805 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
805 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
_____________________________________
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ZMAGAZINE Atari News and Information
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_____________________________________
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Issue #61 July 10, 1987
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_____________________________________
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Zmagazine is a weekly publication
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containing news and information about
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Atari computers. We also highlight
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news about other computers which we
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feel is of interest to our readers.
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Information contained in this text
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is copyright by the authors.
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Zmag is a free publication, no fees,
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no advertising dollars are accepted,
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and any information reproduced from
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this publication, unless otherwise
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noted, can be duplicated as long as
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the following appears at the top of
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each article. Reprinted from Zmag.
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and include the issue number.
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All issues are available on your
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local BBS system. If your favorite
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BBS doesn't carry Zmag, Leave the
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SysOp a note or call either of the
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following systems for more
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information:
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ZMAGAZINE INFORMATION NETWORK
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300/1200 Baud (201) 968-8148
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THE GATEWAY ST BBS
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300/1200 Baud (609) 931-3014
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG INDEX 61
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_____________________________________
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<*> ZMAG User Group of the Month
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...Ol' Hackers User Group...
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<*> ZMAG Newswire
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...Broderbund...
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...House Passes Bill...
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<*> ZMAG Hardware Review
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...The Spider (tm)...
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<*> Turbo Basic Compiler Dox
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<*> ST Magazine Information
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_____________________________________
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Xx Zmag User Group Of the Month JULY
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.....Ol' Hackers User Group.....
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_____________________________________
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A -BIT- OF HACKER HISTORY
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By Alex Pignato
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It started innocently enough. I read
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a message on a B.B.S. from another
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-poor soul- (Kevin Blaes) who was
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pleading for help so that he could
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upload and download with his 835
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Atari modem. It had taken me six
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months to get a program to do this
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with my 1030 Atari modem, so I felt I
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understood his frustration. I told
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him to send me a disk with programs
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on it and I sent back the program he
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wanted and other public domain
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programs. The exchange of disks
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between us continued at a rapid pace,
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each of us trying to outdo the other.
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Somewhere within the next 1-1/2 years
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I kept addressing Kevin as -The Young
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Hacker,- and signed notes as -The Old
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Hacker.- He responded in kind. We
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also spoke on the phone frequently
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and in short order a friendship
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evolved.
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During this time, I was conversing
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with Jerry Ginsberg, an acquaintance,
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and found that he had an Atari, too;
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but no one in his family was using
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it. I told him about this -game-
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machine's ability to do countless
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other things. He got hooked, too,
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almost as deeply as me. His wife and
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children got into it to the point
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where they actually had to set up a
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schedule!
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When the Long Island Coliseum had a
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Computer Electronics Show, Kevin
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suggested we meet there in person. I
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brought Jerry with me and the three
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of us spent a great afternoon at the
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show. When we saw all that there was
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to see, we decided to have a chat
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over a cup of coffee. An hour later,
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finding it very hard to break up,
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Jerry suggested that we all meet
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again at his home in a couple of
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weeks.
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When we next met, we each brought
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Atari friends; and, suddenly, there
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were about eight men in our group. It
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was suggested that we start a user's
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group and so -THE OL' HACKERS ATARI
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USERS GROUP- was born in December,
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1985. I was voted in as president,
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Kevin as vice president and Jerry was
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made corresponding secretary. When
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Jerry's house got too small, we moved
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over to Tom Carroll's house and took
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over his top floor. Tom, who is self-
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employed in the electronic recording
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field, has a studio with at least
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three Atari 800's (all modified), an
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I.B.M., and I don't know how many
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VCR's. We met once a month on a
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Saturday afternoon from 12 to 5 p.m.
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and had a ball at our informal
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meetings exchanging knowledge and
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data.
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When the group again got too large,
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we looked for new quarters; and,
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thanks to Jerry, we got permission to
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use our present meeting rooms at the
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Plainview Public Library at 999 Old
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Country Road, Plainview, New York.
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Interestingly enough, up until
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recently, the library was run on
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Atari 800's, so our group was made
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very welcome by the library.
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Our aims are similar to other Atari
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users groups. We exchange knowledge
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and information with each other and
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with about thirty other users clubs
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throughout the U.S.A., Canada and
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Europe. We have a few members who
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have technical knowledge and who are
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constantly looking for making
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modifications to the hardware. We
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also have members who are
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professional programmers for various
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banks as well as many amateur
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programmers. The members are all
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adults and are a cross-section of the
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community; there are blue and white
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color workers as well as many
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professionals. The club brings
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together people from all walks of
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life in a common interest and the
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results are very warm friendships and
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the growing enjoyment of our
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computers.
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The nicest comment we hear is that
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the members can't wait for the next
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meeting. And when we're at the
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meeting, we don't like to leave the
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library even after the meeting's end
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at 5 p.m.
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Meetings generally start at 12 noon
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and the first hour is spent in
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socializing and setting up the
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equipment (which many members
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contribute for the day). After we
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have an hour's business meeting, we
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break for coffee and cake and have a
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raffle contest. Then we break up into
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smaller groups for demo's and classes
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until 5 p.m. or until we are thrown
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out of the library!
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The club owns its own B.B.S. called
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-THE OL' HACKERS- (what else?) which
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runs off an Atari 130 XE, a 10 meg.
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hard drive, MIO, and we are using the
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Express B.B.S. program by Keith
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Ledbetter. It runs 24 hours per day,
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seven days a week through the
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courtesy of Sysop Kevin Blaes (our
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hard-working V.P.) and is quartered
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in his Lindenhurst home. We also have
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a network of about nine other
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B.B.S.'s run by our members.
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Of course, we also have the -OL'
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HACKERS NEWSLETTER- which comes out
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monthly and is exchanged with almost
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thirty other users groups around the
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world. Yearly dues are $25, or $2 per
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month if you join after January.
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There are many members who work very
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hard for the Club whose names I have
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not mentioned for fear that this
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report would become six pages long!
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But, we know who they are and we are
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very grateful to them. We are proud
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of our Club and what we have
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accomplished in a relatively short
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span of time. We are also proud to be
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picked as the -Zmagazine User Group
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of The Month. We also would like to
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thank Zmagazine for allowing The Ol'
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Hackers BBS, to become an official
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ZMagazine carrier.
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Listed below are those BBS's that are
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members of The Ol' Hackers BBS
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NETWORK
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1 *The Ol' Hackers BBS 300/1200 Baud
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Express BBS 516-884-4140
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2 *CLEARING HOUSE 300/1200 Baud
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Express BBS 516-483-7845
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3 *WISE BYTE 300/1200 Baud
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Express BBS 516-349-7835
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4 *GRAVEYARD 300/1200 Baud
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Express BBS 516-783-7034
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5 *BANDITS HIDEOUT 300/1200/2400 Baud
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Express BBS 516-643-4963
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6 *MISTER MESSAGE 300/1200 Baud
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Express BBS 516-454-7698
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7 WET N' WILD 300/1200/2400 Baud
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Southn/AMIS 516-421-4161
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8 S.OF THE BORDER 300/1200/2400 Baud
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Southn/AMIS 516-421-5489
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9 *NASSAU COUNTY BBS 300/1200 Baud
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Express BBS 516-565-3932
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10*Traffic BBS 300/1200 Baud
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Express BBS 516-737-6179
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11*ASGARD BBS 300/1200 Baud
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PKAMIS 516-422-5363
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE
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_____________________________________
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BRODERBUND UNVEILS DATA MANAGER
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Broderbund Software Inc. has
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introduced a RAM-resident data
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manager for the IBM PC and compatible
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computers.
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The program, called MemoryMate,
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allows users to write, save and
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retrieve notes, addresses and lists
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without paying attention to filing
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systems. While the information is
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being saved, MemoryMate indexes every
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word, phrase and number. When its
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time for the data to be retrieved,
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instead of entering a filename, the
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user simply types any word or
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combination of words contained in the
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data.
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MemoryMate, which is available
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immediately, costs $69.95. However, a
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trial version is also available from
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Broderbund for $5.95. If after using
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the trial version the buyer wishes to
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upgrade to the full-featured version,
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the company will rebate the price of
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the demo disk.
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For more information on the trial
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version, contact:
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Broderbund Software-Direct
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P.O. Box 12947
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San Rafael, Calif. 94913-2947.
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ANOTHER COMPUTER DISTRIBUTOR ENTERS
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BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS
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In the Minneapolis area, a third
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personal computer retailer has filed
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for Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy
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Act. It is Top Tech, a two-year-old
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business made up of six stores that
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had been franchisees of a Denver
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-based business called Team Central.
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Top Tech President David Naas told
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The Associated Press he expects to
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continue operating pending a court
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review of the bankruptcy petition and
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preparation of a plan to satisfy
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creditors.
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He added that a number of factors led
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to the bankruptcy, including -a
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downturn in the consumer electronics
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business, a slackening of demand.-
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The wire service notes that also in
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the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Schaak
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Electronics, once the region's
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largest consumer electronics
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retailer, went bankrupt in 1985 and
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was liquidated amid problems in its
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personal computer business and
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allegations of management
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malfeasance.
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Meanwhile, as reported here earlier,
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Computer Depot is being liquidated
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after what the wire service terms -a
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several-year growth spurt that was
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wiped out by excessive inventories
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and curtailed demand.-
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_____________________________________
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Xx HOUSE BILL PASSES
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_____________________________________
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House Passes Bill To Take Security
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Control From NSA Online information
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providers are delighted that the
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House of Representatives has passed a
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bill that puts control of government
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computer security in civilian rather
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than military hands.
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-There's also a provision at the end
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of the bill which makes clear that
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nothing in the statute provides the
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government with any authority to
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monitor or restrict private sector
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unclassified information,- said Ken
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Allen, senior vice president of
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government relations at the
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Information Industry Association in
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Washington.
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HR 145, the Computer Security Act of
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1987, passed the house by unanimous
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voice vote on June 22. Later that
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week, the Senate was ushering its
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version of the bill, sponsored by
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Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont,
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through committees on the way to the
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vote.
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-We've made great strides,- Allen
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said, -Last year the bill died in the
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House.-
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Under the bill, the civilian National
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Bureau of Standards would develop
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standards to assure security and
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privacy of sensitive data, and would
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require mandatory training for all
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persons managing or using federal
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computer systems containing sensitive
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data.
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The legislation was proposed in part
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to head off Department of Defense
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suggestions that the National
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Security Agency be put in charge of
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all of the security of sensitive data
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in federal computers. The National
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Security Agency will not be in charge
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of security under the legislation,
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but will consult with the National
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Bureau Of Standards in an advisory
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capacity.
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A Presidential directive enacted in
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1985 had led to visits last fall by
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the FBI, CIA and NSA to some of the
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on-line database providers. Those
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visits in part led to the removal of
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some sensitive but unclassified
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on-line data from one service.
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-We hope this legislation will stop
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the visits, but if the NSA asserts
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their other statutes out there, they
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may resurface,- Allen said. -We
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haven't heard of any visits since
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this whole thing went public.-
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BRODERBUND SETTLES SUIT
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Broderbund Software and Pixellite
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Software recently announced an out-
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of-court settlement on their
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copyright suit against Kyocera
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Unison.
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Under the terms of the settlement,
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Kyocera Unison of Berkley California,
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will pay an undisclosed sum to
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Broderbund of San Rafael California,
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and Pixellite, also of Berkley, and
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has permanently agreed to remove its
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Printmaster graphics program from the
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market. In return, Broderbund and
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Pixellite have agreed to drop pending
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claims against Kyocera Unison.
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In October 1986 a federal district
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judge in San Francisco ruled that the
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-look and feel- of Printmaster's user
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interface violated the software
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copyright on Broderbund and
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Pixellite's Print Shop program, a
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decision that has been relied upon in
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other software copyright cases.
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In December, the court ordered
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Kyocera Unison to stop selling
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Printmaster. Since then, the company
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has released Printmaster Plus, a
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version of the program that both
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sides agree has been significantly
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altered to avoid infringing
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Broderbund and Pixellite's copyright.
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_____________________________________
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Xx ZMAG HARDWARE REVIEW
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.... The Spider (tm)....
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_____________________________________
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General description:
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The Spider (tm) is the name of a
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series of intelligent serial
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interfaces. These devices contain
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four or eight RS232 compatible serial
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ports, 8K, 64K or 256K of memory, and
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their own processor and operating
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system, programmable from a computer
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attached to one of the ports.
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Uses for the Spider range from
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operating a multiline BBS from one
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serial port of a computer to sharing
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printers and other serial devices
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among several computers. Simple
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networking schemes between computers
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can also be set up using a Spider.
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Basically, the Spider is a device
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based on a 65C02 and has four or
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eight RS232 ports under direct
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control of that processor. The
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controlling computer connects to port
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0 and other devices are connected to
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the remaining ports. A program
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running in the controlling computer
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can control the activity among all
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ports by command. A program running
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in the Spider, uploaded to it by
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command from the controlling
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computer, can also control the
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activity among the ports. Various
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combinations where some of the
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programming is done on the
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controlling computer and some is
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uploaded to run on the Spider is also
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possible.
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Programming the Spider:
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Since the Spider does have its own
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processor (the 65C02) and memory (8K,
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64K, 256K or 1 meg) it was programmed
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to allow software to be added to it
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by uploading from the controlling
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computer. This software is sent to
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areas of memory determined by the
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uploading command and may be in the
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form of additional commands or as
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stand-alone programs.
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The Spider is a computer, with the
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CPU, RAM, ROM and I/O ports. A memory
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map and instructions for programming
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are available. Some instruction,
|
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adequate for most general
|
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applications, is included in the user
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manual supplied with the Spider. For
|
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more specific applications and for
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programmers intending to create
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packages to market, there is also a
|
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developer's kit available, which
|
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contains much more detailed
|
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information about how to program the
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Spider.
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Currently, all programming intended
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for upload to the Spider must be
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written in 65C02 machine language.
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However, there are a few people
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working on various interpreters for
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the Spider. When these interpreters
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are complete it will be possible to
|
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upload the interpreter to the Spider,
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then program the Spider directly
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using a terminal emulator on the
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controlling computer system. The
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finished program can then be sent
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back to the controlling computer so
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that it can be stored on disk.
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Position the Spider uploading
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commands into the proper places in
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the program and the file on the
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controlling computer's disk becomes
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an application that can be simply
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sent to the Spider directly by a user
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from any computer used as the
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controlling computer system.
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How to order a Spider:
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The Spider (tm) may be ordered
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directly from Nite Lite Systems.
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Only prepaid orders are being
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accepted for this device. Send a
|
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check or money order for the exact
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amount of the configuration you
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request, including the 5% Mass. sales
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tax if you are ordering from a
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Massachusetts address, plus $5.00 for
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shipping and handling to:
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Nite Lite Systems
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P.O. Box R
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Billerica, MA 01821
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Different versions of the Spider will
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become available over the next few
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months. Currently, the four-port
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Spider and the developer's kit (a
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four-port Spider and developer's
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documentation, plus access to more
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help on-line) are available. Allow
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2-4 weeks for delivery. Pricing for
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these units are as follows:
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4-port Spider $209.95
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Developer's kit $314.95
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Any questions concerning this product
|
|
can be directed to the SysOp either
|
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in any message base on this BBS or in
|
|
a logoff comment. If you wish to be
|
|
contacted by telephone, leave your
|
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name and telephone number in a logoff
|
|
comment along with other information
|
|
required to return your call. If you
|
|
want your name added to our mailing
|
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list, leave a logoff comment
|
|
requesting that and include your name
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and address with zip code.
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|
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Dealer and distributor inquiries are
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|
invited.
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_____________________________________
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Xx TURBO BASIC COMPILER DOCUMENTATION
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_____________________________________
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The Turbo Basic Compiler can be used
|
|
to compile programs in both Turbo
|
|
Basic and regular Atari Basic. Doing
|
|
so will yield a sometimes startling
|
|
(and sometimes not so startling)
|
|
increase in speed. Like Turbo Basic
|
|
itself, the compiler (and compiled
|
|
programs) can only be run on an
|
|
XL/XE. Also like TB, it is NOT
|
|
compatible with Spartados.
|
|
|
|
REQUIRED!
|
|
|
|
You need 2 files to use the compiler.
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|
Both are in the Utilities section of
|
|
CompuServes' Atari8 SIG or on your
|
|
local BBS system.
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|
|
|
COMPIL.OBJ is the actual compiler
|
|
(and a BIG thanks to Warren Lieuallen
|
|
for the translation job!!!)
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|
|
RNTIME.OBJ is the companion 'runtime'
|
|
package.
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|
|
|
COMPILING PROGRAMS
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|
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Load COMPIL.OBJ from the DOS menu,
|
|
with an <L> binary load command. On
|
|
the first screen, type the number of
|
|
the drive containing your target
|
|
program. (I usually have that on D8
|
|
for speed.) You'll then see a
|
|
directory of the files on that disk.
|
|
Use your cursor keys to highlight the
|
|
'target' file, then hit RETURN.
|
|
|
|
As the compilation proceeds, you'll
|
|
see the line numbers at the top of
|
|
the screen. If no errors occur (see
|
|
below), the program will then ask you
|
|
for a filename for the new compiled
|
|
program. An extender of .CTB (for
|
|
Compiled Turbo Basic) is mandatory
|
|
(see AUTORUN.CTB, below), as is a
|
|
SAVE to D1:. Put the disk that'll
|
|
hold your program in D1, type the
|
|
name, then Hit RETURN. That's all
|
|
there is to it!
|
|
|
|
COMPILE ERRORS
|
|
|
|
Like most Atari compilers, this one
|
|
can be fussy. It will NOT compile an
|
|
END statement (odd, huh?) Use STOP
|
|
instead. It will also balk at
|
|
compiling a FOR that has more than
|
|
one NEXT attached, like so:
|
|
|
|
10 FOR X=1 TO 12:GET #1,BYTE
|
|
20 IF BYTE<32 THEN NEXT X
|
|
30 ? CHR$(BYTE)
|
|
40 NEXT X
|
|
|
|
If you get an error message, you'll
|
|
need to go back to your original
|
|
Basic program and try to fix the
|
|
offending code. In the above example,
|
|
you would change line 20 to:
|
|
|
|
20 IF BYTE<32 THEN 40
|
|
|
|
RUNNING PROGRAMS
|
|
|
|
Your new .CTB program is <NOT> true
|
|
machine language; it's 'pseudo code'.
|
|
THAT means you must have a 'runtime'
|
|
program to handle the final
|
|
translation. This is RNTIME.OBJ.
|
|
Compiled programs won't run without
|
|
it. You can use it in either of 2
|
|
ways.
|
|
|
|
FROM DOS: Use the <L> command to
|
|
LOAD RNTIME.OBJ
|
|
|
|
FROM DISK: Copy RNTIME.OBJ to a disk
|
|
containing DOS files and rename it
|
|
AUTORUN.SYS, which allows it to boot
|
|
automatically.
|
|
|
|
AUTORUN.CTB
|
|
|
|
RNTIME has an 'autorun' feature. When
|
|
it runs, it will look for
|
|
'AUTORUN.CTB' on D1. If found, this
|
|
file will automatically load and run.
|
|
If NOT found, an error message will
|
|
be displayed (FEHLER 9), along with a
|
|
short menu. [Dos Run <again> Load].
|
|
At this prompt, press L, then type in
|
|
the name of your compiled program.
|
|
|
|
So, to construct a complete 'boot'
|
|
disk, you should have on the same
|
|
disk:
|
|
|
|
Dos files (DOS.SYS, DUP.SYS)
|
|
|
|
AUTORUN.SYS (RNTIME.OBJ)
|
|
|
|
AUTORUN.CTB (compiled program)
|
|
|
|
Hint: here's the TB '1 liner' that I
|
|
use (compiled) as AUTORUN.CTB on my
|
|
'compiled programs' disk.
|
|
|
|
10 CLS:DIR -D1:*.CTB-:STOP
|
|
|
|
>>don lebow 70717,720
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx ST MAGAZINE DETAILS
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
The FaSTer Disk Magazine
|
|
|
|
What is the FaSTer Disk Magazine?
|
|
It's a new concept in magazine
|
|
publishing for the Atari ST that we
|
|
have developed over the last year and
|
|
half and that has resulted in
|
|
considerable enthusiasm among our
|
|
subscribers and readers.
|
|
|
|
The first thing people noticed when
|
|
they first purchased their ST
|
|
computers was the lack of a
|
|
convenient programming language which
|
|
would allow program listings and
|
|
examples to be exchanged easily via
|
|
the printed pages of a regular
|
|
magazine. The solution we came up
|
|
with was to create a -virtual-
|
|
magazine which would contain all the
|
|
enjoyment of the articles, reviews,
|
|
illustrations, tutorials, with ready
|
|
to run programs and source listings.
|
|
|
|
We also elected to maintain full
|
|
compatibility with all the existing
|
|
Atari ST configurations, to include
|
|
as much information within the
|
|
limited space available on a single
|
|
disk and for a more than reasonable
|
|
price. (We have even tested our disks
|
|
on a pre-release version of the
|
|
BLITTER chip and it ran beautifully!)
|
|
|
|
It wasn't easy, and we have
|
|
encountered obstacles along the way
|
|
since this endeavour is more akin to
|
|
producing a commercial program every
|
|
second month than to producing a
|
|
magazine. We have also polished the
|
|
interface so much that other Atari
|
|
magazines have begun seeing us as
|
|
somewhat of a threat to them since
|
|
they usually also produce a disk
|
|
version, but it never has the high
|
|
quality GEM interface we supply for
|
|
the same retail price. We do not
|
|
-sell- you any advertising in the
|
|
cost of the disk, so you get more
|
|
-real- information for your money.
|
|
Our reviews are no-nonsense and
|
|
unbiased, our tutorials are
|
|
authoritative, our programs are of a
|
|
high quality, our interface is the
|
|
cleanest and the easiest to use in
|
|
town, and we include contributions
|
|
from all over the world in every
|
|
issue.
|
|
|
|
How to reach us!!
|
|
|
|
For any information, subscriptions to
|
|
the magazine, inquiries or
|
|
submissions, our mailing address is:
|
|
|
|
FaSTer Disk Magazine
|
|
P.O. Box 474
|
|
Boucherville, Quebec Canada
|
|
J4B 6Y2
|
|
|
|
BBS: Line 1 --> (514)-489-0680
|
|
(9600 baud)
|
|
|
|
Line 2 --> (514)-489-3489
|
|
(2400 baud)
|
|
|
|
Line 3 --> (514)-489-3490
|
|
(2400 baud) (coming soon)
|
|
|
|
This article will be published in
|
|
full in the July 18th edition of
|
|
the ST-Report.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Xx Zmag Update
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Zmag can now be found on the MACH BBS
|
|
in Maine.
|
|
|
|
Number is: (207) 784-0631
|
|
|
|
More details next week.
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
Zmag Issue #61 July 10, 1987
|
|
|
|
Publisher/Editor : Ron Kovacs
|
|
Assistant Publishers: Ken Kirchner
|
|
Susan Perry
|
|
_____________________________________
|
|
(c)1987 Ron Kovacs
|