  
                  *---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""
                                       
                                       
                     "The Original Online ST Magazine"
                      _______________________________


  November 10, 1989                                       Vol III  No.113
  =======================================================================
  
                         ST Report Online Magazine
                        __________________________
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                          Jacksonville,  Florida
                               32205 ~ 6672
  
                               R.F. Mariano
                            Publisher - Editor
                 _________________________________________
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               carrying STReport for their users  enjoyment

    __________________________________________________________________ 
    
 > Issue: #113 STReport        The Online Magazine of Choice! 
   --------------------
     - The Editors' Podium                   - CPU REPORT
     - The TT's GOALS                        - ST. LOUIS ATARIFAIR
     - The AWESOME Revolving DOOR            - KIDPRGS - DTP for KIDS!
     - ANDY REESE AT AUTOCADD!               - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL

         -==***  ATARI SET TO REVEAL "BIG PLANS" AT COMDEX! ***==-
               --==*  WORD FLAIR TO DEBUT AT COMDEX!  *==--
    -==** TT - STE - STACY - PORTFOLIO - LYNX: TO DEBUT AT COMDEX **==-
        
  =======================================================================
       AVAILABLE ON:      COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  BIX
  =======================================================================
    
 > The Editor's Podium

     COMDEX!!  Atari will be present and is reported to be loaded for bear!
 We hear that they will showing the 'small' TT (6  of 'em,  all hand made).
 We wish  all the  success in  the world  to Atari  and its especially neat
 product lineup this fall.  Comdex/Fall  1989  promises  to  bring  out the
 biggest turnout  the semiannual  function has seen to date.  This can only
 help Atari gain the exposure and prominence it deserves for  providing the
 home computer market with its excellent line of ST computers. 
  
     From the episode of the debut and premature announcement of TOS 1.4 by
 Chris Roberts (formally of Atari) to  the various  current events  we find
 certain aspects  of the  human element present.  Sometimes, the element is
 ambition, other times,  revenge  and  lastly  and  most  seriously ...ego.
 Unfortunately, there  are still  those at  Atari who  place their personal
 ambitions and egos before the well being of the company.  We  see this all
 too  well  in  recent  actions  and  decisions by the higher ups at Atari.
 Thankfully, these events are now floating to the surface of the noise pool
 and thus,  will soon  be seen  by all.   How refreshing to know that those
 events we and many others in the press and developer  community have known
 about for a long time will be clearly seen by everyone.  

     For example,  how smart is it for Atari to directly compete with those
 who spend many thousands of dollars to support Atari?  Considering we (the
 Atari ST Userbase) have some of the very best printing, wordprocessing and
 publishing programs the world has seen, we find it extremely  difficult to
 understand the logic behind their decision to tie up thousands of software
 engineering hours in producing  a program  that makes  a "feeble  and vain
 attempt at  competing" with  'real' programs.  This story will surface for
 all to see within a matter of weeks.

     Another prime example is the amount of time  and energy  that has been
 spent  in  trying  to  undo  the  damage  done  to  Atari's relations with
 developers from  every corner  of the  North American  Continent.  Atari's
 public statements  may reflect a wonderful and rosy atmosphere, but all it
 takes is one or two interviews with various developers and a startling and
 quite different  situation other  than Atari's representation will be very
 apparent.  One will hear of threats, intimidation,  stonewalling and worst
 of all,  a severe  lack of  trust in the "word" of Atari's software people
 from the very top on down.  Thus, the AAD.

     We ache for the day we too can hear the developers bragging  about the
 "wonderful"  support  Atari  offers  its  developers instead of hearing of
 developers being victimized and  made examples  of.   For example, Atari's
 informing the  FBI of  a developer  vocalizing discontent.  And of calling
 the police when a certain developer was supposed to appear at Atari  for a
 sincere business  oriented visit.   Of  having support developers work for
 many months on projects at  the  insistence  of  Atari  only  to  find the
 project  tabled  for  certain  'strange'  reasons.   How about trumping up
 allegations against a developer that will not hold water in  an attempt to
 discredit the developer..  all done to "impress the boss".  One has to sit
 back and say all these developers can't possibly  be "bad  people".  There
 has to be some other common denominator.  

     Until now,  the possibility  of uncovering  the underlying problem has
 been remote.  As stated before, the truth can only be stifled for so long.
 Over the  course of the next few weeks we, along with other members of the
 press, will be closely examining the entire situation, interviews etc...in
 an honest  and straight forward attempt to bring only the truth to light. 
 Hopefully, Atari and developers will emerge  from this  expose.. healthier
 and more productive.

     In the  meantime, again  we wish Jack, Sam and Atari Corp. the best of
 success at this fall's Comdex show.  

                                             Thanks for your support,
                                                   Ralph.....


   

                          "ATARI MUST ADVERTISE"

  **********************************************************************


                    :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
                     _________________________________

      To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.

               Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
                         Wait for the U#= prompt.
                    Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN.
             The system will prompt you for your information.


                THE GENIE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE - AN OVERVIEW
                ___________________________________________

 The Roundtable is an area of GEnie specifically  set aside  for owners and
 users of Atari ST computers, although all are welcome to participate.

 There are  three main  sections to the Roundtable: the Bulletin Board, the
 Software Library and the Real Time Conference area.

 The Bulletin Board contains messages from Roundtable members  on a variety
 of Topics,  organized under  several Categories.   These  messages are all
 Open and available for all to read (GEnie Mail should be used for private
 messages).  

 If you have a question, comment, hot rumor or an answer to  someone else's
 question, the Bulletin Board is the place to share it.

 The Software  Library is  where we  keep the  Public Domain software files
 that are available to all Roundtable members.   You can  'download' any of
 these files  to your own computer system by using a Terminal Program which
 uses the 'XMODEM' file-transfer method.  You can also share  your favorite
 Public Domain  programs and  files   with   other  Roundtable  members  by
 'uploading' them to the Software Library. Uploading on  GEnie is  FREE, so
 you are encouraged to participate and help your Roundtable grow.

 The Real  Time Conference  is an area where two or more Roundtable members
 may get together and 'talk' in    'real-time'.    You  can  participate in
 organized  conferences  with  special  guests,  drop in on our weekly Open
 COnference, or simply join  in  on  an  impromptu  chat  session.   Unlike
 posting messages  or Mail  for other  members to  read at some later time,
 everyone in the Conference area can see what you type immediately, and can
 respond to you right away, in an 'electronic conversation'.



  **********************************************************************




 > CPU REPORT
   ==========

   Issue # 40
   ----------

 by Michael Arthur


 Remember When....

     Gilman Louie,  CEO of  Spectrum Holobyte, wrote a letter to all of the
 major computer  magazines saying  that the  Atari ST  Userbase was riddled
 with software  pirates, implying that it was useless to write software for
 the Atari  ST, and  later, when  Spectrum Holobyte  introduced several new
 software products  for the ST because Tetris and ST Falcon had become such
 big bestsellers, and recently, when Gilman  Louie made  a cameo appearance
 in Commodore's  advertisements for  the Amiga,  which sanctioned it as THE
 low-end computer?



 CPU INSIGHTS
 =============

          RJ Mical, and the Rise and Fall of Amiga Computer Inc.
          ======================================================


     Gary Oberbrunner recently provided a great  source of  knowledge about
 this, by writing and posting this essay on the Amiga newsgroup (or message
 base) of Usenet.  It is a transcript of a  talk given  by R.J.  Mical, the
 programmer  who  designed  and  developed  the  Intuition  graphical  user
 interface for the Amiga, before  the  Boston  Computer  Society  in March,
 concerning the history of both the Commodore Amiga itself, and Amiga Inc.,
 the company who created it.  Except for  modifications in  its formatting,
 or presentation,  and various  notes placed  in this  text to provide more
 information on certain subjects, the content of Gary Oberbrunner's text is
 identical....


            The Early Days, Game Boxes, and the Guru Meditation
            ---------------------------------------------------

     On Monday  March 2, 1989, RJ Mical (=RJ=) spoke at the Boston Computer
 Society meeting in Cambridge.   Fortunately  I  was  momentarily possessed
 with an  organizational passion, and I took copious notes.  I present them
 here filtered only through my memory and my Ann Arbor.  My comments are in
 [square brackets].   What  follows is  a neutron-star condensed version of
 about three and one half hours of completely uninterrupted discussion....


          Amiga Computer Inc.  had  its  beginnings,  strangely  enough, RJ
          began, with  the idea of three Florida doctors who had a spare $7
          million to invest.

          They thought of opening a  department  store  franchise,  but (as
          RJ said)  they wanted  to try  something a bit more exciting.  So
          they decided to start a  computer company.   "Yeah,  that's it! A
          computer company! That's the ticket!  :-)"

          They found  Jay Miner, who was then at Atari, and Dave Morse, the
          VP of sales (you can  see  their  orientation  right  off..) they
          lifted from  Tonka Toys.   The  idea right  from the start was to
          make the most killer game box  they  could.    That  was  it, and
          nothing  more.    However  Jay  and  the techies had other ideas.
          Fortunately they concealed them  well,  so  the  upper management
          types still  thought they were just getting a great game machine.
          Of  course  the  market  for  machines  like  that   was  hot  in
          1982...

          They got the name out of the thesaurus; they wanted to convey the
          thought of friendliness, and Amiga was  the first  synonym in the
          list.   The fact  that it came lexically before Apple didn't hurt
          any either, said RJ.

          However, before they could  get  a  machine  out  the  door, they
          wanted to  establish a "market presence" which would give them an
          established name and some  distribution channels  - keep thinking
          "game  machine"  -  which  they  did  by  selling peripherals and
          software that they  bought  the  rights  to  from  other vendors.
          Principal among  these was  the Joyboard, a sort of joystick that
          you stand on, and you sway  and wiggle  your hips  to control the
          switches under the base.  They had a ski game of course, and some
          track & field type games that they sold with this  Joyboard.  But
          one game  the folks  at Amiga  Inc. thought up themselves was the
          Zen Meditation game, where you sat on the  Joyboard and  tried to
          remain perfectly motionless.

          This was  perfect relaxation from product development, as well as
          from the ski game.   And  in fact,  this is  where the  term Guru
          Meditation  comes  from;  the  only  way  to  keep sane when your
          machine crashes all the time is  the  ol'  Joyboard.    The execs
          tried to get them to take out the Guru, but the early developers,
          bless 'em, raised such a hue and cry they had  to put  it back in
          right away.


 (Note:   Recently, Commodore announced that the Term, "Guru Meditation"
          would not be in AmigaDOS 1.4....)


          When RJ interviewed with Amiga Computer (he had been at Williams)
          in July 1983, the  retail price  target for  the Amiga  was $400.
          Perfect for a killer game machine.  By the time he accepted three
          weeks later, the target was up to $600  and rising  fast.  Partly
          this was  due to  the bottom  dropping completely out of the game
          market; the doctors and the execs knew they had to have something
          more  than  just  another  game  box  to survive. That's when the
          techies'  foresight  in  designing   in   everything   from  disk
          controllers  to   keyboard  (yes   the  original   Amiga  had  NO
          KEYBOARD), ports, and disk drives began to pay off.

          The exciting part  of  the  Amiga's  development,  in  a  way its
          adolescence, that  magical time of loss of innocence and exposure
          to the beauties and cruelties of the real  world, began  as plans
          were made  to introduce it, secretly of course, at the Winter CES
          on January 4th, 1984.


            CES, the Amiga's Adolescence, and "Business is War"
            ---------------------------------------------------

     The software was done ten days before the CES, and running fine on the
 simulators.    Unfortunately  when  the  hardware  was  finally powered up
 several days later, (surprise) it  didn't  match  its  simulations.   This
 hardware, of  course, was  still not in silicon.  The custom chips were in
 fact large breadboards, placed vertically around a central  core and wired
 together round  the edges  like a  Cray.  Each of the three custom 'chips'
 had one of these towers, each one a mass of wires.   According to  RJ, the
 path  leading  up  to  the  first  Amiga  breadboard,  with  its  roll-out
 antistatic flooring, the antistatic walls just  wide enough  apart for one
 person to  fit through  and all  the signs saying Ground Thyself, made one
 think of nothing so much as an altar to some technology god.

     After working feverishly right up to the opening  minutes of  the CES,
 including most  everybody working  on Christmas, they had a working Amiga,
 still in breadboard, at the show in the booth in  a special  enclosed gray
 room, so  they could give private demos.  Unfortunately if you rode up the
 exhibit-hall escalator and craned your neck, you could  see into  the room
 from the top.

     The Amiga  was, RJ reminisced, the hardest he or most anyone there had
 ever worked.  "We worked with a great  passion...my most  cherished memory
 is  how  much  we  cared  about  what  we were doing.  We had something to
 prove...a real love for it.   We  created  our  own  sense  of  family out
 there."   RJ and  Dale Luck  were known  as the "dancing fools" around the
 office because they'd play  really  loud  music  and  dance  around during
 compiles to stay awake.

     After the  first successful  night of  the CES, all the marketing guys
 got dollar signs in their eyes because the Amiga made  SUCH a  splash even
 though they  were trying  to keep  it "secret."  And so, they took out all
 the technical staff for  Italian food,  everyone got  drunk and  then they
 wandered back  to the  exhibit hall  to work some more on demos, quick bug
 fixes, features that didn't work, and so on.  At CES everyone worked about
 20 hours a day, when they weren't eating or sleeping.

     Late  that  night,  in  their  drunken  stupor,  Dale  and  RJ put the
 finishing touches on what would become the canonical Amiga demo, Boing.

    At last! ...The true story is told.


        The Commodore Years:  Amiga Futures, and Business as Usual
        ----------------------------------------------------------


     After the CES, Amiga Inc. was very nearly  broke and  heavily in debt.
 It had  cost quite  a bit  more than  the original $7 million to bring the
 Amiga even that far, and lots more time and money were needed  to bring it
 to the  market.  Unfortunately the doctors wanted out, and wouldn't invest
 any more.  So outside funding was needed, and quick.

     The VP of Finance balanced things for a little while,  and even though
 they were  $11 million  in the  hole they  managed to  pay off the longest
 standing debts and  keep  one  step  ahead  of  Chapter  11.    After much
 scrounging, they  got enough  money to take them to the June CES; for that
 they had REAL WORKING SILICON.   People kept  peeking under  the skirts of
 the  booth  tables  asking  "Where's  the  REAL  computer generating these
 displays?"

     Now money started flowing and interest  was really  being generated in
 the media.   And  like most  small companies, as soon as the money came in
 the door it was spent.    More  people  were  added  -  hardware  folks to
 optimize and  cost-reduce the  design; software  people to  finish the OS.
 Even the sudden influx of  cash  was  only  enough  to  keep  them  out of
 bankruptcy, though; they were still broke and getting broker all the time.

     How much  WOULD have  been enough?    RJ said that if he were starting
 over, he'd need about $49 million to take the machine from design  idea to
 market.   Of course  Amiga Inc.  had nowhere near that much, and they were
 feeling the  crunch.    Everybody  tightened  their  belts  and persevered
 somehow.   They actually  were at  one point  so broke  they couldn't meet
 their payroll; Dave Morse, the VP of Sales, took out a second  mortgage on
 his house to help cover it, but it still wasn't enough.

     They knew  they were  going under,  and unless they could find someone
 quick to buy them out they were going to be looking for jobs very shortly.
 They talked  to Sony,  to Apple, to Phillips and HP, Silicon Graphics (who
 just wanted the chips) and even Sears.  Finally...they called Atari. (Boo!
 Hiss!   [literally -  the audience hissed at Jack Tramiel's name!]  Trying
 to be discreet, RJ's  only personal  comment on  Jack Tramiel  was (and it
 took him  a while  to formulate  this sentence) "an interesting product of
 the capitalist system."  Ahem.

     Apparently Tramiel  has  been  quoted  as  saying  "Business  is War."
 Tramiel  had   recently  left   Commodore  in  a  huff  and  bought  Atari
 "undercover" so that by the time he left C= he  was already  CEO of Atari.
 Realizing that  Commodore was  coming out with their own hot game machine,
 Tramiel figured he'd revenge  himself on  them for  dumping him  by buying
 Amiga Inc.  and driving C= down the tubes with "his" superior product.  So
 Atari gave  them half  a million  just for  negotiating for  a month; that
 money was gone in a day.

     Of course Tramiel saw that Amiga Inc. wasn't in a very good bargaining
 position; basically unless they were bought they were  on the  street.  So
 he offered  them 98  cents a  share; Dave  Morse held  out for $2.00.  But
 instead of bargaining in good faith, every time  Morse and  Amiga tried to
 meet them halfway their bid went down!


               Amiga Inc.:   "Okay, $1.50 a share."

               Jack Tramiel: "No, we think we'll give you 80 cents."

               Amiga Inc.:   "How about $1.25?"

               Jack Tramiel: "70 cents."


 And so on...

     Even Dave  Morse, the  staunchest believer in the concept that was the
 Amiga, the guiding light  who made  everyone's hair  stand on  end when he
 walked into the room, was getting depressed.  Gloom set in.  Things looked
 grim.

     Then, just three days before  the  month  deadline  was  up, Commodore
 called.   Two days  later they  bought Amiga Inc. for $4.25 a share.  They
 offered them $4.00, but Dave  Morse  TURNED  THEM  DOWN  saying  it wasn't
 acceptable to  his employees; he was on the verge of walking out when they
 offered $4.25.  He signed right then and there.


     Commodore gave them $27 million  for  development;  they'd  never seen
 that much money in one place before.  They went right out and bought a Sun
 workstation for every software person, with Ethernet and  disk servers and
 everything.  The excitement was back.

     Commodore  did  many  good  things  for  the  Amiga; not only did they
 cost-reduce it without losing much functionality, they had this concept of
 it as  a business  machine; this  was a  very different attitude from what
 Amiga Inc. had been  working  with.    Because  of  that  philosophy, they
 improved  the  keyboard    [ha!  -  garyo]   and made lots of other little
 improvements that RJ didn't elaborate on. 

     What could Commodore have given them that they didn't?   The one thing
 RJ  wanted  most  from  them  was  an extra 18 months of development time.
 Unfortunately Commodore wasn't exactly rich right then either, so they had
 to bring out the product ASAP  [and when is it ever any different?]  Also,
 he said, they could  have MARKETED  it.   (applause!).   If he'd  had that
 extra  18  months,  he  could  have  made Intuition a device rather than a
 separate kind of thing; he could have released it much more bug-free.


 The Future
 ----------

     RJ's advice for A1000 owners: "Keep what you've  got.   It's not worth
 it to  trade up.  The A1000 is really a better machine."  This may be sour
 grapes on RJ's part, since the  Amiga 2000  was designed  in Braunschweig,
 West Germany,  and the  version of  the A2000 being worked on in Los Gatos
 was rejected in favor of the Braunschweig-Commodore version.   However the
 A1000  compares  to  the  A2000,  though,  the  Los  Gatos 2000 would have
 certainly been better  than  either  machine.    C=  management  vetoed it
 because Braunschweig  promised a  faster design  turnaround (and, to their
 credit, were much faster in execution than the Los Gatos  group would have
 been) and  more cost-reduction,  which was their specialty.  Los Gatos, on
 the other hand, wanted a dream  machine with  vastly expanded capabilities
 in every  facet of the machine.  The cruel financial facts forced C= to go
 with the Business Computer Group, who did the  Sidecar in  Braunschweig as
 well, and quickly and cheaply.

     So  they  fired  more  than  half  the staff at the original Los Gatos
 facility, one by one.  That trauma was  to some  extent played  out on the
 net; no  doubt many  of you  remember it as a very difficult and emotional
 time.  There are now only six people  left in  Los Gatos,  and their lease
 expired in March, so thus expires the original Amiga group.

     And..  that's  how  RJ  ended  his  talk;  the  rise and fall of Amiga
 Computer Inc.  The future of the Amiga is now in the  hands of Westchester
 and Braunschweig, and who knows what direction it will take?


             Q & A Session:  Boston Computer Society and RJ Mical
             ----------------------------------------------------

          I'll  just  make  this  part  a  list  of technical questions and
 answers, since that was the format at the talk anyway.  This  part is part
 technical inquiries and part total rumor mill; caveat emptor.



               Questions are from the audience, Answers are =RJ=.

                        -----------------------------

 Q: Can you do double buffering with Intuition?
 A: Pop  answer: No.  Thought-out: well, yes, but it's not easy.  Use      
    MenuVerify and don't change the display while menus are up.  It's      
    pretty hairy.


 Q: How big is intuition (source code)?
 A: The  listings (commented) are about a foot thick, 60 lpp, 1 inch       
    margins.


 Q: Where did MetaComCo come into the Amiga story?
 A: MCC's AmigaDOS was a backup plan; the original Los Gatos-written       
    AmigaDOS was  done with some co-developers who dropped out due to      
    contract and money hassles when C= bought Amiga.  Then MCC had to crank
    EXTREMELY hard  to get their BCPL DOS into the system at the last      
    possible minute.


 Q: Why no MMU (support in the Amiga's Operating System)?
 A: Several reasons.  Obviously, cost was a factor.  MMUs available  at the
    time the  Amiga was designed also consumed system time [this is what he
    said- I'm just the scribe]; although newer MMUs solve this problem they
    were too late for the Amiga.

    Second, the  original goal of the Amiga was to be a killer game machine
    with easy low-level access, and an MMU didn't seem necessary for a game
    machine.

    Third [get  this!] with an MMU, message-passing becomes MUCH           
    hairier and slower, since in the Amiga messages are passed by just     
    passing a  pointer to someone else's memory.  With protection, either  
    public memory would need to be done and system calls issued to allocate
    it, etc.,  or the entire message would have to be passed.  Yecch.  So  
    the lack of MMU actually speeds up the basic operation of the Amiga    
    several fold.


 Q: Why no resource tracking?
 A: The original AmigaDOS/Exec had resource tracking; it's a shame it died.


 Q: How is your game coming? [??]
 A: It's  just now becoming a front-burner project.  It's number crunch    
    intensive; hopefully it will even take over the PC part of the 2000 for
    extra crunch.   It's half action, half strategy; the 'creation' part is
    done, only the playing part needs to be written.  Next question. :-)


 Q: Will there ever be an advanced version of the chip set?
 A: Well, Jay Miner isn't working on anything right now...    [RUMOR ALERT]
   The chip  folks left in Los Gatos who are losing their lease in March   
   were at one time thinking about 1k square 2meg chip space 128-color     
   graphics, although  still with 4 bit color DACs though... and even stuff
   like a blitter per plane (!!) They were supposed to be done  now, in the
   original plans;  the chip designers will be gone in March, but the      
   design may (?) continue in West Chester.  Maybe they'll be here two     
   years from now.

 Q: What will happen to the unused Los Gatos A2000 design?
 A: ??????


 Note:  
     The  Amiga  3000,  which  will  be  introduced in Fall Comdex, uses an
 Enhanced version of the Amiga's Chip Set.    It  also  uses  a  new design
 architecture, with greatly advanced capabilities and features.  Curiously,
 due to Acorn, a British Computer maker, using  the name  '3000' in  one of
 their computer  products, Commodore will reveal the NEW name for the Amiga
 3000 at its Fall Comdex introduction....)


 Q: Should I upgrade from my 1000 to a 2000?
 A: Probably not.  The 2000 isn't enough better to justify the cost.       
    Unless you  need the PC compatibility, RJ advocated staying with the   
    1000.  After all the 2000 doesn't have the nifty garage for the        
    keyboard...:-)   The A1000 keyboard is better built; you can have      
    Kickstart on disk; it's smaller and a LOT quieter, [maybe  not than the
    old internal  drives!!!] and uses less power; the 2000 has no composite
    video out, plus the RGB quality is a tad worse.  Composite  video (PAL 
    or NTSC) is an extra-cost option with the 2000.


 Q: Have you ever seen a working Amiga-Live!?
 A: Yes,  I've seen it taking 32-color images at 16fps, and HAM pictures at
    something like half that. [!!]  It's all done and working.  I don't    
    know why it's not out.  It sure beats Digiview at 8 seconds per image!


 Q: What do you use for Amiga development tools?
 A: DPaint and Infominder, Aztec C, Andy Finkel's Microemacs.


 Q: What's the future of the A1000?
 A: They  aren't making any right now; they're just shipping from stock.   
    But they do claim that they intend to continue making them.

 Note:  
     Shortly after  RJ  Mical's  talk,  news  surfaced  that  Commodore had
 decided to  not make anymore Amiga 1000s, but to make a unified front with
 the Amiga 2000....)


 Q: Who is the competition for Amiga right now?
 A: The new Macs are so expensive, they're not a threat to the 2000,  much 
    less the 1000.  Atari's new stuff "doesn't impress me."  [that's all he
    said.]


 Q: Why are the pixels 10% higher than wide?
 A: The hardware came out that way, and it would have been a pain  to do it
    any other way due to sync-rate-multiple timing constraints.


                        -----------------------------


     In the  history of human civilization, "origin epics", or tales of how
 a certain people, place, or entity came into existence, have always been a
 rich part  of a  society's cultural  heritage.   Only the most barbaric or
 short-lived of cultures did  not create  such sagas,  holding them  in the
 highest  of  regards.    In  the  computer industry, this type of folklore
 abounds, as the telling of tales like how the Apple  II was  made in Steve
 Jobs' garage,  Jack Tramiel  leaving Commodore,  the company he founded to
 seize Atari from the jaws of bankruptcy, and  other stories  have become a
 time-honored  part   of  the   computer  industry.     Of  all  the  major
 microcomputers,  only  the  Amiga  has  maintained  a  shroud  of  secrecy
 surrounding its  creation, and  eventual history.  While some points, like
 Jay  Miner's  involvement,  are  well-known,  many  of  the  other details
 concerning the  Amiga's history  (especially after  the time Commodore and
 Atari tried to buy it, and the ensuing  lawsuit) are  virtually obscure in
 the realm  of public knowledge.  Which, given the fact that, while many of
 the tales about the  computer industry's  past are  considered little more
 than "war  stories", the lessons that history teaches us through this form
 of folklore has been vital to  the advancement  of human  civilization, is
 truly tragic indeed....




 But ponder, if you will, these questions:

 1)  How would the computer industry be different today if Jack Tramiel had
     either bought Amiga Computer Inc., or stopped Commodore  from getting 
     the rights to the Amiga?

 2)  How important will the quality of the Presentation that Atari gives to
     introduce the 68030 TT and STE at Comdex be to their success,  given  
     the things  Commodore is reportedly planning to introduce the Amiga   
     3000?




 CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
 =======================



 London, England     The Law Commission's report on Criminal Law and
 ---------------     Computer Misuse recently proposed several new laws
                     to Parliament, concerning illegal activities performed
                     via computer.

                     The laws cover using computers for unauthorized entry
                     into computer systems (which gets a 3 month sentence),
                     breaking into a computer system with the intent of
                     participating in serious crimes committed while
                     accessing the system (which gets a 5 year sentence),
                     and intentionally spreading computer viruses, which
                     will result in a 5 year jail sentence....

                     Interestingly enough, many barristers (lawyers) and
                     and industry experts in computer law are fighting the
                     measure, saying that it is both unenforceable (due to
                     the lack of people trained to combat computer crimes),
                     inadequate (given that international activities are
                     not covered), and that it may actually encourage some
                     to engage in these types of activities, as a show of
                     will or a desire to "beat the system"....


 Cambridge, MA       Lotus has introduced a version of Lotus 1-2-3 for
 -------------       Tandy's DeskMate Graphical Environment for DOS.  While
                     it provides pull-down menus, dialog boxes, and other
                     versatility provided by GUI's, it is basically just a
                     new version of 1-2-3 Version 2.01.  1-2-3 for DeskMate
                     is expected to appeal to the home/small business
                     computer user.

                     Oddly, though, given that several major Software
                     companies, such as Lotus, WordPerfect and Ashton-Tate,
                     are reportedly not porting their software to run on
                     MS Windows because it would mainly benefit Microsoft
                     itself (who competes with them in many DOS software
                     arenas), and that many of these companies are porting
                     their products to OS/2 Presentation Manager, which is
                     sanctioned by IBM....


 Mountain View, CA   Texas Instruments has recently announced their new
 -----------------   Microlaser PS35 printer, which comes with 35 Adobe
                     Postscript fonts, 300 dpi with a Sharp engine, and
                     1 Meg of RAM.  Cost:  $3000.00

                     Interestingly enough, Adobe Systems worked with TI in
                     ensuring that Adobe Postscript was used for it.  And
                     since Postscript is in the Public Domain, TI didn't
                     have to pay any licensing fees.  Resulting in that the
                     Microlaser is the first Postscript printer in its
                     price range.  Given the combination of Postscript's
                     PD status, and Adobe's actions to provide support for
                     it (and to guide its development)....


 Cupertino, CA       A U.S. Federal Court has ruled that Apple Shareholders
 -------------       can sue Apple, with the claim that Apple misled them
                     about the abilities and flaws of the "Twiggy"
                     high-density drive, which Apple planned to bundle with
                     the Lisa computer in 1982.  It seems that, while Apple
                     Engineers warned about the Twiggy's reliability
                     problems, Apple company officials claimed that it was
                     more reliable than other high-density disk drives....

                     This episode brings up the following question:  If the
                     Apple shareholders win this suit, showing that Apple's
                     misleading statements caused them to buy Apple stock,
                     would shareholders of Atari stock be able to sue Atari
                     for either vaporware such as the CD-ROM drive, or
                     problems with Atari products which were known, but not
                     fixed?







   ____________________________________________________________________





 > The TT's Goals STR Spotlight     Where and Which Market?
   ============================ 



                                             EMBERS OF FAITH..ETERNAL
                                             ========================

 by R.F. Mariano


     Atari could convincingly have a superb year in the offing, considering
 the  fact  that  they  now  have  Richard Miller firmly entrenched in R&D.
 Miller, formally of Perihelion of the  UK, is  responsible for  the design
 and production  of such  masterful accomplishments  as the custom chips in
 the Stacy, TT and STE.  When working  in the  UK, he  was assigned  to the
 team working on the ATW.
  
     According to  Atari UK,  there are  three markets available for the TT
 they are: a) High level Education and Universities who seek a value packed
 '030 based  workstation.  b) The repeat Atari customer (buyer) who seeks a
 machine with  real  expansion  capabilities  and  opportunities  for solid
 software and  hardware development  potentials.  c) The omnipotent DTP, WP
 marketplace, this has  to  be  the  'giant'  for  Atari,  the  inroads and
 opinions of  those familiar with what Atari can offer and what is actually
 available is a very strong opportunity for Atari.  The Atari DTP - WP area
 is,  without  a  doubt,  the  most  cost  effective offering in existence,
 moreover, the quality is virtually unbeatable.

     The big question is will Atari  accept the  challenge and  tackle this
 marketing  opportunity  head  on?    Only  time  will  tell.  Honestly, we
 (STReport) see where the  TT has  actually enhanced  Atari's image  in the
 business and  professional community.  Again, Atari must take advantage of
 the situation for it to produce any positive results.  The main  thrust is
 of course,  the narrowing of price differences in the overall market.  The
 Mega series will continue and eventually be replaced  by the  TT series of
 '030 expandable  computers... this  simply has  to occur.  In the meantime
 one can easily see where Atari seemingly has "all the bases covered".  The
 next logical step is to take advantage of the "edge".
  
     We (STReport)  would like  to see  the Mega style cabinets continue in
 the US but, in the STE technology bracket.  In other words, perpetuate the
 comfortable  Mega  type  -  2  piece  design,  but put the STE guts in the
 cabinets.  Atari would then be offering first  class packages  all the way
 'round.  The STE and the TT will definitely provide Atari with the "flying
 V"  needed  to  purposely  penetrate  the  Home  and   Business  computing
 marketplace with  a vengeance  in the  coming months.   But, only if Atari
 doesn't get cold feet.  They must advertise  first then  look to cultivate
 the distribution  networks both  for sales  and service.  Excuses will not
 make it in 1990, the userbase and computer  market have  had all  they can
 tolerate.    Posted  results  will  be  the only indicator of Atari's true
 ambitions in the US marketplace.

     The entry level TT is really  a  souped  up  ST,  a  faster processor,
 better expansion  capabilities, enhanced  graphic modes  and much improved
 sound output potential.  The internal memory can expanded to  8mb via plug
 in SIMMs  .. it  is possible to expand the memory to 26mb with 4mbit simms
 when they become cost effective.  

 A few other juicy tidbits include, 

     512k OS                  VME Expansion Bus        network interface
     two serial ports         ASCI & SCSI ports        8bit Stereo PCM
     4096 Color Palette

 Graphics Modes:
                     320x200 / 320x480 with 256 colors
                          640x480 with 16 colors
                            1280x960 monochrome
                        640x400 Duochrome 2 colors
  





     _________________________________________________________________





 > ST Louis Atari Fair STR FOCUS        "ISS DAWT YOU???"
   =============================


 ctsy GEnie RT


                                   ATARI SUPPORT ARRIVES IN ST. LOUIS
                                   ==================================


 by MAT.RAT




     At one time Atari was at least 5 dealers strong in the St. Louis area.
 Now  there  is  only  one  left,  and  we have fought hard to keep them in
 business.

     Bob Brodie, user group coordinator, is helping us  with that.   He has
 come all the way from Sunnyvale California to attend the McDonnell Douglas
 Recreational Computer Club fair  tomorrow.    He  spent  the  evening with
 officers of  other local  Atari computer  clubs, listening  to our gripes,
 accumulating information, and making  notes on  what needs  to be  done to
 improve  Atari  product  availability  and  end user satisfaction.  He's a
 straight  shooter.    He  doesn't  make  glib  predictions  about  "future
 products" or  "definite delivery  dates".  He isn't afraid to say "I don't
 know", and give the best answer he can.   He  admits Atari  needs to  go a
 long way  to win  back Atari  users and  redevelop a  strong base of Atari
 dealers in the US. This is one important step, and we're very pleased with
 Atari and Mr. Brodie for their efforts.

     At our  show Atari will demonstrate the Megafile 44, a 44MEG removable
 cartridge hard drive for the ST.  The Stacy with  the Spectre  GCR will be
 demo'ed, to  blow the  minds of  all the  Macintosh users. The super duper
 huge monochrome monitor for the Mega, a 1024 by 960 display device,  is to
 be demo'ed as well.  And the Portfolio is here.  This is one sexy machine.
 All the connections are available to  give it  RS232, Parallel,  or even a
 hand held floppy disk drive. If Atari doesn't develop this latter product,
 someone else will.  It's one  cool device,  whose biggest  drawback is the
 smallness of  the display.   However, with all its built in software, it's
 still quite functional.  




                                                  AN OVERVIEW OF THE SHOW
                                                  =======================

 by Ron Robinson
  
  
     The McDonnell Douglas/St. Louis Computer Fair was held  in Building 33
 of  the  McDonnell  Engineering  Campus  today.    Several thousand people
 enjoyed viewing  a  wide  variety  of  computers  ranging  from  the Timex
 Sinclair to the NeXT.

     Atari turned  out to be the sunrise hit of the show thanks to the well
 orchestrated displays and demonstrations  of  the  entire  range  of Atari
 hardware.   Crowds around  the Atari area were typically two to four times
 larger than those observing the other computer families.  I  couldn't help
 but grin  as I  heard "Atari  makes computers  too?" from  folks strolling
 through.  The various local Users  Groups, Randall's  Computers, and Atari
 all contributed to the Atari area at the show.

     Items demonstrated  at the  Fair never before widely seen in St. Louis
 included the Stacey, Spectre GCR, MegaFile  44 removable  cartridge drive,
 Moniterm  Monitor,  Atari  Laser  Printer,  the  T16 Accelerator board, PC
 Speed, and the Portfolio. 

     This was my first opportunity to see the STacey.  The machine  at this
 show was  a production  prototype that  contained 4 meg of memory and a 40
 meg hard drive.  The blue  backlighted LCD  screen was  sharp and  easy to
 read.    The  keyboard  had  a  very  nice feel with a positive click when
 pressing a key.  The trackball will take some getting used to.  I though a
 little extra  friction on the ball would help keep the cursor from running
 away.  Bob Brodie indicated the machine did not have a Blitter or internal
 modem in  its current configuration.  He also gave me the impression Atari
 is as anxious to start shipping STacey as  are those  waiting.    Atari is
 currently working  towards FCC  approval of the machine.  I hope so, Atari
 will not have any trouble selling these guys.

     Calamus occupied a Mega 4 connected  to the  Moniterm Monitor  most of
 the day printing documents to the Atari Laser Printer.  The Moniterm is as
 wonderful as every one has claimed,  the  Atari  Laser  is  faster  than I
 imagined.  The MegaFile 44 was also connected to this machine.  Bob Brodie
 indicated he thought the MegaFile 44 should be very close to release.

     A VCR in the front rest area played  ST generated  video animations to
 the enjoyment  of those  needing to rest their feet.  Another ST displayed
 animations real time.  Sterling Webb, the author  of Seurat  (published in
 the 3/89  issue of  STart) demo'ed  his latest  creation that allowed full
 screen manipulation of IMG files in color.    He  had  not  decide  how to
 sell/distribute the program at this time.

     MIDI  demo's  made  sure  the  entire  hall knew where the ST area was
 situated. Members of the MIDI Sig showed all  the latest  in MIDI hardware
 and software.   I noticed the Amiga Sig on the other end of the hall never
 did get their MIDI hardware operational.

     PC Speed performed flawlessly throughout the show.  It also flawlessly
 emulated how boring the PeeCee's really are ;-)  The Portfolio generated a
 lot of interest also.  I wonder if Bob ever  got a  chance to  show it off
 over in the IBM end of the hall?

     The  Spectre  GCR  generated  a  great deal of interest from Atari and
 Macintosh users alike (a Mac Portable was at the show also).   Many of the
 top Mac products were loaded into the machine and demonstrated.  Operation
 was so easy and straight forward most people  didn't even  notice the GCR.
 Claude Bramwell  of the MDC RCC Atari Sig was successful in getting Adobie
 Type Manager operating under GCR with  a  Star  printer  during  the show,
 generating some very nice printed output.

     Towards the end of the show, the Spectre GCR was moved to the Mega/T16
 providing a pronounced performance increase.   Several people  who use the
 Mac every day were noticeably impressed (me too).

     A  couple  of  Atari  8  bit  machines faithfully demonstrated Atari's
 roots.   Matt Ratcliff  had his  latest software  creation displaying full
 resolution Degas pictures on a monochrome 130XE screen.

     Local Atari  users particularly appreciated the visit by Bob Brodie of
 Atari and Jeff Williams of GEnie.  Bob  and Jeff  kept busy  answering the
 same questions a thousand times while showing off the STacey and Portfolio
 to all.  After  the  show,  members  from  the  three  local  users groups
 accompanied  Bob  and  Jeff  for  supper  before the area wide users group
 meeting.

     The Users Groups meeting was opened  by  Bob  Brodie  giving  a little
 history of  how and  why he  came to Atari.  Jeff Williams presented GEnie
 and the services it offers (half those present have GEnie  accounts).  The
 meeting then  moved on  to a  very frank and open 2 1/2 hour discussion of
 Atari and its future.  The bottom line was the impression that Atari users
 have a  valuable resource  in the  form of  Bob Brodie  listening to their
 needs within Atari.  We, as  Atari users,  share responsibility  in having
 our needs met, by effectively communicating what we need from Atari.






     ________________________________________________________________






 > The 'REVOLVING DOOR' STReport InfoFile     The "Beat goes On"....
   ======================================




       Chronicles of the Revolving Door:  From Babbitt to Sig Hartmann
       ---------------------------------------------------------------

 May 9-16, 1988

       - Chuck Babbit hired as President of Atari Computer (US Division)
       - Tony Gould hired as VP of Sales
       - new telemarketing group, newsletter person added
       - Neil Harris made Director of Product Marketing for Atari Computer,
         (oversaw efforts to send Federated staff thru training program)

 June 6-13, 1988

       - Chuck Babbitt "left" Atari.
       - Richard Frick "left" Atari.

 June 13-27, 1988

       - Augie Ligouri, Mel Stevens become Vice Presidents at Atari.
       - Tony Gould "left" Atari.


 July 11-18, 1988

       - Larry Samuels, of Atari Dealer support, left Atari.

 August 15-29, 1988

       - Garry Tramiel is made Vice President "in charge" of Federated

 September 21 - October 3, 1988

       - Neil Harris voluntarily resigns from Atari to work for the GEnie
         Information Service.
       - Alex Leavens was "encouraged" to leave Atari, for "spending too
         much time online"....
       - Landon Dyer, who wrote most of the ST's BIOS (GEMDOS), resurfaces
         at Apple after leaving Atari.

 February 10-17, 1989

       - Frank Foster, formerly of Hybrid Arts, gets Michael Pender to
         narrate 3 TV Commercials for the Atari ST, as one of his first
         actions at Atari.

       - Vincent Giammatteo emerges as the President of Atari Computers.

 March 17-24, 1989

       - Cindy Claveran, Usergroup and Developer Co-Ordinator at Atari,
         resigns.  She formerly replaced Sandy Austin, who "left" Atari
         in Late 1988....

 April 4-7, 1989

       - Shiraz Shivji, the designer (or "Father") of the Atari ST, resigns
         from Atari, amid rumors that he was fighting off a "power grab" by
         another prominent Atari Executive...."The Chef"

 April 1-14, 1989

       - Vince Giammatteo "left" Atari.
       - Sig Hartmann is given Mr. Giammatteo's duties, and is designated
         as Executive Vice President of Atari Computer, and President of
         Atari O.E.M. Sales.
       - Antonio Salerno becomes Vice President of U.S. Software, in charge
         of Technical and Developer Support, Equipment Sales, etc.

 June 8-10, 1989

       - Julius Oklamcak, once Head of Atari Canada, resigns from Atari
         under amicable circumstances, and joins the top notch staff at ISD
         Marketing.

 June 30, 1989

       - Chris Roberts becomes Atari's User Group Coordinator

 August 11-18, 1989

       - Mike Dendo, Vice President of Sales and Dealer Support, "left"
         Atari amid many controversial rumors....
       - Chris Roberts "left" Atari.
       - Bob Brodie is appointed the new Usergroup Coordinator, assuming
         Chris Roberts' duties.  Is still working at Atari....

 September 1-8, 1989

       - Atari's entire marketing sales force is dismissed, and Atari
         hires an outside company as their sales team.
       - Augie Ligouri becomes Atari Computer's Vice President and General
         Manager.

 September 22-29, 1989

       - H. Michael Morand becomes President of Atari Computer.

 October 16, 1989

       - Bill Crouch is hired as Atari's Vice President of Sales, by Mike
         Morand.

 October 27 - November 3, 1989

       - Sig Hartmann ceremoniously retires, leaving Atari Corp. under very
         amicable circumstances....

 November 06, 1989

        - Charles Cherry, formally of Antic software, joins Atari as A.    
          Salerno's assistant and online representative....


 Editor Note:
     The reason  for the history lesson is "simple".... History is about to
 repeat itself and we wanted to make sure everyone has  a clear  picture of
 the cyclic  rhythm so  very much  in evidence  once every six months, soon
 after or right before a Comdex show...





    ___________________________________________________________________



 > ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL       Sayin' it like it is.....
   ======================




 - Sunnyvale, CA  ***** LAST MINUTE FIX ASSURES DEBUT OF MONITERM & TT ****
   -------------


     Amid a frenzied flurry  of "must-do  activity" the  last minute quirks
 were  ironed  out  and  now  the  TT readily recognizes the software calls
 leading to a display on the  mighty  moniterm  big  screen  monitor.   All
 involved breathed a huge sigh of relief when all ran well.  Look for the 6
 TTs to put on quite show at COMDEX..



 - San Francisco, CA.            **** ANDY REESE LEAVES START MAGAZINE ****
   ------------------


     Andy Reese, popular Editor for Start magazine, has left the offices of
 Start magazine.   Reportedly,  Andy left amid very good relations and left
 to further his career.  We wish Andy all luck and success at AutoCadd.



 - Sunnyvale, CA.                ****  SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER!   ****
   --------------

     At a  time when  Atari is  professing to  want excellent relationships
 with its  developer corp.,  and whilst certain of its executives were busy
 mending "rough roads" last month at  WAACE.      One  of  its  more "eager
 beaver" types  was busy  HACKING off  heads!   As this  story of treachery
 unfolds, you will be kept abreast of each development.   As of  now, there
 are those  at Atari who have expressed that this act was, without a doubt,
 the most ridiculous decision they had ever witnessed.  To further compound
 matters, when  they saw the true chronological account of what occurred as
 opposed to alleged accusations, immediately agreed  that the  decision was
 indeed  flawed.    They  did  however,  offer the thought that perhaps the
 executive who made the decision had been grossly  misled and mis-informed,
 thus resulting in this totally avoidable situation.




 - Miami, FL. *** Softlogik -> CHECK EARLY PAGESTREAM 1.8 RELEASE DISKS ***
   ----------

     Soft Logic,  through Jack Durre, this afternoon notified STReport of a
 key virus being found on about  100-150 disks  released by  SL included in
 the 10.00  upgrade package.   Those  persons who ordered the 25.00 upgrade
 package need not be concerned with  this notice  as none  of those upgrade
 packages have been shipped yet and will be checked before being shipped.
  
     Dealers carrying  the upgrade  package have  been notified,  and as of
 this afternoon, none have reported the  existence of  the virus  on any of
 disks in the dealer packs.
  
     Once again,  this is  the "Key Virus" and can be clobbered with any of
 the virus vaccination programs.  Be sure to do so as soon as possible.
  
     STReport applauds Soft-Logic and Jack Durre for being straight forward
 and  candid  in  bringing  this  information  to  the  users  as  FAST  as
 possible...  We wish to express our thanks to them for having  done so and
 for showing  all of  us they  have the  best interests  of the userbase at
 heart.




 - Washington, D.C.         *****  DESKSET II - Room for Improvement *****
   ----------------

     DeskSET II, the much heralded  Page  Design  and  Desk  Top Publishing
 system, may,  when it's  ready to  be marketed,  be a contender in the DTP
 field, at this time though, since it's saddled with the  handicap of being
 able to  output only  to the  SLM 804,  is aimed at a very limited market.
 It's back to the drawing boards time.  Hopefully, when this is released it
 will interface  with and  work with  other printers.  In our opinion, this
 program is not finished,  nor is  it ready  for release.   In  fact, Atari
 would be  well advised to stay with hardware and leave the software to the
 developers who are in place at this time.  The third party software in the
 DTP - TYPO fields are among the BEST in the WORLD.  The last thing we need
 is to see Atari driving these developers away!  

     Also, Atari has reportedly sold a few thousand  SLM804 laser printers.
 If one  considers the  cost of  developing DESKSET II, (approx 1-2 hundred
 thousand dollars), coupled with the fact that this program only outputs to
 a SLM804.   Where is the profit in this endeavor considering the number of
 SLM804 units in use?




 - San Francisco                   ******   WORD FLAIR READY TO GO!  ******
   -------------


     Lauren Sellers is elated!  After  having gone  through the  trials and
 tribulations of bringing a program to market she can actually exclaim with
 glee that she did it!   WORD FLAIR,  will offered  directly by  L. Sellers
 until Jan.  and at  that time will be in the normal distribution channels.
 As an inducement to acquaint Atari ST users with the  program, Ms. Sellers
 told us  that there  would be a Demo of the program made available through
 the online services.  Also, until January, Word Flair will be offered at a
 special introductory price of $79.95.   Word Flair approaches the field as
 a fine document processing package.   We wish Ms. Sellers super success in
 marketing Word  Flair.   The program is reported to be excellent by "other
 non-biased observers".




 - St. Louis, MO.             ******  ATARI'S NEW SECRET WEAPON!!  ******
   --------------                     MORE KUDOS FOR BOB BRODIE!

     There has been much  praise of  Atari's latest  User Group Coordinator
 Bob Brodie.   I would like to take this opportunity to add my voice to the
 throngs.  In my recent dealings  with Mr.  Brodie I  found him  to be very
 personable and helpful.  In fact, I and several officers of our user group
 are going to be in attendance at COMDEX as a direct result of Mr. Brodie's
 efforts!
     
                        AN OPEN PLEA TO SAM TRAMIEL
                        ===========================

     Not able  to comment  on any  of the other new appointees to the upper
 management at Atari but in my encounter with Mr. Brodie as an  active user
 group member  I feel  he is  definitely a gem in what, we hope, is quickly
 becoming a glittering crown!

     Obviously no one except you can  make crucial  personnel decisions but
 please  know  that  we,  the  users,  think  that  Mr.  Brodie is doing an
 excellent job!  It is our  sincerest hopes  and wishes  that you  KEEP BOB
 BRODIE and stop or at least slow down the revolving door.
                                               
            
 Editor Note:

     The above  note came to us via the FNET system and, at the time, there
 must've been severe line  noise.   We will,  when we  identify the author,
 make him  known to  the readers.  We felt since Mr. Brodie is doing such a
 wonderful job  for Atari  and its  usergroups that  this simply  had to be
 shown to all our readers.  If you agree with this note (like we do) please
 drop Sam Tramiel a card or Brodie email  and let  either of  them know how
 you feel.... Atari must hang on to the good ones.





     ________________________________________________________________







 > Kiddie Publishing STReport InfoFile  High Quality DTP for youngsters!
   ===================================


  
  
 For Immediate Release...
  
                            ANNOUNCING:
  
                     Kidpublisher Professional
          A Desktop Publishing Program for Young Writers
                   a kidprg(tm) in GFA Basic 3.0
               Copyright 1989,1990 by D.A. Brumleve
  
                           Programmers:
                        D.A. Brumleve, M.A.
                       T.R. Brumleve, Ph.D.
  
                      Educational Consultant:
                         M.L. Marks, M.Ed.
   
 The new Kidpublisher Professional (6.0) features:
  
    * an expanded, improved, and completely-rewritten version of
           the freely-distributed careware program, Kidpublisher
    * a faster word processor with word wrap and an underline 
           function
    * an automatically-loaded user-definable font set (four sets 
           included)
    * an expanded drawing program with features such as LINE, BOX, 
           CIRCLE, FILL, and the all-important UNDO
    * autobooting disk for completely independent use by children
    * extra labels for use on the child's disk copies
    * automatic loading of any title, story, or picture previously
           saved to disk
    * movement of text cursor with mouse or arrow keys
    * drawing with mouse or arrow keys
    * controlled keyboard repeat rate to prevent accidental over-
           deletion by heavy-handed young typists   
    * picture icons and color-coding to speed program learning
           time 
    * familiar, consistent kidprg(tm) format
    * a title-page option with automatic centering of title,
           author, and illustrator
    * limited alert boxes and options for ease of use 
    * (in contrast to children's desktop publishing programs
           available for other computers) allows the child to
           draw his own pictures, type his own words, express
           his own creativity; no adult-drawn graphics are
           provided to discourage personal expression!
  
                     Recommended for Ages 5-11  
  
        Minimum Requirements: Color 520ST with Single-Sided Drive
  
               Printer Must Accept an ST Screen Dump
  
                    Program Not Copy-Protected
      (In fact, owners are encouraged to make multiple copies
   for all children in their same household or school building!)
  
 Package includes:
    * specially-labelled red original disk, with an icon denoting
           this program
    * extra labels for your child's own copies
    * simplified child's manual
    * full instructions for parents and teachers
  
     To order, see your dealer or send a check for US $25.00 with
                     your name and address to:
  
  
                               D.A. BRUMLEVE
                         KIDPUBLISHER PROFESSIONAL
                               P.O. BOX 4195
                          URBANA, IL  61801-8820
  
  
                         Dealer inquiries welcome.
                  Special versions are available to meet 
          special needs.  Contact the developer for information.




     _________________________________________________________________


  



 > Hard Drive Info STReport InfoFile    Affordable Mass Storage
   =================================
  
  


                        NEW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
                       ============================


                      ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
              P.O. Box 6672  Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
                                Est.  1985
                 _________________________________________

                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                     BBS: 904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST
                    FAX: 904-783-3319  12 PM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________
                                        
                   HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
                   _____________________________________
                                        
   All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
                 are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
                                        
              ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE
                 (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
                   (all cables and connectors installed)
                                        
                   RUGGED SEAGATE HARD DISK MECHANISMS 

   * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *

         32mb #SG32238   549.00              42mb #SG44710   619.00
         51mb #SGN4951   629.00              65mb #SG60101   689.00
         80mb #SGN296    729.00             100mb #SG84011D  949.00
        130mb #SG1244D  1099.00             145mb #SG3A421  1110.00
        170mb #SGT41776 1389.00             260mb #SG1244Q  2169.00
                          320mb #SGN7788Q 3295.00

           Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
      Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
    (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)

                --> CALL for Special Holiday Discounts <--
                                     
            *** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***

    ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> MAGIC SAC - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR
                                        
             LARGER units are available - (special order only)

        * Removable Media Devices NOW Available (44mb) Syquest 555 *
                      * SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICES *

                    EXTRA CARTRIDGES: 97.95  (anytime)

               * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *

     - SYQUEST 44 MB removable media drive     - ICD ST Host Adapter
     - ICD Mass Storage Utility Software       - 3' DMA Cable 
     - Fan & Clock                             - Multi-Unit Power Supply
                          (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.

                 Completely Assembled and READY TO RUN!  
                              ONLY $869.00  
  
 We would  offer floppy drives..  but Computer Shopper has 'em at the right
 price.  And.. you can plug 'em right into our cabinets and power supplies.
 Low-Boy  OR  Standard  Case  (designed  with room for another 3.5 OR 5.25"
 drive)  They're made for user expansion!  TRUE UPGRADE-ABILITY!
   
   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                        SPECIALLY PRICED  $1529.00 

    * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
         - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
          50mb SQG51   $1299.00           30mb SQG38    $1219.00
          65mb SQG09   $1339.00           85mb SQG96    $1399.00
                       
                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS

       - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets - 
                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

                       -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
                         (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)

                 Quantity & Usergroup Discounts Available!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!

                 Personal and Company Checks are accepted.

                            ORDER YOURS TODAY!

                       904-783-3319    9am - 8pm EDT






      _______________________________________________________________





 > A "Quotable Quote"
   =================




         "1989 WILL BE A WONDERFUL YEAR, YOU WILL MAKE JILLIONS!"

                                             ...Zorro Hartmann
  


                             "ATARI IS BACK?"

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ST-REPORT Issue #113   "Your Independent News Source"   November 10, 1989
                    ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  copyright 1989
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the  editors,  staff,  ST  Report  or CPU Report.  Reprint permission is
 hereby granted, unless otherwise noted.    All  reprints  must  include ST
 Report or  CPU Report  and the  author's name.   All information presented
 herein is believed correct, STReport or CPU Report, it's editors and staff
 are not responsible for any use or misuse of information contained herein.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------


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