1178 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
1178 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
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ZMAGAZINE HOT ATARI NEWS AND REVIEWS
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=====================================
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PUBLISHER/EDITOR: RON KOVACS
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=====================================
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ASSISTANT PUBLISHER: KEN KIRCHNER
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=====================================
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ISSUE 54 JUNE 1, 1987
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG INDEX 54
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_____________________________________
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-*- CIS OFFERS NEW DAYTIME RATES
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-*- SAFETY TIP By:Steve Garee
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-*- THE ATARI CHALLENGE
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By:Bill Silverman
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-*- DATAPAC PARAMETERS
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-*- JACG ZMAG USER GROUP OF MAY
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-*- ST X-PRESS NEWS WIRE
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-*- ZMAG UPDATE
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Summer CES Reports
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-*- SOFTWARE REVIEW
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221B Baker Street
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-*- ZMAG NEWSWIRE
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-*- SOFTWARE REVIEW
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Oasis Bulletin Board System
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_____________________________________
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Xx COMPUSERVE OVERS PERMANENT RATES
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_____________________________________
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 27, 1987):Daytime
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connect rates for the CompuServe
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Information Service will be reduced
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to the same as evening and weekend
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connect rates beginning today June 1.
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CompuServe subscribers can access the
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service anytime for $6 per connect
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hour at 110-450 baud speeds, a more
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than 50% reduction from the previous
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daytime weekday rate. Access is
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$12.50 per connect hour at 1200-2400
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baud. Communications surcharges and
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individual surcharges still apply.
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-Convenience is a major reason
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subscribers use CompuServe,- said
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David J. Kishler, supervisor of
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corporate communications. -This rate
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reduction allows subscribers to use
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CompuServe at an economical rate at
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times best for them.-
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This most recent price reduction is
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the third within the past year.
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Reduced rates for 2400 baud access
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and free uploads (transmitting
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programs to CompuServe's data
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libraries over telephone lines) were
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both instituted last year.
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With alomst 360,000 subscribers and
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more than 400 services, the
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CompuServe Information Service is the
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largest general online information
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base in North America. CompuServe
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also provides electronic mail,
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internal corporate information and
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value-added telecommunications
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network services to more than 1,200
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major U.S. corporations and
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government agencies.
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CompuServe is an H&R Block company.
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_____________________________________
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Xx SAFETY TIP
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_____________________________________
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Article taken from the May 1987 issue
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of the CDAC Electronic Newsletter.
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By:Steve Garee
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Many computer users think of their
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computer as if it were a toaster or a
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television set. Just another electric
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appliance to be ignored when not in
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use. It, as well as, any appliance
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can burn your world down around you.
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Think about fire prevention for a
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moment.
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I attended a course in computer
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security management several years
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ago. One of the topics covered was
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fire safety and the simple steps
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required to implement it. The worst
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computer fire disaster in the nation
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happened in a government installation
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that had a disaster preparedness plan
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for any contingency. The fire
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disaster plan contained two words,
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-Can't happen!-. It only took six
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months to get back to normal.
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What can you do? A few simple steps
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and a couple of minutes are all it
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will take.
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1. Check the power demands of your
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equipment. Does your computer
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cause lamps to flicker or dim on
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the same circuit? Don't use
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extension cords or blocks that are
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not rated for at least 10 amps.
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Preferably, there should be an
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inline circuit breaker, so an
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electric motor doesn't fry your
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machine when it starts up.
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2. Check the ground connection of the
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house and don't use the machine in
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a violent electric storm. I know
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of at least two people who own
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machines that have tested a
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lightning strike and lost.
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3. Get a Halon fire extinguisher.
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They are available locally and are
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inexpensive. Halon is preferable
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to carbon dioxide because the
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Halon does not damage electronic
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equipment or leave a residue. It
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would be terrible to put out a
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computer fire and find the
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extinguisher has damaged a disk
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drive which wasn't involved. It is
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not for a paper-type fire.
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4. If a fire happens, CALL FIRE
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DEPARTMENT! This is important,
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because a wiring fire may occur at
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any point and can reignite at an
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unexpected moment. You may feel
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like a fool when they arrive and
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the fire has been put out with
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your extinguisher, but think about
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how you will feel watching from
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the road as your life's treasures
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go up in smoke. A fire can get out
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of control in about a minute!
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5. Make sure your computer is covered
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by your household insurance. If
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you use it for any business
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functions at all, IT IS NOT
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COVERED.
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Lastly, this is something to think
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about. A full computer setup with
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hard disk and monitor can pull
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several hundred watts. Would you
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leave an iron on and leave the house?
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A smaller machine will probably
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not even match a table lamp.
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Think safety first.
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_____________________________________
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Xx THE ATARI CHALLENGE
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By:Bill Silverman
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_____________________________________
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Article Ctys of:CDAC Electronic
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Newsletter, May 1987 Edition
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I admit it, I'm an Atari addict. When
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everybody was buying Apples in the
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early 80's I bought a 32K Atari 800.
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When everybody was buying Commodores
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in the mid 80's I bought an 800XL.
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When the 130XE was introduced I got
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one of them to!
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Then came the ST. This time, I said
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to myself, I'm gonna wait. Let them
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show me that this one is going to be
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great.
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So I waited as long as I could and I
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now have a 1040ST. Can it do things
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better than my old Atari's? Yes
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definately! Is it as well developed
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as the 130XE or 800XL? Most
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definately not!
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Well friends this is most assuredly
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a paradox. A bigger better machine
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with enough memory and speed to
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outrun everybody in town! Some of the
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software is the leading edge of the
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next generation of software
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-particularly the graphics software.
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The ST and Publishing Partner have
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opened up new doors to what can be
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done at home in desktop publishing at
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a bargain price!
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The product is still not available -
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vaporware may be standard practice in
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the industry but if you can advertise
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it please market it!
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The software to interface with the
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hardware is miserable. Do tell me to
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use 'any word processor that prints
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ASCII text files to disk' to write
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printer drivers or assign.sys files.
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Give us programs that do the work!
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The same thing goes for font
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editiors. When somebody makes a font
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editor the equal of INSTANT EDIT that
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Sheldon Leemon wrote for the Atari
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800 then we'll be in business. Don't
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tell me how many fonts the computer
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needs for the screen and printer.
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Again, give us programs that do the
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work!
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Give us load and go software! An
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autorun.sys is must for the modern
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computer and that includes the ST.
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Lastly, give us all a sence of hope.
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We have exactly one committed Atari
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retail store in the Capital District.
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The people who own and run the store
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love the machine but are considering
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dropping the Atari line for lack of
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product and support.
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What do they want:
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#1, the IBM emulator.
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#2, the IBM Clone.
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#3, support for the product they do
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have (how do you think a dealer
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feels when 1040's sit unsold
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while customers wait for a MEGA
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ST which the dealer can't get?)
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So come on Atari, we're all out here
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rooting for ya, we're supporting you!
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DO IT NOW
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_____________________________________
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Xx DATAPAC PARAMETERS
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.....Ctsy CompuServe Atari8 SIG....
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_____________________________________
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#: 188501 S2/Telecommunications
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26-May-87 02:14:07
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Fm: Ken Watson 73157,3100
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To: John Oetter 73657,771 (X)
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Hi John,
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The method you describe will work if
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you are going through a Datapac
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public dialport but not if accessing
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Datapac through iNet 2000. iNet will
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_NOT_ allow the user to have a
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transparent profile (which is what
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PROF 3 is suppose to give you) so you
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cannot do any Xmodem U/L to CIS if
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you are using Datapac through iNet.
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For downloads I use a slightly
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different PAD paramater which is as
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follows:
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PROF 1
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SET 6:0,126:4
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- like PROF 3 you won't be able to
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see your last bit of typing. Unlike
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PROF 3 (correct me here if I am wrong
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about PROF 3), you will get your
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character echo back after you do the
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D/L and your profile will remain open
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for subsequent downloads while you
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remain on CIS.
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Anyway, until iNet installs new
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software that will allow 8 bit
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transfers you cannot U/L to CIS if
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you are using DATAPAC through iNet so
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poor schmucks like myself continue to
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be able to D/L from CIS but not do
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any 8 bit U/L.
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Ken
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* Reply:
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#: 188553 S2/Telecommunications
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27-May-87 00:20:00
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Fm: JOHN OETTER 73657,771
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To: Ken Watson 73157,3100
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Ken- Thanks for the info- I was not
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aware of the various hoops that
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datapac put some of us through. This
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one was enough! May I suggest s
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Regards John
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D/L THROUGH DATAPAC USING XMODEM From: John Oetter 73657,771
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With many thanks to Ewan Edwards and
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the Wrecking Crane BBS in Victoria
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B. C. (604) 727-2757
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Background
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Datapac essentialy invloves itself as
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a middleman. When you type a letter,
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Datapac decides who it is going to,
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sends it, and in this case, is echoed
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back by Compuserve. This involves
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time delays that make it next to
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impossible to download! The packet
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switching used by Datapac can be
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overcome.
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Solution
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The trick is to get Datapac to switch
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off the packet switching. So here's
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what you do:
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Type a CTRL-P <^P> This is a Datapac
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access code. Then type PAR followed
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by a <CR>. Type PROF 3 <CR> (you will
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not be able to see what you are
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typing) Type SET 2:1 <CR> <CR>
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Now type in the Compuserve forum
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commands to download.
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Once again the sequence should go:
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1. CTRL-P
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2. PAR <CR>
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3. PROF 3 <CR>
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4. SET 2:1 (remember, you won't see
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this line) <CR>
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5. <CR>
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Happy downloading and uploading! If
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you have any comments or suggestions,
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please let me know!!
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John Oetter 73657,771
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_____________________________________
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Xx Zmag User Group of the Month
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...Jersey Atari Computer Group...
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_____________________________________
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By:Mark Knutsen, SysOp - JACG BBS
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This week, some miscellaneous
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information about the Jersey Atari
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Computer Group that wasn't mentioned
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in the previous three articles:
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-- The JACG article in Zmag 50 was
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written by Tom Pazel, who is
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currently our club's president, _not_
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Membership Chairman. The name and
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address of the real Membership
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Chairman are as follows:
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Robert P. Mulhearn
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Membership Chairman, JACG
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8 Crescent Road
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Pinebrook, NJ 07058
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Please contact Bob for information on
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joining the JACG or receiving our
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newsletter.
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-- The JACG Disk Library contains
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over 115 disks for 8-bit Ataris, and
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over 35 disks for Atari STs.
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Information about ordering library
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disks ($5 apiece) and listings may be
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obtained from the Chief Librarian at
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this address:
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Sam Cory
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Disk Librarian, JACG
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P.O. Box 7
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Towaco, NJ 07082
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////Part II////
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As 8-Bit Vice-President of the Jersey
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Atari Computer Group I try to provide
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good representation for our
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membership ... especially our 8-Bit
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membership. My name is Doug Van Hook,
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and I'm just one of the members on
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the JACG production line. The
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production line produces Quality
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Meetings, a state of the art Bulletin
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Board, an Award Winning Newsletter,
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and a Disk Library bulging with the
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latest 8-Bit and 16-Bit Public Domain
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Software.
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A large part of my job is to convince
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members, friends, and software
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producers to demonstrate software or
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speak at our meetings. We like to
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give our members the chance to see or
|
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hear about software products before
|
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they buy them. This is especially
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true with Public Domain Software.
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If you've read our newsletter, you
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may have seen my column PDG (Public
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Domain Goods). Head Disk Librarian
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Sam Corey and I try to select the
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best public domain software available
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as our featured disk for the month.
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We have exchanged complete disk
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libraries with other clubs to provide
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enough EXCEPTIONAL 8-Bit and 16-bit
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disks.
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I also demonstrate the featured 8-Bit
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disk at our monthly meeting. The
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result has been a surge in disk
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sales, and more importantly,
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confidence and pride in our disk
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library. I don't deny that there are
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still some really bad disks in our
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library which we don't censor. BUT...
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we don't feature them!
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Oh... the disk of the month is
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available during the month featured
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for $3.00 instead of the usual $5.00.
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This applies to all featured disks
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whether they have programs on one or
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both sides. To order our disk of the
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month just write to our MAIL ORDER
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LIBRARIAN:
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Bret Calligari
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306 Division St. Floor 2
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Boonton, NJ 07005
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For other Atari Groups interested in
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exchanging libraries please contact:
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Sam Cory
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P.O. Box 7
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Towaco, NJ 07082
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_____________________________________
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Xx ST X-Press News Wire
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Volume 1, Number 5 May 1987
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_____________________________________
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THE DISKMATE GRAPEVINE
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----------------------
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Rumor has it that their is a special
|
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connector being made to allow the
|
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ST's to be hooked up to a multi-synch
|
|
monitor. This means that we may soon
|
|
have the capablility of running low,
|
|
medium, and high res from ONE
|
|
monitor. This should be interesting.
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A laser drive was shown in Germany.
|
|
It seems to work on the compact disk
|
|
technology. We will be able to read
|
|
and write to the disks (which will
|
|
have a storage capacity of 500
|
|
terabytes!) The creator estimates
|
|
the price to be around $250 and they
|
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will be available by the end of 1987.
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|
|
In Canada, Atari was showing 520 ST's
|
|
with built in power cords and single
|
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sided disk drive's (a poorman's 1040
|
|
ST). There were also 520's with a
|
|
meg of ram, supposedly it is very
|
|
hard to find a -regular- ST in Canada
|
|
anymore; all of them are upgraded.
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|
|
Firebird has released their next
|
|
game, GOLDEN PATH. It looks very
|
|
promising with nice graphics, sound,
|
|
and animation. The game itself
|
|
offers a very unique playing aspect,
|
|
it seems that this program is very
|
|
indepth.
|
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|
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Atari has set some new dates for
|
|
their new hardware. The laser
|
|
printers are supposedly being
|
|
finished up and will be ready -by the
|
|
end of May-. The Mega ST's won't be
|
|
available until the end of June. And
|
|
the Atari PC's also won't be
|
|
available until either June or July.
|
|
For everybody who is looking for the
|
|
blitter chip in the next few weeks,
|
|
don't count on it. As I have told
|
|
everyone who asks me, Atari will most
|
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likely not be releasing the blitter
|
|
until after the Mega ST's are
|
|
released. The Mega's will contain
|
|
the blitters, maybe Atari is hoping
|
|
that people will get fed up waiting
|
|
for the blitter and breakdown to buy
|
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the Mega ST's instead.
|
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|
The NEWSROOM, from the publishers of
|
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PRINTMASTER and PRINTMASTER PLUS
|
|
-Unison World, is expected to be
|
|
released shortly. It is another
|
|
desktop publishing system, from the
|
|
various photos that we have seen it
|
|
doesn't look too bad.
|
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THE TRANSLATOR was a project that
|
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would allow users to run Atari 8
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bit software. As you may have read
|
|
in last months' Zmag series, Atari
|
|
has told the author not to distribute
|
|
the program. His latest version
|
|
looks very promising with graphics,
|
|
sound, etc. If you think that Atari
|
|
should quit their -greedy- attitude
|
|
and let this program be completed
|
|
then write us a letter petitioning
|
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Atari to do so. Send all letters
|
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to:
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ST X-PRESS
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c/o Translator Petition
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P.O. Box 2383
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La Habra, CA 90632
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|
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MESSAGES FROM ICD BBS
|
|
---------------------
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Phone: (815) 968-2229
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|
Last Edited: 5/28/87
|
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|
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Title : SPARTADOS!!
|
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Author: RIC
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To: ?
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|
Replies: 2
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|
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I NEED HELP BAD!! MY XE MACHINE BROKE
|
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DOWN! AND I HAVE AN 800 THAT CAN TAKE
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PLACE OF THE XE BUT THE BIG PROBLEM
|
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IS THAT ONLY SPARTADOS 1.1 WILL WORK
|
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ON THE 800. MY PROBLEM IS I LIKE TO
|
|
USE MY 800 BUT IT CAN'T READ THE
|
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SPARTADOS 3.2D, I CAN'T PLAY WITH MY
|
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PROGRAMS! NEED HELP BADLY, ANYONE
|
|
KNOWS A WAY TO READ AND WRITED ON 800
|
|
TO THE SPARTADOS 3.2D DISKETTE!
|
|
PLEASE LEAVE ME E-MAIL OR CALL MY
|
|
BOARD 213-631-7328 40 MEG HD MIO AND
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ATR8000 THANKS
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Title : SPARTADOS!!
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Author: Keith Ledbetter
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To: RIC
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Replies: 0
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Sorry...it can't be done. SpartaDOS
|
|
3.2 will just not work on an old 800.
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Title : New Express!
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Author: Keith Ledbetter
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To: HAROLD BREWER
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Replies: 0
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Harold,
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Yes..1030 Express! version 3.0 should
|
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be out shortly. Things have finally
|
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slowed down a little, so I should
|
|
have some time to work on it.
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New things? Well, I'd read the 850
|
|
v3.0 docs, since that doc file is for
|
|
ALL of the 3.0 versions. It has an
|
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edit window, Vidtex translation mode,
|
|
plus more.
|
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|
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Title : Networking MIO's
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Author: Shadow Flax
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To: All
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Replies: 1
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|
I just recieved a private message
|
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from Tom about the MIO's that you can
|
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hook up to your system with another
|
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MIO that will inturn hook up to the
|
|
same hard disk, I hope that I said
|
|
that right. It is mentioned in the
|
|
MIO docs that is can be bought for a
|
|
extra $50 from ICD. Tom had advised
|
|
me that the project was cancled. I
|
|
would like to know why, and find out
|
|
if it was just money or if it was a
|
|
task that was just to hard to handle.
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|
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I have writen a machine language BBS
|
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program that I could have set up my
|
|
BBS with 8 MIO's and 8 lines with a
|
|
CB Chat mode etc. It works great...
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|
the only thing is that I want them
|
|
all to run off the same hard disk so
|
|
that they share the same exact
|
|
message bases and download files.
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Any one else interested in doing
|
|
this? I think it would make the
|
|
multimate in 8 bit bbs's. and hey,
|
|
it will not slow down the bbs at all
|
|
with 8 users on... even if they are
|
|
in differnt baud rates.
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|
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Wm A. Carroll
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Atari Computer Club of Sacramento Ca.
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916-962-2566 128 meg useable on line.
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Title : Help!
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Author: --Bruce
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To: SYSOP*Tom
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Replies: 1
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Tom--
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Can the MIO handle NINE driveS??
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If I [S]witch to D9: and then do it
|
|
again, whatever drive info I switched
|
|
out and then in again is the way it
|
|
was. I'm wondering if it is MY-DOS's
|
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D1:-D9: compatible!! If so, that
|
|
allows 144Mb, not 128Mb, in the
|
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system!!!
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--Bruce
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Title : Help!
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Author: SYSOP*Tom
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To: --Bruce
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Replies: 0
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Beats me? We will be supporting 9
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drives with the SpartaDOS X but I
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don't use MYDOS.
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- TOM -
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG UPDATE
|
|
.....Summer CES Reports.....
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
At the time of this edit, The Summer
|
|
CES Show is going on. This being the
|
|
middle of the weekend, our deadline
|
|
came upon us rather quick. Issue 55
|
|
of Zmag will be devoted entirely to
|
|
CES coverage.
|
|
|
|
The publication date of the special
|
|
edition will be on Friday June 5th,
|
|
and Issue 56 will appear on Monday,
|
|
June 8th. Please make a note of this
|
|
on your calender.
|
|
|
|
ISSUE 56-----June 5th, 1987
|
|
ISSUE 57-----June 8th, 1987
|
|
|
|
See you again in 5 days!
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx SOFTWARE REVIEW
|
|
....221B Baker Street....
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Article taken from the May 1987 issue
|
|
of the CDAC Electronic Newsletter.
|
|
|
|
By:Don Szarowski
|
|
|
|
-Come, Watson, come...the game is
|
|
afoot!- And so, with these familiar
|
|
words, our adventure through the
|
|
Victorian streets of London begins.
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|
|
Prior to actual play, it is necessary
|
|
to set up the game by selecting your
|
|
character, getting your clue code and
|
|
starting a case. There are 30 cases
|
|
on the back of the disk, and a
|
|
supplemental case disk available. Up
|
|
to 4 players or teams may compete as
|
|
Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Irene
|
|
Adler or Inspector Lestrade. The case
|
|
book contains the vital background
|
|
information for each abominable
|
|
atrocity, as well as the information
|
|
needed by Scotland Yard to consider
|
|
the case solved. You may move about
|
|
the streets of London by using either
|
|
your joystick or the keyboard to roll
|
|
the die and move. An overhead 3-D
|
|
view of the city lets you keep track
|
|
of your movements, and a full view of
|
|
the city is also available for
|
|
planning your movements in relation
|
|
to your opponents. The game begins
|
|
and ends at 221B Baker St, but in
|
|
between, you must travel the streets
|
|
and gather clues from the various
|
|
shops and buildings. You must also
|
|
get a badge from Scotland Yard before
|
|
you can solve the case. Doors can
|
|
be locked, secret passages used and
|
|
carriages ridden in to save precious
|
|
time. The real secret, of course, is
|
|
to use your razor sharp mind to
|
|
deduce the solution from a minimum
|
|
number of clues.
|
|
|
|
With the solution in hand, you return
|
|
to 221B Baker St., announce the
|
|
solution and inform Dr. Watson that
|
|
it was elementary. Well, I was able
|
|
to do that the first time. Now my
|
|
kids have gotten smarter and break my
|
|
coded clues too.
|
|
|
|
The graphics are very well done, and
|
|
each character has his/her own
|
|
distinct trait during movement; for
|
|
example, Sherlock puffs smoke as he
|
|
walks. The speech synthesis leaves
|
|
a bit to be desired, but fortunately
|
|
it is used sparingly and is just
|
|
window dressing.
|
|
|
|
Player movement is a bit slow because
|
|
of all the redrawing of the
|
|
characters and map, but not terribly
|
|
annoying. Disk accesses seem to have
|
|
been kept to a minimum, which is nice
|
|
since it reduces disk swapping. So
|
|
far, the playing time seems to be
|
|
30-45 minutes per case.
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|
|
|
This is a very enjoyable game to play
|
|
and both my children (age 13 & 16)
|
|
and I would recommend it.
|
|
|
|
221B Baker Street Datasoft $18.95
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
The Comdex/Spring computer trade
|
|
show, which has been a regular in
|
|
Atlanta for years, may be moving to
|
|
Chicago next year. This year's event
|
|
opens next week in Atlanta.
|
|
|
|
Bob Lively, vice president of
|
|
Interface Group Inc., which promotes
|
|
the show, told The Associated Press
|
|
that some people were starting to see
|
|
Comdex as a Southern regional show
|
|
instead of an international one, and,
|
|
-We thought by moving it to Chicago
|
|
we could freshen it up a bit.-
|
|
|
|
According to the Online Today/AP
|
|
report. Lively said...-attendance for
|
|
the spring show, which brings Atlanta
|
|
from $20 million to $30 million in
|
|
revenue each year, had dropped for
|
|
the past two years and that some
|
|
major companies are no longer coming.
|
|
About 70,000 people attended the
|
|
COMDEX/SPRING show last year.
|
|
|
|
Online Today reported May 27th that
|
|
Commodore will soon be shipping the
|
|
Amiga A2000. Online Today reported
|
|
last June, hardware developers were
|
|
expecting the first shipments almost
|
|
twelve months ago. The current US
|
|
shipping date for the A2000 is June
|
|
14, two days after the European
|
|
computer market receives its first
|
|
A2000.
|
|
|
|
This news came from the SCAN Show
|
|
in California. Attendees at the SCAN
|
|
show say they were told that the US
|
|
will be receiving a German version of
|
|
the A2000 and not the final product
|
|
that will eventually be sold here.
|
|
|
|
A law goes in effect Today Monday
|
|
June 1, 1987 in Georgia that is
|
|
expected to reduce by up to 80% the
|
|
number of computerized telephone
|
|
sales pitches in that state.
|
|
|
|
According to The Associated Press,
|
|
the law, perhaps the first of its
|
|
kind in the nation, requires that:
|
|
|
|
-:- Calls not be made before 8 a.m.
|
|
and after 9 p.m.
|
|
|
|
-:- A live operator ask permission to
|
|
put the recorded pitch on the
|
|
phone.
|
|
|
|
-:- The sponsoring company be
|
|
identified and a phone number
|
|
provided.
|
|
|
|
-:- The state Public Service
|
|
Commission issue licenses to
|
|
firms doing computerized
|
|
telephone sales.
|
|
|
|
-:- Firms cannot dial unlisted
|
|
numbers, cannot dial randomly or
|
|
sequentially and will get into
|
|
trouble if they call certain
|
|
emergency numbers.
|
|
|
|
AP says sponsor Cathey Steinberg,
|
|
D-Atlanta, first became interested in
|
|
curtailing computerized calls when
|
|
she learned that patients were
|
|
getting them in their hospital rooms.
|
|
|
|
She says the law doesn't affect
|
|
calling by non-profit agencies or
|
|
debt collectors.
|
|
|
|
This legislature also does not affect
|
|
interstate calling, but Steinberg has
|
|
a resolution pending before the
|
|
National Conference of State
|
|
Legislators to ask Congress and the
|
|
FCC to place similar restrictions.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx Software Review
|
|
...Oasis BBS...
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Oasis BBS
|
|
-The Most Complete BBS for the 8-bit
|
|
ATARI today!-
|
|
|
|
by:The SysOp
|
|
TEKTRON BBS
|
|
A/C-918-835-5198
|
|
|
|
For all you folks out there that have
|
|
never called an OASIS Bulletin Board
|
|
System, you have really been missing
|
|
allot!
|
|
|
|
Back in the -good ol' days- when you
|
|
got your brand new -300- baud modem
|
|
and called your local AMIS or other
|
|
8-bit system, you probably thought
|
|
you were in some pretty tall cotton.
|
|
At least I did. I mean really, here
|
|
you were in the comfort of your own
|
|
home, getting all this ATARI related
|
|
information and programs that other
|
|
Atari folks had written, at your
|
|
leisure. The only problem was that
|
|
even though the equipment was good
|
|
enough, it never was fast enough to
|
|
suit most of us. Hince 1200, 2400 and
|
|
now 9600 baud modems. Therefore the
|
|
software was always coming up with
|
|
restrictions that had to be written
|
|
around.
|
|
|
|
Today although 1200, 2400 and 9600
|
|
baud modems are not in everyone's
|
|
home, they are quickly becoming very
|
|
popular with the home computer scene.
|
|
As baud rates increased so did the
|
|
problems with making a BBS efficient
|
|
enough to keep up with them.
|
|
|
|
Ralph Walden, Rich Renner and Leo
|
|
Newman have come to our rescue with
|
|
the OASIS BBS. The BBS is written in
|
|
MAC/65, therefore once compiled the
|
|
heart of OASIS is in machine
|
|
language. Immediately you would think
|
|
that a machine language program would
|
|
be restrictive to customizing as a
|
|
couple of its predecessors.
|
|
|
|
WRONG! You can actually set an OASIS
|
|
system up to look like an AMIS or
|
|
just about any other BBS that you
|
|
have seen. I am not going to -knock-
|
|
any other BBS programs here but
|
|
believe me, I have paid out lots of
|
|
bucks for what was described to be as
|
|
the -BEST- 8-bit BBS around just to
|
|
end up formatting the disks that they
|
|
came on.
|
|
|
|
As you will one day come to the
|
|
realization that you don't have to
|
|
pay a ton of money to get a really
|
|
excellent BBS program (OASIS is
|
|
merely $15) you will be shocked to
|
|
see how complete a system that OASIS
|
|
is.
|
|
|
|
Okay now that I have got down off my
|
|
soapbox I'll get on with the review!
|
|
|
|
Oasis is comprised of several files.
|
|
At first one would think, -oh no,
|
|
look at all this junk I have to
|
|
edit!-. Actually that is one of the
|
|
finest points of the BBS. You have a
|
|
machine language program that can be
|
|
-personalized- to your own
|
|
satisfaction without knowing any
|
|
machine languages!
|
|
|
|
Briefly there are five type files you
|
|
will be using:
|
|
|
|
.RES - Memory resident, loaded by the
|
|
bbs at boot time.
|
|
|
|
.SUP - Disk resident (either on a
|
|
diskette, hard disk or
|
|
ramdisk.) used by the BBS as
|
|
needed.
|
|
|
|
.DAT - MESS.DAT is the -personality-
|
|
file that lets you modify the
|
|
appearance of the board.
|
|
|
|
PASS.DAT is of course the password
|
|
file like any other bbs.
|
|
|
|
.DA? - Message bases.TXT - Text or
|
|
documentation files that you
|
|
can have users access through
|
|
the DATA base portions of the
|
|
BBS.
|
|
|
|
The BBS will run on just about any
|
|
kind of DOS, but most choose Sparta
|
|
Dos for its sub-directories and
|
|
usability with a hard disk. Using
|
|
Sparta Dos will allow you to have a
|
|
-batch- file that will set up the
|
|
ramdisk and copy files to it at boot
|
|
time so the BBS will run at ramdisk
|
|
speed if desired. This is also a plus
|
|
if you only have 1 disk drive.
|
|
|
|
If you are fortunate to have Sparta
|
|
Dos and one of their R-8 clocks, all
|
|
you need to do once the BBS is set up
|
|
is slap all the disks in the drives
|
|
and turn the computer on. When you
|
|
are at the WAITRING screen you can
|
|
remove the disks and replace them
|
|
with either a blank formatted disk
|
|
(for the upload drive) or use a disk
|
|
full of files for downloading.
|
|
|
|
The OASIS system supports 8 message
|
|
bases plus E-mail. Each message base
|
|
can hold 99 messages and are
|
|
automatically compacted when they max
|
|
or you can set them to compact at a
|
|
lower number. You can also have three
|
|
data bases that can be set up with
|
|
individual protocols. You can have a
|
|
user press a letter or number from a
|
|
data base to either have the
|
|
information scrolled on the screen
|
|
automatically or be prompted for type
|
|
of protocol for the transfer.
|
|
|
|
As a SYSOP you can set your system up
|
|
in any number of ways. You can have a
|
|
GUEST function that allows a person
|
|
on just to VISIT the BBS and look
|
|
around. You can restrict him or allow
|
|
him whatever privileges you wish. Or
|
|
on the other hand you can LOCK a
|
|
GUEST or visitor completely out of
|
|
the system and have specified times
|
|
that GUESTS or new users may be
|
|
allowed on. If needed, you may even
|
|
restrict the board to 1200-2400 baud
|
|
callers. This may sound a little
|
|
harsh for some, but it seems that in
|
|
most cases of abuse to a BBS that the
|
|
caller was at 300 baud. The only bad
|
|
part about a 300 baud lockout is that
|
|
you are locking out the -decent- 300
|
|
baud callers. It all boils down to,
|
|
-It is YOUR system and YOU can do
|
|
with it whatever you wish!-
|
|
|
|
The most important part about an
|
|
OASIS BBS is -Ease of Use-. Once a
|
|
user has been on and looked around,
|
|
he feels -at home-. It is quick and
|
|
easy to see any new messages on your
|
|
return to an OASIS system. By
|
|
pressing -*-, you can see any new
|
|
messages in all bases since your last
|
|
visit. Once read, the flags are
|
|
turned off. This makes it especially
|
|
nice for the long distance caller
|
|
saving him time looking through old
|
|
messages to find the new ones.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Downloading from an OASIS is simple
|
|
and you can do it in a number of ways
|
|
depending upon how the BBS is set up.
|
|
You can set up two separate menus if
|
|
you wish to keep the confusion down.
|
|
The 8-bit files can be selected from
|
|
one menu and the 16-bit files
|
|
selected from yet another menu. The
|
|
menus can be designed from a DOS copy
|
|
from screen command, or from a word
|
|
processor such as TEXTPRO (if you
|
|
tend to make typing errors like I
|
|
do).
|
|
|
|
As in the data bases, the files menus
|
|
(FDIRECM for the 8-bit & SDIRECM for
|
|
the 16-bit) have a support file that
|
|
will tell the bbs what to look for
|
|
when an option from the menu is
|
|
selected. This is especially nice
|
|
even if you do not use subdirectories
|
|
for file storage. Simple DOS
|
|
parameters are used to search for
|
|
files.
|
|
|
|
You as a Sysop have the option to
|
|
create a more descriptive extension
|
|
label for each file. You will notice
|
|
on an OASIS system that when you are
|
|
looking at files from one of the
|
|
menues that you actually have more
|
|
than just a filename to help you in
|
|
identifying the type and language of
|
|
the file. The Oasis as part of its
|
|
bootup reads a file (EXT.RES) into
|
|
memory to use to label the files
|
|
depending on the first two digits of
|
|
the file extension. That way when you
|
|
see a file like RAMBUGII.OBJ you may
|
|
actually see RAMBUGII OBJECT GAME or
|
|
RAMBUGII ARC GAME to let you know you
|
|
need to UNarc it and so on.
|
|
|
|
The primary download area would be
|
|
the [F]iles area itself. A screen of
|
|
files is viewed and if you desire to
|
|
download one you press [D] then the
|
|
corresponding number to the left of
|
|
the filename. You may also download
|
|
from a DATA BASE if the Sysop desires
|
|
to set it up as such. Last but not
|
|
least you may download from a message
|
|
base or E-mail! (When I first saw
|
|
that one I had to sit back and think
|
|
a minute.) There isn't any BBS in the
|
|
country that ever did that! (That I
|
|
know of.) If a SYSOP had done some
|
|
personal type work for someone he
|
|
could leave the file out there and
|
|
just leave a message to the person it
|
|
is intended and he would be the only
|
|
one that had access to it. Also it
|
|
makes it super nice for a person to
|
|
check at a glance (-*-new messages)
|
|
to see if there has been a program
|
|
added to the system without searching
|
|
for it the -old fashioned way-
|
|
through say 10-20-30 meg of storage.
|
|
The Sysop can also explain the
|
|
program or even give a brief review
|
|
of it and give UPLOAD CREDIT because
|
|
it is in a message. The user simply
|
|
presses -Q- if he wishes to download
|
|
it and like in all the transfers you
|
|
are prompted as to the type of
|
|
protocol you wish to use. As of this
|
|
writing you have the option to use
|
|
XMODEM, XMODEM-CRC,
|
|
YMODEM & TEXT.
|
|
As most of you know, (providing you
|
|
have a good data line) YMODEM will
|
|
transfer data faster because it is
|
|
sending 8 times the data in one
|
|
block. As long as you don't have any
|
|
retries on the data transfer you save
|
|
checking the checksum 7 times. The
|
|
only problem with YMODEM transfers is
|
|
that there are few terminal programs
|
|
for the 8-bit that support it. That
|
|
brings us to yet another facet of the
|
|
OASIS BBS.
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A built in terminal program. I know,
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you are all saying -That's no big
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deal, any decent BBS has one of
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those!-. Okay, maybe they do, but it
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|
is just another plus. It sure makes
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it handy for the guy that is running
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the BBS from his four floppy drives
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and dreads the thought of having to
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reboot the system.
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If you are still pondering running a
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BBS on your trusty 8-bit or if you
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have been running an 8-bit BBS on
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|
anything other than an OASIS I would
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|
advise you to get one right away.
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|
Besides, someday if you are going to
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buy an ST you wouldn't want to tie it
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up with running a BBS all the time,
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|
keeping you from what you like best!
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For your copy of the Oasis call:
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HELP BBS (Leo Newman)
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300/1200
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Wichita, Kansas
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316-683-7514
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A Zmagazine system!
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Or mail a money order for $15.00 to:
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Leo Newman
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3900 N. Woodlawn #17 CC
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Wichita, Ks. 67220
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=====================================
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ZMAGAZINE
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JUNE 1, 1987 Issue 54
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(c)1987 Ron Kovacs/Syndicate Services
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Please contribute!!!
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=====================================
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