sansom@trwrb.UUCP (Richard Sansom) (07/07/87)
About 2 weeks ago I ordered the Magic Sac from Computer Games + in Orange,
CA. The fellow who took my order assured me that he had the latest version
of the Sac, and that his price ($99!) included the Mac 64K ROMs! Needless
to say, I placed my order and waited for the package to arrive the next day
via UPS (I live in Torrance - about an hour away from Orange). Well, to
make a long story short, the Sac didn't arrive until yesterday (at least a
week late), it didn't have the Mac ROMs, and it appears to be version 2.0!
If I'm not mistaken, the latest version should be somewhere around 4.2x by
now.
Can anyone out there tell me what the latest version should be? Also, does
anyone know of a place in the L.A. area where I can get some Mac ROMs?
Thanks a bundle in advance.
-Rich
--
/////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
/// Richard E. Sansom TRW Electronics & Defense Sector \\\
\\\ {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!trwrb!sansom Redondo Beach, CA ///
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////////dragon@oliveb.UUCP (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) (07/08/87)
in article <2045@trwrb.UUCP>, sansom@trwrb.UUCP (Richard Sansom) says: > Can anyone out there tell me what the latest version should be? Also, does > anyone know of a place in the L.A. area where I can get some Mac ROMs? > Thanks a bundle in advance. > -Rich > /////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ > /// Richard E. Sansom TRW Electronics & Defense Sector \\\ > \\\ {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!trwrb!sansom Redondo Beach, CA /// > \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////////////////////////// The latest version that I have seen (updates are posted regularly on GEnie) is 4.35. To use it one needs the 4.2 distribution disk from Data Pacific, as only the driver is replaced in the last few updates. For ROMs outside of L.A., San Jose Computer and B & C Computervisions both carry the Mac ROMs. A bit expensive, but if you GOTTA have them... -- Dean Brunette {ucbvax,etc.}!hplabs!oliveb!olivej!dragon Olivetti Advanced Technology Center _____ _____ __|__ _____ 20300 Stevens Creek Blvd. | | _____| | | Cupertino, CA 95014 |_____| |_____| |__ |_____
toml@xrxns.UUCP (07/09/87)
In article <2045@trwrb.UUCP>, sansom@trwrb.UUCP (Richard Sansom) writes: > About 2 weeks ago I ordered the Magic Sac from Computer Games + in Orange, > CA. > > Can anyone out there tell me what the latest version should be? Also, does > anyone know of a place in the L.A. area where I can get some Mac ROMs? > > /////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ > /// Richard E. Sansom TRW Electronics & Defense Sector \\\ > \\\ {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!trwrb!sansom Redondo Beach, CA /// > \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////////////////////////// funny, i just had a nearly similar experience with Full Spectrum Computers in Dumfries, VA. (though to be fair the part about promising roms and not including them doesn't apply). i can't help you with your search for roms in the LA area, though as indicated by the mail-order ads in the magazines i read they shouldn't be hard to acquire. going price is $40; i've seen them for as low as $30, but not lately. as for current version -- allow me to refer you to the july/august '87 issue of "current notes" magazine, pg 38. the column, which i highly recommend, is jeff greenblatt's "adventures in the magic sacdom". i admit it's not the greatest title, but it is a very informative column which he's been writing since around last march or so. it's also the only monthly column i've seen anyone writing on the magic sac, in any publication. anyway, according to his column, the latest version is 4.34, which he says was uploaded to compuserve and genie. you can save yourself the 10 dollar software upgrade fee data pacific charges by downloading it yourself. i don't know if the mac download disk has changed, or is available on these services, since i'm not a user of either. a few other points of interest, sort of free-association style, and gleaned from jeff's column and my conversations with the guys at data pacific: the disk translator is awaiting fcc approval. it supposedly will be ready to ship within a period of time measured in weeks, or even days, rather than months. the price guess at by greenblatt is between $100 and $200, though i believe this does not include a drive. quote: "The preliminary info on the box is that it will be connected to the midi ports and the disk drive port of the last drive in the system. it will work even if you only have a 1040 STf without an external drive. It will have its own Z80 processor to handle I/O and a separate power supply, and does not have to be disconnected when not in use... It will also have the ability to differentiate between Magic and Mac formatted disks automatically." taken without permission from the above-cited magazine article. jeff says he plans to have it, and a review ready, for the september issue of current notes. other interesting stuff: after i found myself having problems with my strangely-acting magic sac, i contacted data pacific. turns out my software had been hacked by some perverse sob to display a recent version number (4.0) but was, in fact, something from the 3.x vintage. wanting to get off on the right foot, i order the sw upgrade ($10). however, (this is the interesting part) the guy i spoke with on the phone said that future releases of the sw may/will not support the magic sac, rather will require the magic sac plus (the one with the clock, which goes for an extra $30 or so). i admit i am a bit vague on this, and didn't press him for details. anyway, i also went for their hardware upgrade: for another $25 they swap your sac for a sac plus, including the transfer cable (which goes for $35 alone!). if anyone has more info on this support issue i would be curious to hear more. one more comment about current notes magazine: thru their PD disk service (about which an article was posted here just a few days ago) you can get a whole slew of magic-format disks containing mac utilities, fonts, games, the finder, etc. $4 per disk, plus $1 per 6 disks postage. this is a public service announcement, friends. proceeds from the sale of those disks support novatari, the northern virginia atari user's group, and other d.c. area atari groups. there hasn't been much discussion of the magic sac here; personally i'd like to hear more, and plan to be contributing more as soon as i get my upgrade back. tom love xerox edds leesburg, va 22075 seismo!rochester!rocksanne!xrxns!toml
sansom@trwrb.UUCP (Richard Sansom) (07/10/87)
>i can't help you with your search for roms in the LA area,,, I found a set at [The] Logical Choice computer store in North Hollywood. The price was $50 (higher than mail-order, but I was in a hurry). >there hasn't been much discussion of the magic sac here; personally >i'd like to hear more, and plan to be contributing more as soon as i >get my upgrade back. Thanks for the info. -Rich -- /////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ /// Richard E. Sansom TRW Electronics & Defense Sector \\\ \\\ {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!trwrb!sansom Redondo Beach, CA /// \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////////