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6 .R.A.S.P.
ii tl •'4i/" The journal of the
> n •>' I Greater ttlchHond Atari
Support Program
flOHTQQMERY 1
NOVEMBER 1987 VOLUHN : - ISSUE #1
G.R.d.s.p. uimt
KDUCMBetl 1987 .
G.R.A.S.P. GAZETTE
(Greater Richmond Atari SupportProgram)
G.R.A.S.P. is an independent Atari users group not affiliated in
any way with ATARI, INC. or TRAMIEL ENTERPRISES, INC.
The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the
individual author (s) and do not necessarily reflect those of
G.R.A.S.P., its officers or members. The Editor reserves the
right to edit any material submitted for publication.
Unless specifically noted otherwise, other user groups are
welcome to reprint articles from this newsletter as long as
credit is given to its author and G.R.A.S.P.
Please send all correspondence and newsletter for
exchange to:
Editor
G.R.A.S.P.
1420 Yale Ave.
Richmond, Va. 23224
GEme: TOMMARVIN
G.R.A.S.P. Officers: All (804)
PtesittetlV.
Mickey Angell 744-6201
Nice Present.
Farley Barge 379-1935
Secievai'jrVteasuiei.
Dan Grenoble .271-0205
Public Relations'.
Jack Richfotd 270-2177
Newsleuei tiiiior.
Tom Marvin 233-6155
PtOQtam Chau man*.
Frank Leveque 266-8487
Commercial Librarian*.
Dave Jones 740-7823
Public Domain Librarian [8 Bit):
North of the James
Bill Rhodenhiser 747-1766
South of the James
Carl Dean
North & South |16 Bit]:
Mickey Angell 744-6201
Tom Marvin 233-6155
Membership:
Membership in G.R.A.S.P. is open to all persons interested
in the Atari computer. Annual dues of $20.00 are payable
apon entry and are $20.00 for 1 full year.
Membership will include 11 monthly issues of the G.R.A.S.P.
GAZETTE, no January issue and access to the Public Domain
and Commercial libraries, group purchased, club discounts at
participation retailers, and participation in drawings.
Meetings;
Meetings are held the second and fourth Thursday of each
month from 7:00-09:00p.m. at the Lyndale Public Library on
Hicks Rd, Any and all persons interested in Atari computers
are welcomel-
LITTLE NEWS
This little report is far those af you (non- active mem’ ,
never came to meetings, or just lazy) that didn't attenc e
Atarifest '87 in Fairfax, Va this last weekend, Oct. 24- an,
I rode up with Charlie Montgomery and we arrived at 10 am
sharp. Good thing coo, because at about 10: 30 it was a little
hard moving around. To say the least, the show was a "Blow
Out Success"
As wc walked in we signed up far the hourly prizes and the
grand prize of a ST. Down the mnn entrance of Fairfax High
School were the user groups with some real bargains. Our
group, Q.R.A.S.P. of Richmond, Va was in about the middle.
L haven’t found out yet if we made any money but I'll let you
know in the next report.
In some of the different class rooms were the special
interest groups like Graphics, Games, Magic Sac, MIDI,
Education, PC Ditto and so forth. The MIDI room was
‘’booming", Games were "roaring", Graphics were "flashing"
and Magic Sac was “disappearing and reappearing",
However the main exhibit area was were all the really big
action was happening. Same of the major 'folks' there were cf
course ATARI in about the center of the room. No big
airplane overhead the ATARI display this time for the
exhibit area was really the schools cafeteria area, but they
were showing the Mega, IBM machine and the laser printer. I
got some print outs from the laser printer, sharp man, real
sharp, To continue. Quantum (QMI) was present as was
Current Notes (I’m still in the ’biggie' paragraph).
Seymor- Radix, Supra, ICD, Reset Mag. (a new one). Atari
Explorer, A.N.A.L.O.G. and GEnie Info Services. io
Mi graph had all their products oc display. I won’t menti, all
the products they were showing, you should know al y
what they produce.
Some cf the stores set up were TOAD Computer Services,
Cal Cam, Diskovery, LAY Computers, Applied Computers,
Best Electronics, Morgan, Joppa and a few others. All looked
very busy and selling as fast as they could move. (Hey Farley,
figured out that 20 Meg hard drive yet?). I wanted to get the
little solar $4.95 ATARI calculator but they went like hot
cakes. Same of the deals at the different stores were "little to
average" but most cf the prices were cut a little.
I believe the best part was listing to the different speakers
and asking some questions. There was David Small of Data
Pacific (Magic Sac) and just listening to him is an experience.
Coming out NOW is the disk drive to read Mac disks, so says
David. Bill Teale of Avant- Garde (PC Ditto) was also a kool
guy and kept the crowd "engrossed". Bill was asked about
piracy and his final comment was it really wasn't hurting that
much because people were finding out his program really
works and they were buying there own copies. (I believe
thats true about a lot of good products), Frank Cohen of
Regent Software was another interesting speaker. I didn't
hear Kevin Mitchell of Migraph or John Demar of QMI
because we took a long break for lunch and went back
through the exhibit area, which was really getting crowded
by now.
I haven't mentioned all the companies present at the
Atanfeat and the different software and hardware pre**nt,
but if you missed this fair you missed out an one of tt sc
Atari functions of the year, It was 100% better than la ar
but next year I hope the main exhibit area could dou. — in
size, I didn't make the banquet Sat. evening to listen to Neil
Hams and others, but chatted with Mr. Harris earlier.
Tam Marvin, Editor - - -
G.R.R.5.P. GRZETTE
NDVECTIBER IRB7
3W1PFBTS
from PHOENIX NBWSLBTTBR
T Larry Sana u to
ICHTRON LAYS DOWN THE LAWI: The opening
une of the piece was - Special Offer, Turn in three
boards and I will give you a Hard Drive. So said
Gordon Monnier, president of Michtron in his new
war against pirate BBS’s, A new tatic in the fight
against pirates was up the ante paid to those who
finite d on them.. The response on GBnie's Roundtable
came fast and furious. The president of the Brooklyn
Atari Society said that pirate boards were the bane of
his existence and recommended not calling them.
Another commented chat it was too easy, why, he had
just chat day downloaded Goldrunner,,. Comments
from Mr. Mounter on this? Quote: "...we are turning
all the information over to our lawyer and he is going
to get a search and seizure order,., seize the
computer... and then sue him for copyright and
trademark violations," Will bribery stop piracy? I
doubt it. Why just the other day 1 saw a device that
is a pocket photocopier. You can scan every page of
your favorite magazine while you're still in the
store... but I don't think it will hurt newstand sales.
We're watching to see if other software publishers
jump on the Michtron Bandwagon, ref. Pokey Press,
Aug. ’87
~ T AR TREK: The whole crew talks in this one not
.t released by Simon and Shuster. The game plays a
: like S UNDOG and STAR RAIDERS rolled into cue
says RIACB’s Steve Dunphy. Real digitized voices,
sound tracks and transporter beam. Yes, the "beta"
copy has materialized unofficially and is floating
around in the Twilight Zone. Because of this, the
rumor is that the company has cancelled its release, I
hope not ref. RI Reporter, 19 May '87
CHEAP IMAGB SCANNER; IMG has produced an
optical scanner that fits on the top of your printer
head. Any document fed through your machine is
scanned and an ST graphic file is created. You can
then transfer these to your desktop publishing
documents with ease or store print material
electronically, instead of retyping it for your files.
The limitations? Speed of your printer and its
resolution. The device's software adjusts the image to
your printer's abilities. This ST Cartridge and cable
sensor goes for US $99. Less, the quantity bought
through a user group ref ST Informer, Aug, ’87
COMFUTBR3 IN 8CIBNCB
Reprinted from L.C.A.C.E., JULY '87
There is a new publication on the newstands titled
DMPUTBRS IN SCIENCE. This is a 96 page
igazine initially to be offered quarterly, If you
„.ave an interest in science and computers this first
issue is worth a look. The magazine is not slanted to
any one brand of computers but rather gives fair
coverage to IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Apple,
Commodore and ATARI as well as discussing main
frame applications.
The first issue includes features on using a PC to
monitor lightning activity worldwide, gene sequencing
and using spreadsheets to report chromatograph
results. Columns on graphics and expert systems make
fascinating reading. Reviews include Compaq Desk pro
386, Lab Master DMA, Exact, Measure, Mathcad and
T3. The departments consist of Editorial, of course,
News, Images A Simulations and New Products.
Much of the reviews were for Big Blue software,
however, considering the proliferation of IBM's in
the business environment it is not surprising that
much of the laboratory and scientific software is
written for ATS and XTS. Of particular interest to
Atarians will be the Graphics column. The article
explains how Hydrogen electron orbitals are plotted
and displayed using a 520ST and CAD- 3D by Tom
Hudson, ” ‘
This publication is not for everyone as you may
have gathered. Don't look for type-in programs or
general news. If you have an interest in science,
however, you will find the material contained
between the covers both readable and stimulating.
The price at the news stand is $3.95 and I personally
found it worth every penny. If issue two maintains
the standards of the premier issue this publication
should be around for some time to come.
110 VOLT POLYDI3K RBTAIN3 YOUR
INTORMATION WITH STYLE. (ST)
(Prom ST Informer)
Polydisk is a powered 512-k RAM cartridge which
retails for $199. It acts like a mini- hard drive because
anything put on the cartridge will stay there when
your computer is turned off. You can use Polydisk to
boot up your computer, by having all your accessories
loaded onto the Poiydisk, Even AUTO folders will be
able to load up from the Polydisk. Because it is
always plugged into the wall it is therefore always
ready for use unlike software ram disks that must be
set up and loaded each time.
The cartridge comes with special software that
allows you to configure it in three different ways.
You can set it up as one 512k disk drive; one drive
and a hardware print spooler; or two drives and a
hardware print spooler. The hardware print spooler
allows you to repeat and abort. These are nice
features that a lot of software spoolers do not allow.
There is yet another feature included in the
Polydisk that allows cartridge emulation. This would
let you copy another cartridge to it so that you would
not have to worry about unplugging the Polydisk to
use another cartridge.
I asked George Morrison why he just didn't put a
pass through port on his cartridge so that other
cartridges could be plugged in and used at the same
time, George Morrison told me that this is just not
supported by Atari. A lot of people ask about that
and it is just not possible to do effectively. If you
look at the specifications of the ST it only has 16 data
3
NDVEtTIBER 1RB7
G.R.R.5.P. GAZETTE
lines and that’s it. The cartridge port was designed to
read ROM in not I/O. He knew of a battery backed up
clock cartridge that gave you pass through
capabilities, but when you plugged something else in
that transferred a lot of data through the port, the
clock would reset. Most people say they don’t want
their cartridge port.
Alpha Systems also has a lmeg, 2meg and 4meg
version of the Folydisk. For $299 the 1 Meg version
and up will have, in addition to the features described
above, a battery backup feature that lasts for 2-1/2
hours, This will more than compensate for power
outage or when transporting it over to a friends
house for some computing time. This will soon be
released and will be reviewed in a future issue,
THEASTERN
MARINE .a
FRANK LEVEQUE
3619 WILLIAMSBURG ROAD (804) 226-1111
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23231 (804) 228-0144
ZMAOAZINB 71
Sept. 18, '87
ZMAO NEWS WIRE
Commodore is about to announce a special upgrade
program for owners of itsAmiga 1000 computer
system. A Commodore sales executive says that the
firmhas just recently completed dealer notification of
the plan's details. Participating dealers are authorized
to accept an Amiga 1000 in trade, alongwith $1000,
for a new Amiga 2000 computer, Bxcept for a RAM
expansion device, all A1000 peripheral devices will
work with the new computer.
--James Moran Online Today
////////// /// ZMAO AZIKB 74 \\\\\\S\\\\\S
October 9, 1987 Volume 2 Number 41
Issue 074 (c)1987 Ron Kovscs
SURVEY REQUEST My name is Bob Paradis and I
am currently president of SJST (South Jersey ST) a
small but ever growing user group, I need your help
with some research for a future article that I am
writing on Software Piracy,
This is where the survey and you come in. Below
are 12 questions I would like you to answer and mail
back to me. I will have no idea who you are (unless
you tell me) so answer honestly. If you are a software
developer I would like to know who you are but it is
not necessary. All you have to do is print out this
file, answer the questions and mail it back to
me,,,simplel If you do not have a printer or for any
other reason are not able to print it out just send a
self addressed stamped envelope to the address below
and I will gladly mail you a copy of the survey. Also
give this survey to everybody you know, the tr^re
replies I get the more accurate the survey will be
Just circle your responses
1. You type in a program from a magazine, sav^t,
and give it to a friend, have you violated the
Copyright law? (YBS) (NO) (UNCBRTAIN)
2, You type in a program from a magazine and add it
to your user group’s disk library for all of the
members to use, have you violated the Copyright
law? (YBS) (NO) (UNCBRTAIN)
3, You buy the disk version of a magazine and give
one of it's programs to a friend, have you violated
the Copyright law? (YES) (NO) (UNCERTAIN)
4, You buy the disk version of a magazine and add it
to your user group's disk library for all of the
members to use, have you violated the Copyright
law? (YBS) (NO) (UNCBRTAIN)
5, You buy a magazine and lend it to a friend, have
you violated the Copyright law? (YBS) (NO)
(UNCBRTAIN)
6, You buy a magazine and photocopy something out
of it for a friend, have you violated the Copyright
law? (YBS) (NO) (UNCBRTAIN)
7, In your opinion, what portion of computer user
groups violate the Copyright laws? (ALL)
(MOST) (SOMB) (NONE)
8, Do you consider software piracy a crime? (YBS)
(NO) (UNCBRTAIN)
9, Do you consider a pirated program as innocent a
photocopied article from, a magazine? (YES) )
(UNCBRTAIN)
10, If you had a pirated copy of a program that you
really enjoyed and used a lot, would you buy it?
(OF COURSB) (DEPBNDS ON PRICB) (NBVBR)
11, Would you ever knowingly pirate or a accept a
pirated program? (YBS) (NO) (UNCBRTAIN)
12, How old are you?
Thank you for taking the survey! I must add that
the first 7 questions are based on a similar survey
that ANALOG COMPUTING magazine did about 4
years ago (I have changed the wording). Now that
you are through just pop it in an envelope and mail
to me at:
SI ST PIRACY SURVEY
c/o Bob Paradis
S Eryuwood Ave.
UarUon, W
OSQ53-1S14
I must ask that all completed surveys be mailed by
December 1st, AGAIN.,. THANK- YOUI
G.R.H.5.F. GRZETTE
KIGVEmBER IRB7
3T- REPORT
September 26, 1987
(c)1987 Ron Kovacs/ Syndicate Services
■om The Chicago Tribune /Courier News
je US government is accusing a 17 year old youth
of breaking into AT&T computers across the nation
and stealing sophisticated software worth thousands of
dollars. We will supply more information should this
develop. Article supplied by Steve Oodun.
Are you a customer of WHITEHOUSB COMPUTER??
Zmag reader Shawn Harmon recently informed us
about the rip-off of many by this firm. Current
information tells us that the firm has closed and filed
bankruptcy,
In the letter received, there were over $200,000 in
claims with only $20,000 in assets.
Whitehouse Computer is located in Williamsport,
PA,
If you are one of the many waiting for goods or you
have encountered a few problems, here is what you
can do to hopefully get your monies backl contact:
Bureau of Consumer Protection
1-717-963-4913
Attn: Mr. Mcgowen
Better Business Bureau
Scranton, PA
United States Postal Inspector
Please write a letter to the B,C,P with a copy to the
US Postal Inspector and the PA Better Business
Bureau. Include your cancelled check with a full
explanation of what you have done to retrieve your
goods.
Zmag will keep you informed as this story
progresses,
3UPBR SHORT-CUTS FOR YOUR 8- BIT 3YSTBM
courtesy JACO N.L. JUNE, '87
QUICK RAM CHRCK', check ram from just below
basic to location 10,
10 ? FRBC0) OOSUB 10
Type RUN and the screen should show numbers down
left side counting DOWN by 4 locations. It should end
with:
ERROR- 2 AT LINB 10
QTIA OR CTt A 1 . Some older systems had CTIA video
chips and could not display the newer modes of
graphics,
10 GRAPHICS 10
20 GOTO 20
Type RUN. If the screen goes black, then you have
the new GTIA. If it goes blue, you have the CTIA
and should upgrade.
A or B RBV. ROMS', Older systems had "A" ROMS
and they had some bugs, "B" ROMS correct them.
? PBBK (58383)
JL ECB COMPUTER PRODUCTS A
ON-LINE CATALOG 804-379-9239 300/1200 BPS
JK SPECIAL A
MAXELL 3.5" SSDD DISK $10.99
PER BOX OF TEN
AVATEX 2400 MODEM $230,00
AVATEX 1200HC MODEM, 4110, 00
MASTER TYPE CART $15.00
GFA BASIC LANGUAGE.. $59.95
GFA BASIC COMPILER $59.95
LDW BASIC COMPILER $44.95
FOR ATARI ST BASIC
WEBSTER THE WORD GAME $15.00
I
CHIPMUNK ....$24.95
SOFTWARE BACK-UP PROGRAM
NEWELL 256KXI — $49.95
RAM UPGRADE FOR 800/1200XL
VOICE ORDERS 804-379-1935 9-5 EST
******** COMPANY Policy **»**•»■**
ALT. ORDERS ARE SHIPPED C.O.O. UPS SUBJECT
TO MANUFACTURERS AV AllABIUTy .
APPROPRIATE SHIPPING CHARGES APPiy
VIRGINIA RESIDENTS ADD 4.5* SALES TAX
PRICING SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT
NOTICE.
G.R.H.5.P. GRZETTE
NGVEmBER H87
"B" ROMS=0. .."A" ROMS were generally 56, but
anything other than 0.
MAKE 'YO'UR. BASIC PROGRAM UNLISTABLB', You
may want to protect your Basic program so no one
can “see" your code.
1) POKE 202,1 ... will erase your program after
anything that causes the “READY" prompt, ie ... BND
or RESET or BREAK,
2) ADD THE FOLLOWING LINE TO YOUR
PROGRAM, make sure you have a backup of your
program without this linell
32767 POKE PEEK (138)+- 56*’PBBK(139)+2,0: SAVE
11 D: Filename": NEW
Type GOTO 32767. The program can be executed,
but not listed.
TURN OBF BEEPS WHEN LOADING PROGRAMS',
POKE 65,0 = off
POKE 65,3 = on
START THE ’ATTRACT’ MODE'.
POKE 77,129
OUTPUT TO PRINTER INSTEAD OP SCREEN'.
POKE 838,166; POKE 839,238
back to the screenll:
POKE 838,163: POKE 139,246
DISABLB THB KEYBOARD: To disable the keys of
the keyboard from your program
POKE 580,1 in your program.
-REBOOT WITH ’RESET' KEY', You may want
force a re- boot from disk if someone hits the n
key, perhaps in order to break into and list y>
Basic program,;
POKE 580,1 in your program
-WHICH BASIC REVISION DO YOU HAVE'.
? PEEK (43234)
162=Rev, a (almost all 400/800 96=Rev, b (early
XL's. Many serious bugs. Get Rev, C> 234=Rev. C
(Latest and Greatest)
-DISABLB THE ’BREAK’ KEY; You may want to
protect your program from someone using the
BREAK key to stop it.
POKE 16,64 and POKB 53774,16 at the start and
after each GRAPHIC command.
-TURN OPP ANTIC 1 . To speed up processing (like
when doing sorts), turn off ANTIC (Screen goes
black)
POKE 559,0 ■ off
POKB 559,34 = on
If your screen is set up with a picture (format) that
you want back, then first PEEK (559), and save the
value. When you want to restore it, just POKB that
same value back into location 559.
[Ed, Note: Some of these numbers JUST DON" 7 *
LOOK RIGHT. Try them at your own riskl]
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ARTICLE
by JEFF EBY
W.N, Y. "POKEY" ATARI USER GROUP
ANTIC SOFTWARE UPDATE
Antic magazine, which has been fighting fiercely
to protect it's monthly disk programs from being
copied, has decided to change tactics. In the past, the
magazine has resorted to strong demands that BBS
operators and others refrain from copying and
posting Antic’s software. This approach got a
negative response from nearly the entire Atari
community, In a sudden switch, Antic has decided to
stop sending out it’s monthly programs on disks to
it's disk subscribers.
According to a company spokesman, all of Antic's
software will now be issued in a new format - a
"Computer of the month" with the software based in
ROM, This "Computer of the month" is an exact
copy of the Atari computer but will only run one
program - the Antic program burned into it's ROM.
The spokesman claimed that the company was forced
to this measure by consumers. "People were loading
OUR software into their computer's RAM memory.
They say it's the only way to run OUR programs
we know all about ramdisks and won’t allow Chen
copy OUR software."
ATARI CORF,, furious at the illegal copies of it's
hardware, complained to Antic about violations of
Atari’s patents. "Well," sniffed the Antic spokesman,
"sometimes a lessor evil is reeded to stamp out the
greater evil which is the copying of Antic software."
6
G.R.R.5.R. GAZETTE
NDVECTIBER IRB7
Pricing his not been set, but is expected to be high.
"Thu's just the price you hive to piy to get OUR
software," said the Antic spokesman.
VW EMULATOR PGR ST
Many Atari users have been wondering why Atari
,ught so long to prevent an emulator of 8 bit Atari's
from being released for the ST. Now the reason has
become clear, Atari, in a bold move catching IBM
completely by surprise, announced they will be selling
an Atari 2600 video game system emulator for the ST
line of computer. "We feel this will position the ST as
the best supported system on the market," explained
an Atari spokesman. For even more added value a
free Pac-Man game will be included in the package.
Apparently anticipating a great demand for the
emulator, the company reportedly has "a warehouse
full" of Pac-Man games ready for shipment, Atari
feels this will really push the blitter equipped ST's
out the door since the graphics with the blitter chip
leaves the older St’s "in the dust," A developer’s
system will also be available for software houses
which will include a dedicated console for video game
system development, Atari, never one to rest on it’s
laurels, is reportedly developing a tape cartridge
storage system that will use widely available tape
cartridges. Code named the 410/ST it will be
available in the 1st quarter of 1988.
[Bd; above article is entitled: HUMOR ]
BALANCB OF POWBR
Geopolitics in the Nuclear Age (8- bit)
Review by: Freak Kliewer
from SLCC lournel M.L. af Oct. '87
In a search to find a game that involved something
more than just holding down the fire button and
shooting everything that moved and most that didn't,
1 found myself purchasing a copy of BALANCB OF
POWBR by Chris Crawford, This game requires, more
than anything else, the use of judgment.
It soon became clear that I had developed an
extremely aggressive attitude from my previous
computer gaming experience, as I found myself
pushing minor diplomatic conflicts to total world
destruction several times the first night I had this
program at home. There is no bonus for this type of
outcome; the screen goes black and you are greeted
with the message that there will be no mushroom
clouds or flying bodies, as failure is not rewarded, and
then you are sent back to the desktop to begin again.
There are four game playing options, from
beginner up to nightmare. Each level implements
more complexity to the international relations, with
the last level unfolding at a scary pace. You can play
as either the President of the U.S.A. or the leader of
the U.S.S.R, Trying the Utter on for size gives you an
tanny experience. There is also a two pUyer mode.
>ur term in office is for eight years (regardless of
ar performance after four). Bach year or turn lasts
a few minutes or longer depending on how many
decisions you choose to implement. After the end of
the eight turns the side with the highest world
prestige wins,
PUying BALANCB OF POWBR, you find yourself
developing an appreciation for the subtleties of
superpower give and take. You are also given an
in-depth view of every countries social and economic
situation, There are charts that allow you to follow
the history of countries as the years pass.
1 found the game play easy, challenging and very
absorbing. The reality level was good, as Chris
Crawford has put a ton of data into the AI database.
The program has a pretty good form of copy
protection since trying to pUy this game without the
extremely well written manual is ridiculous.
Despite Mr. Crawfords betrayal of the 8- bit world,
I’d recommend this return to Atari,
FLYING HIGH WITH INFILTRATOR
. (8- Bit) by Welter Willi sms
From The Pokey Press , 9/87
Infiltrator is the newest release from Mindscape
Software, Last year, Infiltrator was one of the biggest
hits for the C-64, Apple, and IBM lines. Now, it is
out for the 8- bit Atari, and I, for one, am gUd,
Infiltrator is a simulation of a commando raid into
enemy territory. You pUy Johnny "Jimbo-Baby"
Mcgibbets, who, among other things, is both a rock
star and surgeon, as well as ace helicopter pilot. And
Jimbo- Baby doesn't zip around in any old helicopter,
no sir. He has the most advanced helicopter in the
world.
The objective of the game is to penetrate into
enemy territory and complete one of three mission
objectives. Little things like find the scientist who
has been kidnapped and is being held in a very, very
secure compound. The first phase is the helicopter
flight simulation, It isn't the most realistic simulator,
but it does keep you busy. After taking off from your
home base you must determine the direction to the
enemy base, then fly there, destroying all enemy
aircraft before they destroy you, You can choose
between guns or missiles when on the offense and on
defense you have turbo- boost, chaff and flares.
If you are successful in getting through the enemy
airspace, you must then safely land the helicopter, no
easy task. After you land, you have twenty minutes to
accomplish your mission. A small arsenal helps you
out against lots of nasty guards. You then have to get
out, get back to your helicopter, and then fight your
way back to the home base, No big deal, right?
This is a very playable game that presents quite a
challenge to the gamer. The graphics are much
brighter than those on the other machines, though
very similar. This game appears to have been
programmed from the ground up, not a lame attempt
at porting from the Commodore, If you like graphic
adventure type games then this game is for you. It
takes a little time to get into the game, but is not
very difficult to learn.
Mindscape has recently released another good game
for the 8- bits, Trail Blazer, and has another game
scheduled, Into The Bagles Nest.
7
U.R.R.5.P. uriZETTc
UijVEnibER 1R&7
IN FORMATIONAL TIDBIT3 I
by John W. Zupansic, PACE
From PACE of Superior, Wi
There is going to be a price increase on the 1040ST
systems in the next few weeks according to both Lyco
and Comput Ability, They are both selling the 1040’s
for $819.00 as of 10/2/87, They both predict retail
prices to be between $950 to about $1,000 by the end
of October or early November. Lyco said when their
current stock is depleted they will be getting the
higher priced stock. Neither of the two companies
knew of any enhancements to the machines and said
the price increase was simply because Atari wants to
make more money while the St market is going so
strongly.
NEW ST PRODUCTS
By Jim Kennedy
M.A.C.E. of Southfield, Ml,
"BBS Bxpressl ST" (Bulletin Board System)
ICD, Inc,
1220 Rock Street
Rockford, IL 61101- 1437
(815) 968-2228
Requires: 520St/1040ST
Recommended; Hard-drive
$79.95"
BBS Bxpressl ST was written by Keith Ledbetter,
author of the BBS Bxpressl and Bxpressl Terminal
programs that have become so popular. BBS Bxpressl
ST has: threaded message bases, up to 32 trackable
surveys, Xmodem or Y mode m protocols, 40/80
column support, color/mono, operation, on-line
programs and morel For more info,, write to the
above address.
ATARI NEWS AND COMMENT
by JOHN NAOY,
MICHIGAN ATARI MAG.
ONE MORB PRODUCT FOR THE "SOON" LIST:
CD-ROMs! ATARI announced their COMPACT
LASER DISK MBMORY device at Britain's
PERSONAL COMPUTBR WORLD SHOW in Sept. "To
be shipped by Christmas", it will hold up to 350 MEG
per disk, will play audio CD's, will play up to an hour
of VIDBO, and sell in the UK for $650. Christmas in
what year?
New at ATARI is WALT WILSON, formerly of
APPLB, who will be in charge of building the dealer
network that has been so desperately needed for so
long.
BARCODE equipment for the 8- bit ATARI has long
been asked for, and is here form XENIA RESEARCH
in WASHINGTON. For $179, you get the barcode
reader and software that lets it imitate keystrokes to
the K; handler in any 800, XL, or XB. Also, included
is the barprint software, point-of-sale and other
application software, and complete documentation for
adapting your own software in just about any
language or DOS. It plugs into joystick port 1. It may
sound a little expensive, but barcode wands for ANY
machine are regularly over $100 WITHOUT software.
This might be the ideal thing for cheap automation
of small business counter jobs. Contact XENAI, r x
4675, Federal Way, WA 98003, (206) 927-7018,
A COMPUTBR BUZZWORD OUIDB
by Jeff Eby
from THE POKBY, BUFFALO, N. Y.
BIT - The smallest unit of information in a computer
which is used to calculate just how expensive the
overall system will be. An 8-bit machine will coat 25
cents (2 bits) to the 6th power. A 16- bit computer
will be 25 cents to the 14th power. These staggering
sums result from purchasing a modem and calling
long distance bulletin boards.
PROGRAMMER'S AIDS - Usually fatal disease
resulting from crying to understand a program that
you wrote last year,
RAM - The most common reason to buy a new
computer. "I need more ram!"
ROM - The most common reason companies make
you buy a new computer. "Sorry, but your favorite
program doesn't work with our new roms! "
RS-232 - This is a method of connecting modems
and other equipment to your computer. Invented by a
consortium of cable manufacturers,
BANK SELECTION - Usual way to finance your
hobby, (see "bit")
BLITTER - Stands for Block Integer Transfer, f) i
your' bank account to the company's account. (
"upgrade ")
UFORADE - Short name for Final Product
Development and Testing. Consumer complaints
provide the ideas and consumer money provides the
financing.
SOFTWARE - The reason hardware doesn't work.
HARDWARE - The reason software doesn’t work.
WORD PROCBSS1NO - The reason many companies
bought computers,
DBSKTOF PUBLISHING - The reason many of
those computers the companies bought are now
obsolete.
MODBMS - Capable of tying up your home phone
line for hours. They are directly related to many
parents decision to get call waiting.
AC POWER FILTERS - Provide protection for the
home environment the computer was supposed to be
designed for in the first place.
OIGO - Stands for garbage in, garbage out. Term
used by computer score owners to describe most of
the software that passes through their stores,
THE HOME USER - Market segment aimed for, but
missed by all computer companies. But they keep
trying and we keep hoping.
G.R.R.5.F. GAZETTE
NDVEfTlBER \HB7
ANN OUNCING Word np
the new standard of word processing on the Atari
. WordUp is the first in a series of superior
oducts that Neotroo Engineering (soon to be
..eotron Inc.) will be bringing to the ST. WordUp
reflects the philosophy of a company committed to
producing low cost applications that utilize the
potential of the ST to make high end tasks easier and
more efficient.
WordUp is a full GEM application with multiple
windows, desk top icons and all menu selections
available from the keyboard (and yes it does work
with Thunderl - copyright 1986 Batteries Included -
in it as you type and on files that are saved as
ASCII). WordUp supports any combination of
character sizes, faces and styles on the same line.
WordUp automatically reformats after any action
including automatically spacing the line for font size
changes, superscript, subscript and word wrap,
WordUp is the first ST word processor that allows a
graphic image and text on the same line. Additionally,
text automatically flows around the image, and since
the picture is anchored to the surrounding text, it
will follow the text during editing-unlike most page
metaphoric desktop publishers. This brings up a point
as to why we choose to identify WordUp as a word
processor even though it possesses many of the
features of a desktop publisher. Perhaps, we should
rill it a document processor since it facilitates the
aposition and layout of multiple page documents
th it's powerful formatting capabilities while not
„miting the integration of images and quality of
output inherent in desktop publishing.
Through combination of access to the upper
portion of the character sets (which contain foreign,
scientific and various symbols) and the variable
super/subscript feature, mathematical formatting is
possible, Tables and columns of text s^id graphics are
easily set up and maintained with the left, right,
center and decimal tab ability. Another first, is user
selected symbol or automatically numbered footnotes
that appear just as they will print at the bottom of
the page; thus allowing, as you might guess, full font
and line alignment capability (left, centered and
justified) along with seeing the relationship of the
footnotes to the body text as you type.
1 can see that we are getting a little ahead of the
ball game here; do not let us forget the ability to
apply all formatting options to a paragraph, defined
section or document separately and in combination.
Bor example, line spacing which is adjusted in
minimum increments of a point (1/72 in) is specified
for the three with the sum being the actual spacing.
This capability is applicable to most formatting
features including top, bottom, left and right margins;
thus, facilitating easy global or chapter (section)
.nges without altering paragraph indents etc.. Line
■jnment can be flush left, centered or justified, and,
emember, everything is
what- you- see- is- what- you- get as you type (no more
preview and cumbersome reformatting necessary).
WordUp uses GDOS to output to the printer and
the screen, Thus, any third party GDOS compatible
printer drivers and/or fonts should work with
WordUp. WordUp will ship with, as a minimum, three
faces (Swiss- serif type, Dutch- sans serif type and
Typewriter- monospaced courier type) in 10,12,18 and
24- point for the proportional faces and Epson FX-80
compatible, Star Micronics NB24--10 compatible and
Atari SMM804 printer drivers. This should cover most
popular 9-pin and 24- pin dot matrix printers;
however, we are working on more fonts (a font
editor) and printer drivers-especially for laser
printers. Don't forget that Atari's soon to be released
laser printer will run GDOS,
As you can probably gather, WordUp has far too
many features to describe in detail here. As a result,
we will be sending demos to all dealers on our mailing
list in the third week of Sept, If your local dealer
does not have one at that time then have that dealer
contact us. WordUp will ship to dealers in the third
week of Oct. More information can be obtained
directly from
Neotron Engineering
908 Camino doe Rios
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
(805)498-3840
To all of STDOM, we hope you like WordUp as
much as we do, and, remember, that we want to be a
responsive company - so please leave suggestions and
comments online or write us (the old way).
Shelby Moore
President- Neotron Engineering
LORDS OP CONQUBST (8- bit)
A Game from Hell???
by A1 Tresselfram
The Pokey Press
Lords of Conquest is a recent release from
Electronic Arts for the 8- bit Atari computers that is
another example of BA's attitude toward the Atari
community. Their recent releases do not even come
close to some of their previous classic programs such
as M.U.L.E. and Archon. with programs such as Lords
of Conquest and Touchdown Football, they may as
well not turn out anything at all for the 8- bits and
stick with Amiga, the computer that puts you on the
competitive edge, (ha Hal)
The program sounded good to me upon reading the
packaging, and the basic premise is a good one,
however, after BA got hold of it, Lords of Conquest
falls short of its procential. The graphics reminded me
of early 2600 games that were programmed in 2K of
memory, Not only that, more than one time during
play, the program locks up on you after plodding
through a half hour of so of game play. One time, the
computer player kept trying to give a command to my
forces rather than its own, so the game became an
endless loop that could only be remedied by turning
off the computer.
I know you are thinking to yourself that up to this
point I haven't told you what the game is about. Let
me just put it this way: “This is a game from HelH"
Don’t bother putting out your hard-earned bucks on
this one. And if someone gives you a copy, format it
for use with Atariwrite so you can write a letter to
BA and save the file for future reference.
3
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G.R.A.5.F. GAZETTE
1U2D VALE AVE.
RlCHmDNG. VA.
--iSJ* V . J.
I
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HOBBY
S-L-C-C- 150 6
Cft-
San
945^ 7
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