| ROVAC ZMAGAZINE | | Issue #166 | | July 18, 1989 | |Copyright 1989, RII| |This week in ZMagazine| Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer Matrix Magazine Eric Glover ZMagazine Index for Jan-June 1989 Curses--Foiled Again! Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer |EDITOR'S MONITOR| |by Harold Brewer| As folks who frequent the CompuServe 8-bit download libraries can attest, ZMagazine issue #164 cannot be found there. This is due to a CompuServe employee's (Ron Luks) point of view that: -(the) issue doesn't meet our editorial standards for acceptance- and -I considered the comments about Mark's 'grammatical skills' to be 'unnecessary, unproductive, and unprofessional'-. (These quotes were given to ZMagazine by Mr. Luks.) Apparently, the 8-bit SysOps of GEnie, the publisher of ZMagazine, and myself differ in our opinions as to what is acceptable for access on-line. I am sorry if anyone has taken personal insult concerning the contents of ZMag #164, but nothing of the sort was ever intended. Indeed, the best possible presentation of material for publishing in ZMagazine is at the forefront of my mind. When this is not possible through some constraint, I believe something should be said to prevent its reoccurrance. |MATRIX MAGAZINE| |by Eric Glover| I would like to ask your group to join the EgasaTechnologies/Matrix Magazine Network (Egsanet). Matrix Magazine is the world's first completely diskette magazine devoted only to the 8-bit Atari computer system. We feature articles in an easy-to-read journal format combined with ready-to-run, pre-typed games and utilities over double-sided, double density diskettes. A demo edition was released in March/April 1989. I would like your user group to become part of our team. The idea is to have several sections in the magazine to user groups across the nation and overseas. These sections would include reviews, rumors, product release information, opinions, tutorials, and workshop sections. This alliance of user groups would be called, -The Network-, however, each group would retain it's singular identity and would NOT be responsible to any other member of -The Network-. Also, ALL credit for any printed article would go to the user group and the author of the article. -The Network- would be just the name of this alliance of user groups and not a collective of these groups that would take away respective identities. Instead, ALL respective indentities of each group would remain intact. I need your group's help to set up this alliance. Here is how the system would work: NETWORK OVERVIEW 1. A materials exchange will be set-up. 2. Should an article in your group's newsletter be of interest to the Atari community, we would publish it in the Matrix Magazine and give the user group and the author credit. Matrix Magazine would be allowed no more than 2 stories or articles from any single issue of your newsletter. 3. Your user group would be allowed to reprint up to 2 articles from any issue of Matrix Magazine in any of your news publications as long as the author and Matrix Magazine are credited. 4. Your group and it's members would receive a discount on the normal subscription price:. Type Normal Price Your Price 4 Issues $15.95 $13.95 8 Issues 25.95 22.95 12 Issues 35.95 30.95 5. As a final bonus, Network user groups are allowed discount advertising space. Type Normal Price Your Price Half page $25.00 $10.00 Half page w/animation 35.00 15.00 Full page 40.00 20.00 Full page w/animation 60.00 27.50 2 page 80.00 45.00 2 page with animation 120.00 75.00 Full section w/animation (10 pages) 450.00 250.00 NETWORK REPLY FORM -------------(Cut here)--------------- Please complete this form and return to the address listed below. ____ No, we do not wish to participate in the Network. ____ Maybe, please send us an ARCed copy of the Demo Matrix Issue for distribution to our members and we'll respond at a later date. ____ Yes, We would like to be a part of the Matrix Magazine Team. REGISTRATION Group Name:___________________________ ___________________________ President:____________________________ Group Address:________________________ City/State:___________________________ Zip Code:__________ BBS Phone Number:_____________________ Meeting Dates:________________________ Number of Members:_____________ (Please include a copy of your publication.) Send to: Matrix Magazine (Ctsy ZMagazine) Attn: Eric R. Glover Executive Editor Post Office Box 49212 Chicago, Illinois 60649 -------------(Cut here)--------------- |ZMAGAZINE INDEX| January thru June 1989 Issues #138 thru #163 ___________________________________ Issue #138 January 3, 1989 <*> Editors Desk <*> MYDOS Update Released <*> Diamond Review <*> ZNET Newswire <*> PR:C Modification <*> DATAQUE Update <*> ANTIC Software on CIS <*> XF551 Modification Issue #139 January 10, 1989 <*> Editors Desk <*> Diamond Update <*> Software Bill of Rights <*> Your 8 Bit Comes Alive <*> Innovative Concepts Sale <*> December Files on GEnie <*> US Robotics Offer <*> Transformer Update <*> Happy Conference Highlites Issue #140 January 16, 1989 <*> Editors Desk <*> East Coast MIDI Directory <*> PC Pursuit Update <*> Diamond Conference Transcript <*> Atari Distributors World Wide <*> CIS Offer Issue #141 January 23, 1988 <*> Editors Desk.........Ron Kovacs <*> GOE/TCS Update.....David Sullivan <*> CodeBuster Help....Ctsy SIG*Atari <*> 800 Owners Column...H. Siebenrock <*> Analog March Contents <*> ARC Speed Test IBM vs 130XE <*> IBM Monitor with XEP...B. Woolley <*> GEnie ATARI8 RT Top 100 Downloads Issue #142 January 30, 1989 <1> Z*Net Newswire News updates including Xanth, Diamond and more... <2> 800XL Ram Upgrade....Russ Babylon Modification article. Reprinted by request. <3> AtariWriter+ and SpartaDos ...Glenn Smith How to use A+ and a Ramdisk <4> 800 Owners Column....H. Siebenrock Cold System Reset <5> Oasis BBS System........Ron Kovacs New release from Z INNOVATORS Issue #143 February 7, 1989 <*> Editors Desk...........Ron Kovacs <*> Nintendo Sues Atari Games <*> Dataque Conference.......Ctsy CIS <*> Atari Magazines..........L. Estep <*> MicroMiser <*> Call Blocking............J. Cross <*> Online Services <*> Jan Uploads Issue #144 February 14, 1989 <*> Editors Desk...........Ron Kovacs <*> ZMag F Rating...........John Nagy Text file rating system <*> Dataque Update.....Chuck Stienman Details on the Turbo816 Project <*> Express The Cartridge.......Orion New Product announcement <*> Express Cart Order Form.....Orion <*> Diamond Cartridge........Ken Leap A Review <*> Practical Solutions....WK Whitton Valuable offer for STer's <*> ST Transformer Cable...........IC <*> Z*Break................Ron Kovacs Special request from Sig Hartmann Issue #145 February 21, 1989 <*> EDITORS DESK...........Ron Kovacs Commentary and update <*> ANALOG COMPUTING EDITORIAL. ...Clayton Walnum February Edition Reprint <*> Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8 Bit Developers Kit, Auto Show dates, IC Sale and more <*> KEYS TO YOUR ATARI...Mike Lechkun Reprint from MAGIC <*> SURVEY RESPONSE........Ron Kovacs Part 1 of a series from the ZMag Survey <*> ATARI SHOW ST World presents -World Of Atari- Issue #146 February 28, 1989 <*> EDITORS DESK..........Ron Kovacs <*> ANALOG APRIL CONTENTS.....Analog <*> OVERSEAS VISIT.........Ron Kovacs <*> GALAXY STARLINK........WK Whitton <*> ANTIC MAY CONTENTS..........Antic <*> MICROMISER UPDATE <*> WORLD OF ATARI SHOWS <*> ZNET NEWSWIRE Issue #147 March 7, 1989 ==> Publisher's Desk Ron Kovacs ==> Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer ==> Commodore 1350 Controller Jay Pierstorff ==> New Games for the 8-bit Matt Ratcliff ==> GEnie's February 8-bit Uploads Courtesy of GEnie/Atari 8-bit RT ==> Micromiser: Part 3 Kenneth Gilbert ==> Z Innovators Oasis BBS Policy Courtesy of Bungalow BBS ==> Z*NET Newswire Harold Brewer Issue #148 March 14, 1989 ==> Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer ==> Z*Net Press Release Syndicate Publishing Company ==> Turbo BASIC Command List Dave and Laura Yearke ==> Indus GT Modification Rich Mier ==> Bill Williams' Necromancer Richard Brudzynski ==> Oasis 4.3 Update News Glenda Stocks ==> Z*Net Newswire Harold Brewer Issue #149 March 21, 1989 ==> 512K 800XL Upgrade Dan Schmidt ==> Hard-To-Find Support Updated ==> Super Archiver Paul Gittins ==> Crazy-Eights Robert Buman ==> AtariTech BBS XL Power Supply The Traveler ==> Z*Net Newswire Harold Brewer Issue #150 March 28, 1989 ==> Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer ==> XE Console Key Fix The Traveler ==> Thunder Fox and Tower Toppler Matthew Ratcliff ==> -WHATIS- File Identifier Bill Aycock ==> Analog Computing May Contents Clayton Walnum ==> F.A.C.E. Eric Lambeth ==> Z*Net Newswire Harold Brewer Issue #151 April 4, 1989 ==> PC Pursuit Update ==> Turbo 8-16 News ==> 1st Stop Computer Systems, LTD Bruce Hansford ==> April Fool's Treat #1 ==> April Fool's Treat #2 ==> Crazy Eights #3 Robert Buman ==> GEnie's March 8-bit Uploads Issue #152 April 11, 1989 ==> Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer ==> World of Atari Update ==> Diamond OS Super Cartridge Joe Lovett ==> Computer Software Services Bob Puff ==> Machine Language Strings Dennis Pitman ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #153 March 18, 1989 ==> Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer ==> TextPro 2.5r/3.2r Bill Hall ==> Introducing MAX Systems Marty Albert ==> Atari Users Association Robert J. Guadagno Issue #154 March 25, 1989 ==> Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer ==> Atari in Panama Carlos Hassan ==> Rommel, Battles for Tobruk Howard Bandow ==> ICD's Current Software Versions ==> SuperDOS v5.0 Tom Curtner ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #155 May 2, 1989 ==> World of Atari Report John Nagy ==> CompuServe 8-bit Uploads ==> DeTerm v1.59 Robert Anisko ==> April 8-bit Uploads from GEnie ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #156 May 9, 1989 ==> Publisher's Desk Ron Kovacs ==> Ratty's Rap Matthew Ratcliff ==> CompuServe New 8-bit Files ==> The -Freedom Stick- Tom Guelker ==> Microcheck 130XE 1988 Eric -Gus- Augustus ==> Z*NET Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #157 May 16, 1989 ==> The 512K Atari 800XL/1200XL 1.1 Dan Schmidt ==> Comprehensive MACE Show Report John Nagy ==> CompuServe New 8-bit Files ==> DataQue Software's Turbo-816 ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #158 May 23, 1989 ==> A Few Minutes with Randy Mooney Frank Walters ==> Terminal Emulators for the 8-bit Robert Anisko ==> WAACE-Current Notes Contest ==> Analog July 1989 Contents Clayton Walnum ==> Turbo-816 Version 1.1M Orders ==> Z*NET Newswire 8-bit Version Harold Brewer Issue #159 May 30, 1989 ==> Editor's Monitor Harold Brewer ==> Hard Disk Hints W.K. Whitton ==> Crazy-Eights #5 Robert Buman ==> Interlude 1 ==> Kennedy Approach Dennis Pitman ==> Guest Commentary Leo Sell ==> Interlude 2 ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #160 June 6, 1989 ==> Atari Announces New Products ZBreak #5 ==> Summer CES Chicago June 3, 1989 <<<< Kirk >>>> ==> Hard Disk Hints (Part 2) W. K. Whitton ==> The Master Memory Map Jerry Cross ==> Electronic Mailbox At Home Bob Fasoldt Issue #161 June 13, 1989 ==> Quick DIR Mat*Rat ==> CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads ==> Innovative Concepts Release ==> GEnie New 8-bit Uploads ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #162 June 20, 1989 ==> Interview with Chris Roberts Bob Brodie and John Nagy ==> Line Noise ==> GEnie New 8-bit Uploads ==> Autoduel Dennis Pitman ==> CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads ==> SuperDOS Right Margin Frank Walters ==> Tech Tips W.K. Whitton ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer Issue #163 June 27, 1989 ==> Daisy-Dot III Font Preview Roy Goldman ==> CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads ==> Day One--World of Atari Dearborn John Nagy ==> GEnie New 8-bit Uploads ==> Atari Booth Malcom Cleveland ==> The Public Domain Desk Lawrence R. Estep ==> Analog Computing Table of Contents ==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer |CURSES--FOILED AGAIN!| |Anonymous by request| Back in late March of this year, a hoax was perpetrated in the form of a -press release- regarding the activities of Atari Corp. The document was widely distributed on various telecommunications networks and contained some extravagent plans for product releases and marketing by Atari Corp. Also included was th -news- that the 8-bit computer line had been sold to Coleco (of Cabbage Patch Dolls and the Adam Computer fame). I was becoming an increasingly serious user of my Atari 8-bit at the time (and still am) and before my modem had had a chance to cool off after reading the text of the hoax, I dashed off the following letter. Luckily, I did not have a chance to mail off the letter before the hoax had been debunked. However, I submit the (slightly edited) text of this letter (anonymously and a little red-faced) to my fellow 8-bitters for their consideration. March 30, 1989 Dear Coleco; Congratulations on your recent purchase of the 6502 computer line from Atari Corporation. It might be a surprise that you are already receiving mail about this product, but word travels fast amongst computer users. By way of introduction, I am a dedicated Atari -8-bitter-. I own a 130XE, three disk drives (two 1050s and an XF551), a 1027 printer and an SX212 modem. I also have the use of a good deal of additional Atari 8-bit hardware as I am the SysOp of an Electronic Bulletin Board set up for the benefit of professionals in the southeastern corner of (State). I am using my own equipment to write my doctoral dissertation, produce a newsletter for the BBS described above and write articles for the local Atari users group. I also do a good deal of telecommunication with services such as GEnie, CompuServe and Knowledge Index as well as local BBSes. And yes, I also sometimes play a game or two on the computer. This letter has been written on my Atari 8-bit and printed up on my Panasonic 1091i printer. I used Public Domain software including the TextPro word-processor version 3.2 by Collins and Richie, and a program called Daisy-Dot II written by Roy Goldman in order to achieve the special type font. This letter was written and produced in less than an hour. As you can see, this computer CAN play with the big boys. Although I have the opportunity to use Apple and IBM computers in my professional work as a school psychologist, I most enjoy using my Atari 8-bit computer system and I hope to be able to continue to use this fine system for a number of years and to eventually introduce it to my children as their first computer. As a potential future customer and supporter of Coleco, now that you have the rights to these former Atari products, I would like to offer my advice on what I think Coleco should do with this excellent computer line: 1) If it is both technically and legally possible, produce an APPLE EMULATION PACKAGE. The reason I feel that this would be worthwhile is that thousands, probably millions, of kids are exposed to Apple Computers in the schools. Parents might very well consider the purchase of an inexpensive alternative if the children could bring home their textfile or program disks of work done in school. 2) Produce and/or port some new games that REALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SOUND AND GRAPHICS CAPABILITY OF THE 8-BIT ATARI. Talk with Xanth Park, who has produced some of the most stunning visual displays ever seen on any 8-bit machine for the Atari 8-bit. 3) Don't continue with Atari's giant step backward of releasing the memory limited 64K XE Game System. I think that any new machines released should have as much if not more memory than the 130XE (128K). Such extra memory is very handy and makes many programs much more useful and efficient to run. 4) Do not forget the fact that you have a huge, already-installed user-base. BUT, please take note of the following facts about this ready-made market: A: There has been virtually no advertising directed at this market in years. They have also seen the outlets from which they formerly obtained products and support disappear. Many towns and even cities of even moderate size have NO stores which stock or display Atari 8-bit products. Many of these potential customers have probably given up even bothering to look for software and other products. Many of these users may be unaware that they have computers/game machines which will be compatible with any new software or hardware that Coleco may produce. These are owners of the Atari 400, 800, 1200XL, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE and 130XE computers. YOU WOULD PROBABLY DO WELL TO EXPLODE A REAL ADVERTISING -BOMB- IN ORDER TO AROUSE THESE CUSTOMERS. A period of intensive prime-time television advertising that calls the attention of these owners to Coleco's support for them will probably have them flocking in droves to any store that they are told sells new software for their machines: they have simply been STARVED for it for the last 4 to 5 years. B: There is a small but very active and loyal market of -serious- users of the Atari 8-bit computer line which will welcome the release of improved/updated computer-related (as opposed to mere game-related) products. For example, we are in great need of a well-written, flexible, efficient and easy to learn Database program (ie. SynFile+, which is currently owned by Broderbund, LOOKS great, but is simply too inefficient in many respects.) 5) Be aware and take advantage of the fact that some excellent products for the Atari 8-bit line have been produced and released in the recent past by third-party developers such as ICD (SpartaDOS X, P:R: Connection). Exciting new developments such as the new Turbo-816 operating system by DataQue should be explored and integrated into your plans if they appear to be worthwhile. Also, be aware that there already exist many excellent Public Domain programs (both games and applications) which deserve the status and distribution of the commercial market or require little more than refinements and subtle improvements by professional programmers in order to make them so. 6) Be aware and take advantage of the fact that this computer is CAPABLE OF VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE BASIC FUNCTIONS OF ANY PERSONAL COMPUTER. Yes, of course it can play games, but it also makes an excellent word-processor, and even simple desktop publishing can be accomplished with it. It is a joy, not only to engage in telecommunications with this computer, but also to utilize it as a -Host- computer for electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes). 7) CONCENTRATE ON SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT! This is potentially the area in which you can make tremendous profit at relatively little expense for a number of reasons. There are probably thousands of 8-bit programmers out there who, if given the chance, and adequate support, could produce excellent software. This computer already has an excellent base of hardware support (try to keep up the quality in this area: dealers to whom I have spoken actually PREFERRED handling Atari 8-bits over Commodore products because of the quality and reliability of the hardware). Also, with a good interface such as the 850 or the P:R: Connection, your new customers will be able to utilize virtually any printer or modem on the market. 8) THE ATARI 8-BIT ALSO ALREADY HAS A NATIONWIDE EXPERIENCED/INSTALLED SUPPORT BASE in the form of 8-bit special interst groups (or -SIGs-) of Atari Users groups. Please attempt to solicit input and feedback from such groups, they may be a great help in helping to launch your new venture. You now have, as you once attempted to produce with the ADAM, an extremely easy to use, inexpensive and flexible computer line which has the additional advantage of already having a wealth of knowledge and support to back it up. This computer could easily be the -VOLKSCOMPUTER- of the near future. Although not as complicated as some of the 16-bit computers which are now commonplace in the so-called -serious- computer Market, this computer can easily do virtually anything that most -ordinary- people could ask of a personal computer. If you are truly committed to this product and back it up with adequate support, it can only be a huge commercial success for you. Sincerely, (Anonymous) |Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT EDITION| |by Harold Brewer| Frank Walters, SysOp of T.A.C.O. Bell BBS, sent two nice ATASCII ZMagazine logos. How do you like them? Atari News andInfo Graphics By SCARAMANGA (c)'87 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | One of ZMag's sister publications (ST-ZMagazine) reported on the following in its -ZNET NEWSWIRE- from ST-ZMagazine #29: -ST-LOG will now be the place where Analog readers go to for 8-bit news in the fall. Due to insufficient advertising which has not covered the costs of publication, Analog will be included within ST-LOG just as ST-LOG appeared in Analog before its debut as a separate publication. The circulation of Analog has been good, but plagued with less ads.- Orion Microsystems has been shipping Express! cartridges and Keith Ledbetter made the following statement Monday in GEnie's 8-bit Bulletin Board: -We forgot to include a cover letter with the Express! Carts that we have shipped out so far, so I'm going to post it here. If you could, I'd appreciate it if you'd pass this information on to any users on your BBSes (you can just capture this message if you'd like). -The only cartridges that we have shipped so far have been pre-orders--we are going to use the people who pre-ordered the cartridge as extended BETA testers. We are not shipping any more cartridges until the pre-order users have used the cart for at least 3 weeks. We will then make any bug fixes that have been found, and upgrade those pre-order people to version 1.1 of the cartridge. -So, it is VERY important that you call Chris at our voice number if you think you have found a bug--if you don't call, we won't know about it! So far, the only problems have been found in the 80-column screen handler. Version 1.1 will greatly clean up the 80-column display. Take care, Keith I've been having tremendous luck creating and cleaning up menu screens both for personal and BBS use. Most of this luck can be attributed to the book called: Handbook of Screen Format Design by Wilbert O. Galitz Published by QED Information Sciences, Inc., this manual brings science and artistry together to relieve much of the burden from the eager menu maker. Mr. Galitz tells us exactly why some menus are appealing and workable, while with simple changes, these same examples become horrendous and difficult. For anyone who takes pride in their computer's visual presentation, Handbook of Screen Format Design is there to assist. | Rovac Industries, Incorporated | | P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846 | | (201) 968-8148 | |Copyright 1989 All Rights Reserved| Reprint permission is granted providing ZMagazine and the original author is credited. 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