|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnie ST || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || ~ SAM TRAMIEL SCHEDULED FOR REALTIME CONFERENCE! ~ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// January 15, 1991 ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Issue No.2.16 ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Publisher/Editor ................................... John F. Peters Co-Editor ........................................ Darlah J. Pine Technical Editor ................................ Jeff Williams """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] Notes From The Editor. GEnie Fun And Games. HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] TELETALK ONLINE ......... [TEL] Is That A Letter For Me? LZH & ARC Information. DEALER VIEWPOINT ........ [DLR] ATARI_QWIK_TIPS ......... [TIP] Serious Computing. Atarians Helping Atarians. MEL'S MANOR ............. [MEL] PD_QUICKVIEW ............ [PDQ] Forget Me Nots. Yours For The Asking. OFF THE RECORD .......... [OFF] ATARI CORP. ONLINE ...... [ATR] Mini_Qwik_reViews. Straight Talk From Atari. ST ALADDIN ONLINE ....... [ALD] THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] ST Aladdin and You. Get It While It's Hot! NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLES [RTC] HOOKING UP WITH LYNX .... [LYN] Wednesday Night Fun! Atari Game Power! GOING BUGGY ............. [BUG] ST ELSEWHERE ............ [ELS] Problems & Solutions. Other Areas Of IntereST. LOG OFF ................. [LOG] GEnie Lamp Information. [IDX] """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" READING GEnie Lamp GEnie Lamp has incorporated a unique indexing """""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier. To utilize this system, load GEnie Lamp into any ASCII word processor or text editor. In the index you will find the following example: FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] Notes From The Editor. GEnie Fun & Games. To read the article on Humor Online, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If you want to scan the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index. TX2 FORMAT What are you missing when reading the ASCII version of """""""""" GEnie Lamp? EXCITEMENT! Graphics, enhanced text, click & go index plus more are yours when using David Holmes' TX2 viewer to read the special TX2 version of GEnie Lamp. File #17619. MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed """""""""""" here in GEnie Lamp, you will find all the information you need immediately following the message. For example: (DARLAH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475) _____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________ |Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number| In this example, to respond to Darlah's message, log on to page 475, enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" /////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "I like your suggestion on the best way to to accelerate an / / MS-DOS machine. The only problem is I'm in a one story / / building and there's not enough distance from the window / / to the ground outside. Oh, well. If any MesSyDOS machines / / should happen to mistakenly wander in, guess I'll have to / / find another way to "accelerate" them with equal results!" / ///////////////////////////////////////////// S.WINICK ///// [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From The Editor """"""""""""""""""""" o SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Sam Tramiel In ST Realtime Conference! o TOP OF THE PAGE: Comments and Other Misc. Ramblings. o RTC TEMPLATE: Print Me! SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! The Atari ST Roundtable is happy to welcome Sam """"""""""""""""""""" Tramiel, President of Atari Corporation, as our special guest for the Realtime Conference on Wednesday, January 30, 1991. Please make plans to attend and participate. Mr. Tramiel will welcome your questions and comments. Mark the date on your calendar now. That's Wednesday, January 30th at 10:00pm Eastern, 9:00pm Central, and 7:00pm Pacific/Mountain. This is one RTC you won't want to miss! TOP OF THE PAGE Welcome to the biggest, monstrous, fattest issue of """"""""""""""" GEnie Lamp yet! I have to admit that am releasing this issue under duress. I've tried to hold the issue to or below 100K, but folks, I just can't do it. Believe me, I gave it my best effort. There is so much information, tips, news, rumors and hot topics going on in the ST RoundTable I can hardly keep up with it all! So, how do I decide what to re-print and what to drag to the trash can? I don't have a tried and true formula, no magical wand or set of rules that determines whether or not I publish a message. Just an old- fashioned gut feeling that if it interests me, there's a chance that it will interest you. Hopefully, it's working... [*][*][*] It's confirmed! Yes, Sam Tramiel, President of Atari Corporation is going to be online and in a very special Realtime Conference here on GEnie on January 30th. To help out the newcomers, below you will find a list of RTC commands assembled in a template format. Just print it, cut it out and have it available for the special RTC. If you need some practice time, there are two Wednesday night informal Realtime Conferences scheduled before the big night. Stop by and try it out. PRINT ME! This issue's PRINT ME! template is a handy little chart to """"""""" help you when you are participating in a formal or informal RoundTable Conference. To make your RTC template, "clip" the following chart and print it on your printer. Cut to size, then tape it to a heavy piece of paper or thin cardboard. To use the chart, just insert it behind your "F" keys located right above the main keyboard. ________________________________________________________________________ GEnie Lamp Template Atari ST RoundTable Conference """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" /HELp - List of commands /BLAnk - add blank lines /BYE - log-off the RTC /CALl jj - call on job jj /ECHo - echo to sender on /EXIt - return to menu /JOB - add job # to message /KNOck rr - knock on door rr /MONitor rr- monitor room rr /NAMe nn - add name nn to address /PRIvate jj- go private with JOB jj /QUIt - return to menu /RAIse-hand- get attention of leader /ROLl nDs - roll n dice of s sides /ROOm rr- move to room rr /SCRamble k- scramble, w/ key kkkk /SENd jj m - sends to job jj, msg. m /SHOw hh - show job of address hh /SQUelch jj- squelch job jj - 4 max /STAtus rr - see users in room rr /TIMe - display time and day /USErs - see number of users /WHO jj - see address of JOB jj /XBLank - exit blank line mode /XECho - exit echo mode /XJOb - exit job mode /XMOnitor - exit monitor mode /XPRivate - exit private mode /XSCramble - exit scramble mode /XSQuelch - exit squelch ........................................................................ ________________________________________________________________________ If you've never been to an RTC before, this is the time to jump in find out what all the excitement is about. Take care... John Peters [GENIELAMP$] PS. In the last issue we published the wrong address for David Cagle. If you need to contact David, address your mail to DAVID.CAGLE. Also, we received the following message from Dan Winslow, the author of Hero! updating a message we had published in an earlier issue of GEnie Lamp: I was reading the latest GEnie Lamp and noticed a mention of my up coming release of HERO! ( for which I am grateful :) ) under the heading MIDI MAZE CRAZE. HERO! will accomplish 2 player play either at one machine, or on two machines connected via modem ( 12 or 2400 baud ) but not via the MIDI cables. ote that it remains a 2 player game even when two machines are connected by modem. I wish I could have supported more players ( like 4 ) when in modem mode but some lack of foresight on my part when coding the core routines and a lack of speed since I am not writing in assembly precluded this. ////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "Believe it or else, folks...I still don't know myself why / / Gene's idea works. It's the Bermuda Triangle of TOS." / ///////////////////////////////////////// C.F.JOHNSON ////// [EOA] [HUM]////////////////////////////// HUMOR ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// GEnie Fun And Games """"""""""""""""""" o ADSPEED: What He Doesn't Know... o LJ III NEWS: All The Dirt That's Fit To Print AdSpeed TRICKS I had a Turbo Graphics 16 freak come over, a 10th grade """""""""""""" guy. He spent this evening playing two games on my AdSpeed equipped Mega: Xenon 2 by Psygnosis and the old but very playable Joust. I did not tell him (shame on me!) that I had AdSpeed installed. Joust warmed him up. Sheesh, I can just barely play it with that accelerator and thought that he would give it up after a few minutes. Nope, he stayed with it for over an hour. A wrist cramp and a score of over 200,000 points stopped him. No kidding, he was wringing wet with sweat. I barely pulled 40,000 when playing this thing by myself. I then booted up Xenon 2. This game blew his mind. Again, he did not know about any accelerator. After about 15 minutes he yelled wondering how to pause the game. I told him to press "P". He pressed "P". He went at it again. Sweat again. In fact, he ripped his shirt off and tore into the game. I'm not kidding! After reaching levels I've never seen (about the fourth, I think), he finally died in the game. He tore into it again and died at about the same spot. The poor little guy was soaked. Seriously, I've never seen how 'physical' one could get at a video game. I chuckled and vow that I'll never tell him about AdSpeed. In short, he totally enjoyed the game saying that he has never seen a computer with games sporting such challenges. HEE HEE HEE. Take that Turbo Graphics! I just thought everyone would get a kick out of this. Please, don't tell anyone I booted a game on my ST. Shhhhh.....! (LRYMAL, CAT4, TOP16, MSG:28/M475) --------------------------------------------------------------------- // // /////////// // // ///// // // ////// // // // // // //// // // // // // / // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // //// //// // // /// // // // // // // /// // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // / // // // // // // // // // // // /// /// / // ////// // /////////// // // ///// // // ///// --------------------------------------------------------------------- All THE DIRT THATS FIT TO PRINT Publisher: N. E. Toner Editor: Dewey Recharge Science and Technology: Justin Readjust Circulation Department: Willy Shakit General Information: B. Rightback Today's weather: Spotty, but clearing later. Standing Story: HP DESCRIBES SOLUTION TO DENSITY PROBLEM Hewlett Packard today announced a major upgrade to the popular Laserjet III computer system, addressing the much-reported density problems indicated by throngs of users who subscribe to electronic bulletin board systems. The solution, said to some to be a stop-gap measure until the rumored Laserjet 4 is announced, involves a two-pass imaging process that is said to improve the density of blacks while doubling printer resolution. Director of Marketing, I.Tellum, described the new process as a proprietary double-density enhancement technology, also known as DDET. "Implementing DDET is easy," according to Tellum. "The user simply removes printed sheets and re-inserts them into the paper tray. On the second pass, the density is improved by 100%." Tellum continues to describe how their pioneering resolution enhancement technology is further improved by a factor of 2, placing twice as many dots on paper. Tellum also says HP is increasing their response time on new orders of toner cartridges. Hewlett Packard, a major supplier of computer office systems and peripherals, has offices throughout the US and worldwide. For more information, contact the HP LJIII News. (ctsey. DTP RoundTable) (T.PIAZZA, CAT9, TOP2, MSG:159/M590) //////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "Next time a Mac owner says you don't have a REAL computer, / / ask him how come a 'toy computer/game machine' can emulate / / his machine, FASTER than his machine, when HIS can't seem / / to emulate YOURS at all?" / //////////////////////////////////////////////// NTACTONE //// [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" o ODDS & ENDS o ATARIAN MINDS WANT TO KNOW o HOT TOPICS o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>> ODDS & ENDS <<< """"""""""""""""""" MNP ON GEnie From what I have read here, MNP on GEnie is a mixed """""""""""" blessing. If you have noisy lines, it might help, but with good lines, it doesn't make much difference. Also, it seems to cause xmodem to really go SLOW. As for non-MNP systems, it turns itself OFF. However, one might reasonably expect a modem with MNP would also be a pretty good modem in other respects, but not necessarily. I would stick with a reputable, known brand. (NTACTONE, CAT1, TOP20, MSG:11/M1000) SELF-EXTRACTING VIRUS Innocent bystanders? """"""""""""""""""""" o Bill has a virus in his system. Bill does not KNOW he has a virus in his system - it hasn't done anything nasty yet. o Bill calls GEnie and downloads a new version of ST Aladdin to his system. It comes in a self-extracting archive. o Bill does some other things, during which time the virus takes a look at the new version of ST Aladdin (still in a self-extracting archive) and attaches itself. o The next day, Bill uploads ST Aladdin (still in the self- extracting archive) to a local BBS, where Wayne, Mary, Sue, Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice all download it. o Finally, all of them actually RUN that self-extracting archive, thus feeding the virus into their own systems. (Of course, Bill already had it...) Note that neither Bill nor anyone else deliberately corrupted ST Aladdin or deliberately transferred a corrupted version... but a virus, nonetheless, infected 7 additional systems. With a NON-self-extracting archive, this sort of INNOCENT corruption of a program and spreading of a virus is MUCH less likely to occur. The virus could only get into ST Aladdin itself (inside the archive) if Bill were to de-archive and then re-archive... one might wonder why Bill would do that. (DAEDWARDS, CAT3, TOP3, MSG:85/M1000) >>> ATARIAN MINDS WANT TO KNOW! <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" (Facts, Fiction & Maybe) INFORMER II NEWS I realize that as some of you have noticed (H.Crowe) """""""""""""""" has not been very active online lately. For this I apologise. But as Mel Motogawa pointed out we have indeed been very busy working on the latest version of the program. We have been putting in many Loooooong hours of late and are doing everything we can to make the program as bug free as possible before it goes out the door. Yes indeed we are alive and well. You may have not heard much about Soft-Aware or INFORMER II lately.......but all that is about to change! You will be soon reading about INFORMER II in the pages of ST Informer magazine (how appropriate) and seeing our ads there as well. Unlike other databases for the ST INFORMER II is continuing to be supported and upgraded. There are many new features in version 2.03 and much work has gone into making it as useful and usable to all Atari Users as possible. Including that INFORMER II is now resolution independent, with the exception of the graphic images, this means the database you created on a color ST will also work just the same on an STe or a TT! So stay tuned, INFORMER II will be shipping any day now. When it does there will be an official announcement here along with a description of the new features that have been added. (R.SKRALY, CAT6, TOP4, MSG:80/M475) CODEHEADS ARE BUSY! We will soon be releasing version 2.4 of HotWire. """"""""""""""""""" The bad news is that our new update price is $10. Watch for an announcement in this topic very soon. We plan to release new versions of HotWire, MaxiFile, MultiDesk, CodeKeys, and G+Plus one week from today, January 15. (J.EIDSVOOG1, CAT32, TOP8, MSG:12/M475) >>>>> We don't have plans to change the date format of CodeKeys, but """"" very soon we'll be releasing a special program we wrote for ST Aladdin (a couple of them actually) called DATENAME. It renames files using the current date. Chaining it (in HotWire) to ST Aladdin will allow you to automatically archive your ST Aladdin captures to daily files instead of accumulating a cumbersome multi-megabyte file. (J.EIDSVOOG1, CAT32, TOP22, MSG:114/M475) IMAGE SYSTEMS SURPRISE Wow, thanks for all the Image Systems leads! """""""""""""""""""""" The calls are really starting to roll in on people interested in the M24LMax for the TT/Mega/NeXT/Sun. Yes folks it works with all of 'em! Things are starting to get very interesting in the Atari market again. Which is one of the reasons that Image Systems has decided to split off a section of its company to do nothing but Atari. Kind of a new years surprise I guess. So to make it official here is the scoop. Starting Jan. 1, 1991 the old offices of Dover Research open again! We will start by taking over the Colour ISAC biz. Expect things to be a bit jumbled for the first few days but... better and better as we go. The number to reach us is (612) 492-3913. We are also going to be putting out new products for the new machines from Atari. Expect some surprises in the April (yes, 1991) time frame. We will continue to work closely with our mentors at Image Systems on Atari-Monitor deals. Thanks again for your support in 89,90 and we look forward to 91!!! (J.CRASWELL, CAT4, TOP21, MSG:55/M475) ZMODEM RUMOR I heard on another service that Chuck Forsberg is writing """""""""""" an update to zmodem that will COST any implementor as in GEnie, CIS, Delphi. According to this person, there is big resistance to paying the fee he will be requiring for implementation of his new protocol. (J.NESS, CAT30, TOP7, MSG:85/M475) BAD NEWS FOR TAX ADVANTAGE I just read in Current Notes that the Tax """""""""""""""""""""""""" Advantage program will not be updated for 1991. I called Simon & Schuster software to confirm this and they stated that the program was discontinued for all systems and not just the ST. Double Eagle software used to publish the program up until last year. Maybe we can convince Harry Koons of Double Eagle software to continue. (B.BEAUCHEA, CAT6, TOP9, MSG:1/M475) WHAT'S NEXT CHET? Jim's got some things up his sleeve that will make """"""""""""""""" more than just your head spin. This is the topic to watch. There's some exciting things coming along in '91 for our favorite little 680x0 machines.... ;) (C.WALTERS1, CAT4, TOP11, MSG:42/M475) WORD UP = ATARI WRITER ST? I'm surprised no one mentioned it here, but """""""""""""""""""""""""" I heard that Neocept went out of business, and Word Up was bought by Atari. It is going to be rewritten and re- leased as Atari Writer ST! Can anyone verify this? (D.HOLMES14, CAT 13, TOP6, MSG:82/M475) HP DESKJET EMULATOR Interesting -- a company we know has developed (or """"""""""""""""""" says they have) an SLM804 driver that emulates an HP Deskjet at 300 dpi. (At least, I think so). This would allow the SLM804 to be driven at 300 dpi. More news as I hear more. (DAVESMALL, CAT7, TOP16, MSG:94/M475) SUPERCHARGER VGA CANCELLED? According to what a Rio-Datel represent- """"""""""""""""""""""""""" ative stated the VGA card has been cancel- ed because of cost... Let's get some feed back from Talon and or Rio on this please... (W.SAKERS3, CAT33, TOP2, MSG:63/M475) >>> HOT TOPICS <<< """""""""""""""""" CAT 4, TOPIC 11 Jim, you completely ignored (at least...that's the way """"""""""""""" it appears) John and Jeff's comments about Whoa-Boy. I agree with their comments. I haven't ordered because it wasn't ready. I am sorry if Whoa-Boy isn't going to be a cash cow for you but I think you owe it us (those that have supported you by purchasing your product) to actually manufacture what you promise. Frankly, and to be quite honest, I am beginning to wonder if you *ever* had any intention of making Whoa-Boy. Personally, I see your lack of follow-through on Whoa-Boy as directly affecting my ability to recommend any of your current or future products. (STACE, CAT4, TOP11, MSG:69/M475) >>>>> After serving this marketplace for a year and a half. Leaving """"" no customer unsatisfied. Providing an excellent solution to a pressing problem. Providing technical support above and beyond the call of duty, reaching far beyond the realm of the T16.... ...and after working my ass off for months to provide the market with new and wonderful solutions to many remaining pressing problems... I have to come on here tonight to read that piece of trash. Let's get some things aired out here: Number one: You were given...GIVEN...the 4th T16 made. Months before other users could get them. Number two: You were upgraded AT COST to a production T16. Number three: You were so tickled PINK with the T16s that you recommended them to your friends, your user group, and anyone else who would listen. As I recall, you even asked for a "dead one" so you could frame it and mount it on the wall...it was "so beautiful". Number four: You spent a year and a half...seems like a lifetime... continuing to be tickled PINK. Number five: You are a sysop in the Gadgets by Small RT. Number six: You are probably compensated in someway for this, correct? Number seven: Recently GBS and Fast Tech have been placed in a competitive relationship. Background: For a year and a half the T16 was the only viable acceleration solution for the ST in North America...and a damn good solution too. Over that time, Fast Tech has provided excellent tech support, far beyond the preview of just the T16. Fast Tech has made sure we have NO dissatisfied customers. Fast Tech has rarely ever charged for any service work, including repair of heavily damaged motherboards that Atari service would never touch. Fast Tech has provided fast, usually FEDX shipping, and rarely if ever charged for it. We even purchased back...at full retail... a customers T16 that just couldn't be made to work in his system...there's only been one. In Sept 90', along comes a competitor. They introduce a "feature" the T16 lacks. A few of my nicest, and friendliest customers...who do much more with their STs than run Calamus or Pagestream...asked if there was a way I could add that "feature" to the T16 as a retrofit. I sat down and figured out how I could retrofit the AFFECT, as I don't believe in that particular feature. And I did. I told the folks here on GEnie that the "Whoaboy" was born. Asked if anyone wanted one. Asked at WAACE too. I got back requests for 18 units. Out of nearly 2000 customers. I also made it clear the T16 would not EVER have that feature, and that the Whoaboy was only a retrofit for those hooked on Spectrum512. Those people who bought T16s, mind you, freely gave up Spectrum in order to use the T16. We have always been clear on the incompatibility. Now I believe I was very clear about the Whoaboy, it was a retrofit for T16 owners, not an attempt to block sales of AdSpeeds. Any new purchasers wanting the "feature" would buy an AS. You Mark, seem to want people to feel I'm somehow RIPPING THEM OFF. You snidely insinuate I am trying to give ICD a hard time....if I were I'd add the "feature" to new T16s. You rudely insinuate I am somehow screwing my customers because there's not enough money in it...if I were I'd do the above and make'm upgrade at a profit. You rudely insist that I OWE YOU this device...I have news for you, I OWE you NOTHING. You come here and post on your high horse that "my lack of this and that has affected your ability to recommend my products"...like I could give a rats ass what you recommend. No customer of mine, after the many months of satisfaction the T16 has brought them, would care in the least what you think. In fact, no customer espousing all encompassing satisfaction with my product would ever come along and accuse me of what you have. So I'm really floored by this. I can't understand your motivations Mark. You claimed...and proclaimed...to be a satisfied customer, very happy with your T16. Now all of a sudden it's "a ripoff"? I'm giving you the shaft? I'm treating you badly? I'm plotting to overthrow the government maybe too? How I run my business, how I assign my capital, when I introduce a product...especially an addon meant to be "a favor" to older customers... is MY business, and NONE OF YOURS. No company OWEs an enhancement to its customers. I suppose Intel OWES everyone out there with 386s an upgrade to 486s? Fast Tech has demonstrated its support quality, through hard work. Our extremely low price for the T16...VERY LOW FOLKS...has demonstrated the lack of a CASH COW syndrome. Mark, I lost any "respect" I had for you after your first post here. I feel sure the people here on GEnie see right through you. It's a shame. Now after months of working my butt off to develop a group of new products for the ST, really "KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF" stuff, and after working 18-20 hour days, plus doing outside consulting to keep the bills paid, I have to come on here and be faced with this rude, childish, assanine post. A post from someone with "un-determined" motives. A post that whispers to me...WTF are you doing bothering with this CRAP? After sinking most of my savings into this ST venture called Fast Technology, I really have to question WHY? Why would anyone go through all this pain, do all this work, just to get s__t on by some....one like Mark? Perhaps you folks can help me find an answer? Explain to me why I should waste another nights sleep? Please. (J.ALLEN27, CAT4, TOP11, MSG:71/M475) >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" Freedom Of Speech? Atari-ST RoundTable Category 34, Topic 1 Message 8 Sun Dec 30, 1990 D.HAYES4 at 13:17 EST Powerful ain't the word. I haven't checked to see if they made my statement available in all areas yet. Most of the areas in which I placed it, removed it stating that it was too controversial. One told me they would let it stay if I removed all comments against Dave Small, Apple Computer, the FBI, and the IRS. The Atari area was the best. There I just had to remove what I said about Dave. But I still haven't seen it in their files yet. You're not allowed to tell the truth if you say anything bad about anyone or anything, so the public thinks life is a bowl of cherries. It's called freedom of information. Oh Well, I tried! Denny Atari-ST RoundTable Category 34, Topic 1 Message 9 Sun Dec 30, 1990 JWEAVERJR at 15:32 EST Oh, goodie - another yahoo yelling about "freedom of speech". Denny, what "freedom of speech" _really_ means is _not_ that GEnie (or anyone else) has to subordinate their service to you, and print/ publish/distribute anything _you_ think should be printed/published/ distributed, _even_ (and this is the important part) if you're paying to receive what they _do_ decide to print/publish/distribute. What "freedom of speech" _does_ mean is that you are completely free to start up your _own_ online service, and print/publish/ distribute whatever _you_ want to there. Of course, you'll still be subject to certain limits, just like GEnie is - there are perfectly good laws against libel and slander, and there are also certain other prohibitions and limitations to _complete_ "freedom of speech" (involving things like national security and incitements to riot and so on). But then, on your own service, that would be _your_ concern. Please let us know when your service opens, and what the Detroit access number is, OK? -JW [*][*][*] While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files? If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area. If you are serious about your Atari, the GEnie Lamp staff strongly urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the world. ////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "To those who hate LZH and refuse to use it: fiddlesticks! ;)" / ///////////////////////////////////////////// B.WOODWORTH3 ///// [EOA] [TEL]////////////////////////////// TELETALK ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// LZH & ARC Information """"""""""""""""""""" Archiving & other File Compression Techniques """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Terry Quinn [T.QUINN1] Over the last several months, there has been considerable discussion in both the ST-Aladdin and Atari ST roundtables on the merits (& demerits) of the various programs for compressing files. First, a little scientific history to place this discussion in its historical context. Archiving (whether ARC or LZH or ZOO based) is a practical application of mathematical theories on data compression. While many have contributed towards the development of this field, it is generally considered that the one who started it all was Terry A. Welch with his article "A Technique for High Performance Data Compression" published in the IEEE Computer journal (Vol. 17 No. 6; June 1984). This article described the central technique (Lempel-Ziv coding) which is used by all of the major compression programs. In 1985, a shareware company known as System Enhancement Associates picked up on the ideas contained in the article and released the first widely used archiving program ARC. Now, this was the time of the IBM PC and so it was released first for this platform. In subsequent months, this program was released for other platforms including (but not limited to) the 8 bit Atari and the ST. Of course, since the original program was written for a computer with a command line interface (MS/DOS), all subsequent releases have tended to use the same interface. (If you were wondering why ARC and LHARC are *.TTP type programs this is probably the reason). Somewhat later, a programmer in Japan; Haruyasu Yoshizaki; wrote another archiving program based on a more advanced mathematical technique Lempel-Ziv-Huffman encoding (now you know where LZH came from). Since he wrote it in C and placed it in the public domain, the basic method spread quickly to all kinds of computers. Now, LZH archives tended to be smaller than ARC archives due to the more advanced method of encoding but it also took longer to compress them since the mathematics concerned were more complex. ZIP archives came about primarily as a result of a lawsuit between System Enhancement Associates and PKware; another shareware company. Due to legal reasons, Phil Katz was forced to come up with yet another compression technique totally different from ARC. In the process, he developed what is widely considered the best archiving method yet (at least on the MS/DOS side of things) and enjoys a wide popularity. In fact, many BBS Sysops (that's system operators for the uninitiated) for political reasons, will only allow MS/DOS uploads to be in "Zipped" form. While all of these compression techniques have evolved since their introduction, they all share one common "flaw"; their interface. Currently, the most popular method of dealing with this "flaw" is to use a "shell"; a program which provides either a graphic interface (as in ARC Shell by Charles F. Johnson) or menu driven interface to make them easier to use. Since at present for the ST, the mix of archived programs is about 50% ARC and 50% LZH, the easiest way to deal with archived programs is either with a program which incorporates both of these techniques (like the superb DC XTRACT commercial programs by Double Click Software) or by using an arc shell together the most recent programs of each type (Dcopy 3.21 or ARC 6.02 for ARC; LHARC .60b or LHA 1.21 for LZH). Properly setup, any of these will enable you to deal with any archived programs for the ST with just a few mouse clicks. Which is best? Well, it depends upon what you wish to accomplish. If your goal is maximum compatibility for your archive, ARC still seems to be the best choice since it is the oldest and available for older 8 bit platforms (like the 8 bit Atari) as well as more advanced computers. This is the reason why this online magazine (as well as others) is ARCed. If maximum compression is your goal (to either save space or minimize download time); then by all means feel free to experiment with LZH. As long as you stay away from fancy features (like compressing folders), the most current programs seem both compatible and stable. /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ///// / "Dang....I don't know how you can do it guys, but this upgrade / / is the best $20 I'll ever spend on my computer...well, maybe / / the $9.95 for the mouse pad..." / //////////////////////////////////////////////////// D-W-B ///// [EOA] [DLR]////////////////////////////// DEALER VIEWPOINT / ///////////////////////////////// Serious Computing """"""""""""""""" By Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] For one reason or another, it seems like a large number of computer owners, even many Atari owners themselves, have no idea of the capabilities of the Atari ST computers. Of course, a large number of computer owners of all types of systems are still relatively computer illiterate when it comes to understanding exactly what a computer is capable of doing to help make our lives more enjoyable or increase our productivity. But we Atarians have much more built-in capabilities in our Atari ST systems than most other computer owners. While the owners of those "other" systems must generally have to expand their hardware and go through a tedious installation procedure with each new software application they wish to run, those of us who are knowledgeable about the ST generally take for granted that our ST's are always ready to fulfill our needs and desires. I am constantly amused at the astonished looks of amazement when an out-of-town visitor drops by and seems surprised to see a "real" Atari dealership. I am surprised myself when many of those visitors tell me they've had an ST for several years and never knew that the ST could do serious computing. And they will definitely see us running "serious" applications, from our point-of-sale system to our desktop publishing, MIDI, and CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting) applications. One of the greatest things about owning an ST is the ease at which we can expand our horizons and move into new areas of interest and creativity. Desktop video applications are a joy, with all the great color graphics and sound capabilities that are already built into our ST's. Plug in a couple of MIDI cables, MIDI software and whatever MIDI instruments you desire, and your ST is ready to instantly become the best music computer in the world. Add the appropriate point-of-sale software and your ST will be ready to run whatever kind of retail business you desire. Pop in business software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets or data base management programs and your ST is ready for the business world. Add specialized software applications for construction estimating, project management, desktop publishing or CADD and your ST will take you through the most complex of tasks with ease; all the while allowing you to spend your energy on expanding your horizons and unleashing your creativity, thanks to the ST's user-friendly operating system. We always try to make sure our customers are aware of their Atari computer's capabilities. In fact, we're actually using our ST's in a variety of ways for our own productivity as well as to show our customers how they can get the most out of their own systems. And, like most avid Atarians, we're always adding new things to our computers to expand our own horizons. Last month we added a Houston Instruments DMP-61DL architectural D-size (24" x 36") 8-pen plotter to our CADD system. And with the Moniterm monitor, Turbo 16 and DynaCADD software, the Mega system takes a second place to nobody when it comes to professional CADD. And the CADD professionals who've so far seen our Atari-based CADD system in action all agree with that assessment. The power of ISD Marketing's DynaCADD software unleashes the graphics potential that Atari built into the ST/Mega system, and really makes CADD as much "fun" as it is productive. This month's addition is the Panasonic FX-RS505 flatbed scanner. Although Panasonic is now making their scanners available without the previously bundled IBM interface, they still do not have a standard ST interface available here in the U.S. or Canada, so we had to bring them in from Germany, along with scanning software. But the effort was well worth it; the full-page scans at 200, 300 or 400 dpi are absolutely fantastic. We delivered the first flatbed scanner to a very happy customer the day after we installed our own system, and have additional desktop publishing professionals who will soon also be taking delivery of a Panasonic scanner from us. Serious computing! That's what the ST is best at. That's what we most enjoy at Computer STudio. We're a "serious" computer dealer, with "serious" computer systems, marketing the ST in a "serious" manner. Our goal, as should be that of all Atari dealers, is to market the Atari systems in a truly professional manner, and show anyone who comes in that we have the best personal computer system available anywhere. There are a plethora of computer dealers (of all brands) around the country that really are nothing more than used-car or department store salesmen selling computers. The Atari ST deserves better than that. It needs to be marketed professionally, by qualified personnel who are trained and knowledgeable in the products they're carrying. The bottom line is this. If it can be done on a computer, it can probably be done better, faster and easier on your ST than on most any other computer platform. And, when it comes to normally complex high end applications such as Desktop Publishing and professional CADD, the ST really shines. Serious computing -- that's what Atari computers are all about! Happy (Atari) Computing. Sheldon Winick (GEnie Address: S.WINICK) Computer STudio (Asheville, NC) /////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////// / "Why wouldn't we be? I can disagree with someone and still / / like them. You should see (hear) some of "knock-down, drag- / / out" fights that Ralph and I have, but I still like him... / / even if he is wrong. " / /////////////////////////////////////////////// LEPULLEY ///// [EOA] [TIP]////////////////////////////// ATARI_QWIK_TIPS / ///////////////////////////////// Atarians Helping Atarians """"""""""""""""""""""""" o HARD DRIVES WOES: Adaptek Help. o TRACKER/ST: Using TOS 1.4? You Need This Program. o CLEANING FLOPPY DRIVES: Should You? o PC EMULATORS: Want Speed Or Cash? o POWER SUPPLY WOES: Give Me Power! HARD DRIVE WOES In my own limited experience, I have found that the """"""""""""""" Adaptek Controller was the culprit in most cases. Most of the Adapteks have a socketed eprom, and that socket get corroded with crud because of the blower and well its in the airway path. Reseat that chip and use a plain (pink) pencil erase to GENTLY wipe the edge connectors on the Adaptek to ensure solid connections of the 19 and 34 pin connectors. Failing this, the next step would be to obtain a replacement of either the Hard disk Mech or the Adaptek controller, my strong suggestion is to replace the Adaptek with an OMTI 3527a RLL Controller and reformat the drive with a true SCSI format. I did that 19 months ago on all our in house systems (9) and the OMTI has proven to be very reliable. The added bonus is it will seem to give new life to your drive. (Buffered track Reads). ICD has the OMTI cards both MFM and RLL. (ST.REPORT, CAT4, TOP2, MSG:20/M475) TRACKER/ST All Tracker/ST users who have TOS 1.4 or above (this """""""""" includes Stacy owners, STe owners and some regular ST owners who have upgraded to TOS 1.4), go to the Atari File Libraries and download file # 17710 IMMEDIATELY. This file, called BUTTONFIX, allows users of TOS 1.4 and above to position the cursor in Tracker/ST's text editor and set margins with no hassle whatsoever! The infamous "double click" syndrome is FIXED by Buttonfix. Buttonfix also eliminates problems you may be having with Interlink, Flash, Aladdin, and Calamus. Download it NOW if you own TOS 1.4 or above! MANY THANKS TO CHARLES JOHNSON FOR THIS PROGRAM. (NEVIN-S, CAT6, TOP23, MSG:69/M475) CLEANING DRIVES Your drives do need cleaning once in awhile but only """"""""""""""" clean them about once every 6 months to a year. The disk cleaners are ok as long as you do not abuse them. If you use them too much, then you will mess up the drive. Since the heads rest against the disk, they tend to get buildup on them just like a VCR, etc. does. They do need cleaning periodically but, the problems are usually loss of data or not being able to read the data. (R.WATSON15, CAT2, TOP2, MSG:35/M475) FAST OR CHEAP? The PC Emulator business is so competitive, and people """""""""""""" want so much speed, that they dropped the price of PC Speed to try to goose sales. People have been opting for AT Speed, because it is quite a bit faster. If you are willing to live with Nortons of about 4.0, grab the discounted PC Speed. It works just fine. (J.NESS, CAT19, TOP9, MSG:69/M479) POWER SUPPLIES Brother Wang apparently wasn't much for quality. I """""""""""""" recently bought one of the Best power supplies and can definitely recommend it. I took the old power supply and replaced all the capacitors on the board - cost $16, I think. The thing still worked erratically. Then I read a tip here on GEnie that I should resolder the heat sink connections as well. Now the thing works OK. My suggestion is to replace all the capacitors, then resolder EVERY SINGLE CONNECTION on the bottom side of the board. (A.VALENT, CAT14, TOP4, MSG:130/M475) >>>>> We've had to replace the capacitors on three power supplies, and """"" a fourth needs them too (it has a tough time powering up when cold). I discovered the heat sink problem this past weekend when my MegaFile 30 would simply power down by itself (like a thermal shutdown), then after 10-30 seconds would spin back up. One of the heat sink solder connections was broken and depending on the temperature would break connection. I find it amazing that Atari actually uses the heat sink as part of the circuit! (DOUG.W, CAT14, TOP4, MSG:131/M475) ///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "Never mind folks-I went to Aladdin and it uploaded just fine / / even though I didn't know what I was doing." / ///////////////////////////////////////////// W.JOHNSONJR ///// [EOA] [MAN]////////////////////////////// MEL'S MANOR / ///////////////////////////////// Forget Me Nots """""""""""""" by Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] For this article, I thought I'd share a few time-saving tips and interesting features I've come across in some of the various programs (pd, shareware and commercial) out for the Atari ST. Every time I notice a neat feature in a program, it makes me want to share it with others so they too can benefit from the thoughtful programming talents built into much of our software. I hope you'll find some of these tips and hints helpful in getting the most enjoyment out of your ST. EDHAK 2.0 (Shareware by Craig Harvey) Have you ever lost a good """"""""" amount of work when you quit a program without saving your document? Been using your telecommunications program to capture a list of new files and then realized your capture buffer was off? Yikes. Well, now there's hope. Edhak 2.0, by Craig Harvey, to the rescue! With Edhak, you can search through your system's ram for a text string. If Edhak finds it, it will place the text and the surrounding data in its buffer. From here, you can highlight what you want and save it to disk or print it if you'd like. A very handy function. Simply select "view/edit ram" from the Edhak menu. Accept the first default of "R->B" which tells Edhak to copy the search string, if found, into its buffer. Click on the "find" button and then enter the text string in the dialog box that follows. Edhak will ask you if this should be a case-sensitive search, to which I answer "no". Finally, Edhak will ask you where you want to begin your search. I usually just accept the default of the beginning of ram (0k in the dialog.) You'll usually have to repeat the above process 3 or 4 times before you find the string desired. If you're a programmer and know where to look, that's great. A Codekeys macro will make short work of answering all the prompts in the above setup. Don't forget that you can hit F6 to have Edhak search the remainder of its buffer for another occurrence of the string. But to search beyond the buffer, in the remaining ram, you will need to go through the above procedure and when you get to the dialog box that asks you where you want the search to begin, click on the "->>" button. This will start the search again, just beyond the Edhak buffer you've perused. If the body of the text that you were looking for looks odd, try clicking on the "text<->hack" menu item in Edhak's menu bar. I have found a few times when even the ram search of Edhak couldn't recover my text. Keep in mind that the more your system's memory is rearranged after you've lost your text, the smaller the chances are you'll find what you want. If you run a few more programs and such, the text you're looking for may be history. But 9 times out of 10, if I initiate my search immediately, I've recovered my text with no problems. (A demo version of Edhak 2.0 resides in the ST RT files section, #16590.) MAXIFILE 2.0 (Codehead Software) Maxifile 2.0 by Charles F. Johnson """""""""""" is chocked full of handy features that will give you maximum power in manipulating the files on your hard, floppy or disk drive. One of my favorites is the "auto select" feature. This comes in handy when you're trying to archive many important files to floppies and would like to get the most mileage from that double-sided disk. Auto select will fill your disks to the brim and you won't have to go through the hassle of mentally calculating how many more files will fit on your destination disk. Just set up your source and destination paths in Maxifile. Then shift-click on the Bytes Used counter down in the lower left-hand corner. Doing this starts the Auto Select function and Maxifile will read your destination disk, calculate how many files from your source path will fit and highlight these. Now just select Copy or Move and you're on your way. Awesome! I always get a real kick out of it when I see Maxifile highlight just the files that will fit on my destination path with no required interaction from me. Isn't that what I bought a computer for anyway, to free me from such mundane tasks? A quick click on the Bytes Used counter, without holding down the shift key, will select all the files on the current path. Much faster than the GEM desktop method. In the past, I've laboriously selected a bunch of files on the GEM desktop and then accidentally clicked the mouse at the wrong time, deselecting all my hard work. No good! Maxifile's method is painless. Shift-clicking on any _file_ will cause all files with that extender to be highlighted. This is great when you want to do batch renames on file extenders. For example, shift-click on any file with an ".acc" extender and all your ".acc" files will instantly be high- lighted. Then click on the "name" function of Maxifile and you'll be able to quickly rename them to ".acx". Have you ever copied some files to another disk and discovered late in the operation that there wasn't enough room? Frustrating, no? In Maxifile there is a Check Destination Space function, in the "warnings" section. If selected, Maxifile will automatically check your source path to see if it has enough free space _before_ it starts copying. No more having to wait until the last few files to discover you need more room. (A demo of Maxifile is file #12965 in the library.) HOTWIRE 2.3 (Codehead Software) Hotwire 2.3, also by Charles F. """"""""""" Johnson, has a very neat feature I wish all programs imitated. You can set the default status of all alert box buttons! For example, if you change the path of a program installed in a Hotwire menu slot, Hotwire asks you if you want to reset or keep the current options for the program. The default button, the one that is highlighted and will be acted on if you hit return, was "reset". But by holding down the Alternate key while I clicked on "keep", it became the new default. Saving the configuration to Hotwire made the change permanent. I wish every program could do this with their dialog boxes. Hotwire does it now. Hotwire's chaining feature can be a real timesaver if you use .ttp-type programs that exit after one use. There are various disk checkers and program packers that will do one operation and then quit, whereas you may have wanted to do several more operations. Just set up the program to chain back to itself, so when it quits Hotwire will automatically rerun it again. By placing the program in a ramdisk, the reexecution of it will seem almost instantaneous. Hotwire also has a built-in function for breaking out of the chain when you're done. Neat, huh? Since I rarely use up all the slots in my Hotwire menu's, I use the leftover ones for reminders. You can right click on an empty menu slot and type in up to 20 characters. Typically, the hotkeys I've assigned to my desk accessories via PopIt (another great Codehead program) are placed in the menu slots as headings to remind me of which hotkey goes to which accessory. Like "Cntl-3 = Codekeys". But if you have any information that is helpful, like a reminder of your anniversary or such, it can be placed in an empty slot to jog your memory every time you bootup. Don't forget that you can left, center or right justify the headings you assigned to the Hotwire menu slots. Just use the appropriate justification button in the heading dialog box accessed by right clicking on the slot. If it's a program name, you access the heading box from the options box. Right click on the program's name in the Hotwire main menu and then in the options box and you'll find your- self in the heading dialog. (A demo version of Hotwire can be found at file #15598 in the ST RT libraries.) DC DESKEY 3.0 (Double Click Software) I spend much of my computing """"""""""""" time at my word processor and hate losing work to a power outage. DC Deskey 3.0 has a very handy feature that allows you to save your document after a given number of keystrokes. I prefer this over a "save after X number of minutes" because sometimes I like to "take five" away from the computer to get a snack and I don't want my document regularly being saved every few minutes when I haven't made any changes. DC Deskey allows you to select a GEM drop-down menu item to be acted on after however many keystrokes you want. You can also set up a warning bell for a certain number of keystrokes before Deskey does its thing which let's you know what's coming up. If your word processor has a 'save and resume' feature, like First Word Plus does, then this function becomes nearly transparent. The auto-save kicks in and after its done, control is returned to you. This keystroke save function is a real lifesaver if you live in dread of frequent, unexpected blackouts. TOS 1.4/1.6 (Atari Corporation) Yep, even the lowly GEM desktop has a """"""""""" few little goodies perhaps you weren't aware of. With TOS 1.4/1.6, you can _move_ files from one path to another by selecting them and then holding down the Control key as you click-and-drag them to the destination window. You can also _abort_ any copy, move or delete operations by holding down, logically, the Undo key. Many dealers offer TOS upgrades to 1.4 and if you buy an STe, it comes with 1.6 from the factory. CODEKEYS 1.2 (Codehead Software) Many terminal programs offer auto- """""""""""" dialing. If the bbs you want to call is busy, it will dial the number again. But usually they will dial the number right away, once they get a busy signal. I don't know about you, but it gets on my nerves to hear my modem attack dialing a bbs over and over again without stopping. I'd really prefer to have it wait a minute between tries. With Codekeys, can do! Just set up a Codekeys macro that will dial the bbs and then repeat after, say, one minute. If the number is busy the carrier will drop in a few seconds and Codekeys will take care of redialing the number for you. Just remember to deactivate your repeating macro, when you finally connect, by pressing its hotkey again. (A demo version of Codekeys is in the ST RT library, #17508.) BUTTON FIXER (Freeware by Charles F. Johnson) Have you noticed how """""""""""" some programs, under TOS 1.4, have hypersensitive slider bars? You click once on the slider and get paged two screens or more. No matter how fast you are at single- clicking, the system seems to think you've clicked two or three times. If you've experienced such behavior, be sure to d/l the freeware desk accessory Buttnfix from GEnie (File #17710) and start enjoying being able to make use of the slider bar. It works great and will only take up 390 bytes on your disk. Category 32, topic 25 is devoted to Button Fixer as well. LITTLE GREEN SELECTOR 1.8B (Shareware by Charles F. Johnson) After """""""""""""""""""""""""" using the Little Green Selector for the past few years, I must confess it's hard to think about having to double-click on a filename in the standard GEM file selector. Just clicking the right mouse button _once_ on a filename, in the LGS, seems so much more easier and convenient. And I'm getting more equal distribution of wear on the buttons too. You can also left click on a filename to put it up in the selection line and then right click on it, up in the selection line, to make that file's extender the mask. Now only files with that extender will be displayed. And don't forget that a simple right-click on any of the drive buttons will give you the important bytes free/used statistics. I like the "Find" feature of the LGS when I need to locate a file amidst my hodge-podge of folders quickly. It is very fast and accepts wildcards too! For example, doing a search on "???D????.*" located a file called "deadmail.txt" on my ST Aladdin path. When I archive whole disks with the LZH format, I like to convert any ARC files that may be on them to LZH's first, then let LZH store them along with the rest of the files. LGS will sniff them out fast, even if they're nested deep within several folders. (The Little Green Selector 1.8b is file #17165 in the ST RT library.) DC SQUISH 1.4 (Double Click Software) This program compressor has """"""""""""" really saved me a ton of disk space and does its work well. Don't forget that you can save the configuration of DC Squish, the status of the fastbit, tpa, keep original, alerts and destination= source buttons by clicking on the DC Squish logo up in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Squish will save the configuration data to itself and the next time you boot it up it will be set just like you left it, ready to save you more disk space. (A demo of DC Squish is file #16660 in the ST RT library.) MVG 2.0 (Wizworks) MVG is a terrific monochrome image editor with """"""" more features than you can shake your ST's mouse at. I use it for all my ST bit-image work, converting pics to different formats and 'touching up' screenshots I've captured. I'm no artist, but MVG helps me out with a powerful array of drawing tools. Although it looks like you will have to leave your desk accessories at home with MVG, no way would Dr. Bob leave you in the lurch. There is a neat back-door way to access your desk accessories in MVG 2.0. Click on the "What Be MVG" slot under the Desk menu. In the display box that comes up, there is a hidden button that will allow you to have access to your desk accessories. It's right next to the "font buf" indicator, in that little spot where there are no buttons, just grey. Of course, an errant desk accessory could crash your system and take your hard work with it. But I really appreciate the Dr. giving me a choice instead of locking out access to desk accessories like some programs do. (A demo of MVG can be found at file #15186 in the ST RT files section.) [*][*][*] Sigh. I could go on but I know that if this article gets much longer nobody will want to d/l the magazine. :-) Oh well, if you discover a time saving tip or feature that will help everyone else out, don't be shy in posting a message in the appropriate category and topic and share the wealth. I've often purchased programs on the basis of what was discussed in the message bases in the ST Roundtable on GEnie. They're a rich source of valuable information and often you can speak directly to the developer. Thanks! COMPANIES MENTIONED (With Genie ST Roundtable Category and Topic data """"""""""""""""""" for more information on the programs described. An asterisk (*) below means that the entire GEnie category is devoted to the company.) [*][*][*] DC Deskey 3.0/DC Squish 1.4 Edhak 2.0 Double Click Software C.HARVEY - Genie P.O. Box 741206 Clear Thinking BBS Houston, TX 77274-1206 P.O. Box 715 (713)977-6520 Phone Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (713)944-0108 BBS Category 2, topic 40 on GEnie Category 30 on GEnie* MVG 2.0 TOS 1.4/1.6 Wizworks Atari Corporation P.O. Box 45 Customer Relations Girard, OH 44420 P.O. Box 61657 (216) 539-5623 Sunnyvale, CA 94088 Category 7, topic 5 on GEnie (408) 745-2367 Category 14 on GEnie* Maxifile 2.0/Hotwire 2.3/Codekeys 1.2 CodeHead Software P.O. Box 74090 Los Angeles, CA 90004 (213) 386-5735 [9am-1pm (Pacific time) Monday through Friday] (213) 386-5789 [FAX] Category 32 on GEnie* Little Green Selector 1.8b Charles F. Johnson P.O. Box 1250 Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 Category 32, topic 15 on GEnie /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "I think am approaching the 70 Hours of DynaCADD use since last / / Friday! Whew! One of those rush jobs thats been around since / / November. The kind that sits on a desk until it's an emergency."/ ///////////////////////////////////////////////////// REALM ///// [EOA] [PDQ]////////////////////////////// PD_QUICKVIEW / ///////////////////////////////// Yours For The Asking: UNCLE2_0 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Fred H. Koch [F.KOCH] Program Name : Uncle Carl's Famous Disk Librarian Filename : UNCLE3_0.ARC Library Area : 2 Program Number : 17497 File Size : 113400 Program Type : Disk directory Author : Carl J. Hafner [C.HAFNER] Version Reviewed: 3.0 File Type : Shareware ($15.00) [*] [*] [*] WHAT IT IS This program is called a disk librarian but is closer to a """""""""" disk directory display/print utility. WHAT IT DOES Uncle Carl's Famous Disk Librarian (referred to here-after """""""""""" as UNCLELIB), is a disk cataloging utility which works in medium or high resolution. UNCLELIB will read all directories from either your Floppy or Hard drive, and allow you to save this information to disk in ASCII format. UNCLELIB will also allow you to view this information before deciding to save it. A Print option is available, allowing you to have a printed copy of your directory, and a Disk Formatting option allows you to format a Floppy disk directly from the program. UNCLELIB saves your files as individual CJH files and allows you to create individual folders for each disk category like GRAPHICS or UTILITIES. You can then create each of the appropriate files in the corresponding folder. You can also append different disk directories to a single file providing a single list of files from multiple disks. Most larger single file database programs require you to load the program and then the file in order to make sense of the stored information. Since the files in UNCLELIB are saved in strict ASCII format you DON'T have to load the program to view or find a specific file (although you can if you want to). Simply double-click on that file from your Desktop to view it. If you have erased a disk you can remove that directory from your library by simply dragging that particular file to the Trash can. A single larger library usually requires you to load the program and to specify fields and conditions governing the section you wish to delete. If you like you can also copy the CJH directory of a certain disk TO that disk. That way if you want to know what's on that particular disk you don't have to open every folder and look. You can simply double-click on the CJH file and see the entire directory of that disk. Here again you don't need to load the program to view a specific directory. UNCLELIB includes a file display function which allows displaying any ASCII file in a standard GEM window for forward and backward scrolling. There is a disk label printing option which allows entering up to 11 lines of 23 characters. Special types of printing are provided for the label if you have an Epson compatible printer. Other features include a SEARCH option which helps you locate specific files within the library, a CLOCK for setting the time and date, a Colour Palette for changing the screen colours to your preferences and an ASCII file print function. File operations now include Stamping, Renaming, Deleting, Verifying, Installing/Deleting Folders and turning the Sound on or off. The renaming feature allows using some characters which are not allowed from the GEM desktop. A sample of the program output gives the best idea of the information captured by UNCLELIB. * Disk Name: Sample CJH File ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ B:\ CAPTURE.TXT 7,337 02:51:50 11-09-1990 | | | | | |A| CONTROL.ACC 20,080 16:44:10 11-14-1990 | | | | | |A| DESKTOP.INF 644 15:04:32 11-14-1990 | | | | | |A| NEODESK.DAT 21 15:04:10 11-14-1990 | |H| | | | | SAMPLE.FLD folder 1 15:05:28 11-14-1990 | | | | |F| | UNCLE3_0.BAK 77,266 00:29:54 11-15-1990 | | | | | |A| UNCLE3_0.DFN 3,572 15:09:18 11-14-1990 | | | | | |A| UNCLE3_0.GFA 77,266 00:30:02 11-15-1990 | | | | | |A| UNCLE3_0.LST 7,329 20:10:06 11-14-1990 | | | | | |A| UNCLE3_0.RSC 17,446 20:10:12 11-14-1990 | | | | | |A| GRAND TOTALS: SIZE:210961 ~ FILES:9 ~ DIRECTORIES:1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- B:\SAMPLE.FLD\ SAMPLE_2.FLD folder 2 15:06:52 11-14-1990 | | | | |F| | UNCLELI2.INF 33 14:40:44 11-14-1990 |W| | | | |A| GRAND TOTALS: SIZE:33 ~ FILES:1 ~ DIRECTORIES:1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- B:\SAMPLE.FLD\SAMPLE_2.FLD\ UNCLELIB.INF 33 20:14:14 11-14-1990 | | | | | |A| GRAND TOTALS: SIZE:33 ~ FILES:1 ~ DIRECTORIES:0 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- VOLUME NAME: UNCLELIB.DSK BYTES FREE:504832 ~ BYTES USED: 211027 TOTAL FILES:11 ~ TOTAL FOLDERS:2 ~ GRAND TOTAL:13 =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ The last element at the far right of the display contains the file attributes. There are five columns with the following possible values. |W|H|S|V|F|A| "W" means that a file is "Write protected" "H" means that a file is "Hidden" "S" denotes a "System file" "V" denotes the "Volume name" (or disk name) "F" denotes a "Folder" "A" denotes an "Archive bit" The search mode requests you enter a few KEY letters which may be contained within the name of the file you are searching for. There is a maximum input capacity of 12 characters for the Search string (the same number of characters contained in a filename, period included). Any file name containing the entered KEY letters will be displayed. [*] [*] [*] PD_Q RATING * * * """"""""""" DOCUMENTATION GOOD """"""""""""" PD_Q COMMENTS UNCLELIB is a decent disk directory lister/printer. It """"""""""""" groups the files by folder and provides all file infor- mation including file attributes. It allows combining multiple disk directories into a single file, but then it requires a text editor to update specific disks without recreating the entire file. This program is primarily designed to create an ASCII directory of a single disk. The main menu clears the selections after each disk read requiring the choices to be repeated for each disk. The search function will scroll if too many file names are displayed, and does not show the path to the file names. This makes it only good to determine if a specified file is on the disk, not where it is. The label option is exited if RETURN is pressed to move to another line instead of using the arrow keys and the BOLD print did not work on my STAR NX-1000 printer which is an Epson compatible printer. No printer driver editor is provided, so if any print options don't work you are out of luck. There are several shareware reminders that appear from time to time. Hopefully these are eliminated from the program if you register, but the documentation does not mention the reminders or state a version of the program without the reminders will be sent if the program is registered. If you are looking for a program which will create an ASCII file or printout of the files on a disk, you should consider this program. //////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "The only option left is a civil suit, which can take months / / (even years) and costs a LOT of money. In the dwindling ST / / market, that's not even remotely possible; we've got much / / better things to spend our time and money on. / / / / Where's Rambo when you need him?" / //////////////////////////////////////////// C.F.JOHNSON ///// [EOA] [OFF]////////////////////////////// OFF THE RECORD / ///////////////////////////////// Mini_Qwik_reViews """"""""""""""""" o LDW POWER: First Look at 2.00 o POWERMONGER: A Detailed Look LDW POWER 2.00 The new version 2.00 of LDW Power comes with a 68-page """""""""""""" "Addendum #1" that covers all of the changes made to LDW Power in versions 1.10 and 2.00. There is no file that comes on the disk that covers its new features. LDW Power 2.00 has been expanded to support the extended macro command set of Lotus 1-2-3, v. 2.01, that's all. It does not claim to run all Lotus 2.2 macros. Many of the new commands involve window management or support the new Graphics Editor included now in LDW Power 2.00. LDW Power 2.00 appears to me to be bug-free. The only bug that I was aware of in the previous v. 1.10 was when your cursor rested in a column on the far right of your screen and you executed a /Range Erase {Insert} {Down} command, the screen became confused and displayed a different section of the worksheet than the one you were working on. I am _very_ pleased to report that that bug no longer exists in v. 2.00. Other improvements in v. 2.00 include (scanning the new addendum): o Improved window management of imported 1-2-3 files so that their function is identical to that in 1-2-3 o Easy changes to frozen title areas by means of temporary duplication o Column width adjustment using the mouse and/or cursor keys o Identification of cells with hidden "notes" by displaying them with bold text (very handy) o Protected cells are displayed using either color or shading depending on which monitor you're using o The ability to designate that you be alerted before doing a /File Retrieve so that you can verify that you saved the worksheet you've just finished with o A new configuration program that allows you to delete program features in order to increase free RAM for worksheets o Up to 4 graph windows can be open at once (maximum of 5 total windows) o An additional 2 data ranges are permitted in the /Data commands for a new total of 8 (A-H) o A draw option allows you to add text, boxes, and lines to your graphs o A new /Graph Save Dump Screen command has been added for users with printers that lacked a GDOS driver and whose only alternative in the past was to do an Alt-Help screen dump that gave them the GEM window as well as the graph, logarithmic scaling can now be done on graphs instead of only normal linear scaling o 3 new graph types (Manhatten, Stacked Line, and High-low) have been added o A 3-D display for graphs (nice!) has been added o Exploding pie charts can now be created with user-selectable shading o 24-pin printer support is now included o The device number for your GDOS printer is now modifiable from within the program (in case you have more than one printer/plotter attached to your system, I suppose) o Grid lines can now be printed along with the worksheet provided that the SIDEWAYS printing program is not used I think you get the general idea. (M.SQUIRE, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:147/M475) POWERMONGER basically looks the same as Populous though the controls """"""""""" are along the front as well as the left side. At the very back (top of the screen) you can see your captains hovering over the 3-D topographical warmap which shows the part of the map that you're currently viewing. There's a complete map off to the left top that shows the entire territory. The detail is amazing. There are birds that fly all over the screen and it shows their shadows as well. Trees and sheep dot the landscape as well as towns which consist of farms, ranches, taverns, townhalls, barns, ruins, towers, and workshops that you can invent almost any of the following depending on the resources that are available in the immediate vicinity: Catapults, Cannons, Swords, Pikes, Bows, Boats, Ploughs, and Pots. I've made all but swords so far and it seems that the bows along with the catapults do the most damage, but I would think that the cannons do considerably more than the catapults. The catapults are really nice to look at when they either lob a big rock or they hurl greek fire and destroy some buildings. When someone dies, their body falls to the ground and then their souls in the form of white angels fly up the screen to Heaven. Really cute touch! The object of the game is to conquer every territory on a rather large map. I think it's about 10 across and I haven't gotten far enough down to see the bottom of it, yet. So that's at least 50 territories to conquer, though you try to go to the right and then down. It becomes more difficult by having less resources when you begin a new territory. You can't take your huge armies to the next one. The bottom right territory is the hardest in the game. You can only conquer adjacent territories and you only need to conquer 2/3 of it to move on. Some of them are set up nicely having large roads to connect the various towns. The two player mode is the same as Populous either via modem or null modem cable. You can have up to two computer opponents in the game for a total of four in the game at a time. I've only seen two other kingdoms besides my own in my games so far. The other kings are called Jayne III, Jos XVIII and Harold II. (I think.) Everybody in the game has a name and a job. Anything in the game can manipulated. That is, you can kill sheep, chop down trees and I think shoot down carrier pigeons, though I haven't tried this last one yet. Another annoying point is that you have to enter in a number for copy protection by looking at this map of a territory and comparing it to several in the book to find the right answer. The drawings are done in black and white some in gray scale though I guess they all are pretty well distinctive enough. I suppose this game could get tiring if I don't keep getting some surprises like the different Kingdoms use different strategies when fighting and I still don't know how to trade properly or use alliances, yet. If you can look at it before buying it, good, otherwise if you like Populous or any imperialistic game I think this is a good buy for about $40. (J.CHIN, CAT9, TOP73, MSG:44/M475) /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "Moving up from a floppy system to hard drive, is comparable to / / moving from a one bedroom apartment to large home. You have / / much more room to put your things." / //////////////////////////////////////////////// S.PIERSON1 ///// [EOA] [ATR]////////////////////////////// ATARI CORP. ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// The Bottom Line @ Atari """"""""""""""""""""""" From Bob Brodie... """""""""""""""""" USER GROUPS & PIRATES? Well, I tend to disagree with it. We do let """""""""""""""""""""" the developers know that user groups are an invaluable resource, and most of them acknowledge that. Some of them will take a little more convincing, as they tend to think that the sole reason user groups exist is to pirate software. However, we are in the process of forming specialized user groups for the musicians, called the Atari MIDI Alliance. Frank Foster is the mastermind of this project, and I hope to get it off the ground in short order. We currently include a card with all of our products offering to send a list of user groups out if the purchaser will send us a stamped self addressed envelope. Most of our ad space (such as they are) is pretty well used up already. I hope that more of the local ads will point to the dealers, and the dealers will be involved with the local user groups. In my old group, we were very active in all of our local dealers. Made sure that they had copies of our newsletter, flyers about the group, and tried to help promote the dealer as well. For example, one of our dealers was (is) Computer Games Plus. They worked with us to schedule a GAME DAY where we set up a number of computers throughout the room, each with a NEW game that they were selling. It gives people an honest chance to try before they buy, and was a big hit. Of course, if you don't have a dealer close by, that can present a problem. From Ken Badertscher... """"""""""""""""""""""" ULTRASCRIPT? Looks like we have a lack of communication between QMS/ """""""""""" Imagen and Atari. Atari does not have the rights to the UltraScript program, so there is no way we can fix the problems. They own the source code, it was programmed by them, and it is being co- marketed by us. Probably the person that you contacted at QMS/Imagen didn't realize that Atari doesn't have the source code. That wouldn't surprise me, because of the way personnel have been shuffling around there for the past few months. It's just an unfortunate consequence of their re- organization. As far as UltraScript ST goes... Atari can't fix the program if Atari doesn't have the rights to modify it, much less the source code! I'd love to see some arrangements made so that it can be fixed, though. >>>>> Do not use the number returned by appl_init() as an indicator of """"" whether or not your program is running as a DA. It will almost certainly change in the future. From John Townsend... """"""""""""""""""""" SECURITY PROBLEMS To be honest the biggest problem is security. We """"""""""""""""" released a beta version of TOS 1.4 to developers and the version went all over creation. It was even uploaded to the ST RT here on GEnie several times. We can't have RAM-loaded versions of TOS being leaked into the general public. We can't support them. We don't _want_ to support them. So, how do we solve the problems of RAM-based TOS versions making their way onto BBS systems and into the hands of general users? SHAREWARE THOUGHTS Another point.. you should never expect shareware """""""""""""""""" contributions. I think that's a bad way of looking at it. If you write programs and release them to the public expecting the "bucks to start rolling in" you are in for a serious disappointment. On the other hand, if you release something that has wide appeal and it is found to be useful to people in general, you will probably start to see some contributions and feedback on your program. DoublePage III from Doug Wheeler is one such program I am aware of. PinHead from Charles Johnson is another. I guess the point that I am trying to make is that you should hang in there, not get discouraged, and keep writing code. Find some hole in the market out there that isn't filled and fill it. Find some new angle that will get you some recognition for your efforts. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.." Or something like that! :) ODDS & ENDS The TT computers that are now shipping and being built """"""""""" have 720K drives in them. This could possibly change in the future. We would like to include 1.44 megabyte floppies, but there are technical and supply problems that must be overcome before this can happen. Officially, I do not know when (or if) we will begin making TT machines with 1.44 megabyte floppies. >>>>> The latest revision of HDX software should accompany Mega STE """"" machines. Every ST/TT machine should run FOLDRXXX.PRG. Other than that.. I don't think there are any other programs needed. Certainly none of the patches that we have released. Those are all fixed in the ROM revision present inside the Mega STE. From John Jainschigg """""""""""""""""""" ATARI EXPLORER OOOOOH! OOOOH! Clayton Walnum just called and asked me """""""""""""" to check into the Explorer topic ... I've had my head buried in a C compiler for the past couple days (yes, yes, PHONE.ACC ... I know ...) ... And WOW! All this positive feedback! I can't believe it! You actually LIKE the magazine? Shee ... (shufflin' feet) ... I'm like ... really delighted to hear that people are getting their issues. In case anybody HASN'T gotten their issue, or wants to subscribe, or something like that, our new customer service phone and address are: Atari Explorer Customer Service PO Box 6488 Duluth, MN 55806 (218) 723-9202 This should NOT be confused with our editorial/advertising address and phone: Atari Explorer Magazine 29-05 Broadway Astoria, NY 11106 (718) 545-2900 Fax: (718) 545-8200 And yes, the next issue should be out within some sort of window of opportunity roughly corresponding to a normal bimonthly publication schedule. From David Cagle """""""""""""""" PORTFOLIO TALK You should always turn off the Portfolio when inserting """""""""""""" or removing any peripheral (RAM card, parallel interface, etc.) UNLESS it is specifically stated that it is ok not to do so. One reason is that while a RAM card is inserted in the Portfolio, it is getting the power to remember the data stored on it from the Portfolio's battery supply. Simply removing the card from the system without powering down may cause a momentary lack of power to the card which could cause you to lose the data on the card. Another reason is that the Portfolio goes out and polls for peripherals when powered on. If you were to plug on a serial interface or such without powering down then up again, the Portfolio might not know that the interface had been plugged in, thus causing some problems when you first go to access it. >>>>> 512k RAM Expansion......$299.00 Compact plug-in module adds """"" 512k to Portfolio RAM. Total memory size is 636k. User may increase size of C: drive and/or program memory. Low power consumption with battery backup. Expansion bus is preserved for use with standard peripherals. That's all I have...for more info, call XoteriX at 818-888-7390. From Jim Tittsler """"""""""""""""" KEYBOARD SWITCH Trying to install a Stacy keyboard into a ST, Mega, or """"""""""""""" STe would be a pain. The Stacy keyframe is a simple switch matrix that does not include the ikbd microcontroller that is part of the ST/Mega/TT keyframes. In Stacy, the microcontroller has been moved onto the memory board (and the mouse/joystick connectors onto the motherboard). (It is the same matrix layout as the ST however, so it's not impossible... just quite messy.) TT TALK The TT video is at (near) VGA speeds. It will not directly """"""" Genlock to an NTSC or PAL frequency signal. (Of course you could add a different video card on the VMEbus...) The TT RAM (Fast RAM) goes on expansion board that plugs into the TT030. The timing of the TT color video is not the same as VGA. If your VGA monitor has horizontal and vertical width and position controls you may be able to adjust it to display the TT video adequately. It is really intended to be used with the Atari monitor (or an adjustable multi-sync). [*][*][*] Do you have a question about or for Atari? Did you know that the Atari ST RoundTable is your direct line to the Atari Corp? Bob Brodie [BOB-BRODIE], John Townsend [TOWNS], Jim Tittsler [JTITTSLER], David Cagle [DAVID.CAGLE] and Ken Badertscher [K.BAD], John Jainschigg [EXPLORER], Dan McNamee [D.MCNAMEE], (among others) are all frequent visitors to the RT bulletin board and can sometimes even be found online in the Wednesday night Realtime Conferences. Interested in hearing what they have to say? Look to this column to hear it straight from Atari: The Bottom Line. /////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "I'd have been a FOOL to write anything expecting to make a / / killing off shareware contributions. / / / / / ///////////////////////////////////////////// W.WOOTAN ////// [EOA] [ALD]////////////////////////////// ST ALADDIN ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// ST Aladdin And You """""""""""""""""" "I used to believe that Flash! was the end-all be-all, but for GEnie you can't beat ST Aladdin (once you get the reins on it). I get more messages and faster with ST Aladdin. Even had a race: ST Aladdin won, IMHO, hands down. (by a lot more than a nose, like GEnie 22 min, Flash! 47 min)." Wally Wallster HINTS_TRICKS_&_TIPS """"""""""""""""""" NO HARD DRIVE? There are two ways I would recommend. If you don't """""""""""""" call many RTs AND you call frequently, you could try setting yourself up a small (maybe 400K) RAMdisk and putting the data files (the RT- specific) stuff on it. Otherwise, set yourself up that same RAMdisk and copy ST Aladdin (along with configuration files, etc.) to it - then change floppies and run Aladdin from the RAMdisk, with all the data files on the floppy. This will be slower, but you get more room. (DAEDWARDS, CAT1, TOP3, MSG:8/10/M1000) DISAPPEARING MESSAGES? Since the new version will be out soon, this """""""""""""""""""""" may be moot. But I found a rather odd way of retrieving replies that have been mysteriously erased. You create a reply and then hit Esc to save it. You then check the "Roundtable" menu and notice that "Edit-Delete Replies" is greyed out! Ouch! Your reply is gone. Well, move the mouse over to the "Library" menu and click on "Choose Download-Browse". Then go back over to the "Roundtable" menu and check the status of "Edit-Delete Replies". I know it sounds funky, but it's worked for me twice now. Don't ask me why this will cause a deleted message to come back. Thought it might save someone a little grief until 1.2 hits the file section. (M.MOTOGAWA, CAT5, TOP1, MSG:4/M1000) KEYBOARD COMMANDS """"""""""""""""" prev = left-arrow next = right-arrow line down = down-arrow line up = up-arrow page down = space bar page down = shift & down-arrow page up = shift & up-arrow first = shift & left-arrow last = shift & right-arrow prev topic = control & left-arrow next topic = control & right-arrow (K.TROESCH, CAT5, TOP1, MSG:514/M1000) CLEARING THE D/L FILES I you want to erase a particular d/l listing, """""""""""""""""""""" just go into the Data folder and erase the .DAT .FMK .IDX for each listing you want to get rid of. (S.PIERSON1, CAT2, TOP3, MSG:90/M1000) PROBLEMS? If you're watching the screen when Aladdin hits some line """"""""" noise that fouls up one of its commands to GEnie (resulting in ST Aladdin waiting for an expected GEnie prompt that never comes), you can just click on FIX at the top of the terminal screen. This will force ST Aladdin to go on with its next task. To prevent a long unproductive amount of time when something like this happens when you are not attending your system, make sure you don't have a long timeout period specified in your Configuration screen. When the timeout period has elapsed and ST Aladdin hasn't received its expected prompt from GEnie, ST Aladdin will disconnect your modem from the line. If you have a long timeout period specified, it may appear that ST Aladdin has locked up, but it really hasn't (if everything is working right). (JEFF.W, CAT1, TOP10, MSG:5/M1000) /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ///// / "Sometimes us programmer types just have too much faith in the / / goodness of the human spirit and when we see evidence that it / / just ain't so then we get a little goofy." / /////////////////////////////////////////////// C.WALTERS1 ///// [EOA] [LIB]////////////////////////////// THE ONLINE LIBRARY / ///////////////////////////////// Get It While It's Hot! """""""""""""""""""""" >>> CHECK IT OUT! <<< """"""""""""""""""""" ATTENTION ALL DC DESKTOP OWNERS! We have just uploaded a new extension """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" for the DC Desktop: DC DESKTOP AUTO SELECTOR. With DC Desktop AUTO (DCD AUTO) you can choose which DC Desktop modules to load everytime you bootup. You can also choose resolution and default CABINETs on bootup! All using a graphical interface from the AUTO folder! o DCD AUTO also has presets, so you can setup predefined programs, rez and default CABINET! o DCD AUTO is a SIGNIFICANT enhancement to the DC Desktop. You must get it! Also (the best part possibly) you MOVE all of your DC Desktop programs from the AUTO folder into your DC Desktop Information directory and put DCD_AUTO.PRG in their places! DCD AUTO will execute the ones you choose! DCD AUTO uses only 256 bytes of memory and causes absolutely _no_ memory fragmentation on bootup as a result of executing the programs! This is one slick enhancement! A very special Season's gift from us to our DC Desktop users! BTW - the file is #17672 in library 2. (DOUBLE-CLICK, CAT30, TOP3, MSG:72/M475) PHA$AR & TAXES I have prepared a file PTAX_90.ARC which should soon be """""""""""""" available. It is a step by step procedure for updating the tax program of PHA$AR for the recent tax changes for the current year. (J.MEEHAN3, CAT6, TOP13, MSG:100/M475) BOWLING SECRETARY Version 5.01 of 'The Bowling Secretary' is now """"""""""""""""" available for downloading. This file has many new features that should make the secretaries job a little easier. This version corrects _all_ of the errors that I was made aware of that were in the earlier versions (3.0-4.01) and _should_ work correctly. If you have any problems, leave a message here where I (or anyone else) can help you with them. It will be a whole lot faster than sending regular US Mail. And if you use ST Aladdin to send it it will be cheaper too!! (R.JOHNSON, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:1/M475) ADD_A_CLOCK One of my STs does not have a clock card. I found a """"""""""" program called TX-CLOCK.LZH (file 17566) that seems to work great. It allows easy update of the time and date. It also stores the current date/time to the drive so if you do not input the current data, it will use what is one the drive. This at least gives a more current version than what is in the ROM. (D.CHARTER, CAT32, TOP2, MSG:56/M475) STOS PATCHES The first is STSFIX14.LZH and will upgrade STOS to run on """""""""""" TOS 1.4 machines. It will be file #17886. The second is the STOS upgrade to allow STOS and compiled programs (when compiled after the upgrade) to run on all machines up to TOS 1.6 (maybe even higher, read the docs!). I am sorry, but I am not sure if you must already be upgraded to TOS 1.4 before the TOS 1.6 will work. The TOS 1.4 fix isn't that big, so if you aren't already upgraded to 1.4, I suggest you do that first...and always work on backup copies! The second file is called, appropriately, STSFIX16.LZH and will be file #17888 (hopefully). Happy STOSing! (R.MARTIN22, CAT3, TOP9, MSG:75/M475) FIDONET UTILITY It just occurred to me that I forgot to post a message """"""""""""""" in this topic concerning LED which I uploaded a couple of weeks ago. Not only did I forget, but I also deleted the text I wanted to use. As some of you have already seen, file #17851, LED10ENG.LZH, has been uploaded to file library 7. This file is intend- ed for FidoNet users running The-Box Messagebase and BinkleyTerm 2.40. (F.BELL1, CAT8, TOP18, MSG:1/M475) D O U B L E-P A G E I V Includes all the features of version III """""""""""""""""""""""" plus: - True GEM application with menu bar - Support 1x132 printouts as well as 2x80 - Allows complete editing of the page header - Allows the header and border to be turned off - Simplifies selecting arbitrary tab sizes - Supports the new .FFT small, fast font file format - Supports alternate printers through loadable drivers (only SLM included) - Allows for wildcard (and multiple wildcard) printouts - SLM driver automatically detects the SLM device number - Allows pages to be collated - Has option for audio alerts when user interaction is required - Print speed has been increase greatly - Overstrike printing is support This is all available in file #17990 - DUBLPAG4.LZH (DOUG.W, CAT14, TOP11, MSG:129/M475) TWO COLUMN PRINTER I just uploaded a new release of TWO COLUMN PRINTER """""""""""""""""" (2COLUMNS.PRG) to the library. It's file #17910. New features in Release 4 . . . o True Tabs: A tab will now cause printing to jump to the next tab stop rather than to just skip a constant number of spaces. Only regular tab spacing is supported but this is adjustable. This feature is mainly useful to people printing source code who want TWO COLUMN PRINTER's output to match their editors. o Blank Line Filter: There is now a limit to the number of blank lines in a row that will print. This keeps paper from being wasted when files contain long series of blank lines. The size of this "filter" is adjustable. o Repair "botched printout" option: Ever had a long printout go bad when your printer ate the last few sheets? Maybe you've misloaded your paper at the start of side two? With previous versions all you could do was reprint the whole file. Release 4 will allow you to print selected pages only and to skip the ones that came out right the first time. o Lower memory requirements: There is a new printing mode that allows much bigger files to be printed under tight memory conditions. o Aladdin Manual: Several changes were made so it would do a better job of printing the raw version of GEnie's Aladdin manual. o A couple bugs were fixed and cosmetics on "big screen" were cleaned up. TWO COLUMN PRINTER is a FREE program. Enjoy. (JWC-OEO, CAT1, TOP9, MSG:49/M475) /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //// / "[Spectre] 3.0 is truly amazing, behaves exactly like a real / / Mac, with one exception - it doesn't seem to ever crash; I / / got curious about the crash page as it just wouldn't show up, / / nothing was crashing, I had to wait 3 days to see it." / ////////////////////////////////////////////// J.WHEELER4 ///// [EOA] [RTC]////////////////////////////// NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLES / ///////////////////////////////// Wednesday Night Fun! """""""""""""""""""" ST Real-Time-Conferences Highlights """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ January 2 & January 9 ~ BUTTON FIX '''''''''' <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> Problem is, J.M., we aren't sure of the real cause of the problem. BUTTNFIX is like an aspirin. It fixes the symptoms, but the double-event bug is a mysterious disease. <[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Would the double-event bug be related to the so called "phantom typist"? <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> Probably not, Larry. Different things cause the phantom typist, from what I understand of it. <[Bad Droog] C.F.JOHNSON> Larry: I don't think so. The PT is an interrupt-related thing. <[Dan] GRIBNIF> naw, the phantom typist is on all versions of TOS <[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Otay, just wondering.... I haven't been hit by the PT for months now. KNOCK, KNOCK <[NevMan] NEVIN-S> By the way, folks BUTTONFIX is file 17710. D/L it if you have TOS 1.4. Does TOS 1.6 or 2.0 require buttonfixing? <[The Ninja] J.ROY18> Small, yes. <[NevMan] NEVIN-S> Davesmall, YES. I tested the problem on the TT and it remains. LANGUAGES ''''''''' J.D. That's an interesting idea. I've found that the best way of learning a language is to set a task in it and go for it. I did an 8080 emulator to learn 68000, for instance. <[Mad Mike] M.ALLEN14> Dave - sounds like me. I learned 6502 assembly by writing a PILOT interpreter! STALKER 3.0 ''''''''''' <[Matt] M.WEILERT2> I use, recommend and ENJOY!!! STalker! <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> Aladdin is better for getting GEnie messages, but STalker is what I use for general purpose telecommunicating. <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> The newest beta stalker has some *incredible* programmability. <[Rebel] OUTRIDER> Is STalker still getting updated? I haven't heard anything new on it lately. <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> Absolutely, Terry. Beta 3.0 is nearly out of beta. <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> STalker 3.0 that is (I'm beta testing 2 beta 3.0's these days ;) STalker 3.0 beta is a bit overwhelming! <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> The programming language in STalker is INCREDIBLE. <[Bad Ken] K.BAD> You can do *anything* with it. <[The Ninja] J.ROY18> Why not Alpha instead of beta? <[Matt] M.WEILERT2> Ken, is he e-mailing update notices? <[Rebel] OUTRIDER> What can you guys tell me about STalker v3.0? :^) <[Bad Dot] D.A.BRUMLEVE> There is an Alpha, but it's not the Beta. <[The Ninja] J.ROY18> Outrider, scripts, zmodem... SADAMFIX.PRG '''''''''''' Hi, John. I'm looking forward to your new program. <[Sysop] JEFF.W> New program? Which is that, Jonesy? SADDAMFIX.PRG You mean SADAMFIX yep! Yeah, Jeff, you got it, 1/15 <[Sysop] JEFF.W> What will SADAMFIX.PRG do, John? Actually CFJ and I have written a nifty little program for use with Aladdin. It's called DATENAME and will rename files with a date. For instance, ST_IN.TXT would be renamed to ST_IN01.91 (today) John, I like it. When can we get it? <[Sysop] JEFF.W> Oh, I think I understand, John. Sounds neat! We'll upload it within the next couple of days...free. It takes a command line so you can have it work on as many files as you want. When chained to Aladdin in HotWire it does it automatically. <[Sysop] JEFF.W> So, John, it would take the daily archive files, for instance, and rename them? Yes, and you can direct them to a folder if you want. It solves the "huge file" problem. <[Sysop] JEFF.W> John --- Cool! I'm looking forward to it! HAVING FUN! ''''''''''' <[RinTinTin] DAVESMALL> is here. <[RinTinTin] DAVESMALL> is not here. <[RinTinTin] DAVESMALL> has left. <[RinTinTin] DAVESMALL> has left. <[Grimmy] OUTRIDER> <[Fred] FB> doesn't know. <[Julius] ISD2> has right. <[Blackhawk] R.OLSEN5> Make up your mind Dave <[Julius] ISD2> has left. <[Grimmy] OUTRIDER> is laughing. <[Paul] P.SWANSON3> only here in spirit. <[Sysop] JEFF.W> Poor guy didn't know if he was coming or going. <[Flash] C.DURANTE> Hi Dave, Bye Dave... <[JR] J.WENZEL2> <--- Is confused <[Grimmy] OUTRIDER> is leaving. <[Sysop] JEFF.W> Toodles, Grimmy. <[Grimmy] OUTRIDER> has what? <[Grimmy] OUTRIDER> has left. <[Blackhawk] R.OLSEN5> has left. <[Paul] P.SWANSON3> has right. <[JR] J.WENZEL2> has TT <[Yowser] J.EIDSVOOG1> has rift <[Paul] P.SWANSON3> hasn't yet <[Flash] C.DURANTE> Hazy at best... <[Yowser] J.EIDSVOOG1> has n'pfeffer. <[Cary] CGEE> Hmm..I need a beer... [*][*][*] GET IN ON THE FUN! On Wednesday evening of each week, you can find """""""""""""""""" Realtime Conference sysop, [JEFF.W] (Jeff Williams) in RTC room one, along with several ST users and developers. JEFF.W and company can probably help you with many of the GEnie or ST questions and problems you might have. Stop by on Wednesday evenings starting at 10:00 pm Eastern for help for your problems and maybe even some rumors and gossip! //////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "What do you mean "not a real computer?" Ha! This computer / / is way b-- hey! my computer's melting! aaaah! it's melting.../ / melting... xcvmxfdk / / / / NO CARRIER / /////////////////////////////////////////////// C.EBERLE ///// [EOA] [LYN]////////////////////////////// HOOKING UP WITH LYNX / ///////////////////////////////// Atari Game Power! """"""""""""""""" >>> LYNX ODDS & ENDS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""" SHANGHAI RELEASED! Atari releases yet another cartridge for the Lynx: """""""""""""""""" Shanghai (part #: PA 2063) - $39.95 Shanghai is based on an ancient Chinese game call Mah-Jongg. The object of the game is to remove pairs of tiles from a pile of 144 tiles so that the last move of the game is to remove the last pair of tiles. The game Shanghai allows you to play the traditional, or Dragon, shaped pile of tiles. It also allows you to play different shaped piles, such as Bear or Fish. While playing the game, it keeps track of how many tiles are left in the pile and how long you have been playing. Your score is not only how many tiles you removed, but how long it took you to do it, and how many hints you needed to do it. You can play Shanghai in four different modes: Solitaire (Single- player), Two-player Alternating Competitive (The players take turns of 10 seconds in length to remove tiles from the pile), Simultaneous Competitive (Two players remove tiles from the same pile at the same time), and Cooperative (Both players work to clear the puzzle as quickly as possible). The Two-Player modes are only accessed when you have two Lynx systems linked together using the comlynx cable that comes with your Lynx system. (DAVID.CAGLE, CAT36, TOP2, MSG:145/M475) LYNX DEVELOPERS Finally, got the developer info I was looking for from """"""""""""""" Atari's Lombard office. There are currently 12 registered Lynx Developers: Alpine Software, APTI Game Systems, Color Dreams, Cyber Labs, John Handy, Knight Technologies, Lore Games (UK), Loricel (France), Reflex Software, Shadowsoft, Telegames USA, and US Gold (UK). I'm contacting these companies and hopefully I'll have some info on what they're working on in time for the next issue of APE. (C.SMITH89, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:145/M475) LYNX REPAIRS The Lynx is currently not a dealer-serviceable item. If """""""""""" the back light goes out, you'll need to return it to Atari for replacement with another Lynx. If it happens during the 90-day warranty, we'll replace it for free. If it happens after the 90-day warranty expires, the cost of replacing the Lynx is $90. For more info on this procedure, call our Customer Relations people at 408-745-2367 or 408-745-5759. (DAVID.CAGLE, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:120/M475) LYNX: INSIDE INFO For those of you who own a Lynx and would like some """"""""""""""""" "inside info" on it, be sure to pick up the Jan/Fed 1991 issue of Atari Explorer magazine. It really goes into detail concerning how the system works and access the information on the cards. Definitely worth the $2.95 cost of the issue. (DAVID.CAGLE, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:122/M475) >>> HINTS & TIPS <<< """""""""""""""""""" GOT A SCRATCH? To solve the problem of scratching the Lynx screen """""""""""""" invest in the $4.99 (list) Lynx SunScreen, its definitely worth it. As far as the power supply/game carts I wouldn't worry about it to much, the contacts to the games are protected by the plastic holders. I'm very happy with my Lynx Kit case :) (ERIDDLE, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:150/M475) >>>>> Hint for screen cleaning... I have seen Lynx screens get """"" scratched by wiping them with a soft cotton cloth. In order to avoid this, I ran to my local optometrist (i.e. eye doctor ;-) and bought a $5.00 cloth for cleaning glasses. Make sure when you get your cloth that it works with plastic lenses. I am not talking about disposable wipes, I am talking about a special material cloth that should outlast your Lynx. It is a heavy silky material and completely non-abrasive. (A.FRIESEN, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:146/M475) >>>>> I have found that the spray-on plastic polish designed for """"" cleaning compact discs works wonders in taking out small scratches on the Lynx screen. A quick spray and wipe every 3-4 weeks keeps my Lynx screen nice and clean and virtually scratch free. (STACE, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:144/M475) LYNX MINI_REVIEWS Hi all, I feel like giving my feelings a few games """"""""""""""""" so sit tight... SLIME WORLD is definitely one of the best. When I first got it I was ''''''''''' disappointed with it, and I let it sit around. Then one weekend, I sat down and played it. I got through levels 1-3 and stopped halfway through level 4. I don't know why but I suddenly got into the game that day. Slime World is not a game you can just sit down and play for 5 minutes. If you have 30 minutes or more, read the story (i.e. diary) and give it a try. I really got into the game--started thinking about the characters etc. CHIPS CHALLENGE is also a very good game. I spent a lot of time with ''''''''''''''' it. KLAX's sounds are truly incredible. I wish all of the games had this '''''' great sounds. It is also a very good game. XENOPHOBE is very good. I never played the arcade version, but it ''''''''' sure beats the Nintendo version I played. MS. PACMAN I have some trouble with Ms. Pac Man. Firstly, this game '''''''''' is crying for a joystick . I often end up turning too soon or too late or the wrong way. In fact I have not played a game where at least 2 of my lives were lost due to the little Ms. not going where I wanted her to go. It is the only game for the Lynx that the Nintendo version is better than. ROADBLASTERS is crying for a steering wheel. Actually though, now '''''''''''' that I have gotten used to the controls it is a fairly good game. Due to the inaccuracy of steering with a control pad, I have never finished with a Multiplayer greater than 7. (I usually finish the arcade with a 10). RAMPAGE is just plain boring. I am sure it would be really good com- ''''''' lynxed, but no one I know has Rampage so I cannot test my theory. The music is also poor, and sometimes sounds exactly like Chip's Challenge (i.e. they were too lazy to write their own music and simply copied it from Chip's). ZARLOR MERCENARY I also own Zarlor Mercenary, but I just got it '''''''''''''''' yesterday so I haven't had a lot of time with the game. From what I can tell, it is a good shoot 'em up and is even better when 4 players are Lynxed together. PAPER BOY I don't own, but have played Paper Boy, and I was extremely ''''''''' disappointed with the sound and the graphics and the game- play and the music. (A.FRIESEN, CAT36, TOP23, MSG:11/M475) /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //// / "I have seen the error in my ways!! I took a chickens foot / / and waved it over the computer then used a shrunken head / / dipped in anti-freeze and it works now. :-)" / /////////////////////////////////////////////////// REALM ///// [EOA] [BUG]////////////////////////////// GOING BUGGY? / ///////////////////////////////// Problems & Solutions """""""""""""""""""" In GOING BUGGY? you will find messages that have been posted by RT members that have found a problem, a virus or an unusual situation with a particular piece of software or hardware. We will also re-print their solutions (if any). It's important to remember that just because someone says they have found a bug or caught a virus, that things are not always as they seem. There is the possibility that they may be having a problem with a conflicting desk accessory or auto-program or it could even be hardware related and specific only to their set-up. [*][*][*] LDW You are having the LDW Power graph problem (no text) because of """ having Turbo ST 1.4 installed. However, I hasten to add that the latest version of Turbo ST (1.82, soon to be 1.84) does not have that problem any longer so the true answer to your problem is to upgrade your copy. Questions on upgrading may be directed to Wayne Buckholdt, the program's author, by posting a note over in Category 2, Topic 16. (M.SQUIRE, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:136/M475) DC DESKTOP On folder files, I found a bug this week concerning this """""""""" and saving from the desktop using the + save desktop key combination. What will happen is you will lose the path info in this file. Instead of using the desktop keys (until we release the next patch program), just save the desktop from the DC Icon Installer program. It saves the folder path file correctly. >>>>> See my reply in the STalker section. It is a conflict of """"" KEYSTROKES assigned in DC Desktop and STalker/STeno. Basically, you are pressing a key combination in STalker/STeno which DC Desktop thinks should run a program or call up a module. To alleviate this, just reassign the keys in DC Desktop to not be the same as those used in STalker/STeno. We do have STalker/STeno, so we'll look into fixing this. We have fixed it for other DAs, so it'll just take some looking in to. (DOUBLE-CLICK, CAT30, TOP3, MSG:66/M475) ANOTHER VIRUS Unfortunately, there is an undocumented feature in the """"""""""""" operating system that allows for the possibility of a bootsector virus that does not look like it is executable (the checksum can be anything at all). There is a "do everything" virus checker from the U.K. that detects this type, among others. All of the viruses that are in the U.S. now seem to be of the type that use the checksum, though, and not this other type. (GRIBNIF, CAT2, TOP27, MSG:8/M475) SPECTRE USERS Again, for everyone, when using 6.0.x System, it is """"""""""""" ESSENTIAL to use Installer. Installer gets rid of hidden stuff you don't see and plays all sorts of magic you can't do easily; it is far from "dragging system and finder" anymore to update to a new system. We always use Installer to update our Mac IIfx's here at Gadgets (just got #2) and for any Spectre application; you must too to get reliable operation. Otherwise, you're just asking for crashes... (DAVESMALL, CAT4, TOP52, MSG:81/M475) NEODESK HELP As you figured out, if you are autobooting NeoDesk 3 """""""""""" together with MultiDesk you MUST have an extra copy of NEOLOAD.PRG in the AUTO folder. This is the way it was designed to run. >>>>> It seems the Print Queue's form feed option is -broke-. This """"" should be easy enough to fix in the next minor revision. In the meantime, you can remove the printer queue and print directly to the printer icon. If you saved the queue printer settings with "Save Configuration...", NeoDesk 3 will remember those settings even without the queue loaded. Therefore, it will correctly issue a form feed after every file (though you will lose the ability to print in the background). >>>>> If you were getting a crash when changing resolution or warm- """"" booting from NeoDesk 3 and you are using an ICD host adaptor with ICD software, we may have found the cause of the problem and how to fix it. Since we were unable to duplicate this problem on our ICD setup, we are not sure if this fixes it. What we do know is the following: 1. ICD, who has been helping us all along in trying to find the cause of this problem, found a bug in their previous HD_UTIL program. If you had installed the previous version of the ICD booter with this HD_UTIL, you would suffer the before mentioned problems. 2. Fixing this problem in the HD_UTIL and using the newer fixed version to install the ICD software on the hard disk made the problems go away on ICD's system. I am a little hesitant to openly declare "the problem is fixed" until a couple more people who have experienced this problem are also able to resolve it with the new version of the ICD HD_UTIL (it uploaded by ICD last night). So, if you were one of the people having this problem, could you please try installing the new version of the ICD software with the new version of the HD_UTIL and see if that fixes the problem? Once I get a couple more positive responses, we can then openly declare the problem fixed. (R.FLASHMAN, CAT17, TOP14, MSG:198/199/M475) WARNING Unfortunately the REVERSI.ACC from STart is one of the most """"""" misbehaved desk accessories out there. It does lots of things in a very questionable manner. I'm not surprised to hear that it interferes with the operation of _any_ program. (K.BAD, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:709/M475) SUPREMACY LOCK-UP I think I may have found a solution to the lock-ups """"""""""""""""" in Supremacy. Use one of the 50hz booter programs to run it. I've not had a lock up since I've done this. (D.LEMAY2, CAT9, TOP15, MSG:9/M475) VIRUS AGAIN? I just picked up the January issue of Atari ST User (UK """""""""""" mag) and the latest Vkiller shows both disks as ? (not sure). This is the same magazine that last month had the Green Goblin virus found on it's cover disk. (WAYNED., CAT12, TOP16, MSG:72/M475) >>>>> Yes, it appears that the January issue of ST User went out with a copy of the Green Goblin virus on it. I've received several notices, copies of the disk, and questions about it. This is a nuisance virus, not a destructive one. It will spread very rapidly, but doesn't do any file destruction. You can remove it with the current version of VKILLER, but if you've booted your ST with this disk in drive A, it will have started spreading. That means you'll have to check every disk you have for the virus. (G.WOODSIDE, CAT12, TOP16, MSG:74/M475) SPECTRE 3.0 AND 1.4 MEG DRIVES Gadgets has, and has been looking at, """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" the 1.4 meg drive. It does not work with Spectre 3.0. It is not known yet if it can be made to work in a future version of Spectre software or not. (STACE, CAT7, TOP68, MSG:193/M475) ////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////// / "I talked to GEnie Client Services about this and they were / / the first technical assistance people that I have ever called / / that have been of any HELP! It was a moving experience to not / / have to explain what a modem was over the phone." / ///////////////////////////////////////////////// C.EBERLE ///// [EOA] [ELS]////////////////////////////// ST ELSEWHERE / ///////////////////////////////// Other Areas Of IntereST """"""""""""""""""""""" o LIVEWIRE MAGAZINE: Can't Wait? LIVEWIRE MAGAZINE Now, in addition to the 4-color, hardcopy version of """"""""""""""""" GEnie's LiveWire magazine you receive in the mail, GEnie offers you an online version. This is especially useful in case your local Post Office regularly eats your copy....or you just can't wait to see what the news is. LiveWire Magazine is published bi-monthly as an informative tool for GEnie users. All subscribers to GEnie online services receive LiveWire as a part of their $4.95 monthly membership fee. The magazine profiles various areas of GEnie and features standing columns for computer RTs. Learn about what's hot on GEnie and how to make the most of your time and money online. LiveWire's bi-monthly schedule starts with a January/February issue and concludes with November/December. Mailing lists are updated with each issue so, for example, if you subscribe in January or December, the first issue you receive should be the March/April issue. Beginning with the Jan/Feb 1991 issue, if you are waiting for your subscription to start or just can't wait for the mail to sneak a peak at the news, LiveWire is available online. To access the online version, type *LIVEWIRE. Item 2 on the menu is a Table of Contents for the current issue (January/February) and Item 3 contains the actual magazine. This is part of GEnie Star*Services, so their is no additional charge for reading LiveWire online. /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //// / "A hazard of an office in the home I guess. But it does have / / its advantages too. I mean, I can work in my PJ's all day / / (and night too) and nobody is the wiser. Except for money, / / power and women, ol' Hef's got nothing on me ." / ////////////////////////////////////////////// C.WALTERS1 ///// [EOA] [LOG]////////////////////////////// LOG OFF / ///////////////////////////////// GEnie Lamp Information """""""""""""""""""""" COMMENTS? If you would like to ask a question, leave a comment or just """"""""" drop in and say hi, you can contact us in CAT 34 in the ST bulletin board area. If you prefer to remain private, send your GEnie Email to GENIELAMP$ on page 200, or leave a message to one or more of the following addresses: ATTENTION WRITERS Have you ever thought about writing an article? """"""""""""""""" Well, here's your chance. WRITERS.ARC File #17920 located in the GEnie Lamp library, #35 is a short text file that will give you information on our polices, what we are looking for and how to go about writing and submitting your article for possible publication in an upcoming issue of GEnie Lamp. Whether you are interested in taking on one of the columns now found in GEnie Lamp, starting a new column, or just submitting a one time article, we want to hear from you. So, take a quick look, fire up the word processor and get busy on that article! HOT OFF THE PRESS GEnie Lamp is published on the 1st and the 15th of """"""""""""""""" every month for our Atari ST RoundTable members on page 475, option 5. If you prefer to download your issue of GEnie Lamp, you will find the current issue as well as all the back issues on page 476, in the GEnie Lamp library, #35. WITH A LITTLE HELP... """"""""""""""""""""" o John F. Peters [ST-GUEST] Publisher/Editor o Darlah J. Pine [DARLAH] Co-Editor o Jeff Williams [JEFF.W] Technical Editor - David Holmes [D.HOLMES14] TX2 Editor - Terry Quinn [T.QUINN1] Contributing Author - Fred Koch [F.KOCH] Contributing Author - Mel M. Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] Contributing Author - Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] Contributing Author o Larry Duke [LARRY.D] GEnie Lamp Advisor o Sandy Wilson [SANDY.W] GEnie Lamp Advisor o Fred Beckman [FB] GEnie Lamp Advisor o John J. Kennedy [JJKENNEDY] GEnie Lamp Advisor o Vince Averello [VINCE.A] GEnie Lamp Advisor \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// (c) Copyright 1991 T/TalkNET OnLine Publishing, Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari RoundTables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari RoundTables on GEnie are the *official* information services of the Atari Corporation. Signed articles and message reprints are the opinion of the authors and are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher or staff of GEnie Lamp. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your information. ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ [EOF]