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INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Sun,  4 Mar 90       Volume 90 : Issue  283
 
Today's Topics:
                                G-Dos
     Patch Editor/Librarian for Yamaha B-200 & Atari ST : Exists?
            STE DMA sound (documentation posted) (2 msgs)
                        The Vault and The Key
                        TT and STe info needed
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Date: 4 Mar 90 09:45:23 GMT
From:
 imagen!atari!portal!portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
Subject: G-Dos
Message-ID: <27537@cup.portal.com>
 
Frank@umiami asks:
> Where can I get G-Dos?  I have never seen it anywhere.
>
> Simple question, someone MUST know the answer.
 
You can spend big bucks licensing GDOS from Atari, you can buy something like
Degas Elite that comes with some version or other of GDOS (there have been
several), or you can forget GDOS altogether and buy G+Plus from Codehead
Software...
 
Atari Corp spend years and years fumbling around trying to get GDOS to
work right, and never did manage to fix it.  Charles F. Johnson and John
Eidsvoog (who ARE Codehead) spent a few WEEKS reverse-engineering GDOS,
figuring out how it worked, and more importantly, how it was SUPPOSED to
work.  They then wrote a replacement for GDOS which not only worked the way
GDOS was supposed to work, but ran FASTER to boot.
 
The documentation for G+Plus even comes with a nice tutorial about the way
GDOS works...   FAR more than you'd normally get from Atari Corp.
 
Once again, forget about the Atari product, and get the third-party product..
 
BobR
 
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Date: 4 Mar 90 19:22:33 GMT
From: cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cunixd.cc.columbia.edu!ia4@columbia.edu  (Imran
 Anwar)
Subject: Patch Editor/Librarian for Yamaha B-200 & Atari ST : Exists?
Message-ID: <1990Mar4.192233.7623@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
 
Hi. Does anyone know about availability of an editor on the Atari ST for
the Yamaha B200 synth.
 
Imran
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 4 Mar 90 16:51:45 GMT
From: cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cunixa.cc.columbia.edu!cmm1@columbia.edu
 (Christopher M Mauritz)
Subject: STE DMA sound (documentation posted)
Message-ID: <1990Mar4.165145.22702@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
 
In article <37824@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> kclenden@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Kevin
 Clendenien) writes:
>
>FREE?????  I think not Mr. Covert.  Why do you think that Apple
>computers with similar options to Atari computers cost about
>twice as much?  One reason is because Apple is committed to
>providing information about those computers.  Of course they
>have to pay someone to do that, so they just charge more
>up front to cover the cost later.  The information you're
>getting is not free, but only appears to be free.  Why do
>you own Atari equipment?  Probably because you were able to
>pay less for it up front.  Now you are finding out what you
>gave up.  For a lot of people this alternative makes sense.  I
>know it does for me.  If you would consistently use a calm,
>gentle tone when asking questions, instead of the impatient,
>whinning tone that you have demonstrated time and time again,
>you would probably get more answers.  For free, even...
 
Well, I used to think like this too.  I figured, "Great, I save few bucks
now and I figure out all the little problems on my own and put up with
a lot of ragged software."  This was all well and good until I actually
got a Mac IIcx.  Now I have speed, support from the manufacturer, oodles
of support from third party software companies and hardware companies,
easy RAM upgrades, easy hardware add-ons, etc.  Now that I have one,
I think it was worth the up-front cost to avoid all the later
exasperation and disappointment.  Anyway, I guess the old addage holds
true:  You get what you pay for.
 
p.s.  Richard, lighten up.  :-)
 
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      |Need I say more?
------------------------------+---------------------------
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 4 Mar 90 19:15:33 GMT
From: uvaarpa!murdoch!astsun8.astro.Virginia.EDU!gl8f@mcnc.org  (Greg Lindahl)
Subject: STE DMA sound (documentation posted)
Message-ID: <1990Mar4.191533.329@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
 
In article <48ef7e01.14a1f@force.UUCP> covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert)
 writes:
[ discussing the books that you can get about programming the ST... ]
 
>Where's the beef??
>
>Well, for one there is the still the fact that no NEW ST book has
>been published in the USA for 2 years.
 
And GEM and GEMDOS haven't changed much in the past 2 years, either.
Let's see, TOS 1.4 added one new GEM call, and changed the file
selector? Yes, it's nice to see more comprehensive documentation come
out, but it isn't *necessary*. Your ability to write GEM programs
hasn't disappeared because there aren't any new books describing the
old calls.
 
>And the fact, that even Greg admits, that you can't buy *ANY* ST book
>in the major bookstores.
 
Right. But the complaint I've seen here so far is, "Atari should bring
out docs because the ones we have are shit!" Atari bringing out docs
won't put ST books into Waldenbooks. Only bigger sales of ST books
will put ST books into Waldenbooks. The problem you have with ST books
is the same one you have with ST software and ST peripherals.
 
>Greg, are you on a paid retainer by Atari Corp??
 
No. Someday you might learn that people can disagree with you without
being paid by the evil opposition. I criticize Atari Corp about a lot
of things, but at least I make sure I'm not spewing hot air when I
make a criticism.
 
>But where do you go for info on programming for GDOS?? GDOS is one big
>black hole as far as Atari Corp is concerned. It isn't covered in any
>C book that I have.  And programmers are all having problems writing
>GDOS printer drivers.
 
GDOS calls are documented in my version 1 Abacus book. The major
problem with them is that they aren't labeled as such. However, it
seems other programmers haven't been unable to write GDOS
applications.  GDOS printer drivers I have not seen documented, but
allegedly Atari sells such documentation. I'd love to see 3rd party
documentation about this. Definately a small hole that needs filling.
 
>So, where's the beef?? I would answer "In Sunnyvale!!"
 
Amazing how we can take the same facts and come to a different
conclusion. Maybe now you understand why I like ZNet a lot better than
I like ST Report. And why I read the Washington Post instead of the
World Weekly News.
 
Have a nice day.
 
Greg Lindahl
gl8f@virginia.edu                                  Astrophysicists for Choice.
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 4 Mar 90 09:54:24 GMT
From:
 imagen!atari!portal!portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
Subject: The Vault and The Key
Message-ID: <27538@cup.portal.com>
 
Regarding the  "Vault and Key" hard drive backup system..
 
I just used the Vault to back up my 20Meg hard drive, and later restore it..
 
No problems at all...  I particularly liked the fact that it ran well with
only 512K, and that it does "incremental" backups between Full backups.
 
The only problem with the "Key" was that I had to remember to specify the
main folder that all the other files and folders were in on the backup
disks, or I'd get one large folder called "FEBC" (Feburary backup of C:)
on the hard drive...   not a problem with the "Key" program really, just
my having to remember how to run it...
 
BobR
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 4 Mar 90 10:04:27 GMT
From:
 imagen!atari!portal!portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
Subject: TT and STe info needed
Message-ID: <27539@cup.portal.com>
 
Jim Sisul writes, about the STart coverage of the TT:
 
>The February 1990 issue of STart has an excellent in-depth look at the TT an
>its new operating system.  STart has had the most BS-less, objective and
>accurate info in its last 3 or 4 issues on the STe and TT.  Most of what I'v
>seen on this newsgroup about the TT and STe has bordered on rumormongering
>(not to put any of you down, it's just hard to keep track of all the gossip
>spread).
 
Actually, according to Bob Brodie of Atari Corp, much of the STart article
on the TT was inaccurate, based on obsolete information.  Apparently no
one at STart bothered to contact Atari prior to publication to verify the
content of the article.
 
The TT is STILL not finalized, so *anything* you read about its specification
or capabilities is "rumor"...
 
Maybe *someday* our children will be able to tell us what a TT is really
like...
 
BobR
 
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End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V90 Issue #283
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