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From:     INFO-ATARI16-REQUEST@MIL.ARMY.WSMR-SIMTEL20
Subject:  INFO-ATARI16 Digest V89 #520
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INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Sat, 14 Oct 89       Volume 89 : Issue 520
 
Today's Topics:
                             Disk Speedup
                     pack and speed of execution
                     PC Ditto wanted (+ Mac help)
                   PORTFOLIO is *not* vaporware...
                            size of STeVIe
         TOS 1.4 features??? (Was Re: Disk Speedup) (2 msgs)
                           TOS 1.4 problem
              Wanted: Info on DEGAS picture compression
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Date: 13 Oct 89 17:44:24 GMT
From: portal!atari!apratt@uunet.uu.net  (Allan Pratt)
Subject: Disk Speedup
 
hcj@lzaz.ATT.COM (HC Johnson) writes:
>In article <1725@atari.UUCP>, jansen@atari.UUCP (Mark O. Jansen) writes:
>> >  Is there a program that will speed up disk access on my hard disk? I
>> >  ...Does TOS 1.4 help with this ? What can I do in the meantime?
>> Yes, Rainbow TOS (a.k.a. TOS 1.4) helps with this.  A LOT.  ...
 
>... After 16-20 meg of copying, it gets noticeably SLOW!
 
It may be slow, but good lord, not as slow as TOS 1.2!
 
The "slow" part is the first write to a new file.  GEMDOS looks for the
first free cluster in the FAT, always starting from the beginning. When
there are 16 solid MB of allocated clusters, that's a lot of FAT
sectors to check before finding a free cluster.  On TOS 1.2, this is
REALLY APPALLINGLY SLOW!  On TOS 1.4, this is kind of slow. On TOS 1.4
with enough GEMDOS disk buffers to keep the whole FAT in RAM, it is
REALLY FAST!  Try Dfree on a 32MB partition in under 1 sec!
 
(Allocating the second, third, ... n'th cluster is not slow, because
there the search begins with the previous cluster, not the start of the
FAT.)
 
Ken Bad should have posted "CACHEXXX.PRG" here - if he hasn't, I'm
sure he will.  If you use it and be sure XXX is equal to the sum of the
FAT sizes (in sectors) of your disks, GEMDOS will load them  up once
and never have to hit the disk for reading a FAT again!
 
It is not the case that the FAT is written after each allocation. It's
written when a buffer is re-used or the file is closed.
 
============================================
Opinions expressed above do not necessarily	-- Allan Pratt, Atari Corp.
reflect those of Atari Corp. or anyone else.	  ...ames!atari!apratt
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 14 Oct 89 07:05:23 GMT
From: portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle@uunet.uu.net
Subject: pack and speed of execution
 
George Ng asks:
>Does the pack compression program slow down the execution of a program?
 
No...  PACK doesn't affect the execution speed of a program at all..
 
Essentially what PACK does is to create a "self dissolving" ARChive of
a program...  when you load it, it "unPACKs" itself into memory, and
becomes the same as if you'd loaded a normal version of the program..
 
In addition to the savings in disk storage space, LARGE programs may actually
load FASTER when they're packed...  this is because the smaller PACKed
file loads in less time than the original file does,  and the unPACKing takes
place in RAM, which is very fast...
 
Probably the best answer would be for you to try it yourself and see how
it works for you...
 
BobR
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 13 Oct 89 11:41:00 GMT
From: pur-phy!tippy!roger@ee.ecn.purdue.edu
Subject: PC Ditto wanted (+ Mac help)
 
Does anyone out there have a copy of PC Ditto that they are willing to sell? I'd
 like to buy a copy (lppreferably with DOS 3.2 on 3 1/2" disk.) Let me know f
 you have one for sale. I also need Macintosh system and finder files in Magic
Sac format. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks - tippy!roger@newton.physics.purdue.edu
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 14 Oct 89 06:53:51 GMT
From: portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle@uunet.uu.net
Subject: PORTFOLIO is *not* vaporware...
 
Larry Rymal says:
 
>    With all the usual talk of "Atari's blown it again, etc., ad nausem"
>from many on this net, including myself, it might be refreshing to know
>that product is arriving, at least in this little neck of the woods, this
>IBM and Mac world that I live in.
 
    ...
 
>    Anyway, I think the door is beginning to open.
 
 
Yes...   but...   the door to what...?
 
I agree that the Portfolio is not "vaporware", but then again, what exactly
IS it..?
 
Is it something that will benefit Atari ST owners..?    No..
 
Is it something that will help promote the Atari ST name in the computing
industry...?    No...
 
Is it something that will be of use to anyone other than owners of IBM PC
and PC clones..?   No...   (not unless you can justify a $400 "phone list")
 
Is it a "standalone" computer..?   No...
 
Is it an economical answer for someone wanting to get into "computers"..?
   No...
 
So...  what exactly IS the Portfolio...?
 
As I see it, the Portfolio is an accessory for an IBM PC system... much
like a fancy monitor stand, or a gizmo that holds papers for you to type
into your text editor...  it  WILL  help you do things like taking notes
on an airplane, or entering "travelling salesman" figures "on the spot"...
but...   that seems to me to be an awfully limited usefulness..
 
If you DON'T have an IBM PC style system, a Portfolio is an expensive toy...
 
No, it's NOT "vaporware"... but neither is the $50 gizmo that makes peanut
butter in your kitchen...  who needs it..?
 
BobR
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 14 Oct 89 10:16:39 GMT
From: portal!cup.portal.com!BUGGS@uunet.uu.net  (William Edward JuneJr)
Subject: size of STeVIe
 
> removesym (posted a little while back for removing symbol tables)
 
Posted where?! I'c like a copy of this!
 
                ~S/B I'd, eh?
 
 
Ed June
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 13 Oct 89 18:56:24 GMT
From: portal!atari!jpatton@uunet.uu.net  (J. E. Patton)
Subject: TOS 1.4 features??? (Was Re: Disk Speedup)
 
in article <1113@electro.UUCP>, carlo@electro.UUCP (Carlo Sgro) says:
>
> In article <1725@atari.UUCP> jansen@atari.UUCP (Mark O. Jansen) writes:
>>I'd recommend you get Rainbow TOS, for this and lots of other reasons.
>
> Well, what are those reasons??  I've seen a LOT of discussion about 1.4 but
> I still haven't seen a summary of its new features and how to use them.  Is
> this asking too much (honest question!)?
>
>
> --
>
> Carlo Sgro                             ... but does Bo know nuclear physics?
> watmath!watcgl!electro!carlo
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 13 Oct 89 20:36:06 GMT
From: portal!atari!jpatton@uunet.uu.net  (J. E. Patton)
Subject: TOS 1.4 features??? (Was Re: Disk Speedup)
 
in article <1728@atari.UUCP>, jpatton@atari.UUCP (J. E. Patton) says:
>
> in article <1113@electro.UUCP>, carlo@electro.UUCP (Carlo Sgro) says:
>>
>> In article <1725@atari.UUCP> jansen@atari.UUCP (Mark O. Jansen) writes:
>>>I'd recommend you get Rainbow TOS, for this and lots of other reasons.
>>
>> Well, what are those reasons??  I've seen a LOT of discussion about 1.4 but
>> I still haven't seen a summary of its new features and how to use them.  Is
>> this asking too much (honest question!)?
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Carlo Sgro                             ... but does Bo know nuclear physics?
>> watmath!watcgl!electro!carlo
Dealers are now receiving information sheets along with
their Rainbow TOS orders.  If your dealer hasn't ordered
the new TOS recently he may not have it, but his contact
in dealer services at Atari Corp. will be happy to send
it to him.
 
In short the addendum addresses:
 
   1. The file selector (expanded drive selector,improved wildcards).
   2. Moving files by holding down [Control] as you click on and drag
      selected files.
   3. Skip option available for group copying.
   4. Aborting group move, copy, or delete operation by holding
      down [Undo].
   5. Disks formatted are fully MS-DOS compatible.
   6. The Install Applications option allows you select an application
      to auto-boot.
   7. Copy and Format dialogs have been combined.
   8. Folders can be renamed.
   9. The [Control][Alt][Delete] sequence will reset your computer.
      The [Control][Alt][Right Shift][Delete] causes a cold boot.
 
The addendum does not address improvements such as improved
FAT searches or a more responsive mouse.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                            ...ames!atari!jpatton
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 14 Oct 89 06:06:23 GMT
From: portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle@uunet.uu.net
Subject: TOS 1.4 problem
 
Paul Close observed:
>When I bought TOS 1.4 from my dealer I got a nice, four page document from
>Atari describing the new TOS procedures.
 
Thanks for correcting (and updating) me Paul... the people I'd known who have
gotten TOS 1.4 hadn't received any documentation, but I'm glad to hear that
there indeed is information being distributed with TOS 1.4 now...
 
And my apologies to Atari for what turns out to be outdated opinions...
 
BobR
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 14 Oct 89 06:40:36 GMT
From: portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Wanted: Info on DEGAS picture compression
 
Wayne Schellekens asks:
 
>Does anyone have any information as to how DEGAS compresses its
>picture files?
 
The original DEGAS program didn't compress it's picture files at all..
they are the ones with the  .PI1,  .PI2  and  .PI3  extensions..
 
DEGAS Elite  *did*  compress its files.. the ones with  .PC1,  .PC2 & .PC3
extensions...
 
David Baggett has posted a text file now and then, containing the most
popular graphics formats, and how exactly they're implemented..  his ARPANET
address is:  dmb@TIS.COM  if you'd like to try to contact him..
 
His file "ST Picture Formats" may be available on the ST archives, or I know
it's available on CompuServe.. (since I uploaded it there)
 
In addition to DEGAS, it includes several other graphics file formats..
 
BobR
 
------------------------------
 
End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V89 Issue #520
*****************************************