| ROVAC ZMAGAZINE | | Issue #167 | | July 25, 1989 | |Copyright 1989, RII| |This week in ZMagazine| Baker Solitare Frank Walters CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads Chameleon Software GEnie New 8-bit Uploads Ketuckiana Atari Fest '89 Z*NET Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer |BAKER SOLITARE| |by Frank Walters| T.A.C.O. BELL BBS |T | |` | |9 | |` | |8 | |` || | | || ' | ' | | || || | || | | | | | | | | | | | | |by Tom Cline| | `| | 8| I came across this gem of a card game in the March, 1989 Antic Magazine. If you have this issue and have not tried the program, I would recommend you get it out and give it a whirl. There are so few new programs for the Atari these days that a worthwhile one should be given a chance. I have become addicted to it and play it a few times almost every day. The original listing has an annoying error that sometimes rears its ugly head in the middle of an interesting game. If you insert this TRAP statement in line 620, it will prevent the game from stopping: 620 TRAP 620:X=USR(... The error is due to calculation for a Block Transfer of cards from one column to another. There is some anomaly in the formula and the TRAP will prevent the move if the error should occur and allow you to make the transfer a single card at a time. The Block Transfer is just a short cut to save time, so the modification does not affect the actual play of the game. I did send a letter to Antic explaining the error and my quick-fix, but I never received an answer, nor did they publish any sort of correction that I know about. The idea of the game is to build from the Aces up to Kings on each of the four suit (color) terminal piles. The deal consists of all 52 cards in eight columns, face up. There are four single card -Parking spaces- at the upper left and the four -Terminal piles- at the upper right. You move one card at a time from the bottom of any column to either an empty Parking space, Terminal pile, or build on another column. To build, the cards must be the same color and in descending order from King to Two. The Ace must of course be placed in the terminal pile. | * K * * 3 A * * | |P T| | j k l m w x y z | | a b c d e f g h | | | | 7 T T K 9 Q 4 2 | | T K Q 7 J 7 5 9 | | A 7 6 6 Q 4 8 J | | 4 T 8 5 Q 8 3 J | | 8 5 9 J A 6 | | 9 6 3 2 5 | | K 4 | | 3 | | 2 | | | Since you are limited to moving a single card at a time, you cannot move a block of cards from one pile to another, unless some intermediate spaces or cards are available. If you have 2 open spaces in the Parking area, you could move a block of Blue 8,7,6 to the Blue 9 in another column. The 7 and 6 go in the Parking, move the 8 on the 9 and then the 7 and 6 from the Parking to the new column. Any column that becomes empty may be used to build starting with any card, it doesn't have to be a King. The moves are nicely handled with the keyboard GET routine. Each column and space is indicated by a letter. You simply type the letter of the source column first, followed by the letter of the destination column. The card is then moved if it is a legal move. Any illegal move is indicated by a flashing pause, and you are returned to try a different move. The play screen is a pleasing Graphics 1 with modified characters which allow lower case letters for identification of columns, and upper case letters and numbers for the cards in four colors. The game also has easier versions that allow you to play with only two or three suits instead of four. The number of columns are reduced in the deal, according to the total number of cards dealt. One of the things I like most about this solitaire card game is the ESC feature that allows you to start over and re-deal when the situation has become hopeless. Since all of the cards are dealt face up, you can sometimes see the impossibility of a solution almost immediately and simply hit ESC to get another shuffle and deal. You don't have to wade through half the deck to uncover turned-down cards only to find it hopelessly blocked. There is another neat feature: the SPACE allows you to take back the previous moves if you change your mind and want to try a different approach. You can use the P key to mark your current position and a tone beeps. After making a series of moves, you can cancel the moves by pressing the SPACE repeatedly until you hear the beep again. Your cards are then in the position where you marked them before. The Block move mentioned above still works with the modification. You simply type T as the first letter. The 'T' at the upper right changes color and then type the source column letter and destination letter and the block move will take place if the program can figure a way. If not, you may be able to make the move one-at-a-time anyway, which I found to frequently be the case. I have had many hours of enjoyment from this game and anyone who likes card games should find this a satisfying challenge. It is easy to learn and the Escape feature removes the frustration so often encountered in solitaire games. I hope others will give this game a good trial, I think you will find it a pleasant surprise. (NOTE: The title at the top of this article is not part of the game program--I just made it up.) |COMPUSERVE NEW 8-BIT UPLOADS| Courtesy of CompuServe's Atari8 Library Uploader address Filename/type Date Size Downloads [76004,1764] FLASH3.TXT 26-Jul-89 1945 Accesses: 4 New! Printer driver for Print Shop and Print Shop Companion, to work with the; Atari 1020 Printer/Plotter, Okimate 10, and the Epson LQ-500/800 (or comp.) printers. [76004,1764] SALE2B.TXT 26-Jul-89 1326 Accesses: 4 In addition to our other items in our Super Summer Sale, we have added our XF35 Kit, to the list! [76214,456] ANOYPR.ARC/binary 26-Jul-89 1920 This is the Annoyer Protector! from Minefield Productions. [75236,135] DET.ARC/binary 25-Jul-89 4480 DECIMAL TO ENGLISH TRANSLATOR. [72750,747] AVALAN.ARC/binary 24-Jul-89 2432 Accesses: 3 THESE BOULDER DASH SCREENS WERE DOWNLOADED FROM THE ST SIG, I THEN RECREATED THEM FOR THE 8-BIT [72677,3520] DREAMO.AMP/binary 22-Jul-89 9472 Accesses: 7 Aerosmith's 'Dream On', in AMP 2 format [71450,1050] AELPD.TXT 21-Jul-89 26752 Accesses: 9 This is the latest edition of The Atari Exchange Of Louisville Atari 8-bit PD Library Catalog. [71450,1050] BBSREP.TXT 21-Jul-89 5760 Accesses: 5 This is the Atari Scene! Local BBS Report that includes BBSes in Indiana (812) and Kentucky (502). [71450,1050] LDBBS.TXT 21-Jul-89 10496 Accesses: 18 This is the Atari Scene! Long-Distance BBS Report. [71450,1050] SDAAT8.TXT 21-Jul-89 7808 Accesses: 57 This is the latest price listing of Atari 8-bit products that are available from Software Discounters Of America (GO SDA). [71511,2713] DSKMST.OBJ/binary 19-Jul-89 8176 Accesses: 24 DISK EDITOR AND DISSASSEMBLER WITH LABELS FROM JULY 89 ANALOG MAGAZINE [72750,476] DXEFIX.ARC/binary 19-Jul-89 640 Accesses: 27 This fixes the bug in DOS-XE which prevents copying files from DOS-XE disks to DOS 2.0/2.5 disks. [71511,415] DTQ.COM/binary 17-Jul-89 2341 Accesses: 26 This is a module for DETERM that will implement the CIS Quick B transfer protocol. [71450,1050] COLRAD.TXT 14-Jul-89 14847 Accesses: 23 This is the latest version of my tutorial file on viewing and displaying the weather maps on CompuServe with an Atari 8-bit. [71450,1050] TOMHWK.TXT 14-Jul-89 4352 Accesses: 16 This is a review of Tomahawk by DataSoft written by Rich Link, SysOp of The Atari Scene! BBS (502) 456-4292. [72460,646] PHONE.ARC/binary 13-Jul-89 2669 Accesses: 34 This program will print out the possible mnemonics or names that your phone number might represent. [71511,415] CLISDX.COM/binary 12-Jul-89 929 Accesses: 28 CLISDX.COM is a module for Determ v1.59. It works with SpartaDos X and/or SpartaDos 3.2. [71511,415] CLISDX.DOC 12-Jul-89 1128 Accesses: 30 Documentation for CLISDX.COM, a DeTerm module that implements a Command Line Interface for SDX users. [71511,415] DTBAT.DOC 12-Jul-89 2026 Accesses: 32 Documentation for DTBAT.COM, batch file handler for DeTerm [71511,415] DTWHAT.COM/binary 12-Jul-89 867 Accesses: 22 DTWHAT is a small utility for DeTerm v1.59. [71511,415] DTWHAT.DOC 12-Jul-89 1301 Accesses: 25 Documentation for DTWHAT.COM -- use this module in DeTerm to look at a disk file and determine what kind of file it is. [73257,330] CHRONO.DCM/binary 12-Jul-89 6119 Accesses: 13 Master of Chronos - a level 11 Alternate Reality the city Character. [71777,2140] Z165.ARC/binary 11-Jul-89 15744 Accesses: 36 ZMagazine #165 for July 11, 1989. [71777,2140] ZINDX5.TXT/binary 11-Jul-89 7936 Accesses: 12 Index of articles appearing in Zmagazine issues 138 to 163. [72457,1212] CONVER.ARC/binary 11-Jul-89 7680 Accesses: 17 THE ULTIMATE MEASUREMENT CONVERSION PROGRAM ....WRITTEN IN ATARI BASIC. |CHAMELEON SOFTWARE| FELLOW ATARI LOVERS I am proud to announce a new software company dedicated to 8-Bit Ataris. . . . . .CHAMELEON SOFTWARE. . . . . CHAMELEON SOFTWARE will change the way you use your ATARI. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Having had a small business of my own, I know how important an ATARI computer can be to business. The problem has always been that there was no easy way to use programs; no programs you could change to fit your needs; no programs that would do the simple business problems. Oh sure, you could use a spread sheet and a accounting program, plus a word processor, and maybe even a data base. But these programs were usually only good for big jobs--WHAT ABOUT THE SMALL ONES? Well, I got frustrated enough that I decided to write a series of interactive programs that would take care of all these little business problems without causing new ones. The name of these new programs is: . . . . MY FINGERTIP BUSINESS . . . . My Fingertip Business is made up of the following two main programs: FT1 - 1. Fingertip Calender+ a. Includes -go get'um- quote of the day 2. Fingertip Clock 3. Disk Functions 4. Premade ready to print forms a. Conditional Sale Agreement b. Promissory Note c. Indemnity Agreement d. General Release 5. Built-in Instructions 6. Error traping FT2 - 1. Limited Power of Attorney 2. Request for Price Quote 3. Overdue Account Balance 4. Dishonored Check Notice 5. Customer Profile 6. Sales Invoice/Order form Coming Soon--Fingertip Phone Directory (release 9/15/89) Fingertip Mailing Labels (to be announced) Fingertip appointment Book (release 9/15/89) Fingertip calculator (to be announced) Fingertip Mini-Ledger (to be announced) All Fingertip programs are written in BASIC. I wrote these programs in BASIC so they could be customized by the user. What good is a program if you can't make it fit YOUR needs?!?! If, however, you are not interested in changing the program, it will be sent to you in compiled BASIC. For the 130XE or upgraded 800XL user, these programs are RAMdisk resident. That in itself is a very important feature that will save you plenty of valuable time--switch from FT1 to FT2 in seconds. All forms can be saved to disk for your records, or you can pull them up with your word processor if you wish to make a quick change to one form but don't want to change the program. I have elected to use MYDOS as the operating system, and $1.00 of the Fingertip Business purchase price will be sent to MYDOS's creator Bob Puff. The programs work just as well with ATARI DOS 2.5, but MYDOS is preferred for those of you who have a RAMdisk larger than 64k. The purchase price of the FINGERTIP BUSINESS (includes FT1 & FT2) is only $12.95 + $1.50 shipping & handling--Total price $14.45. To order, simply fill out the attached order form and mail to: Chameleon Software 1013 Marvern Drive East Chambersburg, PA 17201 ATTN: Fingertip Business -------------------------------------- FINGERTIP BUSINESS Name:__________________________________ __________________________________ Address:_______________________________ _______________________________ City,ST,ZIP:___________________________ ___________________________ Phone:____________________ RAMdisk?______________ size____________ Atari 8bit model:_____________________ Enclose $12.95 plus $1.50 shipping and handling / Total $14.45 check or Money order. Allow 2 weeks for delivery. Outside USA add $1.00 to shipping charge. CHAMELEON SOFTWARE -------------------------------------- If you have any suggestions or a program that you feel would enhance FINGERTIP BUSINESS, please write to the above address. We want your input!!! All future program updates and additions will be sold for $5.95 to registered FINGERTIP BUSINESS owners. This program will not work with 40 column printers, but should work on any 80 column daisy wheel or dot matrix printer. There are no graphics to be printed, just clean business forms. Therefore, I have developed these forms with little or no printer codes. One disk drive is required; two disk drives is optional; works great with hard drives configured with MYDOS or equivalent. Author's Note: If you have never tried programing in Atari BASIC--YOU SURE HAVE MISSED THE ATARI BOAT!! Programing in BASIC is fun, rewarding, and challenging. Nothing is more rewarding than watching something you thought of yesterday start to work today. Take a little time and experiment with BASIC, but be careful: your wife might think she is a widow--mine sure does. Regardless of how my program is accepted by my fellow Atarians, I would like to thank and recommend the following books and publications as excellent sources for answers and examples: Antic Magazine(subscribe today) Your Atari Computer(Ion Poole) Atari XE Handbook(Weber Systems, Inc.) Basic Atari Basic(James Coan) Analog Magazine(subscribe today) . . . THANK YOU! |GENIE NEW 8-BIT UPLOADS| Courtesy of GEnie's 8-bit Atari Library No. File Name YYMMDD Bytes Access Lib 4497 HDPALMAC65.ARC 890725 20160 2 27 Desc: MAC65 SOURCE TO HARDRIVE ARCER PAL 4496 AMPALMAC65.ARC 890725 17640 2 27 Desc: Source to AM.PAL module in MAC65 4495 CRPALMAC65.ARC 890725 11340 2 27 Desc: Source to CR.PAL module in MAC65 4494 GLUPALMAC65.ARC 890725 22680 2 27 Desc: Source to GLU.PAL module in MAC65 4493 COMPREP.ARC 890723 61740 19 11 Desc: Software&hardware from Comp.Repeats 4492 LOGPAL.GLU 890722 10080 3 27 Desc: Log for PAL/OASIS4.5 MAC65 GLU file 4491 MAC65OASISPAL30.ARC 890721 11340 5 27 Desc: MAC65 equates for OASIS.PAL V3.0 4489 EXPSELECT.ARC 890721 3780 15 24 Desc: Utility to enable or disable cart. 4488 AMIGA2.ARC 890720 30240 44 19 Desc: Adult Amiga graphics conversions 4487 AMIGA1.ARC 890720 30240 45 19 Desc: Adult Amiga graphics conversions 4485 DMASTER.OBJ 890719 8820 35 16 Desc: SECTOR EDITOR AND DISASSEMBLER FROM 4484 Z166.ARC 890719 16380 72 13 Desc: ZMagazine #166 for 18 July 1989 4483 EXPRESSREVIEW.ARC 890718 3780 38 8 Desc: Individual EXPRESS! cart review. 4482 FINGERPR.TXT 890718 6300 35 9 Desc: SMALL BUSINESS PACKAGE 4481 MAGAZINES/DISKS FOR SALE 890717 3780 8 11 Desc: Major Atari mags, programs on disk 4480 OASISREVIEW45.ARC 890716 18900 10 27 Desc: Review for Atari8 User Groups 4479 APACSHOW.OBJ 890715 3780 41 4 Desc: Slide show for APAC (.PI9) files 4478 RAMDISK1088K.COM 890715 6300 16 2 Desc: FORMAT RAMDISK 1088K FOR 130XE 4477 T816SYSDOC.ASC 890715 17640 7 25 Desc: Turbo-OS System Documentation 4476 ZINDX138.TXT 890711 8820 30 13 Desc: ZMag index for #s 138 thru 163 4475 Z165.ARC 890711 16380 78 13 Desc: ZMagazine #165 for 11 July, 1989 4474 CONVERT.ARC 890710 2520 23 1 Desc: CONVERT BYTES TO SECTORS-D/L HELP |KENTUCKIANA ATARI FEST '89| PRESS RELEASE KENTUCKIANA ATARI FEST '89 Sheraton Lakeview Hotel Clarksville,Indiana (Louisville,Ky.) October 28 - October 29, 1989 The Kentuckiana Atari Fest '89 will be held on the weekend of October 28th and 29th, 1989, at the Sheraton Lakeview Hotel in Clarksville,IN, which is located 1 mile from Louisville,KY. Atari Corp. is expected to attend this event, and we have tenative commitments from ICD, Mastertronics, Innovative Concepts, and other Atari dealers and developers for attendance and/or participation at the show or with the related events of the show. We will also have seminars and conferences on Atari related products and information, including a users group forum with representatives from users groups across the nation attending. A special package deal has been set up for this convention, with the package including 2 nights at the Sheraton Lakeview hotel, and 4 meals (breakfast and dinner) daily for 1 person. The room is a single or double bed room with a 1-4 person occupancy. Additional meal packages, and optional lunches will also be available for this event. We hope to make this an annual affair, but it will require your help and support to pull it off. I hope to see you there, and thank you for your support. Sincerely, Lawrence R. Estep Convention Coordinator Kentuckiana Atari Fest '89 October 28 and 29, 1989 Sheraton Lakeview Hotel Clarksville,Indiana (1 mile from Louisville,Ky.) Calendar Of Events as of 07/26/89 Saturday October 28 Breakfast Buffet 9:30 A.M. Convention Opens 11:00 A.M. Optional Lunch Buffet 1:00 P.M. Convention Closes 5:30 P.M. Formal Dinner (Roast Beef or Turkey w/dressing) 7:00 P.M. Sunday October 29 Breakfast Buffet 9:00 A.M. Convention Opens 10:30 A.M. Optional Lunch Buffet 12:30 P.M. Convention Closes 4:00 P.M. Dinner Buffet (Country Fried Chicken) 6:00 P.M. SPECIAL PACKAGE DEAL 2 nights w/1 meal package $159.95 2 nights w/2 meal packages $199.95 Extra meal packages $ 45.00 (Meal packages are available without the reservation package) Additional night $ 59.95 Optional Lunch Buffet package $ 24.95 Individual Meal prices available upon request. Children under 3 eat free Children under 10 eat for half price Call (812) 944-8997 now to place your reservations, or for more information. Interested dealers, user groups, or exhibitors--please read the special Dealer information file that is on the Atari Scene! BBS (502) 456-4292, or call (812) 944-8997 for more details on how you can be a part of this event. Phone reservations can be placed with Visa/Mastercard. Mail reservations can be placed with money order, cashiers check, or credit cards only (made out to Atari Exchange of Louisville). Credit card mail orders require a signed note with credit card number and expiration date. Advance reservations received by September 1, 1989 will receive a free extra chance in our Atari Raffle to be held at the convention. All reservations MUST be received by October 1, 1989. Please mail or call your reservations in TODAY! Admission to the convention is $3 per day per person, $5 for a weekend pass per person, or $12 for a family weekend pass. USER GROUP REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD NOTIFY US WHEN PLACING A RESERVATION OF THAT FACT, SO A NAMETAG CAN BE MADE UP FOR THEM. Assistant Convention Coordinators Todd Rufer Charles Crowder Jason Dickens Chris Dickens David Brown Information is also available on the Twilight Zone BBS (502) 897-1589, or the Twilight Zone II BBS (502) 955-6955. This file may be reproduced and distributed freely, provided such reproductions include the entire article. Lawrence R. Estep 07/27/89 |DEALER/USER GROUP/EXHIBITOR| | INFORMATION PRESS RELEASE | 07/28/89 KENTUCKIANA ATARI FEST '89 October 28-29 Louisville,Kentucky Set-up fees for dealer/developer/user group and exhibitor booths is $100 for the entire weekend. Booth space will be decided upon by individual space requirements and order received. There will be no developer sales allowed of products that are available through mail order dealers, whether those particular dealers are present or not. Dealer sales only, except where approved by the coordinators. This will only be done when an item is sold BY THE DEVELOPER ONLY, and is not available through ANY dealers. Product demonstrations of items available through dealers is encouraged, but sales of these items will not be permitted. The set-up fee includes free admission for the representatives of your company who will be working at your booth. We must be notified of the names of these people in advance. Free passes and nametags will be available at the entrance for these people. For more information, call Lawrence Estep at (812) 944-8997. All booth reservations must be received by September 15,1989. Reservations after this date will be charged a $50 additional fee. -Lawrence Estep Convention Coordinator |Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT EDITION| |by Harold Brewer| Alan Reeve, author of Diamond OS, Diamond Paint, and Diamond Write, gives 8-bitters even more reason to be interested in the Diamond series: Diamond Publish hopefully will be completed by August 31. I'd certainly like to see more information on Diamond Publish. How about you? Ronnie Riche, of TextPro fame, announced on GEnie that he is back into our 8-bit realm. A new version of TextPro (the word processor of many Oasis SysOps, not to mention the w.p. which ZMagazine is published with) is planned. Mr. Riche requests TextPro's users' input for the new version--any new features desired, and any problems encountered. Computer Software Services's ad in the September Antic announces the availability of Bob Puff's Black Box, Multiplexer, and SuperE Burner. A quick call to CSS'S Ron Bryant cleared up a question I had: only The Black Box (of these three products) is available, and that on a limited basis with either 0K or 64K. Mr. Bryant informed me this ad in Antic was supposed to be in the October issue (not the September issue), and that CSS normally has all their advertised items in stock. Tentative release date for the Multiplexer is the last of August, and for the SuperE burner is the last of September. | 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