w-darekm@microsoft.UUCP (Darek Mihocka) (10/19/89)
<sales pitch on> In article <759@utacs.UTA.FI> jackin@utacs.UTA.FI (Markku M{enp{{) writes: > >What is the newest version of QuickSt. I have 1.2 and it works >quite well but not with WordUp 2.0. I know that I should disable >fast draw, but WordUp is so FAST for a while (before it crashes). >Newest is propably shareware no more ??? > The newest version of Quick ST is 1.6, sort of unofficially released a few weeks ago. It runs from the AUTO folder and automatically installs either color or monochrome code to save memory. It matches or comes pretty darn close to the speed of Turbo ST 1.6, and fixes two known serious bugs that Turbo ST has. Memory usage is about 20K, half of what Turbo ST uses. For 520ST users there is an even smaller version which is just slightly slower. It will be "official" as soon as we get a proper announcement written up an released to the other online services, so at this point it is still subject to minor changes. The reason it's taking so long is because the new update covers all 8 Quick Utilities, not just Quick ST. >Newest is propably shareware no more ??? > Still shareware. The way the numbering scheme works with all of the Quick Utilities (Quick ST is one of 8 utilities that come in the package), is that earlier versions, numbered from 1.0 to 1.49 were released to the public as shareware. People who send in a shareware donation then get mailed the latest versions, which are numbered 1.5 and up. If you wish to try the last versions released to the public, you should get Quick ST 1.4, which is a desk accessory, or Quick ST 1.45, which is an AUTO folder program. The public versions do not support Atari GDOS, but do work with Codehead's G+PLUS. We even released Quick ST source code, although I'm not sure if any of this stuff is still up on Usenet. It's definately up on Compuserve, GEnie, and BIX. >So does the newest version live along WordUp (hope, hope..) ? >Does it use blitter ? > By now, it probably does. Remember, the version you're trying is quite out of date. One of the local dealers around here has had Quick ST 1.6 installed on their Mega 4 for several weeks, and had only a few minor problems which are now fixed. The reason there were so many updates to Quick ST is because as soon as anyone reported a bug, we fixed it. A lot of people on Compuserve, Genie, and Usenet have responded over the last 3 or 4 months, and I personally have tried it with every version of GDOS and DTP package I could find. It does support multiple fonts, and speeds up text string output by a factor of 12 in monochrome, and 15 in color! If you have a blitter present there will be speed ups in GEM, but the text routines do not make use of the blitter. Quick ST does work with the Turbo 16 accelerator, and gives you up to an additional 50% speed increase. Unlike what the makers of Turbo ST claim, Quick ST is not 100% compatible with all software. To do that, it would have to be written in the eact same slow manner that TOS is written in. You have certain tradeoffs when you try to gain such speed increases. The makers of Turbo ST would have you believe that their product is 100% compatible, and although that is _almost_ true for version 1.6, earlier versions like 1.4 were plauged with problems, not to mention that they were much slower than even Quick ST 1.2. Quick ST was first to offer things like separate mono and color versions, fast line drawing, AUTO folder versions, Hyperscreen support, multiple font support. From that we've seen recently, Turbo ST is now playing catchup in these areas and growing larger all the time. <sales pitch off> So, please consider the Quick Utilities and support the shareware efforts of myself and Ignac Kolenko before you buy any other programs. We have chosen to go the shareware route rather than sell this software commercially, but that doesn't mean it's free or public domain or that we don't have development costs. - Darek ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Darek Mihocka ST Xformer II back up!!--> CIS: 73657,2714 Box 2624, Station B Quick Utilities GEnie: DAREKM Kitchener, Ontario MegaBlit SSG SPX DELPHI: DAREKM N2H 6N2 Shareware, not Vaporware BIX: darekm Canada Blitter chip sucks! CheapNet: ...!uw-beaver!microsoft!w-darekm (519)-747-0386 A mind is a terrible thing to waste, so JUST SAY NO TO TOS. Opinions expressed are my own and not those of anyone not named Darek Mihocka. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------