freak@ihlpa.UUCP (c e malloy) (07/03/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** 05/28/85 ATARI SHORT SUBJECTS News from Atari has been rather sparse lately, but here are a few noteworthy items on our favorite computer company: 130 ST discontinued The 130ST, Atari's low-end 16-bit computer, has officially been discontinued. The 130ST was to contain 128K of RAM, as compared to the 512K of RAM contained in the larger 520ST computer. As this was the only difference in the machines, apparently Atari officials decided to cancel it in favor of the more flexible 520ST. The 520ST, with its larger RAM memory, can be used to develop software for the ST computer, whereas the 130ST would have been limited to low-memory applications. It is assumed that market research indicated that the 130ST would not be a high-demand item. ST loses TV output. In an additional announcement, Atari has revealed that the 520ST computer will not be shipped with a television output connector. It will instead put out only video signals for monitors. ANALOG Computing believes that the loss of the monitor output is not serious, since the high-resolution capabilities of the 520ST will require a monitor for optimum image quality. GEM to be shipped on disk. The Graphics Environment Manager (GEM), created by Digital Research for the Atari 520ST computer, will be shipped to initial users on a floppy disk, not in the computer's ROM (Read-Only Memory), as initially planned. This move is being made for early ST shipments only, and later computers will contain ROM chips for the GEM software. The software will boot into the computer's memory at power-up time, and work normally from that point on. The fact that GEM will be RAM-resident means that 192K of RAM will be unavailable for other uses. ANALOG Computing received the GEM disk, and it is a vastly improved version of the GEM system received with the 520ST development system. Atari hopes that additional improvements will be made and bugs in the software removed before committing GEM to a ROM installation later this year. Atari back at CES. Contrary to earlier reports, Atari has re-evaluated its position regarding the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, July 2-5. Atari will have a display at the semi-annual electronics trade show, after all, and ANALOG Computing will be there to cover all the action. Publisher Lee Pappas and East Coast Editor Arthur Leyenberger will be there to provide up-to-the minute coverage for the TCS, transmitting reports whenever possible during the show. So stay tuned to the ANALOG Computing TCS for information on this important event!