1077 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
1077 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
|
|
######################################
|
|
# #
|
|
# Z M A G A Z I N E #
|
|
# #
|
|
######################################
|
|
American Publishing Enterprises, Inc
|
|
Post Office Box 74
|
|
Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074
|
|
BBS: (201) 968-8148 300/1200
|
|
|
|
Issue #106 May 16, 1988
|
|
|
|
Publisher/Editor Ron Kovacs
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Contents
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
|*| Editors Desk
|
|
|*| Atari News Update
|
|
|*| Comdex Report from Antic Online
|
|
|*| New BBS Network Announced
|
|
|*| Readers Viewpoint [M. Ranger]
|
|
|*| Last Request
|
|
|*| Delphi Confrence Highlights
|
|
|*| BBS Systems Update
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Editors Desk
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
by Ron Kovacs
|
|
|
|
There is much to talk about this week
|
|
within the Atari community. Atari Corp
|
|
has started the Computer Division with
|
|
Mr. Babbit taking over as President.
|
|
With this news, there are confidential
|
|
sources telling us that Atari is going
|
|
to advertise the ST on CABLE stations
|
|
only. This along with other ST news
|
|
can be found in ST-REPORT.
|
|
|
|
I have included excerpts from a Delphi
|
|
confrence last week with Niel Harris.
|
|
Much of the confrence subject matter
|
|
deals with the ST market, again refer
|
|
to ST-Report magazine for the full
|
|
confrence highlights.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Atari News Update
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Compiled from NewsNet
|
|
|
|
ATARI CORP CORPORATE EARNINGS
|
|
|
|
Latest Period Year Earlier
|
|
-------------------------------------
|
|
Atari Corp (1st Q)
|
|
$169,232,000 $65,133,000
|
|
$5,674,000 (.10) a-$9,365,000(.16)
|
|
a-Net from operations.
|
|
|
|
ATARI FIRST-QUARTER EARNINGS DOWN
|
|
NEARLY 63 PERCENT AT $5.7 MILLION
|
|
--------------------------------------
|
|
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (MAY 13) UPI - Atari
|
|
Corp. reported earnings in the first
|
|
quarter of 1988 fell nearly 63 percent
|
|
to $5.7 million or 10 cents a share,
|
|
down from $15.3 million or 26 cents a
|
|
share in the same period last year.
|
|
|
|
However, revenues for the Sunnyvale-
|
|
based maker of personal computers and
|
|
video games rose to $169.2 million in
|
|
the quarter ended April 2, up more
|
|
than 61 percent compared to $65.1
|
|
million in the first quarter of 1987,
|
|
the company said in a statement
|
|
released late Thursday.
|
|
|
|
Atari blamed the downturn in its
|
|
earnings on losses incurred by the
|
|
Federated Group Inc., its retail
|
|
subsidiary, which it acquired in
|
|
October 1987.
|
|
|
|
The Federated division reported a
|
|
pre-tax operating loss of $9.6 million
|
|
on sales of $71.5 million in the first
|
|
quarter of 1988. Not counting that
|
|
loss, Atari's earnings would have been
|
|
$15.29 million in the first quarter up
|
|
marginally over $15.28 million last
|
|
year, the company said.
|
|
|
|
First quarter results last year were
|
|
boosted by a $5.9 million credit
|
|
related to accounting changes, the
|
|
company said.
|
|
|
|
-The losses incurred by Federated ...
|
|
continue to adversely impact Atari's
|
|
earnings,- said Sam Tramiel, Atari's
|
|
president.
|
|
|
|
But he added that Federated -is now
|
|
approaching a breakeven point and we
|
|
forsee a small loss or a small profit
|
|
in the second and third quarters,- and
|
|
-a modest profit- in the fourth
|
|
quarter.
|
|
|
|
-Further action is being taken to
|
|
reduce costs, improve product mix and
|
|
margin, and to increase sales,-
|
|
Tramiel said.
|
|
|
|
FRIDAY'S AMEX 10 MOST ACTIVE STOCKS
|
|
-------------------------------------
|
|
NEW YORK (MAY 13) - The 10 most active
|
|
stocks in American Stock Exchange
|
|
composite trading Friday:
|
|
|
|
Stock Sales Last Net Chg.
|
|
Sothebys 1,143,800 18 1/8 unch
|
|
Dome Pet 1,008,400 1 1-16 off 1-16
|
|
Amdahl Corp 621,400 47 up 3/4
|
|
ICH Corp 499,800 7 5/8 off 1/8
|
|
Lorimar Tel 267,000 12 3/4 off 1/4
|
|
Wang Lab B 187,700 10 5/8 off 1/4
|
|
Viacom 187,300 25 1/4 up 1/8
|
|
Horn & Har 176,600 7 1/8 up 3/4
|
|
Atari Corp 158,300 7 5/8 unch
|
|
Texas Air 147,200 10 7/8 up 1/4
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Comdex Reports
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1988
|
|
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
|
|
|
|
REPORT FROM ATLANTA
|
|
Spring Comdex Report Number 1
|
|
|
|
by Andrew Reese, START Editor
|
|
|
|
(Atlanta, GA, May 9, 1988) Atari was
|
|
at the spring Computer Dealers
|
|
Exposition (COMDEX) in force this year
|
|
with a large display area designed
|
|
around the theme of ST/Mega solutions
|
|
to business problems. Atari itself
|
|
did not show any new hardware, but
|
|
third-part developers presented
|
|
several exciting add-ons for Atari
|
|
68000-based machines and the software
|
|
houses caught a lot of interest with
|
|
some highly professional packages.
|
|
|
|
Although it was not in the booth, word
|
|
has it that Atari's new 68030-based
|
|
UNIX machine is progressing nicely,
|
|
thank you, in the R&D Labs at Atari,
|
|
Inc.'s headquarters in Sunnyvale,
|
|
California. Contrary to some earlier
|
|
press reports, it is not a -stock-
|
|
Motorola UNIX design, but instead is a
|
|
custom Atari design with six
|
|
proprietary chips on the motherboard.
|
|
The last of the custom chips has been
|
|
received from the chip house and
|
|
installed on the new prototype PC
|
|
board. This baby cooks along at 16
|
|
MHz+ and right now the development
|
|
looks to be on schedule. Watch the
|
|
pages of START and Antic's ST Resource
|
|
for more details of this giant step up
|
|
in the Atari line.
|
|
|
|
We'll have more news about other Atari
|
|
developments, but let's turn our
|
|
attention to the two add-ons that were
|
|
shown by third-party developers. The
|
|
first is the amazing ST Accelerator
|
|
from Megabyte Computers of Webster,
|
|
Texas. Despite the unfortunate
|
|
circumstances of having their car
|
|
stolen (with their demo computers,
|
|
hard drive and Accelerator inside!),
|
|
Megabyte demo'ed their hard-wire 16
|
|
MHz mod for the ST. Yes, that's right:
|
|
16 Mhz clock rate or twice the
|
|
standard ST clock rate! Installation
|
|
of the add-on board is not for the
|
|
cautious or technically inexperienced,
|
|
however -- it requires the removal of
|
|
the 68000 and the addition of a turbo
|
|
board, a 68000-16 chip and a panel
|
|
switch for choosing turbo/standard
|
|
rate from the keyboard. Speed can be
|
|
switched in the middle of an
|
|
application and let me tell you that
|
|
it sure makes the ST F-L-Y! It hasn't
|
|
been tested on all applications yet
|
|
and there are certainly times when a
|
|
mere 8 MHz is plenty fast enough (want
|
|
to go against the Dark Lord at twice
|
|
the real-time speed??), but since it
|
|
is easily switchable, it looks like a
|
|
winner for any power ST user. Should
|
|
be available within the month; I put
|
|
my order in!
|
|
|
|
And for the power user with math-
|
|
intensive software needs -- like CAD,
|
|
graphics, spreadsheets, etc. -- plug
|
|
Xetec's XCEL hardware floating point
|
|
math processor into your cartridge
|
|
port. Improvements in math
|
|
calculations are dramatic: on the
|
|
order of 2-30 times! XCEL is complete
|
|
and awaiting FCC approval, which
|
|
should take no more than two months.
|
|
Price? $199. Compare that to the
|
|
price of an 80387 chip! One note,
|
|
however, XCEL does require that the
|
|
software be recompiled using their
|
|
custom math libraries, so you won't
|
|
see any immediate improvement in off
|
|
-the-shelf software, but more than one
|
|
leading developer of ST power software
|
|
told me that they would be more than
|
|
happy to support the new processor.
|
|
|
|
The ST desktop publishing market is
|
|
certainly getting crowded -- and with
|
|
quality products as good as or better
|
|
than anything available on those
|
|
-Brand X- machines. Timeworks showed
|
|
their nifty Desktop Publisher ST, now
|
|
available at $129, SoftLogik's
|
|
powerful Publishing Partner
|
|
Professional is getting closer to its
|
|
announced June release (they really
|
|
want to kill all the bugs first and it
|
|
sure looks like they're doing it) and
|
|
ISD was demo'ing their marvelous
|
|
Calamus DTP package, due on the market
|
|
within the next several months. Which
|
|
to choose? We'll test them all and
|
|
give you our recommendations over the
|
|
next few months in the pages of START
|
|
and Antic's ST Resource.
|
|
|
|
If you liked Barbarian from Psygnosis,
|
|
get ready for Obliterator. It uses the
|
|
same interface, but is set in the
|
|
future. Great graphics and sound and
|
|
now shipping.
|
|
|
|
Microprose was featuring Gunship on
|
|
the ST in their booth and announced
|
|
that they were shooting for a
|
|
September release of the ST version of
|
|
Pirates, their hot new game on those
|
|
other computers. Microprose promises
|
|
that they will take full advantage of
|
|
the ST's capabilities; their past
|
|
performance with Silent Service, F-16
|
|
Strike Eagle and Gunship seems to bear
|
|
this out.
|
|
|
|
Antic showed the newest version of
|
|
Cyber Paint, Version 2.0. This is
|
|
truly fantastic graphics and animation
|
|
software from the incredibly creative
|
|
mind of Jim Kent, who brought you the
|
|
first version AND Aegis Animator. For
|
|
stand-alone 2D animation, there's
|
|
nothing that can touch it on the ST --
|
|
and nothing in its price range on any
|
|
other computer. Period. Also being
|
|
shown was Antic's first venture into
|
|
the Amiga world. Now, don't panic,
|
|
folks, Antic's not leaving you
|
|
Atarians behind. PHASAR, the popular
|
|
ST home accounting package has been
|
|
ported over to the Amiga to a very
|
|
favorable reception. Antic also
|
|
showed several other new ST packages
|
|
including new design disks for CAD-3D
|
|
and Shadow, a background terminal
|
|
program that lets you go online and
|
|
download files in the background while
|
|
word processing or whatever at the
|
|
same time.
|
|
|
|
ATLANTA, MAY 10, 1988 -- The second
|
|
day in Atlanta featured with
|
|
thunderstorms, traffic jams and record
|
|
crowds at COMDEX. It also featured
|
|
Atari and Commodore sharing the dais
|
|
without bloodshed in a presentation
|
|
called -Alternate Systems in Niche
|
|
Markets: Amigas and Ataris.- Neil
|
|
Harris, now the Director of Product
|
|
Management for the Computer Division
|
|
of Atari U.S., and Ken Weber Vice
|
|
President of Sales for Commodore,
|
|
traded jibes and optimistic views of
|
|
their respective markets, but the
|
|
bottomline seemed to be that the two
|
|
companies will now target their
|
|
marketing at specific -niche- markets.
|
|
What this means is that you will
|
|
probably see ad campaigns aimed at
|
|
specific uses of the two computers.
|
|
Commodore is aiming at the -Desktop
|
|
Presentation- market, while Atari is
|
|
focusing their efforts on such uses as
|
|
MIDI and Desktop Publishing.
|
|
|
|
Atari is not shy about declaring or
|
|
displaying their intentions: the
|
|
Atari booth at this primarily business
|
|
-related show is notable for the
|
|
predominance of monochrome monitors
|
|
and business-related software. Now if
|
|
the DRAM shortage eases a bit, Atari
|
|
should be well positioned for a strong
|
|
push in the third and fourth quarters
|
|
of the year.
|
|
|
|
Speaking of monitors, one of the most
|
|
dramatic developments in ST displays
|
|
was unveiled today when ISD hooked up
|
|
a 19-inch high resolution Moniterm
|
|
monitor to a Mega 4 and displayed
|
|
their Calamus DTP package in crisp,
|
|
bright 1280-by-960 resolution. The
|
|
display requires a videocard that
|
|
plugs into the Mega's internal bus
|
|
port and using a patched TOS on disk
|
|
to get around the TOS-in-ROM video
|
|
definitions. Pricing and availability
|
|
has not been set for this spectacular
|
|
product, but look for it during the
|
|
second half of the year. Oh, and it
|
|
can put out a high-resolution color
|
|
signal, too...
|
|
|
|
While it's not an Atari product, I
|
|
have to mention that RasterOps of
|
|
Cupertino, California displayed an
|
|
amazing display for the Mac II. Their
|
|
TrueColor 104 board and Model1948
|
|
Monitor combine to display 1024 by 768
|
|
pixels with 24 bit planes per pixel.
|
|
In plain language, this means 786,432
|
|
colors on the screen at once from a
|
|
palette of 16.7 million colors! Sigh!
|
|
But this graphics power definitely has
|
|
with a price -- the board and monitor
|
|
are each $3195 -- and that's on top of
|
|
the price of a Mac II. (Oh, even the
|
|
swivel and tilt base for the 19-inch
|
|
monitor costs...are you ready?..$295!)
|
|
|
|
Back to Atari. Atari's CD-ROM player
|
|
was shown in its final production
|
|
version. The developer's systems
|
|
should be shipping within a few weeks
|
|
and you should be seeing it in your
|
|
local Atari dealers this summer. Atari
|
|
waited to sell the CD-ROM until they
|
|
could get it out the door at their
|
|
chosen price, in this case $599.
|
|
That's half of what Apple's recently-
|
|
announced CD-ROM will list at and the
|
|
Atari CD-ROM will play audio CD's as
|
|
well. With the Atari's support of
|
|
High Sierra and other major formats,
|
|
software should become available
|
|
quickly.
|
|
|
|
If you've been wondering when you can
|
|
buy the new TOS ROM's, the short
|
|
answer is that you can't -- for now.
|
|
This upgrade was an interim re-design
|
|
and a second upgrade is in the works.
|
|
Atari has been soliciting suggestions
|
|
for re-works on the various online
|
|
services and are now finalizing their
|
|
plans for redesign. They are focusing
|
|
their attention right now on the
|
|
GEMDOS portion of the ROM's with an
|
|
eye toward greatly increasing the
|
|
speed of screen operations. Look for
|
|
these ROM's to hit the market in the
|
|
fall. The price for what Atari
|
|
annouonced as a -major improvement-
|
|
has not been set.
|
|
|
|
If you're worried about viruses
|
|
infecting your ST's operating system,
|
|
you can breathe a small sigh of relief
|
|
-- Neil Harris announced that Atari
|
|
U.S. has yet to see any evidence of a
|
|
virus on the ST. With TOS in ROM,
|
|
St'ers are a bit safer than other
|
|
brands with significant portions of
|
|
their operating systems on disk (I
|
|
won't mention any names, but their
|
|
initials are MS-DOS, Mac and Amiga).
|
|
As Harris said, -No one is going to
|
|
come to your house with an EPROM
|
|
burner!- (Oh, and by the way, rumor
|
|
has it that a minor virus even
|
|
infected the Amiga Developer's
|
|
conference recently held in
|
|
Washington, D.C.!)
|
|
|
|
Robtek Ltd. announced two new programs
|
|
for the ST, available now. Dizzy
|
|
Wizard is -the game that Marble
|
|
Madness should have been.- While I
|
|
haven't been able to boot it up at the
|
|
show, the screen displays on the
|
|
packaging look great. $19.95. Aimed
|
|
at the low-end DTP market, Home
|
|
Publisher has many of the same basic
|
|
features as higher-priced programs,
|
|
but at a cost of $39.95.
|
|
|
|
Scott, Foresman and Company announced
|
|
a new book of interest to the ST
|
|
community. -Learning C on the Atari
|
|
ST- looks like a good tutorial and
|
|
reference for budding C programmers --
|
|
and also for those old flowers among
|
|
us.
|
|
|
|
If you have a lot of disks or just
|
|
need a convenient system to store
|
|
those you have, Seima International
|
|
Corp. showed their Exponent modular
|
|
drawer and attache-style systems. Each
|
|
drawer holds 180 3-1/2-inch disks and
|
|
lists for $69.95, while the attache
|
|
case holds 64 disks in a convenient
|
|
hard plastic case that lists for
|
|
$39.95. Looks like an attractive
|
|
Italian import.
|
|
|
|
SBT announced their Series Six
|
|
upgrades to their Database Accounting
|
|
Library. Final debugging of the ST
|
|
version is about complete, so look for
|
|
these new products within the next few
|
|
months -- and look for a review of
|
|
these powerful packages in the
|
|
October, 1988 issue of START, on sale
|
|
September 1st.
|
|
|
|
One of the most remarkable new
|
|
products for the ST was shown by
|
|
Intersect Software, makers of
|
|
Interlink. Revolver allows the user
|
|
to -take a picture- of the ST's memory
|
|
at any time, during any application,
|
|
and save it to disk in compressed
|
|
format. Then, when you want to come
|
|
back to it, you just -roll it in- and
|
|
you're back where you were -- exactly
|
|
where you were, whether you were about
|
|
to be killed by a monster in a game or
|
|
were checking the fourth quarter's
|
|
performance of your company in a
|
|
spreadsheet. It should be available
|
|
at the end of June for a price of
|
|
$49.95.
|
|
|
|
Michtron will be shipping Leatherneck
|
|
for the ST within a few weeks. This
|
|
Viet Nam-style combat game is slated
|
|
to list at $39.95.
|
|
|
|
Also due to be released soon is
|
|
Paperboy, a port from the popular
|
|
arcade game. It's from Mindscape and
|
|
will list at $49.95.
|
|
|
|
ATLANTA, MAY 11, 1988 -- Day 3 of the
|
|
Computer Dealers Exposition (COMDEX)
|
|
dawned bright and clear and the show
|
|
floor was jammed with suits and nerds.
|
|
Expectations are that by the time all
|
|
of us make our way through the show,
|
|
our number will have set a new record
|
|
for a Spring COMDEX of over 60,000!
|
|
That's a lot of suits and nerds,
|
|
folks.
|
|
|
|
More news of interest to Atarians:
|
|
|
|
* -- Liz and Kevin Mitchell of Migraph
|
|
were displaying EZ-Draw with
|
|
Supercharger, their fine DTP/page
|
|
layout package; expect to see some
|
|
further refinements of this
|
|
versatile package in the months to
|
|
come.
|
|
|
|
* -- Neocept was proudly displaying
|
|
their word processor package called
|
|
Word Up. They're making
|
|
improvements and enhancements every
|
|
day and upgrading their purchasers'
|
|
copies diligently. If you haven't
|
|
taken a look at this very capable
|
|
WYSIWYG program, do so before
|
|
choosing among the wealth of Atari
|
|
word processors available now. Word
|
|
Up has some excellent features not
|
|
found in any other package I've
|
|
seen.
|
|
|
|
* -- Michtron has announced a whole
|
|
series of new products centered
|
|
around their emerging standard
|
|
BASIC, GFA BASIC. GFA BASIC
|
|
Training ReBoot Camp is their new
|
|
beginners guide to programming in
|
|
GFA. It presumes no prior
|
|
experience in programming and takes
|
|
you step-by-step through the
|
|
development of your program; $19.95,
|
|
out now. At the other end of the
|
|
spectrum from -ReBoot- is The GFA
|
|
BASIC Programmers Reference Guide,
|
|
Vol. 1. This is the first half of
|
|
the definitive work on GFA BASIC by
|
|
George W. Miller. It should hit
|
|
the bookstores in late June with a
|
|
bang; $29.95 for 576 pages of all
|
|
you ever wanted to know about GFA
|
|
BASIC. GFA BASIC 3.0 was announced
|
|
at CeBIT, the Hannover computer
|
|
show, and will be shipping in mid-
|
|
July. It adds over 300 new commands
|
|
to GFA BASIC and a substantial
|
|
increase in speed: 40 to 60 percent!
|
|
Finally, the GFA-BASIC Reference
|
|
Card is shipping with a $4.95 price
|
|
tag. Michtron also showed GFA
|
|
Draft, Juggler II, Master CAD and
|
|
Utilities Plus -- it looks like
|
|
Gordon and company have been very
|
|
busy this spring!
|
|
|
|
* -- ICD was showing their quiet and
|
|
convenient line of ST hard drives
|
|
called the FA-ST Hard Drive.
|
|
Available in sizes to fit almost
|
|
every need and budget from 20 meg at
|
|
$699.95 to 100 meg (dual 50's) at
|
|
$1699.95. Or if you already have an
|
|
IBM-compatible hard drive lying
|
|
around, they have a kit to transform
|
|
that paperweight into an asset for
|
|
your ST. Ask for the FA-ST Hard
|
|
Drive Kit. Or look for the ST Host
|
|
Adapter at $135.95 if you want to
|
|
build up your own drive from
|
|
components available for IBM's,
|
|
etc.; $135.95. And there's still
|
|
more options available for hard
|
|
drives from ICD - -check with your
|
|
dealer.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
NEW NETWORK FORMING FOR ATARI SYSOPS
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
by Kirk Demarest
|
|
|
|
A core group of sysops of Atari-based
|
|
BBS systems have announced the
|
|
formation of a national network.
|
|
|
|
The fledgling network now consists of
|
|
six BBS systems, located in Delaware,
|
|
Missouri, Georgia, New Jersey, and
|
|
Louisiana. The group's goal is to have
|
|
50-60 BBS systems as part of the
|
|
network by July 1st.
|
|
|
|
The purpose of the new network is to
|
|
promote Atari computers and Atari
|
|
based BBS systems, and to encourage
|
|
users of member systems to call other
|
|
-member- systems, enabling each BBS
|
|
system to develop a -national-
|
|
following.
|
|
|
|
Sysops of Atari-based BBS systems who
|
|
are interested in joining the new
|
|
network are asked to call the Medieval
|
|
Castle II at 201 752-2818 and leave
|
|
feedback, or call the Schwarzer Drache
|
|
BBS at 816 637-6163, and leave E-Mail
|
|
for Kirk Demarest. Please post the
|
|
number of your BBS system, with a
|
|
voice number for callback.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
From the Reader's Viewpoint.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
W.A.U.G. - A Growing Club ???
|
|
|
|
by M. Ranger
|
|
|
|
I joined W.A.U.G. last year, at the
|
|
first (Sept.) meeting. Which was right
|
|
after the MAGIC show. There was alot
|
|
of interest in ATARI that night, but
|
|
not very many members (10 or 15) in
|
|
attendance. I could see that the
|
|
officers of this club had a lot of
|
|
potential. i.e. putting out their own
|
|
newsletter in protest to disagreements
|
|
with MAM. And having a speaker from a
|
|
mail order house show his wares. Plus
|
|
not having a complete computer to do
|
|
DEMO's, was a small disapointment.
|
|
|
|
All this going on in a public library
|
|
basement. Compared to what they've
|
|
grown into today, they've come a long
|
|
way. A club with 30 to 35 people in
|
|
attendance, coming together in a
|
|
College class room, with a 20' monitor
|
|
for demo's and members willing to show
|
|
off their special interest, on both an
|
|
8-bit and ST system, but a little shy
|
|
to ask questions. But it's still a big
|
|
acomplishment by the officers.
|
|
|
|
To make this club a good source of
|
|
information for ATARI computer owners.
|
|
I feel that after the elections in
|
|
June that the officers should be
|
|
awarded. With a dinner at Cottage Inn
|
|
Pizza, paid by the members, and only
|
|
for the officers...THANK YOU, W.A.U.G.
|
|
officers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BUT, and there is always a but, how
|
|
about this; I also think that W.A.U.G.
|
|
could do more for the members or to
|
|
phrase it better; what can the members
|
|
do for the club, to make the meeting
|
|
more interesting. A very young
|
|
president once said; -Ask not what
|
|
your country can do for you, but what
|
|
you can do for your country-; John F.
|
|
Kenndy.
|
|
|
|
Well club members how about it? What
|
|
can YOU do for your club. Later in
|
|
this article I will list some of the
|
|
ideas I've devised to help OUR club.
|
|
|
|
For example I've volunteered my time
|
|
and energy to be your Magazine
|
|
Librarian, and bringing in (my
|
|
personal stock-pile of) old and new
|
|
pre-owned 8-bit software for sale. And
|
|
I hope to find someone to carry on the
|
|
my librarians job when I stept-down to
|
|
enter myself for nomiation for the
|
|
8-bit librarians' job. I know there
|
|
are other members (not officers) that
|
|
are willing to offer their time and
|
|
services to the improvement of the
|
|
club. So why don't you ??? If it's
|
|
because you don't know what needs to
|
|
be done, I've compiled a list of ideas
|
|
I have for our club, which could be
|
|
adapted to any ones' club. Granted
|
|
this is not a complete list, you may
|
|
have more or better ideas then this.
|
|
But it will be a start, and something
|
|
for us to discuss at up coming
|
|
meetings......
|
|
|
|
1.) The club could use a person or
|
|
persons to hold 8-bit or ST SIG
|
|
(Special Interest Group) meeting
|
|
once a month at their home, and
|
|
give a report to the main club
|
|
meeting once a month.
|
|
|
|
2.) We could use ALL W.A.U.G. members
|
|
to attend the monthly meetings,
|
|
not just 30%, but 100%. If every
|
|
member attended and brought one
|
|
person to join this year we could
|
|
be as big a MACE (maybe) within a
|
|
couple years time. W.A.U.G. is
|
|
still growing and moving. Out of
|
|
the small class room to a computer
|
|
store showroom. (See W.A.U.G. club
|
|
minutes for details.)
|
|
|
|
3.) Members to offer to DEMO of
|
|
new/old software/hardware. And
|
|
offer to bring in their software/
|
|
hardware for the demo. The clubs
|
|
equipment my not always be
|
|
available every meeting, but a
|
|
large effort is given to make sure
|
|
it is there though. And as I
|
|
understand it W.A.U.G. only owns
|
|
the 800XL and and INDUS disk
|
|
drive. The ST is brought in by a
|
|
couple of the members (Bill/
|
|
Patty), so if they leave or are
|
|
unable to attend a meeting we have
|
|
no ST to show demo's on. Plus to
|
|
have more than one machine to show
|
|
demo's, during and after the
|
|
clubs' business reports would be a
|
|
great benifit.
|
|
|
|
4.) Members to submit their favorite
|
|
collection of software to both the
|
|
ST/8-bit disk libraries. For
|
|
addition to the mass amount of PD
|
|
software we already have now, but
|
|
you can never have to much. You
|
|
could also submit a copy of your
|
|
own personal disk library. To help
|
|
the librarians make a DOM (disk of
|
|
the month), for sale and/or raffle
|
|
at the clubs' meetings.
|
|
|
|
5.) Someone to be in-charge of running
|
|
a FREE drawing at the clubs'
|
|
meetings for a 8-bit and ST DOM.
|
|
In order to drum up interest in
|
|
the software libraries. Which is
|
|
where a clubs' bread and butter
|
|
comes from, if there is no
|
|
interest in the clubs' software
|
|
library than there will be no
|
|
interest in the club. Cause
|
|
members will go somewhere else and
|
|
spend their money on someone
|
|
elses' library.
|
|
|
|
6.) ARTICLES for MAM. I can't stress
|
|
this point enough, the magazine is
|
|
there for you to use, not abuse.
|
|
ATARI Corp. is not going to
|
|
promote your favorite software/
|
|
hardware or application technique,
|
|
so you have to. If it is left up
|
|
to the editors of MAM to find/
|
|
search for interesting articles
|
|
for the next issue they will
|
|
sooner or later stop for lack of
|
|
profit or interest. If costs for
|
|
things like access to CompuServe/
|
|
GEnie/ Delphi/ Long distance BBS's
|
|
start to be added to the cost of
|
|
printing each issue, than I
|
|
guarantee MAM will not be around
|
|
for long. So it is up to you to
|
|
help keep ATARI and MAM alive and
|
|
well.
|
|
|
|
7.) We desperately need someone to
|
|
volunteer to be a remote users
|
|
secretary for W.A.U.G.. We receive
|
|
several letters each month from
|
|
ATARIANS all over the country
|
|
asking for information about OUR
|
|
club. We need someone to write
|
|
these people back with the address
|
|
to MAM for a subscription and to
|
|
mail them a copy of our disk
|
|
libraries. If you are interested
|
|
please contact me or one of the
|
|
W.A.U.G. officers. Or BETTER YET
|
|
why not come to one of the
|
|
officers' meetings, you're always
|
|
welcome, it's your club too. Doug,
|
|
Craig and I have several letters
|
|
that need to be addressed.
|
|
|
|
In closing I'd like to remind you that
|
|
Rick has volunteered his services and
|
|
studio for MIDI SIG meetings, so
|
|
contact him if you're interested and I
|
|
hope to hear a SIG report at the next
|
|
meeting. Also lets show some interest
|
|
in the MIDI SIG, who knows we may be
|
|
able to come up with a W.A.U.G. song/
|
|
record good enough to hit the TOP 10
|
|
list (wishful thinking)...Thank You,
|
|
and happy ATARIN'...
|
|
|
|
Michael Ranger
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Last Request
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
The following was captured from
|
|
GEnie, and sent here for publication.
|
|
|
|
Msg# : 164 Lines: Extended Read: 7
|
|
Sent : Apr 20, 1988 at 8:24 AM
|
|
To : ALL
|
|
From : SYSOP at MegaHertz of Indiana
|
|
Subj : Postcard
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 1, Topic 42
|
|
Message 1 Tue Apr 12, 1988
|
|
S.OLEJNICZAK at 20:26 EDT
|
|
|
|
I have found the following notice on
|
|
the bulletin board in our office. Even
|
|
if you do not send a post card, please
|
|
forward it to other BBSs that you use.
|
|
It is a worthwhile cause.
|
|
|
|
from: RMJ SECURITIES Corporation
|
|
199 Water Street
|
|
New York, New York 10038
|
|
Telephone (212)-668-5250
|
|
|
|
TO: ALL EMPLOYEES
|
|
|
|
Our London Office just informed us
|
|
that there is a seven year old buy who
|
|
is terminally with cancer. His last
|
|
and only request is that he would be
|
|
able to be listed in the -The Guiness
|
|
Book of World Records- for receiving
|
|
the most postcards.
|
|
|
|
If you wish to send him one, please
|
|
write to:
|
|
|
|
David
|
|
c/o Miss McWilliams
|
|
St. Martinde Porres' Infant School
|
|
Luton, Bedfordshire, England
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Delphi Confrence Highlights
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Edited by Ron Kovacs for ZMagazine
|
|
|
|
.Andy> Let's start, shall we?
|
|
|
|
Welcome to all and thanks to Neil
|
|
Harris for joining us from his busy
|
|
schedule at COMDEX. To start, I'd
|
|
like to reiterate that this CO is a
|
|
formal one. To ask a question (after
|
|
I say questions will be taken... in
|
|
just a minute), type in a '?' and I'll
|
|
put you on the list. I'll keep you
|
|
informed of when your turn is coming
|
|
up. Let's keep this meeting running
|
|
as smoothly as possible; I know it'll
|
|
get emotional. Thanks again...
|
|
|
|
Before I start taking questions, let
|
|
me start by asking something: Neil,
|
|
most of us are aware of a change in
|
|
the Atari structure.
|
|
|
|
What is in the works for the computer
|
|
side of Atari and what can you tell
|
|
us what we're going to see in the way
|
|
of enhancements and such from you
|
|
folks. GA.
|
|
|
|
Neil> We have several new people on
|
|
board in the US computer division
|
|
(now called -Atari Computer-). The
|
|
division is headed by Chuck Babbitt,
|
|
whose title is president. There is
|
|
also a new vp of sales, Tony Gould.
|
|
Changed have been made to the field
|
|
sales organization to promote the
|
|
business activities of computer
|
|
specialty retailers -- specifically,
|
|
we have stopped using distributors and
|
|
are in the process of hiring direct,
|
|
Atari-employed sales reps throughout
|
|
the country. We are also beefing up
|
|
the marketing organization at
|
|
Sunnyvale -- we've already added a new
|
|
telemarketing group, a newsletter
|
|
person, and are seeking to fill
|
|
additional marketing positions. Also,
|
|
we changed PR agencies, scaling back
|
|
our old agency and adding a computer
|
|
specialty firm. We hope to shortly
|
|
hire an ad agency.
|
|
|
|
Reading the tea leaves, I have to
|
|
think this means that corporate
|
|
management is getting very serious
|
|
about the USA>..they would not be
|
|
letting us spend the money to do all
|
|
this otherwise. ga
|
|
|
|
Andy> Ok, if we can get a show of '?',
|
|
I'll start with other questions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
JLSTOKES> Has Atari made any progress
|
|
finding a source for drams or
|
|
otherwise found a way to increase
|
|
production and distribution of STs in
|
|
the U.S. ga
|
|
|
|
Neil> I don't know the answer to that.
|
|
However, when the problem first became
|
|
apparent, Sam ramiel predicted that
|
|
its duration would be in the 6 month
|
|
range. Judging by the planning in the
|
|
US organization, I would have to
|
|
speculate that there is a good
|
|
likelihood of greatly improved product
|
|
availability before too terribly long.
|
|
|
|
D.F.Scott.(CS)> Neil, a report in
|
|
Computer + Software News states that
|
|
Atari is planning to set up a training
|
|
program for Federated Group store
|
|
clerks who will be selling computers
|
|
specifically--PCs, Amigas, and STs.
|
|
This has led some to respond that
|
|
Atari is trying to become the next
|
|
Tandy, and is working to lock out its
|
|
specialty channel from receiving
|
|
premiere shipments of new products. As
|
|
Product Marketing Director, how do you
|
|
intend to establish a comfortable
|
|
balance between your specialty stores
|
|
|
|
and your direct sales force in regions
|
|
with Federated Group stores? GA
|
|
|
|
Neil> It is an interesting issue. The
|
|
management of Federated intends for
|
|
those stores to become more
|
|
competitive in the computer business.
|
|
They feel that the way to become
|
|
competitive is by enhancing their
|
|
sales force and support organizations.
|
|
I think that it healthy! If Federated
|
|
proves capable of operating at the
|
|
same levels of capability as current
|
|
computer specialty dealers, I think
|
|
that is very healthy for the Atari
|
|
marketplace.
|
|
|
|
We have a long way to go to become
|
|
Tandy. And Federated stores are not a
|
|
thing like Radio Shack stores. ga
|
|
|
|
D.F.Scott.(CS)> If Federated becomes
|
|
too competitive, and if Atari has no..
|
|
..third-party distributors, where do
|
|
the single Atari stores turn? GA
|
|
|
|
Neil> Dealers in Federated territories
|
|
have been buying from Atari on a
|
|
direct basis all along, through sales
|
|
reps employed by Atari. This policy
|
|
will continue. Are you suggesting
|
|
that we restrain Federated from
|
|
becoming competitive? ga
|
|
|
|
D.F.Scott.(CS)> I'm suggesting that
|
|
tari has created ties to small stores
|
|
which feel just as threatened by the
|
|
name Federated as they are by
|
|
-Egghead.- If Atari can sell its own
|
|
brand direct, and for less, and these
|
|
stores have no choice but to buy from
|
|
their competitor, won't they be forced
|
|
to lock you out?
|
|
|
|
Neil> The point is, Federated is NOT
|
|
trying to achieve market share in
|
|
computers through predatory pricing
|
|
policies. They are not as cutthroat
|
|
in pricing currently as they were
|
|
before the acquisition by Atari. We
|
|
had been doing business with Federated
|
|
(and another similar chain, Leachmere
|
|
in New England) for years.
|
|
|
|
There were many dealer complaints that
|
|
Federated's prices were too low. Now
|
|
that Atari owns them, the idea is to
|
|
compete on the basis of support rather
|
|
than price. I believe that this is
|
|
healthy. I think you are making an
|
|
error in semantics, DF -- we are NOT
|
|
tied to small dealers. We want our
|
|
current small dealers to grow with us
|
|
into big dealers! And that's what the
|
|
dealers have told us they want to
|
|
|
|
do.
|
|
|
|
D.F.Scott.(CS)> I was basically
|
|
voicing the opinions of analysts.
|
|
|
|
Neil> One last comment regarding
|
|
Federated. What I hope for most is
|
|
that, through owning and operating the
|
|
Federated Group, our management
|
|
becomes more sympathetic to the needs
|
|
of the retailers in advertising,
|
|
collateral materials, training, etc.
|
|
The valuable experience we're gaining
|
|
with this retailing venture can be
|
|
applied to helping our dealer base.
|
|
|
|
REXREADE> Will Federated offer
|
|
Service?
|
|
|
|
Neil> Are you applying for a job?
|
|
I believe that Federated is looking to
|
|
provide service, yes.
|
|
|
|
REXREADE> not a chance.......just want
|
|
to know because if such is the case
|
|
then the little dealer is in trouble
|
|
trying to grow and compete in both
|
|
areas.
|
|
|
|
For the complete confrence reprint,
|
|
read issue #35 of ST-Report magazine.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
BBS Systems Update
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
by Ron Kovacs
|
|
|
|
If your BBS system carries ZMagazine,
|
|
you are encouraged to let us know! We
|
|
want to get you registered for future
|
|
plans and access to the SysOp base on
|
|
the Syndicate.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ZMagazine Locations
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Zmag has areas on CompuServe and
|
|
GEnie. We are also headquartered on
|
|
the Syndicate BBS (201) 968-8148 and
|
|
Stairway to Heaven BBS. (216) 784-
|
|
0574.
|
|
|
|
Zmagazine is an online magazine part
|
|
of Amercan Publishing Enterprises,
|
|
Inc. Publishers of ST-Report Magazine.
|
|
Stay tuned for 2 new magazines.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ZMAGAZINE (ISSUE #106) May 16, 1988
|
|
(c)1988 APEInc All Rights Reserved
|
|
______________________________________
|