762 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
762 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
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=ZMAGAZINE MAY 9, 1988 ISSUE #105 =
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======================================
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Publisher: Ron Kovacs
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Issue Editor: Ron Kovacs
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Managing Editor: Rex Reade
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Tech Editor: WK Whitton
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--------------------------------------
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Available on the following services:
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CompuServe Atari8 SIG DL 11
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GEnie Atari8 RT L 14
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Delphi Atari SIG Database
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--------------------------------------
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Syndicate BBS (Headquarters)
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(201) 968-8148 300/1200
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For PC Pursuit Access enter AT*E0
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before dialing. Read article in this
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issue for dialing instructions into
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the NJNEW node.
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______________________________________
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Contents
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______________________________________
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<*> Editors Desk.........Ron Kovacs
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<*> PC Pursuit Update..............
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<*> IBM Monitor With XEP80.........
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<*> Notes On Parity................
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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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This is Issue #105 of ZMagazine and
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thanks to everyone who supported us
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since the beginning. 2 years and now
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on the start of number 3.
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Next week I will be including the
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commentary listed in this and last
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weeks edition of ST-Report. The
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discussion of late has been the state
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of affairs at Atari. Since the
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number of articles would be too much
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to dedicate here, We will re-edit the
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more interesting topics and reprint
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them here next week.
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On the horizon, we have a Carina BBS
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series coming up and the conclusion of
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the Learning to Program in Atari Basic
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series by Jackson Beebe.
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There are a few modification articles
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currently under the knife, as soon as
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they are complete and formatted for
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publication, we will include them
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here.
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If you are carrying ZMAgazine or the
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ST edition (ST-Report) and do not have
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a BBS registration number, Please let
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us know so we can add you to the list.
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As soon as you have your number, you
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will have access to the SysOp base for
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carriers on the Syndicate.
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BTW, if you dont know what ST-Report
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is, I will fill you in on the details.
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ST-Report is a weekly online magazine
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written for the ST user. Many of the
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articles are generally aimed at any
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audience. If you have read an issue
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yet, Please do. This week in issue
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#34... Delphi sign on info, Atari news
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and commentary, confrence highlights
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from Genie and a number of other
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articles. ST-Report is online on
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GEnie by typing M 475;1 Cat #22.
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ST-Report is also designated DL 14 in
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the Atari16 data library on CIS.
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Enough of this long winded column.
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Thanks again for your support.
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______________________________________
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PC Pursuit Update
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______________________________________
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From the Syndicate BBS (201) 968-8148
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Edited and commentary by Ron Kovacs
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If you had the pleasure of trying an
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access to The Syndicate via PCP, you
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are well aware of the current logon
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problems. It seems to be effecting
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the Carina BBS boards in the NJNEW
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node.
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The following information, submitted
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by Carlos Hernandez, does correct the
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problem. It recently tested it this
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week from Ohio and it worked fine.
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======
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To modify MNP setting in the Hayes
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command mode:
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AT*E0 No MNP
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AT*E1 Auto MNP
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AT*E2 Force MNP
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(call will fail if MNP unavailable)
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To modify MNP setting in Racal-Vadic
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mode:
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connect to modem and get to R/V
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mode (^E<cr>)
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O<cr>
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2<cr>
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(you want one of the options in
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group 2)
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(system reponds with a list)
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19<cr>
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(system responds with option 19
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and possible settings)
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1<cr> (auto error control)
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--or--
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2<cr> (disable error control)
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--or--
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3<cr> (force error control)
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0<cr> (return to previous menu)
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0<cr> (return to previous menu)
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4<cr> (menu item is -EXECUTE-)
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At this point you will get back the *
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prompt of the Racal-Vadic mode.
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====
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This information was supplied from
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PC Pursuit.
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______________________________________
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IBM Monitor With Your XEP80
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______________________________________
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by Bob Woolley
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If you read my earlier article in DL7
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about the XEP80, you might remember
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that the XEP80 uses all of the display
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field of the monitor and the two cheap
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composite monitors that I had tried
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did not give a very satisfactory
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display. I have been using a high
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quality video unit from a NorthStar
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Horizon that works very well, but a
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monitor like that would be very
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difficult for the average user to find
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(not to mention, expensive). I spent
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some time at the West Coast Computer
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Faire looking for some reasonable
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candidates, but none of the vendors
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had composite monochrome monitors on
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display! There were lots of monochrome
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displays with seven zillion lines of
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resolution, a built in swivel base,
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non-glare screens - the works. Good
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prices, too! But every one was TTL,
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IBM. Wellll.........
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Never being one to shy away from a
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little soldering, I decided to
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investigate the possibility of
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adapting the XEP80 to an IBM
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monochrome monitor. The IBM TTL
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monitors have a separate input for the
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sync and video signals, whereas the
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XEP80 generates a composite signal
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containing all three components. I
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figured that a little circuit to strip
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the Horizontal and Vertical sync from
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the Video couldn't be that hard, but
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it turns out that the XEP80 has all
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the signals you need inside the box!
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The whole project didn't amount to
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anything more than soldering one end
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of a 10- piece of four conductor
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ribbon cable onto the XEP80 board and
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connecting a 9 pin joystick socket to
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the other end. I tried the XEP80 on a
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standard IBM monochrome monitor and it
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worked fine! I also tried it on some
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OEM TTL monitors made for an IBM PC
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(an AMDEK 310A and a SAMSUNG MD1254G)
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and that also worked well.
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After a little pot tweaking (a LOT of
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tweaking on the SAMSUNG). The XEP80
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uses a lower Horizontal frequency than
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the IBM PC, so some OEM monitors may
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require adjustment, but not so much
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that you need to re-adjust it between
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a PC and your Atari. The display field
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on the TTL units does not overscan the
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face of the tube so there is no
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adjustment required for that problem.
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Also, the linearity is very good on
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these guys, so all the characters look
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great!
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The major disadvantage to a TTL
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monitor is the absence of audio on
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them, although I prefer a separate
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audio amplifier anyway.
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[Enough babbling, I waannnt one! How
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do I do the mod, dummy??]
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The wiring required is:
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(from the bottom of the XEP80 board)
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Pin 1 and 2 of 9 pin socket to pin 7
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of U6.
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Pin 7 of 9 pin socket to the pad 1/4
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inch to the left of pin 8 of U6. (This
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pad is the same distance to the LEFT
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of pin 8 as pin 7 is to the RIGHT of
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pin 8.)
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Pin 8 of 9 pin socket to pin 9 of U6.
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Pin 9 of 9 pin socket to pin 10 of U6.
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I ran the flat cable out where the
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power switch is mounted. The bottom
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cover will clamp the cable between the
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board and the bottom cover at this
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point and provide some strain relief.
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I would imagine that you could use a
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much longer cable, but at some point
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you will begin to lose character
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resolution.
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Now, you can take advantage of any
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good deals you might see on a quality
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IBM monitor. I saw many different TTL
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units for less than $100 at the WCCF.
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Most of them looked like much better
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devices than any composite monitor I
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have seen and they are everywhere. If
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you are reasonably adept at soldering,
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or know someone who is, think about
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using one of these TTL monitors on
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your XEP80. The normal composite
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output is not affected by the
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modification at all. Now, if I can
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hack an IBM keyboard onto this
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thing.....
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Bob Woolley [75126,3446]
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______________________________________
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Notes On Parity
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______________________________________
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Captured from CompuServe Atari8 SIG
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#: 207676 (H) S2/Telecommunications
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13-Apr-88 22:54:15
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Sb: #207650-#EXPRESS
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Fm: SYSOP*R. Brudzynski 76703,2011
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To: Phillip Kulpshas 72047,114 (X)
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--PHIL--
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Parity is actually a bit of a
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dinosaur. It's really an old error
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checking method that improvements in
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telecommunications have rendered
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obsolete.
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The ASCII character set is comprised
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of 128 characters--anything you can
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send in ASCII can be transmitted with
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just 7 bits (2^7=128). But a byte's
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got 8 bits; there's a whole bit of
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data left over!
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Those brave men and women who ventured
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on line back in the stone age of the
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teletype were quite thrifty -- they
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figured out a use for the 8th bit.
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-Let's use it to check for errors,-
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they reasoned. Here's how it worked:
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Let's add up the first seven bits
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--the so-called -data bits- -- we'll
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get either an even or an odd number.
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Now, let's take the 8th bit -- the
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-parity bit---and make it a 1 or a
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zero depending upon whether the sum of
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the data bits is even or odd.
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If the sender's program sets the
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-parity bit- as the message goes out
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over the wire and the receiver's
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program checks the -parity bit- to see
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if the 1 or 0 matches the sum of the
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seven -data bits- received then the
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system will be able to tell if an
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error has occurred. (It also
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simplifies the problem of what to do
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with the extra bit, if you can imagine
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having two sets of ASCII depending
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upon the status of the 8th bit.)
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If one of the data bits gets flipped
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during transmission, the parity bit
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won't match the sum and we know we
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have an error!
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The system caused more problems than
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it solved. Some folks wanted to make
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the parity bit a one if the sum was
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even, others wanted the parity bit to
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be a one if the sum was odd. It made
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it awfully hard for -odd- people to
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talk to -even- people. As
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communication programs improved folks
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just started ignoring the 8th bit.
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-Parity bits- probably still survive
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on some older or eccentric BBS
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programs -- CIS will happily ignore
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the 8th bit but will send anything
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your terminal program demands to
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receive. (XE-TERM will ignore it
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anyway.)
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Set your parity at whatever works on
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your local BBS system -- it won't make
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a difference to CIS.
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--dick--
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______________________________________
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Reader Commentary
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______________________________________
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by Anthony W. Hursh
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CIS PPN [72750,115]
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[Ed. Commentary noted in this article
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is that of the author. This does NOT
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necessarily represent those of the
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Publisher or Staff of ZMagazine.]
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Why I'm buying an Amiga
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sarcastic_mode = TRUE;
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if(sarcastic_mode == TRUE) $(
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Anyone who knows me can tell you that
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I'm one of the most rabid 8 bit Atari
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users around. I think that the Atari
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130XE is the finest 8 bit computer on
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the market, and I have defended this
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position (sometimes heatedly) against
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Commodore and Apple users who
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misguidely feel the same way about
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their machines. Now, the state of the
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art (and my wallet!) have convinced me
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that it's time to upgrade to a more
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powerful machine, and that machine is
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the Amiga.
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Before all you loyal Atarians crank up
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the flamethrowers, listen to what I
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have to say. I bought my first Atari
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400 back in 1982 (16K and cassette
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drive! what a machine!) after spending
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weeks looking at what other vendors
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had to offer (since the system cost
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close to $400 it was a major
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purchase). I felt the Atari offered
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the best price/performance ratio, and
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the graphics were superb (remember,
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this was 1982) Since then I've owned
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Atari 600's, 800's, and my current
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320K 130XE.
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I love these little machines and I
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know I will use mine even after the
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Amiga comes to live at my house.
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Some of you are wondering -Why the
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heck doesn't he get an ST? Doesn't he
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have any loyalty to Atari? Doesn't he
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realize that the Amiga is made by
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COMMODORE, for Pete's sake?- Yes, I
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know that the Amiga is made by
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Commodore (aka The Dark Side of the
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Force), and no, I don't have any
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loyalty to Atari. Atari grossly
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screwed over 8 bit owners when they
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came out with the ST. They began
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treating 8 bit developers and owners
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like AIDS victims. Their attitude was
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-So what? We have your money. You
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can't get it back now. If you want us
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to do anything for you, buy an ST.-
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Sorry, Atari,
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I'm not buying another machine that
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you will forget when the next
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generation comes along. Commodore at
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least makes an effort to support their
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8 bit owners, and there is no dearth
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of software for 64's and 128's.
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Call the Atari BBS sometime and count
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the number of 8 bit vs. ST downloads.
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They say they have limited space and
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that they can only have a certain
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number of programs online. Fine, but
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do they really expect us to believe
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that there are that many more ST's
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than 8 bit computers out there?
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Get real, guys. Why not buy bigger
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hard drives? Surely Atari can afford
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three 60 meg drives? (or 150 meg
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drives for that matter. I doubt if the
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Tramiels are going on welfare any time
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soon.) Also, what about the endless
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delays and excuses that Atari has
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given to both 8 bit and ST owners?
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(the blitter for the ST, the XF551,
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the SX212, the XEP 80... the list
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could go on forever) What about the
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supreme absurdity of finally releasing
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the SX212 and the XEP80 with NO!
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SOFTWARE! WHATSOEVER! Surely, someone
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at Atari has the skill to write a
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rudimentary terminal program for the
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SX/XEP combo? Why leave it up to us?
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Can you imagine selling compact disc
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players and telling customers -Sorry,
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this unit won't play any of the discs
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on the market. You'll have to make
|
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your own.-? Doesn't seem like a very
|
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wise marketing move, does it? Enough
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flaming. I'm going back to looking
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through the Amiga catalog.
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$)
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sarcastic_mode = FALSE;
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Tony Hursh CIS: [72750,115]
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GEnie: A. HURSH
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P.O. Box 90399 Anchorage, AK 99509
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______________________________________
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ATARI SCUTTLEBITS
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______________________________________
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by Bob Kelly
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Myths and Market Movements ......
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Word Processing on the Atari:
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Much has been written lately about
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Word Perfect 4.1 and the possibility
|
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this software firm may soon terminate
|
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its support for the Atari. First, let
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me say there is little doubt about the
|
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potential power of the program as well
|
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as the corporate commitment to service
|
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the purchaser. Based on past
|
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experience in the IBM marketplace, I
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encouraged several Current Notes staff
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members who were sceptical to give it
|
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a try. They did, were impressed with
|
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its versatility and power, and are
|
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today regular users.
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Having said this, you might ask
|
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whether I am a user. The answer is,
|
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no. Why? Simple, there were too many
|
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bugs in the program when introduced
|
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(my frustration level is low).
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However, I am now told that it is now
|
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-bug-free- or close to it.
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The problem of getting the program to
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run correctly is, in my opinion, the
|
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primary reason why Word Perfect
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encountered difficulties in the Atari
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market. Sure, some individuals have a
|
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pirated copy of the program but they
|
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are not going very far without the
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500+ pages of documentation
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accompanying the program. As pointed
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out in last months column, the issue
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of piracy can be a smoke screen.
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REMEMBER, the impact from a pirated
|
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program is negative, in terms of cash
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flow, ONLY IF it substitutes for what
|
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otherwise would of been a cash
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purchase. The fundamental flaw was in
|
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releasing a program not up to the
|
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standards expected from this company.
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In the end, not even a good marketing
|
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effort could recoup the loss-of-face
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(of course, to their credit, Word
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Perfect provided quick fixes to the
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bugs). Nor do I believe that the
|
|
price of the product inhibited its
|
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acceptance. If you want a full
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featured word processor, the price
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goes up. But, again the user expects
|
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the program to perform as advertised.
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The word processor I have been using
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for almost two years is Regent Word
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II. Up to now, I preferred it to the
|
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other word processing programs for the
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Atari.
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It does have definite limitations and
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is not in the -class- of Word Perfect
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4.1. The problem with Regent Word II
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is not just the lack of features
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itself but the company. It is copy
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protected despite user protest and
|
|
enhancements to the program are
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nonexistent. Regent Word II is a good
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example of a program which had the
|
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opportunity to capture a significant
|
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market share early in the game but
|
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failed to respond to the signals.
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Well, myth may become reality. Word
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Perfect could eventually dominate the
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Atari market as they do others, i.e.,
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IBM. My word processing needs are
|
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growing more sophisticated. I will
|
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invest the 200+ dollars and purchase
|
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4.1. This summer there will be time
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to learn the program. This rather
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cavalier attitude on my part assumes
|
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that Word Perfect 4.1 is still
|
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available for the Atari by summer. I
|
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expect it will be. Word Perfect
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Corporation seems to understand that
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their marketing problems started
|
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because of a less than satisfactory
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|
product.
|
|
|
|
Wait a minute, I hope they understand!
|
|
|
|
Apple Versus Who or Whom-ever:
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
As most computer users are aware,
|
|
Apple has initiated legal action
|
|
against Microsoft (MS) and Hewlett-
|
|
Packard (HP). The suit by Apple is
|
|
brought against HP's New Wave
|
|
interface manager and MS's Windows
|
|
(Presentation Manager). Several market
|
|
pundits have stated that the suit by
|
|
Apple is really designed to stop IBM
|
|
from developing a graphics interface
|
|
capability similar to the MacIntosh.
|
|
In other words, the suit concerns the
|
|
-look and feel- of HP/MS software, not
|
|
an issue of coding.
|
|
|
|
A number of strategic business issues
|
|
are related to this suit (aside from
|
|
the potential impact upon Atari). A
|
|
very interesting column explaining the
|
|
situation is Jerry Pournelle's in
|
|
InfoWorld on April 4, 1988. Additional
|
|
insight was provided by a full page
|
|
article in the Washington Post of
|
|
April 10, 1988 (Outlook section, P.
|
|
B3) written by Gary Hoffman and
|
|
Geoffrey Karny, legal specialist. Some
|
|
excerpts from this article follow -
|
|
(Note, a patent traditionally protects
|
|
designs and inventions while
|
|
copyrights are granted to written
|
|
material):
|
|
|
|
-A patent may be viewed as a social
|
|
contract. Society grants the inventor
|
|
the right to exclude others from
|
|
making, using or selling his invention
|
|
for a limited period of time. In
|
|
return, the patent must fully and
|
|
publicly disclose the invention by
|
|
describing it in sufficient detail to
|
|
enable a 'person skilled in the art'
|
|
to make and use it. In this way,
|
|
society can immediately begin to build
|
|
upon the new technical knowledge.
|
|
|
|
Until 1981, patent protection for
|
|
software inventions in the United
|
|
States was relatively difficult to
|
|
obtain. The Patent and Trademark
|
|
Office approached computer software as
|
|
a written expression of a mathematical
|
|
algorithm, and hence adamantly opposed
|
|
protection on the grounds that no one
|
|
can have exclusive rights to
|
|
mathematical functions.
|
|
|
|
Copyright protection has been accorded
|
|
to the program code of computer
|
|
software for several years. But
|
|
recently courts have had to confront
|
|
the issue of whether that protection
|
|
should cover not only the exact,
|
|
literal expression of the program code
|
|
but the idea behind it as well - the
|
|
so-called -look and feel- of the
|
|
software as perceived by the operator.
|
|
An analogous case would be extending a
|
|
fiction writer's rights beyond the
|
|
written words to the plot and
|
|
characters of his novel.
|
|
|
|
The trend is clear: Because Congress
|
|
has failed to enact a new body of law
|
|
to adequately protect software
|
|
technologies, courts have been obliged
|
|
to fill the gap. And in doing so,
|
|
some courts have expanded the scope of
|
|
copyright protection beyond the
|
|
original intent of Congress. If that
|
|
protection is construed to cover the
|
|
basic concepts of the sequence,
|
|
structure and operation and not the
|
|
expressed details of the program, then
|
|
copyright passes into the realm of the
|
|
protection of ideas - for which the
|
|
patent laws have been devised.
|
|
|
|
Such an extension could have a
|
|
stifling effect on software innovation
|
|
by effectively preventing developers
|
|
from enhancing or modifying an overall
|
|
program design once it was created. As
|
|
courts deal with the troublesome cases
|
|
now at issue, their decisions will
|
|
have a dramatic impact on the future
|
|
of America's software industry and its
|
|
ability to compete in markets abroad.-
|
|
|
|
Naturally, HP and Microsoft state in
|
|
their counter-suits the interface
|
|
techniques are not copyrightable. From
|
|
my readings, most industry analysts
|
|
believe Apple's legal case is shaky. I
|
|
agree. Apple must eventually find a
|
|
graceful way out of this situation or
|
|
risk possible damage to its corporate
|
|
image. The circumstances of this case
|
|
are not similar to DRI's (developer of
|
|
Atari's GEM interface). HP, MS and
|
|
IBM are corporations with considerable
|
|
financial resources and will not shy
|
|
away (or fold as did DRI) from a
|
|
prolonged legal battle. With Apple
|
|
targeting the business community, a
|
|
prolonged legal encounter could steer
|
|
large corporations away from
|
|
purchasing the Mac. Thus, Apple loses
|
|
in or out of court - it's their
|
|
choice.
|
|
|
|
Apple's legal action in the future may
|
|
be regarded as a classic example of a
|
|
corporation going to the well once to
|
|
often. Apple Computers and the
|
|
MacIntosh up to now have grown in
|
|
acceptance (penetration of markets)
|
|
not on myth, but substance. Their
|
|
machine is easier to use than
|
|
keypunching the IBM. Why else would
|
|
firms develop similar graphic
|
|
techniques? Apple should return to
|
|
substance. How about the slogan - Why
|
|
not purchase the real Mac-coy ?-
|
|
|
|
The Blundering Giant:
|
|
---------------------
|
|
Myth has it that IBM got where it is
|
|
in the PC market because it just
|
|
happened to have the right idea and
|
|
right people at the right time. Oh,
|
|
what a lucky corporation! This story
|
|
has been carefully handed down for
|
|
quite a few years and surprisingly
|
|
many people believe it. DON'T,
|
|
because it just ain't true! IBM is a
|
|
calculating, highly competitive firm
|
|
that got where it is today by smarts,
|
|
not luck (I don't particularly like
|
|
IBM but I do respect their business
|
|
acumen).
|
|
|
|
IBM is ready to make another move and
|
|
I am glad I don't own stock in a
|
|
clone. Some examples:
|
|
|
|
o IBM has announced drastic price
|
|
reductions on its PC models over
|
|
the next 18 months that will drive
|
|
some clones out of business.
|
|
|
|
o IBM has announced a flood of new
|
|
products that will severely strain
|
|
the financial resources of many of
|
|
its competitors to keep up.
|
|
|
|
o IBM is reported to be buying DRAM
|
|
chips while a portion of its
|
|
production facilities remain idle.
|
|
IBM is paying top price for the
|
|
chips. As a result, fewer clones
|
|
will be produced at higher prices.
|
|
|
|
o Some dealers are complaining they
|
|
cannot meet the quotas set by IBM
|
|
and their margins are very low.
|
|
IBM's goal is to recapture market
|
|
share. The most likely response by
|
|
IBM will be to let the inefficient
|
|
dealers fall by the wayside.
|
|
|
|
This, my fellow users, is not myth, it
|
|
is hardball. Capitalism is not dead.
|
|
Pardon a play on words, but the only
|
|
blue to be seen will be manufacturers
|
|
pounded by IBM.
|
|
|
|
That's all for now folks ......
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ZMAGAZINE Issue #105 May 9, 1988
|
|
(c)1988 APEI/Ron Kovacs
|
|
______________________________________
|