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INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Fri,  6 Apr 90       Volume 90 : Issue  417
 
Today's Topics:
                       hooking up 1520 plotter
                           NeoDesk problem
      PC comic book/strip publishing/layout software available?
                        Sozobon fix for Gemini
              Splitting comp.sys.atari.st into subgroups
                      Upgrading Mega 2 to Mega 4
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Date: 6 Apr 90 20:03:17 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!jarthur!cstein@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
 (Clifford Stein)
Subject: hooking up 1520 plotter
Message-ID: <5899@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
 
I would like to know if anyone could tell me how to hook up a Commodore
1520 plotter to the ST.  I can think of different ways of doing it, but the
biggest problem is the software drivers and the timing schemes.
 
The 1520 manual has some timing tables in the back illustrating how to
communicate with it, but I don't know if it is possible to send a signal
out the parallel port, or the RS232 port, for a specified amount of time.
Do these ports send all of the data signals at the same speed?  If not, how
can I send a signal through them for a specified time?  Can I write to the
joystick ports?  If so, how?
 
I would appreciate any help.
 
Oh, if this is possible, would anyone happen to have a GDOS driver for the
plotter?  :-)
 
-Clifford Stein
 
--
cstein@jarthur.claremont.edu  |   "Cops and women don't mix.  It's like
cstein@jarthur.uucp           |   eating a spoonful of Draino: sure it'll
...uunet!jarthur!cstein       |   clean you out, but it'll leave you
cstein@hmcvax.bitnet          |   feeling hollow inside."-- Naked Gun
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 6 Apr 90 20:41:04 GMT
From:
 cs.utexas.edu!samsung!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!ucselx.sdsu.edu!coffey@tut.cis.ohio-
 state.edu  (pat coffey)
Subject: NeoDesk problem
Message-ID: <1990Apr6.204104.14336@ucselx.sdsu.edu>
 
I have been using Neodesk for about a year now and lately it has been
acting strangly.  When I am looking for a file, and the file window
says that the mask is '*.*', some of the files don't show up.
 
For example, I created a file in first word.  When using the file
selector in first word, the file is there.  When I exit from first
word and look at the directory, it is not there.  If I then drop
out of neodesk, the file shows up again.  Has anyone else experienced
this?  Does anyone have any idea of what is causing it?  I really
like Neodesk and would like to continue to use it.
--
     _   _        Ms. Pat Coffey
    |_) (_        San Diego State University
    |             coffey@ucselx.sdsu.edu
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 6 Apr 90 03:28:22 GMT
From:
 cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!hybrid!spocom!gng@tut.cis.oh
 io-state.edu  (George Ng)
Subject: PC comic book/strip publishing/layout software available?
Message-ID: <32@spocom.UUCP>
 
Hi.  A very good friend of mine is in the process of producing some comic
strips for others and also for her own interests' sake.  She is interested
in using a computer and a 'comic publishing program' to help her do this
work - sort of what a word processor is to writing, or a desktop publishing
program is to publishing.
 
It would be most feasible if there was some sort of program like this for
the IBM PC's since she herself already has access to her own PC.  But if
necessary, she could probably get some other system - Mac, Atari ST, Amiga,
whatever...:-)
 
 
So, the info. that she would really want is this:
 
1)  Comic publishing programs for the IBM PCs.
 
2)    "       "          "        other computers (Mac, Atari ST, Amiga, etc)
 
3)  Addresses (postal/email), phone #'s of those respective companies that
    produce this software.
 
4)  Any comic books/strips that are already being published using computers.
    What sort of software/hardware is used for those comics?
 
5)  Comments, recommendations, suggestions, etc., on the different software
    or otherwise?
 
(I myself remember hearing of a program like this on the Mac and a comic
book being made on this setup...now if I could only remember!)
 
 
Thanks in advance for any help...
 
Please send replies to me and I'll forward them to her.
Email is preferred instead of a net posting/reply since I don't read these
newsgroups very much (with the possible exception of comp.sys.ibm.pc).
 
I will summarize if I receive a sufficient amount of replies or if a lot of
netters request the info. also...
 
 
(BTW, Sorry for the large cross-posting....)
 
--
George Ng  (Comp. Sci., Univ. of Toronto)    |"Sure I would like Canadian
HOME: uunet!mnetor!?becker,hybrid?!spocom!gng| winters too...if it weren't
WORK: georgen@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca           | for the weather..."
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 6 Apr 90 14:56:31 GMT
From:
 cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!ria!uwovax!7103_2622@
 tut.cis.ohio-state.edu  (Eric Smith)
Subject: Sozobon fix for Gemini
Message-ID: <5618.261c75e0@uwovax.uwo.ca>
 
In article <771@ncs.dnd.ca>, balkwill@ncs.dnd.ca (R. J. Balkwill) writes:
> [very useful explanation of why sozobon-compiled programs have trouble
>  with Gemini]
>
> The Solution - either reassemble the memcpy.s and lmemcpy.s functions
> with a compatible assembler, or write tiny versions of your own either
> in assembler or C, compile them and add them to dlibs replacing the
> old versions.
 
An even better solution: fix the sozobon library to use the Atari-standard
ARGV= method of passing parameters in the environment, and persuade
the authors of Gemini to adopt this as well (Gulam and a lot of other
command shells already do). xArgs had some technical merits, but also some
problems (all xArgs programs will break when/if any sort of virtual memory
or swapping becomes available for the ST). Since there's now an official
way of passing extended argument lists, we might as well all use it.
--
Eric R. Smith                     email:
Dept. of Mathematics            ERSMITH@uwovax.uwo.ca
University of Western Ontario   ERSMITH@uwovax.bitnet
London, Ont. Canada N6A 5B7
ph: (519) 661-3638
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 6 Apr 90 18:44:51 GMT
From: m2c!umvlsi!dime!forster@husc6.harvard.edu
Subject: Splitting comp.sys.atari.st into subgroups
Message-ID: <12614@dime.cs.umass.edu>
 
In article <1990Apr4.200716.20696@wam.umd.edu>, dmb@wam.umd.edu (David M.
 Baggett) writes...
>... Somone's hinted at breaking this newsgroup into subgroups...
>... three groups:
>       comp.sys.atari_st.general       (Games, rumors, questions, etc.)
>       comp.sys.atari_st.wizards       (Technical)
>       comp.sys.atari_st.politics      (Rabid political & financial discussion)
 
I think a split is a good idea, and I'm certain the group has the volume to
warrant it (it fluctuates, but it's easily the largest-volume group I follow),
but I'm not sure how it should be split up.
If we used the above scheme, I would (like most people, I suspect) follow both
`general' and `wizards' (the latter just on the off-chance that something
useful to me would appear, though technical discussions are more likely to be
about capturing a triple-shift-right mouse-click using a joystick from GFA
Basic).  I suspect the volume on `politics' would be nil, because no one is
likely to judge their postings to fall in that category (thank Heavens for the
`kill' command!).  The end result for me would be little change in volume.
 
If reducing volume individually is the purpose behind the split, maybe someone
could gather notes about the range of topics which do and do not interest the
readership, and propose a split based on that?  My pet hates in topics are:
Atari's finances, gripes about how awful the developer support is, Mac/PC/...
emulation-specific questions, and hints on how to do things in software I don't
own (includes game hints and triple-shift-right mouse-clicks using a joystick
from GFA Basic).  Obviously, some of these topics can only be dealt with using
the kill file, which brings me to another suggestion:
If we had conventions for the subject line (and stuck to them), maybe we'd have
more luck with generic kill files.  For example, given lines like:
  EMULATION: how do I frammitz frimfram on the Spectre?
  DEVELOPER: where's the newsletter?
  HINTS,GAMES: what to do with the Balrog?
  TECH,GFA: capturing triple-shift-right mouse-clicks using a joystick
I could add appropriate generic entries to the kill file, and never worry about
the specific subject headings people have used.  Of course, I realise there are
problems with this, not the least being that people have to stick to the
conventions, and that it's not always easy to decide what category something
fits in, but at least it's a start.
 
- David
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 6 Apr 90 13:06:40 GMT
From: mcsun!unido!tub!tubopal!db0tui11!mertens@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Upgrading Mega 2 to Mega 4
Message-ID: <MERTENS@DB0TUI11>
 
In article <22922@watdragon.waterloo.edu>, javoskamp@daisy.waterloo.edu (Jeff
Voskamp) says:
>
>
>Well, I upgraded my Mega2 to 4 megabytes last fall.  All you need is
>16 1Mbit DRAMs (same speed as those on the board), 16 decoupling capacitors
>(same as on the other banks) and 3 resistors (can't remember what value -
>look for ones "obviously missing" on the board below and to the left of the
>DRAMs).  The big pain is getting the solder out of the holes in order to
>install everything.
>
>As far as I could tell, all banks are refreshed simultaneously.  In any case
>I haven't had any problems with going to 4 meg.
>
>Jeff Voskamp
 
I did all this to my Mega 2 with no success. After checking the connections
and repowering the ST all night, i was very very close to kicking it
out the window.
recently someone postet a letter saying, that there are MMU's. that won't
support the second memory bank on the Mega2. Are there any more informations
about these %$%&&!! MMU's? Is there just a a conncetion from MMU to the
bank missing or do I have to buy a new MMU?
 
I'd greatly appreciate some detailes on this matter. thanks very much,
-------
 
-------------------------------------------------------------
                            |
        Steve, Berlin.      | MERTENS@DB0TUI11.bitnet
                            | (I never said that)
 
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End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V90 Issue #417
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