wrd@tekigm.UUCP (Bill Dippert) (07/29/85)
1) Atari Technical Notes (exact title I am not sure about) 2) For telecommunitions use A.N.A.L.O.G.'s "Chameleon" program. For wordprocessing use Atari's Atariwriter + program (when available) For other uses, who knows. Atari is supposed to be bringing out an 80 column b-w monitor, but it may have been cancelled. For the above items Chameleons works with horizontal scrolling, so no special monitor needed, color tv is what I use. Atariwriter + will require a color monitor (Teknika TJ-22 monitor will work -- TJ-22 is what I remember model number to be, but not having literature with me, I may have letters wrong. It is a three way monitor, RGB, composite and separated colors. 3) Atari 1050 (stock). There are ways to double denisity this drive, and various DOS's, but I use stock with no problems. 4) DOS 2.5 from Atari. I have used DOS 2.0S and DOS 3 from Atari, but have converted everything to DOS 2.5. If you use DOS 3, run--do not walk--to your nearest Atari user group and get a copy of 2.5. It allows you to simply convert all DOS 3 files to DOS 2.5. DOS 2.5 can be single or enhanced density (ala DOS 3) and is compatible with early Atari disc drives. (Ex- cept that they cannot access all files on a enhanced denisty disc. Some- how 2.5 squeezes more files in around the existing DOS 2 files. An 810 drive will see the disc as a single density disk, a 1050 will see the same disc as enhanced density.) DOS 2 is directly compatible with DOS 2.5, although you might want to reload your files onto an enhanced density disc. One comment, if you use 3 or 4 1050 disc drives together, you do have to do a modification of dos.sys. It consists of POKE'ing 7 (3 drives) or 15 (4 drives) into a specific location--if I had access to my hardcopy files I would give you the POKE location, but alas I am at work now and naturally the files are at home. (Murphy corollary?) 5) I use A.N.A.L.O.G.'s Chameleon program to access Tektronix Unix system all the time. It works real well, it gives docs on termcap needed. If you are at Tek, we have the termcap already installed at C1. It allows you to do functions (i.e. mail, vi, talk, etc.) using the VT52XL (or VT52) emulation modes. (Chameleon allows emulation of 6 different terminals plus the imaginary VT52XL which is an enhanced VT52.) 6) I have never run into the compatibility problems, but I do not run games on my 800XL. I also have an 1200XL which I prefer, altho at the moment it is dead due to chip failure (I think). I do have translater discs that originally came out from Atari, altho I understand that they have some problems and there is a commercial translater disc out now that resolves the probems--except that it must be purchased. I use a BASIC version C cart which solves all of the built in BASIC problems, as well as Microsoft BASIC II. OSS puts out a OS XL chip/board--I am not sure which it is. It sells for $69-79 and cures all problems as it essentially is the 800 OS for the XL's. Bill Dippert, Tektronix, Inc., Clark County (C1/775), PO BOX 3500, Vancouver WA 98668-3500 Phone 206-253-5394 or eMail: tekigm2!wrd