1026 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
1026 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
//////////////////////////////////////
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ZMAGAZINE 67 ////////////////////////
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//////////////////////////////////////
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August 21, 1987 (c)1987 Syndicate
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______________________________________
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Publisher/Editor in Cheif: Ron Kovacs
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Assistant Publishers:
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Ken Kirchner
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Susan Perry
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Rich Decowski
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This issue composed and edited on
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Analog's TEDIT word processor.
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______________________________________
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Xx ZMAG INDEX 67
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______________________________________
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This week...
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<*> User Group Report
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..By Mike Brown..
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<*> PCP Pursuit, More for free?
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..By Mr. Goodprobe..
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<*> 65XE Upgrade Modification Part 1
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..By Scott Peterson and
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Mr. Goodprobe..
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<*> Zmag Newswire
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..Ctsy CIS Online Today
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<*> Zmag Humor-
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Article supplied by Calamity Jane
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<*> Zmag Comments
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..From The CHAOS BBS..
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<*> ZPRINT Revised
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..By Ron Kovacs
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG USER GROUP FOCUS
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_____________________________________
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________ By Mike Brown _________
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This week we turn our attention to an
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Atari User group that has been
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serving the northeast Ohio area for
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five years now, the Cuyahoga Valley
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Atari Computer Club. This fine
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organization has the distinction of
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being the first group to submit
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material for this column. I had hoped
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to be able to attend one of their
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meetings this month to give more of a
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personal flavor to this report, but
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unfortunately, things have been
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hopping both at work and at home.
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The CVACC have unique meetings, as
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they are held twice a month (every
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2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month),
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and are held in a -fast food- place!
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I am told that they have made special
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standing reservations with the
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Country Kitchen pancake house for
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their meetings. In recent weeks the
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decision has been made to alternate
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presentations for ST and 8-bit
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material between the two meetings, I
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am not sure what week is which, so
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you may want to call ahead if you
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have a preference.
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The CVACC publish a professional
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quality newsletter called the
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-Password-. The sample issue that I
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was sent contained 20 pages of mostly
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original material submitted by club
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members. There was very little
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-filler- material from other
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newsletters or other reprints. The
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HAM radio influence comes through in
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the membership, with a pair of
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articles detailing the joys of WEFAX.
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There is also an original article
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probing deep into the mysteries of
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bank switching techniques.
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The current slate of officers are as
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follows:
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Jim Stewart President
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Don Crano Vice President
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Jim Worley Treasurer
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Gregg Roesner Librarian
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Jeff Bradbury Secretary
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Scott Hearne Newsletter Editor
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Gene Kane Newsletter Editor
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For more information on CVACC, call
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Jim Stewart at 216-753-5811 or show
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up at the meeting at the Country
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Kitchen, 614 Cuyahoga Falls Ave,
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Akron, OH 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each
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month at 7:30PM
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User group members! Please send
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information on your group if you wish
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to appear in the PROFILE! The address
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is-
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M. Brown
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268 E. Fourth
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Box 32, Ashland, OH, 44805
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or upload text to:
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The Balloon Works BBS 419-289-8392.
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Zmag Info Network BBS 201-968-8148.
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Thanks!
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_____________________________________
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Xx PCP PURSUIT--MORE FOR FREE ???
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_____________________________________
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Recently there has been an influx of
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information regarding PC Pursuit that
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has finally reached the Atari user. I
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wish to correct one common
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misconception I have seen time and
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time again on bulletin boards across
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this fine land of ours regarding this
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service, and then proceed to
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demonstrate how you can expand the
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areas PC Pursuit presently covers
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legally and at absolutely NO extra
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cost!
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Numerous messages I have seen, and
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even some out-dated text files which
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contain information on the money
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saving network called PC Pursuit lead
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the user to believe that there is in
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effect, a one hour time limit on phone
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calls made to the area code of your
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choice. This is at present absolutely
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inaccurate, for the only real time
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limit one has on this phenomenal
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service is the hours which are from
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6p-7a on the weekdays, and 24 hours on
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Saturday, Sunday and several holidays.
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I, as well as many other Atari/
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PCPursuit users can attest we enjoy on
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the weekend seeing our timers that
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inform us of the length of our modem
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visits roll over the 10 hour mark..
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imagine if we were using a normal long
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distance service! And quite honestly,
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when you stop to think about it, the
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fact that the charge for this service
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is only $25 a month means that the
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young -hackers- that persist in using
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illegal codes and the like are not
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only committing a crime, but also
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lacking sense as this is a very small
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charge to be legal and avoid the
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severe penalties they could and will
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receive if they are ever caught. I
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would urge them to consider the MANY
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benefits of PC Pursuit, and they may
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in turn be surprised at how easy it is
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to convince their parents of the
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assets of belonging to such a
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network!!!
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Now, how a modem user can ever wear
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out 25 jam packed area codes I will
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never know, but how would you like to
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be able to add 3 more heavily
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populated area codes to your bulging
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list! Does the thought of 50 more
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Atari 8 and 16 bit bulletin boards
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tickle your fancy?
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Heres the scoop:
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1. While in the 212 area code (NYC),
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you can access the 718 area code,
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which is right next door by dialing
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as follows:
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ATZ<cr>
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<control-e><cr>
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At the HELLO, I'M READY prompt
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type:
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D<cr>
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At the NUMBER? prompt type:
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1 718 numbers
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If you are fortunate the bulletin
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board you are calling will not be busy
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and you will connect as usual. The
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reason you and I can do this is
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because of the vast amount of people
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living in the New York City vicinity,
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the phone company decided to break it
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into separate area codes to help with
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billing procedures. Not all 718 area
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code numbers are available through
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this method, but a very large portion
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are and stand awaiting your call!
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Another fine area code is the
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Washington, D.C area code which is
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202. Another quirk allows you to be
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able to dial the 301 (Maryland) and
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703 (Northern Virginia) areas from
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this access port. You need to do
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nothing differently than you are
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presently accustomed to in order to be
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able to dial the 301 and 703 area
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codes while connected to the 202 area
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code. Merely dial the BBS number of
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your choice as if you were calling the
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202 area code itself, and many more
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fine bulletin boards will unfold
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before your awaiting eyes!
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And please, while you are on these
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systems, make it your practice to
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leave a message or two to help promote
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healthy discussions which are so vital
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to the thriving and in fact survival
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of these fine computer bulletin board
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systems!
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Enjoy! And don't stay up to late
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calling all these new boards!
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-Mr. Goodprobe-
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_____________________________________
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Xx 65XE-130XE 320K Upgrade
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Part 1 of 3
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_____________________________________
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[Ed. I have broken this text into a 3
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part series. After the completion of
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the run, We will make this file
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available on the BBS.]
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By Scott Peterson
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Copyright(c) July 1987
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released to the public.
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Documentation and kit orientated
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layout by Mr. Goodprobe
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As we proceed with this fine endeavor
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in kit building, I would first like
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to thank those folk who first inspired
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this upgrade. There were several users
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on our board in Ohio that inquired as
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to the possibility of an upgrade for
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their Atari 65xe computer. Several
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folk had indeed said that such a thing
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was not possible, but I decided to
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check out this request and see if
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something could be done. Well, a few
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calls were made, the right people were
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contacted, (great job Scott!), and
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here it is! The reason I am taking the
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time to mention this is for this
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reason:
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The only way we can ever know what you
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really want in the way of hardware is
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to ASK! A short time ago we read a
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fine article here in Zmag that told us
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of the inner workings of the company
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called ICD. They disclosed to us that
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the inspiration for their MIO came
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from you the user sending them ideas
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of what you would like to see, and the
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same is the case with this 65xe
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upgrade! If there is something else
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you would like to see, please send
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those notions to us here at Zmag, and
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we will genuinely attempt to bring it
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to pass! Great hardware is derived
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from sincere questions!
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I have written the following
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documentation in such a manner that
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you can use it to help you keep track
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of your progress as you assemble this
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memory enhancement. Simply place a
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check in the space provided as you
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proceed. This will allow you to
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readily follow your progress, and pick
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back up where you left off if you
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should have to stop.
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Once you have finished this upgrade
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you will then have in your possession
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an Atari 65XE with 320K of total ram.
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This is broken down into chunks of 64K
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of standard ram, and 265K of page
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mapped ram. This upgrade Scott tells
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us this is 100% compatible with his
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previous 130XE/320K upgrade and
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therefore will run all programs that
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his earlier enhancement ran.
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The equipment you will need is:
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A: A medium sized Phillips head
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screwdriver.
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B: A very small jeweler's screwdriver
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with flat blade.
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C: Soldering wick (recommend Chem-Wik
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.100 inch size), or vacuum
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desoldering pump.
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D: Soldering station (like Weller
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model WTCP), or LOW wattage
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soldering pencil of the 15-25 watt
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variety.
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E: Small pair of needle-nosed pliers.
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F: #30 gauge wire (Jameco #130 BE)
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G: Wire stripping tool for #30 gauge
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wire (-Clip and Strip- Jameco
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#CAS-130).
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H: Heat shrink tubing or black
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electrical tape (tubing
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preferred).
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I. Small pair of wire snippers.
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J: Optional: Small carpet sample or
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blanket.
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The parts you will need are:
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A: Z1--> 74LS158
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B: Z2--> CO25953
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(Custom chip by Atari)
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C: Z3-Z10--> 256K Ram chips..
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#41256-150 (8 required)
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D: R1,R2---> 33 ohm 1/4 watt
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resistors (2 required)
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Before we supply the instructions for
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this upgrade modification, we will
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give you the opportunity to retreive
|
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the tools and parts required. If you
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aren't interested in performing this
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upgrade, please stand by till next
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week for more.
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Next week in Zmag, We will list
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the instructions for this hardware
|
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upgrade.
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE
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_____________________________________
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News from CompuServe's Online Today!
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HEARINGS SCHEDULED FOR COMPUTER
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COPYRIGHTS
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The Copyright Office is confused about
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whether it should register computer
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screen displays and they want to hear
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from you. They'll hold public
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hearings at the Library of Congress,
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in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9th.
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Written comments are also invited.
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Officials hope to determine whether
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they should register screen displays
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separately from the computer programs
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that generate them. The Copyright
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Office particularly invites comment
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from, or participation by, computer
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programming experts and professors of
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law and computer science.
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The Copyright Office is seeking an
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administrative solution that will
|
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protect the rights of programmers
|
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until the question is resolved by the
|
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courts or by Congress. Further, the
|
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courts may consider the actions of the
|
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Copyright Office in deciding cases
|
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presenting this issue in the future.
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This is an excellent opportunity,
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especially for professional
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programmers, to help shape a solution
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to a very complicated problem.-
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Those who wish to testify should call
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the Copyright Office at 202/287-8380
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prior to August 28th. If you want to
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mail your comments in without the
|
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bother of testifying in person, then
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mail 10 copies of your written
|
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statements by October 9 to:
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Library of Congress
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Department 100
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Wash., D.C. 20540.
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_____________________________________
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ACTIVISION COMING BACK, CEO SAYS
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Activision is -back on the comeback
|
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trail,- the software publisher's new
|
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president/CEO told his shareholders
|
|
this week at a meeting in Palo Alto,
|
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Calif.
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The company last month announced its
|
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first quarterly profit in four years,
|
|
and -most of our markets are strong,-
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President/CEO Bruce L. Davis said,
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according to The Associated Press.
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-Industry sales of consumer software
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are up substantially and the demand
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for video games ... is up by more
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than 100 percent.-
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Davis, who last month was named to
|
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replace James H. Levy in the top seat,
|
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told his investors that company plans
|
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to launch a joint promotional campaign
|
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with Sports Illustrated next month to,
|
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says AP, -cross merchandise the
|
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Gamestar label's sports simulation
|
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software with a subscription drive.-
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Davis, who said the firm also has
|
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signed with Micro Illusions to sell
|
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its arcade/fantasy role-playing/-home
|
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enrichment- titles, said, -Our
|
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greatest challenge is to grow in a
|
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measured way that does not overtax the
|
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organization as the restructuring
|
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activities continue.-
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_____________________________________
|
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NEW AIDS DATABASE ESTABLISHED
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In Phoenix, a new non-profit system
|
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called the AIDS Information Database
|
|
Inc. has been organized to provide the
|
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public and health professionals with
|
|
comprehensive information and sources
|
|
on Acquired Immune Deficiency
|
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Syndrome.
|
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|
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The operators say they are seeking
|
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information from organizations,
|
|
physicians, researchers, governmental
|
|
agencies, medical clinics and the
|
|
private sector involved with assisting
|
|
victims and aiding in stopping the
|
|
disease. The data is to be
|
|
categorized, stored and made available
|
|
upon request to the public and
|
|
professional community worldwide at no
|
|
charge.
|
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|
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Anyone interested in current
|
|
information regarding AIDS research
|
|
and development may send a written
|
|
request to:
|
|
|
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AIDS Information Database Inc.
|
|
16810 E. Avenue of the Fountains
|
|
P.O. Box 17509
|
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Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.
|
|
______________________________________
|
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Xx ZMAG HUMOR
|
|
(Supplied by: Zmag Correspondent-
|
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Calamity Jane of ST-Report)
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|
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Article written by Scott Andersen...
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______________________________________
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At first it was just rumors. I'm sure
|
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you've heard some of them. Mergers and
|
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/or joint ventures. Atari and AT&T.
|
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Atari and Teledyne. Atari and
|
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whomever. But this one is confirmed.
|
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I saw the proof at last months
|
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outdoors exposition.
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Atari is involved in a joint venture
|
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with Coleman Western, the outdoor
|
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products giant. The offspring of this
|
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marriage is the Coleman Camp Computer,
|
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hereafter known as the CCC.
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It was on display in one corner of the
|
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Coleman booth at the outdoor show,
|
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with an Atari rep in attendance to
|
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demo the machine. It is quite a
|
|
machine. Its most impressive feature
|
|
is its ability to function without a
|
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power supply; the CCC uses white gas
|
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(Coleman Fuel) like so many other
|
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Coleman appliances. After filling the
|
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tank with fuel and pressurizing the
|
|
system by hand pumping, you start up
|
|
by firing the pilot/burner. The gas
|
|
flame heats a sealed fluid system
|
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which powers a micro turbine
|
|
generator. This in conjunction with a
|
|
regulator provides all the voltage you
|
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need to power the CCC and all of its
|
|
peripherals. The CCC is a 128K machine
|
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that utilizes the 6502 processor.
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It has a new O.S. that is completely
|
|
compatible with all Atari and third
|
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party software. Two built-in languages
|
|
are switched on or off via a three way
|
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rocker switch, they are Basic (of
|
|
course) and Action. Atari apparently
|
|
had a large quantity of 400 keyboards
|
|
that they decided to use up on the
|
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CCC. While being a pain to type on,
|
|
the use of the membrane keyboard is
|
|
understandable on a product that can
|
|
be left out in the rain. Yes, the CCC
|
|
is completely weatherproof. Rubber
|
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doors cover the 4 joystick ports, the
|
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I/O port, the serial/expansion bus,
|
|
and the built-in disk drive and modem.
|
|
The disk drive is a half height 5-1/4-
|
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that uses single or enhanced density.
|
|
The modem is something completely
|
|
different. It is said to be almost
|
|
Hayes compatible, the exception being
|
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that it can't answer. This is
|
|
understandable, you have no phone
|
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number. At the end of the 25 foot
|
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modem cable is a special induction
|
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device that you merely clamp over any
|
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phone cable. No pins, no plugs, no
|
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muss, no fuss. The device can only
|
|
originate calls, but it can do it
|
|
anywhere there is a telephone line, be
|
|
it the backwoods or your back yard.
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|
All this and 1200 Baud too. When you
|
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lift the cover on the CCC you'll see
|
|
the best feature of all. The 9- Hi-Res
|
|
LCD color monitor has a true 80 column
|
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screen that is compatible with most
|
|
available software. If not, a rubber
|
|
toggle switch will get you back to 40
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column at any time. In either mode the
|
|
characters are sharp and crisp and
|
|
easy to read. All this and only 14.4
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|
pounds. But if that seems too heavy
|
|
for you backpackers, the fuel tank/
|
|
pump/burner/stand assembly can be
|
|
detached.
|
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|
|
The remaining unit, at 8.3 pounds, can
|
|
be used at any campsite simply by
|
|
setting it on the campfire. Included
|
|
in the $450 price are three new pieces
|
|
of software.
|
|
|
|
The first, -Campcalc-, is a wilderness
|
|
management program. The second,
|
|
-Camp-Talk-, synthesizes bird and
|
|
animal calls. The third is a graphics
|
|
masterpiece. It is a Conestoga Wagon
|
|
simulator called -Yerass-. No more
|
|
boring evenings around the campfire.
|
|
|
|
Coleman Camping Computer Update
|
|
|
|
Yes, since announced in the June 1986
|
|
issue of Mile High Magazine, Coleman
|
|
products, has barely been able to keep
|
|
up with the orders for the Coleman
|
|
Camping Computer, let alone develop
|
|
any new enhancements for the popular
|
|
system. Due to some heat disipation
|
|
problems, the Camp Fire power system,
|
|
has been dropped, in favor of a new
|
|
system using 3 6foot solar panels,
|
|
generating enough heat to move a small
|
|
turbin, which in turn is hooked to a
|
|
generator.
|
|
|
|
This seems to be a much safer system,
|
|
then the camp fire unit, and is ready
|
|
to ship as of this writing. Estimated
|
|
cost is a reasonable $1250 plus
|
|
shipping.
|
|
|
|
Shipping due to size, must be arranged
|
|
by the purchaser, with local contacts
|
|
for hauling, setup and crane services.
|
|
Estimated weight is 2200 pounds.
|
|
|
|
Third Party Support!
|
|
|
|
Yes, with a great product like the
|
|
CCC, there is undoubtedly going to be
|
|
some inovative third party support.
|
|
DuckPuck Direct, Wholesalers for Idaho
|
|
has jumped on the CCC bandwagon with a
|
|
couple of new products. Their feature
|
|
product is a small nucular power
|
|
supply, much smaller in size and
|
|
weight then Colemans Solar system.
|
|
This amazing power source will be very
|
|
popular with the -way back in-
|
|
campers. True, a waste water source of
|
|
200 cubic feet per minute is
|
|
neccessary to prevent core meltdown.
|
|
And true, plutonium is some what of a
|
|
rare item,(though DuckPuck has
|
|
plutonium available in their new
|
|
catalog, and is rumored to be working
|
|
on a reactor that will be fueled by,
|
|
what else 'DuckPuck').
|
|
|
|
Side advantages of the Alternate power
|
|
source is that you can recover some of
|
|
the cost of the plutonium by selling
|
|
the additional unused mega-watts to
|
|
the local power company. The large
|
|
amount of heat generated is a definate
|
|
plus,for the Artic Campers. Included
|
|
is your very own lead lined camping
|
|
attire, sleeping bag, and water
|
|
purification system to assure that you
|
|
are not contamenated by the waste. ALL
|
|
in ALL an exciting package for the
|
|
CCC.
|
|
|
|
DuckPuck has also announced some other
|
|
enhancements for the Coleman system.
|
|
These include:
|
|
|
|
For the Camp Talk Synthsis System.
|
|
Domestic Animal Data Disk! Wouldn't
|
|
Old McDonald be envious. For those of
|
|
you that live on a farm and would like
|
|
to have exciting conversations with
|
|
your horses, cows, pigs and chickens.
|
|
Requires version 26 of ODS (Out Door
|
|
Operating system.)
|
|
|
|
Exotic Bird Data Disk. Another fine
|
|
data disk for the Camp Talk Module,
|
|
This is for those of you planing a
|
|
trip down the Amazon and would like to
|
|
keep in touch with the local wildlife.
|
|
Another useful product from DuckPuck.
|
|
|
|
Also distributed by the amazing
|
|
DuckPuck Folks is Apuck74! Those of
|
|
you familar with the popular Amodem74
|
|
by our own Trent Dudley, will feel
|
|
right at home with Apuck74. As usual
|
|
Mr. Dudley did a fine job of porting
|
|
the powerful program over to ODS. One
|
|
nice enhancement added to this version
|
|
is optional core temp monitoring with
|
|
the DuckPuck Nucular power system.
|
|
|
|
Rumor has it that DuckPuck is working
|
|
on a Code name 'P' power enhancement
|
|
for the Backpacking users. An Inside
|
|
informer,claims the P stands for
|
|
potatoe, and is the main component
|
|
used in the new device.
|
|
|
|
For more Information on these, and
|
|
other outstanding CCC products
|
|
contact:
|
|
|
|
DuckPuck Direct
|
|
The Software Wholesalers for Idaho
|
|
P.U. Box 3 Duckpuck
|
|
Idaho
|
|
|
|
Thanks to The Puget Sound Atari Users
|
|
for Inspiration in creating this
|
|
article.
|
|
|
|
Scott Anderson is the current
|
|
President of STARFLEET Atari User
|
|
Group of Denver, Colorado. This was
|
|
first printed in the MILE HIGH Atari
|
|
Magazine and I down loaded it from
|
|
SKYLINE BBS. <Both of Denver>
|
|
|
|
Permission is granted to reprint, IF
|
|
proper credit is given to the above.
|
|
-=-CJ-=-
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx ZMAG COMMENTS
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
The following text appeared on the
|
|
CHAOS BBS in response to a request
|
|
for comments on Zmagazine.
|
|
|
|
Msg#: 4160 Lines: 4 Times Read: 24
|
|
Sent: JULY 24,1987 AT 10:45 AM
|
|
To: JOHN NAGY
|
|
From: JOHN LEWIS
|
|
Of: E.LANSING, MI
|
|
Subj: ZMAG
|
|
|
|
Count me as a yes. I look foreward to
|
|
reading Zmag every week. But it does
|
|
help to have 1200 baud. jkl
|
|
|
|
Msg#: 4162 Lines: 14 Times Read: 4
|
|
Sent: JULY 24,1987 AT 3:12 PM
|
|
To: JOHN NAGY
|
|
From: SALLY NAGY
|
|
Of: LANSING, MI
|
|
Subj: zmag
|
|
|
|
To me it is TOO big of a file to
|
|
download, I think it would be good to
|
|
have it broken up into the different
|
|
sections on line... 8 bit news, 16
|
|
bit news, Reviews -- separated with
|
|
named on file, ie Starguider, 1stWord.
|
|
A lot of the Zmags can and could be
|
|
used as Reference materials. As John
|
|
Lewis said, 1200 baud is the only way
|
|
to get it. How many people use 1200
|
|
baud? They might look at it and say
|
|
no too many sectors, too much
|
|
downloading time! Just some thoughts!
|
|
|
|
Msg#: 4171 Lines: 3 Times Read: 20
|
|
Sent: JULY 26,1987 AT 6:05 PM
|
|
To: JOHN NAGY
|
|
From: GARY FERRIS
|
|
Of: LANSING,MI
|
|
Subj: ZMAG
|
|
|
|
Another yes vote for keeping ZMAG
|
|
Gary
|
|
|
|
Msg#: 4180 Lines: 4 Times Read: 22
|
|
Sent: JULY 27,1987 AT 4:44 PM
|
|
To: JOHN NAGY
|
|
From: JOHN LEWIS
|
|
Of: E.LANSING, MI
|
|
Subj: zmag
|
|
|
|
Count me as a yes vote for keeping
|
|
z-mag. I look forward to reading it
|
|
weekly. jkl
|
|
|
|
Msg#: 4183 Lines: 6 Times Read: 23
|
|
Sent: JULY 28,1987 AT 9:16 PM
|
|
To: JOHN NAGY
|
|
From: STEPHEN BROOKS
|
|
Of: LANSING, MI
|
|
Subj: zmag
|
|
|
|
I am a yes vote for Zmag as well. I
|
|
am sure not to miss an issue. Many
|
|
readers would appreciate access to
|
|
individual articles if you could do
|
|
it though.
|
|
\\\\Stephen Brooks////
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx ZPRINT Revised
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
I have taken the suggestions received
|
|
over the last few months and updated
|
|
ZPRINT2, to ZPRINT23. This new file
|
|
can now load a font and I added a
|
|
traps for possible errors. Available
|
|
on CompuServe and the BBS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx WIZARD OF OASIS
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
This week I received a rather long
|
|
list of questions about Oasis from
|
|
Chris Miller of East Lansing,
|
|
Michigan. I am going to answer these
|
|
questions here in ZMAG so others will
|
|
get the benefit of this reply.
|
|
|
|
1. How many message bases does it
|
|
allow?
|
|
|
|
A> At present the Oasis BBS System
|
|
allows for 8 public message bases
|
|
plus a private e-mail base. There
|
|
is an update planned which will
|
|
require only adding a module to the
|
|
bbs which will allow it to have
|
|
another 24 message bases.
|
|
|
|
2. How many active messages are
|
|
supported?
|
|
|
|
A> You are allowed to have up to 99
|
|
active messages per message base.
|
|
I have seen systems with message
|
|
bases that allow unlimited numbers
|
|
of messages, but also have over the
|
|
past 3 years of running my board on
|
|
the Oasis system noticed that very
|
|
few new callers to the system will
|
|
read through the present maximum of
|
|
792 active messages. They usually
|
|
go to the main menu after reading
|
|
though 40 or 50 messages anyway.
|
|
|
|
3. Are NEW message reads and REPLY as
|
|
well as PRIVATE messages supported in
|
|
the message system.
|
|
|
|
A> Yes there is a NEW message function
|
|
in all public bases. There is a
|
|
REPLY option which can be toggled
|
|
to reply either in the normal way
|
|
or to send the REPLY to e-mail.
|
|
This latter function is extremely
|
|
useful if you have a for sale
|
|
message base and some one wants to
|
|
reply to a particular message it
|
|
automatically flags the person who
|
|
posted the message and has the
|
|
e-mail waiting on him when he logs
|
|
on. PRIVATE is a rather vague
|
|
question, yes all e-mail is
|
|
private, as well as the fact that
|
|
OASIS also supports a security
|
|
level in the message bases. In the
|
|
To: line if you start it with a
|
|
number, say -5- as follows:
|
|
|
|
To:5ALL
|
|
|
|
This message could be read only by
|
|
people on the system with a level of 5
|
|
or greater. Anyone under this level
|
|
of course would not have the message
|
|
displayed.
|
|
|
|
4. What DOS will work with Oasis?
|
|
|
|
A> There is only one DOS that Oasis
|
|
will not run with and that is
|
|
Sparta DOS ver. 1.1 for the 800.
|
|
This BBS will run on all other
|
|
popular DOS, such as DOS 2.0/2.5,
|
|
MYDOS but was written to take
|
|
advantage of Sparta DOS 3.2d.
|
|
|
|
5. Is it in BASIC or machine language?
|
|
|
|
A> Oasis was written with MAC/65. But
|
|
before you panic and say it can't
|
|
be modified you really need to know
|
|
that there are a tremendous number
|
|
of options available, plus the fact
|
|
that all text can be edited simply
|
|
with a text editor. Also Oasis
|
|
supports modules which run on
|
|
numerous vectors into the main
|
|
program. This allows the Sysop to
|
|
write virtually any feature he
|
|
wants for this system, at present
|
|
there are some 60 programs and
|
|
modules already written to run with
|
|
Oasis, saves you a lot of
|
|
programming.
|
|
|
|
Many sysops have told us that they
|
|
were surprised at how easy it was to
|
|
modify Oasis, and that they were
|
|
somewhat overwhelmed by the number of
|
|
options which are available in
|
|
configuring the system. You don't
|
|
need to be an assembly programmer,
|
|
all you need to do is load a file
|
|
named SETUP.RES into your text editor
|
|
and read and make your selections from
|
|
the options available in this file.
|
|
|
|
6. What modems are supported by Oasis?
|
|
|
|
A> Oasis is only written for Hayes
|
|
compatible modems. This is due
|
|
largely to the simple fact that
|
|
there are so many high quality
|
|
Hayes compatible modems now at
|
|
relatively low prices a 300 baud
|
|
only BBS doesn't seem practical.
|
|
|
|
7. Is it flexible in regards to having
|
|
different things on different disks in
|
|
different drives? (such as download
|
|
files and message bases)
|
|
|
|
A> Yes, of course you can spread
|
|
download files over any drive you
|
|
have on your system, from 1 up to
|
|
drive 8. As to message bases, yes
|
|
they can be spread over any
|
|
combination of drives. There are 8
|
|
public bases and if you had 8
|
|
drives you could place anyone of
|
|
the bases on any one of the drives
|
|
and of course the e-mail base can
|
|
go anywhere you need it to be for
|
|
disk space.
|
|
|
|
8. Does Oasis support a last caller
|
|
function?
|
|
|
|
A> The answer to this one is yes.
|
|
There is a seperate module that you
|
|
can run if you wish which will not
|
|
only display the last caller, but
|
|
the last 18 callers on your system.
|
|
|
|
9. How does it support/make use of a
|
|
288k Atari 800, a Mosaic 64k 400, and
|
|
the 130xe ramdisk?
|
|
|
|
A> To put it simply if you have a
|
|
RAMdisk handler that works with
|
|
your DOS then Oasis will use that
|
|
as it would any available drive
|
|
space. I know of a SysOp who is
|
|
using an 800 with a 1 meg upgrade,
|
|
so if you have the space you can
|
|
use it...
|
|
|
|
10. Are the message bases self-
|
|
compacting?
|
|
|
|
A> You can set the message bases to
|
|
automatically compact or not. You
|
|
can also set the max number of
|
|
messages you want in a base before
|
|
the base is compacted, a number
|
|
anywhere from 1 to 99.
|
|
|
|
11. How many sectors make up the Oasis
|
|
BBS software?
|
|
|
|
A> This is a toughie! The BBS program
|
|
itself is 210 sectors long, and the
|
|
size of the other files used
|
|
depends on you. If they are used
|
|
as support files rather than
|
|
ram-resident files then their size
|
|
is limited only by your imagination
|
|
and disk space.
|
|
|
|
12. Does it have an easy to use text
|
|
editor for the sysop?
|
|
|
|
A> No, not presently, however on our
|
|
list of modules we will create is a
|
|
simple text editor that the sysop
|
|
will be able to use to write new
|
|
bulletins and update menus etc.
|
|
while online.
|
|
|
|
13. How are security levels organized?
|
|
|
|
A> You have virtual control over any
|
|
and all functions on the system.
|
|
Each function can be turned on or
|
|
off. Downloads have levels 0 thru
|
|
9, and you have 2 sysop access
|
|
levels.
|
|
|
|
Whew! Anyway, I hope these answers
|
|
help a bit. The options available
|
|
with the Oasis BBS is virtually
|
|
unlimited. Even though it is machine
|
|
language if you know how to use a text
|
|
editor you can easily reconfigure the
|
|
entire system to your needs, not just
|
|
alter text.
|
|
|
|
That's it for this week. If you have
|
|
any questions about the Oasis BBS call
|
|
(316)-683-7514 running at 3/12/2400
|
|
baud 24 hours per day and leave a
|
|
message to the Sysop or write:
|
|
|
|
Leo Newman
|
|
3900 N Woodlawn #17 Chisholm
|
|
Wichita, KS 67220
|
|
|
|
and I will reply the next week in
|
|
ZMAG. See ya next week...
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Zmagazine 67 August 21, 1987
|
|
Please contribute.
|
|
______________________________________
|