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______________________________________
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SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE
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Publisher/Editor Assistant Editor
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Ron Kovacs Steve Godun
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______________________________________
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Issue #108 May 30, 1988
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______________________________________
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American Publishing Enterprises, Inc
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Post Office Box 74
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Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074
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BBS: (201) 968-8148 300/1200
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______________________________________
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Contents
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______________________________________
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|*|Publishers Desk
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|*|User Group ProFile
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|*|A Tour Of Federated Dept Store
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|*|Antic's Final Report From COMDEX
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|*|Atari News and Feature Articles
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|*|MAC Report
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|*|New Publication
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|_|___________________________________
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Publishers Desk Ron Kovacs
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______________________________________
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I hope your holiday weekend has been
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relaxing. If you are in the northeast,
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I am sure you are enjoying the great
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weather! After 18 days of rain in May,
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we need the break!
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Our newest publication, Amiga Report
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is close to release. Please pass the
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word to your Amiga friends!
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Two BBS systems have been added to the
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list this week:
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Crooked Dragon Inn 312-690-2211
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Hologram 201-727-1914
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I am commenting in this weeks issue of
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ST-Report about the commentary made
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by Clayton Walnum in the latest ST-Log
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magazine. I wont repeat it all here,
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but if your interested, check out the
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latest issue (#37) of ST-Report.
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In this issue is a list of all our
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current publications. Some have yet to
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see daylight, but are scheduled for
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release very soon.
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The Atari Source Business directory
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is slotted for release in July.
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Details are included here.
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On to summer! Thanks for the great
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support!
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______________________________________
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ZMag's User Group ProFile
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______________________________________
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P.A.C.E. in the Sunshine State
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==============================
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It's been a long day and you're ready
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for a little relaxation. Your fingers
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move deftly over the familiar power
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switches of your computer equipment.
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The drive whirs and the lights of your
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modem jump to life. It's the
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equivalent of -Miller time- to us
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telecommunications afficionados, and
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as the modem dials your favorite board
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you can feel the day's tensions slip
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away. If that board happens to be a
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Z-Mag carrier, you're especially lucky
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because not only do you get all the
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benefits of your local BBS but you
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also get the latest free Atari
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information that's distributed on such
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a large scale. I am, of course,
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referring to the very news -paper-
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you're reading right now.
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By now, you might be wondering what
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this introduction is leading up to.
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Z-Mag is starting to do User Group
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profiles and as one of the very few
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all 8-bit groups in the nation, we get
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to be one of the first clubs included
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in this new section. -We- are the
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Pinellas Atari Computer Enthusiasts of
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Florida or P.A.C.E. for short. As
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Editor of our newsletter, I get to do
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the introductions. Two other members
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of our group will tell you a little
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about us. So without further ado,
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here's Patricia Forcier, one of our
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founding members, who will give you a
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bit of our history and Dave Redfern
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who will tell you about one of our
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S.I.G.s.
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In June of 1985, like most Atari
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groups across the country, P.A.C.E.
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began with a handful of Atarians (5 to
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be exact) interested in sharing and
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gaining knowledge of their favorite
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past-time.
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Getting the word out and organizing
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the users took nearly five months and
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three meeting location changes. While
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the initial meetings weren't very
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structured, it was clear there was a
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definate need and plenty of local
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Atarians to make P.A.C.E. a viable
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group. Unfortunately, the early days
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encountered some negative aspects with
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rapid officer turnover and 16-bit vs.
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8-bit incompatability. Eventhough the
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STs split off to form their own group,
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our club continued to grow despite the
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lack of Atari Corporation and local
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retailer support at that time. People
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enjoying the friendships and hands-on
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experience that belonging to a group
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like P.A.C.E. can provide kept our
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membership increasing. We have never
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charged an admission for our monthly
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meetings or raised our initial $10.00
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family membership fee. We also have an
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extensive Public Domain library that
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is kept in immaculate order by our
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Librarian, Joan Raia. These incentives
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have contributed to keep and gain
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members for the past three years,
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taking us from the original five
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Atarians to a yearly average of
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seventy-five.
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Since Thomas Davis took on the
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responsibilities of Newsletter Editor
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over two years ago, newsletters have
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gone from one page publications to a
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full scale, graphic PACESETTER (as
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it's titled) with specialized
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articles, interviews and product
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reviews. He initiated our trade
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program and we now send and receive
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newsletters with many clubs around the
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U.S.
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While I've been with P.A.C.E. since
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its inception, I still see us as a
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unique club. Yes, we have all the
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common features of any computer group
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but we are also known for our social
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blow-outs, such as our infamous
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picnics. Whether braving the chill of
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winter or the sweltering heat of a
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Florida summer, PACERS will set aside
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their Ataris for a day of fun. That's
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one of the reasons they keep getting
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my ten bucks.
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Pat Forcier
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The Tech Heads. Not an especially
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glamorous name. It doesn't exactly
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inspire confidence, but that's what
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they call us. As a matter of fact,
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that's what WE call us. I don't
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remember whose bright idea tagged us
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with it, it was probably Thomas.
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Barring all that, the Tech Heads are
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an offshoot or SIG of P.A.C.E. It was
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suggested that there were members of
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PACE that would be interested in
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learning more about the insides of
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their Ataris. We decided to form a SIG
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and promptly set up our first meeting.
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If nothing else, we call meetings at
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the drop of a hat and people show up.
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That alone says a lot for our members.
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Trying not to leave anyone behind or
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feeling left out, we decided on an
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informal meeting where anyone could
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bring up a problem, show their own
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modifications, or just listen and
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learn; but we try to stress
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involvement. We felt a 'hands on' type
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of atmosphere would be most desirable
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and at our next meeting we'll be
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building a simple voice digitizer to
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teach soldering, component
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identification, and most of all, to
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get our members involved with an
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interesting project. Also on the
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future agenda is a demonstration of
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the VOM (Volt-Ohm-Milliampmeter) and
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how to use it. The most important
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thing is keeping our members
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interested in what we are doing.
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There are no delusions of grandeur in
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this group. Sometimes it's real hard
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to tell who's running the meeting.
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It's usually the guy (or girl) who's
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doing the most talking at the time.
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That's right, this is not an all male
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group. Our Pacettes (Tech Headettes??)
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are interested in the hardware aspects
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of computing also.
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All in all, the Tech Heads have had 5
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meetings so far and I believe we are
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headed in the right direction. A
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desire to learn a little and have a
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good time are our only requirements
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and as I've said, our turnouts so far
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have been excellent. Now if we can
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just get someone to suggest a more
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glamorous name for us. I mean, it's
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bad enough being a TECH HEAD, but
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when the -HEAD TECHNOPOD'S- name is
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BOZO, I mean really!!
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Dave Redfern
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There's P.A.C.E. in a nutshell. Adding
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my two cents worth, I must say that
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while I also own an ST and belong to
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that group, too; I enjoy our club
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immeasurably more. I don't mean to
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start any new wars here but 8-bitters
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seem to know how to have more fun and
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take themselves less seriously, at
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least in our neck of the woods.
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If ya'll (a little -southern- thrown
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in for good measure) want more
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information on our club or wish to
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start an information exchange, please
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write to me at 332 Hamilton Drive,
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Safety Harbor FL, 34695-9998 or call
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my BBS, The Harbor Lights, at
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813-726-3449.
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Thomas P. Davis
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______________________________________
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A Tour of Federated Jack Lee
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______________________________________
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One of the big news of interest in the
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Atari world was when Atari Corporation
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bought the Federated Group, a chain of
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stores that specializes in home
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electronics. Currently, Federated has
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65, give or take a few, stores in
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California, Arizona, Texas, and
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Kansas.
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Like most Atarians, I thought, -Oh,
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good!! This will really give Atari
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the opportunity to sell their
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computers in an excellent way.-
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One day, I decided to check out a
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Federated store to see what they had.
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Lucky for me, I was in California at
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the time, attending school, and there
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just happened to be one near from
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where I was residing.
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My eager anticipation to see the store
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sort of dwindled as soon as I saw the
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building. It looked dead. The large
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windows were all tinted, so you could
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see what the heck was inside unless
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you were right in front of it. The
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building was all white. And it
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weren't for the Federated sign next to
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the parking entrance, one might think
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the place was one of those old
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business buildings and the people
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moved out.
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Anyway, I went in. It looked nice,
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but I wonder what they did with all
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the space. It wasn't exactly empty,
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just too many large gaps between the
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electronics on display. There all
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sorts of stereos, TV's, radios, etc.
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I checked the prices to see how
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competitive Federated was going to be.
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I went up to a display case, where it
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had portable CD players and Walkmans.
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The prices were a little outrageous.
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No wait, it was really outrageous. A
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Sony CD Discman was selling for $399!
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Granted, there are a lot of different
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types of models, but I know what they
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are. That same Discman I saw can be
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found for a lot less in catalog
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showrooms, like $229. Hmmmm. Then I
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saw a Sony Walkman selling for $179.
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It was a small unit, which offered
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stereo cassette player, FM/AM stereo,
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auto-reverse, Dolby B, metal tape
|
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capability. It also came with a
|
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nickel cadium rechargeable battery
|
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with recharger (it runs on one AA
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battery). It was selling for $189.
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$189?!?!! I have the same exact
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model, which I got on sale for $120.
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I decided to heck with this and came
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for what I really wanted to see.
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I walked over to the computer section.
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There were two 520 ST's on display, as
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well as a 1040ST. The latter had MIDI
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software in it, but there was nothing
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connected! There were also a 2600,
|
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130XE, and XE Game System displayed,
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and even the new XF551 drive and
|
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SX-212 modem. There were a whole
|
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bunch of neatly stacked boxes of all
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the 8-bit hardware. But once again,
|
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some of the prices were off. They
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were selling leftover 800XL's, still
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in their boxes, for $149. Huh? The
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XE Game System was selling for the
|
|
same price, and yet you would get a
|
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lot more for the money. The 130XE was
|
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selling for $179, and I got mine for
|
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$99 (through a special sale from a
|
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mail order company). The other Atari
|
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game machines (2600, 7800) were
|
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selling about $10 more than let's say,
|
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at Toys R' Us. Ummm, what's going on?
|
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The XF-551 was selling for a whopping
|
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$229, and well, I didn't bother to see
|
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the price of the SX-212.
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Something was wrong, though, because
|
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apparently I was invisible to the
|
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store employees. No one came up to me
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and asked if I needed assistance. In
|
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fact, the store was practically empty
|
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with customers. I was there for at
|
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least a half hour, wandering around
|
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looking at this and that, but to no
|
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avail. It didn't really matter, I was
|
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only there to browse, not buy!
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The software section had, shall we
|
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say, -fair- prices, and a -big-
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selection. Well, the Atari 8-bit
|
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software was mostly oldies for Atari,
|
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Inc. Things like Pac-Man, Space
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Invaders, Pilot, etc. A tiny
|
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selection of new software was hidden
|
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in the mass. The ST software
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selection had a wider selection, so
|
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that was no problem.
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Having decided I had enough and
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because I had to study for my next
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mid-term, I started to walk out. But
|
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as I was leaving, something caught my
|
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eye. It was another computer that I
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overlooked before. I looked at it
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warily, and couldn't believe my eyes.
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I came up closer to make sure I wasn't
|
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hallucinating. I rubbed my eyes to
|
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make sure dust wasn't obstructing my
|
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vision. I looked and double looked to
|
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see my fear come true. Right in front
|
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of me was an Amiga 500 computer!!!! An
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Atari owned store selling the
|
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competition's computer???
|
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Aaarrrggghhh!!!
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And as the title character in the
|
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arcade game, Paperboy would say, -Oh,
|
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man- that's BOGUS!!!-.
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______________________________________
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Antic Final Comdex Report
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______________________________________
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ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1988
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REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
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ATARI SEES ITS UNIT NEAR BREAKEVEN
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According to Reuters, though losses
|
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from Federated Group continue to hurt
|
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earnings, Atari said it expects
|
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Federated to just about break even in
|
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the second and third quarters and a
|
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modest profit in the fourth quarter.
|
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Atari also said it is reducing costs
|
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and improving product mix, margins and
|
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sales.
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Without Federated, Atari said it would
|
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have earned $15.3 million, or 26 cents
|
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per share, on sales of $97.7 million
|
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in 1988. Atari's net income was $5.67
|
|
million, or 10 cents per share, on net
|
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sales of $169.23 million for the first
|
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quarter, down from $15.26 million, or
|
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26 cents, on sales of $65.13 million a
|
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year earlier. Last year's results
|
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included a gain of $5.89 million.
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Additionally, the company said the
|
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Atari computer and video game segment
|
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generated -significant- increases in
|
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sales volume. The continuing shortage
|
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of Dynamic Random Access Memory,
|
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however, has had a negative impact on
|
|
sales, but Atari expects the DRAM
|
|
shortage and related high cost will
|
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begin to ease later this year.
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REPORT FROM ATLANTA, PART IV
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Closing day of Spring 1988 Comdex
|
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by Andrew Reese START Editor
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(Atlanta, Georgia, May 13, 1988) The
|
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numbers held up well as the Spring,
|
|
1988 version of Comdex came to a
|
|
close. Floor traffic stayed high and
|
|
the Atlanta airport resembled
|
|
Manhattan at rush hour. There was
|
|
general agreement that the hottest
|
|
item shown at Comdex was a new Dell
|
|
PS/2 clone and the hottest giveaway
|
|
was a yellow nylon bag with a logo of
|
|
-WingZ,- a new Mac II integrated
|
|
spreadsheet package. The WingZ
|
|
pavilion with their flashy Leonard
|
|
Nimoy-narrated laser, sound and light
|
|
show was just across the way from the
|
|
Atari booth and the lines stayed long
|
|
for the entire show.
|
|
|
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MIDI software publishers were well
|
|
represented in the Atari booth itself
|
|
with Hybrid Arts, Dr. T, Passport,
|
|
Sonus and Midisoft all showing their
|
|
wares. Announced today by Frank
|
|
Foster of Hybrid Arts is their new
|
|
ADAP II. To be shown in June at the
|
|
Consumer Electronics Show (CES), ADAP
|
|
II, which stands for Analog-to-Digital
|
|
Audio Processor, is the first Random
|
|
Access Editing System for Digital
|
|
Audio Tapes (DAT). It will be
|
|
available this summer and carries a
|
|
$3,000 price tag for the hardware and
|
|
software package. It requires a
|
|
minimum of 1 meg of RAM in an ST (or a
|
|
Mega, of course) and a Hard Drive. The
|
|
hardware consists of the sampler and a
|
|
coprocessor box. Just like the
|
|
present ADAP, it allows 80 seconds of
|
|
stereo to be stored in a digital form
|
|
on a 20 Meg hard drive. A truly
|
|
professional package and the first
|
|
allowing DAT editing...and only on the
|
|
ST!
|
|
|
|
A.L. Hospers Jr. of Dr. T's was
|
|
demonstrating their Multi-Program
|
|
Environment (MPE) system for MIDI.
|
|
It's a shell for Dr. T's line of MIDI
|
|
software, but it's more than just a
|
|
shell, because it allows for
|
|
interactive data sharing among the
|
|
programs. Version 1.6 of the Keyboard
|
|
Controlled Sequencer (KCS) is shipping
|
|
now at $249 with MPE and new edit
|
|
features. You can play around with
|
|
55,000 notes in a one meg ST and still
|
|
have a sequencer, MPE and three patch
|
|
editors in RAM at the same time, but
|
|
if you want to add in Dr. T's
|
|
impressive scoring software, better
|
|
have more than 2 megs of RAM. All in
|
|
all, a very powerful and impressive
|
|
package.
|
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|
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Passport's Master Tracks Pro Version
|
|
2.1 was unveiled at Comdex. With
|
|
enhancements over their already
|
|
powerful Version 2.0, Passport remains
|
|
in the hunt for ST MIDI leadership.
|
|
Master Tracks uses a unique interface
|
|
for editing and allows the musician to
|
|
lay down up to 64 tracks. Watch for
|
|
new developments from Passport in the
|
|
very near future.
|
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|
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Superscore, the 32-track sequencer and
|
|
scoring program from Sonus, made its
|
|
first Comdex appearance. This is a
|
|
powerful program designed to let the
|
|
musician polish his/her work and then
|
|
print out a finished score on an
|
|
Epson-compatible printer. It's priced
|
|
at $249 and shipping now.
|
|
|
|
Midisoft Corp. showed their Advanced
|
|
Edition of Midisoft Studio, due for
|
|
June release. Midisoft has added new
|
|
event editing features, programmable
|
|
tempo changes and support for the
|
|
emerging standard MIDI file format,
|
|
while still retaining the clarity for
|
|
which the Standard Edition has become
|
|
known. Only $149.
|
|
|
|
An editorial aside here: your editor
|
|
doesn't come from a MIDI background.
|
|
In fact, many who know me would say
|
|
that I don't even come from a musical
|
|
background. But be that as it may,
|
|
seeing these five fine packages side-
|
|
by-side impressed me with three
|
|
things. First, they each use a
|
|
distinctive approach to the tasks, so
|
|
that whichever interface you prefer
|
|
and whatever your needs, one of these
|
|
packages will fill the bill. Second, I
|
|
was impressed by the level of activity
|
|
in this segment of the ST market; the
|
|
ST has forged into the overall lead in
|
|
the MIDI industry in no small measure
|
|
due to the efforts of these and other
|
|
inventive ST publishers. Finally, I
|
|
was struck by the incredible power
|
|
these packages give the musician or
|
|
even non-musician. I think that even
|
|
I could knock out something listenable
|
|
with one of these -- and that's no
|
|
small accomplishment. Cheers for
|
|
these guys who have made a name for
|
|
the ST.
|
|
|
|
There were a number of new printers at
|
|
the show. The trend continues to be
|
|
more power for less money as proces
|
|
for 24-pin printers drop below the
|
|
$500 level. But the most spectacular
|
|
printer at the show had to be the new
|
|
Tektronix 4693D, a full-color wax
|
|
printer that produced thick, but
|
|
gorgeous pictures. Unfortunately, the
|
|
price was $8,495...and Tektronix has
|
|
produced drivers only for the IBM, Mac
|
|
and Amiga so far. I'm sure that an ST
|
|
driver could be produced without too
|
|
much trouble, if the ST market would
|
|
support it. We'll just have to see
|
|
what happens as Atari increases its
|
|
push into the business markets.
|
|
|
|
Well, that's about it from Atlanta.
|
|
There were more booths and more
|
|
products than one person could
|
|
possibly see in four days, so I'm sure
|
|
that I missed a few. But my feet will
|
|
vouch for what I hope was a valiant
|
|
effort! It was a success as far as
|
|
lining up some good writers for the
|
|
pages of START and Antic, however.
|
|
Watch for the likes of George Miller
|
|
(formerly of the now defunct Compute's
|
|
ST magazine), Denis Labreque (one of
|
|
Passport's musical geniuses) and
|
|
Kenneth George (wizard of the ST
|
|
Accelerator) to grace our pages in the
|
|
months to come. And oh, did we find
|
|
some great topics to cover! Like...
|
|
well, we better just keep things under
|
|
wraps for now.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Atari News Update/Features Page
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Compiled by Steve Godun
|
|
|
|
Several Atari User Groups have been
|
|
making significant contributions to
|
|
charity, making donations of hardware,
|
|
software, training, support, and cash
|
|
funds. Two of these user groups, the
|
|
Chicago Land Atari Users Group (CLAUG)
|
|
and the San Leandro Computer Club
|
|
(SLCC), in northern California, have
|
|
contributed significantly to local
|
|
Children's Hospitals and other
|
|
charitable organizations.
|
|
|
|
This year CLAUG has raised $2,000
|
|
which will be presented to Children's
|
|
Memorial Hospital in Chicago during
|
|
the Children's Miracle Network
|
|
telethon, a nationally broadcast event
|
|
June 4-5. -All funds raised through
|
|
the telethon go to patient care
|
|
services,- said a hospital
|
|
spokesperson. -We've established this
|
|
endowment because Children's Memorial
|
|
Hospital has an open-door policy -- we
|
|
provide for all children who need
|
|
care, and we want to continue that.-
|
|
|
|
Marty Conroy, CLAUG special events
|
|
coordinator, said the group has been
|
|
working with Children's Memorial
|
|
Hospital for several yaers. CLAUG
|
|
raised the money with a series of two
|
|
auctions, selling a variety of
|
|
computer hardware and software. These
|
|
items included the group's outdated
|
|
software library, products donated by
|
|
local dealers, and several game
|
|
systems donated by Atari Corporation
|
|
itself.
|
|
|
|
The group has been commended by Antic
|
|
Magazine as one of Atari's best user
|
|
groups. It boasts of over 300 members,
|
|
with regular attendance at a meeting
|
|
of 60 to 100 people.
|
|
|
|
Atari donated equipment to a number of
|
|
Children's Hospitals several years
|
|
ago. It was then that user groups
|
|
across the country were first asked to
|
|
get involved in training and support
|
|
of the hospital's collection of 8-bit
|
|
computers. Located in the Child Life
|
|
section of the Hospital which
|
|
coordinates recreational activities,
|
|
the hospital's 65XE and 1050 disk
|
|
drive, printer and monitor, are part
|
|
of a mobile unit, able to travel to
|
|
different parts of the hospital.
|
|
-Atari was kind enough to donate the
|
|
equipment,- said Tina Alcaraz of
|
|
Children's Memorial Hospital's Child
|
|
Life unit, -but we need software. We
|
|
do have video games, but we'd like to
|
|
see the children get involved in word
|
|
processing, databases, and educational
|
|
programs.- The Teacher's Classroom and
|
|
Child Psychiatry units of the hospital
|
|
also have Atari computers.
|
|
|
|
The SLCC has been working with Oakland
|
|
Children's Hospital for about three
|
|
years. Said Bob Barton, president,
|
|
-We've done a lot for our community,
|
|
and we'll continue to do so.-
|
|
|
|
The Hospital currently owns a 130XE
|
|
computer and a small collection of
|
|
software, primarily games. User group
|
|
volunteers have provided a cart for
|
|
the system, so the computer/monitor
|
|
system can be easily transported to
|
|
bedsides as well as locked when not in
|
|
use. Said Barton, -We needed a mobile
|
|
unit so we could reach the children
|
|
who can't get out of bed.- The machine
|
|
is used by many of the youngsters at
|
|
Children's Hospital, some of them too
|
|
ill to leave their rooms. -The
|
|
computer is an additional outlet for
|
|
them (the kids) to latch on to, so
|
|
they learn something,- said Barton.
|
|
-They use it a lot...more now that we
|
|
put together the roll-around stand.-
|
|
|
|
The SLCC has also been working with
|
|
the Home for Battered Boys in San
|
|
Francisco. -We've done charitable
|
|
drives for toys, clothing, and food
|
|
through community churches as well,-
|
|
said Barton. The user group channels
|
|
many of their community projects
|
|
through a local church chosen at
|
|
random.
|
|
|
|
SLCC has over 400 members, with
|
|
approximately 100 people participating
|
|
on a regular basis. Members come from
|
|
all over the eastern portion of the
|
|
San Francisco Bay Area.
|
|
---==========---
|
|
|
|
Atari's 1987 Annual Report was mailed
|
|
to stockholders earlier this month,
|
|
just weeks after the company appeared
|
|
on the Fortune 500 list for the first
|
|
time. Net sales for the corporation,
|
|
including the Federated Group chain of
|
|
consumer electronics stores acquired
|
|
late last year, net sales were $493
|
|
million, an increase of 91%. This
|
|
placed Atari as #484 among US
|
|
corporations in total sales, according
|
|
to Fortune magazine.
|
|
|
|
Without the inclusion of Federated's
|
|
figures, Atari's net sales were a
|
|
record $363.8 million, an icrease of
|
|
42%. Operating income was $72 million,
|
|
in increase of 49%, and income before
|
|
extraordinary item was $46.6 million.
|
|
Earnings (before extraordinary item)
|
|
were $0.80 per share, compared to
|
|
$0.53 in 1986, an increase of 51%.
|
|
|
|
In the Fortune survey, Atari ranked
|
|
#264 in net profits, #400 in total
|
|
assets, #414 in stockholder's equity,
|
|
#337 in market value, #42 in profit as
|
|
a percentage of sales, #61 in profit
|
|
as a percentage of assets, #19 in
|
|
profit as a percentage of
|
|
stockholder's equity, and #53 in total
|
|
return to investors.
|
|
|
|
The annual report focused on the
|
|
growth of Atari's markets overseas.
|
|
Atari opened new subsidiaries in
|
|
Sweden, Spain, Australia, and Mexico.
|
|
There has been a dramatic increase in
|
|
European sales of the Atari 520ST and
|
|
1040ST computers. Demand in 1987 rose
|
|
so sharply that the US marketing
|
|
assault has been postponed as Atari
|
|
strives to increase production
|
|
capacities. The situation is expected
|
|
to improve this year.
|
|
|
|
Atari shipped a number of new products
|
|
in the last year, including the new
|
|
Mega line of computers and the SLM804
|
|
laser printer. Video games were in
|
|
high demand, and sales of the new XE
|
|
Game System did well, as well as a
|
|
number of new software titles.
|
|
|
|
According to the Annual Report, Atari
|
|
is planning on expanding the ST
|
|
computer line further by introducing a
|
|
32-bit system driven by a 68030
|
|
Motorola microprocessor. This powerful
|
|
workstation would feature on-chip
|
|
memory management and cache providing
|
|
extremely fast internal RAM
|
|
operations. With an industry-standard
|
|
Unix operating system, the machine
|
|
would be fully supported by existing
|
|
software for office automation,
|
|
engineering, and database management.
|
|
The 68030 system is targeted for
|
|
shipping in the fourth quarter of
|
|
1988.
|
|
|
|
Atari also anticipates releasing the
|
|
long-awaited CD-ROM later this year.
|
|
The unit will offer both audio and
|
|
read-only data for users requiring
|
|
large amounts of data. Each condensed
|
|
disk can hold up to 540 megabytes of
|
|
information!
|
|
|
|
Also, Atari is still looking to
|
|
acquire, or form a strategic alliance
|
|
with, a semiconductor manufacturing
|
|
plant. In part, this would solve the
|
|
crucial DRAM (Dynamic Random Access
|
|
Memory) ship shortage currently
|
|
gripping the company and the industry.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
MAC Report
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
W I N D Y C I T Y O P E N S
|
|
9 6 0 0 B A U D M A C B O A R D
|
|
|
|
Desktoppers II opened its doors for
|
|
the first time on Saturday, 21 May 88.
|
|
Desktoppers II is strictly a
|
|
MacInotosh board operating on a an IBM
|
|
AT.
|
|
|
|
This is the second board operating in
|
|
Chicago by Randy Bennett and Chuck
|
|
Maddox. It is a FREE/Shareware board
|
|
with 80+ megs of disk space. There
|
|
are currently over 1360 files up and
|
|
available for downloading. Desktoppers
|
|
II uses a US Robotics 9600 baud modem
|
|
and accepts calls at 300/1200/2400/
|
|
9600 baud, 24-hours per day. Our modem
|
|
has the new ER level 5. Makes
|
|
downloading/uploading twice as fast.
|
|
|
|
Our other board Desktoppers I operates
|
|
as multiple lines and is a
|
|
subscription board. It offers
|
|
multiple lines, online conferencing
|
|
and 160 megs of disk space. Full echo
|
|
mail is also avilable on Desktoppers
|
|
I.
|
|
|
|
Our numbers are as follows:
|
|
|
|
Desktoppers I -
|
|
312-356-3776 / 312-356-6420
|
|
(This line for registered users)
|
|
|
|
Desktoppers BBS' is the home of
|
|
MacDigest and Chuck Maddox's National
|
|
MAC BBS list.
|
|
|
|
Desktoppers II - 312-356-5241
|
|
---=======---
|
|
|
|
Like most MUG editors your blood
|
|
pressure probably goes up around
|
|
deadline time every month. Trying to
|
|
find consistently good material to
|
|
publish is a real pain! I know how you
|
|
feel!
|
|
|
|
We have created the MUG NEWS SERVICE
|
|
to help make your job easier. MNS is
|
|
a clearinghouse for articles, reviews,
|
|
clipart, and information about the Mac
|
|
community that will come to you every
|
|
month on a disk - FREE! This service
|
|
will be provided to you free by
|
|
software and hardware companies that
|
|
will pay for the duplication of the
|
|
disk and service.
|
|
|
|
There is a catch! To acknowledge
|
|
their support, you can do one of three
|
|
things: drop a small (supplied)
|
|
quarter-page ad in that issue of your
|
|
newsletter, or promise to include the
|
|
disk in your pubic domain library, or
|
|
mention that some of the info in that
|
|
month's newsletter was supplied by the
|
|
company. Pretty easy & painless,
|
|
right!
|
|
|
|
As a bonus, if we use any material
|
|
from your newsletter, we will pay you
|
|
or the author a small honorarium. We
|
|
are looking for new articles or
|
|
reprints covering all that is
|
|
Macintosh from Novice to Power User.
|
|
Clip-Art, tutorials, and even contests
|
|
will be included on the disk. If you
|
|
would like your material to become
|
|
part of the clearinghouse, please put
|
|
us on your mailing list. If we decide
|
|
to use any of your material we would
|
|
call you for an electronic version.
|
|
You retain copyright on your material
|
|
and a statement, -Reprinted from
|
|
........- is tagged with the article.
|
|
|
|
Again, we emphasize that this service
|
|
is free to you. As an editor for the
|
|
last four years, I have had it up to
|
|
my ears trying to find things to
|
|
publish in my club's newsletter. This
|
|
News Service is an attempt to make my
|
|
job as editor of the MECCA JOURNAL
|
|
painless and I hope you find this
|
|
service beneficial to you and your
|
|
members.
|
|
|
|
In a nutshell - every month you will
|
|
receive a free disk full of articles,
|
|
clip-art, and information on the
|
|
Macintosh that you can use in your
|
|
newsletter and/or MUG membership. All
|
|
you have to do is agree to either use
|
|
a supplied small ad by the company, or
|
|
put the disk in your PD library, or
|
|
mention the company in your
|
|
newsletter. And, if we use any of
|
|
your newsletter material (provided you
|
|
put us on your mailing list), we will
|
|
pay you or the author a small
|
|
honorarium.
|
|
|
|
If you are willing to receive this
|
|
service, please fill out the enclosed
|
|
agreement form and mail (Email or
|
|
snail) it to me.
|
|
|
|
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Don Rittner, UG0194
|
|
|
|
MUG NEWS SERVICE (MNS)
|
|
|
|
Yes, I want to receive your free disk
|
|
every month. I agree to the following
|
|
(check all that applies):
|
|
|
|
____ I will include the supplied ad in
|
|
the issue that contains reprinted
|
|
material, and/or;
|
|
|
|
____ I will place the disk in our
|
|
Public Domain library for all our
|
|
members, and/or;
|
|
|
|
____I will mention that the company
|
|
helped supply the reprinted
|
|
information somewhere in the
|
|
newsletter.
|
|
|
|
___Also, MUG NEWS SERVICE has my
|
|
permission to reprint material from
|
|
our newsletter to become part of
|
|
the clearinghouse. I understand
|
|
that any of our material used will
|
|
receive a small honorarium.
|
|
|
|
Editor __________________________
|
|
|
|
MUG_______________________________
|
|
|
|
MUG Newsletter________________________
|
|
|
|
Address_______________________________
|
|
|
|
City, State, & Zip____________________
|
|
|
|
Phone (day & night) __________________
|
|
__________________
|
|
|
|
We have __________members.
|
|
|
|
Date_________________
|
|
|
|
PLEASE RESPOND BY JUNE 15, 1988.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
APEInc Publications
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Atari 8 Bit News and Reviews
|
|
[ZMagazine]
|
|
|
|
Atari ST, Mega News and Reviews
|
|
[ST-Report]
|
|
|
|
Amiga News and Reviews
|
|
[Amiga Report]
|
|
|
|
Magic-Sac/Macintosh News/Reviews
|
|
[MAC Report]
|
|
|
|
IBM PC/PC-Ditto News and Reviews
|
|
[PC Report]
|
|
|
|
The Atari Source
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
New Publication
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
|
|
We have scheduled July 1988 as the
|
|
first month for release of the first
|
|
Atari oriented Buisness Directory.
|
|
|
|
We feel this is an excellant way to
|
|
inform the modem population what you
|
|
have to say about your products,
|
|
publications, new software, etc....
|
|
|
|
We will update this publication on a
|
|
monthly basis and all advertising will
|
|
be arranged for three month runs.
|
|
|
|
If you are interested in rates and
|
|
more information, Please write to:
|
|
APEInc, PO Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846
|
|
or call (201) 968-2024 between the
|
|
hours of 10am and 9pm.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ZMagazine Issue #108 May 30, 1988
|
|
(c)1988 APEInc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
|
|
______________________________________
|