
          |SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE|
          |    Issue  #147    |
          |   March 7, 1989   |
          |Copyright 1989, SPC|
          
                 
                
               
                           
                            
                             
 
 
                    
 
        
        |This week in ZMagazine|
        
 
 
 
         Publisher's Desk 
               Ron Kovacs
 
         Editor's Monitor 
             Harold Brewer
 
     Commodore 1350 Controller 
            Jay Pierstorff
 
      New Games for the 8-bit 
             Matt Ratcliff
 
  GEnie's February 8-bit Uploads 
    Courtesy of GEnie/Atari 8-bit RT
 
       Micromiser:  Part 3 
            Kenneth Gilbert
 
  Z Innovators Oasis BBS Policy 
        Courtesy of Bungalow BBS
 
          Z*NET Newswire 
             Harold Brewer
 
 
                    
 
           
           |PUBLISHER'S DESK|
           
            
            |by Ron Kovacs|
            


Welcome to a new, revamped edition of
ZMAGAZINE.  Along with the change in
format, I am pleased to welcome
Harold Brewer to the staff as editor.
Harold, from the St. Louis area and
supporter of two area Atari Users
Groups, will insure the best editing
and content. 

Long time readers of ZMAG will remember
our old original style, and I hope the
new readers appreciate the change.  If
you have comments on this change,
please leave us Email on the services
at the account names listed below.

As in the past, the request remains the
same:  if you have any articles you
would like to submit, please send them
in.  If your BBS system carries our
publications, let us know so we can add
them to our list.

ZNET has been released and is appearing
in 6 debut groups.  If you are
interested in more information on ZNET,
look for the entire press release in
this weeks ST*ZMAGAZINE and in next
week's edition of ZMAG.  If you are a
User Group Editor, we are sure the
information released about ZNET will be
of interest to you.  For more info on
ZNET, leave Email or call
(201)968-8148.  I will get back to you
as soon as I can!

My sincere thanks go to Harold Brewer
for his assistance.  Best of luck with
this and all future releases.


                    

           
           |Editor's Monitor|
           
           
           |by Harold Brewer|
           
 
 
This issue of ZMagazine reflects three
changes in its makeup.
 
1)  Syndicate Publishing is responding
to ZMagazine's readers' views with a 40
column ZMagazine.  This format should
make the online viewing of ZMagazine
more of a pleasure to us 40-column
users.
 
2)  Since ZMagazine is once again
concentrating on Atari 8-bit articles,
ATASCII control characters will make
their appearance here.  The full
utilization of the Atari 8-bit
character set would seem to make sense.
 
3)  Ron Kovacs, with his editing of
ST-ZMagazine and Z*NET taking much of
his time, has felt it necessary to pass
the editorship of ZMagazine to another.
The person Ron chose to be the new
ZMagazine editor is me, Harold Brewer.
 
A thumbnail sketch:  I'm 32 years old,
married with two children.  I live
in an Illinois town called Granite City
which is an IBM's throw from St. Louis
Missouri.  I am involved with two local
Atari users' groups:
 
Atari Computer Enthusiasts St. Louis
and
Eastside Atari User Group, and I am a
co-SysOp on two Atari Bulletin Boards:
 
Bungalow BBS--Oasis BBS Software
  Support BBS
  314-351-2837 and
Centurian BBS--the National ZMagazine
  Headquarters BBS
  618-451-0165 or 314-621-5046.
(The 314 area code is PC Pursuitable.)
 
My computer system consists of a 256K
800XL (RAMBO XL) with switchable
Omniview OS, two doubled 1050 disk
drives, a 256K MIO, a Supra 2400 bps
modem, a Star NX-10 printer, a
Commodore 1702 monitor, and a one week
old 60Meg Seagate hard drive.
 
I've had my 800XL since 1984, and have
been -modeming- since November 1986.
 
I am a big fan of ICD and SpartaDOS, so
if it seems I am a bit biased where
they are concerned, you know its roots.
 
I have edited two newsletters in the
past, and have excelled at the several
college-level English classes I have
taken.  These should assist me in
providing ZMag readers with timeliness
and clarity.
 
I hope to assist in the fine tradition
of excellence which Ron Kovacs and
Syndicate Publishing has maintained in
the production of ZMagazine.
 
That's enough -I-s, so in passing,
ZMag's new editor would like to add
that ZMagazine gratefully accepts all
Atari 8-bit articles and commentary.


                    

      
      |COMMODORE 1350 CONTROLLER|
      
          
          |by Jay Pierstorff|
          

  (Reprinted from July 1986 ZMagazine)
     Courtesy CompuServe SIG*Atari


There has been much talk of mice and
mouse controllers lately.  The new
Atari STs come equipped with their own
mouse...(mice?)...meeces?.  Anyway,
those of us who have an Atari of the
8-bit persuasion have watched with
great envy, wishing we too could have
mice.  Even if we could buy an ST
mouse for our 8-bitters (which we
can't), it wouldn't work with our
existing joystuck (sic) programs.

Sure, we'd all love to have an Atari
ST, but my 130XE's library is bigger
than the ST's and more important, it's
paid for.  Atari is rumored to be
introducing an 8-bit mouse, but it is
not confirmed at the time this
article is being written.

Mouse envy persists.  I found myself
wandering the aisles of the computer
stores.  Suddenly, I noticed a
Commodore product beaming through the
glass.  -The Commodore 1350 Mouse for
the C128- was printed on the package.
The price was less than $50.  Those
lucky 128 owners!  Too bad Atari hasn't
made one for their computers.

The C128 Commodore is upwardly
compatible to the C64 computer.  That
means any software which worked on the
64 will also run on the 128.  The C64s
and the Ataris have always been really
friendly about using the same joystick
varieties.  Would this...
could this...might this mouse work
with a trackball or mouse driver
program?  The plug looked very much
like a standard joystick connector.  I
bought it and took it home.

I could tell my Atari 130XE was nervous
about the whole works, but
undaunted, I loaded a trackball
program, plugged in the mouse...but
wait, the plug would not stay in!  Upon
close examination of the connector, I
discovered that it was about 1/8 of an
inch too short to reach the connector
pins (Commodore computers don't recess
their joystick ports quite as much as
Atari).  I was puzzled for a moment and
then I thought about using a joystick
extension cable!  Ha!  I quickly found
my extension cable and plugged one end
into port 1 and the other end plugged
perfectly into the mouse's -tail-!

With trembling fingers I slid the mouse
across the desk, and then...
nothing.  The cursor was on the screen
but the mouse yawned.  It would not
control the cursor, not even a little.
Now what...?  I tried to think, maybe
it would work with a Koala or Touch
Tablet program!  I booted and failed.

Maybe it was a -joystick emulator!- A
joystick in mouse clothing!  I loaded
the graphics editor of The Print Shop,
IT WORKED!  IT WAS A JOYSTICK
EMULATOR ALL ALONG!  Suddenly, it
occurred to me I should probably calm
down.  I got down off the computer
table and tried a few more programs.
Everything that would normally run with
a joystick was working with this
imitation mouse.

A comparison of the mouse and the Atari
port shows the connections are
mostly compatible with Atari and
Commodore joysticks.  Interesting that
the brief mouse instructions made no
mention of joystick emulation or even
compatibility with the C64!  Strange
thing to keep a secret!  Especially for
companies in business to make money.

The only non-workable feature of the
1350 Mouse is the right button.  The
left button is the standard -fire-
button on a joystick. The right button
is connected to pin 9.  The Atari looks
to pin 9 for a potentiometer reading
like a paddle controller would produce.
But since there is no paddle emulation
in the mouse, the right button is
invisible to the Atari OS.  Oh well,
one doesn't miss what one has never
had.  If joysticks were meant to have
two buttons....well you know what I
mean.

The Commodore Mouse is very usable.
Even though your computer thinks it's
a joystick, you will think it's a
mouse!  It really does an amazing job
of convincing you!  It feels good in
your hand and moves smoothly across any
flat surface.  A clean desk or a -mouse
pad- will give best results.  A mouse
pad is a rubber backed, thin cushion
that gives more control over mouse
movements.  For mouse maintenance, the
rubber coated steel ball can be easily
removed for cleaning.

The 1350 Mouse is different from a true
optical driven mouse.  A true mouse
has proportional control.  The faster
you move the mouse, the faster the
cursor will move.  The 1350 mimics this
action but it can't move the cursor
any faster than a joystick would.
Slower cursor movements are imitated by
the mouse delivering short, stop and go
pulses to the computer.

A true mouse will always take the same
desktop travel to move the cursor
from one screen edge to the other.  The
1350 will move the cursor at maximum
speed as long as the 1350 is in any
motion at any speed.  That means a
fast, long push may not move the cursor
as far as a short, slow push!  That's
not really a problem though, it's just
a difference that can be worked with.
It can even be an advantage for limited
desktop space.

The Commodore 1350 Mouse worked with
all games and programs that require
a joystick.  Some are improved by the
mouse and some are more suited to
joystick control.  The type of programs
that are best suited to the mouse are
those that require precision movements
of cursor or gunsight centering on the
screen.  The least suited are the
programs requiring continuous scrolling
movements.  They often require picking
the mouse up and starting again if you
run out of counter space.  Drawing and
doodling programs worked fabulous.
Koronis Rift scores improved markedly.
Rescue on Fractalus was confusing!
Donkey Kong was...different!  It just
depends on the type of movement
involved.  Many games took on a whole
new feel when played with the mouse.
Many were even more fun with a mouse
than with a joystick!

Do you really need a mouse?  Yes you
do!  If you own and use a joystick,
you will definitely enjoy owning a
1350 Mouse.  I wouldn't part with mine.
Don't throw your joystick away yet, but
mine is seeing less use since I let the
mouse in the house!  The Commodore
Mouse is not just for the C128 anymore!
It's one of the best darn joysticks
since the old Atari licorice stick!

(Editor's note:  We 8-bitters can
purchase the ST mouse for $59.95
retail, and 2 1/2 years after this
article was written, still no 8-bit
mouse from Atari.)


                    

       
       |NEW GAMES FOR THE 8-BIT|
       
          
          |by Matt Ratcliff|
          

 ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1989
        REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.


I was just sorting through my cartridge
collection yesterday.  Atari has
released 15 or MORE new cartridges
(though not necessarily new programs)
in the past year.  That's a whole LOT
MORE than anyone else.  We have
complained long and loud about Atari's
lack of support for the 8-bit Ataris,
but it seems that times are changing.

Cartridges which stand out from the
crowd are:

Into The Eagle's Nest--This is an
ORIGINAL game from Atari and PANDORA
software.  It is similar to Gauntlet.
The scenario places you in a Nazi
fortress where you must blast your way
past the enemy soldiers, activate 4
detonators (one at each level of the
castle), rescue three of your captured
allies, and escape with your skin.
It's VERY difficult to win, but the
playability is superb.  Graphics and
sound effects are the best I've seen in
years.  This baby gets a four star
rating from Mat*Rat.

Crystal Castles--Has Pac-Man gone 3-D?
Could there be a Bentley Bear cartoon
show in your future?  It's hard to say,
but this is a very cute game.  The
mazes are now 3 dimensional, played
from a 2/3 overhead view.  You must get
Bentley Bear to run up and down stairs,
through tunnels, and navigate elevators
to collect the jewels and honey pots.
There's also a super-power magic hat
that lets Bentley thwart his foes for
awhile.  There are -hidden- escape
routes from some screens which let you
jump to higher levels in the games, and
gain bonus points and lives.  This game
is great for small children, who seem
fascinated by it all.  It is easy to
master in terms of game play, but
difficult to beat with about 30
different mazes.  This is a very cool
game and gets a three star rating from
Mat*Rat.

Mario Brothers--Yes, finally, after 6
years, Mario Brothers comes to the
Atari home computer.  It is old by
today's standards--Nintendo has Super
Mario Brothers II out now!  However,
it's a real GAS to play, especially in
the two player mode.  The graphics and
sound effects mimic the original
coin-op very nicely.  This running,
jumping, varmint zapping game gets a
3 1/2 star rating from Mat*Rat.

Desert Falcon--You control the
mysterious Desert Falcon.  Why is he
here?  What should he do?  It seems
that he's a -pirate- of sorts, looting
the pyramids of Egypt.  Pick up
hieroglyphics for points and
-mysterious powers-.  Shoot bad guys,
avoid the obstacles, and eventually
shoot the -howling sphinx- right
between the eyes.  This is a 2/3
overhead view of a scrolling playfield,
similar to Blue Max and Zaxxon.  The
scenario seems all too much like Zaxxon
to me.  It does have more -depth-
because of the mystical powers some
hieroglyphs can provide.  Graphics are
fair and sound effects are good.
Playability is above average, but the
theme is definitely nothing new.  It
gets a 2 1/2 star rating from Mat*Rat.

         
         |*** NEW NEW NEW ***|
         

Finally, coming to my dealer this week,
three new cartridges:

Crime Busters--Jim Zalewski's second
light gun game (his first was -Barnyard
Blaster-).  he name indicates the
theme.  I'll give you a mini-review in
an upcoming HOT NEWS.

Dark Chamber--This is a mystery game.
It is an ORIGINAL game, supposedly
similar to Gauntlet--only BETTER and
more sophisticated.

Choplifter--This Broderbund game has
been repackaged in a cartridge, with
ALL NEW GRAPHICS.  No word on whether
the game play has been changed,
however.  I will keep you posted!


                    

    
    |GEnie's February 8-bit Uploads|
    

    Courtesy of GEnie/Atari 8-bit RT
        Edited by Harold Brewer


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          |MICROMISER: PART 3|
          
          
          |by Kenneth Gilbert|
          


Many of you may be aware of the recent
interchange between myself and Steve
Bolduc of Micromiser Software, the
company that sells the Turboword word
processor.  My previous comments about
the program were based on the original
Turboword disk which I received a few
months ago.  Since then, due mainly to
the suggestions of many users, the
program has gone through a major
updating process.  The present review
therefore reflects these changes and
pertains to Turboword+ as of February
28, 1989.

To begin with, my major complaint about
the program was the fact that it could
not perform double spacing of
documents.  Although not advertised as
a standard feature, I consider this
function to be part of the bare minimum
required of a useful word processor.
Turboword+ now does both double and
triple spacing at printout time (you do
not see the effect of this on the
screen at all).  A minor limitation of
this feature is that you cannot change
spacing within a document; the entire
text must be printed single, double or
triple spaced.  Perhaps in future
updates spacing could be adjusted with
control characters embedded within the
file.  In any case, I am very pleased
that the program can now accomplish
this.

Although the major portion of the
program is writen in BASIC, this does
not generally pose a problem.  The
amount of memory available for text is
approximately seven to eight
single-spaced pages.  Since files can
easily be linked, there is virtually no
limitation on the length of document
that can be produced.  Furthermore, it
is probably a safe practice to keep
large documents as a number of smaller
files so that major disaster can be
limited in the event of a single file
becoming damaged.  Speed is not
terribly limited by this either, since
the major limitation of speed is the
XEP-80 itself.

Printer control codes remain as inverse
character sequences (underlining for
example).  Although this causes a
problem by not being able to undeline
part of a word, it does allow the
WYSIWYG feature of the program to work
even when control sequences are used.
Nevertheless, if the user wishes to
create his own non-spaced control
sequences, this is possible.

A very important change is the ability
to return to the main menu without
saving the file, as well as being able
to change the name of the file that the
document will be saved to.  Some of us
do change our minds about changes after
we've made them, and now it is possible
to recover the original document
unchanged.

In the previous version of the program
the automatic centering of my address
was not exactly...er...centered.  This
bug has been corrected and my
letterheads now look very nice indeed.

Other features that have been added to
the program include double column
printing, right justification, default
printer port adjustment, and a file
sorter program (which I have not yet
tried).

For those of you who are unfamiliar
with the program, it also has a
powerful mailmerge facility and
envelope addressing capability, as well
as a spelling checker and built-in DOS
functions.

One important limitation that I should
mention is that this program
essentially requires a RAMdisk.  The
main program needs to be reloaded from
disk every time you save a file, and
the time it takes to perform this
function is only reasonable if executed
from a RAMdisk.  I am using it on an
unmodified 130XE, and I find it to be
sufficient.  However, if you wish to
use the spelling checker at a
reasonable speed, a much larger
RAMdisk is recommended.

Is this program as good as PaperClip?
In a word:  no.  It was not meant to be
an alternative to what most would
consider to be the best word processing
software available for the Atari 8-bit
computers.  What Turboword+ is, is the
ONLY word processing program available
for use with the XEP-80.  As such, it
fulfills its role well.  Considering
the difficulty of writing ANY software
for this little box, I must say that
Turboword+ is an excellent effort at
making 80 column word processing a
reality for Atari 8-bit owners, and
until AtariWriter-80 is released it is
your only choice.


                    

    
    |Z INNOVATORS OASIS BBS POLICY|
    

      Reprinted from Bungalow BBS
        Edited by Harold Brewer


            January 23, 1989

                  -1-

When you purchase OASIS BBS software,
you become a registered owner with the
rights to use the software.

                  -2-

You cannot sell your OASIS for money or
goods.  Only Z Innovators has the right
to sell OASIS BBS.  If you GIVE your
OASIS to another person as a GIFT, then
that person is not considered a
registered owner by Z Innovators.  That
person would not be eligible to
purchase an OASIS support files account
on the support boards.  Your
registration is NON-TRANSFERABLE.

                  -3-

As a registered owner, you are eligible
to establish ONE user account on each
of all OASIS support boards.  You must
purchase access to OASIS support files.
 Starting July 1, 1989, the cost is
$25.00 for access to OASIS support
files on all the support boards,
through June 30, 1990.  If you purchase
OASIS after July 1, 1989 for $55.00,
then the support privilege is included
in that $55.00 purchase price.  All
access to support files is subject to
terms of renewal after July 1, 1990.

                  -4-

The purchase price for OASIS BBS and
for support files access is not
refundable.  There is no guarantee that
OASIS support boards will be in
existence through June 30, 1990.
Z Innovators plans to support and
continue adding to OASIS BBS, well into
the 1990's.


       
       |OASIS BBS Support Prices|
       

Effective July 1, 1989, no one who has
not paid for support access will have
access to OASIS support files on any
OASIS support BBS.  The price for one
account, on each board, with access to
Oasis support files through June 30,
1990, is $25.00.

Only people who have purchased Oasis
BBS are eligible for an account with
access to support files.  Check with
Z Innovators if you are unsure of your
eligibility.

          THREE MONTHS NOTICE!

Z Innovators will not accept payments
for OASIS support until AFTER MAY 1,
1989.  All current OASIS SysOps are
hereby given a full THREE MONTHS NOTICE
prior to the date that payments will be
accepted.  Do not send your payment
before May 1, 1989.

          FIVE MONTHS NOTICE!

With this announcement, the current
OASIS SysOps have FIVE MONTHS to get
their boards up to date, and decide
whether they want to pay for Oasis
files support.  Effective July 1, 1989,
any OASIS sysop who has not paid for
access to oasis support files, will
have his access terminated.

        YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

With your payment of $25.00, you are
eligible for access to OASIS support
files on any OASIS support BBS with
files support.  This eligibility
expires on JUNE 30, 1990, no matter
when it is purchased.  Therefore, all
access to support files is subject to
renewal for July 1, 1990.  Support
access accounts are NON-TRANSFERABLE
under any conditions, and cannot be
used by anyone other than the
purchaser.  Anyone found to be allowing
their account to be used by any
other(s) will have their access
terminated without notice.

There is a list of a few OASIS SysOps
who are exempt from this payment, and
have been granted free access to Oasis
support files through June 30, 1990. 
Please see the EXEMPTION list.

         CURRENT SUPPORT BOARDS

The OASIS support boards are:

XBN I BBS      508-580-8722
XBN II BBS     508-559-6844
The Bungalow   314-351-2837


When you order after May 1, 1989, make
CHECK or MONEY ORDER payable to:

Z INNOVATORS
1344 Park St.  Dept. 187
Stoughton, MA. 02072

(Editor's note:  The information
presented in ZMagazine #142 concerning
Oasis Software is still valid and can
be read as an adjunct to the above
policy.  Oasis BBS is $30.00 until
July 1, 1989, and includes support
board access until that date.)


                    

            
            |Z*NET NEWSWIRE|
            


==>Atari Corporation has stopped
   shipping its 8-bit software
   SXExpress! (for use with the SX-212
   modem).  Atari Customer Service was
   not aware of why this action was
   taken.  But one possibility could be
   that which a St. Louis user, 
   John McGowan, has written about on
   Gateway BBS:  the R: handler (for
   use with the SX-212 modem when
   operated -direct connect- on an
   Atari 8-bit) included on the
   SXExpress! disk was not doing its
   job.  This scenario may have
   prevented a sucessful bootup.

   Hopefully, a re-release of
   SXExpress! will not take long.


==>The March issue of Computer Shopper
   has a feature article called
   Buying The Right Printer At The
   Right Price, and has an associated
   printer showcase.  Good reading even
   if you are not in the market for a
   printer.


==>Diamond Paint, application software
   to be used with the new Diamond OS
   cartridge, is said to be shipping
   now.  This from Alan Reeve on GEnie.


==>For SpartaDOS X users:  Keith
   Ledbetter's macro program SuperKey!
   may not be compatible with the
   X cartridge when using SuperKey!'s
   SpartaDOS version.  Instead, use
   the -normal- SuperKey! program for
   SpartaDOS X compatibility.  This
   from the GEnie Atari 8-bit bulletin
   board.


==>ICD has sent a shipment of their
   8-bit products (SpartaDOS X, 
   Action!, and Printer Connection) to
   Atari's Federated Group.  ICD's
   president Tom Harker explains on
   GEnie that Diamond OS cartridges
   have also been shipped to Federated.
   -If they sell through, Federated
   will be expanding their purchasing
   to include most of our products as
   well as many other third party
   developers.-

   I second Tom's enthusiasm by hoping
   we 8-bitters will not let such an
   opportunity to increase the base
   of Atari 8-bit products go by.


                    

 
 |   Syndicate Publishing Company    |
 | P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846  |
 |          (201) 968-8148           |
 |Copyright 1989  All Rights Reserved|
 

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