tellabs_canada@canrem.uucp (tellabs canada) (12/27/90)
Alright fellow North American ST users:
Only recently, Byte magazine (North American Edition) featured an
article on Desktop Publishing systems for various computers, and failed
to even mention the Atari ST.
We all know the ST is underrated as a DTP platform - it's as though BYTE
were writing a comparison of MIDI software and neglected to mention the
ST - so now's our chance to speak up for our system.
This mass mailing has been organized on the FNET, and the letter which
follows is a personalized version of a skeleton letter posted to the
FNET for all to use. I know you may think your letter is a puff in the
wind, or that everybody else will send so why should you; but you must
realize that _your_ letter _can and will_ make a difference. Cast your
"vote" for the Atari ST in a forum where you'll be heard:
Below is a copy of the letter I'm mailing. I will be going to work, and
I'll be dropping it in the mail-box just outside the building. Its only
costing me $0.42 (it's not proofed yet - please don't email me about any
gaffes you find ;)
--------------8<--------cut here-------8<---------------------
December
26, 1990.
Attn: Fred Langa, Editor in Chief
One Phoenix Mill Lane
Peterborough, NH 03458
Dear Editor:
I am writing in reference to your comparison of different Desktop
Publishing packages featured in the October 1990 issue of Byte, and to
express my dissapointment and frustration in your complete failure to
mention the Atari ST computer and its tremendous DTP abilities.
I have been a long time Atari ST owner and reader of your
magazine, and I was very disturbed to find that your October article
completely ignored the Atari ST in its otherwise well-rounded
comparison. This editorial decision continues your long standing
tradition of ignoring the Atari ST, even in areas where the ST excels.
[***this is my personalization - please remove it from your own***]
Perhaps I should mention what experience I've had with Atari
Desktop Publishing software - I have used an Atari ST for DTP work
since 1986 when I purchased a copy of Timeworks DTP to create
advertisements and newsletters for a local community group. Since
then, I have switched to Calamus, the premier ST DTP package, for work
as ambitious as the creation of a 350 page GEM C programming text.
Beyond my experience on the ST, I have used Quark Express on the
Macintosh and have become quite familiar with Ventura on the IBM.
Though these programs demonstrate some strengths over Calamus in some
areas, I've always preferred Calamus for its unmatched printing speed
and 100% true pixel to print raster correspondence (i.e. you can
magnify a document in Calamus to obtain a true pixel-by pixel
representation of the printed output). Raster images are actually
created within Calamus and sent to the printer directly, bypassing
Postscript. I have never been "surprised" by Calamus' output. To top
it all, I have also enjoyed on-screen scalable outline fonts through
Calamus for years- long before such display schemes were realized on
Macintosh systems.
[***the skeleton resumes here, keep stuf from here on in***]
Although the Atari ST has been available for over five years,
the
coverage that you have given it has been minimal. While I realize
that the number of Atari ST's sold in the United States can not
compare with that of the IBM PC or Apple Macintosh (although this is
not true world wide), it is unfair to the people who own Atari ST's,
or people who would like to purchase a system that is different then
the above mentioned computers that you continue to ignore this 68000
based computer. How can a consumer make the right computer buying
decision if they are not given all the facts about the systems that
are available to them?
Now I know it would be silly to expect to see the same amount of
coverage that the IBM or Macintosh receives. I would still hope that
major software applications, such as ISD's Calamus or Outline Art, Soft
Logik's PageStream, Wordperfect for the ST, Goldleaf Publishing's
Wordflair, Borland's Turbo C,Migraph's Touch-Up, or the many, many
other software packages, not to mention hardware upgrades such as
Gadgets By Small's Spectre GCR Macintosh emulator, Talon Technologies'
Supercharger IBM emulator, ICD's Advantage Plus hard drive controller,
Fast Technologies Turbo 16 accelerator, or Moniterm's 19" monochrome
monitor, receive a fair and accurate review as would other software
and hardware packages for other platforms.
You may not realize that nearly 1 million ST's have been sold in
the United States, and nearly twice that number in Europe. Your
magazine would certainly see increased sales were you to dedicate a
--
Canada Remote Systems. Toronto, Ontario
NorthAmeriNet Hosttellabs_canada@canrem.uucp (tellabs canada) (12/27/90)
You may not realize that nearly 1 million ST's have been sold in
the United States, and nearly twice that number in Europe. Your
magazine would certainly see increased sales were you to dedicate a
monthly column on the Atari ST and provide a much needed coverage of a
fantastic computer to users and prospective buyers who are in need of
truly objective information.
While I will continue to purchase your magazine in the future in
hopes that you will begin coverage of the Atari ST as you do the
Amiga and the other systems mentioned, I encourage you to give fair
and accurate coverage to the Atari ST line of computers. I do hope
that you will give Atari's new computers, the low-cost 32MHz 68030
based TT/030 and 16MHz 68000 based Mega STe, the same coverage that
you have given the Macintosh, Amiga 3000, and NeXT computers recently.
There are hundreds of thousands of Atari ST users waiting to purchase
a magazine that covers the ST. Please consider including the Atari ST
in your magazine.
Best Regards,
Mark Onyschuk
-------------8<--------cut here----------8<-------------------
Regards,
Mark
--
Canada Remote Systems. Toronto, Ontario
NorthAmeriNet Hostcmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Christopher M Mauritz) (12/27/90)
In article <1990Dec26.1113.4336@canrem.uucp> "tellabs canada" <tellabs_canada@canrem.uucp> writes: >Alright fellow North American ST users: > >Only recently, Byte magazine (North American Edition) featured an >article on Desktop Publishing systems for various computers, and failed >to even mention the Atari ST. The article was rather boring anyway. :-) > >We all know the ST is underrated as a DTP platform - it's as though BYTE Yes, and we all know that there really aren't enough ST's out there to warrant Byte's attention. Didn't Computer Shopper drop the ST coverage for this reason? (Or was it that there just wasn't much new stuff to write about? I've forgotten which...) >were writing a comparison of MIDI software and neglected to mention the >ST - so now's our chance to speak up for our system. I think you're wasting your time. Writing about ST's isn't going to earn them any significant increase in readership due the the relatively insignificant number of STs in the US (compared to PCs and Macs). Also, I really don't think any producers of ST goods would advertise in Byte on the off chance that Byte published a paragraph or two on the ST in each issue (they would probably opt to use one of the ST-specific rags instead). Therefore, Byte would probably not earn any significant amounts of money from paid advertisements. Byte is in business to earn money. Covering the ST would seem to be a lose-lose situation for them. >FNET for all to use. I know you may think your letter is a puff in the >wind, or that everybody else will send so why should you; but you must >realize that _your_ letter _can and will_ make a difference. Cast your >"vote" for the Atari ST in a forum where you'll be heard: Well, I don't think Byte would change its format to suit a few cranky ST users. The magazine seems to be doing just fine as it is and I suspect they will have a very "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude towards ST coverage. [letter deleted for brevity] Cheers, Chris ------------------------------+--------------------------- Chris Mauritz |D{r det finns en |l, finns cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu |det en plan! (c)All rights reserved. | Send flames to /dev/null | ------------------------------+---------------------------
jhenders@jonh.wimsey.bc.ca (John Henders) (12/29/90)
All this just support the " Toothless Byte " thread that was running a
while back. When a magazine goes from being a source of information which
might inform it's readers about things of interest to them, to a bunch of
accountants determining " what's in it for us? " then the magazine may as
well just become a rehasher of companies press releases.
Then the same thinking becomes " We better not give xxx companies
product a bad review, as they have a big ad account with us. " At that
point the magazine becomes pretty useless to the readership they once
served. BYTE used to be a magazine for all sorts of small systems, now
they're just another PC World.
--
John Henders jhenders@jonh.wimsey.bc.ca
Vancouver,B.C. or jhenders@wimsey.bc.ca
or ubc.cs!van-bc!jonh!jhenders