986 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
986 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
_____________________________________
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ZMAGAZINE JULY 4, 1987 ISSUE:60
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Publisher and Editor: Ron Kovacs
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Assistant Publishers: Ken Kirchner
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Susan Perry
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Rich Decowski
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG INDEX 60
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/*/ Zmag Newswire..Atari Update
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/*/ Newswire Cont..New product
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/*/ ICD Tour.......A visit inside
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/*/ CIS Watch......850 Interface Pins
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/*/ Zmag Review....QUBIE Modem
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/*/ Atari Answers..from CDAC Mag June
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/*/ Zmag UGOM......Ol Hackers
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/*/ Atari Rumors...
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/*/ Antic Online...June Faire Report
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/*/ Publishers Page
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE
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......Atari News......
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_____________________________________
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The following text ctsy of Online
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Today.
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ATARI TO SELL COMPUTERS THROUGH MUSIC
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STORES
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Atari Corp. has announced it plans to
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sell 520ST and 1040ST personal
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computers through US music stores.
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According to J.J. Brown, vice
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president and general manager of
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Atari's US operations, the company
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will start signing up music dealers
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this weekend at the International
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Music and Sound Expo in Chicago. The
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trade show is sponsored by the
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National Association of Music
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Merchants (NAMM).
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-It's a natural fit for Atari,- said
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Brown. -Music stores already sell
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music software, and the ST is rapidly
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becoming the computer of choice for
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musicians because of its low price
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and high performance. Another reason
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is that it is the only personal
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computer with a built-in MIDI
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(musical instrument digital
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interface). Musicians can use an ST
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immediately; there's no need to buy a
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MIDI interface board.-
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--John Edwards
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ATARI MEGA ST RELEASE IS IMMINENT
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An Atari executive has reacted to
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rumors that Atari's Mega ST would not
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be ready until September. Atari users
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have been hearing rumors that the new
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machine would be delayed until
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September. The reason usually
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supplied was that the SLM804 laser
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printer was having production
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problems and Atari wouldn't release
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the MEGA without the printer.
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Neil Harris, Director of Marketing
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Communications at Atari, says that
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the release of the Mega ST is
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-imminent.- Although Harris didn't
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comment on the laser printer's
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supposed problems, he did say that
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Atari saw -no reason to wait on the
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laser printers to get the Megas out
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the door.- He also said that the
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SLM804 (laser printer) will be ready
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well in advance of September.
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--James Moran
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_____________________________________
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Xx NEWSWIRE CONTINUED
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_____________________________________
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INTELLICREATIONS ANNOUNCES NEW
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PRODUCTS AND FORMATS
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Chatsworth, CA -- June 25, 1987.
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IntelliCreations, Inc. today
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announced the upcoming release of new
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formats for a number of existing
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products.
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Following the June release of Video
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Title Shop for the Commodore 64/128,
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the Atari and Apple versions will be
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on the market in July. Video Title
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Shop is a computer + VCR utility that
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allows the user to create text and
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graphics screens for use with
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recordings of all kinds - family
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occasions, holidays, school and
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business. The first supplemental
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disk, Graphics Companion I, will be
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released simultaneously with each
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system release of Video Title Shop.
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Alternate Reality - The Dungeon for
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the Commodore 64/128, which was
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released in early June, will be
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available for the Atari XL/XE and
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Apple II systems in July. The
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Dungeon, a sequel to The City, can be
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played with a character created in
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The City, or with a new character
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entering the mysterious world
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populated by beings beyond
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description.
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Alternate Reality - The City, which
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has been available for the Commodore
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64/128, Atari, Atari ST and Apple
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systems, will be released for the
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Macintosh in June and the IBM PC in
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August. A Survival Handbook for
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players of The City was shipped in
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May and is available at a suggested
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retail price of $9.95.
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New product releases for the second
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half of 1987 include:
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Tomahawk, a helicopter simulation in
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which the player gets to pilot the
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Apache helicopter flown by the U.S.
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Army -- a machine designed to fly at
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speeds in excess of 200 mph, and
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whose sole task is to seek out and
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destroy anything that gets in its
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way. The player can select combat or
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training missions at four pilot-
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rating levels in a 3-D real world
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display. Features include offensive
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and defensive flight maneuvers;
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ground attack and air-to-air
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interception, day and night vision
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systems, and instruments only flying.
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Tomahawk will be released in August
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for the Atari and Commodore computers
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at a suggested retail price of
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$34.95.
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Force 7, an action/adventure game in
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which the player is the commander of
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a special forces unit sent to the
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planet Karis to rescue the humans at
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an Energy Fabrication plant which has
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been overrun by aliens. One space
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suit has survived the journey, so you
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can only teleport one crew member at
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a time to the planet's surface to
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fight the invading aliens. Force 7
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will be available for the Commodore
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in August, and the Atari and Apple
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systems in September at a suggested
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retail price of $19.95.
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Additions to the war strategy game
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series include Bismarck - The North
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Sea Chase, a battleship simulation in
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which the player can choose to
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command the Royal Navy or the dreaded
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German battleship that sunk H.M.S.
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Hood in 1941. This multi- level game
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gives the player the opportunity to
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use conventional battleship weapons
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or take to the air in a Fairey
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Swordfish torpedo plane via a cockpit
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-perfect flight simulator. Bismarck
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will be available for the Atari,
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Commodore and Apple in September at a
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suggested retail price of $34.95.
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Tobruk - The Clash of Armour will be
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released in October for the Atari,
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Commodore and Apple at a suggested
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retail price of $34.95. This tank
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simulation, war strategy game puts
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the player into the role of Rommel,
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head of the German Afrika Korps, in
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his attempt to defeat the British in
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North Africa and move into Egypt,
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thus destroying the Allies hold on
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the southern Mediterranean.
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Dark Lord is an introductory graphics
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/text adventure in which the player
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has inherited his grandfather's house
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and all his possessions, including a
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journal that reveals the unbelievable
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discovery he claimed to have made.
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Dark Lord takes you into the
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Alterworld where you must destroy the
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evil wizard who has risen from his
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grave and enslaved the realm. Eighty
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screens of outstanding graphics,
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animation, original music, plus a
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self-running demo and a random
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relocation of objects option combine
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to make Dark Lord an exciting game
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that will be played over and over
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again.
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Dark Lord will be available in August
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for the Apple and Commodore systems
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and ill be priced at $19.95.
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_____________________________________
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Xx AN ICD VISIT
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...Tom and Gerry Visit ICD...
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_____________________________________
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By Jerry Cross and Mike Lechkun
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Oh well, Mike's lousy mouse joke at
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least got us in the door and to the
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receptionist. We entered an old
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textile factory on a bumpy road on
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the south side of Rockford, Illinois.
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The building's reduced demands
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allowed it to house small, emerging
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buisnesses. This is where ICD resides.
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After the aforementioned bout with
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the receptionist, we were greeted by
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Marilyn, one of the executive
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secretaries, and were shown the main
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office. This office house other
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secretaries, accounting and art
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departments, and programmers.
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Sitting on a dresser in the middle of
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the room was a 520ST, Courier 2400
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modem, disk and hard drives--in
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short, the ICD BBS. That's where the
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fun started! We were introduced to
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staff programmer Keith Ledbetter.
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Keith, of Express! fame, showed us
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his first products for his new
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employer. ICD Express! (we think
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that was the title) is an ST BBS
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program that will knock your socks
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off and send them across the room!
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It's really that good! The program
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is a mixture of features found on 850
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BBS Express! and some of the major
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on-line services. Written in a
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language composed by Keith (also to
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be released as soon as it is
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documented), ICD Express is a
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callers dream, yet not a Sysop's
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nightmare. In the download section,
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a user can scan the list of available
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files, or view each filename followed
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by a brief description. Arc'ed files
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can be un-arc'ed on-line to view the
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separate files contained in the
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master file. The sysop may set a
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variety of flags restricting/allowing
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different privledges to individual
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users. Standard X-modem, CRCX-modem,
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and Y-modem are the protocols
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supported. -Kermit's batching allows
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some users to type in -*.*- and
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download everything, and I'm not too
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keen on that,- said Keith. 32
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message bases can be created, with a
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maximum of 250 messages each
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containing 4000 bytes of information.
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This will cost you over a meg of
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memory, but that's the breaks--get a
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Mega ST when they come out! Thread
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following, tagged messages, and a new
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on-line text editor makes this
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message area complete. I thought the
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suggested retail of $79.95 was
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reasonable, Jerry thought it a bit
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pricey. For ICD's first foray into
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the ST field, this seems an excellent
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product in the tradition that ICD has
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established.
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After Mike got up off his knees in
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worship to Mr. Ledbetter, the tour
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moved on. Up an escalator and
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through a vacant machinery room we
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went. Marilyn left us in the capable
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hands of Brad, head of shipping/
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handling and production. Stacks of
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untested, incompleted MIO devices
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were about the room. Each MIO is
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tested from 9 to 24 hours for
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reliability before packaging and
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shipping. This commitment to quality
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along with ICD's excellent consumer
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support has forced them to expand
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three times within the warehouse.
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Surely a fourth expansion is eminant.
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When Jerry complained of a lack of
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quality service on non-ICD equipment
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in his area, Brad rather matter-of-
|
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factly said -send it in to us - Tom
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(Harker, ICD's President) will look
|
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at it.- ICD routinely assists with
|
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all installation of their products at
|
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reasonable fees. ICD installs
|
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Rambo's (memory upgrades), and US
|
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Doublers (1050 drive enhancements)
|
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for $30 and $15...they'll look at
|
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user's equipment as well when their
|
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own product checks OK. After being
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frisked for any free sample MIO's
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(just kidding), our tour had ended.
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In spite of the grubby factory style
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surroundings, ICD is a company
|
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committed to dependability to all
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Atari owners. This is one book you
|
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can't judge by the cover!
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Article ctsy of the CHAOS BBS
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_____________________________________
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Xx Zmag CompuServe Watch
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.....850 Interface Pinout.....
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_____________________________________
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190854 S13/Peripherals 28-Jun-87
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Sb: 850 PINOUTS
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Fm: Don Miaw 70707,1414
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To: PAUL T. WILLIAMS 73157,244
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Paul, Take note:
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Serial Port R1:
|
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Pin 1 - Data Terminal Ready;
|
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2 - Carrier Detect;
|
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3 - Data Out;
|
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4 - Data In;
|
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5 - Signal Ground;
|
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6 - Data Set Ready;
|
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7 - Request to Send;
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8 - Clear to Send.
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Serial Ports 2 & 3:
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Pins 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 - same as R1;
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Other pins - not assigned.
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Serial Port 4:
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Pins 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 - same as R1;
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9 - minus 8V;
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Other pins unassigned.
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NOTE: pins 1 and 7 of R4 are not
|
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computer controlled and are
|
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always ON at +10V.
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Parallel Port:
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Pin 1 - Data Strobe;
|
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2 - Data bit 0;
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3 - Data bit 1;
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4 - Data bit 2;
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5 - Data bit 3;
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6 - Data bit 4;
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7 - Data bit 5;
|
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8 - Data bit 6;
|
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9 - Data pins pull-up at +5V;
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11 - Signal ground;
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12 - Fault;
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13 - Busy;
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15 - Data bit 7.
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[Don]
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG HARDWARE REVIEW
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.....QUBIE'S MODEL MODEM.....
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_____________________________________
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By:Alan Roseman
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QUBIE' SUPER MODEM 1200 EXTERNAL
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507 Calle San Pablo
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Camarillo, Ca. 93010 800-821-4479
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Delivered Price $99.00
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The QUBIE' SUPER 1200E is a standard
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size external modem (5-x9-), it's
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outer case is made of steel in a
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painted finish. It's face is a
|
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contrasting dark brown. The face of
|
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the QUBIE' SUPER 1200E displays a
|
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full array of informational LED's.
|
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HS-high speed, AA-auto answer, CD-
|
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carrier detected, OH-off hook, RD-
|
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receive data, SD-send data, TR-
|
|
terminal ready, MR-modem ready.
|
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Immediately left of the LED's is a
|
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small slide open compartment which
|
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houses the 8 DIP switches making for
|
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easy access.
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The rear of the QUBIE' SUPER 1200E
|
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offers you access to it's RS-232C
|
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port, an on off switch, speaker
|
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volume control, telephone and power
|
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input.
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As you can probably tell from the
|
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description the QUBIE' SUPER 1200E is
|
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a very well equiped package. It has
|
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all the features we have come to
|
|
appreciate in a top quality modem.
|
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Did I mention yet that it auto
|
|
switches from 1200 to 300 baud on
|
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connect if necessary? Well it does
|
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that too.
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The QUBIE' SUPER 1200E accepts all
|
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standard HAYES commands, I have used
|
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it on all local BBS's as well as the
|
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major pay to connect information
|
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services. It has performed in an
|
|
error free fashion in every case.
|
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The documentation is complete and
|
|
easy to understand even for the
|
|
novice. The QUBIE' SUPER 1200E comes
|
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as a bundled package with IBM
|
|
software -PC TALK- making it a real
|
|
bargain for big blue fans.
|
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|
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Delivery which is via UPS is free and
|
|
takes appx. six days. For about six
|
|
dollars they will ship express which
|
|
cuts delivery to about three days.
|
|
|
|
You probably haven't heard of the
|
|
QUBIE' Co. Well neither had I. I was
|
|
put on to them by a friend who told
|
|
me that QUBIE' doesn't advertise in
|
|
the ATARI mags. They seem to stick
|
|
with the PC related publications.
|
|
That, I'm afraid, is a loss for both
|
|
us and the QUBIE' Co.
|
|
|
|
When I ordered my modem I made a
|
|
point of telling the salesperson that
|
|
out in the world are may varied micro
|
|
users, they would only help their own
|
|
cause by addressing a wider selection
|
|
of us.
|
|
|
|
When you are writing a product review
|
|
and begin to sound like a shill for
|
|
the product in question it sends out
|
|
a clear message. This is a product
|
|
which defies you to find fault.
|
|
Whether you look at the price $99.00,
|
|
or the product integrity.
|
|
|
|
I give QUBIE' SUPER 1200E my highest
|
|
recommendation. This is an
|
|
opportunity for computer users to get
|
|
the best of both worlds. A great
|
|
product at a great price.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx Excerpts from the June Newsletter
|
|
.....C*D*A*C* ENTHUSIASTS.....
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
P.O. BOX 2216 ALBANY, NY 12220
|
|
BBS (518) 237-1232
|
|
|
|
ANSWERS FROM ATARI
|
|
|
|
Here are some often asked questions,
|
|
and their answers about Atari
|
|
products courtesy of Neil Harris of
|
|
the Atari Corporation.. (6/10/87)
|
|
|
|
Q: When will the new products be
|
|
shipping?
|
|
|
|
A: The XEP-80 and the SX212 (80-
|
|
column for 8-bit and the new
|
|
modem, respectively) will begin
|
|
manufacturing any moment now for
|
|
delivery around the end of June.
|
|
The Mega ST 2 and Mega ST 4 are
|
|
already on the way to Europe and
|
|
are scheduled for North American
|
|
delivery in early July. The Atari
|
|
PC is also due in early July.
|
|
|
|
Q: What about the blitter chip
|
|
upgrade?
|
|
|
|
A: It should be available for current
|
|
ST owners around September. It
|
|
will cost around $120. The final
|
|
form of the upgrade is not yet set
|
|
--it may involve a board swap
|
|
rather than an add-on.
|
|
|
|
Q: What about PC emulators for the
|
|
ST?
|
|
|
|
A: Both Atari's own software emulator
|
|
and one called PC-Ditto should be
|
|
released during the summer. A
|
|
hardware emulator is still in the
|
|
works for later on.
|
|
|
|
Q: When will new ROMs be available
|
|
for the ST and what changes are
|
|
included?
|
|
|
|
A: The ROMs are done and have gone
|
|
into production. Availability as
|
|
a separate item may take a while,
|
|
though -- we need ROMs for the
|
|
Mega ST. These ROMs support the
|
|
hardware blitter (optional) and
|
|
fix some TOS problems, like the
|
|
infamous underline bug and the
|
|
RS232 handshaking. Parts of the
|
|
system have been sped up, like
|
|
character output. A list of exact
|
|
changes will be posted shortly.
|
|
|
|
Q: What's happening with the 8-bit
|
|
emulator?
|
|
|
|
A: The author finally agreed to
|
|
release the source code to the
|
|
public domain, so Atari will
|
|
allow him to distribute it along
|
|
with our ROM code. Now we want to
|
|
see you hackers out there work to
|
|
speed it up -- at the moment it is
|
|
only 1/4 the speed of an 8-bit.
|
|
|
|
Q: What else is new at Atari?
|
|
|
|
A: On the business side things are
|
|
great. We just announced a 2-for-1
|
|
stock split, effective next week.
|
|
New TV commercials have been
|
|
produced for the ST (yay!) and the
|
|
video games. We are also working
|
|
on campaigns to support MIDI music
|
|
and desktop publishing.
|
|
|
|
The CDACE newsletter electronic text
|
|
edition is available locally on the
|
|
HIGH WAY BBS at 583-1943 and
|
|
nationally in the XE Roundtable on
|
|
GENIE in the Everything Else Library.
|
|
The Publishing partner version of the
|
|
newsletter is located on the ST
|
|
roundtable GENIE in the TOS library.
|
|
|
|
As some of the fonts used in the
|
|
newsletter are commercial products
|
|
you will need to purchase the
|
|
appropriate font disks or reformat
|
|
the text for public domain fonts.
|
|
|
|
Other club's are welcome to use
|
|
articles with credit given to the
|
|
club and author.
|
|
|
|
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
|
|
- Bill Silverman, 439-6465
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx ZMAG USER GROUP OF JULY 1987
|
|
....Ol' Hackers Users Group....
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
The following are features of the OL'
|
|
HACKERS BBS.
|
|
|
|
The Ol' Hackers BBS
|
|
Main Menu
|
|
___________________________________
|
|
|
|
[A] ATARI/ASCII [O] CES Reports
|
|
[B] Browse D/L's [Q] Quickscan
|
|
[C] Hey Sysop [R] Read E-Mail
|
|
[D] Download a File [S] Send E-Mail
|
|
[F] E-Mail To Sysop [T] Welcome Msg
|
|
[G] Goodbye(Log Off)[U] Upload Hmmm
|
|
[I] System Info. [Y] Your Status
|
|
[L] Libraries [/] Mini Menu
|
|
[M] List Of Users [?] This Menu
|
|
[X] Windhover Proj. [N] System NEWS
|
|
[P] BBS's By States [Z] Maze Craze!
|
|
___________________________________
|
|
[*] List Msg. Bases [=] Msg. Base#
|
|
|
|
System Information
|
|
____________________________________
|
|
|
|
Computer_______130XE W/64k Ram Disk
|
|
|
|
Memory_________1 Meg ICD MIO
|
|
Board Ram Disk
|
|
Monitor________Sakata SA-1000
|
|
|
|
Drives_________10 Meg Hard Drive
|
|
1 810 Disk Drive
|
|
|
|
Printer________SG-10
|
|
|
|
Modem__________Avatex 1200
|
|
|
|
Please Read!! NEW!!
|
|
Todays Date: Mon 8-Jun-87
|
|
___________________________
|
|
Hello:
|
|
RON KOVACS
|
|
Last Date On: 06/08/87
|
|
___________________________
|
|
Last Update For SYSTEM
|
|
NEWS was 05/17/87
|
|
___________________________
|
|
WINDHOVER PROJECTS
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
|
|
[1] Thing to do with the PBI
|
|
|
|
[2] Ram-Disk Mods for all ATARIs
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
PBI INTERFACE PROJECTS
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
|
|
[1] PBI ARTICLE
|
|
|
|
[2] PBI CONNECTION 1
|
|
|
|
[3] PBI CONNECTION 2
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Base [1].....General I
|
|
Base [2].....General II
|
|
Base [3].....IBM or ST
|
|
Base [4].....Special SIG Users
|
|
Base [5].....Ol' Hackers ONLY
|
|
Base [6].....What's NEW In Music
|
|
Base [7].....NETWORK SYSOPs
|
|
Base [8].....The SPORTS Line
|
|
Base [9].....Tech or HELP! SIG
|
|
|
|
Next week we will include some text
|
|
from this group. If have interest
|
|
for more info, Refer to this weeks
|
|
edition of Zmag's ST_Report.
|
|
|
|
We will print the article next week
|
|
in Zmag61.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx ZMAG ATARI RUMORS
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
DTACK GROUNDED INC. OFFERS FREE
|
|
FAST BASIC TO ALL USER GROUP MEMBERS
|
|
|
|
DTACK Grounded Inc., a New Mexican
|
|
based ST software firm, has announced
|
|
that it will offer its new DTACK
|
|
BASIC to over 400 Atari user groups
|
|
across the country. Each group, upon
|
|
receipt of proper identification,
|
|
will receive free 63 DTACK BASIC disk
|
|
labels, one or two master disks
|
|
(depending on the size of the user
|
|
group), and ten DTACK BASIC manuals.
|
|
The catch? There is none! This offer
|
|
is being made only to user groups,
|
|
who are expected to distribute DTACK
|
|
BASIC to its ST owners for a nominal
|
|
fee (the user groups will define a
|
|
price - no more than a normal user
|
|
group library disk).
|
|
|
|
DTACK BASIC is touted to be the
|
|
fastest ST BASIC available today. A
|
|
benchmark test between DTACK, GFA,
|
|
Fast, and the newest ST BASIC showed
|
|
DTACK BASIC to be the fastest by a
|
|
substantial margin. The benchmark
|
|
used was in an advertisement that
|
|
appeared on page 45 of the May 1987
|
|
-ST Applications- magazine.
|
|
|
|
For further information, contact
|
|
your local Atari user group.
|
|
|
|
EPYX...ARE THEY LISTENING?
|
|
|
|
Rumors abound on reasons why Epyx
|
|
has practically refused to support
|
|
the 8-bit line of Ataris. However,
|
|
the folks at Epyx seem to be waking
|
|
up to our cries. Apparently, many
|
|
Atari users have mailed in letters
|
|
to Epyx requesting (or maybe even
|
|
demanding?) them to release several
|
|
of their most popular titles such as
|
|
-Destroyer-, -Summer Games II-,
|
|
-Winter Games-, -World Games-, and
|
|
-Championship Wrestling-. Keep those
|
|
letters coming!!
|
|
|
|
Send all requests/demands to:
|
|
|
|
EPYX, INC.
|
|
600 GALVESTON DRIVE
|
|
REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063
|
|
|
|
BLACK PATCH GOES THE DEEP 6
|
|
|
|
It's official, and it has been
|
|
official for a few weeks now. Black
|
|
Patch Systems, a mail-order Atari
|
|
hardware/software house has been
|
|
declaired bankrupt by its owners. The
|
|
Better Business Bureau claims to have
|
|
hadmany reports from angry computer
|
|
owners, many of them claiming to have
|
|
placed an order that was never filled
|
|
and no refund given. The BBB suggests
|
|
filing a complaint quickly, if you
|
|
have had similar problems with this
|
|
company.
|
|
NEW ATARI DISK DRIVE
|
|
|
|
Atari has announced at a recent CES
|
|
show the arrival of an upcoming Atari
|
|
5.25- disk drive (actually a
|
|
redesigned and enhanced 1050). The
|
|
new drive will be double sided,
|
|
double density, and will operate
|
|
about twice as fast as the soon-to-
|
|
be-discontinued Atari 1050. The new
|
|
drive will be smaller than the 1050
|
|
(between the size of the 1050 and an
|
|
Indus GT) and will match the color
|
|
and styling of the Atari 130XE
|
|
computer.
|
|
|
|
The DOS for this drive will be
|
|
written by OSS, Inc., who have had a
|
|
long lasting relationship with Atari
|
|
disk drives and disk operating
|
|
systems. The new DOS (named -A-DOS-,
|
|
for - what else? - Atari DOS) was
|
|
originally designed to run with the
|
|
now defunct 3.5- Atari 8-bit drive.
|
|
The DOS is nearly complete, but the
|
|
rive will take a little more time
|
|
to finish. An Atari contact says
|
|
the drive about 60% finished, and
|
|
after testing is complete Atari
|
|
should have the drive ready to ship
|
|
-around late Summer to late Fall-.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx ANTIC ONLINE REPORT June 1987
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1987
|
|
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
|
|
WORLD OF ATARI FAIRE
|
|
SANTA CLARA SHOW DEBUTS -
|
|
-FINALIZED- ATARI LASER PRINTER -
|
|
NEAR-BETA WORD PERFECT...& MORE
|
|
|
|
BY NAT FRIEDLAND, ANTIC EDITOR
|
|
6/21/87
|
|
|
|
With all the other Atari Fairs that
|
|
took place during the past 12 months
|
|
and the huge Consumer Electronics
|
|
Show just three weeks ago, it was
|
|
surprising to find so much new to see
|
|
last weekend during the hastily-
|
|
organized World of Atari Faire at the
|
|
year-old Santa Clara Convention
|
|
Center
|
|
|
|
But several unfamiliar companies with
|
|
impressive ST software made their
|
|
Atari Fair debuts last weekend. And
|
|
a near-production version of the
|
|
Atari SLM804 laser printer had its
|
|
first public showing. This report
|
|
concentrates on products that have
|
|
not been reported on previously.
|
|
|
|
The Atari laser printer is smaller
|
|
and lighter than most current models,
|
|
but seems just about as fast and
|
|
sharp. It was operating in Diablo 630
|
|
emulation with a 4Mb Mega ST running
|
|
a pre-release version of the
|
|
Microsoft Write word processor with a
|
|
WYSIWYG display. The laser controller
|
|
board is in a modem-sized box cabled
|
|
between the ST's high-speed Direct
|
|
Memory Access (DMA) port and the
|
|
printer. This controller box also
|
|
has a second DMA port for connecting
|
|
a hard disk.
|
|
|
|
This 300 dots-per-inch printer
|
|
supports Atari's GDOS (which
|
|
automatically uses the highest
|
|
resolution available to a printing
|
|
device). We picked up a selection of
|
|
the sharp graphics and muli-font
|
|
printouts that the Atari SLM804 kept
|
|
churning out throughout the day.
|
|
Late summer or September is the
|
|
current estimated market arrival for
|
|
the Atari Desktop Publishing System.
|
|
|
|
At a neighboring booth, Word Perfect
|
|
was showing a near-beta version of
|
|
the forthcoming ST edition of its
|
|
bestselling word processor. The GEM-
|
|
based software, due in September,
|
|
looked extremely fast and powerful.
|
|
It will list at $395 but is often
|
|
discounted by more than 50% in the
|
|
IBM version. The WP rep said that
|
|
the company is working closely with
|
|
Publishing Partner's developers to
|
|
assure immediate desktop publishing
|
|
ompatibility for the word processor.
|
|
|
|
Programmers will love Omniware's new
|
|
Edit/Booster, an ST text editor that
|
|
also generates GEM code by mouse.
|
|
Select -Draw A Circle- from a drop-
|
|
down menu and the GEM code apppears
|
|
in your program. The version
|
|
currently on sale just works with C,
|
|
but updates for GFA BASIC, Personal
|
|
Pascal and Modula-2 are promised
|
|
soon. Omniware, based in Bellevue,
|
|
Washington also showed a desk
|
|
accessory controller for the widely
|
|
used Hewlett-Packard Laserjet printer
|
|
and an H-P terminal emulator.
|
|
|
|
Iliad Software of Orem, Utah, another
|
|
new entry, showed a powerful,
|
|
user-friendly CAD/drawing program,
|
|
Athena II, selling for $99.95. Athena
|
|
equires a 1Mb ST, but functions in
|
|
either color or monochrome. Coming
|
|
soon is a circuit-testing simulation
|
|
program called Circuit Maker. The
|
|
company was also showing a multiuser,
|
|
multitasking operating system, PDOS,
|
|
which is similar to the system used
|
|
on 68000-based VME workstations.
|
|
|
|
A wide-ranging product line of
|
|
specialized business applications for
|
|
the ST was shown by Hi-Tech Advisors
|
|
of Winter Haven, Florida. Their $199
|
|
titles included Church Manager,
|
|
Service Station Manager, Video Store
|
|
Manager, Inventory Pro and Sales Pro
|
|
Plus. Mail Pro handles custom
|
|
mailing lists and form letters for
|
|
just $69. SBT of Sausalito,
|
|
California kicked off a line of dBASE
|
|
III business accounting modules based
|
|
on the ST's dBMAN clone.
|
|
|
|
Beckemeyer Development Tools of
|
|
Oakland, California showed their
|
|
latest addition, a touch-screen
|
|
restaurant menu system. The
|
|
demonstration model for a Chinese
|
|
restaurant was almost frighteningly
|
|
complete and efficient.
|
|
|
|
Two image scanners were shown at the
|
|
fair. Navarone, of Sonora,
|
|
California had a $1,239 ST system
|
|
including the Canon IX-12 scanner.
|
|
The simpler $99.95 IMG Scan from
|
|
Seymor-Radix of Irving, TX used a
|
|
small box that tapes to the print
|
|
head of any dot matrix printer that
|
|
supports graphics.
|
|
|
|
Old-timer Lou Schwing of Astra
|
|
Systems was gleefully demonstrating
|
|
the ruggedness of his HD+ unit which
|
|
combines an 20Mb hard disk and a
|
|
double-sided ST 3.5- disk. The HD+
|
|
was notably cool and even kept
|
|
operating as he waved it in the air
|
|
and laid it on its side. DeskCart, a
|
|
$99.95 cartridge from Quantum Micro
|
|
of Liverpool, New York is a real-time
|
|
clock/calendar with a full set of
|
|
Sidekick-type desk accessories
|
|
including a filer, calculator,
|
|
address book, notebook, macros,
|
|
RAMdisk driver and other utilities.
|
|
The cartridge format is claimed to
|
|
save memory and operate faster.
|
|
|
|
The World of Atari was busy and
|
|
profitable for most exhibitors
|
|
throughout its Friday-Saturday run.
|
|
The thriving Antic booth was showing
|
|
upcoming ST graphics software from
|
|
The Catalog -- Cyber Paint, a paint
|
|
program that creates images for
|
|
animation with Cybermate, and
|
|
Spectrum 512, a smooth-lined,
|
|
ultra-clear paint program that can
|
|
display all the ST's 512 colors
|
|
simultaneously.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx Publishers Page
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
We update you this week with news
|
|
about ST X-Press Magazine. This
|
|
monthly publication, targeted at the
|
|
ST population has decided to include
|
|
Zmag in their monthly magazine disk.
|
|
e will keep you informed.
|
|
|
|
The Hard Disk Users Group has
|
|
returned to phone lines. Not up more
|
|
than a day or so, hard disk problems
|
|
have suspended the re-opening. Zmag
|
|
and the HDUG will be supplying you
|
|
mor information on Hard Disks and
|
|
membership information in the weeks
|
|
ahead.
|
|
|
|
Due to minor confusion here and lack
|
|
of space, some of the articles that
|
|
have been promised for publication
|
|
this week, have been put on the
|
|
shelf. When we have free space, I
|
|
will continue the column on 30
|
|
Secrets of the Old Atari.
|
|
|
|
Zmag's ST-Report has also changed
|
|
in mid-stream. Due to the massive
|
|
amount of ST material being received,
|
|
we have changed publication dates
|
|
from once a month, to twice a month.
|
|
July's first issue is being sent out
|
|
at the same time of this issue. The
|
|
next scheduled release of the ST-
|
|
Report, will be July 18th.
|
|
|
|
Starting with this issue, we return
|
|
to Friday evening publication. All
|
|
issues will be listed on Z.I.N after
|
|
9pm eastern time each Friday.
|
|
|
|
We wish everyone a Happy Holiday.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Zmagazine July 4, 1987 Issue #60
|
|
Please contribute!
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
|
|
(c)1987 Ron Kovacs
|