bryan@ihuxf.UUCP (Bryan K. DeLaney) (01/17/85)
ANTIC ONLINE NEWS - SPECIAL BULLETIN Permission to reprint or excerpt is granted only if the following line appears at the top of the article: ANTIC SPECIAL BULLETIN, REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT 1985, ANTIC PUBLISHING INC. CES-ATARI FINAL WRAP-UP by NAT FRIEDLAND, Antic Editor SOFTWARE BREAKTHROUGHS LAS VEGAS- Atari's CES software was in its own right as spectacular as the hardware breakthroughs on display. The star attraction was undoubtedly INFINITY - which is the next generation of sleek, powerful integrated programs. Infinity has specs that are more than a match for Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony. Yet it can run in as little as 64K (even on the old 800) with only the loss of a few extra features. And incredibly, it will be sold at only $49.95 for 8-bit Ataris, the 16-bit version will be about $70. The Tramiel Atari Corp. has shown that it is serious about holding software prices to $49.95, which is what virtually all the advanced productivity software described in this article will cost. I realize that Infinity sounds almost too good to be true. But Antic has seen it in operation. On one disk it contains a spreadsheet, relational database, a word processor that looks like MacWrite, a telecommunications package, graphics, icons and pull-down menus, and integrated printing. It runs in virtual memory, which means that file size is more dependent on disk capacity than on RAM. Infinity will support the upcoming Atari local area networking (LAN) capability. And it includes multitasking -- up to 6 simultaneous operations on the ST series, 3 on the 130 XE and 2 on the 65XE. Vincent Garafolo of Cambridge's Matrix Software, developers of Infinity, explained that they were able to get so much into a 64K memory program by two-step "optimizing" of the assembly language compilation. This procedure is usually only used in advanced military and government software. "Most software companies don't do optimization because it's so tedious, even though it's possible to drastically reduce the size of most programs," explained Garafolo. "You don't have to be a programming genius to optimize. You just have to be willing to put in a few hundred hours of boring, painstaking line-by-line analysis." Other impressive new software from Atari includes Silent Butler, a personal finance program that balances multiple checking and credit card accounts, and tracks tax deductions. It's most unique feature is the ability to print on your own personalized checks, using a plastic check-holder that fits into your printer. Shopkeeper is an easy-to-use small business accounting package that also tracks inventory and generally emulates an electronic cash register. It also compiles daily reports which will be automatically transferable to the upcoming (2nd quarter) general ledger module. There will be six modules in the series. Song Painter is a very user-friendly music construction program that replaces standard musical notation with self-explanatory colored line patterns and icons. Its three instrumental voices can be controlled almost entirely from the joystick. In another Atari musical development, the in/out MIDI ports on the ST computers were being demonstrated driving the new Casio CZ101 $499 synthesizer.