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Zmagazine February 9, 1987
Issue 38
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Zmag Staff:
Publisher/Editor in Chief:Ron Kovacs
Editor/Coordinator:Alan Kloza
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____________________________________
This Week in Zmag......
<*> USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
MICHIGAN'S C.H.A.O.S.
<*> PROFILE: THE CHAOS BBS
<*> SEAGATE INTRODUCES NEW
3.5- HARD DRIVES
<*> COMMODORE SHOWING PROFITS--
COMING OUT OF THE RED
<*> ACTIVISION POSTS LOSSES
<*> ATARI WORD PROCESSING PT.I
BEST OF THE 8-BIT SOFTWARE
<*> ST FORTH--YOU GOTTA BELIEVE
All this and more in this weeks
edition of Zmagazine.....
____________________________________
Xx EDITOR'S NOTES
....New Monthly Feature.............
____________________________________
As promised in last week's Zmag, we
start a new feature this week, the
User Group of the Month.
This month we profile the C.H.A.O.S.
User's Group of Lansing Michigan.
If you would like to see your user's
group featured in an upcoming
edition of Zmag, send us some
material for publication. We ask
that all submissions be sent in by
the 15th of the month for consider-
ation in the next month's user group
column.
Take advantage of this free
publicity and get your news in for
an upcoming edition. Zmag is now
featured on over 50 BBS's across the
U.S. and Europe and can also
be found in Compuserve's Atari
DL library.
For more information on Zmag's
User Group of the Month, call:
The Syndicate BBS
(Zmag Headquarters)
201-968-8148
Surf City East BBS
201-929-9351
___________________________________
Xx ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
....Capitol Hill Atarians..........
___________________________________
C.H.A.O.S. USER GROUP
By Leo Sell, President.
From out of the void...CHAOS!!
C.H.A.O.S., like many user groups,
came into existence to fill a void.
C.H.A.O.S. is the Capitol Hill Atari
Owner's Society, located in Lansing,
Michigan. Supporting all Atari
computers, 8-bit and 16-bit alike,
we are the most active and second
largest Atari user group in Michigan
(M.A.C.E. of DETROIT is still #1 in
size). Our still-growing membership
numbers over 150, and is drawn from
all over Michigan as well as out of
state and Canada.
A few of our continuing projects:
We are most proud of our Public
Domain Disk libraries. Recent
trading and revision have made it
one of the best sources of quality
Public Domain programs anywhere,
with fully categorized and indexed
disks numbering over 300.
The Publications Library has books,
magazines and exchange newsletters
from nearly 100 other clubs and
spans the last 5 years.
Our BBS is nationally known and
visited for its quality,
dependability, and ease of use, as
well as being a great source for
information (particularly on MEMORY
UPGRADES).
The C.H.A.O.S. ST INterest Group
continues to grow in numbers and
support.
Our most recent, largest, and most
exciting project is publishing and
participating in the Mid-Michigan
Atari Magazine in cooperation with
seven other Atari user groups
across the state.
History
C.H.A.O.S. (under a different name)
began in 1981 as a small group of
hackers, hobbyists, and computer
professionals, with a common
interest in the Atari 800. As time
passed, our membership grew, adding
Atari 400 owners, cassette owners
and more. With growth came the need
for structure and organization. The
name was changed to C.H.A.O.S., a
constitution was written and we
incorporated. Our constitution was
revised in 1985, but the philosophy
and style obviously the energy of it's
founders put into place has been
retained. The result has been a
consistency and dependability that
is too seldom found these days.
Organization
C.H.A.O.S. is a corporation, and is
organized in much the same way as a
business. Our Board of Directors
consists of five elected officers,
including the President,
Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer,
and two at-large members - one from
each of the major group of owners
(8-bit and 16-bit).
In addition to the officers, each
major function of the club is headed
by an appointed manager or leader.
The larger jobs, such as the disk
library, are further divided using
assistants whose work is overseen by
the manager.
Further use of the appointees' ideas
and abilities is made by a
management type of commitee, called
the Activities Board. It consists
of the Vice-President as Chairman,
and all appointees of the club.
Together they oversee their various
activities and responsibilities, and
brainstorm for new ideas and
services.
The MID-MICHIGAN ATARI MAGAZINE is
published by C.H.A.O.S. but is
managed as though it were
essentially a separate entity in
order to be fair to all the
participating groups.
The ST Crisis
Another of our recent
accomplishments that I take pride
in, is the way we have weathered the
ST crisis. It seems as if many
clubs split the ST owners completely
off, for a variety of reasons. That
didn't happen here, although for a
time there was some controversy and
sentiment for a new and separate ST
group.
In the very early days of the ST,
the C.H.A.O.S. Board of Directors
deemed that we would support the ST
as fully as possible. We strongly
urged ST owners to remain with the
club and take advantage of the
structure and resources that already
existed. We emphasized the common
ground and needs of both 8-bit and
16-bit owners. We committed
strongly to the ST owners and then
stuck to our resolution. We have
also made it plain that we believe
the future lies with the ST. As a
result, our ST presence continues to
grow and prosper, as does the club
itself.
The Future
I believe that we will continue to
grow and prosper and support owners
of new and old Atari computers
alike. As a percentage of
membership, owners of the ST (and of
the Atari machines yet to come) will
continue to increase and that of the
8-bit will decrease. But the
foundations laid by the 8-bit owners
will serve the future members well.
Because we have joined together for
support now, we can look forward to
mutual support, cooperation, and
harmony for a long time to come.
___________________________________
Xx ZMAG USER GROUP PROFILE
....The CHAOS BBS..................
___________________________________
The C.H.A.O.S. BBS - (517) 371-1106
By the System Designer and Operator,
John Nagy
The C.H.A.O.S. BBS is now in its
third location and phone number
since it began operations in 1982.
I have been operating it since
summer 1985.
The BBS is supported completely by
the C.H.A.O.S. CLUB, who pay for the
equipment, line, repairs and
upgrades. At the present, the
system runs on a 320K ATARI XE
computer, Basic XE (O.S.S. Inc.),
Spartados (ICD, Inc.), a PERCOM
master disk drive with two double
sided double density slave drives,
an ATARI 850 interface with an
AVATEX 1200 modem, and an ATARI 1020
printer/plotter for a logger.
Arriving daily are the parts that
will soon provide 10 MEG of hard
disk storage, including the 256K MIO
board from ICD.
The software now running on the
C.H.A.O.S. BBS is called -The M-5
SYSTEM-, and is structurally based
on the original public domain
F.o.R.e.M. program by Matthew
Singer, but has been totally
redeveloped to add hundreds of
improvements, features, and speed.
Features include: 300 and 1200 baud;
an automatic voting section;
multiple message bases with reply
chains, search by MARKED or NEW
SINCE LAST CALL, controlled scroll,
and more; -last words- left for the
next caller, plus a LAST CALLS LIST
to see who has been on, when, how
long, and what their -LAST WORDS-
were; continuously user-variable
-expert user- mode; the best and
newest information and text files
for online reading; top quality
recent public domain software for
downloading; ZMAGAZINE; online
roleplay/adventure games; and more.
Perhaps the most outstanding feature
of the M-5 System is the prompts.
They automatically respond and offer
help when you need it, judging your
experience (as shown in the user
log), your errors while using the
system today, and your own requests
for help. This part of the system
has been and continues to be one of
my main areas of development. It is
perhaps the most user friendly
system available for ANY computer.
Our callers number as many as 50 a
day from all over the USA and
several other countries. We have
over 400 regular users. For more
than a year, C.H.A.O.S. has offered
all the MEMORY UPGRADE information
and software possible, and many
calls each day are drawn by this
selection. (Claus Buchholz,
originator of the 256K upgrade for
the 800XL, is one of C.H.A.O.S.'s
original members.)
A recent user poll showed an average
user age of 28 years, with 20% of
the traffic from out of the state.
Although NOT in one of the area
codes reachable through PC PURSUIT,
C.H.A.O.S. still deserves a visit on
your next trip through the electric highway!
____________________________________
Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE
....General Computer News...........
____________________________________
SEAGATE ANNOUNCES 3.5-INCH HARD DISK
DRIVES
(Feb. 5)
Seagate Technology has announced its
first 3.5-inch hard disk units, with
a maximum capacity of 45MB. The
half-height drives have an average
access time of less than 30ms and are
available with SCSI or Seagate's own
ST412 interfaces.
The SCSI and ST412/RLL models offer
30MB and 45MB respectively, while the
lower density ST125 and ST138 models
give 20MB and 30MB formatted
capacity.
Prices start at $595 for original
equipment manufacturers and volume
production starts in the third
quarter in Seagate's Far East
plants.
TANDY TOPS APPLE, IBM IN CHRISTMAS
QUARTER SALES
(Feb. 5)
Tandy Corp. had itself a merry, BIG
Christmas -- the latest word from
Infocorp researchers is that the Fort
Worth, Texas, computer maker claimed
a 37 percent share of the nation's
fourth-quarter retails sales of
personal computers.
That's more than the Apple Computer
and IBM's portions combined.
According to the report, Apple got a
24-percent share; IBM got only 12
percent. The fourth quarter is the
most important, because
traditionally it accounts for a
third or more of the annual sales.
Meanwhile, Apple's not really
hurting, either. Looking at the year
as a whole, both Apple and Tandy
passed IBM, each getting about 25
percent of the total 2.7 million
units sold through retail stores in
Christmas compared with IBM's 17
percent.
Note, though, that this report from
the Cupertino, Calif., - based
Infocorp focuses only on sales
through retail stores like
ComputerLand and Radio Shack
outlets, and does not reflect direct
sales to large companies, one of
IBM's big distribution channels.
--Charles Bowen
COMMODORE POSTS PROFITS AGAIN,
REVENUES DOWN SOME 20 PERCENT
(Feb. 5)
As predicted last month, Commodore
International today reported its
third straight profitable period,
although revenues declined.
According to a statement from its
West Chester, Pa., headquarters, the
computer maker made a profit of
$21.8 million in the quarter ending
Dec. 31. The Associated Press notes
that included in the profit is a
one-time tax-related gain of $5.8
million, compared with a loss a year
earlier of $53.2 million. The profit
amounted to 68 cents per share.
Revenue, down 20 percent to $270.8
million from $339.2 million a year
earlier, was at planned levels, said
Thomas Rattigan, president and chief
executive officer, in the statement,
-as the company managed for
profitability and cash flow- rather
than growth.
Interviewed by AP, Commodore
financial officer Michael Evans
elaborated that -trying to build for
a large Christmas season, given the
financial position of the company,
would not have been the right thing
to do.-
Evans added, incidentally, that the
company hopes to complete within a
week a new agreement with its
bankers on a $140 million revolving
line of credit.
Commodore was in default on
stipulations of its earlier
agreement.
Commodore reports for the first half
of its fiscal year, the period ended
Dec. 31, it had a profit of $25.5
million or 80 cents a share,
including the $5.8 million
tax-related benefit, compared with a
$92.4 million loss a year earlier.
Revenue for the same period fell 10
percent to $446.8 million from
$498.4 million.
--Charles Bowen
ACTIVISION POSTS LOSS
(Feb. 6)
Activision Inc., a publisher of game
and education software, has posted a
third quarter net loss of $3.9
million or 11 cents a share.
In the year earlier quarter,
Activision had a net loss of
$900,000 or three cents a share. Net
sales for the latest quarter were
$9.6 million from $5.8 million a
year ago.
For the first nine months of the
fiscal year, Activision had a net
loss of $6.7 million or 20 cents a
share.
This compares with a net loss of
$3.8 million or 12 cents a share a
year earlier. Net sales for the
period rose to $22 million from
$12.5 million.
Bruce L. Davis, Activision's
president and chief operating
officer, said that the 66 percent
increase in sales for the quarter
was due to the acquisitions of
Infocom and Gamestar and strong
sales of certain entertainment
software and video games.
He went on to note that operating
results for the quarter were
negatively affected by delayed
product introductions, high
marketing expenditures for new
product introductions and heavy
investment in new product
development.
-- John Edwards
___________________________________
Xx ZMAG PANORAMA
....Atari Word Processing Part I
___________________________________