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INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Mon, 22 Jan 90       Volume 90 : Issue   80
 
Today's Topics:
         Mac II screen colors (Was: Genlock Inquiry) (2 msgs)
ST Format, TOS 1.4 moans directed at Atari UK (was: HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!) (2
 msgs)
                               unarcing
                        VDI commands recording
                       Velocity-sensitive mouse
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Date: 22 Jan 90 17:15:46 GMT
From:
 usc!cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!watcgl!electro!ignac@u
 csd.edu  (Ignac Kolenko)
Subject: Mac II screen colors (Was: Genlock Inquiry)
Message-ID: <1262@electro.UUCP>
 
getting back to the original genlock inquiry, the STE (available here
in canada) actually has hardware support built in for externally syncing
the STE's video shifter to external video sources. yippie!
 
just in case anyone really cared anymore!
 
 
 
--
=====Ignac A. Kolenko (The Ig)           watmath!watcgl!electro!ignac=====
     co-author of QuickST, and the entire line of Quick Shareware!!!!
       "I don't care if I don't win, 'cause I don't care if I fail"
             from 'Youth Of Today' by SUBURBAN DISTORTION
 
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Date: 22 Jan 90 19:19:12 GMT
From: sdcc6!sdcc10!cs163wed@ucsd.edu  ( )
Subject: Mac II screen colors (Was: Genlock Inquiry)
Message-ID: <6349@sdcc6.ucsd.edu>
 
In article <1262@electro.UUCP> ignac@electro.UUCP (Ignac Kolenko) writes:
>
>getting back to the original genlock inquiry, the STE (available here
>in canada) actually has hardware support built in for externally syncing
>the STE's video shifter to external video sources. yippie!
>
>just in case anyone really cared anymore!
>=====Ignac A. Kolenko (The Ig)           watmath!watcgl!electro!ignac=====
 
 
Who would use the STE with a genlock?  with the resolutiuon of
320x200x16 colors, how can you make good things out of it?
 
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Date: 20 Jan 90 17:43:06 GMT
From: mcsun!ukc!edcastle!aimd@uunet.uu.net  (M Davidson)
Subject: ST Format, TOS 1.4 moans directed at Atari UK (was: HAPPY NEW YEAR,
 ALL!)
Message-ID: <1738@castle.ed.ac.uk>
 
In article <90011904271714@masnet.uucp> sylvia.jumaga@canremote.uucp (SYLVIA
 JUMAGA) writes:
 
>The STE's run all old ST software, hmmm?  How much are the STE's
>going for these days?  Maybe sometime in the future...
 
Sorry, Sylvia, you saying that just reminded me of something...
 
The UK magazine ST Format hasn't been doing Atari any favours recently.
Just before Christmas it and its sister mag Amiga Format printed the
story about how the Amiga developers turned down Atari and went to
Commodore and how the ST was 'put together in a hurry'. This was rather
damaging to the ST's sales, I know many people went for an Amiga because
of this story - especially since the Amiga now sells for the same price
as the 520ST.
 
It then printed a feature on the STe which contained lengthy comments
from major games writers who didn't find a good word to say about the
machine, basically they didn't fancy writing code for the machine until
it had sold a large number of units and the blitter was waste of time
because it wasn't suited to games programming. This attitude is deplorable
but to be expected from people who try and sell you 8-bit
games with pretty graphics for 25 quid. (Why has the price of games
never come down, software houses used to tell us they were expensive
because the 16bit market was very small. Now they say it's because of
the development work that goes into making rubbish games that sell
because of a film license or arcade game conversions).
 
Next month iin Format there is an article describing how Atari UK were furious
about the comments since the programmers had broken their non-disclosure
agreements. They said something to the effect that developers were
entitled to their opinion but should keep it to themselves. Atari also
threatened to withdraw the machines, either from the developers or from
the magazine editors (I'm not sure which). ST Format's defense was that
another sister magazine (I think) New Computer Express, a weekly, had
printed a favourable comment, from Jeff Minter if I remember correctly.
 
This month's edition contains a shock-horror news article entitled 'STe
runs into trouble' because STOS won't work (Oh my god! Not STOS!). The
guys who wrote STOS seem remarkably calm compared with the tone of the
rest of the article, they will provide a patch and fix future releases.
The article then goes on to quote a PD supplier who says he's discovered
a 'moderate' failure rate. This isn't surprising, we all know that a lot
of PD stuff comes with out guarantees and often contains hacks and
particular routines dependant on some version of TOS ('course if we
could get proper documentation then perhaps these things would never
happen...)
 
It'd be nice if ST Format  would look at the good points of the machine
rather than slagging it off all the time.
 
On a rather different note, Atari UK haven't distributed Tos 1.4 yet
because off their priorities. What with the new machines and wha-not
they just haven't found the time. How come Atari Corp managed to get
them to people months ago. Secondly, why haven't we been told how much
TOS 1.4 will cost. Thirdly, why am I talking to myself when I know no
one from Atari UK ever reads this newsgroup. Fourthly, why does no one
from Atari UK ever read this newsgroup?
 
Anyway, I just thought I give all the netters out there an idea of whats
been happening over here. This letter is a mixture of my memory and
stuff I read in magazines, as a result I can't guarantee the correctness
of any of it.
 
 
Hokey cokey?
Mark Davidson
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 22 Jan 90 19:23:16 GMT
From: sdcc6!sdcc10!cs163wed@ucsd.edu  ( )
Subject: ST Format, TOS 1.4 moans directed at Atari UK (was: HAPPY NEW YEAR,
 ALL!)
Message-ID: <6350@sdcc6.ucsd.edu>
 
In article <1738@castle.ed.ac.uk> aimd@castle.ed.ac.uk (M Davidson) writes:
>In article <90011904271714@masnet.uucp> sylvia.jumaga@canremote.uucp (SYLVIA
 JUMAGA) writes:
>
 
 
Looks like after Atari lose the US, Atari will lose the UK too!
 
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Date: 22 Jan 90 18:25:58 GMT
From: mentor.cc.purdue.edu!skn@purdue.edu  (Doug Stevens)
Subject: unarcing
Message-ID: <6623@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
 
I am new to Usenet and I need some help getting the binary files to run on my
system.  I've used a file capture to get the files to my computer.  But I can't
get them to de-arc.  If any one can help please send mail or post news.
                           Thanks for the help,
                                Doug
 
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Date: 22 Jan 90 19:41:20 GMT
From: sdcc6!sdcc10!cs163wed@ucsd.edu  ( )
Subject: VDI commands recording
Message-ID: <6351@sdcc6.ucsd.edu>
 
Hello.  I wonder if it is possible to add an overhead to the VDI
such that calls to any VDI functions can be recorded automatically
somewhere in
memory in some sutiable format.  Afterwards a record can be
replayed, saved to disk, loaded from disk, or whatever.  This is
kind of like the "picture" of the Mac OS quickdraw.  Is this
possible?  Also, does anyone know  the format of GEM metafiles
(i.e, the format Easy Draw uses to store its drawings.)
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 22 Jan 90 19:23:06 GMT
From: swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!carroll1!dnewton@ucsd.edu  (Dave Newton the
 Late)
Subject: Velocity-sensitive mouse
Message-ID: <1113@carroll1.cc.edu>
 
   Does anyone have or know of a PD mouse-driver that is velocity sensitive?
If no one does, could someone do one?  After this semester is over I'll work
on one, but to relate a famous quote, "Hi hain't got no time now".
 
   Thanx in advance,
--
David L. Newton                 |           uunet!marque!carroll1!dnewton
(414) 524-7343 (work)           |              dnewton@carroll1.cc.edu
(414) 524-6809 (home)           |           100 NE Ave, Waukesha WI 53186
I'm looking for Tom Brown, Chem. Eng. major at UofIL, Junior.  Tell him to call
 
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End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V90 Issue #80
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