1028 lines
25 KiB
Plaintext
1028 lines
25 KiB
Plaintext
|SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE|
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| Issue #150 |
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| March 28, 1989 |
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|Copyright 1989, SPC|
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|This week in ZMagazine|
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Editor's Monitor
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Harold Brewer
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XE Console Key Fix
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The Traveler
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Thunder Fox and Tower Toppler
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Matthew Ratcliff
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-WHATIS- File Identifier
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Bill Aycock
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Analog Computing May Contents
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Clayton Walnum
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F.A.C.E.
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Eric Lambeth
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Z*Net Newswire
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Harold Brewer
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|EDITOR'S MONITOR|
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|by Harold Brewer|
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Spring has come early to the St. Louis
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area. Trees are leafing out, robins
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are spying their supper, and the 8-bits
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are readying themselves for more
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hardware/software releases.
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The Diamond OS cartridge's Diamond
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Paint is shipping, with other
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application programs eagerly awaited.
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(Someone like to write a review on
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Diamond Painting?)
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The GOE OS cartridge should begin being
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betatested in a few weeks.
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The Express! cartridge has been
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demonstrated to at least one user
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group. I for one am looking forward
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to competition for my Amodem 7.52 and
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BASIC XE...
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Atari is coming out with new game
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titles on cartridge.
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Cartridge? Cartridge? Cartridge?
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Do I perceive a trend?
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I'd like to commend the third-party
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developers in their efforts to bring
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good hardware and software to our
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computers. The May edition of Antic
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contains their Antic Achievement Awards
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for 1988. Hats off to all those so
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honored.
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This issue of ZMagazine concludes my
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first month as editor. The work
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involved was greatly offset by my
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feeling even closer to the Atari 8-bit
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and the community of 8-bit users.
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I hope to continue in this frame of
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mind for many months more.
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|ATARITECH BBS! XE CONSOLE KEY FIX|
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|by The Traveler|
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Courtesy of CompuServe Atari8
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The Atari 130XE is one of the BEST
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8-bit computers available today. But
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as with all computers, it does have a
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few small -warts-. One of these is the
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keyboard itself, the console keys in
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particular.
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The type of keyboard used is known as a
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-Low-resistance contact-, the
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resistance being about 1000 ohms or so.
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As you use the keyboard, the resistance
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of the contacts tend to go up. For the
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regular keyboard and the RESET key,
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this increase in resistance causes no
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problems. But the console keys (OPTION,
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SELECT, and START) are read by a
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different IC, and the change in
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resistance will eventually keep the
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console keys from working (the HELP key
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is actually read as just another letter
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key).
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The fix to the problem is to add just
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enough resistance in parallel to the
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key that is high enough not to make the
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computer read the key as pressed, but
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low enough so that when the console key
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is pressed, the computer will recognize
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it.
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The original idea for this fix came
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from Alan Haskell from the book -Mods,
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Fixes, and Upgrades- available from
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Best Electronics, 2021 The Alameda,
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Suite 290, San Jose, CA 95126. One
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minor problem with the fix, however--
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it wouldn't work on the 130XE that was
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given to me to repair. After several
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hours of pulling out my hair over this
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thing (and anyone who has seen my
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balding pate KNOWS I can't afford to do
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too much of that!), I determined the
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problem: the resistor value
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given--3000 ohms--was too low for this
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machine at least. This value was just
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slightly above what the computer
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registered as a key pressed. Any
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random electrical noise would cause
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the computer to read the key as
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pressed, which would cause problems
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with the BBS program that was being
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used. A higher resistor value was
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needed.
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There is no -correct- resistor value to
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use, as it varies between different
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130XEs. You may need to do some
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testing (as I did) to make sure it
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works properly.
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|What You Need|
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Soldering Iron and Solder
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Wire Clippers
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3 4700 Ohm Resistors, 1/4 watt
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A small Phillips screwdriver
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Needle-Nosed Pliers
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|How to do it|
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1) Unplug all of the wires from the
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computer. Turn the computer over
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and remove the four screws that hold
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the top cover on. Turn the computer
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back over and THEN take off the top
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cover.
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2) Lift the keyboard up and forward and
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you should see the ribbon connector
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at the lower right corner. Gently
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remove the ribbon from the
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connector.
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3) Remove the screws that hold the
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motherboard to the lower half of the
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case. Lift the front part of the
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motherboard up and then forward to
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remove it from the case.
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4) Straighten the tabs that hold the
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top and bottom shields on and remove
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the shields.
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5) Turn the board over with the
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keyboard connector facing to the
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front. The connector pins are
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numbered from right to left.
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Pin #3 is the ground connection, and
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Pins #21, 22, and 23 are the pins
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for START, SELECT, and OPTION keys,
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respectively. These are the
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connections you need to make for the
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repair.
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6) Take the three resistors and solder
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the wire from one end of one
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resistor and solder it to the second
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resistor at the spot where the wire
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comes out from the resistor body.
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Repeat this procedure from the
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second to the third. You should have
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the three resistors soldered to one
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common wire. Cover this wire with a
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short piece of tubing (known as
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-spaghetti-) or some insulation
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stripped from a piece of scrap wire.
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Connect this wire to Pin #3 of the
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ribbon connector. This is the common
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connection for the console keys.
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Solder the other end of each
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resistor to Pins # 21, 22, and 23 of
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the connector, being sure to cover
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them with a short piece of
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insulation as well.
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7) Check your wiring to be sure that
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there are no shorts! Use as little
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solder as possible and make the
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connection as fast as you can, using
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as little heat as possible. Place a
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short piece of electrical tape on
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the board under the resistors, if
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needed, and press the resistors
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close to the board.
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8) Reassemble the shields and check to
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see that the resistors are not
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shorting against the lower shield.
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9) Reattach the keyboard to the
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motherboard, taking care not to bend
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the ribbon--it WILL crack. It helps
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to insert one edge first, then
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carefully work the other edge into
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the connector.
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10)To test the repair, power up the
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computer and in BASIC type:
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10 PRINT PEEK(53279):GOTO 10
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and type RUN. You should see a
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vertical row of 7's. Pressing
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OPTION will give you 3's, SELECT
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will give you 5's and START will
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give you 6's. The value should not
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change while any one key is held
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down.
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This should return the normal function
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of the console keys.
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|Special Note for Techs|
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You can use the following method to
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determine the exact resistor value that
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you need. It might save you time and
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aggravation.
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What you need (in addition):
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Multitester (digital best)
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10K Multiturn Potentiometer
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Some short pieces of thin wire
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This should be done between steps #4
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and #5 of the above procedure:
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A) Connect one short piece of wire to
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the center pin of the pot, the other
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to one of the other pins.
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B) Solder the free end of one wire to
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the ground pin (Pin 3). These
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connections will only be temporary.
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Solder the other free end to one of
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the console key Pins (21, 22, or
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23). Adjust the pot for maximum
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resistance.
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C) Reconnect the power and monitor.
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Reconnect the keyboard. Turn on the
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computer with the option key
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pressed--you should get the
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diagnostic screen. Select the
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KEYBOARD TEST and hit START.
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D) Adjust the pot until the tone just
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starts to sound intermittently.
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Measure the resistance by connecting
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the probes to the center pin and the
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unused pin on the pot. Subtract the
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measured value from the rated value
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of the pot to get the proper value.
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Record it.
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E) Adjust it again until the tone
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sounds continuously. Record the
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value the same way as in step D.
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F) Turn the computer off, and
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disconnect the cables and the
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keyboard. Unsolder the wires from
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the keyboard connector.
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G) The proper resistor value to use
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will be the closest value that is
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both HIGHER than the highest value
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recorded, but around DOUBLE the
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lower value. The resistors you will
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use will probably be between 3000
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and 5000 ohms. Continue on to step
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#5 as above.
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If you have any questions about
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this or any technical questions about
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Atari 8-bit computers, you can call
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the AtariTech BBS at (813) 539-8141
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or write to:
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AtariTech BBS
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P.O. Box 7974
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Clearwater, Florida 34618.
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We have many files on easy-to-build
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hardware projects, memory upgrades,
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fixes and mods.
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Scene #1
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Bzzzt!
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Crackle!
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|Oh? | | | | | | | | | | |
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|I CAN'T | | | | | | | | | | |
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|take the | | | | | | | | | | |
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|Hard Drive| | | | | | | | | | |
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|in to play|
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|with my | | The |
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|Jack and | | FrogTub|
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|Sam dolls?|
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|THUNDER FOX AND TOWER TOPPLER|
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|by Matthew Ratcliff|
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Courtesy of GEnie's Atari 8-bit RT
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|Thunder Fox|
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Thunder Fox is an odd little game. It
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has spectacular sound effects and very
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good graphics. Playability is
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difficult--it's TOO FAST. Depth--very
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little, only 3 screens.
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What is it? You fly your -Thunder Fox-
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from your mother ship up against an
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enemy ship. You fly over it, sort of
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like the Millenium Falcon flying across
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the under belly of a star destroyer.
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There are some gravity stabilizer
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towers that you have to shoot 5 times
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each. Once they are destroyed, you can
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-warp into the ship-. Then you have to
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fly across some sort of laser power
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grids or something--all timing. Next
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you have to shoot the ship's main power
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source before it shoots you. Nearly
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impossible! But if you do it, the bad
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guy ship is a gonner and then you start
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it all over again!
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However, I'd almost recommend this game
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just for the graphics and sound effects
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(mostly the sound), even though the
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subject matter is lacking in
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originality and depth.
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|Tower Toppler|
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Tower Toppler is a very interesting
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game. I had the PC version for a
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while. It is another graphics
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adventure game with a new twist.
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You must help this little alien climb a
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tower and topple it, I guess. It's
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kind of like a round Rubic's Cube or
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something. Each level is another
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puzzle to solve.
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You guide the man into a hole, the
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tower rotates this way or that, and
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then he pops out--only to have to avoid
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a bouncing ball or some attacking
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creature. You always view this tower
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from the outside, as it spins about,
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your little man bobbing in and out of
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the rooms, jumping over and avoiding
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obstacles. When travling outside of
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the tower, he is generally walking
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along a thin ledge. It's easy to fall
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off.
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Graphics are superb. Sound is probably
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good on the Atari but, as always, they
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stink on my PC. It has a high
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frustration factor since it's so
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difficult to master. And you will get
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knocked off a lot and have to START
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OVER. There doesn't seem to be a way
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to jump to higher levels over areas
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that you have already mastered.
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Still, it seems to be a fairly unique
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version of the climbing, jumping,
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adventure scenario.
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Mat*Rat
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|-WHATIS- FILE IDENTIFIER|
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|by Bill Aycock|
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WHATIS File Identifier, v1.6
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(c)1989 by Bill Aycock
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WHATIS is a simple utility that will
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identify 23 different types of files.
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Running the program is very
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simple--just binary load the program
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from any DOS. When you're asked for
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the name of the file to identify, type
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in its name. If you don't include a
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device specification, WHATIS will add
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D: to the filename.
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WHATIS will then read the first few
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bytes of the file in question. If
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these bytes match a known file
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-signature-, WHATIS will tell you what
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type of file it is (or will say -TEXT
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(or data)- if the file doesn't match
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any of the known types. The program
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will then wait for you to press the
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START key before returning to DOS.
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SpartaDOS users: you have the option
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of passing the filename on the command
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line if desired. Also, you won't be
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prompted for the START key, since
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Sparta doesn't clear the screen when
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entering the command processor.
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So far, WHATIS can recognize files
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prepared with these compression
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utilities:
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ARC
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ALFCRUNCH
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CRUSH
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DISKCOM (Disk Communicator)
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MASH
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SCRUNCH
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SHRINK
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Decoders for these file types are
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available in LIB 3 of ATARI8 on
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CompuServe and elsewhere. In addition,
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WHATIS will recognize these types of
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files:
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SAVEd BASIC programs
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EXTENDed BXE (BASIC-XE) programs
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SAVEd MAC/65 code
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OBJECT code (machine language)
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DaisyDot fonts
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GIF pictures
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compressed KOALA pictures
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SpartaDOS X (SDX) external commands
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as well as these types of ST files:
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executable ST programs
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ST-Writer files
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Degas pictures (.PI?)
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Cyber (.SEQ) animations
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Spectrum pics (.SPC and .SPU)
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It _is_ possible to fool WHATIS. If a
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data file happens to start with the
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same bytes as one of these file types,
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it will be identified incorrectly.
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Also, SpartaDOS X device handlers will
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usually show up as DISKCOM files.
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WHATIS was based on Roy Goldman's
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Compactor Detector, a BASIC program
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which identifies files and allows
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renaming them to have a -standard-
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extender. WHATIS was written in
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Action! and compiled with the RunTime
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Library, both of which are available
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from the fine folks at ICD. Some of
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the I/O routines used were written by
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Don Davis.
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I'm always looking for more file types
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to support in WHATIS. If you know of a
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particular type of file that always
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start with the same few bytes, please
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let me know--I'll be glad to add it in!
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(Editor's note: WHATIS.COM can be a
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boon to BBS SysOps and Users alike.
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Many are the times when I have no idea
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what kind of file (or kind of
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compression routine) I received late
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last night. WHATIS and the Compactor
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Detector saves me much time and many
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keystrokes determining what this file
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really is.)
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Scene #2
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. .
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The Hard Drive did what?!
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|ANALOG COMPUTING MAY CONTENTS|
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|by Clayton Walnum|
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Courtesy of GEnie Atari 8-bit RT
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Table of Contents
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ANALOG Computing, May 1989
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|FEATURES|
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Super Command Processor
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by Bryan Schappel
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Here's a memory-resident DOS that
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allows you to add your own
|
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commands--and all that flexibility in
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less than 2,000 bytes!
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The Ultimate Graphics File Converter
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by Lee S. Brilliant, M.D.
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Share your graphics between Newsroom,
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Print Shop and MicroPainter with this
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handy conversion program.
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What's New in Consumer Electronics
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by Arthur Leyenberger
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The Winter '89 CES didn't offer much
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for Atari 8-bit owners, but there were
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many items of interest for those who
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want to stay on the cutting edge of
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technology.
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Master Memory Map, Part X
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by Robin Sherer
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The concluding installment of ANALOG's
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official Atari 8-bit memory map.
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Crazy Clown Jumper
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by Brad Timmins
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Can you make it in the circus? Here's
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your chance to try--without nets. A
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100% machine language arcade game.
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|REVIEWS|
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Ace of Aces (Atari Corp.) by
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Matthew Ratcliff
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|COLUMNS|
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Game Design Workshop by
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Craig Patchett
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Database DELPHI by Michael A. Banks
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The End User by Arthur Leyenberger
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Boot Camp by Tom Hudson
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BASIC Training by Clayton Walnum
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|DEPARTMENTS|
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Editorial by Clayton Walnum
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Reader Comment
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8-bit News
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M/L Editor by Clayton Walnum
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BASIC Editor II by Clayton Walnum
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|F.A.C.E.|
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|by Eric Lambeth|
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F.A.C.E.
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Federation of Atari Computer
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Enthusiasts
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While there remains a large number of
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users of the Atari 8-bit series of
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computers, there is a dwindling number
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of companies which support and/or carry
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software for this fine line of
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computers.
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Antic magazine and the online support
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groups are nearly the only good source
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of quality programs. While Atari user
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groups often provide excellent public
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domain software and shareware, it is
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difficult to distribute this software.
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In addition; many users live in
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secluded areas, or areas that just
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plain don't have many other local Atari
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users.
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That is why the Atari 8-bit community
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should work together to make sure that
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the Atari series doesn't become just
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another orphan. F.A.C.E. (or the
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Federation of Atari Computer
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Enthusiasts) is an international
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organization of Atari users. The
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objective of this organization is to
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provide support for all Atari users
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wherever they live.
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Here is the way that F.A.C.E. works:
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1. First and foremost, F.A.C.E. is
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there to support the individual user.
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Anyone worldwide may join. In order to
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join, you should simply send $8 for
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one year's membership dues to the
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address mentioned at the bottom of this
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file. You might also want to provide a
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|
little information about yourself and
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what you use your Atari for.
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These dues will cover a one year
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subscription to the F.A.C.E. diskette
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and newsletter (mailed 5 times a year).
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This disk will contain the best of
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public domain software that has been
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obtained from users groups or submitted
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by individual members. It will also
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contain bulletins and news files from
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F.A.C.E.
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In addition, this $8 fee ($10 Canada,
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$15 international) will entitle you to
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request programming resource materials
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and correspondence courses from the
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FACE library. (Additional information
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will be provided with registration.)
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This will also allow you to attend
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F.A.C.E. workshops (in some areas).
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Finally, all members will have access
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to the F.A.C.E. BBS, which will
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contain 32 megabytes of downloads, and
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all members will have unlimited
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credits. If there is enough interest,
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the BBS could be made multi-line, more
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megabytes, and perhaps even an 800
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number.
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2. It is an alliance of users groups.
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All users groups that wish to become
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part of F.A.C.E. should send the names
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of the group officers (and addresses if possible), a member list, and $8 per
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member (or $100 maximum) for one year's
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dues. What this will entitle the users
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group to is:
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1. Disk for each member (15
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maximum) which may be reproduced and
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distributed to other members.
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2. Users Group Newsletter, a
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quarterly newsletter with articles
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about how to stimulate attendance,
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what is new in which area, and general
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users-groupish type things.
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3. Unlimited access (one account
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per member) on the F.A.C.E. BBS(s).
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4. Eligible to attend F.A.C.E.
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workshops.
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5. Additional Bonus disk each
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month of extra programs.
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6. Access to F.A.C.E. text
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library.
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7. Access to F.A.C.E. software
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library.
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The Users Group may also wish to
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contribute portions of their library to
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F.A.C.E. (We currently have about 800 programs.)
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The Atari users will decide the future for themselves. If there is not enough
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response to this letter to justify the
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costs, then F.A.C.E. will cease to
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exist, and so will the Atari computer.
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For a free sample of the FACE disk, or
|
|
for more information, send a SASE large
|
|
enough to hold a diskette to the
|
|
address below:
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F.A.C.E.
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c/o Eric Lambeth
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1000 Westview Drive
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Springfield, MO
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65807
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GEnie : E.LAMBETH1
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CIS : 72657,3046
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QuickBBS Net : Eric Lambeth/Rebel
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Hideaway BBS
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Scene #3
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| |
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| Lurie LTD. |
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| Parts |
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| Warehouse |
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| For Frog's | | |
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| Hard Drive
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| |
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| |
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| |
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| 10000 LB. CAPY.
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(All cartoons courtesy of The Frog BBS
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at 314-776-0321 and Harold Brewer)
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|Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT VERSION|
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|by Harold Brewer|
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From GEnie's Atari 8-bit RT comes
|
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this user's experience:
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|
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-I saw the first public demo of the new
|
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EXPRESS CART from Orion Micro Systems.
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|
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-It was demoed at our User's group
|
|
meeting (G.R.A.S.P.) THURSDAY
|
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MARCH 23rd and the ones that demoed the
|
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EXPRESS CART were none other than Keith
|
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Ledbetter and Chris King!!!
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|
|
-The Cart they had was not a finished
|
|
one...they still had stuff to put
|
|
in...but with what they had already
|
|
built in it was enough to knock you off
|
|
your feet...
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|
|
-Some of the things the EXPRESS CART
|
|
has is drop down windows. The dial
|
|
menu is an exploding window!!! You can
|
|
have, I think, up to 50 numbers in a
|
|
dial list, and each has about 10 items
|
|
you can set for each board you call.
|
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|
|
-You can even boot the CART without
|
|
even using the a disk drive. In other
|
|
words, you can take an XE Game System
|
|
and begin to call boards stright from
|
|
the box with needing a disk drive!!!
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|
|
|
-You can exit the program and go to the
|
|
DOS you are using (it is better to use
|
|
SpartaDOS). When you are finished, you
|
|
can go back to the Express Term program
|
|
and still be online and your dial list
|
|
will still be there!!
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|
|
-You also will be able to do 4800-9600
|
|
bps captures!!!
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|
|
-The carts they will be using will be
|
|
one of the finest available--why scrimp
|
|
on cost when you have the finest term
|
|
software...
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|
|
|
-It WILL BE out by JUNE 1 if not
|
|
earlier!!! It should go out to the
|
|
betatesters this coming weekend
|
|
(April 1)...
|
|
|
|
-The price is very cheap compared to
|
|
what you get!!! We need to get behind
|
|
Keith and Chris and show them our
|
|
support of their fine products
|
|
|
|
-They are taking pre-orders with a
|
|
discount if you order by June 1!!!-
|
|
|
|
Duane Brankley!!!
|
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|
|
(Editor's note: See ZMagazine #144 for Express! cartridge ordering
|
|
information.)
|
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|
|
Also from GEnie's Atari 8-bit RT
|
|
comes some information from DataQue
|
|
affirming the ongoing development
|
|
of its Turbo 8-16:
|
|
|
|
-For those interested, here is the
|
|
current memory map of the Turbo-OS
|
|
version 0.7x which is in the final
|
|
testing stages at this very moment!
|
|
|
|
-Any comments here are appreciated...
|
|
|
|
|
|
FFFFFF -----------------------
|
|
! Turbo-Bus I/O !
|
|
! Hardware Ports !
|
|
F00000 -----------------------
|
|
! Undedicated !
|
|
! User Memory Area !
|
|
! for Customization !
|
|
C00000 -----------------------
|
|
! Future Products and !
|
|
! Additional Memory !
|
|
800000 -----------------------
|
|
! General Purpose RAM !
|
|
! 1M/256K DRAMS Specd !
|
|
210000 -----------------------
|
|
! User PROM/SRAM Card !
|
|
! Applications Can be !
|
|
! Up to 1Mb on 1-16 !
|
|
! Cards holding up to !
|
|
! 8 Applications !
|
|
010000 -----------------------
|
|
! Atari XL/XE Emulate !
|
|
! Motherboard Mapping !
|
|
! Area. (64k) !
|
|
000000 -----------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DRAM chip prices are falling.
|
|
|
|
The April Computer Shopper has at least
|
|
one advertiser who lists 41256 150ms
|
|
Dynamic RAM chips for under $9.
|
|
|
|
So as of now, an 800XL user wishing for
|
|
a 256K memory upgrade could spend under
|
|
$100 (mail order, minus shipping, DIY).
|
|
|
|
Mat*Rat was overheard on Gateway BBS
|
|
((314)647-3290) to say DRAM chips
|
|
should continue to fall until late this
|
|
year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Syndicate Publishing Company |
|
|
| P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846 |
|
|
| (201) 968-8148 |
|
|
t |Copyrigh1989 All Rights Reserved|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CompuServe: 71777,2140
|
|
GEnie: ZMAGAZINE
|
|
Source: BDG793
|
|
|
|
ZMagazine Headquarters BBSes:
|
|
Centurian BBS--(314)621-5046
|
|
(618)451-0165
|
|
Chaos BBS--(517)371-1106
|
|
Shadow Haven--(916)962-2566
|
|
Stairway to Heaven--(216)784-0574
|
|
The Pub--(716)826-5733
|