FD@BGERUG51.BITNET ("Frits Dumortier/R.U.G.") (12/21/89)
Dear Atari-networkers, Some time ago I asked a number of questions about memory-upgrading the Atari Mega ST1 and using the Deskjet Plus. As I did not receive many valuable answers I will fire my questions again : 1) Is it possible to upgrade an Atari Mega ST1 to a Mega ST2 or even a Mega ST4? Are there any commercial vendors for this hardware (please give any references, preferably in Europe), or can I do it myself? In that case I want a precise descriptioon on the procedure that has to be followed (I am not a hardware specialist!). As I only bought my Atari Mega ST1 recently , I have not yet opened the box as this would screw up my guarantee. I'd rather wait some more time for this. Can anyone give any details on the hardware differences between the Atari Mega ST1 (or Mega 1), the Atari Mega ST2, the Atari Mega ST4? 2) Some time ago, I wanted to by a HP Deskjet Plus, to connect to my Atari. For the 1st Wordplus text processor, people at our lab developed a driver. In Timeworks the Laserjet driver can apparently be used without any difficulties. If you want to use the Deskjet from within GEM-Draw or EASYdraw, we don't have an appropriate driver. An alternative here is to use the EPSON-emulation cartridge, but this has it's disadvantages : low resolution, bad quality (ink problems with bold because of repetitive strike-overs), and slow!! (You can however get screen dumps in that case!) In 1st Wordplus the Deskjet functions reasonably fast, but from within Timeworks it acts unbelievably slow. To produce one A4-paper for a publication (several fonts and graphics), it takes appr. 1 hour! This is unacceptable! Can anyone give any comments this? I very recently saw a HP Deskwriter (RS422 serial interface for connection with Apple computers, and it worked much faster, certainly an order of magnitude : minutes vs. hours. The machine very much resembles a Deskjet Plus externally. I wonder if this could be connected to an Atari? 3) In Europe the HP Laserjet IIp appeared recently. Can somebody give remarks on the connection Atari - Laserjet IIp? I recently noticed a number of E-mails which were not in favour of this combination. One of the reasons was the low speed? Is this true, and/or are there any other inconveniences? Many thanks in advance. Frits Dumortier (FD@BGERUG51) Automatic Control Laboratory State University of Ghent Belgium