command
lines. Mental Math wants to be user friendly but it has a lot of rough
edges.
Children should find Mental Math to a fun challenge. I would like to see
more variations in the incentives and encouragement because the games will
become repetitious after a time. Beating previous high scores will only
work for so long. It will take many hours of play to cover the many
concepts covered in the program.
Mental Math does have great educational value. It covers a wide range of
math concepts from early elementary to junior high school topics.
Bang for the Buck is fair. The program is priced high with outdated
graphics and a user interface in need of improvement. Similar programs
are available that are much easier to use and enjoy.
Ratings
Graphics ........... 6.0
Sounds ............. 7.0
Interface .......... 6.5
Play Value ......... 7.0
Educational Value .. 9.0
Bang for the Buck .. 7.0
Average ............ 7.08
###
Troggle Trouble Math
by
MECC
6160 Summit Drive North
Minneapolis, MN 55430-4003
phone 612-569-1500
Floppy diskette for IBM and Macintosh
approximate retail $39
for ages six to twelve
IBM Requirements Macintosh Requirements
CPU: 386-25 CPU: Color Macintosh
RAM: 4 megs RAM: 4 megs
Video: SVGA Video: 256 color
CD-ROM: no CD-ROM: no
H disk: 9 megs H disk: 9 megs
OS: Windows 3.1 OS: System 7.0
Windows compatible sound card
Troggle Trouble Math is an enticing combination of adventure gaming and
math learning in the Muncher software series. Cartoon-like graphics and
humorous animations will encourage your child to aid Magenta and her dog
Sparky on a quest to save the Muncher from evil Dr. Frankentroggle. The
program has sixty levels of difficulty and can detect and track each
child's progress.
Your child will guide Sparky through five worlds looking for clues to
thwart Dr. Frankentroggle. He will use a new device which Magenta has
invented called a troggulator. It consists of a calculator, a radio, a
shield generator and a power button for renewing the power level of the
troggulator.
Your child directs Sparky by moving the bone cursor around the screen.
Sparky must not run into objects or he will lose dog biscuits. The
Troggles will steal the dog biscuits also. If Sparky runs out of dog
biscuits, then Magenta will take him home and the game is over. More dog
biscuits can be found on each world and can be collected by guiding Sparky
to them.
When Troggles appear, Sparky will howl and his force field must be engaged
by clicking the button on the troggulator or by pressing the space bar.
The child must then count the Troggles or have Sparky count them by
feeding him a dog biscuit. The Troggulator will then show the sign for
one math operation and the child must create a math equation using that
operation that will equal the number of Troggles. Once that is done, the
Troggles will disappear.
Unfortunately, this takes power. When the troggulator gets low on power,
the child must press the power up button. He will then be shown an
equation and he must supply the correct answer. The troggulator cannot be
used to compute the answer so the math must be done mentally or with paper
and pencil. The player is not penalized for incorrect answers but time is
limited. Troggles will not attack during a power up.
To find clues, Sparky must enter sheds, caves and other openings. Once
inside, story problems will be presented to the child. He can use the
calculator function of the troggulator to do the math since these problems
can involve complex numbers and multiple calculations. When enough
questions have been answered, a chest will open and the child will be
prompted to "look outside" where he will find a clue or a flashing dog
biscuit.
If the player needs a clue, he can call Magenta on the troggulator but
this will use up power. The game consists of eight levels which become
increasingly more difficult. The child will progress on a grade scale as
he becomes more proficient. A report can be shown on the screen which
details the player's current grade level skill and proficiency. The child
can choose a grade level when he starts the game.
Troggle Trouble Math has colorful and amusing graphics. The main viewing
screen is rather small. It was six inches square on my 14-inch monitor.
The animations of the Sparky and the Troggles were quite amusing. I was a
bit disappointed that no effort was made to sync Magenta's mouth with her
speech. The program has very good sound. Sound effects are used often
and to good effect. Magenta's voice is very pleasant and enthusiastic.
The music is better than average.
This program is aimed at a wide range of children and it comes up short
for younger children. The program provides no audible help. Audible
encouragement is only provided when the child finds a clue to locate Dr.
Frankentroggle. Visual encouragement is provided for answering math
problems but younger children may not be able to read all the words. This
is true for the story problems also. I feel that an option should be
available to have the problem read aloud. Hearing the problem may aid the
child in solving the problem even if he can adequately read. Another
problem is the loading and saving of game files. Younger children will
not be familiar file naming conventions. In short, children under eight
will most likely need parental assistance in operating this program.
On the upside, the program is easy to install. The documentation is
complete with a thorough troubleshooting guide. On-line help is available
on a myriad of subjects. The interface is very easy for older children.
The program does provide positive feedback although it is visual rather
than audible.
Play value is above average. The quest to rescue the Muncher is
entertaining and amusing. One drawback is long gaming sessions can be
very hazardous to the wrist.
Educational value is excellent. The program provides several methods for
learning math skills and gradually increases the difficulty of problems
and introduces new concepts as your child gains math mastery.
This program has excellent value because your child can use it for several
years. With an estimated street price of $39, this program carries a mid-
range price but has top-line value. MECC offers a 30-day money back
guarantee if you are dissatisfied with this product.
Ratings
Graphics ............. 8.0
Sounds ............... 8.5
Interface ............ 7.5
Play Value ........... 8.5
Educational Value .... 9.5
Bang for the Buck .... 9.0
Average .............. 8.5
_______________________________________
> CREATIVE Leads the WAY! STR InfoFile
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
LEADING SOFTWARE COMPANIES SUPPORT SOUND BLASTER
AS THE MULTIMEDIA SOUND STANDARD
Over one million software boxes will carry the Sound Blaster
Compatibility Logo this Christmas.
An increasing number of companies are now participating in Creative
Technology's Sound Blaster Compatibility Logo Program. The Program,
launched last September, provides testing and verification for PC-based
software to ensure that software titles tested are 100 percent Sound
Blaster(tm) compatible. Creative has signed on more than 30 firms that
are licensing the use of one of three different Sound Blaster
compatibility logos for incorporation onto packaging and collateral
material. As a result, both end-users and retailers are now offered
the assurance that these developers' software titles are truly
Sound Blaster compatible.
According to Arnold Waldstein, director of software product marketing
for Creative Labs, Inc., Creative Technology's U.S. subsidiary, there
has been broad acceptance of the Sound Blaster Compatibility Logo
Program among the software community. "The overwhelming success of
the Sound Blaster Compatibility Logo Program proves that Sound Blaster,
as an industry standard, is growing in value to both the software
community and the retail marketplace."
Leading software companies are aligning with Creative and the
Sound Blaster Compatibility Logo Program to ensure customers the best
sounding product. "Our involvement in the Sound Blaster Compatibility
Logo Program is one of the many ways we uphold our commitment to
consumers," says Rand Bleimeister, senior vice-president of sales and
marketing at Virgin Interactive Entertainment. "By displaying the
Sound Blaster compatibility logo on our boxes, we're assuring our
end-users of our product's tested compatibility with Sound Blaster's
PC audio standard."
"Creative Labs has set the PC audio industry standard with its
Sound Blaster family of products," says Jill Goldworn, director of
contract sales at Interplay Productions, Inc. "Our participation in
its Compatibility Logo Program assures our customers of our compliance
with this standard and our commitment to quality products and service."
In addition to Interplay Productions, Inc. and Virgin Interactive
Entertainment, the growing list of participating registered developers
includes Electronic Arts, Mindscape (formerly The Software Toolworks),
Sony Electronic Publishing Company, Westwood Studios, 7th Level,
Asymetrix, Davidson & Associates, Opcode Interactive, T/Maker Company,
The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks, Ltd., The Music Factory and Twelve Tone
Systems, among others.
To further increase the Program's visibility, an extended marketing
campaign has been launched for the retail channel. The campaign
provides posters, shelf-talkers, buttons & stickers to retail outlets.
INFORMATION UPDATE
------------------
CONTACT:
Benita Kenn
Creative Labs, Inc.
(408) 428-6600 ext. 6406
For information about these Sound Blaster compatibility logos and
participation in the Program, please contact Scott D. Taylor at
Creative Labs, Inc. at (408) 428-6600, ext. 6402.
Creative Technology Ltd develops, manufactures and markets a family
of sound and video multimedia products for PCs under the Blaster family
name. The company's Sound Blaster(tm) sound platform enables PCs to
produce high-quality audio for entertainment, educational, music and
productivity applications, and has been accepted as the industry
standard sound platform for PC-based software.
Creative Technology Ltd was incorporated in 1983 and is based in
Singapore. Creative Technology's U.S. subsidiaries include
Creative Labs, Inc., E-mu Systems*, Inc. and ShareVision*
Technology, Inc. Creative also has other subsidiaries in China,
Europe, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. The company's stock
is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol CREAf and on the Stock Exchange
of Singapore.
# # #
Sound Blaster is a trademark of Creative Technology Ltd. E-mu is a
registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc. and ShareVision is a
registered trademark of ShareVision Technology, Inc.
________________________________________
> IBMAPP's FAVORITES! STR Spotlight
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Top downloads from Compuserve's IBMAPP Forum
during the period of
15-Nov-94 thru 15-Dec-94.
[76336,114] Lib: 7
FNWRD.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 2135, Count: 1787, 05-May-94(06-May-94)
Title : Phone Words; make words out of telephone numbers
Keywords: PHONE NUMBERS WORDS SHAREWARE
This shareware zip file contains phonword.doc and fonwrd.com. Want to
know what words are possible from your phone number? Get all 3^7
possibles. Want to know the phone number from a given word. Get that
too.
[71610,661] Lib:10
VUIMAG.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 118272, Count: 3076, 19-Mar-93(03-May-93)
Title : VUIMAGE(tm) Ver 3.40 GIF/PCX/TIFF Viewer/Printer
Keywords: GIF TIFF PCX FAX MAP PIC IMAGE VIEWER PRINT LASERJET
Zoom/Pan/Scale almost unlimited on almost any size image in 180K memory
on CGA/EGA/Herc/VGA/SVGA/VESA_SVGA/8514. Print full image/print screen
to user set size on laserjet/8-24-pin dotmatrix/ postscript. Auto/manual
filetype, video-mode, scaling, print size etc. Variable zoom/pan, dither
options, adj bright/contrast. Call from other software, XMS support, 600
dpi laserjet. Shareware from Offe.
[73567,1547] Lib: 7
KITKIN.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 349966, Count: 858, 15-May-94(16-Aug-94)
Title : KITH AND KIN FOR WINDOWS v2.03 <ASP>
Keywords: GENEALOGY WINDOWS FAMILY TREE PEDIGREE OLE
Kith & Kin V2.03 : Windows genealogy (ASP). A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE
ON YOUR FAMILY TREE. Excellent shareware program for documenting
and storing family trees. Has an easy to use graphical interface &
powerful editing tools. Pictures, maps, diagrams, sounds, etc may be
embedded in or linked to a person or family. This release has several
bug-fixes. 286+, Windows 3.1+, VGA+. SpanSoft/Scotland.
Auth: Nick J. Hunter, SpanSoft [100101,1155]
[71450,254] Lib: 7
LEGAL8.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 704293, Count: 577, 10-Jul-94
Title : Your Personal Legal Guide - V.8
Keywords: LEGAL SELFHELP LAW DIVORCE CONTRACTS ATTORNEY
With over 130 legal forms; plus tutorials & the complete annotated text
of relevent statutes, this may be the most complete legal self-help
software available. Includes an artificial-intelligence forms generator
that will create divorce, bill-of-sale, loan, power of attorney, wills,
corporate, and other legal forms for you--you just fill in the blanks.
Shareware by PSG-HomeCraft.
[71470,3236] Lib:10
VUEPRI.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 218419, Count: 1411, 02-Jan-94(23-Nov-94)
Title : VuePrint 3.3 - Fast JPEG/GIF Viewer for Windows
Keywords: JPEG JPG GIF BMP PCX TGA VIEW PRINT
VuePrint 3.3 is a fast Windows JPEG/GIF viewer which can:
- view & save 5 file types (GIF, BMP, PCX, TGA, JPG)
- copy/paste images and image comments
- install a screen saver (formerly VueSav)
- read/write uuencoded files
- display multiple images in a window
- display 24-bit images on a 256-color display
- use 12 effects for repainting screen
VuePrint is the most-downloaded Windows program on both CompuServe and
America Online. Requires Windows 3.1 and 386+. Shareware.
[73542,256] Lib: 6
QTC24I.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 567676, Count: 193, 06-Jul-94
Title : QuickTrax TimeCard!
Keywords: EMPLOYEE TIMECLOCK TIME CARD ATTENDANCE SCHEDULE
QTC! 2.4I is a full featured, Network ready Time Clock program.
Features include a 3 level user interface, including a Quick Clock mode.
Track up to 9,999 employee records with Emergency, Schedules, To Do
Lists, E-Mail and messaging. Over 20 reports with QBE filters. Prints
and accepts Bar Code name badges. Track time by Dep't, Account and
Attendance codes. Uploaded by author, Michael E. Messier. Call (510)
277-1502 for more info. Shareware $39
[72154,761] Lib:12
GS261E.ZIP/Bin Bytes:1202251, Count: 1609, 27-Jul-93
Title : Ghostscript ver. 2.6.1 DOS, Windows and DOS/386
Keywords: GHOSTSCRIPT POSTSCRIPT CONVERT VIEW PRINT EPS PS
Ghostscript is a Postscript compatible interpreter. It will allow you
to view Postscript files onscreen and print them to non-Postscript
printers. GS261F.ZIP is recommended if using Postscript documents
containing text.
Supported file output formats: gif pcx Supported Printers: Laserjet,
deskjet, IBM proprinter, epson 9 and 24 pin printers. More
can be added via the available source code
[73567,1547] Lib: 7
YHIRED.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 210542, Count: 458, 07-Jun-94
Title : You're Hired! 1.32: Great Job Interview Simulator
Keywords: JOB EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW WORK RESUME CAREER ASP
YOU'RE HIRED! v1.32 <ASP> - Informative job interview simulator
that provides realistic training to prepare you for your next job
interview. "You're Hired!" asks you common challenging questions and
records elapsed times as you verbally respond. Press a key to
receive professional advice and to review your own reminder notes. Also
add, change, and print the questions and advice. Practice makes perfect.
512K RAM. From DataWell $26.95
ASP Shareware.
[70451,2734] Lib:10
GWSWIN.EXE/Bin Bytes: 980992, Count: 841, 03-Apr-93(07-Nov-94)
Title : Graphic Workshop 1.1N
Keywords: GRAPHIC GIF TIFF TARGA JPG CONVERT VIEW THUMBNAIL WINDOWS
Converts, prints, views, dithers, transforms, flips, rotates, scales,
crops, colour adjusts, catalogs, quantizes and wreaks special effects on
MAC IMG PCX GIF TIFF JPG PCD WPG MSP IFF/LBM BMP RLE FLI FLC WMF CLP
ICO AVI CUT ART CGM PLT DIB HRZ RAS TGA CPT CDR Preview FITS uuencoded
graphics EXE & TXT files. Has thumbnail previews & Photo-CD support.
From Alchemy Mindworks Inc.
[75300,2710] Lib: 1
QEDIT3.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 211934, Count: 951, 02-Feb-94(07-Dec-94)
Title : QEdit 3.0c Shareware release <ASP>
Keywords: QEDIT ASP SHAREWARE EDIT EDITOR WORD PROCESSOR MACROS
QEDIT ADVANCED v3.00C <ASP> - Blazingly fast, multi-file,
multi-window, compact DOS text editor, both powerful and EASY to use.
Includes macros; column blocks; variable, smart, and fixed tab support;
basic word- processing features. Configurable, including keyboard,
colors, and initial settings. Data Based Advisor Readers Choice as Best
Program/ Text Editor. Over 120,000 licensed users in 70+ countries
prefer QEdit!
[72154,761] Lib:12
GSVU08.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 201391, Count: 1182, 09-Jul-93
Title : Ghostview for Windows - a front end for Ghostscr
Keywords: POSTSCRIPT GHOSTSCRIPT PS EPS VIEW PRINT FRONTEND
Ghostview for Windows. Needs Ghostscript 2.6. Source included.
Ghostview for Windows is a graphical interface for MS-Windows
Ghostscript. Ghostscript is an interpreter for the PostScript page
description language. For documents following the Adobe PostScript
Document Structuring Convention, it will allow you to view pages in an
arbitrary order, create eps previews of individual pages, etc. See the
README file for more information
[71613,2654] Lib: 1
EDITPR.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 171538, Count: 85, 15-Nov-94
Title : EditPro v1.31 - Text/Hex Disk based editor
Keywords: WINDOWS HEX EDIT EDITOR EDITPRO DISK FILE DRAG DROP
EditPro is a professional disk based Windows editor. EditPro has all the
standard editor features and HEXadecimal editing capability. Features
include: Unlimited file size, Insert/Overstrike, MACROS, bookmarks, auto
indentation, line and column display, drag and drop, HEX find, HEX
insert/delete, edit 15 files at once, add/remove indents, page
margins/headers/footers, page break, goto, help and more. An excellent
NOTEPAD replacement. Register online by typing "GO SWREG" and
registering ID 2662
[72561,1632] Lib: 7
2000QU.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 210390, Count: 114, 11-Nov-94
Title : 2000 Great Quotations (Windows)
Keywords: QUOTATIONS WRITING SPEAKING
2,000 Great Quotations -- Teachers, Students, Writers,
Speech-Makers, Lawyers, and Marketing and Business Professionals will
love this classic collection. State-of-the-art retrieval software is
included: you can search by author, subject, or keyword, or browse via
hyper-links. It's a great way to help make your point, and it's fun,
too! Freeware. Requires Windows 3.1.
[76130,1463] Lib: 1
MEGAED.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 136865, Count: 2852, 01-Jun-92(26-May-94)
Title : MegaEdit text editor ver 2.11 for large files
Keywords: EDITOR WINDOWS MACINTOSH UNIX ASCII TEXT PROGRAMMERS BINARY
NOTEPAD
"An elegant, powerful text editor for Windows." Chosen in April '93
PC World's roundup of 45 *best* programs for < $50! PC Computing
"WinApp of the Month", Oct '93; featured in Windows's Gizmos (NY Times
best selling technical book), Info-World, Windows's user, and many other
publicationjs. NO LIMITS on file sizes. Split screen editing of one or
multiple files. Formated display of binary files. Import/Export of
UNIX/Mac files. Word- wrap, lots of other great features. Shareware,
v2.08
[75334,3714] Lib:10
SMRTDR.ZIP/Bin Bytes: 476095, Count: 71, 16-Nov-94
Title : SmartDraw v1.01 Windows Drawing Program
Keywords: WINWORD SMARTDRAW DRAW WINDOWS FLOWCHART MSWORD
SmartDraw: easy-to-use program for Windows that lets anyone draw great
looking flowcharts, diagrams & other business graphics. Better value &
easier to use than Visio, more powerful than SnapGrafx,
SmartDraw provides drag & drop drawing, automatic connecting lines
between shapes, built-in design styles, shape libraries. Works with
Microsoft Office & other programs as a OLE Server. You don't have to be
an artist to get professional results when you use SmartDraw. Req:
Windows 3.1 & a 386+
Shareware.
______________________________________________________
> dBase 5.0 STR Spotlight First Class Assistance
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Installing dBASE 5.0 for Windows
================================
OVERVIEW
--------
Under certain conditions, a software program may not behave as
expected. For example, a programmer may use commands and functions that
work in some, but not all, environments. Some times a hardware problem
may appear to be software related. In the programmer's case, there is
usually a different means of achieving the desired result; a hardware
problem may involve system reconfiguration, or perhaps data recovery. The
solution to such problems may involve quite a few steps, therefore a
step-by-step approach to troubleshooting and working around problems is
warranted. This Tech Info article provides suggestions for resolving a
specific problem you may haveencountered.
INTRODUCTION
------------
This document steps needed to install dBASE 5.0 for Windows, what to
do if you encounter problems and some advantages of dBASE for Windows over
dBASE IV.
What are the advantages of a Windows version of dBASE?
------------------------------------------------------
The dBASE family of products has a history filled with technological
advancements. This trend continues with the release of dBASE 5.0 for
Windows. Windows is an advanced graphical user interface that allows
applications to share available system resources. This requires that the
applications abide by set standards when communicating with your system
hardware, and allows them to trade information using standard
communication protocols.
dBASE 5.0 for Windows is backward compatible, allowing applications
created in earlier dBASE versions to run in the Windows environment.
Databases, reports, forms, labels and programs from earlier versions can
all be utilized. This eases the transition from DOS to Windows.
The user interface implemented in dBASE 5.0 for Windows has been
designed to be intuitive to the user. As the pointer floats from one icon
to the next, a description of the icon's purpose is displayed on the
status bar at the bottom of the screen. Furthermoree, many commonly used
menu options have been implemented as SpeedBar buttons. Once the user
becomes familiar with the button functions, working within dBASE becomes
effortless and efficient.
Perhaps the single most important factor in the long standing success
of dBASE has been its programmability. dBASE allows users to design,
create, and implement custom applications by using the powerful dBASE
programming language. In dBASE 5.0 for Windows, object oriented
extensions have been added to the language, giving users the means to
create event driven applications under Windows. Event driven applications
perform operations on events, such as a clicking the mouse on a
pushbutton.
Critical System Components
--------------------------
In order to install and use dBASE 5.0 for Windows, certain minimum
system requirements must be met. These are:
o An IBM compatible computer with at least an 80386 processor
o A minimum of 6 MB RAM (8 MB or more is recommendeed)
o 25-30 MB of available hard disk space
o EGA or VGA/SVGA monitor and graphics adapter
o MS-DOS 3.1 or later (or a compatible operating system)
o Windows 3.1 in Enhanced Mode
Of the hard disk space mentioned above, approximately 5 MB of that
space must be available on the same drive that Windows is stored on. This
space is used for DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries) and temporary installation
files.
Installation Made Easy
----------------------
Before installing dBASE 5.0 for Windows, take the time to gather the
necessary materials below.
o A complete disk set (7 disks)
o A c
opy of the README.TXT
o A set of manuals
o The phone number for technical support (408-431-9060)
1. Print and read the README.TXT file located on Disk #1. This
file contains any last minute information that may be
required to properly install dBASE 5.0 for Windows.
2. Insert Disk #1 into your A: drive, or the appropriate drive
for yourr system. Then do one of the following:
a. From the DOS prompt type:
A: (or the appropriate drive letter).
Once the system has acknowledged you have switched
drives, type:
WIN INSTALL
Windows will start and then the install will start.
b. From inside Windows, choose File|Run in the Program
Manager. Enter A:INSTALL into the Run dialog box, and
click the OK button.
c. Using the Windows File Manager, switch to the
appropriate drive, and double-click on INSTALL.EXE
3. A dialog box appears that asks where to install. Enter the
path for where you wish dBASE to be installed. C:\DBASEWIN
is the default, but you can choose another by simply
retyping the required text.
4. Another dialog box will appear requesting your name and
company name. Enter anything you wish in these boxes, but
bear in mind that what you enter will appear on the splash
screen each time you open dBASE. You may leave the company
line empty, but you must enter a name.
5. Next, a box will appear asking you what level of
installation you require. For most users, the default
option is the appropriate choice. Selecting the custom
installation option allows the user to decide which program
elements to install and which to ignore. Click the Install
button when done, and the installation will begin.
6. As the information is transferred from the floppy disks to
your hard drive, you will be prompted to insert the next
disk in the series. When asked, wait for the drive light on
your floppy drive to go out before you remove the previous
disk and replace it with the next. Press the Continue
button to go on.
7. At the end of the installation, the user is asked if they
wish dBASE to create a program group and icons. If you want
tthe icons, click the Next button. If you wish to create
them yourself manually, click the Skip button.
8. Next, you are asked if you wish to read the text file
included on the disks. If you have already read it, click
the Skip button. If not, and now is as good a time to do
so, click the Next button.
9. Once installation has finished, exit Windows and reboot to
make sure there are no erroneous program modules still
residing in memory.
If you chose the full installation, you should now have a
\DBASEWIN directory with the following subdirectories:
\BIN
\CRYSTAL
\DOC
\IDAPI
\INCLUDE
\SAMPLES
\UTILITY
To start dBASE, simply double click on the dBASE 5.0 icon. After a
short wait, you will see the splash screen (with your name and company),
and dBASE will appear.
Common Problems
---------------
Disk Space
dBASE 5.0 for Windows requires 28 MB of disk space to
install. If you are installing on a drive other than the
one on which Windows is installed, make sure there is at
least 5 MB of free disk space on your Windows drive. dBASE
uses this space for temporary storage, decompression and
DLLs (Dynamic Link Librarys).
Screen Savers
The use of screen savers while installing dBASE 5.0 for
Windows will greatly slow the installation process. To
minimize the time required to install, it is recommended
that you turn off any screen savers you may be using while
you install dBASE 5.0 for Windows.
Unusual Installation Errors
---------------------------
Errors stating that "dBASE is unable to combine split
files", or that you require a 386 (or better) machine when
you in fact have a 386 (or better), for example, are often
caused by an unusual mix of device drivers. Should you
encounter any of these problems, run the Winndows Setup
utilities to reconfigure your system to run as a basic
environment. Obtain Tech Info document #2533 "Simplify your
Windows System" for information on doing this.
Many of these problems are due to display and sound drivers
(though others, such as CD-ROMs or MIDI, can cause these
problems also). For example, if you are using a high
resolution display driver, and you encounter these
installation problems, Set your display to the generic
Windows display driver, and re-install. Once the
installation has been completed, reload the appropriate
drivers, and run dBASE.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
----------------------
The information listed above is intended to be a helpful suggestion
in resolving a software/hardware problem. Approaches to data recovery
will work depending on the severity of corruption. In addition, there are
data recovery utilities available at your local software retailer's store.
We hope this information is helpful in resolving the problem you
encountered, of course, we cannot guarantee success in every situation.
If you wish further assistance, you may choose from a Borland Assist
support package or use one of the Advisor hotlines. Please refer to
Technical Information document 9800 for information on Borland Assist, or
call (800) 523-7070. For a listing of books on dBASE for Windows, please
refer to Technical Information document 2520. For a listing of books on
dBASE IV, please refer to document 1644. Borland provides toll-free
automated technical advice, 24 hours a day, at (800) 524-8420. A number
of non-supported utilities are also available on both our bulletin board
and our CompuServe forum.
DISCLAIMER: You have the right to use this technical information subject
to the terms of the No-Nonsense License Statement that you received with
the Borland product to which this information pertains.
_________________________________________
> Another Twist STR FOCUS! On an Old, Familiar Tale...
""""""""""""""""""""""""
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the shop, the computers
were whirling, they never do stop. The power was on and the temperature
just right, in hopes that the input would feed back that night. The
system was ready, the program was coded and memory drums had been
carefully loaded. While adding a Christmasy glow to the scene, the
lights on the console flashed red, white and green.
When out in the hall there arose such a clatter, the programmer ran out
to see what was the matter. Away to the hallway he flew like a flash,
forgetting his key in his curious dash. He stood in the hallway and
looked all about, when the door slammed behind him and he was locked
out.
Then, in the computer room, what should appear, but a miniature sleigh
and eight tiny reindeer. And a little old man, who with scarcely a
pause, chuckled "My name is Santa...the last name is Claus." The
computer was startled, confused by the name. Then it buzzed as it heard
the old fellow exclaim, "This is Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and
Vixen, and Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen".
With all these odd names, it was puzzled anew. It hummed and it clanked
and a main circuit blew. It searched in its memory core, trying to
think", then the multi-line printer went out on the blink. Unable to do
it's electronic job, it said in a voice that was almost a sob, "Your
eyes - how they twinkle, your dimples - so merry. Your cheeks so like
roses, your nose like a cherry. Your smile - all those things, I've been
programmed to know, and at data-recall, I am more than so-so.
But your name and your address (computers can't lie), are things that I
just cannot identify". "You've a jolly old face, and a little round
belly, that shakes when you laugh like a bowl full of jelly. My scanners
can see you, but still I insist, since you're not in my program, you
cannot exist."
Old Santa just chuckled a merry "Ho-Ho", and sat down to type out a
quick word or so. The keyboard clack-clattered, it's sound sharp and
clean, as Santa fed this "data" to the machine. "Kids everywhere know
me, I come every year. The presents I bring add to everyone's cheer. But
you won't get a thing--that's plain to see, too bad your programmers
forgot about me." Then he faced the machine and said with a shrug,
"Happy Christmas to all!", as he pulled out it's plug.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N
FARGO PRIMERA PRO COLOR PRINTERS - 600DPI
For a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent
to you that demonstrates FARGO Primera & Primera Pro SUPERIOR QUALITY
600dpi 24 bit Photo Realistic Color Output, please send a Self Addressed
Stamped Envelope [SASE] (business sized envelope please) to:
STReport's Fargo Printout Offer
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155
Folks, the FARGO Primera Pro has GOT to be the best yet. Its far superior
to the newest of Color Laser Printers selling for more than three times as
much. Its said that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words. Send for this
sample now. Guaranteed you will be amazed at the superb quality. (please,
allow at least a one week turn-around)
A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
Fire up that high-speed modem and head for your favorite GEnie Software
Library! Effective October 10, 1994, you'll be able to participate in an
open beta test, offering access to GEnie Services at 9600 bps for as
little as $5.00 per hour.
As a result of an arrangement with Sprint, GEnie will be offering 9600 bps
access from almost 300 SprintNet locations. Best of all, this high-speed
access will not be subject to high-priced surcharges. The normal $2.00
per hour SprintNet surcharge will apply...even at 9600 bps! This open
beta test is expected to run through the end of the year.
To find the number of the SprintNet access number nearest you, simply type
PHONES at any GEnie menu prompt (or use the "Move To Keyword" option in
GENIE for Windows and type PHONES). Remember, this rate applies only to
9600 bps access via SprintNet. So be sure to choose the access number
showing "9600" in the "Baud Rate" column AND "SprintNet" in the "Network"
column.
From the "Fine Print" department, please note that the $2.00 per hour
surcharge for SprintNet access is applicable even during your initial four
hours of monthly usage.
So, whether you're into downloading software, reading bulletin boards, or
accessing databases, it's about to become cheaper to do it faster!
GENIE Information Services copyright 1994 by General Electric
Information Services/GENIE, reprinted by permission
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
___ ___ _____ _______
/___| /___| /_____| /_______/ The Macintosh RoundTable
/____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ ________________________
/_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/
/__/|____/|__|________|__/
/__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_/____ Managed by SyndiComm
/__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/
An Official Forum of the International Computer Users Group
*** STReport available in MAC RT ***
ASCII TEXT
for ALL GENIE users!
MAC/APPLE SECTION (II)
======================
John Deegan, Editor (Temp)
> STR InfoFile
""""""""""""
Epson America Inc,
News Release
EPSON STYLUS COLOR INK JET PRINTER SURPASSES COMPETITION
IN INDEPENDENT COST-PER-PAGE TESTS
Printer Offers Users Least Expensive
Cost of Operation Over Life of Product
TORRANCE, Calif., -- EPSON released data from an independent analysis
recently completed by National Software Testing Laboratories, Inc. (NSTL),
showing that the company's new color ink jet printer, the EPSON Stylus
COLOR, is four times less expensive to operate than Hewlett-Packard's
DeskJet 560C and 38 percent cheaper than the Canon BJC-600 on a per-page
basis. The NSTL results clearly demonstrate that the popular 720 x 720
dots per inch (dpi) color printer from EPSON is the price/performance
leader of home and office color printers currently on the market.
NSTL is the leading independent testing and evaluation facility in
the microcomputer industry, and offers computer hardware and software
testing services through two business operations: private contract
testing and non-advertising-based publications.
Based upon a page that has 15 percent coverage each for cyan,
magenta, yellow and black, for a total of 60 percent coverage, the
NSTL report found that the EPSON Stylus COLOR had a cost per page of
13.2 cents for color and 5.3 cents for black. By comparison, the
Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 560C was found to have a cost per page of
58.8 cents for color and 15 cents for black. Canon's BJC-600 measured
in at 22.6 cents per page for color and 7.1 cents per page for black.
All figures were based upon the respective manufacturer's suggested
retail prices (MSRPs) for ink cartridges to eliminate discrepancies
based upon ink cartridge pricing. The figures as tested included
Canon MSRPs of $8 each ($24 total) for three color cartridges and
$7.50 for the black cartridge; Hewlett-Packard MSRPs of $34.95 for
the color cartridge (three colors combined) and $31.95 for black; and
EPSON MSRPs of $35 for color (also three colors combined) and $17 for
black.
EPSON recently redefined the color personal printer marketplace
with the introduction of the EPSON Stylus COLOR, the only color ink
jet printer capable of delivering 720 x 720 dpi resolution in both
color and monochrome. The printer utilizes EPSON's proprietary Stylus
printhead technology specifically designed to deliver the finest text
and graphics available from an ink jet printer.
Offered through Epson's network of dealers for $699 (MSRP), the
EPSON Stylus COLOR delivers the industry's most cost-effective and
unsurpassed quality color prints, unrivalled by any desktop laser or
ink jet printer on the market today.
The EPSON Stylus COLOR, and all EPSON Stylus ink jet printers,
are covered by EPSON's standard two-year limited warranty. Extended
warranties are also available.
EPSON products are supported by the company through the EPSON
Connection, a toll-free customer support and technical assistance
line available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST. For more information,
call 800.289.3776 (800-BUY-EPSON).
Epson contracted with NSTL to conduct an independent comparative
analysis of the yield differential between ink cartridges of three
brands of color ink jet printers. The NSTL study concluded "On a
straight yield basis, and a cost per page basis, the EPSON Stylus
COLOR cartridge outperformed the cartridges of the two competitive
printers." The cost per page comparisons are calculated from the
yield of cartridges at MSRP prices.
Founded in 1983, NSTL is a division of McGraw Hill. NSTL
pioneered the use of objective, comparative testing of personal
computer hardware and software. Beginning in 1993, hardware testing
for BYTE Magazine has been conducted at NSTL. NSTL also conducts
performance tests for other McGraw-Hill publications including
BUSINESS WEEK, LAN TIMES and OPEN COMPUTING.
EPSON offers an extensive array of technology products including
full lines of ink jet, laser and dot matrix printers, color flatbed
scanners, portable and desktop computers, PCMCIA products, and for
the OEM market, a variety of component and electronic devices.
Founded in 1975, Epson America, Inc. is an affiliate of Seiko Epson
Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high quality
technology products that meet customer demands for increased
functionality, compactness, systems integration, and energy efficiency.
****
Brand or patent names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective holders.
NSTL makes no recommendation or endorsement of any product.
Report available from EPSON upon request
_____________________________________________________
> CHRISTMAS! STR FOCUS .......A familiar tale, with a new twist!
====================
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
==========================
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the ship
Not a circuit was buzzing, not one microchip;
The phasers were hung in the armory securely,
In hopes that no aliens would get up that early.
The crewmen were nestled all snug in their bunks
(Except for the few who were partying drunks);
And Picard in his nightshirt and Bev in her lace,
Had just settled down for a neat face-to-face...
When out in the halls there arose such a racket,
That we leapt from our beds, pulling on pants and jacket.
Away to the lifts we all shot like a gun,
Leapt into the cars and yelled loudly, "Deck One!"
The bridge Red-Alert lights, which flashed through the din,
Gave a lustre of Hades to objects within.
When, what, on the viewscreen, should our eyes behold,
But a weird kind of sleigh, and some guy who looked old.
But the glint in his eyes was so strange and askew
That we knew in a moment it had to be Q.
His sleigh grew much larger as closer he came.
Then he zapped on the bridge and addressed us by name:
"It's Riker! It's Data! It's Worf and Jean-Luc!
It's Geordi! And Wesley, the genetic fluke!
To the top of the bridge, to the top of the hall!
Now float away! Float away! Float away all!"
As leaves in the autumn are whisked off the street,
So the floor of the bridge came away from our feet,
And up to the ceiling our bodies they flew,
As the captain called out, "What the hell is this, Q?!"
The prankster just laughed and expanded his grin,
And, snapping his fingers, he vanished again.
As we took in our plight and were looking around,
The spell was removed, and we crashed to the ground.
Then Q, dressed in fur from his head to his toe,
Appeared once again, to continue the show.
"That's enough!" cried the captain,
"You'll stop this at once!"
And Riker said, "Worf! Take aim at this dunce!"
"I'm deeply offended, Jean-Luc," replied Q,
"I just want to celebrate Christmas with you."
As we scoffed at his words, he produced a large sack.
He dumped out the contents and took a step back.
"I've brought gifts," he said, "just to show I'm sincere.
There's something delightful for everyone here."
He sat on the floor and dug into his pile,
And handed out gifts with his most charming smile:
"For Counsellor Troi, there's no need to explain.
Here's Tylenol-Beta for all of your pain.
For Worf I've some mints as his breath's not too great,
And for Geordi LaForge, an inflatable date.
For Wesley, some hormones, and Clearasil-Plus;
For Data, a joke book; for Riker, a truss.
For Beverly Crusher, there's sleek lingerie,
And for Jean-Luc, the thrill of just seeing her that way."
Then he sprang to his feet with that grin on his face
And, clapping his hands, disappeared into space.
But we heard him exclaim as he dwindled from sight,
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good flight!"
Based on "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore
Adaptation Copyright 1990, Eric R. Rountree
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
STReport International OnLine Magazine is available every week for your
reading pleasure on DELPHI. STReport's readers are invited to join DELPHI
and become a part of an extremely friendly community of enthusiastic
computer users there.
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN --DELPHI
--------------
Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
then...
When connected, press RETURN once or twice
and...
At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN.
DELPHI's 20/20 Advantage Plan
20 Hours for Only $20!
-----------------------------
Advantage Members have always enjoyed the lowest DELPHI access rates
available. On the new 20/20 Advantage Plan, members receive their first 20
hours of access each month for only $20. If you happen to meet someone
OnLine or find some other diversion, don't worry because additional usage
is only $1.80 per hour.
20/20 Advantage rates apply for access via SprintNet or Tymnet from within
the continental United States during home time or via direct dial around
the clock. Home Time is from 6pm to 6am weekdays. Access during business
time carries a surcharge of $9 per hour. These rates apply for most
services, but note that there are some surcharged areas on DELPHI which
are clearly marked with a "$" sign.
Who is eligible to take advantage of the plan? Any DELPHI member in good
standing. Applications are reviewed and subject to approval by Delphi
Internet Services Corporation.
It's easy to join. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply
OnLine -- at any time -- for membership in the DELPHI 20/20 Advantage
Plan. Your membership becomes active at 4 a.m. Eastern Time on the first
billing day of the following month.
The $20 charge will be billed to you at the beginning of the month to
which it applies. Any portion of the 20 hours not used in any month does
not carry forward into the next month.
Advantage rates may be changed with 30 days notice given OnLine.
TRY DELPHI FOR $1 AN HOUR!
For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and receive 5
hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only $5. If
you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of the
calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account
active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan,
where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum
$10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry,
this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this
limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once or
twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET> again.
Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll officially
be a member of DELPHI!
DELPHI-It's the BEST Value and getting BETTER all the time!
************************************************************
ATARI/JAG SECTION (III)
=======================
Dana Jacobson, Editor
> From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, it's been one big roller coaster ride for me this past year.
For just over a year, I've been managing the Atari section of STReport.
I have to admit, I was very skeptical of what I'd be able to accomplish
considering the fact that Atari has ceased all computer activity. But,
knowing that software support was still ongoing, I figured that there
would be "enough" news to keep readers interested - supplemented by
the other platform sections within STReport (most of our readers now
support more than one platform these days).
Then, a few months later, I considered adding the latest Atari
product, the Jaguar, to our meager Atari offerings in STReport. To do
so effectively, it was a necessity to re-establish ties with Atari.
Hesitantly, at first, lines of communication were established with the
cooperation with Sam Tramiel and Don Thomas. I don't think that any of
those involved, myself included, have regretted this "bold" move. The
levels of support have been phenomenal over the past year. I'd like to
single out Atari's Don Thomas with a special thanks for hours of
telephone conversations getting things rolling, not to mention the many
hours of calls, online support, and informative mailings. Don also
helped to establish a line of communications with Edelman Public
Relations so that we'd have a continuous flow of hard copy information
to supplement the online material. Don also provided us with an
ongoing game review process which has allowed us to have current games,
as they're available, to test and review for our readers.
It's been a long and tough year, but according to the responses
over the past 12 months, we've been a success and our readers have been
extremely supportive of our efforts. We hope to continue this trend
into 1995 and beyond. The Atari Jaguar, as well as the Atari line of
computers, is the best. It can only get better in time!
I'd like to take a moment to thank the folks who have helped me to
make the Atari section the success that it's been. Many thanks and
holiday greetings to the entire Atari section's editorial and support
staff - with a special thanks to Joe Mirando, Marty Mankins, Dominick
Fontana, Paul Charchian, Craig Harris, and Tom Sherwin. Without the
terrific support by these folks...
I'd also like to thank Ralph Mariano who had the confidence in my
keeping the Atari area informative although he had some misgivings as
to what may have been laying in store for me.
With this being our Christmas issue, I'd like to extend the best
of holiday greetings to all of our readers - worldwide!! You're the
best!
Until next time...
_________________________________________
Delphi's Atari Advantage!!
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (12/21/94)
(1) ATARI INTERNATIONAL FTP SITES (6) STARBALL V.1.6, PINBALL!
(2) CAIN 11/94 (7) WARP 9 NVDI DISPLAY FONTS
(3) SIRCWARE VIRUS KILLER *(8) FRANTICK DEMO
(4) SYSTEM SPEED CHECKER (9) SOFT-SCI SCREENSAVER V.2.7
(5) CRACK ART V. 1.36 (10) RECENT CHECK BOOK PROGRAM
* = New on list
HONORARY TOP 10
The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently
out-performing every other file in the databases.
STREPORT (Current issue: STREPORT 10.51)
ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO: VOLUME 3, ISSUE 13)
Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database.
_________________________________________________
> STR Software Review! - NeoDesk 4
""""""""""""""""""""
NeoDesk 4
Graphic User Interface (GUI)
by Staff Editor Joe Mirando
I can still remember back to the first time I saw an Atari ST in
operation. It was like a dream come true. The thought of always having
to type in all of those cryptic commands made me nauseous.
The ST used a faster processor than the IBM machines of that time,
had a built-in numeric keypad, and used a Graphic User Interface (GUI)
instead of a Command Line Interface (CLI) like the IBM did. I saved
all of my pennies, bought an ST, and computed away to my heart's
content. For a while, anyway.
I soon noticed that, although having a mouse controlled, icon-based,
interface was much easier than having to remember all of those silly
truncated commands, it could still be inconvenient to have to search
through directories and sub-directories for a particular program. You
could of course have open windows on the desktop showing the directories
necessary but, with the addition or subtraction of files, the positions of
the files you're looking for can change. And, in Icon mode, all of the
programs looked the same. Other than the file name below the icon there
was nothing to differentiate any particular program from another. I also
noticed that the plain old desktop was just that: Plain. Gee, but it
would be nice to be able to show a picture or a pattern of some sort
just to break the monotony.
Another thing that tended to tick me off was the fact that there
was no way to show files in un-sorted order.
Evidently, I wasn't the only one that saw these shortcomings,
because at about the same time, a college student bought an ST and
decided to write a new desktop program for it. That program was
NeoDesk and provided several enhancements over the stock desktop.
Three major revisions later, NeoDesk 4 stands as the premier
desktop replacement for the ST series of computers. Let's take a look
at some of the reasons why.
Aside from being designed to work in conjunction with a multi-tasking
system such as Gribnif Software's GENEVA (see next week's issue for a
review) or, if you decide to set your sights a bit lower, Multi-TOS from
Atari, it provides solutions to the problems I mentioned earlier, plus
many more useful enhancements.
Upon first running NeoDesk 4 (hereafter referred to simply as
"Neo"), you will notice several differences between it and the standard
ST desktop. The first is that the disk drive icons look different.
While this is not significant in and of itself, it should be noted that
Neo provides an integrated icon editor to allow you to customize,
or replace any icon. Icon height and width can also be adjusted through
the Icon editor. In this way, you can also create specialized icon for
each of your commonly used programs.
One of the other things you'll notice is that the Menu Bar across
the top of the screen now says NeoDesk (instead of the standard "DESK),
File, Settings, and Options. This is not so different from the standard:
Desk, File, View, and Options. What is different is the list of options
available under these menus. We'll go into more detail about these
menus in just a little while. But before we do, let's finish taking a
look at the desktop. Someone looking at my computer monitor would see
a "desktop picture" of a terminal display from STAR TREK: The Next
Generation with all sorts of icons lined up in standard 24th century
order (Okay, so I'm a Trekkie... so what?). An ST user who had never
seen Neo would ask "Are all those icons for drive partitions?" The
answer is "no". Neo allows you to place icons directly on the desktop
regardless of whether the icon represents a drive, folder or file.
Because to this, commonly used programs are easily accessed without
having to open windows to their paths. This is true "point and click"
computer usage. Neo also provides for icons for your printer, the Neo
Clipboard (more on this later also), RamDisks, and the Trashcan. These
are specifically supported because they are accessed in special ways
by Neo and the specific icons provide an easy means for Neo to see
what's what.
Neo also allows you to change the size and font for text on the
desktop. Desktop fonts become important with the addition of NeoDesk's
Desktop Notes. Desktop Notes enable you to actually type notes to
yourself right on the desktop (boy, that brings me back to my school
days). Simply click anywhere on the desktop and a flashing cursor
appears. You can now type a note to yourself and save it so that it
comes up every time you run Neo. Once the need for a particular note
has passed, another mouse click enables you to backspace over or delete
the note (A lot easier than the cleanser and steel wool I had to use
back in Miss Minervini's class).
Okay, let's get to those menu options. Under "File" there are the
standard options such as "open", "show info", and "format", but Gribnif
has added some other useful options such as "Quick Disk Info", which
quickly shows you only the drive size, available memory, and the track
and sector information. "File" is also where you will find options to
print the desktop and send a form-feed to your printer.
The Neo "Format Floppy" Option provides a wide array of options
such as which disk to format (either A or B), whether to format single or
double sided, the number of sectors and tracks, normal or high density
(you need a 1.44 meg drive for high density), and whether to format in
normal, twister, or fast 11 format. There's even an Auto option that
will decide which type is best for the number of tracks and sectors
you've selected. Using these options, you can format a double density
disk to a maximum of 830 kilobytes. And you can even format disks in the
background. This may not seem like a big deal, but it does come in
handy on occasion (as a matter of fact, I'm doing it right now; while
I'm typing this, the ST is formatting a disk so that I can make sure
of the maximum disk size).
Also under the "File" menu is the search option. When a window is
open or a drive or folder is selected, search allows you to find a file
by its size, date, time stamp, read/write attribute or any combination
of them. The "Templates" option allows you to specify which file names
to include or exclude in the search and can be "stacked" so that
multiple criteria can be used. Files that fit the criteria can be sent
to a "Group", another NeoDesk innovation. A group looks like a
directory, but can actually consist of files from any drive. Using
this option, you can have Neo search all drives for Degas picture files
except for the ones in medium resolution unless they begin with the
letter "M" or have a date earlier than 10/01/86 and put them in a group
which is then saved. The group can then be opened like a folder and
files can be selected from the group instead of having to go the actual
drive and folder where the file resides. By the way, Neo also allows
you to view Degas pictures directly from the desktop simply by
double-clicking on them. Any resolution picture can be viewed in this
way. The same is true for Neo, Tiny, BMP bitmap, and IMG picture files.
The "Files" menu is also where you can quit NeoDesk, but who would
ever want to quit?
The "Settings" menu holds options for configuring Neo to the way you
want it. "Memory" tells you how much memory you have, how much you
have free, how much Neo is using and allows you to tell Neo how much it
can use. "File" lets you tell Neo whether to confirm before copying,
deleting, or overwriting files, whether to pause after exiting a TOS
application, whether or not to unload itself when running a program to
conserve memory, and whether or not to alert you before it quits. You
can also have Neo copy bad files to the clipboard, and tell it whether
to use copy or move as the default dragging mode (this can be changed
in the copy dialog on-the-fly). You can also set the speed of
background operations such as copying files or formatting disks.
The "Desktop" sub-menu allows you to choose a picture file to
display as the desktop picture. These can be Tiny, NeoChrome, Degas,
IMG, or MicroSoft Windows style BMP files. This menu is also where you
can set options for how Desktop Notes are displayed.
The Window Preferences dialog allows you to set the patterns, text
size and style for drive and folder windows and also provides an option
to use real-time scroll bars, which actually move the files in the
window as you move the scroll bar. This allows you to see
exactly where you are in the directory. MicroSoft Windows could use an
option like this especially since their sliders are not proportional to
the length of the directory.
The "Dialogs" dialog sets the option to display dialogs in a window,
which allows them to be moved or closed easily, and also defines
whether a dialog will "pop up" wherever the mouse pointer is, in the
center of the screen, or whatever position was used last (which is
where displaying them in a window comes in handy.
The "Paths" settings tell Neo where to look for a Batch File
interpreter, Auto-execute programs, and alternate file viewers.
The "Extensions" menu allows you to define any file extension type as
an executable file. For instance, if you make use of self-extracting
LZH files, which typically have the TOS extension, you could rename
them as LZX and define LZX as an executable TOS program. From then on,
simply double-clicking on an LZX file will cause it to self-extract.
This comes in handy, since you will immediately know that an LZX file
is a self-extracting archive and not the actual application file.
The "INF Files" menu defines what INF files are active for which
resolutions. A new INF file is automatically created each time Neo
encounters a new resolution, so you don't actually have to deal with
this at all.
The "Accessories" menu defines accessories that are specifically
designed to access features of NeoDesk to make using them easier.
These accessories can be called either through the "NeoDesk Menu
option, or by holding the <Control> key and pressing one through zero
for a total of 10 possible installed Neo Accessories.
The "Environment" menu allows you to set environment variables.
Since I've never had to install any of these variables, I can't really
give you an in-depth explanation of this one.
The "Miscellaneous" menu allows you to tell Neo whether to show
true file consumption, whether or not to check disks for executable
boot sectors, check for bad file names, and whether format floppies for
disk copies as normal, twisted, fast 11, or auto. It also allows you
to decide if Neo will report program exit status and how to do so, and
how to display dates.
The last option, "Reload NeoDesk?.INF will re-load the current INF
file. This is useful if you have modified the INF file and wish to
return it to its original condition.
The "Options" menu contains the following...well, options:
"Install Desktop Icon" allows you to install one of the
pre-selected desktop icons (Floppy, Hard Drive, RamDisk, Clipboard,
Printer, or Trash Can), give it a name and drive letter, and install
all devices available.
"Install Application" lets you set up programs so that they be run
simply by double-clicking on a file with either of two file
extensions. For instance, if you installed a word processor with the
extensions TXT and DOC, then any time you double-click on a file with
either of those extensions, the word processor would be activated
and, if the program itself allows it, the document would
automatically be loaded into it.
"Program Info File" allows you to set up a program to accept
variables passed to it and to use temporary environmental variables.
This is another option that I've never had occasion (or the need) to
use.
"Begin Macro" activates a macro recorder that will record
everything you do until you end the macro. Using this option, you
can record macros to automate common cyber-chores.
"Execute/Change Macro" allows you to select a macro to run (this
can also be done with keyboard combinations) or change a macro.
"Save" and "Load" "Configuration" act upon the information files
that control the Desktop setup, Desktop Notes, and Macros.
"Edit Icons" calls NeoDesk's superb icon editor, about which an
entire review could be written.
"Snap Icons to Grid" is a very handy option that aligns all icons
on the desktop.
The final "Options" option, "Set Video Mode" allows you to change
resolutions on monitors that allow it (such as switching from ST low
to ST medium on a color monitor).
Now that we've looked through the desktop menu options (albeit
briefly), you've probably noticed that the familiar options to deal
with how files are displayed in a window are missing. That's because
NeoDesk 4 now supplies those options in a menu bar within the window
itself.
The now familiar "File View Sort Options" menu bar inside each
window provides all of the usual options, plus a bunch more ("bunch"
is a technical term, folks). To save some time and space, let's just
look at some of the "extras".
Under "File" you'll find most of the options in the desktop "File"
menu, plus "Create" and "Close" "Folder", "Close Window", "Select All
Items", and "New Group".
Under "View" you can choose to show files either as text or icons,
in large or small text (for text display), 1 column or as many
columns as will fit across the window, whether or not to show time,
size and date, options for "filtering" the files, printing the
directory to printer or disk, and two ways to update the contents of
the directory.
"Sort" allows you to sort by time, date, size, name, or not to sort
at all, and also allows you to reorder the files permanently.
"Options" allows you to Install an Application, Create, Modify, or
Delete a Program Information File, and Load a configuration file.
Along the bottom of the window are buttons that allow you to open
an identical window, change between text and icon display, select all
items in the window, move an item to the root directory, or delete an
item.
This is also where the disk label, if any, is displayed. A small
capital "E" is also displayed here if an executable boot sector was
found.
Another useful feature of Neo windows is the "Split Window" bar
which allows you to view different parts of the directory in the same
window. This is especially handy for re-ordering files.
NeoDesk 4 also utilizes a Hyper-text-style help utility that
explains almost all facets of the program so help is never more than
a window away.
There are many more features to NeoDesk 4, but listing and
explaining them all would result in a review of about the same size
as the manual that is included with the program, so I'll stop here
and hope that I haven't missed anything major.
Next week we'll take a look at Geneva, Gribnif's Multi-tasking
program and how it works in concert with NeoDesk 4 to provide a
powerful, yet easy to use environment for the ST series of computers.
Program Information File
------------------------
Product: NeoDesk 4
from: Gribnif Software
P.O. Box 779
Northampton, MA 01061-0779
(413) 247-5620
_________________________________________
> STR InfoFile
""""""""""""
STR Industry NewsFile Update!
-/- BBS Operator Admits Piracy -/-
The operator of the Massachusetts-based Davey Jones Locker computer
bulletin board has pleaded guilty to violating copyright protections of
commercial software.
Richard D. Kenadek, 43, of Millbury, Massachusetts, is scheduled for
sentencing March 9 by federal judge Mark L. Wolf, facing up to one year
in prison and a fine of $100,000.
In a statement from Boston, U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern said
copyright law also calls for forfeiture of all computer equipment used
in the operation of the copyright infringement activity.
"During its investigation," said the statement, "FBI agents conducted
a search of Kenadek's house pursuant to a federal search warrant and
seized large-scale computer and telephone equipment Kenadek had used to
operate the bulletin board."
In proceedings before U.S. District, Kenadek admitted charging fees to
give subscribers to the BBS access to dozens of copyrighted programs.
The statement added that once online, "subscribers were permitted and
encouraged by Kenadek to download commercial software packages without
paying the owners of the software for the use of their copyrighted
programs. He also increased his inventory of copyrighted software,
without paying fees to the owners of the computer programs, by directing
subscribers to upload additional software to Davey Jones Locker, giving
subscribers 'credits' in the form of extra downloading time for each
software program they added to his bulletin board."
Stern says Kenadek received about $40,000 from the operation.
The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the
Software Publishers' Association.
_______________________________________________
JAGUAR SECTION
==============
Club Drive Review! Kasumi Ninja Out!
AvP Trivia Winners! More Posters!
More Games Imminent! Merry X-Mas!!
> From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
If I try to describe the last 12 months with regard to the
Jaguar's success, it'd be difficult. As I write this week's editorial
(or actually, finish it/them up), the 13th game for the Jaguar has just
been released: Kasumi Ninja. Numbers 14 & 15 are days away. That's
really not that many considering that the Jaguar has been available for
over a year now. So, as I look back over the promises made by Atari's
Sam Tramiel, first for 30-50 games by Christmas, and then reduced to
at least 20 - I have to say that from a perspective of available games,
the Jaguar has not been the success that we all thought possible.
However, I feel that there are many factors that should be
considered to really evaluate the success (or lack of it) of Atari and
the Jaguar. The majority of the first-generation games that are
currently available have, in my opinion, been good. Some can be
considered great while others (a paltry few) as less than what we'd
expected. Games such as Tempest 2000, Aliens vs. Predator, Wolfenstein
3D, Doom, Kasumi Ninja, and even Cybermorph - are excellent games.
More are on the way - there's no doubting that whatsoever!
Something that Atari hasn't done in YEARS is to advertise. Just
tonight, I saw no less than SIX ads for the Jaguar during a 1-hour
syndicated show: a repeat of an old ST:TNG episode! The "teacher" ad,
AvP, and Doom ads are phenomenal!! I've heard Jaguar promotions on the
radio and have even seen some ads in the newspaper. The coverage on
television has also been quite good. And, the gaming magazines have
reportedly carried tons of advertisements!! I really expect that Atari
will do even more next year.
One of the things that Atari has to do next year is make the
availability of the Jaguar greater. It seems some areas of the country
might not have the support that others do. The Jaguar needs to become
another Atari household name again. Those that I've spoken to at Atari
know what they have to do. They're all excited and very positive.
This attitude hasn't been a prevalent factor in years past. Let's all
hope that the momentum carries us into a successful new year!
In this week's issue, we've got some interesting news and
information. New staff member Tom Sherwin offers his second review in
as many weeks: Club Drive. As I mentioned earlier, Kasumi Ninja has
just hit the streets; and we've included the announcement a little
later on. Poster collectors rejoice, Iron Soldier posters are now
available! For those who have entered, or considered entering, our
"Guess the 1st 20 Jaguar Games" contest, we've extended the deadline
until mid-February. There are still a number of current entries that
are right on target with the first 13 games, so we thought that we'd
extend the contest to give them the opportunity to see how they did
with the last 7 games! So, you still have a chance even though our
original deadline was a few days ago! Get your entries in soon. We'll
post an updated contest announcement in future issues and on the
onlines to serve as another reminder.
With Christmas rapidly approaching, I hope that all of you find
something Jaguar-related under your tree! I know that I'll have
something new to play this long holiday weekend; and I hope that you do
too!! Have a safe and enjoyable holiday - we'll see you again just
before the new year begins!
Until next time...
_____________________________________
> Jaguar Catalog STR InfoFile - What's currently available, what's
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" coming out.
Current Available Titles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
J9000 Cybermorph $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9006 Evolution:Dino Dudes $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9005 Raiden $49.99 FABTEK, Inc/Atari Corp.
J9001 Trevor McFur/
Crescent Galaxy $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9010 Tempest 2000 $59.95 Llamasoft/Atari Corp.
J9028 Wolfenstein 3D $69.95 id/Atari Corp.
JA100 Brutal Sports FtBall $69.95 Telegames
J9008 Alien vs. Predator $69.99 Rebellion/Atari Corp.
J9029 Doom $69.99 id/Atari Corp.
J9036 Dragon: Bruce Lee $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9003 Club Drive $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9007 Checkered Flag $69.99 Atari Corp.
J9012 Kasumi Ninja $69.99 Atari Corp.
Available Soon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
CatBox $69.95 ICD
J9042 Zool 2 $59.99 Atari
Bubsy TBD Atari
Iron Soldier $59.99 Atari
Cannon Fodder TBD Virgin
Hover Strike $59.99 Atari
Hardware and Peripherals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER
J8001 Jaguar (complete) $249.99 Atari Corp.
J8904 Composite Cable $19.95
J8901 Controller/Joypad $24.95 Atari Corp.
J8905 S-Video Cable $19.95
Jaguar CD-ROM $149.99 Atari Corp.
________________________________________
> Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Contact: Ron Beltramo Patrick Toland
Atari Edelman Public Relations
408/745-8852 415/433-5381
For Immediate Release
JAGUAR LAUNCHES FIERCEST FIGHTING GAME EVER
Kasumi Ninja sets a new standard in 3D reality and 64-bit power
SUNNYVALE, CA (December 21, 1994) -- Kasumi Ninja, the fiercest fighting
game of all time, is the latest in Atari's arsenal of high power titles
for the 64-bit Jaguar system. Blood fills the screen and body parts fly
through the air as warriors fight to the death in this new combat
thriller.
"For Kasumi Ninja, Atari exploited the 64-bit technology of the Jaguar
system to create the most realistic hand-to-hand combat game ever, both
in terms of player control and character action," said Ted Tahquechi,
Atari game producer. Atari also shows off its superior technology with
the game's spectacular photo-realistic true color, which features a
Comanche camp, an ancient Asian temple, modern day San Francisco and the
lochs of Scotland. (Attentive players may even catch a glimpse of
"Nessie", the Loch Ness monster, swimming through the mist in the
background of the scene.)
"As with most fighters, Kasumi Ninja offers a variety of characters and
battle venues," said Manny LaMancha in the July 1994 GamePro Magazine.
"The graphics are stunning, featuring layer after layer of 3D imagery."
But players be warned -- Kasumi Ninja is not for the faint at heart. That
is why Atari has included a special "Parental Lockout Feature" in the
game. This feature allows parents to program a personal six digit
password code so that only people who know the code can play the game with
the more violent death moves.
Kasumi Ninja players fight to the death with a series of great warriors,
including Pakawa, the Comanche Chief; Danja, the Urban Vigilante; Angus
MacGregor, the Scottish brawler; Thundra, the Amazon Queen; Chagi, the
Kickboxer; Aleric, King of the Goths; and the Ninja Twins, Habaki and
Senzo. As they defeat each of these great fighters, players earn the
right to assume these characters' persona and use their special weapons,
fighting style, and powers Once players have beaten all of their
opponents, they are ready to challenge the mortal enemy Gyaku. But
players must be prepared -- a fatal error can allow Gyaku to unleash his
Demon Minions and destroy the world.
Kasumi Ninja retails for $69.99 and is available at Electronic Boutique,
Babbages and other electronics and toy stores nationwide.
Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar game system has been
named the industry's "Best New Game System" (Video Games Magazine), "Best
New Hardware System" (Game Informer) and "1993 Technical Achievement of
the Year" (DieHard GameFan).
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment systems,
including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and the only video
game system manufactured in the United States.
# # #
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered
trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their owning companies.
# # # END OF FILE # # #
_________________________________________
> Jaguar Developers STR InfoFile - Current Developer Lists & Titles
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Game Title Date Game Type MSRP Publisher
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Air Cars 1Q/95 Racing $59.99 Midnight Ent.
Alien vs Predator NOW Role Play/Adventure $69.99 Atari
Arena Football 1Q/95 Sports TBD V Reel
Assault 1Q/95 Action/Combat $59.99 Midnight Ent.
Barkley Basketball 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari
Battlemorph 1Q/95 Flying/Action $59.99 Atari
Battle Wheels 1Q/95 Racing/Combat TBD Beyond Games
Blue Lightning (CD) 1Q/95 Flying/Action $59.99 Atari
Brett Hull Hockey (CD) 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari
Brutal Sports Football NOW Sports/Combat $69.99 Telegames
Bubsy 12/94 Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari
Burnout 1Q/95 Sports TBD Atari
Cannon Fodder 12/94 Action/Adventure TBD Virgin
Checkered Flag NOW Racing $69.99 Atari
Club Drive NOW Racing $59.99 Atari
Creature Shock (CD) 1Q/95 Adventure/Sci-Fi TBD Atari/Virgin
Cybermorph NOW Flying/Action $59.99 Atari
Dactyl Joust 2Q/95 Action TBD Atari
Demolition Man 1/95 Action/Combat $59.99 Atari
Doom NOW Action/Combat $69.99 Atari
Double Dragon V 1Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Williams
Dragon:Bruce Lee Story NOW Combat $59.99 Atari
Dragon Lair (CD) 1Q/95 Adventure TBD Ready Soft
Dreadnought (CD) 2Q/95 Adventure TBD Atari
Dungeon Depths 1Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Midnight Ent.
Evolution: Dino Dudes NOW Puzzle/Adventure $49.99 Atari
Flashback 1Q/95 Action/Adventure TBD US Gold
Fight For Life 1Q/95 Combat TBD Atari
Hardball Baseball 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari
Highlander (CD) 1Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari
Horrorscope 1Q/95 Combat TBD V Reel
Hover Strike 1Q/95 Action/Combat $59.99 Atari
Iron Soldier 12/94 Action/Strategy $59.99 Atari
Jack Nicklaus Golf(CD) 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari
Kasumi Ninja NOW Combat $69.99 Atari
Rage Rally 1Q/95 Racing TBD Atari
Raiden NOW Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari
Rayman 1Q/95 Action/Adventure TBD UBI Soft
Robinson Requiem 1Q/95 Adventure TBD Atari
Soccer Kid 1Q/95 Sports TBD Ocean
Space War 1Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari
Star Raiders 1Q/95 Space Simulation TBD Atari
Syndicate 1Q/95 Simulation TBD Ocean
Tempest 2000 NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari
Theme Park 1Q/95 Simulation TBD Ocean
Tiny Toon Adventures 1Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari
Trevor McFur NOW Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari
Troy Aikman NFL Ftball 1Q/95 Sports $69.99 Williams
Ultimate Brain Games 1Q/95 Puzzle TBD Telegames
Ultra Vortex 1Q/95 Action/Adventure $69.99 Beyond Games
Val D'Isere Skiing... 12/94 Sports $59.99 Atari
White Men Can't Jump 1Q/95 Sports TBD TriMark
Wolfenstein 3D NOW Combat/Action $59.99 Atari
Zool2 12/94 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari
[Editor's note: Titles, scheduled release dates, and prices are
verified from Atari and Edelman Public Relations - all subject to
change]
____________________________________________
> Jaguar Game Title STR Review - "Club Drive"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
CLUB DRIVE
==========
-= Available Now =-
by Thomas Sherwin
Have you ever wanted to race through the streets of San Francisco or
burn rubber through the Old West? Ever wanted to drive in a skateboard
park made for a car? Or have you ever wondered what being a Matchbox
car is like? Now you can with Atari's Club Drive, the first one or
two player car game for the Jaguar. Unlike "track-style" games,
Club Drive allows you complete freedom to go wherever your car can take
you.
One player can race against the clock between two checkpoints, or collect
randomly scattered "powerballs" as quickly as possible. Two players can
race each other, compete for the most powerballs, or play Tag where the
object is to be "it" for the least amount of time. You can do all of
thi
s in any of four scenarios:
Old West - Drive in Old West towns and on twisty canyon roads. For
tag and powerball, this area is limited to one town area.
San Francisco - Speed through the hilly SF area (watch out for the
trolley!) and through some mountain passes over to the beach. For
powerball and tag, this area is limited to a two-level parking garage,
Jerome's Pad - Be a Matchbox car in someone's duplex apartment.
Navigate behind furniture, drive up on the coffee table, or slam
into the toilet. You can even terrorize a cat and mouse. For
powerball and tag, this area is limited to a smaller area (more like a
studio apartment).
Velocity Park - For a race, be a toy car on those old Hot Wheels
tracks (remember those?). For tag and powerball, race around a
skateboard park for cars. Drive up the curved walls or take flight
from one of the ramps.
You can also choose from several "camera" angles:
Driver's Seat - Self explanatory
Fixed Point - You watch everything as if from a camera mounted on a
stationary tower.
Behind the car - See everything from a fixed point behind your car.
Chase Copter - Similar to behind the car but the distance from the
car varies depending on your speed. If you suddenly stop, the camera
comes slamming into the back of you. As you hit the gas, your car
starts to leave the camera behind.
Other options include choice of music, choice of car color/shape, and
adjustable sound FX/music levels.
NOTE: I have yet to find a "Club Drive" partner so all reviews are biased
towards the single player perspective. I'll note other people's comments
where appropriate.
Graphics
--------
A mixed bag, depending on the location and the camera angle you choose.
In the SF town, the frame rate seems to drop dramatically, almost to the
point of making the game completely annoying. But the other locations
and the SF mountain passes/beach are all done fairly smoothly. Still,
the graphics look a little rough and probably could use some more
smoothing out. The shading DEFINITELY could have been done better.
Hills in the Old West canyon are IMPOSSIBLE to detect... that is, until
your car goes tumbling into the mountain wall.
In the behind the car view, colliding with something sometimes wreaks
havoc with the graphics. You can find yourself seemingly "stuck" in
a wall, building, or rockface until you find the right way to get out.
This does not seem to happen with the other viewpoints. I find it
hard to believe that anyone put any significant amount of play-testing
in using this viewpoint. The smoothest graphics seem to come from the
fixed point camera angle. Unfortunately, I found this to be the hardest
to use. Driver's seat view restricts how much you can see and chase
copter can sometimes be disorienting.
Other Minor Quirks: The "cat" and "mouse" in Jerome's pad are VERY crude.
You'd never know what they were until you ran into them.
Nice Touches: The TV in Jerome's Pad either plays a Pong game or shows
YOU driving... in real time! When a game is over, it will show you
what your driving was like as it actually happened. What you think
was normal driving may look pretty ridiculous when seen afterwards.
Two player play supposedly slows the graphics down a lot. General
consensus so far is that the frame rate is "acceptable".
Sound FX/Music
--------------
The background tunes range from some funky Jazz to some really weird
piano bar music. Each tune seems to be well suited to a certain
location, but you can change it with a tap of a keypad button. If the
music is annoying, you can adjust the volume to your liking.
Except for Jerome's Pad, the sound FX could have used a LOT more work.
Collisions illicit a quiet little crash and the engine is just WAY too
annoying. It sounds very little like a car and the volume is only
adjustable as "noisy" and "silent". The other sound FX are adjustable,
but there's so few to warrant lowering the volume.
In Jerome's pad, hitting the cat gets you an anguished "meow". Running
over the mouse causes it to squeak in protest. Hitting the toilet
causes it to flush. Slamming the piano gets a few odd key notes.
And doors that you push open make a terrible creak. Pretty neat.
Control
-------
For me, the controls took a little while to get used to. At first, they
just don't seem too logical. The directional thumb pad is used for
varying degrees of steering (up-left = slow left turn, left = left turn,
down-left = quick left, etc.). The ABC buttons are used for brakes,
gas, and reverse. I'm used to left=left, right=right, one button for
brakes and one for gas. But after a while, I grew quite fond of the
controls. If you think about it, this layout makes the MOST sense.
Use the directional pad as if you were turning a steering wheel off
center. The farther from center-up you are, the more sharp of a turn
you'll make. My only complaint is that the brakes are too quick to
stop the car.
You can set the maximum speed of the car to about 60 and about 100.
The faster speed is just TOO fast for me. It would provide a challenge
for more seasoned gamers. You can also adjust the button layout.
Manual
------
Tells you what you need to know.
Entertainment
-------------
For one player, it's an OK game. Not bad, not great, but OK. Racing
can get a bit tedious for most locations as there is really only
one good route to go and no "drones" in your way to stop you. But
Jerome's
Pad is kind of fun since it is more 3D than the rest and there can be
multiple paths to the same destination. Plus, if you don't care about
the clock, you can always terrorize the cat and mouse or take jumps
off of the coffee table.
Powerball is by far the most fun in Velocity Park. The VERY 3D layout
makes it loads of fun to drive up the walls and jump over ramps. The
others aren't as neat since your driving area is so restricted. The cat
and mouse also disappear from Jerome's Pad :(. The Old west is the worst
for powerball.
Rumour has it that Club Drive becomes infinitely more fun when you
play it with a friend. Can you say "Brutal Sports Football" boys
and girls...
Hype Factor
-----------
Huh? Let me explain... Club Drive was one of the top ten most
anticipated titles back in the summer. The concept was very original
and early releases showed a lot of promise. People made it out to
be a "64-bit" game from its inception. The result was just an OK
game that fell WAY short of expectations. The dropped modem feature
REALLY hurts (IMHO). I think it would have fared better overall if kept
under wraps and quietly introduced. CD seems to be synonymous with
"disappointment".
Graphics: 6.0
Sound FX/Music: 7.5
Control: 9.0
Manual: 8.0
Entertainment: 7.0 (maybe higher for 2P)
Reviewer's Overall: 6.5
Summary
-------
For solitary gamers, it is an OK game. It's better than what the Genesis
or SNES could do, but it hardly screams "64-bit". A few more months in
development would have helped this game a lot as the released product
seems unpolished. It does have its redeeming qualities but $60
is a lot to spend on "OK". If you get a chance, try before you buy. If
you don't, pass.
For gamers with lots of gaming friends, this might have infinitely more
value. People that have played CD with a friend claim it's a blast.
Perhaps someone with first-hand experience could shed better light...
Developed by: Atari
Published by: Atari
Price: US $57.99
________________________________________
> Jaguar Easter Eggs/Cheats/Hints STR InfoFile - Solving Those Riddles!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
From Compuserve's Atari Gaming Forums, Atari's John Skruch offers this
little Checkered Flag tidbit:
For you Checkered Flag fans, here's a little Christmas present. At the
weather option, input 8473 on the keypad. It will now have a new Dark
option. Sort of a Night Driver 2000. Enjoy and Merry Christmas.
_____________________________________
> Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
CATnips ..... Jaguar notes from Don Thomas
I am pleased to announce the winners of the Alien Vs. Predator (AvP)
trivia contest. The contest was announced and the questions released by
Atari's own Ron Beltramo at CompuServe's AvP conference on November 29
and on GEnie's AvP conference on November 30.
The contest was open to all onliners who attended the conferences and/or
obtained a transcript of either/both conference from the Atari Jaguar
forum libraries.
Here are the answers to those mind boggling questions ...
1) Alien Vs. Predator by Atari for the 64-bit Jaguar interactive
multimedia system features the ability for the player to become any
one of three characters. What are those characters?
Answer: B. An Alien, a Predator and a Marine
2) Which film studios produced the Alien and Predator films?
Answer: C. Twentieth Century Fox and Twentieth Century Fox
3) Alien Vs. Predator is a virtual world challenge which is described
in the manual to be:
Answer: A. a tactical simulator depicting the events
following the fall of Camp Golgotha Colonial Marine
Training Base.
4) An effective tool to be used while playing Alien Vs.
Predator is the H.U.D. which offers status displays.
What does H.U.D. stand for?
Answer: A. Heads-Up Display
5. One of the many obstacles to avoid is referred to as a
Facehugger. A Facehugger is which of the following?
Answer: A. A creature that attaches itself to the face of its
host.
-----------------------------------------------------------
METHOD OF RANDOM DRAWING....
All names were alphabetized and duplicates were removed so all entries
had an equal opportunity to win. A computer program written by
Mr. Michael Fulton picked three random numbers which were used to count
through the huge stack of entries ...
AND THE WINNERS ARE ...
PRIZE WINNER ONLINE ADDRESS
------------------------------------------------------------
Jaguar 64-bit Ewen Wheeler howard_saunders@porthole.entnet.nf.ca
game system
Autographed
AvP Cartridge Pete Ahles ahles@gate.net
Jaguar Clay Halliwell ehalliwe@emh.kunsan.af.mil
T-Shirt
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone for entering.
The prizes have been shipped and are on their way.
Don't forget.... Tempest 2000 Soundtracks (on compact disc)
are available as well as Jaguar software preview tapes and
Alien Vs. Predator Posters! Contact your SysOp for more
information or contact:
Don Thomas at
JAGUAR$@genie.geis.com
or
75300.1267@compuserve.com
CATnips ..... Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas
NEW IRON SOLDIER POSTERS!!!!
Atari Corporation will soon be taking delivery of a cinema-quality Iron
Soldier promotional poster. For those who don't know about Iron Soldier,
the phenomenal new 64-bit Jaguar game due to arrive in stores as early as
this week, you are in for possibly the most incredible game of 1994. As
the pilot of a mammoth robot, you have been assigned one of many
challenging missions... sometimes to protect and often to destroy. Look
down at your feet as you walk, but not too long, there are virtually real
helicopters, tanks and convoys out to get you within the crowded cities
and open countryside.
Mr. Greg LaBrec was so highly praised for his work on the Alien Vs.
Predator Poster that he has been inspired to produce an awesome poster
for Iron Soldier. The poster looks just like a poster you would see at a
theater and is intended for retail store windows and promotions.
Okay... that's enough good news. Here's some bad news... I will be on
vacation beginning December 22 through January 2, so the posters will
have arrived a couple of days before I'll get my hands on them for us
onliners!
GOOD NEWS... Marketing will let me reserve as many as I need *IF* I tell
them about how many right after I get back from vacation...
So here's the online deal!....
It's DRIVE DON CRAZY WEEK! If you want one of these great Iron Soldier
posters, I'll send you one FREE if you prepay Atari's minimum shipping
and handling charge of $4.95. That covers the tube, postage and the raw
costs to get it out the door. All you have to do is request your copy at
any time beginning right now through January 2nd. The more you onliners
want the more I'll go crazy trying to catch up when I get back from
vacation!
So fill my mail box while I'm away. I will try to keep my E-mail open for
more requests and make sure the fax machine is full of paper. All you
have to do is tell me you want one and be patient for a couple weeks.
Here's how to request an Iron Soldier poster (or an Alien Vs. Predator
poster)...
Send $4.95 ($6.95 U.S. funds for Canada) in the EXACT amount. Payment
may be received in Money order, check, MasterCard or Visa. Please
remember to include mailing name and address, online address and daytime
phone number.
REQUESTS BY EMAIL with CREDIT CARD:
75300.1267@compuserve.com
-or-
jaguar$@genie.geis.com
REQUESTS BY BBS with CREDIT CARD:
private SysOp mail on
CATscan @ 209/239-1552
REQUESTS BY FAX with CREDIT CARD:
408/745-2088
REQUESTS BY MAIL: (checks payable to Atari)
Drive Don Crazy Iron Soldier Poster Sellout
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
(offer good while quantities last and limited to North American mailing
addresses only.)
Note that the posters will be delivered to Atari one per tube. I cannot
double up posters. Everyone can request as many tubes they like at
$4.95 S&H per tube, but please do not request for more than one per
mailing tube.
Don't forget these other items too.....
Tempest 2000: The Soundtrack
12 outstanding tracks from the hit video game.
The cost is $12.99 plus $3.50 shipping and
handling. (The shipping and handling is
reduced from Atari's normal $4.95 for a
limited time.) That's a total of $16.49
($17.56 in California) ($18.49 in Canada).
Software Preview VHS Video
It features over 30 professional video
captures PLUS Atari's recent television
commercials. The price is $8.95 plus $4.95
S&H or a total of $13.90 ($14.64 in
California) ($15.90 in Canada).
Alien Vs. Predator posters
There is one FREE for each shipping and
handling fee of $4.95 ($6.95 in Canada).
You can help a LOT by passing this offer electronically to another Forum,
Roundtable or BBS or make a hard copy and give to friends. Thanks!
**********************************************
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (parting comments to 1995....)
**********************************************
This is a special Holiday for me. For the first time in many years, my
entire family will be together for Christmas in Chicago. My wife and son
are there already waiting for me with her family and I will be chasing
after them on Thursday (tomorrow).
It's hard for me to look back at just this one year as is common at this
time of year. For me, I will be compressing many years of precious
moments away from family into little more than one complex week.
Likewise, I cannot imagine what the Jaguar would have been without years
of development and hard work and an evolutionary process that brought
Atari into existence and the people who have kept the name alive.
This year I am particularly proud to be working at Atari. I am equally
proud of Atari's online family who has supported us all the way. We have
shared some teasing about software releases, but we have all enjoyed the
rewards that patience offers to us.
When I finally sit back and realize there is no other way to express the
enjoyment I have had selling the greatest interactive machine in the
world....
...all I can say is "Thank you!". You are very special to Atari. You have
helped us wrap up a great holiday season and propel us into a promising
new year!
--Don Thomas
Atari Corporation
___________________________________________
> FFL FAQ STR FOCUS!
""""""""""""""""""
FIGHT FOR LIFE FAQ
Vers 1.1
by Danny Miskin
If you have any questions send E-Mail to me at 74067,53 or leave
a message in either the Video Games or Atari Gaming Forum. I
will try to answer your questions in the next version of the FAQ
which should be out soon enough (the sooner I receive the info
the sooner the FAQ goes out).
If you send in some questions it will allow you to get the
information YOU want on the game, although I hope this FAQ will
answer most of those question as it keeps on being posted. Oh, if
anyone has access to the Internet and could post the FAQ somewhere
that would be great. If so please contact me, thanks. Also anyone
who has access to other networks contact me I'd like to get the
information on the game wide spread.
_________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the 2nd FFL FAQ. For those of you who don't know Fight
For Life is a new VF style fighting game being worked on now for
the Jaguar. It's being developed by Francois who worked for Sega's
AM2 R&D staff who have made games like Virtua Fighter 1 and 2,
Daytona and many other games. He actually worked on VF1 and 2, and
also on the Saturn version of Virtua Fighter. He has been working
on FFL for about 8 months now.
Now of course as many of you are thinking it's just a VF clone for
the Jag but that is where you're all VERY WRONG. The only
similarities that I can think of are that it's a VR fighter and uses
3 buttons, a punch, a kick and a defence button and that's where the
similarities start to end. Well since the Jag only has 3 buttons I
guess it really isn't a similarity is it.
Does any know how many VF style games are now being worked on or
being released? I can think of around 8 maybe more. Sony has one
or two lined up for the Playstation one is called TO-SHI-DEN, Namco
is releasing a VF style fighter in the arcades soon it was previewed
at either the AMOA or JAMMA called Tekken. There's also a 2nd VF
style game coming to the Jag by Rainmaker who no one seems to have
heard from in a while. Then there's that game BALLZ which I think
just looks slightly pathetic for Genesis. So that's only 5 but
there are more.
- Story -
So far the story is this.
Because of their bad attitudes, these 8 fighters have been sent
to hell for the rest of their dead lives. Every year, there is
a tournament in hell, and the winner may encounter the son of the
devil. A victory against this guy means a life, a new life.
Welcome to Fight For Life.
Yes, I know it's very basic but that's how Francois explained it
to me. It should get more into it later on but for now that's it.
I still don't have any more then that.
- The Characters -
Here's the list of the 8 characters you will be able to choose from
and some character descriptions.
- Sarah O'C. (She's in the Game Fan pixs) Francois has been forced
to change her name because of the similarity between her
name and the Sarah in VF. I told him that would happen. Oh,
he did say she has the coolest background so we now have
something we know to look for. So far I don't know what her
name has been changed to.
- Ian : Ian has blonde hair and is fully decked out in Army clothing.
He seems to have a small heart tattoo on his left arm. I have
a bad feeling about him...
- Pog : Pog wears shades, rip jeans, white shirt and a hat. For those
of you who have the Demo Tape he's in the first pixs when they
start to show the game with Ian. Francois says that he's the
best character in the game. Oh, it's really cool Francois
designed him to look like a friend of his in France maybe
that's the reason?
- Muhali
- M.J : I think he's the black boxer but I'm not sure, it could be
Muhali though. Oh, the reason I think he is, is because the
boxer on the tape seems to have the initials MJ on his gloves.
- Lun
- Kimura
- Jenny
--------
- Junior
Well would anyone like to guess who Junior is? He's the Devil's
son of course and he sounds deadly.
For those of you who have seen the FFL pixs in the December Game
Fan you might notice a character name has changed. There is no
longer a character named Bill.
- Game play -
Here is where Fight For Life starts to begin it's journey away
from Virtua Fighter.
When you begin you will only have BASIC moves (Punching and
Kicking). Now you must be thinking well then we LEARN new moves as
we play, no that is not the case in FFL... YOU STEAL moves from
your opponents. Meaning after you win a fight you get the choice
of picking moves from your opponents arsenal. In Francois words if
we begin the game with the same character, were not going to finish
it with the same.
Now here's something to add to this. There is a Password Option, so
we will be able, if we fight against each other to see who made the
best choices and who has the best fighter. Again his words.
FFL has been designed to be FULL 3D Fighting. What this means is
the characters not only walk straight or jump straight they can
walk sideways and jump in different directions. Francois hopes
that this will give the game a much better VR feel. VF does not
have this style of play and as I said Francois hopes this will make
the game even better.
Special moves
No, I'm not listing any BUT here's how they will be performed.
Francois has just recently made this change to the game and
hopefully I won't screw up explaining it.
There are 3 ways of performing moves in FFL.
1. Hold down a certain button then do a motion.
2. Do a motion then press a button (ie Up, Up, Right + A)
Ok the 3rd I guess isn't how you perform it but I'm a little
confused in how I should explain it.
Say you were going to do a left punch then a right punch.
You'd have to wait until your left punch is finished before
being able to get the right punch in. Well I'm still
confused about it. I should have been recording our
conversation...
There are a total of 40 special moves in the game. Each character
has 5. So after you win a match you'll have a choice of 2 or 3 moves
from the character you just beat. What this means is that by the
time you reach Junior you may have between 14 and 21 special moves at
your disposal (boy is it going to be hard to keep track of the motions
but won't it be fun).
The order in which you'll have to fight your opponents is preset.
Meaning each character will go through their opponents in a different
order to get to Junior.
- Graphics -
Resolution : 320 x 240
FFL uses an over scan screen.
FPS : 20 (Francois has told me the FPS is up there)
1000 Polygons Per Frame, but here is a little note about
that, that Francois told me.
"By the way when I say I have 1000 polygons per frame, it
means I DRAW 1000 polygons on the screen, but I calculate
a lot more (hidden, face, clipping...)."
Colour : 16-bit colour (65536 colours)
Now to the REAL information on the graphics.
There will be MORPHING in the game!!! yes Shang Tsung style
except I haven't been able to get any thing out of him on who
will be using it but I'm betting the last boss will be (JUNIOR!).
All Light is calculated in real time, and both the texture
mapped and flat polygons are shaded depending on the light
source.
*Now here comes ONE of the things that those of you who have
been reading my messages should know by now things have changed
and like said could keep changing. Francois DID put in Gouraud
Shading. Sean F., that was going to be for you, but he was forced
to remove it for now. He did say it was in one version of the
Game but that the because of the data, the calculation time was
going to be too large so like I said he had to remove it.
It does not look like the Gouraud Shading will make it into the
game...at least for the version that will be at the WCES. There
may still be hope for it though in the final version.
Each character is made up of around 800 polygons. The Polygons at
this point are from 25 to 50% done depending on the character. So
for those of you who have seen the latest Demo Tape I'm guessing
that there's been a lot done since then.
The platform the characters fight on is made up of around 100 polys.
I noticed some connection problems with the polys on the tape
with one of the characters. Francois has told me that there may
very well be some connectivity problems because of the way he had
to setup the game. He did say that VF for Saturn has the same
problem but so far I haven't heard any complaints about it. He is
expecting some people to complain about this but he said it
shouldn't be too noticeable.
"If Francois didn't do the artwork, who did?"
Q - from Kerry G. AOL
A - Richard Ho has done the rest of the graphics and artwork on
the game. However because the CES is so close he was joined
recently by a 2nd graphic artist. Richard is now working on the
motion of the characters.
Sorry Sean still haven't gotten an answer about the PAL tv deal.
I'll keep trying.
- Notes -
Francois has done all of the coding in the game alone but he said
he has done less then 1% of the graphics and now we know who as
done the rest.
Francois is now working on the AI and I'm hoping the CPU opponents
will not be push overs like in most fighting games.
The game will be a 32 meg Cart. So think about this, VF on Saturn
is on a CD of course and has all of that memory to make the game.
FFL is on a cart and so far pixs wise comes very close to the
FINISHED version of VF and technically speaking is somewhat beyond VF.
Any one want to see Francois make a game using the CD for the extra
memory? with the rumour that the CD will have a texture-mapping chip.
I think I read that somewhere...
Someone else has recently joined the team from Atari and...what
they may be working on is a *Modem* version of the game. No big
deal there. Oh, this is still only rumoured to be happening even
though I get the information direct from Francois it's not a
guarantee that it will be in the game. Would be cool though don't
you think? Oh, Steve W. since this is an Atari game do you think
it could very well be a Voice Modem game, although this is still
just speculation.
For those of you who read the message that I said who ever has
seen the Demo Tape I'm betting a lot had be done since that had
been taped. I was right. I'm still trying to find out though
what version of the game it was but I've been told that it wasn't
the latest and that a lot has been done since then. Francois did
not say that but, it was someone that I of course trust more then
anyone else at Atari.
Well folks like I said to someone I've been speaking to for the
past little while about the game and other stuff forget I even
mentioned there being some other information, consider it none
existent. Sorry, I was told to more or less do the same. No, this
does not concern me doing the FAQ so it will keep on being posted
even after we get the game, only then it will have special moves and
everything in it until we know everything there is to know about it.
Francois is working straight through the holidays. So everyone
should wish him a merry Christmas, he's very dedicated to bringing
us one of the best VR fighters around.
MERRY Christmas Francois, Joyeux fetes. :)
- Credits -
I'd like to thank the following people.
Francois : for making the game...as you read this, and of course
for answering all of my questions and giving me all the
info.
John K. : well since he drove me crazy constantly talking about
Tempest. I bought the system... he was right Tempest
RULES!
Jeff Minter : for showing me why I bought the system in the first
place, TEMPEST!!! I WANT MORE MINTER!!!
Oh, THE VLM RULES!!! MORE MINTER!!!
Don Thomas : For just helping me out with the Mag and being very
honest about everything.
Richard Ho : for doing a great job on the graphics so far and I'm
sure he'll continue to do so.
I'd also like to thank rest of the people who are working on FFL
and finally Sam Tramiel why? well for getting the system out in
the first place, and for hopefully getting Atari to finally succeed,
since the Tramiels took over.
I hereby acknowledge all companies and games mentioned in this FAQ.
Everyone have a merry christmas and a happy new year. :)
cya next time, and remember don't thank me for the FAQ thank Francois.
MORE QUESTIONS, SEND THEM IN IF YOU WANT ANSWERS!!!
(c) copyright 1994, ahh who cares!
_________________________________________
> A Christmas Story STR Feature
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
YES SAMANTHA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS
====================================
by Joe Mirando
Some of you may remember that last year my five year old
goddaughter Samantha had several questions about why I wanted a
Falcon030 (because my old ST already did far more than her daddy's
DOS computer did), and why the folks who made the Falcon didn't let
people know about it. Yes, she was a precocious five year old and,
as some great philosopher no doubt once said, a year will make a
precocious five year old a precocious six year old.
About a week and a half ago, Samantha came over to my place (she
brought her parents with her of course), and was amazed to see me
sitting on the floor in front of my television playing a video game.
I just gotten a Jaguar and was putting it through its paces. I used
to play with the Atari 2600 game system years ago, but thought that
I'd outgrown video games. A few minutes with a friends Jaguar
convinced me that I was wrong.
Sammy looked at me with her big green eyes (My nickname for her is
Junior Mint) and said "Hey Unka Joe, can I play"?
Now, I was playing Wolfenstein 3-D. If you haven't seen it, Wolf
3-D is a game where you basically just shoot Nazis with a variety of
different weapons and listen to them yell as they fall down and die.
Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive about letting my favorite
six year-old play it. "No," I said, "But I've got a game here that I
think you'll like. I popped CyberMorph into the Jag and showed her
quickly which controls did what and pointed a few of the points of
interest. As she joyfully piloted the ship between mountains and
discovered how to climb and dive, I went into the kitchen to have a
cup of coffee with my wife and Sammy's parents. After coffee, I went
back in to see how Sammy was doing in Cybermorph. I guess that kids
really do have a natural aptitude for games, because she had beaten
my best score.
Seeing that I was back in the living room, Sammy stopped playing
and said "This is cool, Unka Joe". Sammy currently has three major
phrases in her conversational vocabulary. They are: "Cool", "No
Way", and "NOT". I was glad that I got the "Cool".
"Is this the game that my daddy saw in the green part of the
paper"? asked Sammy.
I knew instantly what she was talking about. My brother-in-law
reads USA TODAY every day and the "Money" section of USA TODAY uses a
green banner. This is the section of the paper where Dan Dorfman
works his magic... magic that he has worked on Atari several times in
the past year.
"Yes Sammy," I said, "this is the one. Do you like it"?
"Yeah," she said, "It's lots of fun. This is way better than
'tendo. Maybe I'll ask Santa for one of these for Christmas".
Just then, Sammy's parents came into the living room and saw that
their daughter was enthralled with this new contraption and took a
close look at the television. Both of them enjoyed watching Sammy
play Cybermorph. I then popped in Wolf 3-D and let my brother-in-law
play for a while. He was impressed with the color, sound and smooth
movement. Sammy then asked "Unka Joe, did Santa bring this for you
early"?
"Yes," I said, "You see, Santa gave this to me so that I could play
with it and then tell people if it was any good".
Sammy then said "Greggy says that there is no such thing as Santa
Claus".
"Sammy," I said, "If there wasn't any Santa, where would I get the
Jaguar"?
My logic had her stumped. Her cousin Greg is several years older
than she is and was no doubt more than eager to show off his
worldliness.
She thought for a moment and said "Then there is a Santa"!
Yes Samantha, there is a Santa Claus. Merry Christmas one and all.
__________________________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by
Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Hidi Ho Ho Ho, friends and neighbors. This is the week that the
fat jolly guy makes the rounds and leaves you bunches of stuff that
you didn't even know that you needed.
I'm sure that you've got as much to do as I have, so let's get
right to the reason for this column... All the great news, hints, and
tips available right here on CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forums
===============================
Chris Roth asks:
"What about the ftp feature on CIS? Could you please tell me where
to look? In the Internet forum? Or usenet?"
Carl Barron tells Chris:
"If you have a PC or MAC and the corresponding CIM software GO FTP.
If you don't have such CIM forget CIS's FTP for now at least! GO FTP
will get you a you need a CIM message, if you don't have a CIM. What
it does, I can not say."
Sysop Jim Ness jumps in and says:
"CIS now supports Internet FTP, but only with it's graphical
interface (CIM, WinCIM, MacCIM). I think that their philosophy is
that Internet is slowly but surely going all graphical (via World
Wide Web, for instance), and CIS itself is slowly doing the same, so
that's the way most of their new services will be set up.
In the case of FTP, you tell CIS where you want to look for files,
and a big file selector box comes up. It's like looking for them on
your own computer. You just click on the directory, then on the
file in that directory, and it's transferred to your computer via a
CIS B+ file transfer.
We've been pushing them to add an old-fashioned ASCII-style
interface, but haven't convinced them to commit the resources, yet."
Rob Rasmussen tells us:
"Well, the battery in my Deskcart finally ran out. I have a replacement
battery for it, and I opened up the DC. You told me awhile back how to
change the battery, but I wanted to ask again. The battery is held in
place by what looks like a tiny wire on top that attaches to it, and
something else underneath. Am I supposed to slice through this with an
exacro knife to take it out? I guess that is the terminal that needs to be
re-attached with the new one. Does this have to be soldered back in?"
Mike Mortilla tells Rob:
"Gosh, that was sooooo long ago! I don't remember! I think it
screwed out (the clip that is). Duh! Sorry! But if you get stuck,
I try to find mine and open it up."
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Rob:
"I've never seen the insides of the DeskCart, but I do remember
reading references to its battery being soldered in.
It sounds from your description as if the wire on top should be
unsoldered from the old battery, and resoldered to the new one.
Not sure about the bottom.. if the top is soldered on, the bottom
probably is too."
Rob tells Bob and Mike:
"I guess I should try to install the new battery in the DC - it's
not doing any good sitting here with a dead battery, and I need it
for the clock on my ST - but I am puzzled why it has to be soldered
in. Especially on the bottom, where the guy at Radio Shack said it
looks like I would damage the board if I just pulled it out. A few
remote control devices for my new VCR use these kind of lithium
batteries, but no soldering was involved. (Strange too, because a
remote gets moved around a lot more than a plug-in cartridge) All I
have is a cheapo soldering 'pencil' and rosin solder. Don't know how
I could get it underneath in the tight space to un-solder it, or to
re-attach it.
Mike, yep it was 2 yrs ago I had asked you about the DC battery.
You had said > The battery solders in and out and comes w/terminals
attached. These bend very easily, so be careful.< So maybe you
unsoldered the top one, then could get to the bottom one easier. The
reason I'm asking in detail about all of this is cause I don't want
to destroy it if I attempt it myself <grin>."
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Rob:
"The DeskCart was produced "on a shoestring", so the cheaper the
hardware the better... it's a lot cheaper to solder a wire onto the
battery than to have to provide some kind of socket.
Can you tell if there's something holding the battery down onto the
circuit board..? That would make the bottom contact, and would only
require soldering onto the top of the battery.
Your pencil soldering iron should work OK.. be sure to clean the
top of the new battery so the solder will adhere with the least
possible heat. You want enough heat to assure a good electrical
connnection, but not enough to damage the battery.
I still remember being at the Allentown, PA AtariFest (back in
1987, I think it was), and John DeMar talking about staying up all
night soldering DeskCarts together on Saturday night because he'd
completely sold out during the day and had none left to sell on
Sunday..!
It shouldn't be too difficult to replace the battery if you're
careful..."
Rob tells Bob:
"I guess my next question is, how do I unsolder this little silver
wire that is holding down the battery on top? It comes up from the
base and at a right angle clamps over the battery and is _very_
attached to it. With my soldering pencil I heated up the wire for a
few minutes where it attaches but it is not coming loose. Maybe I
need to do it a longer time? I see no solder to unsolder, just the
attached wire. John DeMar obviously was very good with a soldering
gun! (BTW his name sounds familiar, did he used to write for STart
magazine?) The battery looks to be attached with a wire on the
bottom too."
John Damiano at Transierra tells Rob:
"Maybe you can unsolder the wire itself where it attaches to the
board. Then solder new wires to the battery and to the holes. I
have two Deskcarts I am not using in case anyone wants one. I just
don't need them now. Make me an offer I can't refuse."
Mike Mortilla adds:
"Yeah! No well dressed ST wears a DeskCart anymore <g>. Sort of
likde wearing platform shoes, bell-bottoms and leisure suits! <g>
I still have mine too, but I'll hang on to it as a door stop!"
Chris Gray posts:
"I'm a bit surprised to see no reference to the new 'official'
MiNT. Should I upload it?"
Callum Lerwick tells Chris:
"Go ahead! I'm looking for a good multitasker, I wish I could find a
copy of MX2 or something, I need something that can multitask GEM
prog rams, I found something called MultiGEM which looked like it
would work for me, but when I was installing it, I got a 'TOS too
new' error! (on my TOS 1.0 machine) Can anyone help! I've been
diddling with MiNT, it's great* for UL/DL with XYZ int the
background, but thats about the extent of its usability for me...."
Brian Gockley of ST Informer Magazine tells Callum:
"For the money, you can't go wrong with Geneva. It has worked
perfectly for me, allowing me to run PageStream, AtariWorks,
Touchup, and the Desktop simultaneously!
With the ability to have more than six desk accessories, you should
be able to do just about anything you want to."
Yat Siu of Lexicor tells Callum:
"Mint version 1.12b will open up your system to multitasking, and
Mint is in itself freely available in that version, however you
require a shell package to run Mint with or else you have this great
multitasking operating system but no shell to take advantage of ;)
and so effectively no real multitasking.
The most popular shell is Multitos, but it's commercial and costs a
few bucks, the other option is to use bash or minix, Both are
freeware shells for use with Mint that will allow you to multitask."
Dan Danilowicz tells us:
"I recently purchased a 9600 baud fax modem used. I think it was
heavily used, actually. When I try to connect here, or anywhere else
at 2400, it performs fine. When I try at 9600 (to the correct access
node), I'll hear the modem make the appropriate sequence of connect
sounds (more like screeches), but just as I think I'll be seeing the
"CONNECT AT 9600" sign, all goes quiet and I get "NO CARRIER". I
thought at first I was running out of hook-up sequence time (I get
30 seconds before the program times out) but I don't think that's
the case. Anybody guess what's going on?"
Sysop Jim Ness asks Dan:
"What brand modem do you have? There was once a competing 9600bps
standard which eventually got dropped in favor of v32, the current
standard. It may be that your modem only supports that discontinued
9600bps standard, and therefore cannot connect with modern modems."
Dan tells Jim:
"What I purchased is called a Dallas Fax, produced by a company that
is no longer in business. It has a sticker on it proudly announcing
V.32 V.42bis, so I think I'm in the ballpark. I've tried dialing in
on my two favorite programs, Vanterm and the Freeze Dried terminal,
both of which do the same "NO CARRIER" thing. I ran the Toad modem
test program and everything seemed to check out fine with it."
Callum Lerwick tells Dan:
"Yep, look out for those old modems..."
Jim Ness adds:
"The thing about modems is that they all operate on variations of
the same basic command set. So, they're frustratingly close to all
using the same commands, but they usually have small differences. A
command that sets my modem up properly probably won't do the same
for yours.
But, we can at least try. Why don't you turn on your capture
buffer and type AT&V (while offline). This should tell your modem
to display its current stored settings. In fact, it will probably
show three sets of settings. Save the first set and upload it in a
message here. Be sure to indent each line by one space to preserve
the formatting of the table of settings."
Frank Hense tells Dan:
"30 Seconds may not be enough negoiating time for the hi-speed
modems. try 45-50 seconds an see if that helps. Also Try an
At&f&C1&d2 just for fun.
An AT&V will give you all the loaded commands, you might post it
here and one of the modem wizzards may see something out of order.
I sometimes have trouble connecting at 9600 and 2400 will work fine.
I think it may be something flaky at the node here in San Antonio."
Michael Evans asks:
"Can anyone help me with the following problem - I have a 486 PC
running DOS 6 and want to transfer some data to my ST. Is there any
way to connect the two together ? I have DOS 6 on the 486 and a PC
Emulator running DOS 3.3 fitted to the ST.
Can the two be networked together in any way?"
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Michael:
"The easiest way to transfer data between a PC and an ST is to use a
720K floppy formatted on the IBM and just "sneakernet" it between
the two computers. The ST will read the IBM formatted disk with no
problems.
If the files are too big for floppies, or if there are a lot of
them, you can use a "null modem cable" between the serial ports of
the two systems and just use regular terminal programs to download
from the PC to the ST. At 19.2K baud (the highest speed the ST
serial port runs), it shouldn't take very much time, and would be
the most economical solution.
Unfortunately there are no "real" networks for the ST, in the sense
of Ethernet or Token Ring. There have been reports of networking
applications from Germany, but these are awfully expensive and very
difficult to obtain."
Michael tell Bob:
"Thanks for your help. I may sound stupid but which is the serial
port on the ST ? I have a null-modem lead. Do I just act as if I am
sending files via a modem - what prog do you recommend on the ST to
do it ?"
Bob tells Michael:
"Yes.. a null modem cable is exactly what you need...
The serial port on the ST is marked as "Modem" on the back, and
should be a Male DB-25 connector.
Any ST terminal program that uses a protocol like YMODEM or ZMODEM
will work well.. we have some here in our software libraries that
should work for you in this application... try the one called
STORM...
Essentially what you'll need to do is to set up the computer that
you want to SEND the files from as if you were going to do an UPLOAD
to CompuServe.. and set up the other as if you were going to
DOWNLOAD the file. (Usually you can set up the upload end first,
and it will wait while you set up the download end. The transfer
should start when both ends are ready.)"
Benjamin Eby sends up an S.O.S.:
"Does anyone know if Notator or Notator SL require a key of some
sort (like cubase) to operate? I have the program, but the mouse
locks up on the title screen. Help!"
Myles Cohen tells Benjamin:
"It absolutely needs a such a hardware key...I have been told that
the software has been written so that almost every line in the
program checks to see that the key...called a dongle...is present in
the cartridge port...or the program crashes...
Sad news..."
Benjamin tells Myles:
"Oh well...I don't know why they had it on the bulletin board in
Genie if it wouldn't run! Seems to be the story of my life right
now. Very exauSTing, you know?"
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Benjamin:
"You might want to contact the Sysop where you obtained Notator and
find out why it's publically available if it needs a dongle to run."
Frank Heller tells Benjamin:
"There is a remote possiblity that it is posted as an "update"..in
which case registered owners (who already possess the dongle) may
download it and use it. Steinberg regularly does this sort of thing
in their forum. A small bit of background info on the Notator
dongle: The program "looks" for the dongle on a constant basis.
Sometimes the program will stop or crash. This usually turns out to
be dirty contacts (Atari port and/or dongle) or that the dongle is
not properly seated. Lightly burnishing, with a pencil eraser
usually cures it."
Sysop Bob tells Frank:
"That's what I was thinking... the file could be an update as you
mentioned, or it could be a demo version. The true nightmare of
any Sysop though is to have an illicit version of a program
inadvertently released for download."
Frank tells Bob:
"Without a doubt, it's an illicit version. The program hasn't been
produced since EMAGIC released the Logic series. I'm pretty certain
it's not supported any longer...heck...I don't even know who owns
the rights...C-LAB or EMAGIC. I didn't notice any mention of where
this program was uploaded to. In a way, it is kind of moot...as you
have to own the dongle to use the program...and all the dongle
owners already have the program. Now I'm wondering what the point of
uploading, in the first place, was? Since it doesn't work without a
dongle...it is obvious that it isn't a "cracked" program. Go
figure."
Well folks, I know that you've got other things to do this week, so
I'll just end here and wish everyone a happy holiday. Tune in again
next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what
they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING!
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STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
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> A "Quotable Quote"
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Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward all Men.....
Its the Yuletide Season Celebrating the
Birth of Jesus Christ
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> DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile * Dealer Listings *
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ---------------
ABCO Incorporated
=================
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
Est. 1985
1-904-783-3319
1994 HOLIDAY SPECIALS NOW IN EFFECT!
Take Advantage of the Holiday Specials
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TEN PERCENT OFF (10%) with this ad (clip)
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340MB IDE hd - 2 SERIAL, 1 PARALLEL, 1 GAME PORT - 14.4 Data/Fax Modem
250W POWER SUPPLY TOWER SYSTEM - 14" SVGA 1024x768, NI 28dpi Monitor
66Mhz, S&H Incl 1395.00 - 695.00 with order, Checks OK, balance COD
Other higher powered packages available or, design your own!
90Mhz - Pentium Call for value added pricing!
Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail
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IDE Super IO cards & 16550 UART 2 & 4 Port Cards
SCSI ADAPTER CARDS & SCANNERS COLOR & MonoChrome
Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
COMPUTER STUDIO
===============
WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER
40 Westgate Parkway -Suite D
Asheville, NC 28806
1-800-253-0201
Orders Only
1-704-251-0201
Information
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
EAST HARTFORD COMPUTER
======================
202 Roberts St.
East Hartford CT. 06108
1-203-528-4448
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MEGABYTE COMPUTERS
==================
907 Mebourne
Hurst, TX 76053
1-817-589-2950
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SAN JOSE COMPUTER
=================
1278 Alma Court
San Jose, CA. 95112
1-408-995-5080
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
CompuSeller West
================
220-1/2 W. Main St.
St. Charles, IL., 60174
Ph. (708) 513-5220
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(DEALERS; to be listed here FREE OF CHARGE, drop us a line in Email.)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International OnLine Magazine
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""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" December 23, 1994
Since 1987 copyright 1994 All Rights Reserved No.1052
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of
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