darekm@microsoft.UUCP (Darek MIHOCKA) (09/12/90)
Quick ST II version 2.2
=======================
- faster!
- new features!
- 68030 compatible!
- new phone numbers!
- newsletter for registered users!
- German language version in Europe!
- expanded credit card and shipping support!
Price: $19.95 U.S.
Branch Always Software
14150 N.E. 20th Street, Suite 302
Bellevue, WA 98007 U.S.A.
Order line: (206)-643-9697 (10am to 6pm Pacific Time)
FAX: (206)-643-3844 (24 hours)
Telephone: (206)-885-5893 (24 hours)
Compuserve: 73657,2714
GEnie: DAREKM
This is to announce that an update to our popular screen accelerator, Quick
ST II version 2.2, is being released this Friday, September 14, 1990. It
will be on sale at the upcoming Atari shows in Glendale and Washington.
Quick ST 2.2 will go on sale at dealers across the U.S. and Canada in
October. A German version will also go on sale in Europe. Existing
registered users of Quick ST and Quick ST II can upgrade immediately.
Features:
---------
Quick ST 2.2 is a software screen accelerator. When used on any Atari ST,
Atari STE, or Mega ST, it speeds up the text and graphics operations on the
screen. Almost any text or GEM based program runs faster as a result,
making your ST perform like a much faster machine. No hardware
modifications are required. And the ability to install custom background
patterns and pictures is included!
Quick ST 2.2 is very memory efficient, using less than 30K of memory for
the standard version, and less than 20K for the 2.2G version (also
included). An extra 32K of memory is required for background pictures.
Quick ST 2.2 is fully compatible with hardware accelerators, such as the
T16 accelerator from Fast Technologies, the Blitter chip, and even the
68030 chip. When used with a hardware accelerator, Quick ST 2.2 provides a
speed increase on top of the speed increase of the hardware accelerator.
Quick ST 2.2 has a number of improvements compared to Quick ST 2.1 and
earlier versions. Some of the new improvements include:
Support for the ISAC graphics card (which gives a screen resolution of
1024x768 pixels in 16 colors). Moniterm monitors and Overscan
modifications are still supported, as is the MonSTEr emulator (in all
3 screen resolutions).
Blitter support for faster screen scrolling, and it now checks the
status of the blitter chip to see if it is disabled. This allows Quick
ST 2.2 to run on machines with defective blitter chips.
GEM line drawing and rectangle fills are even faster than before.
68020/68030 accelerator board support is available on a second disk
for $10 more. Quick ST 2.2 also supports the original 3 graphics modes
on the TT. Full TT support will be available in Quick ST 3.0.
The Desktop Customizer now allows you to temporarily disable Quick ST
2.2 from the menu bar, for easy "before" and "after" speed
comparisons. We found this feature handy when demonstating Quick ST
2.2 at the recent World Of Atari show in San Jose, and you will too.
Several bugs have been fixed with Word Up 3.0, Laser C, Opus,
Wordflair, GFA Basic 3.0, and other programs. Two bugs relaeted to the
fast GDOS font drawing are fixed. First, a bug that caused Word Up 3.0
to occasionally display garbled text when scrolling is fixed. And
outlined GDOS fonts now get drawn correctly on a color monitor.
The Quick ST 2.2 package also includes the MonSTEr high resolution monitor
emulator, the Quick Index benchmark utility, Quick View, and of course, the
Quick ST II Desktop Customizer.
Starting in November, all registered users of Quick ST II and Quick Tools
will receive a periodic newsletter which gives information about updates
(such as Quick ST III), tips for using the software, answers to commonly
asked questions, and other information. To receive the newsletter, you MUST
fill out and send in the registration card that came with your Quick ST II
or Quick Tools software.
How to order Quick ST 2.2:
--------------------------
Quick ST 2.2 can be ordered directly by credit card (VISA, Mastercard, and
Discover) through Xanth Corporation. Various shipping methods are
available, including UPS, DHL, Express Mail, and First Class Mail. Call the
order line between 10am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Most orders received
before noon will be shipped out the same day. Shipping charges will depend
on the shipping method chosen and the country being shipped to.
If ordering by mail, send a check or money order for $19.95 + shipping ($3
in Canada and the U.S., $5 elsewhere) in U.S. funds and allow 3-4 weeks for
delivery. Make all checks payable to Branch Always Software. No C.O.D's.
How to upgrade to Quick ST 2.2:
-------------------------------
To upgrade to Quick ST 2.2 from an earlier version we MUST already have
your registration card. Take your original Quick ST or Quick ST II disk,
include the appropriate update fee, and mail it to Branch Always Software.
Please note the new upgrade prices:
$3 - If you purchased Quick ST 2.1 after August 31, 1990. If you did not
purchase it directly from us, include a copy of the receipt showing
the date and dealer name it was purchased from.
$5 - If you are upgrading from Quick ST version 2.0 or 2.1 and live in
Canada or the United States.
$10 - If you do not live in Canada or the U.S., if you are upgrading from
Quick ST version 1.8 or earlier, if you lost the original Quick ST
disk, or if it is inconvenient to send the original disk.
Sorry, if we do not have your registration card, we don't know about you
and you cannot upgrade and you will not receive the newsletter. So dig up
those Quick ST packages and mail in the registration cards folks!
NOTE: $5 off discount coupons which appered this summer in various ST
magazines we valid for purchasing Quick ST 2.1 only, and cannot be used to
purchase Quick ST 2.2.
Quick ST III
------------
Rumors of Quick ST III (a.k.a. Quick TT) have been circulating for a while.
It was our original intention to write a new TT compatible screen
accelerator to take advantage of the 68030 chip and the new TT graphics
modes and have it released at around this time. That was based on original
estimates on the release date of the TT in North America, which have now
come and gone. So a decision was made to take some of the features of Quick
ST III and some badly needed bug fixes and make the Quick ST 2.2 release
for the ST computer. Quick ST III also runs on any standard ST, although it
has much higher memory requirements and a hard disk is recommended. Until
we have a better idea of when the TT will be available, what the ST market
will be like a few months from now, what sort of new hardware (i.e.
accelerator boards or new ST models) will be available, consider Quick ST
III to be vaporware. Please do not phone us asking when it will ship or for
more information about it. When we decide on a release date, which will
probably not be until at least the end of the year, that information will
be sent out in a newsletter to all registered Quick ST II users. For now,
enjoy Quick ST 2.2!n8742883@unicorn.wwu.edu (Perry Pederson) (09/13/90)
Quick ST 2.2 *sounds* good, but could we have some benchmark figures to
see how much a speed improvment it gives?
***** ******* Perry Pederson: email: n8742883@unicorn.wwu.edu
* * GEnie: P.PEDERSON
**** * Voice: (206) 676-7177
* *
***** *
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+++++ +
+ + 'I' before 'E' except after 'C'....
+++ +
+ + ... We sure live in a weird society!
+++++ ++++++darekm@microsoft.UUCP (Darek MIHOCKA) (09/13/90)
In article <1990Sep12.183659.22645@unicorn.wwu.edu> n8742883@unicorn writes: > >Quick ST 2.2 *sounds* good, but could we have some benchmark figures to >see how much a speed improvment it gives? Nope! I think enough literature has already been printed about Quick ST that I do not need to supply it again. Numerous benchmarks of Quick ST 2.0 and 2.1 appeared on GEnie, Compuserve, Current Notes, PSAN, ST Informer, ST World, and several other ST magazines. For me to post benchmarks could be viewed as unfair. So instead I will ask you to check one of the reviews of QST 2.0 or 2.1 and then to the press release I posted listing the new QST 2.2 features. Then again, if you really don't care whether your ST runs fast or crawls (it's _your_ $1000 or $2000 investment) then don't bother. <grin> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darek Mihocka All views expressed are my own. Branch Always Software, 14150 NE 20th St. Suite 302, Bellevue, WA 98007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------