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_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE June 8, 1987
ISSUE #56
_____________________________________
Publisher/Editor
Ron Kovacs
Assistant Publisher
Ken Kirchner
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG INDEX 56
-1-RI ACE
Zmag User Group of June 1987
-2-INTERVIEW PART 1
Tom Harker of ICD
-3-ZMAG ENTERTAINMENT WIRE
Dolby SS Theatres
-4-ANALOG
Highlights in ISSUE 55 June 1987
-5-ZMAG NEWSWIRE
News Shorts on Atari/Comdex/more..
-6-ZMAG SYSTEMS UPDATE
More Sweden Systems Online
-7-ZMAG CAPSULE REVIEWS
Hacker, Spell, Black...
-8-GUEST COMMENTARY
In Defense of Hackers
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH JUNE
.....Rhode Island Atari Computer
Enthusiasts RI ACE.....
_____________________________________
RI ACE, by Alan Roseman
RI ACE, Rhode Island Atari Computer
Enthusiasts is a club on the upswing.
Long one of the East Coasts largests
ATARI groups, RI ACE continues to
grow. The advent of the ST as a
serious entry into desk top and
business applications has introduced
a steady stream of new members with
varied interests. When you add the
crop of new members to an established
base of knoledgable Atarians, you
form the nucleus of a grade -A-
users group.
RI ACE prides itself on it's active
persuit of new and worthwhile
products for the ATARI community. Be
it hardware modifications and
upgrades, or a software application
RI ACE has an expert a phone call
away. Special after meeting hardware
modificattion classes are not
uncommon. In this way we introduce
people to the inside of the micro,
adding to their understanding of the
computer they have come to depend on.
RI ACE meetings are a plesant mixture
of ST demos and SIGS, tempered with a
heavy dose of eight-bit support and
disscussion. Public Domain software
is available at every meeting from
our extensive collection for both the
eight-bit and ST series of computer.
RI ACE meetings boast a very helpful
question and answer period as well as
a swap shop and much more.
RI ACE produces a monthly newsletter
called the -RI ACE REPORTER-. It is
prouced using a 520 ST with
publishing Partner software and is
printed with a laser printer for
optimun quality. We also offer the
areas best 24 hr BBS. The -The RI
ACE EXPRESS-. Our BBS is currently
in the process of being changed from
an eight-bit system to a new 520 ST.
You can become a member of RI ACE by
sending a check or money order to:
RI ACE
c/o Steve Dunphy
192 Webster Ave.
Cranston, R.I.
The dues are $20.00 yearly.
24 hr BBS # 401-521-4234
in Prov. R.I.
At RI ACE we believe our members are
our strength. Join us and help keep
the support for your computer strong.
_____________________________________
Xx INTERVIEW WITH TOM HARKER PART 1
(c)1987 HDUG (Hard Disk Users Group)
_____________________________________
This is a compilation of a 15 minute
interview with Tom Harker of ICD,
by Chuck Leazott (Mr.Z)
Under the firm control of President
Tom Harker, ICD has exploded it's
arsenal of Atari oriented hardware
and software. They've blasted their
way into the hearts of Atarians
worldwide. The very structure of
Atari oriented equipment will never
be the same...nor do I ever want it
to be.
Anytime a company can design and
manufacture a hardware, software or
firmware product that will allow the
Atari computer owner to advance, I'm
all for it. ICD is one such devoted
company. In the short time ICD has
produced it's wares, it has become
one of the top suppliers of high
quality new Atari gear. Got a problem
--Ask ICD!!!
Thus we present Tom Harker at ICD.
TH=Tm Harker
CL=Chuck Leazott
CL) First off, being President of ICD
sounds like fun, but what,
exactly, do you do besides give
phone interviews?
TH) Well around here I call myself
glue.
CL) Glue??
TH) Yeah...I fill in a lot where
ever I am needed, and sort of
hold things together.
CL) Cute. Say Network: Atari is
writing it's first newsletter
for HDUG, and I have a list of
questions here from some of the
folks (and myself), that have
joined the new User Group. Care
to answer a couple?
TH) Sure. Fire away.
CL) The first is, when using the MIO
as an interface for a Hard Drive,
which controller do you
recommend?
TH) Well, I can't really say that I
recommend any particular one, but
we like the Adaptec controllers
since they are the most flexible.
Adaptec controllers can handle
the larger sized drives like the
30 MEG, etc...
We've tested others, like Western
Digital, Shugart and Xebec. Any
of them are fine, but for those
looking to run the larger drives,
Adaptec is best.
CL) Then you prefer the Adaptec?
TH) Well, we write the software to
handle all of them. It depends on
what you want. We've already got
software written for most of the
standard controller and disk
drive configurations, but if you
have another type that you would
like to use, we'll write a
software package for it.
CL) What's the going rate for that
software?
TH) Oh...we can fix you up for
around $45.00, even if you need
software written for new ones
that we havent tested yet.
CL) Will all of those controllers
handle a double HD setup? I mean
2 Hard Drives with one
controller?
TH) Most do. Some are better than
others. Again, the most flexible
are the Adaptec, like the
ACB4000A and ACB4070. Also the
Western Digital WD1002-SHD and
the Xebec 1410 and 1410A. There
are others. There are some
integrated controllers that
handle single drives like the
Seagate ST-225N, the Rodime RO652
and the Alpha and Beta series.
CL) So, you really have to know what
you want to do with the HD
system, as far as future use is
concerned, before you decide
which system to buy.
TH) Sure, just like anything else.
CL) OK, when using one of the
controllers that handles a double
HD configuration, must you use
the same type/style of HD in each
sot?
TH) Not with the Adaptec controllers
that we talked about. Again,
Adaptec is more flexible. If you
use Supra controller, at least
the one that they have now, and
some of the others mentioned, you
have to use identical drive
configuratons in each slot.
Things like number of heads,
cylinders and capacity usually
have to be the same.
CL) Which controller do you need to
run on the RLL configured drives?
TH) Well, first of all, the drive
isn't RLL, it's the controller
that sets up the RLL
configuration. A good example is
the Adaptec 4070A used on the
Seagate ST-238 Hard Disk.
Normally, the ST-238 is a 20 MEG
drive, and can be used as such,
but when you use the 4070A
controller, it configures the
HD with 1.5 times as much storage
space. So, you have a 20 MEG
drive that's now capable of
having 30 MEG. Same drive,
different controller.
CL) Is that true for other drives?
TH) No, just on those designed for
RLL.
CL) So what does RLL stand for, and
what exactly does it mean?
TH) Well, RLL stands for -Run Length
Limited-. Again, the controller
itself puts out the RLL which
gives you 1.5 times the density.
The sectors are therefore shorter
--Shorter sectors..Run length
limited.
CL) OK, but some drives are also
referred to as MFM. Without any
jokes, what's it mean?
TH) It stands for Modified Frequency
Modulation. It's kind of hard to
describe without going into
detail, but it's similar to a CB
radio. The older CB's used to
have 23 channels, and now they
have the 40 channel models. So,
basically the frequency
modulation is modified. Again,
from 23 channels to 40 channels,
like from FM to MFM.
We conclude this segment here. In
next weeks edition we will continue
the conversation and get more info
on ICD's Hard Disk products, Problems
with the ICD Doublers, MIO, and more.
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG ENTERTAINMENT WIRE
_____________________________________
Dolby Stereo(tm)
Theatres Equipped with 70mm Stereo
Surround Sound as of 5/22/87
By: Eric Carter
The following movie theatres are
equipped to present specially
mastered 70mm films with Stereo
Surround tracks. (Left, Center,
Right, Boom track, Left Rear, Right
Rear)
Location of Theatre Theatre Name
_____________________________________
<CALIFORNIA>
Century City Century Plaza
Fremont Cinedome Seven #1
Fremont Cinedome Seven #2
Hollywood Chinese #1
Hollywood Cinerama Dome
Hollywood Paramount
La Mirada Gateway 5 #1
Newark Cinedome Sevenplex #1
Newark Cinedome Sevenplex #2
Pleasant Hill Century 21 #1
San Francisco Cinema 21
San Francisco Northpoint
Westwood National
Westwood Village
<COLORADO>
Littleton Southbridge Eight #1
Litleton Southbridge Eight #2
<DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA>
Washington Uptown
<ILLINOIS>
Arlington Ridge Plaza #5
Calumet City River Oaks #1
Chicago Evergreen #1
Downers Grove Grove Theatre #4
Downers Grove Grove Theatre #5
Niles Golf Mill #2
<IOWA>
Des Moines Riverhills #1
<MASSACHUSETTS>
Boston Cinema 57 #1
Dearborn Movies at Fairlane #5
<NEVADA>
Las Vegas Cinedome 6 #1
<NEW YORK>
Manhattan 34th Street Showplace #2
Manhattan Astor Plaza
Manhattan 23rd Street Triplex #3
Manhattan Ziegfeld
<TEXAS>
Austin Arbor #1
Dallas Prestonwood 5 #1
<WASHINGTON>
Alderwood Grand #5
Bellevue Factoria #5
Riverton Heights Lewis & Clark #1
Seattle Oak Tree #3
- CANADA -
----------
<ALBERTA>
Calgary Palace #1
Calgary Sunridge #1
Edmonton Londonderry #1
<BRITISH COLUMBIA>
Vancouver Denman Place #1
Vancouver Stanley #1
Victoria Coronet #1
<ONTARIO>
Newmarket Glenway #1
Toronto Cedarbrae #1
Toronto Hollywood South #2
Toronto Palace #1
Toronto Towne & Country #1
Toronto University #1
<QUEBEC>
Montreal Claremont #1
Montreal York #1
_____________________________________
Xx ANALOG ISSUE 55
.........June 1987..........
_____________________________________
Here are some features in this months
edition of Analog Magazine.
-*- The Making of Atariwriter Plus
By: Frank Cohen
-*- Fast Sets
By: Darryl Howerton
-*- Trade Secrets Part 1
By: Clayton Walnum
-*- Variable Searcher
By: Steve Anderson
-*- Window Graphics
By: Howard Green
RVIEWS
-*- PC Board Designer
By: Matthew Ratcliff
-*- Speed King
By: Matthew Ratcliff
-*- NX-10 Printer
By: Greg Knauss
-*- Isgur Portfolio System
By: Steve Panak
All this in more at your local
newstand now!!!
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE
_____________________________________
ATLANTA (June 5, 1987)
The annual spring COMDEX trade show
opened this week in Atlanta with some
600 exhibitors and 50,000 visitors by
Thursday's close.
Jack Warner of United Press
International said that, as usual,
most of the exhibits are geared
toward IBM compatibility and -- also
as usual -- Apple Computer Inc. was
not represented.
Chairman David A. Norman of the
Businessland Inc. computer retail
stores made the keynote address,
saying that a major problem in the
computer industry involves
manufacturers with inconsistent
pricing and distribution strategies.
Norman said while a company's dealers
may be -cordially invited to go
through extensive training and
support qualifications to sell new,
advanced products, the direct sales
organization of the same manufacturer
is selling the same products at deep
discounts. This discount philosophy
is at odds with value-added, advanced
-technology products.-
The problem of value-added versus
discount dealers is passed on to the
customers, Norman said. -Imagine
this. A customer's (local area)
network goes down. He realizes the
network he assembled consists of one
manufacturer's file server, another
manufacturer's CPUs, still another
vendors's multi-user software
product, and peripherals from
numerous other manufacturers. Who is
the customer going to call for
service?-
Incidentally, Norman believes the day
of the local area network finally has
dawned.
-Businessland currently installs 250
local area networks and over 2,000
local area network connections per
month,- he said, and at least a third
of the PCs his company sells go into
LANs, while another third are
connected to minicomputers or
mainframes, according to Warner.
ACTIVISION and INFOCOM have published
thir -Fun, Fame, and Fortune-
redemption coupon booklets containing
over $245.00 in special offers, free
products, and other bonuses. This
promotion covers many of the
Activision and Infocom titles and is
good through August 1987.
Speaking of INFOCOM...Infocom is
offering FREE -InvisiClues- booklets
for BUREAUCRACY, HOLLYWOOD HIJINX,
MOONMIST, and LEATHER GODDESSES OF
PHOBOS with the purchase of any of
these titles. Redemption coupons are
available through your software
dealer or can be obtained directly
from Infocom.
MINDSCAPE has purchased CBS SOFTWARE,
and will shortly be re-releasing
their most popular titles under the
new name.
SPINNAKER SOFTWARE, publisher of such
famous titles as IN SEARCH OF THE
MOST AMAZING THING, TRAINS, and
numerous other educational and
children's games, has recently
acquired HAYDEN SOFTWARE, publisher
of the long-dead software known as
the MICRO MATH SERIES (including
MICRO ADDITION and MICRO DIVISION).
BUFFALO ATARIFEST at the end of April
seemed down in attendance and
involvement of vendors. Twenty-nine
-vendor- vendor areas included about
seven user groups, with some
notables as HYBRID ARTS not
attending. ATARI didn't bring the
MEGA ST to show, but they DID bring
the LASER PRINTER prototype. (This
article ctsy MICHIGAN ATARI MAGAZINE)
ATARI announced that many of their
new products will be in manufacturing
by June, and will be on the shelves
soon after. These include the NEW
Atari game machine (which will
include a cartridge version of
FLIGHT SIMULATOR II plus scenery
disks), te 1 MEG ST and LASER
PRINTER, the PC-CLONES, MODEM, and
some software titles. (CTSY M.A.M)
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG SYSTEMS UPDATE
_____________________________________
Zmag Sweden correspondent Lennart
Ollsson, has informed me this week
that Zmag has been added to the
following Swedish BBS Systems.
Kisa Monitorn 011-46-494-12997
SysOp-Hans Karlsson
First Star 011-46-0340-51117
SysOp-Thomas Plersch
These systems are 300 ccitt Baud.
Look for a Zmag exclusive report on
the German Computer Show going on
this week in Frankfurt. We should
have information next week.
Recently added to the growing systems
list:
Bates Motel 716-875-7376
Ol' Hackers 516-884-4140
PAUGS 602-242-4259
JACG BBS 201-298-0161
Whittkes 201-254-7984
Griffons 402-466-5339
Mr. Message 516-454-7698
Mach Ch. 8 207-784-0631
New Haven 203-776-9723
Lost Byte 617-586-8840
River City 201-928-0487
Conans Den 416-896-7173
The Bunker 212-617-0153
Please give these systems a call
and let them know you appreciate
their time and effort.
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG CAPSULE REVIEWS
_____________________________________
THE BLACK CAULDRON
Sierra On-Line, Inc.
Sierra On-Line Building
Coarsegold, CA 93614
(209) 683-6858
$40 c.1985
Six arcade sequences enliven this
role-playing adventure based on the
recent Disney animated film. You get
extended play life because the game
can be -solved- in a variety of ways.
Ages 12+.
-- JAMES DELSON
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Reviewed on
IBM PC/PCjr.* Also for 128K Apple
IIe/IIc, Atari 520ST. Joystick or
mouse optional. Color monitor
recommended.
BACKUP POLICY: 90-day warranty.
$5 thereafter.
RATINGS
-------
OVERALL RATING: Good
DOCUMENTATION: Average
PLAY SYSTEM: Good
GRAPHICS QUALITY: Good
EASE OF USE: Average
VALUE: Good
--================--
HACKER
Activision
2350 Bayshore Frontage Rd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
(415) 960-0410
$25-$45 c.1985
You're in trouble as soon as you turn
on the computer in this original
adventure game that has no
instructions. The goal here is to
save the world, but how you go about
it is a mystery!
--JAMES DELSON
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Reviewed on
IBM PC/PCjr.* Also for Amiga, 64K
Apple, 64K Atari 800/XL/XE, Atari
520ST, C 64/128, Macintosh.
Joystick or mouse.
BACKUP POLICY: 90-day warranty.
$7.50 thereafter or for backup.
RATINGS
-------
OVERALL RATING: Good
DOCUMENTATION: n/a
PLAY SYSTEM: Good
GRAPHICS QUALITY: Good
EASE OF USE: Difficult
VALUE: Good
--=============--
SPELLBREAKER
Infocom
125 Cambridge Park Drive
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 492-6000
$45-$50 c.1985
The final game in Infocom's
-Enchanter- trilogy is a knockout
txt adventure for experts. Use your
wits, a spell book, and found objects
to figure out why magic is failing in
this fantasy world.
--JAMES DELSON
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Reviewed on
Apple. Also for Amiga, Atari 800/XL/
XE, Atari 520ST, C 64/128, IBM PC/
PCjr,*Macintosh.
BACKUP POLICY: 90-day warranty. $5
thereafter. User makes backup
(Apple, Amiga, IBM, Mac).
RATINGS
-------
OVERALL RATING: Excellent
DOCUMENTATION: Average
PLAY SYSTEM: Excellent
GRAPHICS QUALITY: n/a
EASE OF USE: Difficult
VALUE:Good
_____________________________________
Xx GUEST COMMENTARY
.......By Fred Harvey.......
_____________________________________
Right up front let me say that I
approve of computer Hackers and feel
that we need more of them today! I
like to think of myself as a Hacker,
even if it is only to feed my ego.
Now before a righteous mob rises up
to smite me with their joystick
cables let me explain what I mean. A
Hacker is a person who has the desire
to gain as much in depth knowledge as
possible about the computer that they
are using. They not only know how to
operate the superficial controls and
run programs, but know how to modify
programs and operating systems to
fine tune them to their own
applications. These are usually the
ones people turn to when they have a
computer question because the Hacker
either knows the answer or can get
it.
Twenty years ago all computer users
were Hackers. They needed to be in
order to operate the hardware of the
time. A person who didn't understand
Assembly language and the internal
architecture of the machine just did
not use a computer. As electronic
chips were improved it was these same
Hackers that developed Basic, Pascal,
Forth and all the other higher level
languages that we use today. When
hardware prices fell to where it was
possible to produce computers for the
home, the Hackers moved into a whole
new area. They were just as
fascinated by the new breed of
computers as they were by the
mainframes that they were used to
using. This burgeoning home computer
industry also allowed a whole new
group of Hackers to emerge.
It was the desire to customize
programs of the time that motivated
Hackers to start tinkering with the
8-bit software that was available. It
may be hard to imagine but just five
years ago a standard floppy disk cost
about $5.00 each! That's probably
close to $6.00 in todays money. A
self boot program that only used
about 15% of a disk was horribly
wasteful. So one of the first things
they did was to convert the programs
to binary files. Yes, that did make
them easy to copy but the motivation
was intellectual and economic, not
selfish. It was from the productive
minds of these Hackers that we
received the many utilities for
examining files and modifying disk
sectors that are available today.
Unfortunately, as in every human
endeavor, there were some
unscrupulous individuals that used
their knowledge badly. These are the
ones that broke into business,
banking, school and government
computer systems. Often just to see
if it could be done but sometimes
with the idea of causing as much
disruption as possible. It was this
group that first sullied the name of
Hackers. Then came a much larger
group. These folks spent a large wad
f money for software and hardware
mods that allowed them to copy
commercial software. They spent their
time copying and distributing every
prgram that they could get their
hands on while proudly proclaiming
themselves to be HACKERS! The death
knell for the good name of Hackers
began to ring!
This wholesale pirating of software
has dealt a serious blow to the
software industry. People are just
beginning to recognize this and many
now refuse to trade in copied
programs. The problem is that many
people also shun Hackers because they
feel it means the same thing as
pirate. They don't seem to realize
that although some pirates are
Hackers, not all Hackers are pirates.
All of this is not to imply that I
think everyone should be a Hacker.
One of the nice things about the
computer industry is that it allows
people of varied interest to
participate to any degree that they
like. Just as I use my refrigerator
to keep food cold but don't care too
much how it does it, there is a large
market for people who wish only to
use their computers. The GEM
operating system used on the
Machintosh, Amiga and Atari ST
computers was specifically designed
to allow people with minimal computer
experience to profitably use a new
machine in a very short time. This is
a fine thing because of the new
markets for hardware and software
that it opens up. However, I still
feel that there is room for the
person who enjoys -hacking- away at a
program because not knowing how that
certain sub-routine operates is
keeping him awake at night.
In our head long dash for newer,
bigger and faster machines lets try
to pause long enough to restore the
term Hacker to the status it
rightfully deserves.
_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE ISSUE #56 June 8, 1987
Please Contribute
(c)1987 Ron Kovacs/Syndicate Services
_____________________________________