1134 lines
31 KiB
Plaintext
1134 lines
31 KiB
Plaintext
______________________________________
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ZMAGAZINE 90 January 25, 1988
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______________________________________
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Editor......................Ron Kovacs
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Circulation Assistant.....Ken Kirchner
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Circulation Assistant......Tony Santos
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______________________________________
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(C)1988 Syndicate Publishing Company
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______________________________________
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Regional ZMagazine Headquarters
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XBN BBS..................(617)559-6844
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JACG BBS.................(201)298-0161
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MOUSE BBS................(219)674-9288
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PANDORA BBS..............(614)471-9209
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EBBBS....................(201)247-8252
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WONDERFUL WORLD OF OZ....(808)423-3140
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MACH BBS.................(207)784-0631
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STARBASE I...............(201)938-6906
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RATCOM BBS...............(301)437-9813
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______________________________________
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Xx INDEX 90
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______________________________________
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Editors Desk................Ron Kovacs
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Analog Confrence................Delphi
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News Station Command Guide............
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ANSI Screen Codes..........Robert Ames
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ATARI8 Zmag Directory.......Ron Kovacs
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Programing in Basic......Jackson Beebe
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Atari News Update................Antic
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Software Review GACCRR..Lawrence Estep
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MTOS Documentation Info.......Tom Hunt
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______________________________________
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Xx EDITORS DESK
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______________________________________
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Well, things are progressing slowly
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since the system crash of a week ago.
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The word is spreading around and I
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hope everyone is still getting ZMag
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without any problems.
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As stated last week, you can call XBN
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BBS if you were on the ZMag BBS and
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continue with your access without a
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delay or wait for validation.
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ST-Report is a bit behind in
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circulation due to some personnel
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problems. We have made arrangements
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with ST Xpress Magazine to publish
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ST-Report on disk and through GEnie.
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I will keep you all updated on our
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status. If you have any text
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submissions you are interested in
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publishing, Please upload them to
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XBN or Starbase I systems. I will
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be calling these systems regularly.
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This publication will begin a slow
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change during the weeks ahead. So,
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keep reading and watch.
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On the homefront, Kovacs child number
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2 is still refusing to appear,
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however, it has positioned itself for
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a soon arrival. I stay with my
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prediction of 2-3/2-10...(you
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probably dont care, but it will be
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of interest to me....) Hmmmmmm
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Thanks for reading and for all the
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messages about supporting us.
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______________________________________
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Xx ANALOG CONFRENCE
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______________________________________
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Re-edited for ZMAG by Ron Kovacs
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TEXT OF CONFERENCE ON DELPHI REGARDING
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ANALOG BUYOUT
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JANUARY 17, 1988
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Andy> I'd, first, like to welcome all
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of you attending this conference. My
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name is Andy Eddy and I'll be
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moderating the CO.
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Lee> First, ANALOG has signed
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contracts with a publishing company in
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LA. That company is LFP, Inc....Larry
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Flynt Publishing. We expect to have
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the next issues of both mags out in 3
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weeks. Let me give a few words about
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the changes...First...Larry Flynt has
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little to do with daily operations of
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the company...as a whole. He will
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have nothing to do with the editorial
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contents of either magazine. Changes
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you will see include new (glossy)
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paper, a heavier stock inside as well
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as a heavier cover. More color pages
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thoughout, INCREASED distibution, Much
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improved service, and a steady
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frequency. What you won't see is ads
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for Hustler and the like.
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LFP, Inc. also publishes a Mens
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fashion mag, a running mag, a new
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automobile mag, a motorcycle pub and a
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Heavy Metal mag. With many more non-
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pornography titles on the way.
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Andy> Thanks, Lee. So the fears..that
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this will be anything like..Hustler
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will not materialize. This will
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remain the same Analog as before..but
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with some changes in the -production-
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end..not the editorial.
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Lee> OK. There WILL be changes..
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Because I won't have to deal with such
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things (as much, anyway) as
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distribution...subscription problems,
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and production, I can spend more time
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on editorial...that goes for Clayton
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as well.
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Andy> So you don't see anything but
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beneficial changes for the mags?
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Lee> Actually, let me say this...the
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only way someone will know we are
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owned by another company is a small
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blurb on the staff page. As far as
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changes go, I expect an even more
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steady stream of quality editorial
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since it will be the main direction of
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our time working on the mags.
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Maurice M.> Okay. I want to get this
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subject out of the way now especially
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in light of recent messages in the
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forum. Certain people have hinted that
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there will be changes in the magazine
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because of whom the ownership is. The
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point, I think has been refuted.
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However, DF Scott has in recent
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messages hinted that several of us
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writers were in a -dillema- over the
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ownership change and might no longer
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write for ANALOG. I would like to put
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to rest any fears readers might have
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about mass-defection of writers by
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asking you, Lee, if you are aware of
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any other regulars -leaving- because
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of this ownership change.
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Lee> No, not at this time. Let me
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respond to your comments. While I
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don't whole heartedly agree with Larry
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Flynts views. I am looking at what
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that company can do for our magazines.
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They don't know ANYTHING about what we
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publish, they (LFP, Inc) are leaving
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us alone in what we do. To them profit
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is what they want, editorial content
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is 100% up to what we do. They'll make
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the magazine look better, distribute
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it better, and put out a quality
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looking product, it's still up to me,
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Clayton, Maurice, Charles Johnson,
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Andy Eddy, MAtRat and the rest to put
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out a good magazine in product. To
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answer Maurice's question, other than
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Scott, no one has more than batted an
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eyelash over the buyout in terms of
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who it is. After the intial shock
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wheres off on the buyer's name, they
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settled in and want to get back to
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work.
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Maurice M.> Good to hear. I simply
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wanted to address the subject because
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I wanted people to be aware that Scott
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didn't speak for all of us. I'll step
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down now.
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Lee> Last Monday is when Michael
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Des Chenes and I signed. We are
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waiting to get them back from LA now
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then it will be official.
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Clay> Anyone who is interested in the
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terms of publication and how to submit
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articles may send me a self-addressed,
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stamped envelope and I'll see that you
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get our writer's guidelines.
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You can send requests to the PO Box 23
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address in the magazines for now.
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Andy> Also with Analog's liberal
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policy of letting programs go onto
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BBS's after 1 month from issue date
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(that is right?), everyone gets to see
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the stuff they publish.
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Clay> Yes, Andy.
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Mike Brown> Will we be able to get
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back issues of both magazines and
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disks as in the past? Or will these
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-Classic- issues become collectors
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items?
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Lee> Yes! LFP, Inc is purchasing our
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entire supply of back issues.
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Including disks, 8-bit Extra's and so
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on. We expect to offer disks at a
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lower price and the availability
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|
should be MUCH better.
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JIMGAR> Thanks. My burning question is
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WHY???? Wasn't Analog a profitable
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venture?
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Lee> WHY is a complex answer. First -
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WHY NOT? ANALOG was myself and a
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partner, Michael Des Chenes. As you
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may have noticed, Michael never spent
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much time on Delphi and while I have
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|
gone to over 100 Atari shows and
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|
ComDex's, etc., he has not. Michael
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has been bored doing the same thing
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for 7 years and wants to try something
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new. In addition, I couldn't see the
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company growing much further the way
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things have been, so this gives us a
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chance to expand greatly....plus I'll
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be working on new publications, both
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computer and non-computer related in
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the next few years.
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Also, LFP, Inc. offered us a very good
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deal...and who really knows how long
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Atari will keep going. This way I can
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expand on my interests and do other
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things along with the Atari field --
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after all, I have been doing the for 7
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years. A long time!
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JIMGAR> In other words, the whole
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thing got out of hand?
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Clay> A company can only grow within
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the facilities it has at hand.
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Lee> Right...We needed to expand, and
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as do airlines, insurance companies
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and so on. We were bought out to
|
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expand our capabilities.
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WHITEWIZARD> you said that the analog
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depends on the 8-bit...Does this mean
|
|
that you might stop publishing in the
|
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future if the 8-bit fails (ANALOG, not
|
|
ST-Log)?
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Lee> ANALOG depends on the 8-bit
|
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market ...Lets say that advertising
|
|
right now isn't overwhelming and
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ANALOG would most likly take a new
|
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heading (orientation) in the event
|
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8-bits REALLY dwindle. I could see a
|
|
change happening probably this year
|
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some time...
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WHITEWIZARD> Would you combine ANALOG
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and ST-Log agian?
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Lee> Again, it is mostly up to the
|
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ANALOG staff, not LFP, Inc. Yes, I
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could see us doing one mag--but here
|
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is the problem. The ANALOG name is
|
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the best known, if we put in ST-Log
|
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then the mag becomes a general Atari
|
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mag again. If we kill ANALOG and
|
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continue ST-Log...well ANALOG has the
|
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more known name and that would be a
|
|
mistake. Chances are ST-Log might
|
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have some 8-bit coverage...but that is
|
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all up in the air right now. When we
|
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are in place after a couple months
|
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we'll look at the whole picture.
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MADMODIFIER> With many software
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publishers spreading out to the
|
|
Amiga..... Is there any chance that
|
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Analog might do the same?
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Lee> I have plans to do another
|
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computer oriented mag but can't say
|
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much (exactlly nothing) about it.
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MADMODIFIER> You mean we might see
|
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AMIGA LOG <grin>?
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Lee> No Comment.
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But I hope to have a new project out
|
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in late Spring.
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Mike Brown> I would like to suggest
|
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that you run some type of a readership
|
|
poll in your first new issue to
|
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determine what your readership looks
|
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like now.
|
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Lee> Huh...in what way? Between ST
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and 8-bit?
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Mike Brown> Well I imagine that the
|
|
complexion of the readership has
|
|
changed somewhat. It might be
|
|
worthwhile from a marketing
|
|
standpoint.
|
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Lee> You mean between 8-bit and ST???
|
|
Sophistication?
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Mike Brown> Well that and just what
|
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people are interested in reading
|
|
about. What their needs are -today-.
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Lee> We have the -bingo- cards in the
|
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mag every month and poll those to see
|
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what people are using...however we
|
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have talked about doing another mail-
|
|
in campaign...a more in-depth look.
|
|
Remember that Delphi users are more
|
|
into their machines than many other
|
|
average users.
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Mike Brown> Maybe, but I guess my
|
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point was that at least in the 3 user
|
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groups I belong to things are in a
|
|
state of -change-.
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STeve M.> What direction will ST Log
|
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be taking in terms of content? General
|
|
readership, programming, or what?
|
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Clay> I can't see much that will
|
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change in ST-Log. Is there something
|
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you WANT to see changed?
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STeve M.> No, just was hoping there
|
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were not going to be any drastic
|
|
changes now. Thanks.
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Lee> I feel we have a good balance of
|
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information, sophistication and
|
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programs. I think Clayton, myself and
|
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our new west coast person will have
|
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more time to look at each issue well
|
|
in advance and look at it's contents
|
|
to see what blend of information it
|
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has...thus boosting the magazines
|
|
quality...(not that it needs boosting
|
|
<grin>) in addition, hopefully we'll
|
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add more pages too.
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Clay> The combination we've had in the
|
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past has worked out well, I think. I
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don't see any reason to change it.
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(More pages would be nice.)
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Lee> No, I certainly haven't seen any
|
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complaints about the balance of
|
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material. Keep in mind that I'm
|
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moving from New England (fresh air, no
|
|
traffic, nice scenary) to LA (smog,
|
|
Lots of Traffic and more smog) for the
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CAUSE. In other words...If I didn't
|
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see a tremendous potential in this I
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would do it!
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[Ed. Please read ST-Report 19 for the
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complete discussion]
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______________________________________
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Xx NEWS STATION COMMAND SUMMARY
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______________________________________
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DIRECTORIES
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Control-B
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Directory and loading of Print Shop
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Icons
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Control-D
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Directory and loading of Pictures
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(.PIC)
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Control-F
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Directory and loading of Fonts (.FNT)
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Control-R
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Directory and Loading of Plates (.NST)
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|
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Note-For all directories except PRINT
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SHOP, RETURN selects middle item and
|
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ESCAPE aborts.
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DISK FUNCTIONS
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Control-X Format a disk
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Control-S Save a plate
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FONTS
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Control-A Atari Font
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Control-I Inverse Text
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Inverse Key Graphics Characters
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Control-F Font Load
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(Arrows select-RETURN
|
|
loads center font)
|
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Control-U Activate Loaded Font
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MODE
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Control-T Text Mode
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Control-G Graphics Mode
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PRINT SHOP
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Control-B
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Directory and Loading of Print Shop
|
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Icons. Arrows select. RETURN loads
|
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the LEFT icon. ESCAPE aborts choice.
|
|
Set size (1-3) by width command
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|
(Control-W)
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|
|
SPACING
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|
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Control-P Moves cursor up one line
|
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for intermediate spacing
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|
|
Control-semicolon Moves cursor down
|
|
one line for intermediate spacing
|
|
|
|
Control-W Set Width
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|
Control-H Set Height
|
|
Control-L Line Spacing for text mode
|
|
Control-M Sets left margin
|
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|
|
OTHER
|
|
|
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Control-C Color (1=draw, 0=erase)
|
|
Escape Toggles between THE
|
|
PRESS and the EDITOR
|
|
|
|
Control-V Load short ASCII text
|
|
file (.TXT)
|
|
|
|
Control-J Use Joystick with
|
|
Graphics Mode
|
|
|
|
Control-K Use Koala Pad for
|
|
Graphics Mode
|
|
|
|
Control-P Plot a point of either
|
|
color
|
|
|
|
SHIFT-CLEAR Erases page
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx OASIS BBS HELP
|
|
....ANSI Screen Codes....
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Captured from the XBN BBS
|
|
|
|
|<<<<[XBN]|
|
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| Msg. # |0069
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| Sent To |All 01/20/88
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|
| Post By |ROBERT AMES
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|
| Subject |ANSI screen codes
|
|
|
|
If you have many IBM callers, you'll
|
|
be interested in using the ANSI codes
|
|
for SFUNCT.SUP. Here are some-
|
|
assuming I can upload to msg base OK.
|
|
|
|
ESC[#,#H -- moves cursor to #,#
|
|
ESC[#C -- Moves cursor # places
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forward
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ESC[#D -- moves # places back
|
|
ESC[s -- save cursor pos.
|
|
ESC[u -- restore cursor pos.
|
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ESC[2J -- erase display
|
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ESC[K -- erase from current col
|
|
to end of line.
|
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ESC[#;...;#m -- set mode:
|
|
where # is:
|
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0 -- normal
|
|
1 bold
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|
4 underline (ibm monochrome
|
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only)
|
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5 blink on
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7 inverse
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8 invisible
|
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30 black forground
|
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31 red for.
|
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32 green for.
|
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33 yellow for.
|
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34 blue for.
|
|
35 magenta for.
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36 cyan for.
|
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37 whtie for.
|
|
40 black background.
|
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|[+-NPRAEDQMV?]|
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx COMPUSERVE'S ZMAG DIRECTORY
|
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______________________________________
|
|
by Ron Kovacs
|
|
|
|
The following text is the current ZMAG
|
|
directory in the ATARI8 SIG on
|
|
CompuServe. The reason for the
|
|
listing is to help the readers there
|
|
find specific article reprints and
|
|
Zmag issues, and perhaps help you
|
|
locate some of the older editions.
|
|
|
|
Filename Upload Date Bytes
|
|
--------------------------------------
|
|
65XE.TXT 13-Sep-87 15374
|
|
COLE.TXT 22-Sep-87 7208
|
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COMDEX.TXT 04-Nov-87 2870
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FCCLTR.TXT 08-Aug-87 12648
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FCCPRO.TXT 08-Aug-87 39872
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PCP.TXT 22-Sep-87 3807
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SPACE.TXT 21-Sep-87 6178
|
|
SUPORT.TXT 06-Dec-87 3753
|
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SX212.TXT 14-Sep-87 1430
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|
XEGAME.TXT 06-Dec-87 8676
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XEP80.TXT 21-Sep-87 1445
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Z4880.TXT 19-Apr-87 19900
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Z87IDX.TXT 16-Jan-88 25686
|
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ZIDX2.TXT 29-Sep-87 8593
|
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ZINDX.TXT 08-Jun-87 1932
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ZJUN6.ARC/bin 09-Jun-87 11520
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ZMAG03.TXT 26-Jun-87 21836
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ZMAG09.TXT 26-Jun-87 23349
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ZMAG31.TXT 21-May-87 36801
|
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ZMAG32.TXT 23-May-87 17886
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ZMAG34.TXT 30-May-87 24402
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ZMAG35.TXT 30-May-87 25516
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ZMAG36.TXT 30-May-87 25371
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ZMAG37.TXT 30-May-87 25731
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ZMAG38.TXT 31-May-87 27493
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ZMAG39.TXT 09-Jun-87 25283
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ZMAG40.TXT 09-Jun-87 31079
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ZMAG41.TXT 09-Jun-87 22861
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ZMAG42.TXT 09-Jun-87 24957
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ZMAG43.TXT 11-Jun-87 33087
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ZMAG47.TXT 26-Jun-87 22568
|
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ZMAG48.TXT 19-Apr-87 20763
|
|
ZMAG49.TXT 31-May-87 21401
|
|
ZMAG5.TXT 06-Jun-87 16991
|
|
ZMAG50.TXT 08-May-87 21831
|
|
ZMAG51.TXT 11-May-87 20872
|
|
ZMAG52.TXT 20-May-87 32292
|
|
ZMAG53.TXT 22-May-87 23322
|
|
ZMAG54.TXT 01-Jun-87 31249
|
|
ZMAG55.TXT 05-Jun-87 30701
|
|
ZMAG56.TXT 07-Jun-87 23454
|
|
ZMAG57.TXT 13-Jun-87 30100
|
|
ZMAG58.TXT 21-Jun-87 23254
|
|
ZMAG59.TXT 12-Jul-87 28906
|
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ZMAG6.TXT 06-Jun-87 30029
|
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ZMAG60.TXT 05-Jul-87 29551
|
|
ZMAG61.TXT 11-Jul-87 23325
|
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ZMAG62.TXT 17-Jul-87 23140
|
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ZMAG63.TXT 25-Jul-87 22114
|
|
ZMAG64.TXT 31-Jul-87 31996
|
|
ZMAG65.TXT 07-Aug-87 28174
|
|
ZMAG66.TXT 14-Aug-87 33491
|
|
ZMAG67.TXT 21-Aug-87 30111
|
|
ZMAG68.TXT 29-Aug-87 20976
|
|
ZMAG69.TXT 04-Sep-87 28973
|
|
ZMAG70.TXT 12-Sep-87 23269
|
|
ZMAG71.TXT 18-Sep-87 21530
|
|
ZMAG72.TXT 25-Sep-87 25794
|
|
ZMAG73.TXT 02-Oct-87 21240
|
|
ZMAG74.TXT 09-Oct-87 26327
|
|
ZMAG75.TXT 16-Oct-87 32832
|
|
ZMAG76.TXT 23-Oct-87 30866
|
|
ZMAG77.TXT 31-Oct-87 30931
|
|
ZMAG78.TXT 06-Nov-87 31485
|
|
ZMAG79.TXT 14-Nov-87 39422
|
|
ZMAG80.TXT 20-Nov-87 28185
|
|
ZMAG81.TXT 28-Nov-87 19636
|
|
ZMAG82.TXT 05-Dec-87 18143
|
|
ZMAG83.TXT 11-Dec-87 35110
|
|
ZMAG84.TXT 18-Dec-87 27800
|
|
ZMAG85.TXT 22-Dec-87 36674
|
|
ZMAG86.XMO/bin 30-Dec-87 49024
|
|
ZMAG87.TXT 31-Dec-87 30456
|
|
ZMAG88.TXT 11-Jan-88 40299
|
|
ZMAG89.TXT 18-Jan-88 42237
|
|
ZMAGFC.TXT 23-Aug-87 20731
|
|
ZMAGIN.TXT 15-May-87 9459
|
|
ZMR19.86 06-Jun-87 21644
|
|
CHGO.MAG/bin O4-Nov-86 23552
|
|
CHGO.ZMA/bin 16-Oct-86 22656
|
|
CHICAG.MAG/bin 03-Oct-86 24576
|
|
CHICGO.ZMG/bin 19-Sep-86 10368
|
|
ZMAG11.NOV 23-Nov-86 19775
|
|
ZMAG12.XMO/bin 18-Dec-86 14592
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx LEARNING TO PROGRAM IN ATARI BASIC
|
|
...Part 4 of a continuing series...
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
LESSON 2 Version 1.03
|
|
|
|
Variables, Reading data, Input, Math (C) COPYRIGHT 1986 by Jackson Beebe
|
|
|
|
This is Part 4 Lesson 2 of Learning to
|
|
program in Atari BASIC, brought to you
|
|
by Jackson Beebe. Contact me at the
|
|
address at the end of the lesson.
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
FEEDBACK:
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
Since Lesson 1, I have received
|
|
inquiries about what Disk Operating
|
|
System (DOS) I am using. I am writing
|
|
for Atari DOS 2.0s/2.5, as everyone
|
|
with an Atari has, or has access to
|
|
this DOS. Other DOS's allow variable
|
|
names beginning with #'s, and other
|
|
features. More discussion of DOS in
|
|
later lessons.
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
VARIABLES:
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
Two common ways of using numbers in
|
|
programs, are to use them as
|
|
CONSTANTS, or in VARIABLES. When you
|
|
simply use a number like 3, that's a
|
|
CONSTANT, because it's just and always
|
|
3. It doesn't change.
|
|
|
|
VARIABLES can hold different numbers
|
|
or letters at different times in a
|
|
program. For example, a payroll
|
|
program, could use the variables
|
|
EMPLOYEE$, RATE, HOURS, and SALARY.
|
|
These would hold new data each time
|
|
they calculated an employee's salary.
|
|
|
|
There are two kinds of variables.
|
|
|
|
1. Numeric Variables (numbers)
|
|
2. String Variables (letters)
|
|
|
|
Numeric variable names must start with
|
|
a letter, and may contain up to eight
|
|
uppercase letters or numbers
|
|
(alphanumeric data.) No spaces are
|
|
allowed. As a general rule, you should
|
|
keep variable names short, but use
|
|
names that suggest what they do. For
|
|
example to set up a numeric variable
|
|
to hold Fahrenheit temperature in a
|
|
conversion program, you could call it
|
|
FAHREN, FTEMP, F, etc.
|
|
|
|
String variables hold letters, or
|
|
words, sentences, etc. They must begin
|
|
with a letter, and end in a dollar
|
|
sign, as NAME$.
|
|
|
|
A quirk of Atari BASIC requires that
|
|
string variables be dimensioned before
|
|
use. This is done with the DIM
|
|
statement followed by the variable
|
|
name, and the maximum length the
|
|
computer should reserve storage
|
|
for.
|
|
|
|
For example:
|
|
|
|
10 DIM NAME$(20)
|
|
|
|
This reserves storage for a name of up
|
|
to 20 characters in length. If you
|
|
typed 25 letters for input, it would
|
|
only read 20.
|
|
|
|
If you forget, you'll get an error
|
|
message when you try and use a string
|
|
variable you haven't dimensioned. More
|
|
than one variable may be dimensioned
|
|
by separating variable names with
|
|
commas.
|
|
|
|
For example:
|
|
|
|
10 DIM ADDR$(20),CITY$(20),STATE$(2)
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
LET STATEMENT: ------------------------------------
|
|
The LET statement, assigns something
|
|
to a variable. It could set X = 0, or
|
|
NAME$ = Jack. The official form of the
|
|
LET statement goes like this:
|
|
|
|
10 LET X=0
|
|
20 LET NUMBER=1024
|
|
30 LET TOTAL=NUMBER
|
|
40 DIM NAME$(25)
|
|
50 LET NAME$=-George Washington-
|
|
|
|
etc
|
|
|
|
The way this ASSIGNMENT statement
|
|
works, is that it looks for a variable
|
|
name on the left of the equals sign.
|
|
It will take what's on THE RIGHT, and
|
|
put it into the variable on THE LEFT.
|
|
Got that? It loads from the right,
|
|
into the left.
|
|
|
|
10 X=256 (sets X equal to 256)
|
|
20 25 = SUM (*** WON'T WORK ***)
|
|
|
|
20 SUM = 25 (this is correct)
|
|
|
|
30 SUM = X (now SUM = 256)
|
|
|
|
It happens that you don't need to put
|
|
the word LET in there for it to work
|
|
(how handy), and in fact it is nearly
|
|
poor practice to do so. The 'hip' way
|
|
to do it is:
|
|
|
|
10 X=0
|
|
20 NUMBER=1024
|
|
30 TOTAL=NUMBER
|
|
40 DIM NAME$(25)
|
|
50 NAME$=-George Washington-
|
|
|
|
We will use LET statements in EVERY
|
|
program we write, but outside this
|
|
lesson, probably never use the word
|
|
LET again! Interesting tidbit. We'll
|
|
see more examples as we progress.
|
|
|
|
Note that spaces between variables,
|
|
the equal sign, and constants, in the
|
|
LET statement are optional. Atari
|
|
BASIC is loose about this. Spread it
|
|
out if it looks more readable to you,
|
|
or eliminate spaces when you're
|
|
running out of room in a 100+
|
|
character line.
|
|
|
|
BASIC already has RESERVED WORDS that
|
|
cannot be chosen for variable names.
|
|
For instance, PRINT, STOP, END, SIN,
|
|
COS, TAN, RND, INT, and others cannot
|
|
be used for your variable names, as
|
|
the computer already uses those words
|
|
to call built-in functions. Remember
|
|
to check for this in programs you just
|
|
can't seem to de-bug.
|
|
|
|
Next week Part 5
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx Atari News Update
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1988
|
|
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
|
|
|
|
ATARI GETS TOUGH ON TV
|
|
BY Gregg Pearlman, ASSISTANT EDITOR
|
|
|
|
In the wake of a Christmas season in
|
|
which Atari Corp.'s video game sales
|
|
were more than twice those of the same
|
|
period last year, Atari plans to keep
|
|
the ball rolling by launching a major
|
|
first-quarter national television
|
|
advertising campaign featuring six new
|
|
commercials, according to Michael
|
|
Katz, president of Atari's electronics
|
|
division.
|
|
|
|
The commercials will be aired in the
|
|
top 30 markets in children's and
|
|
prime-time viewing hours and will
|
|
include syndicated and cable
|
|
programming.
|
|
|
|
Katz said that first-quarter spending
|
|
will be comparable to what Atari spent
|
|
in the fourth quarter of 1987 when the
|
|
company sold out of two of its three
|
|
game systems, the new XE Game System
|
|
and the older 7800.
|
|
|
|
The new Atari 2600 commercial, like
|
|
the previous one, uses rap music while
|
|
heavily promoting the new games
|
|
available for the 2600. The new XE
|
|
commercials include a testimonial/
|
|
endorsement commercial presented by
|
|
the presidents of four computer game
|
|
companies; a commercial comparing
|
|
Atari's baseball game with Nintendo's;
|
|
and three more promoting the range of
|
|
new games for the XE.
|
|
|
|
Atari also announced new playable,
|
|
self-running point-of-sale display
|
|
units for the 7800 and XE systems,
|
|
available at no charge to retailers.
|
|
|
|
ATARI PC: MYTH OR FICTION?
|
|
January 6, 1988 --
|
|
|
|
-I'm sure that I will never see-
|
|
-Atari's duplicate PC...- That song's
|
|
been sung for months.
|
|
|
|
There's been little evidence of the
|
|
IBM clone Atari started showing a year
|
|
ago. But according to a classified
|
|
advertisement in the San Jose Mercury
|
|
News, Atari is seeking a -Production
|
|
Development/Sustaining Engineer for
|
|
our growing line of PS2/PCAT/PCXT
|
|
systems.-
|
|
|
|
So keep on your toes -- it may not be
|
|
far away after all.
|
|
|
|
ATARI NABS COUNTERFEITERS
|
|
December 17, 1987
|
|
|
|
Agents of the U.S. Customs and U.S.
|
|
Marshals Services seized 2,000
|
|
counterfeits of Atari's 2600 video
|
|
game system at Terminal Island in the
|
|
Port of Los Angeles on December 17.
|
|
The imitations were manufactured by
|
|
Fund International Co., Ltd., of
|
|
Taiwan, and distributed in the United
|
|
States by P.S.D. Inc. of Canoga
|
|
Park, California.
|
|
|
|
VIRTUSONICS LICENSING AGREEMENT
|
|
December 16, 1987
|
|
|
|
Virtusonics Corp., creators of the
|
|
Desktop Performance Studio, has
|
|
entered a development and licensing
|
|
agreement with 2nd Mate Systems, a
|
|
marine navigation software systems
|
|
company, to adapt and interface its
|
|
Virtuoso software technology with 2nd
|
|
Mate's computerized marine
|
|
navigational systems.
|
|
|
|
Boaters will now be able to plot their
|
|
courses and positions on computerized
|
|
charts using computers (such as an
|
|
8-bit Atari) and a monitor or
|
|
television.
|
|
|
|
A review of the Desktop Performance
|
|
Studio and an in-depth article about
|
|
Virtusonics and the Virtuoso Software
|
|
technology will appear in the April,
|
|
1988 issue of Antic.
|
|
|
|
ATARI WINS SHOOTOUT VS. NINTENDO
|
|
December 15, 1987
|
|
|
|
A U.S. District Court Judge denied the
|
|
request of Nintendo of America to halt
|
|
Atari Corp.'s television commercials
|
|
that said that more games could be
|
|
played on the Atari XE Game System
|
|
than on the Nintendo, according to
|
|
Reuters.
|
|
|
|
Nintendo had contended that the ads
|
|
were false and misleading, but Atari
|
|
was -confident of the outcome,-
|
|
according to Michael Katz, Atari's
|
|
president of entertainment
|
|
electronics. -The commercial was hard
|
|
-hitting but truthful, and we proved
|
|
it,- he said.
|
|
|
|
The XE Game System runs all cartridge
|
|
-based Atari games, and a disk drive
|
|
can be added to run all disk-based
|
|
Atari games.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx REVIEW
|
|
GREAT AMERICAN CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD RACE
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
BY LAWRENCE R. ESTEP
|
|
|
|
Activision has produced many great
|
|
programs in the past few years,and
|
|
this review is of one of them. This
|
|
piece of software is one of many
|
|
classics from Activision software. If
|
|
you love a good challenge, then you'll
|
|
love this game!
|
|
|
|
The object is to race from a city on
|
|
the West Coast to a city on the East
|
|
Coast in a time that will place you
|
|
among the top contenders. You can also
|
|
race in smaller races, from one state
|
|
to another nearby state to gear up for
|
|
the final challenge. However, in all
|
|
races you have to be ready for
|
|
unexpected problems, such as road
|
|
construction, inclement weather, and
|
|
of course the dreaded radar-detector
|
|
and speed traps!
|
|
|
|
This game is unlike most, as this one
|
|
is always a challenge,no matter how
|
|
many times you play it. There is
|
|
always a new group of racers to
|
|
compete with, and always a new problem
|
|
that comes up!
|
|
|
|
This is one of the best racing
|
|
programs I've ever seen! The graphics
|
|
are great, and the competition is
|
|
thrilling!
|
|
|
|
Check out this fine program from
|
|
Activision, and continue supporting
|
|
this company, so they can bring us
|
|
more programs like this for years to
|
|
come!
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx MTOS
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
by Tom Hunt
|
|
|
|
MTOS (C) 1988 SAMPLER
|
|
|
|
MTOS is a revolutionary new operating
|
|
system system shell for Atari 8-bit
|
|
computers with 256k(+) of internal
|
|
memory. This text is from the MTOS
|
|
sample with some of it's most
|
|
important features installed. The
|
|
features of this sampler are as
|
|
follows.
|
|
|
|
ALLOWS MULTITASKING OF 2 BASIC USER
|
|
PROGRAMS
|
|
|
|
ATARI DOS 2.5 COMPATABLE
|
|
|
|
SUPPORTS GRAPHICS MODES 0-6
|
|
|
|
GETTING STARTED WITH THE MTOS SAMPLER
|
|
|
|
Copy MTOS.COM onto an Atari dos 2.5
|
|
disk that does not have any
|
|
RAMDISK.COM on it. When this is done,
|
|
turn off the computer for a few
|
|
seconds, and turn it back on, with the
|
|
disk you just created in D1: drive.
|
|
|
|
Boot without holding down the option
|
|
key (basic enabled). It is suggested
|
|
that RAMDISK.COM is not on the dos
|
|
boot disk, since MTOS uses the
|
|
extended banks, and any files in your
|
|
ramdisk might get corrupted. Type
|
|
-DOS- from basic's -READY- prompt.
|
|
When you get to the DUP.SYS menu, type
|
|
-L- for binary load. At the next
|
|
prompt (for the filename,) type
|
|
-MTOS.COM-.
|
|
|
|
After MTOS is done loading, you should
|
|
be looking at the Executor (aka Exec,
|
|
task-manager) screen. You can now
|
|
initialize 2 user tasks, which in this
|
|
sampler, is limited to basic. To
|
|
attach (view) a task, choose the
|
|
-view- option, choosing from the list
|
|
of active tasks. Limit your viewing to
|
|
tasks 1 thru 2, since tasks 3 thru 6
|
|
are non-existant in this sampler
|
|
version. If you followed the above
|
|
instructions, you should be looking at
|
|
basic's familiar -READY- prompt. To
|
|
detach from a task, just plug your
|
|
joystick in to the second joystick
|
|
port, and press the button. You will
|
|
automatically reattach to Exec.
|
|
|
|
MTOS stands for M.ulti-T.asking
|
|
O.perating S.ystem. It is more
|
|
properly called a shell, since it
|
|
works with your dos and the Atari o.s.
|
|
rom. It offers the Atari 8-bit owner a
|
|
new dimension of computer enjoyment-
|
|
the ability to run more than one
|
|
program at one time. I have designed
|
|
MTOS to place as few constraints on
|
|
people wanting to write programs that
|
|
will run under MTOS as possible. There
|
|
are a few constraints, however. Your
|
|
programs simply have to be -well
|
|
behaved- in that they can't
|
|
indescriminately go poking around in
|
|
memory, since our CPU doesn't support
|
|
protected modes. In other words, don't
|
|
expect your boot games to run under
|
|
M.T.O.S. User programs are limited to
|
|
16k.
|
|
|
|
Here are the features supported by the
|
|
full-blown version of MTOS, which can
|
|
be purchased from the address given at
|
|
the end of this file.
|
|
|
|
PREEMPTIVE MULTITASKING
|
|
|
|
ALLOWS MULTITASKING OF 6 TASKS (5
|
|
DEFINED BY THE USER)
|
|
|
|
(LIMITED) SUPPORT OF SPARTA DOS- COMMAND PROCESSOR
|
|
BATCH FILES
|
|
BINARY LOAD
|
|
|
|
BINARY LOAD FROM THE EXECUTOR
|
|
|
|
SUPPORTS INTERMIXED BINARY AND BASIC
|
|
PROGRAMS
|
|
|
|
SUPPORTS LOCALIZED CUSTOM CHARACTER
|
|
SETS
|
|
|
|
SUPPORTS LOCALIZED SCREEN COLOR
|
|
VARIABLES
|
|
SUPPORTS THE ABILITY TO CHANGE TASK
|
|
PRIORITY FROM THE EXEC LEVEL
|
|
|
|
EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTATION THAT ALLOWS
|
|
THE MTOS PROGRAMMER ACCESS TO SYSTEM
|
|
VARIABLES
|
|
PRIORITY SCHEDULING
|
|
SAMPLE BASIC PROGRAMS
|
|
|
|
PAGE 6 OF MEMORY UP FOR GRABS FOR USER
|
|
PROGRAMS
|
|
|
|
HIERARCHICAL FILE SYSTEM
|
|
|
|
(ALLOWS FOR SIMULTANEOUS FILE ACCESS)
|
|
|
|
100% MACHINE LANGUAGE
|
|
MINIMAL SYSTEM OVERHEAD
|
|
PAGES 0-5 OF MEMORY AVAILABLE TO M.L.
|
|
PROGRAMMERS FOR EACH TASK
|
|
|
|
There is a support BBS for registered
|
|
owners of MTOS, where upgrades,
|
|
*patches, and end user application
|
|
programs will be made available.
|
|
|
|
Technical questions from registered
|
|
users will be answered within 48 hours
|
|
on the BBS. We intend to enhance MTOS
|
|
nd support it's users.
|
|
|
|
PROJECTED ENHANCEMENTS TO MTOS
|
|
|
|
A TOOLKIT FOR MTOS APPLICATION
|
|
PROGRAMMING
|
|
|
|
INTERTASK COMMUNICATION (WITH TASKS
|
|
APPEARING AS FILES TO EACH OTHER)
|
|
|
|
MTOS FILE SERVER
|
|
|
|
SUPPORT OF HI RES GRAPHIC MODES
|
|
|
|
SUPPORT FOR THE 128K 130XE
|
|
|
|
NEW PRODUCTS
|
|
|
|
A SWITCHER THAT ALLOWS-
|
|
|
|
3 VIRTUAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS TO RESIDE
|
|
IN MEMORY AT ONE TIME (256K+). EACH OF
|
|
WHICH CAN BE CONFIGURED FOR A
|
|
DIFFERENT DOS. EACH IS A -SNAPSHOT- OF
|
|
SYSTEM MEMORY/CONFIGURATION,
|
|
INSTANTANEOUSLY SWITCHABLE WITH A
|
|
SHIFT-CONTROL KEY COMBINATION.
|
|
|
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MTOS version 1.1 is now avalable for a
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special introductory price of $15.00
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which is current until March 1988.
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MTOS ver.1.1 can be ordered by sending
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$15.00 in check or money order to:
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* DATAQUE
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3308 PARK AVE. W.
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P.O.BOX 134
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ONTARIO, OH 44862
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______________________________________
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Zmagazine Issue #90 January 25, 1988
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(c)1988 Syndicate Publishing Company
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______________________________________
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