1060 lines
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1060 lines
25 KiB
Plaintext
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| ROVAC ZMAGAZINE |
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| Issue #165 |
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| July 11, 1989 |
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|Copyright 1989, RII|
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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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The 40/80 Column Battle
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Frank Walters
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GEnie New 8-bit Uploads
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Ratty's Rap
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Matthew Ratcliff
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CIS New 8-bit Uploads
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Will the Real SysOp Please Stand?
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Fixing the Mouse Button
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Brian Goluska
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Z*NET Newswire 8-bit Edition
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Harold Brewer
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|EDITOR'S MONITOR|
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|by Harold Brewer|
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My apologies to those Atari 8-bitters
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who had problems viewing or printing
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last week's issue of ZMagazine.
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I will renew my efforts to ensure all
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who take the time to receive ZMagazine
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will have a nearly trouble-free
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experience.
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|THE 40/80 COLUMN BATTLE|
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|by Frank Walters|
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T.A.C.O. Bell BBS
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Harold Brewer pulled a fast one with
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ZMagazine #164. He made part of it in
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40 column format and other parts in 80
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columns. I think the sly fox did it to
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provoke each side on purpose, since a
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mixed column issue dissatisfies both
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proponents. Touche, Harold, it
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provoked this response from me. Notice
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my reply is not in 80 columns, so you
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already know where I am coming from.
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Atari is a 40 column computer. I
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happen to like 40 columns, especially
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as these tired old fighter-pilot's eyes
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don't seem to have the magic in them
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any more and I like the big letters.
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ZMagazine is an Atari support on-line
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publication and should consider
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primarily the target audience--the 40
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column Atari users. Some read it
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on-line, others capture or download it
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and read it off line. Most probably
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read it on screen with a viewer program
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or DOS copy function. I even wrote a
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text reader program myself, for both
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text and ATASCII cartoon viewing. It
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is called Lazy Reader and uses 1 key
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file select from any drive. I can use
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joystick or keyboard to pause/resume
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and even has a screen dump with 'D' for
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printout of a small section of
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information for use later. This and
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many similar programs are widely
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available for download on most Atari
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bulletin boards.
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Centurion BBS has a print utility file
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right in the ZMag section called
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DEMAPRNT.ARC that will print a three
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column ZMag in ATASCII graphics on an
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Epson compatible printer. There are
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similar useful programs for those who
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want hardcopies of all the ZMags.
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Now back to the current issue. I
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really like the ATASCII illustrations
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that Harold includes from time to time
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in the magazine. It makes the
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ZMagazine one of the truly unique
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on-line format magazines and sets it
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apart from the standard text type of
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the other computer related on-line
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media. I put a short ML subroutine in
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my own BBS that will automatically
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translate any textfile from ATASCII to
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ASCII prior to sending it via XON/XOFF
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if the BBS is in ASCII at the time.
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It takes less than 2 seconds for a 24K
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full buffer and replaces control
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characters with spaces, leaving the EOL
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to be translated by the RS232 during
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the send.
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I realize most bulletin boards don't
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have this feature, but then most ASCII
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callers could care less about reading
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an Atari specific magazine. The STs
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have their own ST-ZMagazine, too.
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Why are so many Atari users apologetic
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about having only 40 columns? I see
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messages all over the place left by
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Atarians in search of the perfect 80
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column setup. Let's face it people,
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the Atari will never have a perfect 80
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column that works with all software.
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There have been many successful
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compromises, the best of which was
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probably the old Bit-3 board with LJK
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Letter Perfect, but even it had very
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limited applications. If you
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absolutely must have 80 columns, you
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are better served looking for another
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computer than an Atari. (You will
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notice I call my computer an Atari and
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nobody mistook that I was talking about
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an ST. The ST is always referred to
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with the 'ST' label, with or without
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the 'Atari'.)
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Once you can accept in your mind that
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you actually have a real 40 column
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computer, then, and only then, will you
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learn to enjoy it to its fullest. Give
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up the tireless quest and put your mind
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to use in more productive areas. Sure,
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you can still use a few 80 column
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programs, but try not to get carried
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away by a hopeless obsession.
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There is nothing inherently bad about
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reading text in 40 column format. The
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newspapers have been using it for many
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years and I've never seen any complaint
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from readers about that.
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I now keep back issues of ZMagazine on
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disk files in ARC format instead of
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printing them out. With Harold's great
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Index summaries, I can scan through the
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index for the article I want and just
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unARC the issue I need to refer back to
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for some information. My BBS carries
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the ZMag in text format for either read
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or capture, as I have limited file
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storage capacity at one time (I also
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hate hard drives).
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Give me a chance to put on my crash
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helmet and now you 80 columners can
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take your free shots.
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(Editor's note: The -Index summaries-
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which Frank writes about are
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compilations done by previous ZMag
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editors and others (except for the
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latest summary, that is).)
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|GENIE NEW 8-BIT UPLOADS|
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Courtesy of GEnie's 8-bit Atari Library
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No. File Name
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YYMMDD Bytes Access Lib
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4473 JRV3BOASISBBS.ARC
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890710 56700 4 27
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Desc: 2 of 2 Oasis JR Version 3
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BBS Softw.
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4472 JRV3AOASISBBS.ARC
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890710 59220 5 27
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Desc: 1 of 2 Oasis Jr Version 3
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BBS softw.
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4470 V3OASISPALBETATEST.DCM
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890709 74340 8 27
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Desc: Beta Test 3.0 Oasis.PAL all
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8 bits
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4469 DRIVESET.ARC
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890709 5040 5 26
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Desc: corrected diamond drive set
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appl
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4467 HARDRIVEARCERV12.ARC
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890708 16380 11 27
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Desc: Batch Archive hard drive
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files
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4466 ARCMATE21.ARC
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890708 12600 15 27
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Desc: ARC BATCHER WITH DOS SHELL
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V 2.1
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4465 CRCOM21.ARC
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890708 8820 19 27
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Desc: TEXT FILE CONVERTER W. DOS
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SHELL
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4464 GLUCOM21.ARC
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890708 11340 8 27
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Desc: Revised version of GLU.COM
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4463 M65OASISPALV21.ARC
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890708 47880 4 27
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Desc: MAC 65 SETUP FOR OASIS PAL
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V. 2.1
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4462 OASISPALVERSION21.ARC
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890708 21420 6 27
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Desc: DOS shell for Atari 8 &
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SpartaDos
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4458 Z164.ARC
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890706 15120 81 13
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Desc: ZMagazine #164 for July 4,
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1989
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4457 EPSON.ARC
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890705 11340 31 2
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Desc: Configure an Epson Printer
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from DOS
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4456 MACREAD20.ARC
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890704 10080 36 4
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Desc: improved MacPaint viewer
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4455 CRAZY6.TXT
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890702 5040 16 12
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Desc: SAGE'S SUMMER FUND-RAISER
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4454 FILEORGUPDATE.ARC
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890701 12600 9 2
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Desc: New version of the File
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Organizer
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4453 FILEORG20.ARC
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890701 28980 18 2
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Desc: New version of the File
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Organizer
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4452 SOLARSCALER.BAS
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890701 16380 12 3
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Desc: Find out how big things
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really are.
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4451 DREAMON.AMP
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890701 10080 25 5
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Desc: Dream On by Aerosmith in
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AMP 2 forma
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4450 DIAMOND.ARC
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890630 39060 33 26
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Desc: Diamond utilities disk in
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ARC format
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4448 ATARIFORSALE.TXT
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890630 1260 50 11
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Desc: Description of atari
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peripherals
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4446 Z163.ARC
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890628 13860 95 13
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Desc: ZMagazine #163 for 27 June
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1989
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|RATTY'S RAP|
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|by Matthew J.W. Ratcliff|
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Atari's new hand held game machine,
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affectionately called Game Pro by some,
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is garnering a LOT of attention. Some
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of you may have heard of a similar
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offering from Nintendo called the Game
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Boy. Does Atari's offering stack up?
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YES! Absolutely!
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The Game Pro, at 160x192 pixels, has a
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higher resolution than the Game Boy.
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The Game Pro can display 16 colors, out
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of a palette of 4096. The Game Boy?
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How about 4 exciting shades of grey?
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But, golly, the Game Boy can be
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EXPANDED to allow two players to
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compete over an add on modem. Can the
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Game Pro do that? NO! It's BETTER!!!
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Let's say you have a new Game Pro, and
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a hot new game, and SEVEN FRIENDS just
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dying to play too. No sweat. Plug all
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the Game Pros together, daisy chain
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style--simpler than adding peripherals
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to the Atari XE home computer. Player
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one inserts his new game card, loads
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the software, removes the card, and
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passes it on to the next player.
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Within moments 8 kids, standing on a
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street corner, waiting for the morning
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bus, are screaming with delight and
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dancing a funny little jig that only
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hard core coin op arcade fanatics will
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recognize!
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Oh, sound? The Nintendo Game Boy has
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stereo sound. Oh, wow. The Atari Game
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Pro has FM, 4 CHANNEL, STEREO sound and
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it comes with stereo headphones. This
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is one extremely HOT TOY! But, Atari
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doesn't deserve all the credit.
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According to some reports, this game
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machine was designed by Epyx and
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purchased outright by Atari. It's an
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extremely shrewd tactic on the part of
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Atari, to make the FIRST and BEST move
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in a market that Nintendo is working
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toward. But, Atari bought this
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completed product design so they could
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MARKET it themselves. What is the LAST
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PRODUCT Atari has marketed properly and
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completely successfully in the United
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States? Can you say 2600? I knew you
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could! Right now all we need is
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software! I think a lot of worried
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Commodore 64 software developers are
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drooling over the prospects of this
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extremely cool toy.
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Is the 8-bit dead? Not in the eyes of
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Atari. The company no longer pushes
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the hardware. It sort of sells itself,
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at a rather slow but extremely steady
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pace. I know of nearly a dozen NEW
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titles, including some HOT coin-op
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properties, being developed for XL, XE,
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and XEGS owners. All you 400/800
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owners need to wake up and smell the
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coffee. Nearly ALL new game cartridges
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from Atari do NOT run on 48k 400/800
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machines. In other words, Atari no
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longer supports these machines. I
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suggest that you upgrade to an XEGS or
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130XE soon if you are interested in
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running any of the new software.
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Xenophobe for the XEGS was demoed at
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CES. Althought its graphics aren't
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quite as slick as the 7800 version, it
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is more playable. All Atari versions
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of Xenophobe simply BLOW AWAY the
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Nintendo implementation, however. Once
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the Nintendo is stretched beyond it's
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basic strengths (running, jumping,
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climbing games), its flaws begin to
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show. Tower Toppler is coming to the
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8-bit very soon, too. We may see Ninja
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Golf by September. We should see
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between 4 and 8 ALL NEW cartridges for
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the 8-bit Atari by the end of 1989.
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And Atari is commited to producing
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another 4 to 8 games for the XEGS in
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1990 as well.
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Applications? Where are the
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applications? Well, somebody slipped
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up (sound familiar?) and allowed Atari
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to completely run out of Atariwriter
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Plus. It seems odd that Atariwriter 80
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would start shipping at about the same
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time. However, I have been assured by
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two sources within Atari (that's on the
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TRAMIEL SIDE of that revolving door)
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that a new production run of
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Atariwriter Plus is being made.
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Although I have been assured DOZENS OF
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TIMES by John Skruch that Atari has the
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XES2001 light gun in stock, ready to
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ship to dealers, no one in the US has
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ever seen this package. This is
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supposed to be a light gun and the Bug
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Hunt game in a $30 package. I was told
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over 6 months ago that -they are in
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stock, right here in our warehouse-.
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My dealer has asked for it repeatedly.
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I've talked to half a dozen other
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sources at Atari and no one knows
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anything beyond the ONE TASK that is
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his primary function at the company.
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If you want a light gun, buy one for
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the SEGA and hack it. There is a 3rd
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party company supplying light guns for
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the Amiga, Commodore 64, and, yes, even
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the Atari 8-bit home computers. Antic
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has a revew of it in the works.
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Are you looking for Educational
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Software? Unicorn software used to put
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out a very nice line of educational
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products for the ST. Atari liked their
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offerings and bought the entire line.
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Dealers haven't been able to get the
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product since. Why? Was Atari simply
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gobbling up the competition to Bently
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Bear's educational series, or did
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someone drop the ball in production and
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marketing AGAIN?
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Although getting support out of
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Electronic Arts for the ST is nearly
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impossible, they do continue to
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distribute First Byte software. First
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Byte produces a line of -smooth talker-
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educational software geared toward
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small pre-schoolers, employing
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digitized speech.
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If you have children between the ages
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of 2 and 5 I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND
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-Mixed Up Mother Goose-, from Sierra On
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Line. My boys, ages 3 and 5, love this
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uncomplicated, and subtly educational
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adventure, in which all of the Mother
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Goose rhymes are mixed up. The child
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controls a character with a mouse,
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keyboard, or joystick to collect items
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and people and deliver them to the
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proper location to complete the nursery
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story. Hints are given in text and
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graphical form, so junior doesn't have
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to be able to read to play. The
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graphics, and animation sequences are
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quite well done, with charming music.
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The animation presented for completing
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a nursery rhyme is the reward for a job
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well done, and my children want to see
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them over, and over again.
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Well, after puzzling over the cost of
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an Amiga for several months, I finally
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bit the bullet and bought another ST!
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I got a deal I just couldn't refuse.
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Will I abandon the 8-bit? I certainly
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don't intend to. Software trickles in
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for me to review, and I still have a
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few TALKING program ideas to develop.
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But, I want to get back into some more
|
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progressive languages like C and
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Pascal, on a REAL 16 bit
|
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microprocessor.
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Well, I'm about out of new ideas. Does
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anyone have an idea for a useful
|
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utility or small application for the
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8-bit? I've got some educational
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software in the works, but they
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entertain young children. I've written
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DIR3, 3 across directory lister, and
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FTYPE, fast file typer--utilities for
|
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Analog. TALKEYS hooks 8K of speech
|
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data and assembly language into the
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RAM under your XL/XE/XEGS internal
|
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BASIC. Then, whenever you press a key,
|
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your computer TELLS YOU what key you
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typed. It's a handy utility for data
|
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entry, and also for little kids
|
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learning to recognize letters and
|
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numbers. This will also appear in the
|
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pages of Analog. Do you have any
|
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suggestions? Drop me some EMAIL on
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GEnie (MAT.RAT), or Delphi (MATRAT).
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Or you can use the PMAIL (postal mail).
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Send your ideas, comments, flames,
|
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rebuttals, etc. to:
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|Matthew Ratcliff |
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|Ratware Softworks |
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|32 S. Hartnett Ave. |
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|St. Louis, MO 63135|
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|COMPUSERVE NEW 8-BIT UPLOADS|
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Courtesy of CompuServe's Atari8 Library
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Uploader address
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Filename/type
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Date Size Downloads
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[71511,415]
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DTBAT.COM/binary
|
|
10-Jul-89 867
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DTBAT.COM is a module for DeTerm
|
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v1.59 that will load/execute a list of
|
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files/commands in a file named
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DTBAT.BAT after DeTerm finishes
|
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booting.
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[71511,415]
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DTQ.COM/binary
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10-Jul-89 2313 Accesses: 1
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This is a module for DETERM that
|
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will implement the CIS Quick B transfer
|
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protocol. Quick B is much faster and
|
|
more accurate than Xmodem and is the
|
|
transfer protocol recommended for use
|
|
on CIS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
BAGELS.BAS/binary
|
|
10-Jul-89 6404
|
|
|
|
BAGELS is a game in which you must
|
|
guess the Computers Secret Number.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
AUTDEL.LST/binary
|
|
09-Jul-89 384
|
|
|
|
AUTODELETE is a LISTed subroutine
|
|
that you can use to delete lines from a
|
|
BASIC program.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
BRDWAY.BAS/binary
|
|
09-Jul-89 21248 Accesses: 2
|
|
|
|
BROADWAY - can you produce a
|
|
successful Broadway show?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
BRICKS.OBJ/binary
|
|
09-Jul-89 4480
|
|
|
|
BRICKWORKS, a graphics creation
|
|
utility from Analog magazine, Dec 86.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ACEDUC.BAS/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 2944 Accesses: 20
|
|
|
|
ACEY DUCEY is a computerized
|
|
version of the card game by the same
|
|
name.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ADDA.BAS/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 4096 Accesses: 11
|
|
|
|
Atari Disk Directory Alphabetizer
|
|
(ADDA) is a utility that will
|
|
alphabetize an Atari disk directory and
|
|
then write the new directory to disk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ADDITN.BAS/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 896 Accesses: 8
|
|
|
|
ADDITION is an educational game
|
|
that teaches children how to add simple
|
|
numbers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ADDRBK.BAS/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 10368 Accesses: 9
|
|
|
|
Clayton Walnum's Micro-Mail
|
|
address book mini-database.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ANGLWR.OBJ/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 10368 Accesses: 16
|
|
|
|
One or two players maneuver their
|
|
angleworms in attempts to set up a
|
|
block.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ASTRON.BAS/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 17024 Accesses: 20
|
|
|
|
ASTRONOMY is a program for amateur
|
|
star watchers that will plot the
|
|
positions of planets and other key
|
|
objects.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ATPOP.ARC/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 28288 Accesses: 26
|
|
|
|
ATARI POP is a 1986 graphics and
|
|
music demonstration from West Germany.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
ATRAIN.BAS/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 9216 Accesses: 5
|
|
|
|
Stan Ockers creates a literal
|
|
'Alphabet Train-er' for youngsters, in
|
|
Basic (fun for us oldsters, too.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73217,2321]
|
|
SECAGT.OBJ/binary
|
|
05-Jul-89 7680 Accesses: 15
|
|
|
|
SECRET AGENT text adventure game
|
|
from ANALOG magazine, June 1989.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[71777,430]
|
|
CISNDE.ARC/binary
|
|
04-Jul-89 9728 Accesses: 7
|
|
|
|
CISNDE.ARC contains the complete
|
|
list of Compuserve nodes in
|
|
alphabetical order.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[76004,1764]
|
|
FLASH2.TXT
|
|
02-Jul-89 1730 Accesses: 58
|
|
|
|
New! Printer drivers for Print Shop
|
|
and Print Shop Companion, to work with
|
|
the; Atari 1020 Printer/Plotter,
|
|
Okimate 10, and the LQ-500/800 (24-pin)
|
|
compat. printers!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
[76004,1764]
|
|
SALE2.TXT
|
|
02-Jul-89 3545 Accesses: 110
|
|
|
|
Super Summer Sale!
|
|
|
|
|
|
[75026,1604]
|
|
PROLOD.DCM/binary
|
|
02-Jul-89 62848 Accesses: 4
|
|
|
|
Proload program to D/L fonts to
|
|
C]ITOH 8510 Prowriter printer equipped
|
|
with additional 2K memory chip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73177,160]
|
|
ALEX.AMP/binary
|
|
01-Jul-89 6912 Accesses: 17
|
|
|
|
AMP version of 'Alexander's
|
|
Ragtime Band' WITH LYRICS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[73177,160]
|
|
SHANTY.AMP/binary
|
|
01-Jul-89 1408 Accesses: 11
|
|
|
|
AMP version of 'Shanty In Old
|
|
Shanty Town'
|
|
|
|
|
|
[71641,1650]
|
|
MIDSUM.ARC/binary
|
|
29-Jun-89 9728 Accesses: 15
|
|
|
|
Excerpts from A Midsummer Night's
|
|
Dream by Felix Mendelssohn for the
|
|
Antic Music Processor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[71777,2140]
|
|
Z163.ARC/binary
|
|
28-Jun-89 13056 Accesses: 53
|
|
This ARCed news file contains:
|
|
Daisy-Dot III update, GEnie and CIS new
|
|
uploads, World of Atari--Dearborn
|
|
reports, August Analog contents, and
|
|
much more!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|WILL THE REAL SYSOP PLEASE STAND?|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How Can You Tell a REAL SYSOP from an
|
|
Imposter?
|
|
|
|
Here's how:
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't say they're getting
|
|
a hard drive--they already have one.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops have 1200 baud. There are
|
|
a few exceptions.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops turn off their monitor as
|
|
often as possible.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops have their own phone line
|
|
without 'Call-Waiting'.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops disconnect their
|
|
computer's speaker.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't care if you say that
|
|
you are putting up a board next
|
|
summer.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't really believe that
|
|
was 'Apple Bandit' who just posted on
|
|
the 'Warez Board'.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops know that it's not the
|
|
mods that make a BBS great--it's the
|
|
users.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't give access to
|
|
someone just because they run
|
|
'Sherwood Forest XXIII' and have
|
|
300Meg.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't find it amusing when
|
|
users leave phone numbers like:
|
|
CAN-NOT-TELL OR PRI-VATE!!!
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't make excuses like
|
|
-My dad is calling me- if they have to
|
|
leave someone.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't take their BBS down
|
|
every five minutes to call a board.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't say 'L8R', 'K-K00L',
|
|
'B@SS' or any related terms.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't leave mail to users
|
|
asking them to post.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops get angry if their boards
|
|
are crashed. FORTUNATELY, real boards
|
|
are rarely crashed and real sysops
|
|
make back-ups, anyway.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't care about -Improper
|
|
signoffs.-
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't think they are God
|
|
or are better than everyone else.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops try to help the new users;
|
|
not cut them down.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops couldn't care less about
|
|
what some user posts about them on a
|
|
loser board.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't get out their handy
|
|
dandy sector editor and plaster their
|
|
name and number all over a new game.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops take pride in their BBS.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops know that it is their
|
|
decision whether or not to sit in
|
|
front of the computer all day. They
|
|
don't care what some idiot says.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops know how to spell.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't have a 'Pin The Tail
|
|
on The Donkey' game on-line.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops know that a disclaimer is
|
|
useless, but they keep it for
|
|
nostalgic reasons.
|
|
|
|
-Real sysops don't eat quiche!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Downloaded from Wilmington-80 TBBS
|
|
(919) 763-1850
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|FIXING THE MOUSE BUTTON|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|by Brian Goluska, CHAOS|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Courtesy of Great Lakes Atari Digest
|
|
July '89
|
|
|
|
|
|
It appears that the left Atari ST mouse
|
|
button, with heavy use, tends to go
|
|
bad. Mine did. I never knew whether a
|
|
click on the button would work or not.
|
|
This was an annoyance for using text
|
|
programs, like word processing,
|
|
spreadsheets, or drafting, and a
|
|
disaster for game playing.
|
|
|
|
So I was overjoyed to find mouse
|
|
switches for sale at the World of Atari
|
|
Show (Best Electronics, show price of
|
|
$3 for two buttons). Here is how to
|
|
replace the mouse button:
|
|
|
|
> 1. Remove the mouse roller.
|
|
|
|
> 2. Remove the 2 visible screws on
|
|
the bottom of the mouse.
|
|
|
|
> 3. Open the mouse.
|
|
|
|
> 4. Detach the cable where it plugs
|
|
into the mouse circuit board
|
|
(there is a small notch in the
|
|
plastic to indicate which way
|
|
to plug this back in later).
|
|
|
|
> 5. Remove the 2 screws that fasten
|
|
the mouse circuit card to the
|
|
bottom of the mouse. Remove the
|
|
circuit card.
|
|
|
|
> 6. Unsolder the 4 pins for the
|
|
button. Solder in the new
|
|
button.
|
|
|
|
> 7. Reassemble. You might want to
|
|
clean the rollers while you have
|
|
the mouse apart.
|
|
|
|
If you've never done any soldering or
|
|
repair before, get an experienced hand
|
|
to guide you the first time you do
|
|
this. Especially, use a low wattage
|
|
(28 or less) iron, and don't heat the
|
|
circuit board too much. Even though
|
|
the mouse card isn't too delicate or
|
|
intelligent, it's easy to overheat and
|
|
damage a trace.
|
|
|
|
After I was done, I took apart (broke
|
|
open) the failing micro switch. It
|
|
looks discolored and deteriorated at
|
|
the contact point, probably from
|
|
carrying current more than mechanical
|
|
wear. Could you clean it and repair
|
|
it? Maybe. If you break it open, then
|
|
clean the contact, you've broken 4
|
|
little (very little) plastic pegs that
|
|
hold the switch together. Could you
|
|
clean the contact and glue it? When I
|
|
tried, I got glue where the button
|
|
moves up and down, and glued it down.
|
|
So I don't know whether cleaning would
|
|
have worked. I wouldn't try it unless
|
|
I had a new switch on hand in case I
|
|
destroyed the old one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT EDITION|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|by Harold Brewer|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There has been a rumor going
|
|
around some of my area's bulletin
|
|
boards that a company called
|
|
Adaptec was discontinuing
|
|
production of their 4000-series
|
|
of hard drive controllers. These
|
|
3 controllers make up an
|
|
appreciable percentage of all we
|
|
8-bitters can use when making a
|
|
hard drive system. Even ICD and
|
|
at least one mail order company
|
|
were aware of this
|
|
-discontinuance-.
|
|
|
|
But a quick call to Adaptec and
|
|
a query posed to Diane in Sales
|
|
rectified all. -...Continued
|
|
availability and production...-
|
|
were Diane's words to me.
|
|
|
|
Will the story continue...?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dynamic RAM prices continue to
|
|
fall. A call to B.G. Micro in
|
|
Texas confirmed the price of $4.50
|
|
for one 41256--150ns DRAM chip.
|
|
|
|
With these prices, an 800XL could
|
|
be expanded to 256K for around
|
|
$80 (including the ICD RAMBO XL
|
|
kit).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
With the K-P Hard Drive Interface
|
|
back from obscurity (remember the
|
|
Supra HD Interface?), Bob Puff's
|
|
Black Box approaching the horizon
|
|
with its HD interface, and the ICD
|
|
MIO still being cranked out (in
|
|
part for its HD interface), some
|
|
users have posed the interesting
|
|
proposition of a head-to-head test
|
|
of all three as far as their hard
|
|
drive interfaces are concerned.
|
|
|
|
What do you think?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rovac Industries, Incorporated |
|
|
| P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846 |
|
|
| (201) 968-8148 |
|
|
|Copyright 1989 All Rights Reserved|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CompuServe: 71777,2140
|
|
GEnie: ZMAGAZINE
|
|
Source: BDG793
|
|
|
|
ZMagazine Headquarters BBSes:
|
|
Centurion 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
|