johnson%msuhep.hepnet@LBL.ARPA (01/10/87)
Here's something real interesting that I just downloaded from
my clubs BBS. We just picked this up from Antic Online and not
only is it current but, Wow!!-- I've already heard the ST called
obsolete. Clearly the ST will not become obsolete, Atari has
announced that it will continue the support of both the 520 and
1040 ST, but they seem to be moving in a new direction with the
MegaST due to hit the market in late winter or this spring and
with a PC clone priced at $495 (tenatively) due about the same
time. Also $1500 retail seems to be the price floating around for
the new Atari laser printer (300 dots per inch!!), also due out
1st quarter 1987.
I still know very little about this whole thing but I will
upload new information as I hear it. Please let me know if I have
any info wrong or if anything new surfaces.
Electronically yours,
John Johnson, Michigan State University
ARPANET: ARPA%"JOHNSON%MSUHEP.HEPNET@LBL.ARPA"
Bitnet: MSUPHY@MSUNSCL
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>Supplied by the CHAOS BBS-Reprinted From MID-MICHIGAN ATARI
>MAGAZINE by permission.ANTIC PUBLISHING INC. COPYRIGHT
>1987. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. Atari at CES -- Winter 1987
>A sneak preview of what's new.
>
>(Las Vegas -- January 7) -- The motto
of Tramiel's Atari Corporation has
>just been updated. Instead of "Power Without The Price," Atari's
>battle cry is "Where the Action Is."
>The action started with three major hardware announcements from
>Atari.
> First is Atari's introduction of the new "Mega" ST series.
>Atari has altered their 16-bit product line in both features and
>styling. The new STs are component systems, similar in appearance to an
>IBM PC, but less "clunky" -- they bear a sleek micro-stereo component
>look. A detachable keyboard connects via cable to a separate box housing
>the CPU, an included double-density 3 1/2 inch drive and a
>battery-sustained real-time calendar clock. Cosmetically, the Mega STs
>are the same dove-gray ST color, the separated keyboard resembling a 1040
>ST with the diagonal vent area sliced off. The keyboard, by the way, has a
>much crisper feel to it than current ST keyboards, although key layout and
>the keytops themselves remain unchanged.
>
> The new STs are designed as "open architecture" machines. Expansion
>devices such as add-on cards might be plugged into a peripheral box, which
>would then connect to the ST through the DMA port or bus expansion
>connector. In the future, such a box could feature dedicated chips, such
>as the new Motorola 68020 and the 68881 math coprocessor, giving
>blinding speed to graphics processing, real-time animation and
>other memory intensive, number-crunching functions. The Mega
>STs will be available in 1, 2 and 4 megabyte configurations, with prices
>reportedly starting at around $995. And yes, the Mega STs come with the
>blitter chip built in.
>
> The second major announcement was the Atari ST Desktop Publishing System.
>An Atari ST "host" computer will serve as the front end for a laser
>printer "engine." As of this writing (Wednesday night, before CES
>officially opens) the manufacturer of Atari's laser printer has not been
>identified. (Perhaps Atari will name names at their press conference at
>9:00 Thursday morning.) However, John Skruch at Atari told Antic Publishing
>the manufacturer was "one of the three biggest names in the laser
>printer business." The Atari laser printer promises virtually typeset
>quality electophotographic print technology with a 300 dot-per-inch
>resolution.
>
> Third, and probably most unusual of Atari's new hardware announcements,
>was the Atari IBM PC compatible. That's right -- Atari has jumped into
>Compaq, Leading Edge and Hyundai territory by announcing their own IBM
>PC "clone" -- to retail for an amazing $495. The new Atari PC
>features an 8088 microprocessor with a switchable clock speed of 4.77 MHz
>or 8MHz. The PC will come with 512K standard, expandable to 640K of RAM,
>plus 256K of screen RAM. As Atari's press information states, the PC
>"supports these graphics modes: enhanced color adaptor (EGA), color
>graphics adaptor, monochrome display adaptor and Hercules graphics cards."
>The resolution is 640 X 350, either monochrome or color. The PC is
>equipped with standard ports: parallel printer ports, RS232C serial
>port, plus built-in mouse support. Not surprisingly, it comes with a
>detachable keyboard (IBM PC/XT layout), and will accept a 8087
>numeric coprocessor. The CPU box has a 360K 5 1/4-inch disk drive built
>in, and can accept two additional external drives. The PC's styling is
>similar to Atari's new STs -- either one would look sexy sitting on an
>executive (or home) desk. Atari hopes to use its PC as a front-end
>vehicle for their laser printer, and claims the PC will run "thousands of
>pieces of IBM software." And what was that graphics operating system
>software package we saw next to the Atari PC Clone? We'll get to that
>juicy gossip in our next report!
>
> Those are the major Atari stories breaking before CES has actually
>started. Stay tuned to ANTIC ONLINE for more in- depth reports on Atari
>at CES. Later reports will focus on what's new in both 16- and 8-bit
>software and third-party peripherals for your favorite computers.
>
>Supplied by the CHAOS BBS
>(517) 371-1106
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