944 lines
30 KiB
Plaintext
944 lines
30 KiB
Plaintext
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|//SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE Issue #100//|
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|//================================//|
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|//Publisher/Editor| April 4, 1988 //|
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|// Ron Kovacs | Vol 3, No. 1 //|
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|//================|===============//|
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|//Asst Publisher |Managing Editor//|
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|// Ken Kirchner | Mr. Goodprobe //|
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|//================================//|
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|////////////////////////////////////|
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|////////////////////////////////////|
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|____________________________________|
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|SPC |
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|Post Office Box 74 |
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|Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074 |
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|____________________________________|
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|BBS #1: Syndicate (201) 968-8148 |
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|BBS #2: Stairway (216) 784-0574 |
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|____________________________________|
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|Contents |
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|____________________________________|
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|*|Editors Desk |
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|*|Communicating With Turbo Basic |
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|*|XEP80 Review (Yes Another One) |
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|*|Carina Update |
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|*|Commentary on Atari |
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|*|SPC Newswire |
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|_|__________________________________|
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______________________________________
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Editors Desk
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______________________________________
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by Ron Kovacs
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We are into the 4th month of 1988 and
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time seems to be flying past faster
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then ever. There never seems to be
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enough time to do anything!!
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Spring is here, Baseball season begins
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today and I am hoping the Mets go for
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it all in 1988!
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We have reached our first milestone
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with this weeks issue. Close to our
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second year and 100 issues later. I
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hope we have improved our style since
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our debut in May 1986. After doing
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this weekly for two years, one would
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think this would have to stop, well
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to comfort the many thinking we are
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going to quit, Forget it! We are
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going to cover the 8 bit till there
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are 3 users left! (Lets just hope I
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dont have to eat my words next month)
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In other news this week, CompuServe's
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SIG*Atari and given Zmag it's own
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Data Library. In this new area, you
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will find reprints of past articles,
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past issues, utilities, and other
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items of interest. We encourage the
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User Group Editors out there to
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download the articles and use in your
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local newsletters! Many thanks to
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Ron Luks and Mike Schoenbach for their
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assistance!
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We are currently discussing plans for
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a Zmag contest, good prizes are being
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located and details will be released
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in about 2 weeks. Stay Tuned!!!!
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______________________________________
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Communicating with Turbo-Basic XL
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______________________________________
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by Art Horan
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When I heard that people were having
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trouble getting an R: handler to work
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with Turbo-Basic XL, I figured,
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-What's the problem? R: handlers are
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relocatable so it should be easy
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getting one to work with Turbo.- Well,
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I eventually did manage to get the
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handler installed and working, and the
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solution did turn out to be simple,
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but not so easy.
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First, I thought, why not just tack
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the handler onto the end of the Turbo-
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Basic XL binary load file using the
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DOS copy-with-append function? But I
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rejected that notion, figuring that
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Turbo-Basic would not return control
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to the DOS binary load routine. (Later
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I tried this and found that not only
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doesn't the handler load, but Turbo-
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Basic wouldn't run either and I wound
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up back at the DOS menu.)
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Okay, the R: handler doesn't need to
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load _chronologically_ after Turbo,
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only after it in memory. The handler
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always tries to load in at the lowest
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unused memory location, and Turbo-
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Basic XL also loads into low memory,
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so we have to find a way to keep them
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from using the same memory area. The
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OS has a variable called MEMLO which
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keeps track of the lowest free byte in
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memory. MEMLO is at memory location
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743. If we PRINT DPEEK(743) from
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Turbo-Basic, we get a value of 13865,
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which translates to $3629 hex. So, I
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thought, let's create a binary header
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to load 2 bytes into MEMLO, and the 2
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bytes will be $29 and $36 - the low-
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byte, high-byte way of expressing the
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value $3629. Next append RS232.SYS to
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this, and we'll have a new handler
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which will install itself above Turbo-
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Basic's memory area. Now, I thought,
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we can load Turbo from DOS, or append
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it to the altered RS232.SYS and rename
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the whole thing to AUTORUN. Well, it
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seemed like a good idea, so I tried
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it. And the system crashed. Although I
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did hear the whine of the handler
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downloading just before the system
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locked.
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Turbo-Basic XL has a statement called
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-BRUN-, which will load and run any
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binary file. So why not BRUN
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-D:RS232.SYS-. I tried it. The system
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crashed.
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Ah-hah! I thought. I bet I'm trying to
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load the handler into Turbo-Basic's
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program area. So I did a DPEEK(128),
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which is where we find BASIC's LOMEM
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variable (in both the Atari and Turbo-
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XL versions). This points to the
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beginning of the program area. It read
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$3629. So, I thought let's see what
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happens to LOMEM if I change MEMLO. I
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DPOKEd 743,$5000. LOMEM still read
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$3629. So then I typed NEW. Voila!
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LOMEM now read $5000. The Basic
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program area was now safely out of the
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way. Now, let's put MEMLO back to
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$3629 and BRUN the handler. The system
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didn't crash. I even heard the whine
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of the handler downloading from my P:
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R: Connection, but when I tried to
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open the R: device, the system
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crashed! I was mystified.
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I disassembled RS232.SYS and modified
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it so the first thing it would do is
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change MEMLO to read $3629. Then I
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tried to boot Turbo with the handler.
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The system crashed! So I tried to boot
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this handler with Atari Basic. You
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guessed it - the system crashed! Hmmm,
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why did it crash with Atari Basic? I
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took another look at the disassembled
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RS232.SYS and figured it out. With
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Memlo at $3629 the RS232.SYS code was
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trying to download the handler on top
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of itself - a definite no-no. So I
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changed RS232.SYS to bump MEMLO up to
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$4000, safely above both T-Basic and
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itself. This worked fine with Atari
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Basic, so at least I knew I had solved
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that part. After BASIC loaded with the
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handler, MEMLO was up to $4715. (This
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is with my P:R: Connection, with the
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850, it might be something else.)
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Next came what I thought would be the
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hard part - changing Turbo Basic to
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set the new higher MEMLO. But it was
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very easy. The first 8 bytes of the
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Turbo BASIC file are the 6-byte header
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to load into MEMLO and then a value of
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(surprise) $3629. All you have to do
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is use a disk editor to change the 7th
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and 8th bytes of the file to point to
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the desired new MEMLO ($4715 for my
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P:R:C -- but do it lo-byte, hi-byte of
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course). It worked. So simple, yet so
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elusive.
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We could just quit here with a working
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R: handler, but let's try some other
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things. First let's see if we can BRUN
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the revised handler. Yup, if we reset
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the program area as above, all we have
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to do is -BRUN D:RS232TB.SYS- (which
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is what I named the revised handler).
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It works fine, but for some reason
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doesn't survive Reset. As a matter of
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fact, our earlier procedure with the
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stock RS232.SYS also works if we reset
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the program area and then reset MEMLO
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to $4000 instead of $3629.
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But do we really have to set MEMLO
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that high to get the handler to
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download? Let's try $3900, the next
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memory page after the RS232 download
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code. That works too, and our eventual
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MEMLO with Turbo-Basic is $4015,
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saving almost 2K. Not only that but we
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can create a binary header which loads
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$3900 into MEMLO as I tried to before
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and append the regular RS232.SYS file
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to it. And one last change: let's not
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alter the value that Turbo-Basic loads
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into MEMLO, let's leave that alone and
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instead change the address into which
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the value loads (bytes 3-7 of the
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Turbo-Basic XL file). If we load $3629
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into location 711, all we are changing
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is 2 color registers. We don't need to
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change MEMLO because the handler
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already changed it to $4015 when it
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downloaded. This way we will know by
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the orange border color that we are
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loading the R: version of Turbo-Basic
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XL.
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Here is a short program in Turbo-Basic
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XL which you can use to produce an R:
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version of Turbo which will use the
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filename RTBASIC.COM:
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100 DATA 255,255,231,2,232,2,0,57
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110 DATA 199,2,200,2
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120 DIM RTB$(24000),PATCH$(4)
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130 ? CHR$(125);- RTBASIC.COM CREATOR by Art Horan -:?
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140 ? -THIS PROGRAM CREATES AN R: VERSION OF TURBO-BASIC XL.-:?
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150 FOR I=1 TO 8:READ A:RTB$(I,I)=CHR$(A):NEXT I
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160 FOR I=1 TO 4:READ A:PATCH$(I,I)=CHR$(A):NEXT I
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170 PRINT -INSERT DISK WITH RS232.SYS IN DRIVE 1 AND PRESS A KEY-:GET A
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180 TRAP 200:CLOSE #1:OPEN #1,4,0,-D:RS232.SYS-
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190 BGET #1,ADR(RTB$)+8,1024
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200 CLOSE #1:BYTES=DPEEK(856):IF ERR<>136 THEN ? CHR$(253);-ERROR -;ERR:END
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210 ? :? BYTES;- BYTES IN RS232.SYS READ.-
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220 RTB$(LEN(RTB$)+BYTES+1)=--
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230 ?: ? -INSERT DISK WITH TBASIC.COM IN DRIVE 1AND PRESS A KEY-:GET A
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240 TRAP 260:OPEN #1,4,0,-D:TBASIC.COM-:START=LEN(RTB$)
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250 BGET #1,ADR(RTB$)+START,21000
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260 CLOSE #1:BYTES=DPEEK(856)
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270 IF ERR<>136 THEN ? CHR$(253);-ERROR -;ERR:END
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280 ? :? BYTES;- BYTES IN TBASIC.COM READ.-
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290 RTB$(LEN(RTB$)+BYTES+1)=--
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300 RTB$(START+3,START+7)=PATCH$
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310 ? :? -INSERT DISK IN DRIVE ONE TO RECEIVE RTBASIC.COM AND PRESS A KEY.-:GET A
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320 TRAP 340:OPEN #1,8,0,-D1:RTBASIC.COM-
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330 BPUT #1,ADR(RTB$),LEN(RTB$)
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340 CLOSE #1:IF ERR<>136:? CHR$(253);-ERROR -;ERR:ELSE :? :? -FINISHED!-:ENDIF
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350 END
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______________________________________
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XEP80 Review
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______________________________________
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by John Castravet
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I have waited a long time for the
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release of the XEP80 card for the
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Atari computers. For all of this time
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I kept on feeding on various
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speculative articles that appeared in
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ANALOG Computing and Antic, The Atari
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Resource. All that talk about a built-
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in 16K or 32K of memory, increased
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horizontal resolution that would have
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made the 8 bit GEM a possibility.
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Finally, a few days ago I have
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received mine via UPS. And was I
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disappointed.
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Well, no 32K memory built-in, not even
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16K.
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The horizontal resolution is still
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kept at 320 in graphics mode, while in
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text mode a matrix of 5X9 including
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descenders makes itself barely
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noticeable. That means that text looks
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almost the same as any good public
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domain 80 column simulator software in
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the public domain and on most bulletin
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boards. Well, maybe a little better.
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All this on a monochrome monitor. On a
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color monitor the quality is somewhat
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less, but the difference is not
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dramatic. If the signal is fed into
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the luminance input of a monitor with
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separate luminance and chroma inputs,
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versus the composite NTSC input of a
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color monitor, the quality is a little
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better with the former monitor. But
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still the picture is white on black.
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Oh, yes, or black on white.
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There was a hand written note in the
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package attesting to the fact that
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only software that uses the legal CIO
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vector to the E: and S: devices will
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work with the XEP80. This sounds like
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passing the blame to software authors.
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Of the little software that's left and
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supposed to be working with the XEP80
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(software that does legal screen or
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editor access), most of it will still
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not work, at least properly. Why? Gone
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are all the features that made the
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Atari computer a superior 8 bit
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machine. Features as Display List
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Interrupts, Vertical Blank Interrupts
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and Player/Missile Graphics are all
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gone. They probably went to join the
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SETCOLOR and DRAWTO commands. All
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these are still accessible in the 40
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column mode, but... Also gone is the
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<BELL>, CHR$(253) sound.
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The above mention note also said
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something about having to readjust the
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horizontal hold of the monitor. I had
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to readjust the vertical hold, while
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the horizontal hold just moved the
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picture to the right of the screen to
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bring in the 2 characters that were
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otherwise missing. The display is
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supposed to be 80 columns by 25 lines.
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A simple count revealed that it
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displayed about 74 columns by 23
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lines. Now, this cannot be a problem
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with the monitor itself, since it
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displays the standard Atari video
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output in 40 column by 24 lines with
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ample amount of border around. Even
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when the 25 line from ICD's RTime 8 is
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displayed there is still border left
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on the top and bottom of the picture.
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So the XEP80 is over-scanning.
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Incidentally, forget about the
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familiar time and date display if you
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are using SpartaDos and RTime 8.
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Then there is the built in printer
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interface. I wonder how many Atari
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users out there who own a standard
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printer (parallel Centronics) do not
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have some kind of Atari 850, ICS's P:R
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}
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Connection or some other type of
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printer interface. This feature alone
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will not probably make somebody look
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into the XEP80 more deeply. They might
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as well stuck on the front of the box
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an LCD watch, the type that one is
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used these days on seeing on almost
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everything.
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In conclusion I view the XEP80 more
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like a gimmick. Atari should have
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used the parallel port instead of the
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joystick port, and design it in such a
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way that it keeps up with the
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reputation the Atari computers have
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gained based on their graphics
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capability. It should have also a
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separate chroma/luma output as well as
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the composite NTSC one. Before I build
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some kind of a switching box, I would
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have to do quite a lot of plugging and
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unplugging of video cables.
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It is true, Atari makes great
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computers, but when it comes to
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peripherals you should better look at
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somebody else's product line. Just
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look at the Percom, Indus and Rana
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disk drives, drives that support true
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double density and were available
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before Atari introduced their own
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-double density- 1050 drives. Now they
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came out with the XF-551. Isn't it a
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little too late?
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Luckily for third party developers
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like ICD, OSS and Batteries Included,
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or just simple, regular computer
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hackers, who made possible 256K, 576K
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and even 2Meg available, we have one
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of the most powerful 8 bit machine
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there is. We, Atari users brag about
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our systems everywhere, trying to
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attract new people, while Atari comes
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out with something like the XEP80 or
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even the XE GS (a full fledged 65XE
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computer without the keyboard that
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sells for more). Come on Atari, give
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us a break.
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Let's just hope that the XF-551 drive
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and the SX212 modem are worth their
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while.
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______________________________________
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Carina Update
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______________________________________
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by Ron Kovacs
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In a near future edition, We are
|
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going to take another look at the
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Carina BBS software. Beta test site,
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The Lions Den BBS will be visited and
|
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we will capture and include commentary
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and update information.
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The reason we have choosen to do
|
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another review is because each Carina
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System can be different and highly
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modified.
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The Lions Den BBS, well known in modem
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land, has been helpful in the
|
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development of the Carina Software,
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and another view looks exciting.
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Stay tuned for more information in the
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weeks ahead.
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______________________________________
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Commentary
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______________________________________
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Reprinted from the April issue of the
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CLAUG Newsletter.
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Behind the 8-Bit
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----------------
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by Dirk VandenHeuvel
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This month I will finally tackle the
|
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subject I have been putting off for so
|
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long and tear into Atari for their
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lack of marketing and support. So
|
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without further ado..
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Atari has stabbed all of us Atari
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8-bit owners in the back. From the
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looks of things, Atari's motto should
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be changed from -Power without the
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Price- to -Power without the Support.-
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Atari makes the most powerful home
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computers on the market, both 8-bit
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and 16-bit alike. When it comes to the
|
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hardware, we are in a class by
|
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ourselves. This is what makes their
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lack of support all the more
|
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frustrating. Unlike the Coleco Adam,
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or Timex Sinclair, or a host of other
|
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orphaned and unsupported computers, we
|
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cannot upgrade to a better made and
|
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better supported machine. There is no
|
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machine that is better made, only ones
|
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better supported. So we are forced to
|
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compromise, either stay with your
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superior Atari computer with lousy
|
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support or switch to an inferior
|
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computer with better support.
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It is unfortunate that Atari has put
|
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us in this akward position.
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Unfortunate because with the proper
|
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support and marketing Atari could be
|
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at the top of the heap. There is
|
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simply no real reason for us to have
|
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to switch machines. We already have
|
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the best made machine, we only need
|
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support and marketing for it to simply
|
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be the best. Atari needs to sport a
|
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higher profile and advertise more.
|
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Advertising is needed so that people
|
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who don't know about Atari or Atari
|
|
computers will consider them when
|
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making a purchase.
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In regards to marketing Atari needs to
|
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remember that when it comes to game
|
|
machines Atari needs to compete not
|
|
only with Sega and Nintendo, but also
|
|
with Commodore. And there is much to
|
|
be learned, if Atari is listening,
|
|
from all three of those companies.
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|
For one, look at how Sega and Nintendo
|
|
are operating. They are marketing
|
|
themselves as being on the cutting
|
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edge, both with their hardware and
|
|
their software. They are selling games
|
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that are new and exciting, many fresh
|
|
from the arcades, others quickly
|
|
licensed from the big software
|
|
companies. What does Atari do? It goes
|
|
back and re-releases old programs,
|
|
some over five years old. The art of
|
|
game design has progressed
|
|
considerably in just the last two
|
|
years, to go back to games written
|
|
earlier than that seems a foolish way
|
|
to showcase and sell your machine.
|
|
Furthermore where Sega and Nintendo
|
|
have been quick to develop, release,
|
|
and support hardware for their
|
|
machines Atari has not. Witness the
|
|
multitude of controllers, including
|
|
the light gun and 3-D glasses
|
|
available for those other systems
|
|
contrasted with the meager offerings
|
|
from Atari. The Atari Light Gun should
|
|
have been available seperately, along
|
|
with the Bug Hunt cart, from day one.
|
|
By not doing so Atari turned its back
|
|
on all the loyal Atari owners who
|
|
would have liked to buy one.
|
|
|
|
But, in the area where Atari has an
|
|
edge it has failed to exploit it. This
|
|
is a lesson that Atari would be well
|
|
to learn from Commodore. That lesson
|
|
is that just like the C64, the Atari
|
|
XEGS is not just a game machine, but
|
|
also an advanced computer. This is a
|
|
strength not a weakness, and it should
|
|
be played up, not pushed under the
|
|
rug. Commodore has seen this and their
|
|
ads emphasize not only the games you
|
|
can play on the C64 (more numerous
|
|
than on ANY other system), but also
|
|
all the OTHER things you can do with
|
|
it. I have yet to see a similar Atari
|
|
commercial or ad (if Atari's
|
|
interested I have an idea for just
|
|
such a commercial). But, Atari much
|
|
more than Commodore needs to do
|
|
something. The Commodore is still the
|
|
first machine to get new games
|
|
released for it, and its software base
|
|
is still growing and going strong,
|
|
unlike Atari's which is getting
|
|
smaller. Sega and Nintendo have seen
|
|
this and are playing a good game of
|
|
catch up. Atari should realize that it
|
|
must do the same. By adopting the
|
|
strategy of getting the licenses for
|
|
the best new games and developing
|
|
their own, rather than releasing old
|
|
and often dated ones. Atari should
|
|
then go on to sell their machines like
|
|
Commodore does, as both a game machine
|
|
and computer all wrapped up in one.
|
|
|
|
Atari could take another cue from
|
|
Commodore when it comes to support.
|
|
Commodore has released a large amount
|
|
of hardware for its 8-bit line, from
|
|
their 3 1/2- disk drive for the C64,
|
|
and plug-in RAM expanders, to their
|
|
most recent release, a new 8-bit
|
|
computer, the C128D. The C128D besides
|
|
sporting a built-in disk drive has
|
|
also a built-in 80 column board.
|
|
However, unlike Atari they decided to
|
|
give it 64k of dedicated RAM, whereas
|
|
our vaunted XEP80 has only 8k. And the
|
|
XEP80 costs about a 1/5 of what a
|
|
C128D does. Furthermore unlike the 80
|
|
column display on the Commodore, which
|
|
actually has programs to use it, the
|
|
Atari as of now has no commercial
|
|
programs designed for the XEP80.
|
|
|
|
But, maybe I should have expected this
|
|
from a company that two years ago when
|
|
asked about GEOS, called it an
|
|
interesting novelty. Well, that
|
|
novelty has gone on to found a major
|
|
software company (now planning to
|
|
expand into Apple products, NOT Atari)
|
|
and has breathed new life into the
|
|
Commodore 64. When I asked John Skruch
|
|
two years ago why Atari was not
|
|
developing something like GEOS he
|
|
replied that Atari was waiting for the
|
|
neccesary hardware. They had the
|
|
mouse, but they needed the 80 column
|
|
board and a higher capacity disk
|
|
drive. No matter that GEOS waited for
|
|
neither on the Commodore. But, wait,
|
|
here we are two years later, with the
|
|
80 column board and the new drive and
|
|
we still have no program like GEOS. In
|
|
fact we don't even have an Atari DOS
|
|
that supports the new DD/DS drive to
|
|
its full potential because ADOS is not
|
|
ready yet. Never mind the delay with
|
|
the release of the official version of
|
|
SX-Express for the SX212 modem. Atari
|
|
is obviously doing something wrong.
|
|
|
|
The question is, where is Atari going
|
|
astray. Are we the users not making
|
|
our preferences and our concerns
|
|
known? I don't think so. All one has
|
|
to do is read the messages on GEnie or
|
|
Compuserve or the articles in the User
|
|
Group Newsletters across the country
|
|
and you can see that the 8-bit Atari
|
|
owners feel like they have been left
|
|
out in the cold. Atari for too long
|
|
has depended on us, the users, and the
|
|
nebulous -third party- companies, to
|
|
do their job for them. To do their
|
|
advertising, their selling, and even
|
|
their job of support. Forget the loss
|
|
of the toll-free customer service
|
|
line, that was no big deal, but when
|
|
the Atari authorized service center
|
|
became a thing of ancient mythology
|
|
we've got problems- right here in
|
|
River City.
|
|
|
|
What does Atari need to do? First,
|
|
Atari needs to be advertising their
|
|
products more vigorously. Then they
|
|
need to make sure that those products
|
|
are available- all around the country.
|
|
The average consumer should not have
|
|
to be Ellery Queen to find the nearest
|
|
Atari dealer. Next Atari needs to
|
|
ready and release all the hardware and
|
|
software that has been promised up to
|
|
now. It should then start work on
|
|
releasing the kinds of products we
|
|
Atari owners need and want, both
|
|
hardware and software. Next Atari
|
|
should be getting the licenses to the
|
|
newest and hottest games out now,
|
|
instead of looking through the bargain
|
|
bins for last year's has beens. This
|
|
would also save them money in
|
|
advertising, as these are the games
|
|
that are advertised by their
|
|
publishers anyway. All Atari would
|
|
need to do is let people know that the
|
|
program is available on the Atari as
|
|
well.
|
|
|
|
Atari also needs to be getting on the
|
|
phone with the big software companies
|
|
and letting them know Atari is still
|
|
around. When I talked to Origins about
|
|
Ultima V they told me they wanted to
|
|
release an Atari version, but had no
|
|
inside programmers to spare for the
|
|
project and they were looking for an
|
|
outside programmer to do the port.
|
|
Where is Atari? When I talked to
|
|
Interstel about an Atari version of
|
|
Star Fleet II they said sales had been
|
|
very disappointing on Star Fleet One
|
|
and they were going to pass. But, why
|
|
doesn't Atari offer to port it?
|
|
Finally, when I talked to Microprose
|
|
last year about an Atari version of
|
|
Gunship they complained that most
|
|
Atari owners only had 48k and they
|
|
couldn't do the game in that little
|
|
space. They were going by figures they
|
|
had from some survey over a year old.
|
|
Why didn't Atari set them straight
|
|
with some CURRENT figures? Atari needs
|
|
to be needling, pleading, and cajoling
|
|
these software companies into
|
|
supporting the Atari. They need to do
|
|
more.
|
|
|
|
It's not my job to do for Atari what
|
|
other computer companies do for
|
|
themselves. Atari has the best
|
|
computers around, and in my opinion
|
|
they also have some of the best users.
|
|
Atari has some of the best businessmen
|
|
around running the show, but if they
|
|
want to be the best computer company
|
|
around they need to work harder on
|
|
marketing and supporting their
|
|
products. Only then can the Atari
|
|
computer truly be called the best-
|
|
without qualification.
|
|
|
|
Next month, my last column and a wrap
|
|
up of some of the new PD and
|
|
commercial software out and my long
|
|
awaited review of Quickcode. Have a
|
|
nice month!
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
SPC Newswire
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
SOFTWARE PIRATES FACE NEW SUITS
|
|
===============================
|
|
By Don Clark Chronicle staff writer
|
|
|
|
(reprinted from the San Francisco
|
|
Chronicle)
|
|
|
|
Oakland,Ca-- Top software publishers
|
|
are vowing an agressive new round of
|
|
joint piracy lawsuits against U.S.
|
|
corporations and others that make
|
|
unauthorized copies of programs.
|
|
|
|
A joint anti-piracy campaign,
|
|
announced Sunday, is being pushed and
|
|
largely funded by industry giants
|
|
Microsoft, Lotus Development, Ashton-
|
|
Tate and Word Perfect. It includes a
|
|
litigation fund of undisclosed size
|
|
that will be coordinated by the 320
|
|
member Software Publishers
|
|
Association, which is having an annual
|
|
conference at the Claremont Hotel here
|
|
this week.
|
|
|
|
The SPA says it has already identified
|
|
several offenders. They range from
|
|
mail-o}
|
|
rder firms that have made a
|
|
business of pirating software to
|
|
companies and universities that buy
|
|
one copy of a program and illegally
|
|
make multiple copies for internal use.
|
|
|
|
-I think we've found some good
|
|
targets,- said Ken Wasch, the SPA's
|
|
executive director. -You'll see some
|
|
suits very soon.-
|
|
|
|
The joint effort parallels similar
|
|
actions taken in recent months to
|
|
crack down on foreigh sellers of
|
|
pirate software. The focus on
|
|
copyright issues also coincides with a
|
|
raging controversy triggered by Apple
|
|
Computer Inc., which filed a lawsuit
|
|
on March 17 that accuses Hewlett-
|
|
Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. of
|
|
illegally copying the visual displays
|
|
of Apple's Macintosh computer.
|
|
|
|
Though unauthorized duplication is
|
|
believed to be widespread at large
|
|
U.S. companies, software publishers
|
|
have been reluctant to go after them
|
|
in court. For one thing, those
|
|
companies may be large software
|
|
customers. They also have ample
|
|
resources to fight a lawsuit.
|
|
|
|
That reluctance has ended, Wasch said.
|
|
|
|
One key reason is the phasing out of
|
|
copy protection built into program
|
|
diskettes, due to the widespread
|
|
opposition of software customers.
|
|
Lotus, for example, has announced
|
|
plans to remove the electronic
|
|
protection from a new version of its
|
|
top selling 1-2-3 program being
|
|
released next fall.
|
|
|
|
-Since copy protection has been
|
|
removed, the entire industry is at the
|
|
mercy of an honor system of users,-
|
|
Wasch said.
|
|
|
|
The SPA named Joe Bainton, a New York
|
|
attorney with a reputation for
|
|
agressive litigation, to carry out the
|
|
suits against the pirates. R. Duff
|
|
Thompson, general counsel of the Utah
|
|
based Word Perfect, will serve as
|
|
chairman of the association's
|
|
litigation fund.
|
|
|
|
Major software companies banded
|
|
together once before on domestic
|
|
piracy under the auspices of ADAPSO,
|
|
the computer software and services
|
|
industries association. It also set
|
|
up a litigation fund, but brought only
|
|
one suit in 1985 before focusing
|
|
mainly on educating corporations about
|
|
software piracy laws.
|
|
|
|
In other matters, software industry
|
|
executives said Apple's suit casts a
|
|
cloud over future development of
|
|
software based on Microsoft's Windows
|
|
program for IBM-compatible computers.
|
|
Phillipe Kahn, chief executive of
|
|
Scotts Valley based Borland
|
|
International, was roundly applauded
|
|
for proposing that the SPA set up an
|
|
arbitration system so that copyright
|
|
disputes between companies are not
|
|
settled by judges and juries.
|
|
|
|
-Apple's telling us Microsoft Windows
|
|
has AIDS,' Borland said. -We're
|
|
anxiously waiting to hear that the
|
|
tests come back negative.-
|
|
|
|
SPA TO SETTLE SUIT
|
|
==================
|
|
Online Today reported this week that
|
|
Apple Computer's recent -look-and-
|
|
feel- lawsuit should be settled, not
|
|
in the courts, but by the Software
|
|
Publishers Association, Borland
|
|
International founder/President
|
|
Phillipe Kahn said in his keynote
|
|
address at the SPA's spring symposium
|
|
here.
|
|
|
|
MICROSOFT SAYS APPLE COMPUTER'S
|
|
COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT HAS NO MERIT
|
|
===============================
|
|
REDMOND, Wash. (MARCH 21) BIZWIRE -
|
|
Thursday, Apple Computer filed suit
|
|
against Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft
|
|
Corp. for alleged copyright
|
|
infringement.
|
|
|
|
As to Microsoft, the complaint alleges
|
|
that the visual displays of Microsoft
|
|
Windows 2.03 violate Apple copyrights.
|
|
|
|
After careful review of the complaint
|
|
and a 1985 license agreement between
|
|
Apple and Microsoft, Microsoft is
|
|
convinced that the case has no merit.
|
|
|
|
Microsoft has not exceeded the license
|
|
agreement, nor has it infringed any
|
|
Apple copyrights or patents.
|
|
Specifically, no visual displays in
|
|
Microsoft Windows 2.03 exceed the 1985
|
|
agreement.
|
|
|
|
William H. Neukom, vice president of
|
|
law and corporate affairs, said ''We
|
|
are puzzled that Apple has brought
|
|
this suit in light of the 1985 license
|
|
agreement between us.
|
|
|
|
''That agreement covers visual
|
|
displays, and we are in full
|
|
compliance with that agreement. We
|
|
have not infringed any copyright or
|
|
patent held by Apple.''
|
|
|
|
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT)
|
|
develops, markets and supports a wide
|
|
range of software for business and
|
|
professional use, including operating
|
|
systems language, and application
|
|
programs, as well as books and
|
|
hardware for the microcomputer
|
|
marketplace.
|
|
|
|
APPLE COMPUTER CO-FOUNDER STEVE JOBS
|
|
DODGES QUESTIONS ON NEW COMPUTER
|
|
====================================
|
|
BERKELEY, Calif. (MARCH 29) UPI -
|
|
Steve Jobs, the mercurial entrepreneur
|
|
who co-founded Apple Computer Inc.,
|
|
dodged questions Tuesday about a new
|
|
computer he has promised to deliver to
|
|
the market in early 1988.
|
|
|
|
''I wish I could tell you about our
|
|
product today,'' Jobs told an annual
|
|
meeting of the Software Publishers
|
|
Association in Berkeley. ''I cannot,''
|
|
Jobs said, telling an audience of
|
|
approximately 200 that he will
|
|
introduce what is expected to be a
|
|
computer workstation for use in
|
|
colleges ''when it's ready''.
|
|
|
|
Jobs, who has founded a new company
|
|
called NeXT Inc. to produce a machine
|
|
to fit his vision of the needs of
|
|
academia, explained his silence by
|
|
saying, ''a young company needs the
|
|
advantage of surprise.'' But he
|
|
described the machine under production
|
|
as ''the best product that I've ever
|
|
seen in my life. The product that
|
|
we're working on will speak louder
|
|
than anything I can say.''
|
|
|
|
Jobs also expressed puzzlement over a
|
|
copyright infringement lawsuit
|
|
recently filed by Apple Computer
|
|
against two other computer companies,
|
|
Microsoft Corp., of Redmond, Wash.,
|
|
and Hewlett-Packard Co., of Palo Alto,
|
|
Calif.
|
|
|
|
The suit alleges that Microsoft and
|
|
Hewlett-Packard illegally copied the
|
|
audio-visual display of Apple's
|
|
Macintosh computer in designing their
|
|
own software.
|
|
|
|
Jobs urged software developers in the
|
|
audience to ''express themselves'' on
|
|
the subject, saying the issue of
|
|
copyrights and computer software is
|
|
vital to innovation in the industry.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ZMagazine Issue #100 April 4, 1988
|
|
(c)1988 SPC/Ron Kovacs
|
|
______________________________________
|