___________________________________ Zmagazine November ___________________________________ November 22, 1986 Issue 2.8 ___________________________________ Publisher,Editor in Chief:Ron Kovacs ___________________________________ Zmag Staff: Assistant Publisher:Ken Kirchner Copy Editor:Alan Kloza Software Reviewer: Eric Plent Coordinator: Larry Mihalik ___________________________________ Zmag Headquarters (New Jersey) The Syndicate BBS Post Office Box 74 Middlesex, NJ 08846-0074 (201) 968-8148 300/1200 24 Hours ___________________________________ Xx Zmag 11/22/86 This week........... <*> Fall Comdex Closes in Vegas-- Atari Puts Its Cards on the Table!! <*> Visiting SIX--Sweden's Entry into the ZMAG Network!! <*> Antic-Analog Blues--Jack Lee's Rebuttal!! <*> Software Reviews <*> Star Raiders II <*> More Ram for Your Atari 8-bit <*> The Editor Speaks <*> Next week in Zmag <*> Zmag Systems List updated and more...... ________________________________ Xx Fall Comdex--Atari Shows New Products.................... ________________________________ We've got 2 reports on COMDEX, the computer trade show, that just closed in Las Vegas. The first report comes to us from Online Today, while the second is from Antic's Online edition. The reports include highlights from the show--what's upcoming in the Atari 8-bit world and new ST products and developements. Finally, there's a general overview of Fall Comdex '86. Online Today OLT-3730 ATARI HOSTS SOFTWARE BOOTH (Nov. 14) LAS VEGAS -- Atari moved its software vendors booth to the main Comdex show floor this year and, like last year, became the most crowded display in the hall. Standing-room-only cubicles offered software ranging from games to desktop publishing packages at bargain prices that would make any high-end business user jealous. While desktop publishing programs for the Apple Macintosh and IBM sell for $695 or more, those in the Atari booth seldom pushed the $200 mark. Publishing Partner from SoftLogik Corp., for instance, provides a $150 package that supports point sizes up t 144, several different fonts and type styles, word processing functions, internal graphics manipulation, and in addition to dot matrix printers, the Apple LaserWriter and Postscript-driven printers. Several computer design packages were offered for Atari systems with features similar to those of the more expensive packages. Here, too, the software was much less expensive -- of the 5 programs on display, prices ran from $49.95 to $199.95. For the game players, there were several cubicles ranging from airplane simulations to chess games. About 30 booths were set up, with 1 vendor per space. The most -vocal- also was the largest. It featured a professional sound system and software for MIDI interface devices. Several keyboards were set up to demonstrate applic- ations for studio musicians. --Cheryl Peterson ___________________________________ ANTIC ONLINE ANT-2603 Permission to reprint or excerpt is granted only if the following line appears at the top of the article: ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1986. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. LAS VEGAS - NOV 10, 1986 Atari Corp. set up its crowded COMDEX exhibit near the entrance to the main hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Atari occupied a rectangular island measuring about 30 by 75 feet. In that area it crammed not only its own products but those of 65 selected third-party developers. Things got so crowded that some of Atari's exhibitors had to take turns using the display space at one of the 40 miniboooths. The resulting crush drew even more attention from gawkers. Casual eavesdropping often caught the two letters -ST- floating on the COMDEX air. People are again excited about Atari, and this time it's about computers, not game machines. ATARI HARDWARE =============== In the hardware line Atari showed its new 1200 baud, Hayes-compatible modem, the SH212, and the new 80-column card, XEP80, for the XL/XE 8-bit computers. The long-awaited ST blitter chip was demonstrating some sensational graphics. It is to be released early in 1987 as a $120 upgrade, piggybacking on new ROM chips The SH212 modem is another price/performance breathrough for Atari. This fully Hayes-compatible 300/1200 baud external modem retails for $99.95. It has an industry standard RS-232 interface port, making it plug-compatible with virtually all computers. Other features include internal speaker, autodial via pulse or tone, auto-answer, and full Bell 212A compatibility. Expect to see it in the stores around the 1st quarter of 1987. According to Atari president Sam Tramiel, Atari is bringing its philosophy of -Power Without the Price- to the wider peripheral market. That punchy motto may be on its way out though -- one Atari press release says the new tag line is -Technology So Advanced It's Affordable.- Perhaps those words are only for the business market, to which Atari has assigned long-time Tramiel associate Sig Hartmann. The XEP80 is an 80-column board for the Atari XL and XE 8-bit computers. It costs $79.95 (a dollar a column, says Atari's John Skruch, Associate Director for Computer Software). The XEP80 plugs into a joystick port and requires a monochrome monitor or black-and-white TV. Although no major word-processor programs now support 80-column format for the 8-bits, Skruch says that PaperClip, by Batteries Included, and AtariWriter Plus, by Atari, are being adapted for that purpose. ICD 8-BIT POWER ================ Another 80-column board for the 8-bit XL/XE computers was introduced here by ICD, Inc. of Rockford, Illinois. This board costs $99.95 and can only work as a piggy-back add-on to the company's Multi I/O external interface box for the XL/XEs. However, this card operates in 16 selectable colors (or monochrome) and requires no RAM from the computer. Multi I/O itself provides five valuable functions: RAMdisk (256K or 1 megabyte), parallel printer interface that accepts standard 850 cables, a serial printer/modem interface with the 850 handler built-in, a spooler, and a hard disk interface that supports up to 8 SASI or SCSI controllers simultaneously -- using either 5 1/4-inch or 3.5-inch hard drives. Multi I/O costs $199.95 in the 256K configuration and $349.95 for 1 meg. MICROSOFT WRITE =============== On the software side, Atari showed and announced its word processor for the ST called Microsoft Write. This package, to be shipped late this year, is a direct port by Microsoft of its Macintosh Word, V. 1.05. It makes full use of type fonts, including proportionally-spaced fonts, and many special features pointing towards desktop publishing with a laser printer. Insiders expect Atari to offer an affordable laser printer in 1987. Microsoft Write will retail for $129.95 when it ships late this year. ___________________________________ Xx Other Comdex Highlights ___________________________________ Online Today OLT-3736 COMDEX/FALL '86 ENDS WEEK'S RUN (Nov. 14) LAS VEGAS -- After what appears to have been a most successful week, Comdex/Fall '86 closed this afternoon, with attendance figures likely to run as high as last year's. Occupying the Las Vegas Convention Center and several area hotels, Comdex has been the second largest trade show held in Vegas for the past few years. Surpassed only by the annual Winter Consumer Electronics Show, it was expected to bring 85,000 people to Las Vegas. Comdex drew crowds despite the fact that several large vendors, including Apple Computers, chose not to exhibit. Ashton-Tate, Commodore and Software Publishing also stayed away. CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) is a technology that is available, but few vendors offered information or programs of great usefulness on the disks, there seems to be little demand so far from users. Unquestionably, the talk of the show was desktop publishing and Computer-Aided Design. All-day semin- ars yesterday left the show floor empty by comparison with days earlier in the week. While discussions were held on other topics ranging from projected software hits of '87 to direct-marketing by phone, the semin- ars on these subjects drew the best attendance. The preponderance of hardware over software vendors was notable. Comdex/Fall typically is a show with both hardware and software developers about equal in numbers. Last year's show had fewer software than hardware vendors, but the percentages seemed about 60/40. This year it seems closer to 75/25. While there may be a slump in the computer industry, it was certainly not evident here. How many of the companies showing this year will return for next year's show is any- one's guess. But it's been said that every booth for next year's show has been sold and sponsor Interface Group is looking at expanding again. --Cheryl Peterson ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Xx Swedish BBS Picks Up ZMAG ___________________________________ After several correspondences via Compuserve, ZMAG Editor-in-Chief Ron Kovacs, has gone online with the latest and only overseas member of the ZMAG Network--The Sorman Infor- mation Exchange (SIX). As reported in last week's edition of ZMAG, the Swedish BBS will display our online magazine for their country's computer enthusiasts. This past week SIX was visited by Kovacs, who found the BBS quite easy to access despite the differences between telecommunication systems in the U.S. and Sweden. Surprisingly, most of the text on SIX is written in English. Consequently, there's not much difference between the Swedish BBS and one you might find here in the U.S.. What follows are some excerpts from the overseas -visit- paid via the modem to SIX: Your last name? kovacs Searching userlog... Ron Kovacs, is that correct (Y or N)?y Where are you calling from? middlesex,nj Now enter a password you would like to use: REMEMBER THIS PASSWORD! Type it again to be sure I've got it correct-> ****** Hello World Welcome, Ron Kovacs, from middlesex,nj! Connected on 11/17/86 at 04:06:19 No messages addressed to you. New User Information ==================== Welcome to SIX! BBSs all around the world and large multi-user systems like CompuServe and BYTE Information Exchange are checked regularly. This means we can keep you up to date with the latest computer news - worldwide. Our Special Interest Groups, SIGs, provide you with public domain software, reviews, news etc. related to your computer. Of course each SIG has its own conference (or message base if you like). Poor software will never be offered. Every piece of software is checked to be of good value to our users. You don't want to spend download-time on garbage, do you? We are pleased to have you here. Have fun and enjoy! SYSOP SIX Presentation ================ Sorman Information AB decided to open Sorman Information eXchange in the fall of -86. Sorman Information AB, or Sorman Info for short, is a company specialized in technical communication. SORMAN INFORMATION EXCHANGE - SIX SIX runs on a Macintosh PLUS with 1Mb RAM, and a standard Hard Disk 20 from Apple. The host software we run is -Red Ryder Host- by Scott Watson. It's a very good host system for use on a Macintosh. (You will find details on Red Ryder Host under the -ed Ryder Host Information- menu item-.) SIX contains normal BBS sections as private mail, a general bulletin board, and chat with Sysop. In addition SIX contains a SIG area with open and restricted SIGs. All users have full access to all OPEN SIGs. SIX currently supports the following OPEN SIGs: Electronic Publishing Macintosh 8-bit Atari Atari ST Telecommunications Enjoy your stay and please return soon! Lennart Olsson er Johansson Sysops) = SIX Main Menu = ew user information <*> Sorman online report nformation on this system ser specific variables isplay all users

rivate mail ulletin board omputer news pecial Interest Groups, SIGs ell for chat with sysop oodbye for this time (50 minutes left) Command == Special Interest Groups, SIGs ==

resentation of the SIG area lectronic publishing SIG acintosh SIG tari ST SIG <8>-bit Atari SIG elecommunications SIG uit to main menu === 8-bit Atari SIG === onference messages

rograms, documents, and news uit to SIG area (49 minutes left) Command (C,P,Q) ? P ==== 8-bit Atari Conference ==== Moderator: sysop*Lennart heck for correct address rite conference message ead conference message ew messages since last call can all conference messages ptional read while scanning uit to 8-bit Atari SIG (C,W,R,N,S,O,Q) ? N Msg. #51 in **8-bit Atari Conference** Posted on 11/04/86 at 00:09:52 To: ALL From: SYSTEM OPERATOR Subject: Welcome! Hi all Atarians! This section (Atari8) will contain messages, programs, documents, and news pertaining the Atari community. Programs for download will be briefly described in this message area. PLEASE write a small description of programs or documents you upload!!! Msg. #112 in **Bulletin Board** Posted on 11/17/86 at 04:10:41 To: SYSTEM OPERATOR From: RON KOVACS Subject: Reply To 'FIRST caller' Hello Sweden, Lines look good and and there isnt very much noise! I am calling you direct from New Jersey USA. Read ZMAG and let us know what is happening around here! Take care and hope to call again soon! Ron Kovacs Syndicate BBS -201- 968-8148 300/1200 24 hours __________________________________ Xx Antic Analog Blues Part 5 __________________________________ BY:Jack H. Lee This article is to reply to an article Ken White had written in response to my commentaries about Antic in a previous issue of Zmag. I read Mr. White's article with surprise and amusement. First of all, I felt that he totally missed the point I was making about Antic. He attacked me as though I had killed a kitten. First of all, I was not criticizing Antic for coverage of the ST computers, as Mr. White might have thought. I was writing about my observations about Antic as it changed throughout the years. Part of the criticism was that Antic sometimes insulted the readers intelligence. Other than that, I was writing the article from an 8-bit owner's point of view, so I can see why Mr. White attacked me. I have nothing against the ST. Personally, I think the 520ST and 1040ST are Atari's best computers since the 400 and the legendary 800. The ST is a very strong contender out in the market, and thanks to the excellent sales and capabilties of those computers, the competitors have tried to get a piece of the action. Apple for instance, released the Macintosh Plus computer, with more memory, storage space, and added features. With the release of it, Apple reduced the price of their Machintosh. Commodore has reduced the price of the Amiga, and threw in some coupons that will save buyers several hundred dollars for hardware and software. Looks like 1983 all over again. Getting back the point, I think Antic is doing a good job with coverage of the ST, but like I said, I was not criticizing it. I was only making observations. I was not really taking any sides. I wrote the article so people, like Mr. White would voice their opinions about Antic. However, I did not expect to be attacked personally for what I wrote. The article was a generalized view point, so some people might agree with what I had said, while others would disagree. With Antic's disk+magazine, I did not mind the programs in the magazine or on the disk at all. With the case of the disk, I have always formatted the second side for my use, unless it was double-sided with 8-bit programs. Last of all, Mr. White, I was poking fun at Antic, NOT the ST. I criticized it about their contents, and how it went from great to so-so. The ST was definitely not one of the complaints. Sure, it's a good Atari magazine, but lately it has been run-of-the-mill. Since January of this year, Antic has attempted to portray the 8-bit and ST computers as serious computers by having a lot of utility/application programs and very little games. Games were what hurt Atari's image the most. People are turned off from buying an Atari, just because they thought all Atari computers could do was play games. I commend Antic on their attempt and hope that it proves to be successful. Afterall, they were a major factor in getting manufacturers to produce software previously not available for Atari. Now let's see if they can do the same thing for consumers, and get them to buy an Atari ST or 8-bit. __________________________________ Xx Software Review by Eric Plent __________________________________ STAR RAIDERS II By Gary Stark and Bruce Poelhman ATARI Corp. Sunnyvale, CA 94086 48K Disk $19.99 It's finally here. The long awaited STAR RAIDERS II, from the new Atari Corp. This sequel starts off where STAR RAIDERS I left off. The story goes like this: Having crushed the Zylon empire with your mighty power, you thought you had heard the last of them. They promised good behavior in exchange for you letting them settle on their home planet. Wrong, space cadet!. The Zylons are ready for more in this action packed game. Your job is to once again rid your star system of the nasty Zylon Warriors. When the game starts, you are treated to some nice battling music(if you can call it that), and a view from the bridge of the LIBERTY STAR. One thing you will notice right away are the graphics; They are the BEST graphics in a game I have seen in quite a while, and from Atari no less!. Good work, Jack!. Second, the game play is much better than the old STAR RAIDERS. It scrolls smoothly, and the Zylon ships look more like ships, rather then blobs. Speaking of Zylon ships, the manner in which they blow up is something to behold. If you hit the ship dead center, it will blow up right away. If you hit a wing, or some other edge of the ship, it will twist and fall, throwing up smoke in a long trail. It may even take a pot shot at you on the way down!. You can call up a map of your galaxy by pressing the SPACE bar. From that map you can chart a course to any of the planets with the pointer line, controlled with the joystick. If you choose a planet, you will see a report from the planet, telling if there are any Zylon ships, the name of the planet, and some other information. There are star bases at points around the galaxy. If at any time you need more fuel, a repair to your ship, or have to defend it from the Zylons, choose that star base with the pointer line, and press the FIRE button. Wooshh!.. If any of the star bases are under attack, it will be blinking on the galaxy map. You don't want to lose any star bases, so I have found it best to defend them first, the planets second. Realism is high in many parts of the game. For example, if you hold down th FIRE button for too long, your cannon will overheat, and it will start to misfire. Stop firing for a second, and wait for the little bars to go down. The Zylon Star System is another thing all together. This is where your skills in battle are put to the test. When you HyperWarp into this galaxy, you are put in orbit around one of the smaller planets. As soon as you look into orbit, you will be attacked by a whole squad of Zylons. I have found it best to ignore them, because you will spend most of your time waiting for your cannon to cool down. Instead, press the -W- key for your bombing option. The cannon sights will fade out, and a single crosshair will replace it. By pressing the FIRE button, you can lob bombs on the Zylon bases. Destroy all the bases on all the planets, and you have won the game. Trust me, this is MUCH harder than it sounds!. I have not been able to get past the first planet of the Zylon system, and that much took me two hours!. For the amount of game you get for the money, STAR RAIDERS II is worth every penny. The game play is fast, shoot 'em up action that should keep you glued to the computer for many hours. (Not a hard thing to do!) What else can I say?. Buy it. Eric Plent __________________________________ Xx Hardware Modification __________________________________ MORERAM ------ This hardware modification should be attempted only by those who have had some experience working with electronic boards and integrated circuits. If you are not confident of your abilities, ask for assistance from your User Group or a good TV/ VCR technician. The object of this change is to enable the RAM at location $D600 thru $D7FF that cannot normally be accessed. The RAM chips are -on- the buss during each machine cycle unless the -CI line from pin 16 of U3 [MMU] is low. This added circuit forces this line -on- during access to $D600 thru $D7FF addresses, which is all that's required to use the existing memory at that location. Dis-assemble your 800XL by removing the six Phillips-head screws from the bottom of the case. Carefully lift the right side upwards (with it still lying on its keyboard) as if you were opening a book. Disconnect the keyboard cable and set the top section aside. Remove all the screws from the main board and work it loose from the base. Take note of the location and sequence of the shielding while you are pulling it apart. Now to the fun part.... Find the trace that connects pin 16 of U3 to pin 10 of U18. At a suitable location, completely cut thru this line. Then, use a small piece of double-sided foam tape to secure a 74HC20 IC to a clear area of the main board near U2 [74LS138]. Mount the chip on its back so that the pins point upward. (make sure you know which is pin #1!!) Using 30 gauge wire-wrapping wire, connect pin 7 to the nearest ground (pin 8 of U2 will do) and pin 14 to a nearby +5v point.(pin 16 of U2...) Wire pins 1,2,4, and 5 of the HC20 to pin 16 of U3 [MMU]. Solder a wire from pin 6 (of HC20) to pins 9 and 10 (of HC20). Add a wire from pin 12 (of HC20) to pin 9 of U2 [LS138] and from pin 13 (HC20) to pin 7 of U2 [LS138]. Last wire goes from pin 8 (HC20) to pin 10 of U18 [LS08]. ALL DONE!! Try the board now, before you put it back together. Just plug in the power and monitor plugs and boot Basic. If it shows -READY-, it is OK. Now, you can put everything back together and try the memory at $D600-D7FF. You will have 512 bytes all for your own use!!! Bob Woolley [75126,3446] FOR 1200XL OWNERS: Cut the trace between pin 16 of U14 and pin 1 of U11. Mount the HC20 near U16. Pin 16 of U14 goes to pins 1,2,4 and 5. Pins 12 and 13 of the HC20 go to pins 9 and 7 of U18. Pin 8 of HC20 goes to pin 1 of U11. All that really changes are the IC numbers and one of the pins (pin 10 of U18 becomes pin 1 of U11). THIS MATERIAL MAY BE FREELY COPIED, SOLD OR OTHERWISE DISTRIBUTED. __________________________________ Xx The Editor Speaks __________________________________ You'll notice a new name on the masthead of ZMAG this week. Next to Copy Editor you'll find the name of Alan Kloza. Well, let me take a minute to introduce myself and explain what I'm doing here on ZMAG. Currently, I'm the sysop on the Surf City BBS (which you can find in the ZMAG Systems Listing) and I plan to edit each weekly issue of ZMAG. This week's edition marks my first attempt at the new job, so bear with me if you notice a few mistakes here and there. As I grow accustomed to the duties of editing this fine electronic newsletter, I think you'll find the changes made are for the better. I've kept this issue pretty much intact with its previous look and format but look for some innovation in subsequent editions. We're still trying to sort out the logistics of the situation.(Ron lives in Middlesex, while I'm down in Toms River, NJ) So we're trying to figure out a way to hook up a -newsline- between the two systems that will insure that ZMAG remains current and fresh. In any case, I hope you enjoy this edition of ZMAG and if you have suggestions or comments, be sure to let me know. Until next week... ----Al---- WORLDWIDE ZMAGAZINE BBS SYSTEMS ------------------------------- #1 -- THE SYNDICATE BBS (201)968-8148 (New Jersey Zmag Headquarters) #2 #3 -- -- THE LIONS DEN BBS BACKSTAGE BBS (201)396-0867 (201)944-1196 #4 #5 -- -- TEMPLE OF DOOM BOTTOM LINE (201)656-6439 (201)991-5546 #6 #7 -- -- THE GATEWAY BBS THE CAVE BBS (609)931-3014 (609)882-9195 #8 #9 -- -- EAST BRUNSWICK BBS THE CULT BBS (201)254-6449 (201)727-2274 #10 #11 --- --- SURF CITY BBS C. CTY BBS (201)929-9351 (609)451-7475 #12 #13 --- --- THE DEEP N.M. ATARI (201)583-5254 (505)897-4080 #14 #15 --- --- THE W.C. SYNDICATE M.O.U.S.E BBS (415)825-2952 (219)674-9288 #16 #17 --- --- ONE STONE BBS THE CARINA BBS (219)875-8205 (305)793-2975 #18 #19 --- --- ATARI COMPUTER CLUB NEW YORK CITY (305)734-6026 (718)604-3323 #20 #21 --- --- ATARI CONNECTION THE HELP BBS (315)622-1952 (316)683-7514 #22 #23 --- --- MEGA VISION BBS BALLOON WORKS (216)441-3816 (419)289-8392 #24 #25 --- --- C.H.A.O.S. BBS RUNEQUEST BBS (517)371-1106 (312)430-4234 #26 --- SWEDEN, SORMAN INFORMATION EXCHANGE DIAL 0-11-46-470-22183 #27 #28 --- --- KNOTS NOOK BBS PIRATE BUSTERS (206)631-8056 (216)545-4817 #29 --- WINDY CITY (312)775-2970 (Chicago Zmag Headquarters) #30 #31 --- --- BLUE MOON C.L.A.U.G BBS (312)457-2219 (312)889-1240 #32 #33 --- --- HOUSE OF CHANCE SPRINGSNET BBS (915)757-0788 ??? #34 #35 --- --- RATCOM THE VAULT (301)437-9813 (303)796-0539 #36 #37 --- --- DATELINE BBS THUNDERBEAST (718)648-0947 (714)653-0447 #38 #39 --- --- SPIDERS WEB BBS ACORN BBS (203)445-4094 (219)693-3485 ___________________________________ The above list updated 11/21/86 ___________________________________ Xx Editor Column As you have read I have passed most of the editor duties to Alan, In the future Zmag will be changing and hopefully for the better. At the present time due to the massive amount of information received, we are running about 1 week behind on publishing reviews and articles donated. If you have sent me info and dont see it here this week, it will appear next week. Alan Kloza will become Zmag Editor while I maintain the function of Managing Editor. The Syndicate BBS will remain Zmag Headquarters and all information will be originated from our location. Zmag will be published next week 11/29/86. I hope you enjoy our debut issue from Alan, if you have any comments, Please let us know!! Thanks for reading! ___________________________________ Zmagazine November 22, 1986 Issue 2.8 Published Weekly ___________________________________ Please contribute!!