=========================================================================
 
INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Fri, 27 Apr 90       Volume 90 : Issue  483
 
Today's Topics:
                     Advice to Spectre GCR owners
                      An Apology to Word Perfect
                      Minix and ICD hard drives
                           Portfolio Modem
                 STE TOS / TOS 1.4/1.6 etc. (2 msgs)
                              X Windows
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Date: 27 Apr 90 18:34:18 GMT
From: obryan@gumby.wisc.edu  (Mark O'Bryan)
Subject: Advice to Spectre GCR owners
Message-ID: <1990Apr27.183418.23566@gumby.cc.wmich.edu>
 
In article <11272@portia.Stanford.EDU> zimm@portia.Stanford.EDU (Dylan Yolles)
 writes:
> The Spectre GCR manual never makes it clear whether or not one can get
> away with using the "Shutdown" menu option in Mac mode (versus just ejecting
> the disks).
> My advice: DON'T DO IT! I tried it *once* and now my hard drive
> is garbled. (Yes, I'm using the new release of the Spectre software. Perhaps
> the older software works better.)
>
> You have been warned!
 
Evidently you have a different version of the Spectre manual than I do.
On page 66, under the bold heading "Things You Definitely Should Not
Ever Do", it states (3rd item in list) "You should never use Shutdown
or Restart from the Finder."  It goes on to explain exactly why.
 
--
Mark T. O'Bryan                 Internet:  obryan@gumby.cc.wmich.edu
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI  49008
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 20:35:03 GMT
From:
 usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!neat.cs.toronto.edu!omicron.cs.f
 su.edu!fsucs.cs.fsu.edu!boyd@ucsd.edu  (Mickey Boyd)
Subject: An Apology to Word Perfect
Message-ID: <9004272032.AA02814@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu>
 
In article <5873.263811fd@uwovax.uwo.ca>, 35002_3025@uwovax.uwo.ca writes:
>In article <879@ncs.dnd.ca>, balkwill@ncs.dnd.ca (R. J. Balkwill) writes:
>
>> Now if only the price were to come down a little...
>> ---
>> Bob
>
>       There should be a student price on Word Perfect at about $200...
>
>--
>Kevin-john Conway
>...a librarian from hell...
>
    I seem to remember it being more like $80, with a xerox of one's student
    ID.  Offer could be over though.
 
 
--
 
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    ---------------------------------+-------------------------------------
              Mickey Boyd            |    "Nobody can be exactly like me.
          FSU Computer Science       |      Even I have trouble doing it."
        Technical Support Group      |
      mail:  boyd@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu   |              - Tallulah Bankhead
    ---------------------------------+-------------------------------------
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 18:08:46 GMT
From:
 sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!jetson.uh.edu!richard@ucsd.e
 du
Subject: Minix and ICD hard drives
Message-ID: <6115.2638445f@jetson.uh.edu>
 
Hello out there in net land
 
I need any info and or tips that any one may have on setting up minix to
run off of my ICD hard disk drive set up. I just purchased minix and if
I am not mistaken I have seen some posts in the past about some twiddeling
that must be done with the drive in order to use minix. any help would
be greatly appreciated.
 
                                               Richard L. Coggins
                                             University of Houston
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 1990 17:05:17 MET DST
From: LarsErikOsterud <larserio@ifi.uio.no>
Subject: Portfolio Modem
Message-ID: <CMM.0.88.641228718.larserio@kvart.uio.no>
 
I read a notice about a 1200 baud plug-in modem for the Atari POrtfolio
somewhere, and as this is NOT available in Norway I would like to know
where I can get it and at what price.   I see no point in buying an rs-232
plug-in cartridge and a separate modem if I can get all in one box...
 
 Lars-Erik  /  ABK-BBS +47 2132659  /   ____ ______ ________________________
  Osterud  /  larserio@ifi.uio.no  /   /___    /            The norwegian ST
__________/ ______________________/   ____/   /   Klubben,  user association
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 19:30:51 GMT
From: brunix!rjd@uunet.uu.net  (Rob Demillo)
Subject: STE TOS / TOS 1.4/1.6 etc.
Message-ID: <37990@brunix.UUCP>
 
In article <2178@atari.UUCP| apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt) writes:
|J.Derrick@newcastle.ac.uk says he disassembled the ROMs and found some
|things out.  Here's my reply:
|
|I don't think it's wise to publish what you learned from the ROMs.
|Atari *has* "published" far more information than you could learn from
|TOS (since TOS doesn't use the joysticks, for instance), and you might
|have "learned" some things that aren't so, or aren't guaranteed to
|remain so. People who relied on your findings wouldn't be happy when
|something changed.  Furthermore, as you mentioned, there are things you
|couldn't figure out.  That just shows the inherent weakness of this
|kind of analysis.
|
 
This is ridiculous. There may be inherent *legalities* about
publishing a dismantled ROM, but there is no "inherent weakness"
in this kind of analysis. It is merely very difficult.
 
How do you think all of the IBM clone manufactures came up with
*their* ROM BIOS and XBIOS stuff? Do you think they went up to
Big Blue and said "excuse me, could you please give me a copy
of your ROM code? I'd like to rewrite it for cloning."
 
 
 - Rob DeMillo                  | Internet:      rjd@brown.cs.edu
   Brown University             | Also Internet: demillo@juliet.ll.mit.edu
   Planetary Science Group      | Reality: 401-273-0804 (home)
"I say you *are* the Messiah, Lord! And I ought to know, I've followed a few!"
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 18:57:02 GMT
From: cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cunixa.cc.columbia.edu!cmm1@rutgers.edu
 (Christopher M Mauritz)
Subject: STE TOS / TOS 1.4/1.6 etc.
Message-ID: <1990Apr27.185702.10436@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
 
The basenote said something about how Atari wasn't in the developer
support (HA!) area for their health and that anyone wanting
detailed (HA!) information should become a registered developer.
Doesn't it stand to reason that Atari could benefit far more by
providing copious amounts of information about TOS at a reasonable
price to a larger audience rather than releasing an expensive box
of outdated photocopies?  It seems to me that the ultimate success
of a machine has a lot more to do with the number of people and
quality of people writing software for it.  What sense does it make
to rape a few thousand people for developer docs when you could
sell them more cheaply and get more people to write programs
for your machine.  Without software, the machine will die and the
$10-20,000 you earned on selling those photocopies will not mean
much anymore.
 
Chris
 
------------------------------+---------------------------
Chris Mauritz                 |Where there's a BEER,
cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu   |there's a plan.
(c)All rights reserved.       |
Send flames to /dev/null      |Air Warrior is king!
------------------------------+---------------------------
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 14:53 EDT
From: <RJOHNSON%CEBAFVAX.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: X Windows
 
Can anyone tell me if there is a version of X Windows for the ST, and a source
for it if it does exist?
 
                             Thanks,
 
"Certain it is and sure,     BITNET:   RJOHNSON@CEBAFVAX
love burns, ale burns,       INTERNET: RJOHNSON%CEBAF2.DNET@SURAGATE.CEBAF.GOV
fire burns, politics burns.  DECNET:   44507::RJOHNSON
But cold is life without     Reality:  Rick R. Johnson
them". - S'Task of ch'Rihan  =================================================
 
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 20:44+0200
From: Ritzert%DMZRZU71.BITNET@forsythe.Stanford.EDU
Message-ID: <900427184417.722117@DMZRZU71-UNI-MAINZ--GERMANY>
 
"Sho" writes
>In article <1602@mcrware.UUCP> leeg@mcrware.UUCP (Lee Glenn) writes:
>>In article <975@stasys.sta.sub.org> fkk@stasys.sta.sub.org (Frank Kaefer)
> writes:
>>>demon@desire.wright.edu writes:
>>>Summary: Have you tried OS9 ?
>
>>Yes, I've tried OS9 and love it!
>>
>>Lee Glenn
>>Software Engineer
>>Microware Systems Corp.
>
>Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that you seem to work
>at the company that manufactures OS9???
>
>-Sho
Probably. But Microware OS9 is really nice. Only far too expensive as an
alternative os for the st. 1600,- DM for a developer's environment,
550,- DM for the port of a a PD windowing system (Bellcore's MGR, if it
is not PD, please correct me). Please keep in mind that with gcc You get a
complete and powerful development system for tos (and minix, as well)
which is free!
 
In my opinion, OS9 could be very successful if it was significantly
cheaper, say 1/3 of its present price --- would still be about twice the
cost of minix. I share this opinion with a some professional OS9 developers
(and vendors).
 
Dr. Michael Ritzert
mjr@dmzrzu71.bitnet
 
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End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V90 Issue #483
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