jafischer@watrose.UUCP (04/11/87)
I found these next four articles on Antic Online (on Compuserve), and
they're interesting enough that I'm posting them here. They're the news
articles detailing the CEBIT show that occurred in Germany about a week ago.
Nothing really earth-shattering, but interesting nonetheless.
ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1987.
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
CEBIT '87 ST REPORT
PART #1: HARDWARE
-- EXCLUSIVE TO ANTIC ONLINE--
BY CHRISTIAN SCHMITZ-MOORMANN
APRIL 4, 1987
What is CeBIT?
The CEBIT fair at Hanover supposedly is the world's largest show in bureau
and information electronics. CEBIT stands for: Computer, Electro nics, Bureau,
Information and Tele communication. On an area of more than 205,000 square
meters in 12 halls more than 2200 firms showed their products.
This year's show had snowstorms causing chaotic traffic situations so even
the usually reliable Bundesbahn (federal train service) had delays of up to 6
hours. For this reason the show was nicknamed 'Schnee-BIT' (Schnee is German
for snow). But anyway, though we arrived late, we finally got there and it
became a very interesting day.
HARDWARE...
ATARI presented itself in its newly adopted white-and-blue look and on 50
1040s the software-houses presented their new products.
Before looking at the software I was pulled to the new MEGA-STs and that
experience was great. The design was appealing and the keyboard a lot better
than my 1040's. Helas, the MEGAs won't hit the stores before May or even June
due to a slight timing- problem with the shifter-chip.
This error results in small vertical black lines on the display. The delay
in the MEGAs will probably also affect the PC since ATARI said they would only
put out the PC after the MEGAs to show their preferences. But with Jack Tramiel
one never can be certain. The last all new product was the laser printer.
Connected to one of the MEGAs it was turning out page after page.
The quality was as can be expected from such a machine. The printer emu
lates a Diablo 630 and supports GDOS. According to a German ATARI-representative
they are working on post- script.
Naturally ATARI was not the only to show new products. On the hardware side
there was also HEISE, a German publishing-house, that showed its new version of
the real-time language PEARL/RTOS system which was developped at Hanover
university. It was simultaneously showing a graphic (a more sophisticated
version of the only too-well-known jumping-ball) and controlling a robot that
balanced a glass of water.
BASIS-O, who formerly built APPLE compatibles, showed an interesting new
integrated scanner-printer/plotter and telecopier. Within 4 minutes it is
possible to send or receive a letter in handwriting or with graphics on any
public or private telephone. The device incorporates an acoustic coupler and
can be run on rechargeable batteries. The resolution is is 4096 pixels per line
and 1125 lines per page.
PRINT-TECHNIK presented its 3rd- generation digitizers. Their new Realtizer
digitizes a picture with up to 16 gray-levels in less than one second. It now
plugs into the ROM-port.
Its big brother, the PRO 87, digitizes 1024 pixels in 512 lines and 128
gray-levels. Both digitizers come with a toolbox-software and the PRO 87 also
includes the necessary hardware for real-color images. PRINT-TECHNIK also
offers a Genlock-interface for the ST.
Other products are a Meteosat weather satellite receiver, a sound digitizer
and a memory-oscilloscope.
GTI, a Berlin-based society, presented a VMEbus-interface that plugs into
the DMA-port and includes a full bus-arbitration-logic and supports interrupts.
The DMA-port is pulled through so that a hard-disk can still be used.
Another bus that opens your ATARI is produced by RHOTRON. It is plugged
onto the CPU and has eight slots.
Since installing the bus voids the warranty RHOTRON also offers a PC-like
case in which the ST and the bus and a stronger power supply are incorporated.
Rhotron offers several cards to fill the slots, from 2-Meg RAM to
multifunction-cards they have just about everything, or how about a math-
coprocessor?
A barcode-reader can be obtained from CDS in Freiburg/Rhine valley.
Barcodes invade our lives, they tell you what is in a specific product, which
film you just rented and with such a reader you can find out yourself.
LINDY, a maker of printer-cables and other computer add-ons also presented
an oscillograph. It can be used as a sound-sampler or as a digital oscillo
scope.
The last interesting hardware I wish to present was not on the show, but
since Desktop Publishing is becoming more and more important, I feel it should
be mentionned.
HEIM-Verlag, another young publishing house, that was the first in Germany
to have a magazine purely dedicated to the ST-line (STcomputer-mag), offered a
program and interface to connect an ST to a CompuGraphic-MCS-layout station
called 'transmit'. They use it to make their magazine. And as far as I can
tell it seems to work pretty well.
END OF CEBIT '87 ST REPORT - PART 1
--
- Jonathan Fischer (jafischer@watrose.UUCP)
or ...watmath!watrose!jafischerjmc@ptsfa.UUCP (Jerry Carlin) (04/20/87)
In article <8636@watrose.UUCP> jafischer@watrose.UUCP (Jonathan Fischer) writes: >According to a German ATARI-representative they are working on post- script. Neil: Is this true? I seem to remember someone from Atari US saying no. Or is it a case of vendor-itis or Europe-ware :-) -- voice: (415) 823-2441 uucp: {ihnp4,lll-crg,ames,qantel,pyramid}!ptsfa!jmc CompuServe: 73075,1133 GEnie: jerrycarlin As SuperChicken says: "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it."
neil@atari.UUCP (Neil Harris) (04/22/87)
In article <2951@ptsfa.UUCP>, jmc@ptsfa.UUCP (Jerry Carlin) writes: > >According to a German ATARI-representative they are working on postscript Not that we are aware of. It is possible, and certainly seems like a good idea for a software companmy to do this. -- --->Neil Harris, Director of Marketing Communications, Atari Corporation UUCP: ...{hoptoad, lll-lcc, pyramid, imagen, sun}!atari!neil GEnie: NHARRIS/ WELL: neil / BIX: neilharris / Delphi: NEILHARRIS CIS: 70007,1135 / Atari BBS 408-745-5308 / Usually the OFFICIAL Atari opinion