| ROVAC ZMAGAZINE | | Issue #153 | | April 18, 1989 | |Copyright 1989, RII| |This week in ZMagazine| Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer TextPro 2.5r/3.2r Bill Hall Introducing MAX Systems Marty Albert Atari Users Association Robert J. Guadagno |EDITOR'S MONITOR| |by Harold Brewer| While browsing through the April issues of Atari Interface Magazine and Current Notes (hard copy magazines which are Atari user group oriented), three points struck me: 1) In AIM, Brent Fisher of CACE wrote an article about -8Bit Uses for an ST Mouse-. Brent conveyed that this is an extention of an article which appeared reprinted in ZMagazine issue #147. I feel this is what ZMagazine is all about: stimulation of thinking about the 8-bit Ataris to the point of putting in your -two-cents worth-. Keep up the good work, Brent. 2) In Notes, Len Poggiali's -XE/XL UPDATE- has some good observations, save one error (as I interpret the article): the R-Time 8 clock cartridge is not new, and not made by Innovative Concepts. The R-Time 8 has been around for a few years and is made by ICD, Inc. 3) These two magazines which are available at my local Atari dealer (side by side with the Antics and Analogs) are a very welcome addition to the fare which the -two As- give the 8-bit reader. I hope to be able to purchase all these magazines in the years to come. Last week's COMDEX (commercially-oriented computer show) had little to offer us 8-bitters. For details, check out ST-ZMagazine #16. I'm sure the World of Atari this weekend will have a bit more for us to think about. |TEXTPRO 2.5r/3.2r| |by Bill Hall| Miami Valley Atari Computer Enthusiasts TextPro: A Series of Copyrighted 8-Bit ShareWare Word Processors from Mike Collins and Ronnie Riche If you have need of a Word Processor that will run without displacing your R: Handler, TextPro 3.2r (and 2.5r for AtariDOS fans) is about your best bet. If you have ever used SpeedScript, the appearance of the Disk Menu and the general -feel- of the program will contain no surprises other than cursor movement options. You will, however, have a lot more flexibility than SpeedScript ever provided (at least, more than I ever noticed). Both versions assemble at $2B00, allowing you room for RS232 handlers or other special handlers to remain in RAM. The nice thing about this is, you can use a -persistent- handler without having to reboot every time you switch applications, as long as the handler is not directly appended to your program. That way you never run into the -Not Enough Memory- message because of the handler reloading on top of itself, and taking up more memory. Some Features of TextPro Include > Binary Load, to switch to other binary programs; > English Error Messages instead of numbers; > SpartaDOS Subdirectory support; > Automatic Directory Sorting; > Exit directly to BASIC and return; > Ability to create a Disk Log of all your disks, with any comments you want added (usage notes or whatever, you have the entire word processor options available instead of somebody else's idea of what constitutes a software listing...); > Several -/- parameters to let you Save to Cursor, Load From Cursor, Append, and several useful others; > User-definable Macros and Macro definitions, to let you automate repetitive keystrokes that *you* make often. There are some already written on the pay services, among them a virtual 10 file windowing utility you can use from a RAMDisk. One I wrote for myself let me walk away from a rather long file I had downloaded, while the Macro deleted multiple characters (text AND Control characters) that I did not need cluttering up the file--having a dot-matrix printer I don't need to backspace and retype a character 4 to 8 times to get Boldface or Enhanced script--so I didn't have to wear out my eyes or fingers typing in character sequences to replace with other character sequences using the Global Replace feature. The Macro did the donkey-work, and I had a cup of coffee! Utility of the Program TextPro x.xr versions are limited to a text window of 15,360 characters (about 6 full pages of 64-column text), but using the -Save to Cursor-, -Delete to Top-, -Load to Cursor-, and -/A- appended Save and Print parameters you can work with files of virtually any size. Also, you can write your own Macro to handle this for you or use SEGMENT.MAC from the pay services to automate it. Files are saved and printed in ASCII format, which allows you to interchange text files with people having other computers (like the ST folks). The Files Menu gives you a listing of files, number of free sectors, and Delete, Lock, Unlock, Rename, Format, Load, Copy, and eXit (to DOS) along with Drive Select 1-8 and Subdirectory changes (if you have SpartaDOS). Formatting changes (margin resets, pitch changes, font changes, underlining, etc.) are done with imbedded commands. Several are predefined, you can define some of your own, or you can imbed printer control codes specific to your printer for -fancy- work. Using the Macros you can automate just about any function--the limit is your own imagination--giving you the freedom to perform files maintenance without having to go to the Menu, for instance. All in all, TextPro is about as useful a Word Processor as any I have ever seen for the 8-bit Atari. It is easy enough to use that my wife (who knows *nothing* about the internal workings of a computer) has no problems writing her papers on it just using the built-in commands; yet for someone who likes to make things work the way *they* like them to work, TextPro offers extreme versatility with a minimum of effort. It can do everything I have seen commercial Word Processors do (with the possible exception of printing only odd or even pages), and at a ShareWare price of $10 to $20, nothing that is as good comes anywhere near the value. Different Versions TextPro 1.2 is intended for use with AtariDOS, but there are extensions available that allow you some other choices. Using the available extensions allow you a great deal of flexibility in text handling, and some degree of automation. What is not available from the extensions can be built to your satisfaction using the Macro feature. Version 2.5r is meant for AtariDOS. Version 3.2r is meant for SpartaDOS. x.xr versions will not recognize the EXTension files for v1.2, but the Macros can be used to overcome any disadvantage there. Conclusion Mike Collins and Ronnie Riche have done an excellent continuing job with all of the TextPro series. If I *knew* all of the features available, this review could easily turn into a monster! (This was supposed to be a *short* review...) I recommend TextPro very highly. Get a copy, try it out, and if you like it (as I'm sure you will), support the ShareWare concept in the most tangible way there is: Pay the developers! (Editor's note: It is a pleasure to be able to use TextPro 3.2r when editing ZMagazine.) |INTRODUCING MAX SYSTEMS| |by Marty Albert| Quality Software for Atari and Commodore 8-Bit Computers This document is for information only and in no way states or implies any contract. It may be freely distributed as long as it remains unchanged. Reformatting for printing is permitted. Copyright 1988 by MAX Systems MAX Systems Suite 6-216 4005 Manzanita Ave. Carmicael, CA 95609-4005 Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction to MAX Systems! We think that you'll find the information here both interesting and, possibly, profitable! In recent years, the software available for the Atari and Commodore 8-bit computers has more or less -dried up-. There is little new commercial software being released by the big publishers and the quality of Public Domain software has been steadily decreasing, with a few notable exceptions. The support for PD and so-called -shareware- has been sparce to say the least. Often, when you get a PD or shareware program, you can't find out who to ask when you have a question because the author is not available or has even moved on to other computers. So, you are left on your own to figure out how to use the program, often with poor results. What about the other side of the coin? You have written a program that you feel is a good one. You send it off to a few publishers, but they reply that, -...we don't support that old machine anymore.- You are left with three alternatives: 1) Release it as PD and make no profit from it. 2) Release it as -shareware- and make little, if any, profit from it. 3) Just keep it and the heck with it all, wasting your time and effort that you put into the program. This hurts everyone! The non-programmers see a lack of good software for their machines because the programmers are not seeing any rewards for their work and stop supporting the machine. The programmers get disgusted and stop writing new software because they are going broke. As time passes, it just keeps getting worse! That is where MAX Systems comes in! |Just What is MAX Systems?| MAX Systems believes in the FIRST Ataris and Commodores! They are fine machines, capable of amazing feats. They are far from dead. We want to help both the programmer and the user by providing a way to get quality software from the programmer to the user while keeping cost to the user low and profit to the programmer high. A typical software package, complete with documentation, would be priced at about $20.00 with about $10.00 going to the author. MAX takes care of the details! |How Can MAX Do That?| Simple! MAX uses -low tech- systems to duplicate the disk and documents. There is no big overhead so MAX can keep costs way down. We pass this savings on to the users and still return a large percent to the programmer. All programs are sent on high quality diskettes with clear, easy to read documentation. All diskettes are guaranteed for life against failure. Update policies vary depending on the program in question and are fully documented with the software. MAX Systems DOES NOT use copy protection. Copy protection simply adds to the cost. If someone really wants to copy the program, they will do so, no matter what you do to the disk. Instead, the programs are very document dependant. Someone may copy a disk, but they won't sit down and type in 40 pages of docs! MAX uses -no frills- packaging. Sure, that four color slick paper box looks nice, but does it make the program run better? No, it doesn't. So, why add that cost? We at MAX see no reason for fancy packages. MAX is mail order only, so we don't have to support a dealer network. Dealer orders are, of course, welcome, but they are treated just like any other order, with the exception of pricing for large quantities. Most software packages have a quantity discount that is available to anyone that wants to order in larger supplies, such as a User Group or dealer. MAX advertises by modem. By the use of the national online data services and BBSes throughout the country, MAX reaches the people who need software. Why pay $10,000.00 or more for an ad in a magazine when as many people can be reached by modem for less than $5.00? |Isn't MAX Just Another PD Place?| There are many companies now in the business of -selling- PD software. For $5-$10, you get a disk of useless programs with maybe one good one mixed in. No documentation, no support. Not only do we at MAX feel that this is NOT the way to get quality software, we also question if it is even legal due to copyright laws, but we are not lawyers. Instead, the programs offered by MAX Systems are ALL copyrighted programs. Each one is registered with the United States Copyright Office. The author retains ownership of the program and grants MAX the permission to distribute the program. This provides the author and MAX a legal recourse against anyone who -pirates- the software. As you can see, we are far from just another PD software disk maker! |What Benefits to Programmers Does MAX| | Offer? | The benefits are many. First off, your program is REALLY copyrighted! It is registered with the US government! Next, MAX handles the details like disk duplication, printing of docs, shipping, order taking, and other -paper shuffling-. That leaves you free to do what you do best--program. MAX also deals with the money side. Each quarter, MAX will send you a royalty statement and check based on the sales of your program(s). To guarantee your royalties, each time a copy of your program is sold, MAX places your royalty payment in a special bank account. Quarterly payments are made from this account to you. MAX deals with bad checks, etc. from users so you don't have to. The bottom line? Just sit back and enjoy the extra income four times a year! |What Does it Cost Me to Let MAX Sell| | My Program? | Nothing! All that MAX requires from you is that you provide the program and COMPLETE documentation in a standard, non-protected disk file format for the machine that you have written it for. MAX may, from time to time, contact you with technical questions from users. MAX may also ask for new versions and/or updates as needed. MAX does reserve the right to edit the documentation for clarity, but you will always be asked for approval of the revised docs. It is, after all, your program! |What About Credit for the Program?| You are encouraged to have your name appear on the title screen of the program. We want the users to know that you wrote it! MAX also requires that -Distributed by MAX Systems- appear somewhere in the program for the users to see. We encourage you to refer questions about the program to MAX. This way, you won't be bothered except for real problems. |What About Questions?| Many programmers rely on questions from users as feedback for future revisions. MAX understands this! We will maintain a file of questions, comments, and problems from users and will be happy to provide this to the programmers. |What Machines Does MAX Support?| At this time, MAX supports the following computers: Atari 400 800 600XL 800XL 1200XL 130XE XEGS Commodore 64 128 128D We will be adding other machines in the future such as the Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM. We are, as always, open to comments and suggestions for what machines to support, so please feel free to drop us a note! |What Sort of Programs is MAX Looking| | For? | Just about anything! Games, utilities, applications, whatever! In the Commodore area, there seems to be a lack of serious applications software right now, but games are always popular. For the Atari, again games are always good, but there too is a lack of good applications. The language that the program was written in is not important. BASIC, compiled BASIC, C, assembler, Action!, Pascal, whatever. Remember that in order to copyright your program, MAX must have the COMPLETE source code listing no matter what the language used! |What Does MAX Offer the Users?| In one word, support. Not only are they getting a piece of quality software with complete documents, but they know where they can reach MAX Systems if they have a problem or question. The user will also get a sense of support from themselves, knowing that they are doing something to help their own machine by purchasing a product written by an independent programmer. |So, How Do I Get More Information?| This is just an introduction to MAX Systems. If you are a programmer and are interested in more information about MAX and how to submit a program to us, please send a SELF ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE to: MAX Systems Suite 6-216 4005 Manzanita Ave. Carmicael, CA 95609-4005 ATTN: Marty Albert MAX can also be reached on GEnie at address: MARTY.A Please be sure to tell us what machine that you are interested in programming! Thanks again! Marty Albert |ATARI USERS ASSOCIATION| |by Robert J. Guadagno| I would like to take this time to introduce myself. I am Robert J. Guadagno, President of the Atari Users Association (A.U.A.). I am writing you all to give you a better understanding of what the A.U.A. is trying to do for the ATARI community. Slight History: The A.U.A. was started by myself a year ago while I was reading an article in a now expired Atari magazine that expressed how Atari was annoyed at the amount of letters they were receiving from users and user groups making outrageous demands on Atari Corp. for little things. It went on to say that Atari was hoping to hear from its supporters, but in a more ORDERLY fashion. While reading this (you may say the LIGHT came on) I thought of the Atari Users Association, a group with the sole intention of -merging- Atari users and user groups to form ONE ORGANIZED NETWORK of Atari supporters. This group (that became the A.U.A.) will NOT -take over- any user group, but, in turn, will take it's members voices, and add them to ours. The Atari Users Association will not PRY into ANY user groups' business unless the officers of that group wishes the A.U.A. to do so. The A.U.A. is a support group ONLY, made to better SERVE the Atari community as well as Atari themselves. Right now the A.U.A. is only 300 members weak!. Why weak? There were over ONE MILLION Atari computers sold in the United States and Canada, and as members of the Atari community, we are greatly out-numbered. The Atari Users Association needs YOUR help, YOUR numbers, YOUR voices, to make Atari #1 again. |What the A.U.A. Intends to Do| > Write-in campaigns: (quite the same as Antic Publication's -SpringBoard- write-in -News Room- campaign) For better software support for the ST and 8-Bit Atari computers. > Information exchange: To keep the Atari users informed about the Atari community at large. > Company contact: To talk to the software and accessory companies, to let them know WE are behind them, give them ideas as to what we, as Atari users would like to see (the A.U.A. has a contact with Spectrum HoloByte, and have been speaking to them about the FALCON matter) to show THEM that we SUPPORT them, and will continue to do so. The Atari Users Association feels that a POWERFUL ORGANIZED VOICE is necessary to communicate our thoughts to Atari, and to the MYRIAD of software and add-on hardware vendors. The Atari community is labeled as being a -risk-group---it is the Atari Users Associations job to STOP that manner of thinking. The A.U.A. is NOT -waging war- on IBM, Apple, or Commodore--instead, we are trying to organize the efforts and the voices of the Atari users and user groups to BETTER the standing of Atari in the computer industry, to let the software companies know that we ARE worth more than one title a QUARTER. |What the A.U.A. Has in the Works Now| > The Atari Users Association has made every effort to talk to Electronic Arts, to get MOST of the software NOW available for MOST computers available for the Atari computers, each call was met with a disappointing end. The A.U.A. feels that a WRITE-IN organized PETITION to Electronic Arts WILL get results...by sending 10,000 letters of demand at once in one package we will get MORE attention than 10,000 sent in all alone at different times. I thank you ALL for your time, and I hope you will ALL add your voice to ours. Sincerely, Robert J. Guadagno President, Atari Users Association If you have any questions or suggestions please leave them to me on the FoReM Fnet at: NODE 133 Hologram Inc. (201) 727-1914 addressed to COMIC-KID or call: (201) 290-2242 or write to us at the address below. THANK YOU! Atari Users Association c/o Software Spectrum 267 Main St. Matawan, NJ 07747 ------------->Clip Here<-------------- Atari User's Association Membership Application [Personal Information] ______________________________________ First Name:________________ Last Name:_________________ Phone#:( ) - Address:___________________ City/Town:_________________ State:____ Zip:_______ _______________________________________ [] Put me on the membership directory (Directory lists all A.U.A. members) _______________________________________ |Areas Of Interest| [Hardware] [Software] [] Atari 8-bit [] Accounting/Home finance [] Atari 520 ST [] BBS Software [] Atari 1040 ST [] Cad/Cyber [] Atari Mega [] Communications (2 or 4) [] Databases [] Desktop Publishing ST [] Games/ [Drive(s)] Entertainment [] SS/DD [] Graphic(s) [] DS/DD [] Languages/ Programming [] Hard Drive(s) [] Spreadsheets [] Word Processing [] Other: ________________ [Printer(s)] ________________ [] 9 Pin Dot Matrix ________________ [] 24 Pin Dot Matrix [] Laser [] Other:___________ [Monitor(s)] [] Color Monitor (SC1224) [] Monochrome (SM124) [] 19- Monochrome [] Other:___________ [Modem(s)] [] 300 Baud [] 1200 Baud [] 2400 Baud [] 9600 Baud [] Other: _________________ _________________ _________________ Do you run a BBs? Name of your Yes [] No [] Disk Drive(s)? ________________ Name of your printer ________________ ____________________ ________________ ____________________ Name of your modem(s) Favorite software titles? ____________________ ____________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ Name of user's group? User's group BBs name? ____________________ ____________________ ________________ ____________________ ________________ ____________________ ________________ ________________ Favorite BBs name? __________________ __________________ Mail to: Atari Users Association c/o Software Spectrum 267 Main St. Matawan, NJ 07747 Hologram Inc. Node 133 201/727-1914 Member of the A.U.A. --------------->Clip Here<------------- | 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: 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