pmt@sbcs.UUCP (Phil Tromovitch) (06/10/87)
I just picked this up from GEnie. There're some interesting things in here.
Will someone from Atari comment on the IBM emulator mentioned here??
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The ST X-PRESS
Diskmate Grapevine
June 1987
Welcome to the next issue of the Diskmate Grapevine. The original Grapevine
appears in the pages of ST X-PRESS magazine, THE ST Informer. The full fledged
version of the Diskmate Grapevine appears on the Diskmate, the official support
disk of ST X-PRESS (thought we were going to say the olympics didn't you?)
This file also appears (and will appear in the future) on GEnie and in the
"pages" of Zmagazine. We would appreciate it, if you, the readers, would
upload this file to any private BBSs and any major networks (Compuserve,
Delphi, etc.) AS LONG AS THE CREDITS AND FULL FORM OF THIS FILE ARE KEPT
INTACT. Now, onto what you've been waiting for...
CES, WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT?
Well, first off let's talk about the CES. Hmmm. Actually there's not much
to talk about. There were no major releases shown at the CES (at least at the
time of writing, which is June 1). We talked to various people before the show
and they said that nothing extraordinary was expected. We talked to various
people after the show and (guess what) nothing extraordinary was shown! One
interesting note: It was overheard that Sam Tramiel said the boat with the
Megas was enroute to the states. This means that they will definately be ready
around (or before) the end of July -- although in limited quantities. Remember
where you heard this first, ST X-PRESS!
ST REPLAY REPLAY ST
ST Replay is a new digitizer that is being marketed by Michtron. It was
originally designed by Microdeal. From what we've fiddled around with, it
seems very very very interesting. Compared to some of the older digitizers, it
leaves them in the dust! The only problem is with the software. It's
terrible, to put it bluntly. It will do the job alright, just don't expect to
do any professional editing. This was supposedly done to reserve space, it
would have been nice if they had two versions: one that reserved space, and one
that had a good amount of features.
Also, another dissappointment is the software that allows the programmer to
utilitize the sound. We don't know about the Assembly source code, but using
the GFA Basic source the music played awfully. There was so much static that
it was almost hard to understand the sound. Most likely, these things will be
fixed in the actual version that will be shipping.
WORLD OF ATARI
What's the World of Atari? Unfortunately, many people seem to be left in
the cold on this topic. It is a kind of Super Atari Faire that will be held in
Santa Clara on the 19th and 20th of June. Atari was a bit late in telling
people about the show, but they still expect a crowd of about 10,000. Last
years show was a success with about 5,000 people showing. We'll tell you more
about this show in the following weeks (we'll have a booth to demonstrate some
products). If you're interested contact Sandy Austin at Atari (whether you
need booth space or info). The number is (408) 745-2000.
pc-ditto
Most ST users have already heard that there is a new IBM emulator being
released in the early days of June. For those who didn't, it will retail for
$89.95 and offers very close to 100% IBM emulation. This is the product that
everyone has been waiting for!
RUMOR MILL
Do you like Flash? A new version, Flash 2.0 is being developed. It could
be out some time during the summer. It'll include automatic compacting of
files before sending them and then uncompacting before they're received.
AND (American Networks Developement) is developing a true multi-tasking
operating system. It will run up to 50 different programs at once (this is no
joke, it's what we heard from reputable sources) without hardly any speed
decrease. It will run a kind of Unix operating system. Unfortunately, I doubt
that ST X-PRESS will be getting a review copy of it since they haven't even
sent us their previous programs (even though we've contacted them numerous
times). If anyone is interested in a review of this or their other products
then take a few seconds and give them a call at (504) 341-7222. Tell them that
you want to see a review of their products in ST X-PRESS and tell them to send
us review copies!
2 & 4 MEGABYTE UPGRADES
Do you want to use the upcoming laser printer from Atari? Or do you just
need the extra space? ST X-PRESS is offering 2 and 4 Megabyte upgrades. The 2
Megabyte Upgrade is $495 and the 4 Megabyte Upgrade is $895. These prices
include shipping, installation, the chips, etc. Give us a call at (213)
691-8000 if you're intersted or would like to discuss any details.
ST X-PRESS JUNE
The June issue of ST X-PRESS should be available at your dealers shelves
within a week. What's in them? Glad you asked. We have an EXCLUSIVE
interview with Electronic Arts' President, Trip Hawkings. We discuss various
things including the Batteries Included takeover. Also featured is a RECENT
talk with Shawn and Deron at SoftLogik. The issue has a desktop publishing
theme with various reviews, etc. dealing with the subject (we have a new
Personal Publishing column).
YOU, CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
A while back we started hearing rumors about an 8-bit emulator. Soon we saw
a public domain version of this emulator. It seemed the rumors were true.
Then all of the sudden Atari seemed to step on the programmer and crush his
effors even before they were in full bloom. This angered a lot of people and
petitions were started, including our own in the last Diskmate Grapevine.
Well, it seems that everybody's contribution has helped! Atari has finally
decided to go ahead with the project. This means that we will soon be able to
run Atari 8-bit software on our STs! Yeaaah!
Now, we are undergoing another venture. A user on GEnie portrayed his
interest in the Bruce Lee program. This also interested me personally because
it was one of my favorite games on the 8-bits. So a petition was started in a
section of the ST SIG on GEnie. There, users left their names and addresses if
they were definately interested in buying the program. We would also like YOU
to send us your petitions to:
WE WANT BRUCE LEE!
c/o ST X-PRESS
P.O. Box 2383
La Habra, CA 90632
We will be contacting Datasoft and keeping in touch with them to see how we
can make Bruce Lee a possibility on the ST. So SEND in your petitions, all you
need to write is your name, address, and a little note stating that you're
interested in the program. ALL IT TAKES IS A FEW MINUTES TO HELP YOURSELVES
AND YOUR FELLOW ST USERS!
ONE LAST THING
I just received a Newsletter from MVACE, a user group in Ohio. They
reprinted the Diskmate Grapevine in their newsletter, and all I can say is that
I am very pleased. The information here should be passed onto anyone who
craves for knowledge about their computers. If you're interested in including
the information in this file in your Newsletter than by all means do. Just be
sure to mention that it was reprinted from ST X-PRESS. Also, be sure to keep
the contents exactly as they appear in this file. Thanks and have fun!
Until next month,
Rich Decowski
Editor
ST X-PRESS
P.O. Box 2383
La Habra, CA 90632
(213) 691-8000
ST X-PRESS is published on a monthly basis. For more information on the
magazine please call us, we'll be more than happy to answer your questions.
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...lean
--
CSNET:pmt@sbcs.csnet
UUCP :{allegra, philabs, ogcvax}!sbcs!pmt
In the path of our happiness shall we find the learning for which
we have choosen this lifetime.jdn@homxc.UUCP (06/12/87)
In article <452@sbcs.UUCP>, pmt@sbcs.UUCP writes: > Most ST users have already heard that there is a new IBM emulator being > released in the early days of June. For those who didn't, it will retail for > $89.95 and offers very close to 100% IBM emulation. This is the product that > everyone has been waiting for! > All of the IBM PC software that I've seen is distributed on 5-1/4" floppies. Does the emulator include a floppy drive? If not what is the mechanism for reading IBM floppies? Jonathan Nagy {ihnp4|harvard|allegra}!homxc!jdn