Today's Topics:
               Computer Aesthetics (Re: 386 vs the TT)
                              Portfolio
                   PORTFOLIO is *not* vaporware...
                  Problem with LaTeX and letter.sty
                         Sozobon GEM bindings
                     Spectre GCR and Teac Drives
                          TT's, flames, etc
        what to do with changed vectors on changing resolution
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Date: 23 Oct 89 07:32:25 GMT
From: agate!web-4a!laba-1aj@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU  (John Kawakami)
Subject: Computer Aesthetics (Re: 386 vs the TT)
 
In article <8910210938.AA01163@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> 01659@AECLCR.BITNET (Greg
 Csullog) writes:
>
>A survey has shown that in business, the average number of applications
>used by PC users is 1, the average by Mac users is 4. Why? Learning one
>PC appl does not tell you anything about the next. Learning one Mac appl
>or one GEM appl totally prepares you for the next ones. Sorry PC users,
>speed of processing is not the only determinant of productivity!
 
I think it's finally sinking in to the big micro computer software developers
that there is much to be said for standards and regular interfaces.
Programs should be written to act alike.  Unfortunately, this did not
happened in the MS-DOS world since there were no written standards for
user interfaces.  This is where Apple had an edge.  It's not that the
programs were intrinsically easy to use; it's just that for the most part,
the programs all seemed to be born of the same mother and acted similarly.
Unix users see this too.  Even though unix is supposed to be a user hostile
environment, there are some de-facto standards regarding command line
args and key bindings that make using the programs fairly easy to remember.
 
More, on a divergent topic:
The only nice looking interface environment for micros is the Mac's.
All others are ugly poseurs.  The thing that gets my goat is that for
very little money (?$10000) Atari, Commodore, and Microsoft could all
have had beautiful graphics and nice fonts for their windowing environments.
 
Now you (John/Jane Q. Tightcode) might be saying "the graphics aren't
as important as the speed."  Well, I have some news for you: you are
wrong.  The graphics are the user's view of the machine.  They determine
how valuable the machine is to the user.  I don't doubt that the Mac's
good looks make user think that the $2K she/he just threw down for a
Plus was actually worth it.  (We can laugh at how much Mac buyers are
overcharged, but the buyers are satisfied.  If there are luxury
cars, why not luxury computers.)
&  John Kawakami
&  laba-1aj@web.berkeley.edu
&  Live each day as if it were your first
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 23 Oct 89 08:44:21 GMT
From: mcsun!unido!laura!trillian.irb!klute@uunet.uu.net  (Rainer Klute)
Subject: Portfolio
 
In article <2161@hudson.acc.virginia.edu> gl8f@astsun.astro.Virginia.EDU (Greg
 Lindahl) writes:
>1) The Porfolio. Shipping in the US.
 
And in Europe. I saw it some weeks ago in a computer shop here
in Dortmund (West-Germany) for DM 798,-.
 
  Dipl.-Inform. Rainer Klute      klute@trillian.irb.informatik.uni-dortmund.de
  Univ. Dortmund, IRB             klute@unido.uucp, klute@unido.bitnet
  Postfach 500500         |)|/    ...uunet!mcvax!unido!klute
D-4600 Dortmund 50        |\|\    Tel.: +49 231 755-4663
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 17 Oct 89 08:50:19 GMT
From: sgi!shinobu!odin!odin.corp.sgi.com!portuesi@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU  (Michael
 Portuesi)
Subject: PORTFOLIO is *not* vaporware...
 
>>>>> On 14 Oct 89 06:53:51 GMT, Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com said:
 
bob> So...  what exactly IS the Portfolio...?
bob>
bob> As I see it, the Portfolio is an accessory for an IBM PC system... much
bob> like a fancy monitor stand, or a gizmo that holds papers for you to type
bob> into your text editor...  it  WILL  help you do things like taking notes
bob> on an airplane, or entering "travelling salesman" figures "on the spot"...
bob> but...   that seems to me to be an awfully limited usefulness..
bob>
bob> If you DON'T have an IBM PC style system, a Portfolio is an expensive
 toy...
 
I disagree.  I was very, very interested in purchasing a Portfolio
until I saw the cost of the accessories needed to make it a useful
machine.  I don't own a PC; I own an Amiga 1000.
 
The Portfolio can serve as an "on-the-go" text editor for editing
correspondence and even reading netnews (one of my intended uses).  It
can transfer files to non-IBM machines via the serial port.
 
Unfortunately, the cost of a Portfolio with one 128K memory card and
the serial port extension is $680.  A Toshiba T1000 with a full-size
screen, 512K memory and one 720K floppy drive is $600 street price.
The Portfolio is smaller, but the T1000 is still acceptably small and
much more functional.
 
                        --M
 
--
__
\/  Michael Portuesi    Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Inc.
                        portuesi@SGI.COM
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 23 Oct 89 06:46:40 GMT
From: eru!luth!sunic!tut!tukki!suhonen@BLOOM-BEACON.MIT.EDU  (Timo Suhonen)
Subject: Problem with LaTeX and letter.sty
 
In article <8910191921.AA18486@cs.wm.edu> csrobe@CS.WM.EDU (Chip Roberson)
 writes:
...
>any vertical space between the \closing and the \signature for
>a person's handwritten signature.
 
[ text deleted ]
 
>Document Style 'letter'. Released 21 July 1985
                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~
You are in need of new version of letter.sty -file. I get the same problem
last summer with old letter.sty -file and new version LaTeX.
 
Timo Suhonen
--
Timo Suhonen                                           suhonen@tukki.jyu.fi
Disclaimer: The text above is from my left brain cell. The right one is for
          SeX and Drugs and Rock'n Roll. Al K. Hall has eaten the others...
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 89 11:51:00
From: Rat <S61304%PRIME-A.POLY-SOUTH-WEST.AC.UK@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Sozobon GEM bindings
 
(From "The Masked Rat Fink"   "Computing and Informatics Yr4")
 
Many thanks to all those replying about Sozobon GEM bindings, I'll look through
yyour Email's and get back to you if I have problems.
 
Rat.
 
 
===================++==========================================================
Simon P. Chappell  || JANET    S61304@UK.AC.PLYMOUTH.PRIME-A
51, Amherst Road,  || BITNET   S61304@PRIME-A.PLYMOUTH.AC.UK
Penny-Come-Quick,  || INTERNET S61304%UK.AC.PLYMOUTH.PRIME-A@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK
Plymouth,          |+==========================================================
Devon,             || DISCLAIMER : Anything said by me is the truth as far as I
England.           || know and I cannot be held responsible for any offence
PL3 4HJ.           || this causes, though I do apologise for any inaccuracies
Tel: (0752) 223365 || in anything written above.
===================++==========================================================
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 22 Oct 89 15:46:06 GMT
From:
 gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!nic.MR.NET!hal!ncoast!synth@tut.
cis.ohio-state.edu  (Steve Juhasz)
Subject: Spectre GCR and Teac Drives
 
Does anyone know if the Spectre GCR will work with modified-to-run-on-the-ST
Teac disk drives? I have my doubts, because I could not get the Discovery
Cartridge, which appears to modify the drive speed in a similar manner as the
GCR, to work with my Teac drive. If it doesn't work, is there a way to fix
things so it does?
 
                                        -Steve
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Juhasz
synth@ncoast.org
ncoast!synth@hal.cwru.edu
uunet!hal.cwru.edu!ncoast!synth
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 23 Oct 89 06:00:16 GMT
From: haven!uvaarpa!hudson!astsun9.astro.Virginia.EDU!gl8f@purdue.edu  (Greg
 Lindahl)
Subject: TT's, flames, etc
 
In article <CMM.0.88.625121816.cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu>
 cmm1@CUNIXA.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU (Christopher M Mauritz) writes:
 
> I forgot who said that the TT was "available," but I could not help but
> snicker.
 
So much for flames to /dev/null. Listen, do you remember when earlier
this year, and Atari spokesman said, "Ok, we're going to do a better
job this time." Since then, they have announced:
 
1) The Porfolio. Shipping in the US.
2) The Stacy. Shipping in Europe.
3) The PC4. Shipping in europe? Samples in the US?
4) The ATW. Shipping in europe? Samples in the US?
5) The TT.
6) The STE.
7) The Lynx.
 
Sounds like they have been doing a better job than in the past. Tell
you what, why don't we postpone this discussion for 4 months. If, at that
point, Atari hasn't delivered the TT or STE or Lynx, then flame them for
it once. Then shut up.
 
We'll all be much happier.
 
------
Greg Lindahl
gl8f@virginia.edu                                             I'm not the NRA.
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 20 Oct 89 16:58:50 GMT
From: eru!luth!sunic!mcsun!unido!pcsbst!me@bloom-beacon.mit.edu  (Michael Elbel)
Subject: what to do with changed vectors on changing resolution
 
I have the following problem:
 
An accessory I wrote changes the mouse input vector for a mouse speeder.
It saves the old vector, takes the mouse movement, mangles the data
and passes them on.
 
So far so good, you even can uninstall it.
 
But if I change resolutions in color mode (e.g. low rez -> medium rez),
the acc gets loaded again and has no way to detect, that it had already
been started (at least not if I don't check for the system dependent
value of the old vec).
So the machine hangs when it tries to install itself again with the
already changed vector - it points to a piece of code that got removed
on changing the rez. (or am I wrong in that ?)
 
If I remove the acc before switching the resolutions, everything is ok,
but there should be a way to do it more elegant.
 
So my question is: What do other accessories, that change system vectors
                   in that case ?
--
Christian Siebert - me@dude.PCS.COM for the World, me@dude.PCS.DE for Europe
 
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End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V89 Issue #549
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