The ATARI"" Resource

iOLUME 2, NUMBERl

THE INTERNATFeN'AL AIAIU

Letters from Around the World

U.S.A. $3.00 CANADA $3.50

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XL Coverage

Interview: New Atari Chairman

Atari's Olympic Team

'Centurion' & 'Escape Maze' Games

03

74470"! 2728"

'£\f^L\\

ii ; r^TnT^^^I nT^n ^H ig«i I

L»JL^itil«]L4--g

E XPiA M D

your Atari 600XL

' Just pfug it onto your Atari 600XL Computer Now your Atari 600XL can run powerful disk software" •'.' Allows larger%Qrk space for software such as Visicalc, Atari Writer, etc. Run any of tlie|Dftvvare that's used on the Atari 800XL Run powerful peripherals

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miCROBITS PERIPHERPL

225 Third '^ve'i .Albany; Oregon '^y ■ . (503) 967-0975' -vW

f\^'^A .

Only

$149.95

MicroRaih64K Memory Board gives your ' Atari 600XL all tlic power you've ever vt^ntedf

igistered trademark ofAtari

Prints with built-in format or lets you create your own: center, underline. Boldface, elongated, proportional and condensed print.

Inserts and deletes characters, lines or blocks of text.

Duplicates and moves blocks of text.

^grai

Chang-es line spacing, margins, print type, paragraph indents anywhere in the document.

Instantly reformats.

Enters text easily, with word wrap, one main menu and helpful prompts.

Searches for and/or replaces words or phrases, one at a time or all at once.

Lii.CE HiTHrelectric ity

Creates multi-line headers and footers.

Prints double columns, form letters, multiple copies of a page or document, at the touch of a key.

Numbers pages and creates section numbers automatically.

Corrects spelling (with extra software).

Chains and merges files.

Has "print preview"; you can check your copy before it's printed.

You can't find a friendlier, more

powerful ivord processor at twice the price.

New AtariWriter: Under ^100.

Now you can do multi-featured word pro- cessing at home, simply. At a family budget price.

Our ROM-based cartridge technology means you can use new AtariWriter on any ATARI® Home Computer (even 16K) for personal and business correspondence, term papers, commit- tee reports, mailings, etc.

It also lets you choose between cassette and disk storage systems.

One very special AtariWriter feature: you can correct as you write, without switching back and forth between Create and Edit modes.

And our memory buffer offers an "undo" cormnand to let you change your mind, and re- store text you've just deleted.

Check into our remarkable AtariWriter, and our choice of letter quality and dot matrix print- ers, also reasonably priced, at Atari dealers. Call 800-538-8543 for dealer nearest you. In Cahfor- nia, call 800-672-1404.

You'll do more with Atari Hdme Computers.

WATCH OUT ATARI ! AT-D2 HAS LANDED !

h^

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&^

IRAK'S floppy and hard disk drive systems for the Apple arid IBlVl-PC are available at many Computerland and ottier fine stores vi/orldwide.

. . .WITH IT'S FLEET OF THE MOST ADVANCED SINGLE AND DOUBLE DENSITY DRIVE SYSTEMS IN THE UNIVERSE - TOTALLY COMPATIBLE WITH ATARI* COMPUTER MODELS 400, 800, 600XL, 1200XL, 1400XL, AND 1450XL,

DOCK YOUR FAVORITE PRINTER DIRECTLY TO OUR DRIVE'S BUILT-IN PARALLEL PRINTER INTERFACE. THERE'S NO NEED TO BUY AN EX- PENSIVE ATARI 850 MODULE,

THE COMMAND CONTROL PANEL FEATURES READ, WRITE AND DENSITY INDICATORS, A TRACK COUNTER TO LOCATE EVERY BIT OF YOUR DATA AND A TOUCH-SENSITIVE SWITCH TO PROTECT IT.

WARP SPEED OF UP TO 18 TIMES FASTER THAN ANY OTHER ATARI DRIVE IS ACHIEVED WITH OUR OPTIONAL TURBO-CHARGED SOFTWARE.

^AWESOME POWER — DESTROY A PLANET OR LEARN HOW ONE IS CREATED. BALANCE YOUR CHECKBOOK OR WRITE A BESTSELLER. LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE OR CREATE ONE

IT'S MAGNIFICENTLY SIMPLE! — JUST PLUG IT INANDLIFT-OFFI ■ Atari IS a registered frademark ot .Atari, Inc

TRAK GIVES YOU THE MOST STORAGE FOR YOUR DOLLARI

OUR FLAGSHIP, AT-D2, WITH TWICE THE STOR- AGE CAPACITY OF THE ATARI 810 DRIVE PLUS A PRINTER INTERFACE AND COMMAND CON- TROL PANEL, HAS A VALUE OF OVER $1000 YET COSTS LESS THAN S500 1

SEE YOUR DEALER NOW FOR A TEST FLIGHT, OR

call toll free: 1-800-323-4853

in Illinois, coll collect: 1-312-968-1716 TWX 910-222-1848

microcomputer corporation 1511 Ogden Ave Downers Grove IL 60515

-A V ^ A

i

pase 14

page 46

page 62

The ATARI Resource

MARCH 1984 VOLUME 2, NUMBER 12

FEATURES

THE IMPORTED ATARI by Warwick Wakeman

An Atari kaleidoscope of 256 colors

DEPARTMENTS

INSIDE ATARI

I/O BOARD . HELP!

PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE . PRODUCT REVIEWS

6 NEW PRODUCTS

1 0 ADVERTISERS LIST

92 LISTING CONVENTIONS'

94 SHOPPER'S GUIDE

44

Points for purchase north of the border
DEAR ANTIC	46
Letters from around the world
THIRD WORLD ATARI by Dr. Lint Hutchinson	52
Computing in antebellum Grenada
ATARI AROUND THE WORLD	54
A worldwide community of interest
FUJI IN FIJI by Rob Pattison	59
Kids keen about computing
ATARI'S OLYMPIC TEAM by David F Barry	62
U.S. women go for the gold medal
DISKREAD by Martin Rex	65
Check those mysterious disk sectors
POKER SOLITAIRE by Jerry White	68
Twenty-five-card draw
GTIA RAINBOW by Mike Wilding	114

ATARI INTERNATIONAL by Robert DeWitt STARTING LINE	14
ATARI'S CINDERELLA by Fred Pinho EDUCATION	18
FLASH COUNT by James Adamson LOGO/PILOT	24
LOGO'S LINEAGE by Ian Chadwick MERGING TRAFFIC by Phil & Kathy Bergh PROFILES	28 32
JAMES J. MORGAN INTERVIEW FORTH FACTORY	38
6502 DISASSEMBLER by John Mattes GAME OF THE MONTH	75
CENTURION by Jeff Greenway BONUS GAME ESCAPE MAZE by C G Roberts SYSTEMS GUIDE	78 86
NIGHTMARE COME TRUE by David & Sandy Small	83

102

108

109

.112

^W ^^ The ATARI Resource

Publisher

James Capparell

Miinagiiiji lidilor

Robert DeWitt

Assislant Eililnr

Christopher Rauber

Ti'ihniiitl Copy Eihlnr

David Duberman

lidiU'rial Assisltnil

Caitlin Morgan

liditariat Cleik

Aria Ertz

Contrihutiiiff Edilnr^

Ken Harms

John & Mary Harrison

David & Sandy Small

Warwick Wakeman

Jerry White

An Ihmt.ir

Marni Tapscott

Production Siiln'msor

Kyle Bogertman

Contributing lUustntlor^

Beatrice Benjamin

Barbara Boris

Lilianne Milgrom

Cover jiUiitralion

David Jensen

Circulation Miinaf^cr

Les Torok

Suhicrtpliinis

Julianna Hoffman Monica Burrell

Shipliiii)i

Augustus Jones

Acctninltiiit

VJ. Briggs

W( ertising/Viuductinn Coanliii.ilor

Linda Tapscott

Advertising Sjla

Steve Randall

General Offices (415) 957-08H6

Advertising Sales (415) 661-3400

Credit Card Subscriptinns

loutside California (800) 227-1617 ext. 133

•^ inside California (800) 772-3545 ext. 133

Subscription Problems (415) 957-0886

March 19H'J

Volume 2, Niiniln.'r 12

ANTIC-Thc ATARI Rt^sourcc is published

l^times per yc^ir liy ANTIC PLihlishiiif^

are locatnl nt Sl-^ Seaint! Sireei,

\Cj\ 94107. ISSN 0745-2527. Secniul

Class Postage paid at San l-rancisco. California and

addirional mailing offices. POSTMASTt-R:

Stnd address change to ANTIC, 524 Second Sircct,

San rrancisco, CA '>41()7.

luliiorial stihniissiuns s!n»Litd inciudf program

listing on disk or cassette, and text file on media

and paper if lexi was prepared with a word

processor. Media will he rciiirned if seU-addrcssed

siainped mailer is supplied. ANTIC assumes no

responsibility lor nnsoliciied editorial tnaierial.

ANTIC is an independent periodica! not affiliated in

any way with Atari, hic. ATARI is a trademark ol

Atari, Inc. Ail references lo Atari products are

tradeninrked and shoidd be s(j uoied.

gopyrighf^^ 1984 by ANTIC Publishing.

I/O BOARD

A VOTE FOR COMPUTER PALS

I just read the January I/O Board, and I wanted to let you know that I like the idea of a "Computer Pal" classified sec- tion in ANTIC. I'd like to see it broken down into sections of interest, such as adventure games, business, sports, reli- gion, etc.

I've enclosed a graphics program that draws brick buildings and chimneys. It works best as a subroutine, but can also be used as a program in its own right. The color in line HO is 0 to 4, depend- ing on the graphics mode; the boun- daries are also limited by the graphics mode you use.

1 00 GRAPHICS 0:? ■■ INPUT GRAPHICS* ■ ; : INPUT N

110 ? : ? •■ INPUT COLOR*' ;

: INPUT

120?

ITION ■

130 ?

SITION'

140 ?

TION- ;

150 ?

SITION'

160 ?

NGTH • ;

170?

IGHT' ;

180 GRAPHICS

=XMIN : Y=YMIN

200 REM DRAW

210 PLOT X , Y

,Y

215 Y=Y+HBR:

EN 230

220 GOTO 21 0

230 REM DRAW BRICKS

235 Y=YMIN

240 PLOT X, Y

7 C

? 'INPUT LEFT POS

:INPUT XMIN

? "INPUT RIGHT PO

; : INPUT XMAX

? 'INPUT TOP POSI

INPUT YMIN

? "INPUT LOWER PO

; : INPUT YMAX

? " INPUT BRICK LE

INPUT LBR

? "INPUT BRICK HE

INPUT HBR

N : COLOR C : X

LINES DRAWTO

XMAX

IF Y>YMAX TH

OFF ROWS OF

DRAWTO X,Y

HBR

245 X=X+LBR:IF X>XMAX TH

EN PLOT XMAX, Y : DRAWTO XM

AX , Y-^HBR : GOTO 255

250 GOTO 240

255 X = XMIN: Y = Y-^2*HBR : IF

Y>YMAX-HBR THEN Y=YMIN+H

BR :GOTO 270

260 GOTO 240

270 REM DRAW EVEN ROWS

275 PLOT X , Y:DRAWTO X , Y +

HBR:X=X+INT(LBR/2)

280 PLOT X, Y:DRAWTO X, Y +

HBR

285 X=X+LBR:IF X>XMAX TH

EN PLOT XMAX, Y : DRAWTO XM

AX, Y-HHBR :GOTO 295

290 GOTO 280

295 X = XMIN: Y = Y + 2*HBR : IF

Y>YMAX-HBR THEN 310

300 GOTO 275

31 0 GOTO 31 0

Steve Schehl Mt. Healthy, OH

WHITHER ATARI?

Can you shed some light on the future of the Atari computers, and on your plans regarding coverage of the dis- continued Atari 400/800 lines? Also, will software and peripherals for the 800 (whether made by Atari or not) continue to be available?

We don't hear much about Atari "Down Under" unless we happen to run across some news or hear the latest rumor that's going around.

Thank you for an excellent magazine. Sgt. Lee Carter Wallgrove, N.S.W., Australia

Despite rumors to the contrary, there is no reason at this time to doubt Atari's commitment to the home cotriputer marketplace. James Morgan, Atari's new president and CEO, outlines this com- mitment in an exclusive ANTIC inter- view in this issue.

The 600XL and 800XL computers are currently available in the United States, and the 1450XL is scheduled to appear later this year. Only the status of the MOOXL is uncertain. And after a long and frustrating hiatus, the 850 Interface should be back on the market soon. Finally, at least in the foreseeable future. Atari users should not expect to encounter major difficulties in finding continued on pase 8

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

How wotild you like tD play with a bear?

Play along with Stickybear™ and discover how much fiin you can have with a bear and your Apple® or Atarif No mayhem, war and monsters. Just loads of excitement and some of the greatest graphic animation ever,

Stickybear Bop

3 completely animated shooting galleries with whizzing Stickyoears, planets, ducks and balloons. You'll flip over the bright, lively pictures and sound. It's a game of skill perfect for the whole family! Besides the disk, there's a terrific pop-up game, a full-color poster, a user's guide, stickers. By Richard Hefter and Jack Rice. For all ages.

Stickybear Basketbounce

Stickybear scores again! It takes plenty of skill to rack up points as you catch bouncing, falhng, twirling bricks, donuts and stars, Keep score to see which player's on top. You could even get clunked on the dome if you run out of baskets. Includes disk, plus a full-color poster, a desk mobile, stickers, vinyl binder. By Richard Hefter and Steve and Janie Worthington, For all ages.

Look for Stickybear software - developed by Optimum Resource, Inc. for Weekly Reader Family Software - in finer com- puter stores everywhere. Or, call toll-free 1-800-852-5000,

Dept.Ad#6

Stickybear Bop

Stickybear

Basketbounce

Only

$39.95 each

Weekly Reader Family Software

A division of "^ Xerox Education Publications. Middletown. CT 06457

Apple*- is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. Atari'^ is a registered trademark oi^Atari.inc.

Available for Apple Computers and Atari Computers with A&Y, ana disk drive.

Stickybear is a registered trademark of Optimum Resource, inc.

I/O BOARD

software and peripheral devices that are compatible with the 400/800's.

ANTIC plans to continue and expand its coverage of all Atari home computers, including the 400/800 and the new XL models. We also plan to cover any other Atari products that are of interest to the home user. —ANTIC ED

GERMAN, ANYONE?

Is it possible for me to correspond with people who own Atari computers — in German, if possible. I'm 35 years old and own an Atari 400 with 48K. My hobby is computer games, but I'm also in- terested in programming. Excuse my English, it's not so good. With many hopes to get an answer, and many greet- ings from Berlin . . .

Siggi Puhlmann Kienitzer Strasse 32 1000 Berlin 44 Fed. Rep. Germany

AXIOM NOTES

Thank you for the review of Axiom's GP-IOOAT printer in the January issue of ANTIC. I'd like to add a few points to the review that may be of interest to your readers.

1) The GP-IOOAT has a built-in Atari interface, cable and connector, so the user does not have to buy an Atari 850 expansion box (or any other interface) to connect directly to any Atari computer.

2) The printer you reviewed was our original 30-cps model, which was sup- plied to ANTIC for review purposes several months ago. Since then, we've upgraded the speed of the GP-IOOAT to 50 cps.

3) We've introduced two new printer models, the GP-550AT dual-mode printer and the GP-700 AT color printer. The GP-550AT is a multi-function unit designed for home use, and is one of the quietest impact printers on the market. The GP-700 AT is a fast color printer that

prints up to 25 Atari colors.

4) All of our printers are extensively supported by Axiom's exclusive Graph- AX graphics software package.

Simon J. Harrison,

President

Axiom Corp.

San Fernando, CA

Thank you for your additional informa- tion. We feel that the Axiom GP-IOOAT represents a good value, and are happy with the one we use here in the office. -ANTIC ED

STONED ATARI

Your readers might appreciate our crea- tion, the world's most expensive micro- computer. We have embellished an Atari 1200XL with $250,000 worth of precious stones and metals. The settings contain 225 blue sapphires, 150 rubies and 16 diamonds.

Sidney Mobell,

Fine Jewelry

San Francisco, CA

COMPUTER PALS II

I'm writing in response to Randy Ray- mond's letter in the January 1984 issue (I/O Board). Without a doubt. Randy made a very pertinent suggestion. It's been very frustrating to me that ANTIC, which reaches so many Atari users, does not provide a way for its readers to con- tact each other. After all, owning a com- puter is not a dead-end situation. I'd like to have a "Computer Pals" section where I could share programs I've written with other ANTIC readers.

I'm not a subscriber to ANTIC, but I do read it regularly. If you decide to go ahead with some type of "Computer Pal" exchange, though, I'll definitely sign up. I then wouldn't want to chance missing a single issue. In the meantime, please use my address if you print my letter. I'd love to hear from other readers. Robert L. Brown P.O. Box 1387 Atascadero, CA 93423

Thanks for the input on Randy's "Com- puter Tals" suggestion. Don't forget that I/O Board and other reader-response sections in ANTIC do provide our readers with a chance to communicate with one another. But we're always open to new ideas. —ANTIC ED

COLORS FROM TAIWAN

I have designed a GTIA program with colors and a beautiful design. You can put this program in ANTIC magazine.

5 Z=l 10 GRAPHICS 11 20 FOR I = 1 TO 79 30 COLOR Z:IF Z>9 THEN Z = 1:

COLOR Z 40 PLOT I,X:DRAWTO 79-I,X 50 PLOT I,190-X:DRAWTO

79-I,190-X 60 X = X -t- 2: IF X>190 THEN X = 0 70 NEXT I:Z = Z -h LGOTO 10

Masahiro Mori Taichung, Taiwan

Thank you, Masahiro. More can be found on young Mr. Mori in this month's article, "Dear ANTIC." If you want a multicolor version of his pro- gram, change line 30 and add line 35 as follows:

30 Z = Z+1:IF Z>9 THEN Z=l 35 COLOR Z

-ANTIC ED

□

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

^.

\

7 '•■-/ /

PLAYERS HAVE: / / /

• Tactical and Strategic Air Rower / T^^^cllcat^TiaTMuclearForees 7

• Continuous Battlefield Status and News Service Updates / /

• Multiple Combat Units, Including: Infantry, Mechan- isEC^d Armor and Attack Helicopters— 7

icroProse Software ''^'^ ^^^^^^ °^T "°"'' """*te ^il.^\°^

(301) 667-1151

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED

\ ATARI Is the registered trademark ol Atari, Inc.

Commodore 64 Is the registered trademark of Commodore Business Machines, Inc.

IBM-PC Is the registered trademark of InternatlonaYsuslness Machines, Inc.

HELP!

TYPO ERASER

If you add the five lines of code below to TYPO (reprinted in ANTIC, page 42, February 1984), they will allow you to: 1) erase the TYPO program from your main program after you have debugged it, and 2) automatically list your pro- gram to the screen. To use the program, just type G. 32400 after debugging. The additional lines will not affect the TYPO Table.

3 2400 ? "SI' : ? : ? : CLR : D IM Q$( 15) : ? "TYPO ERASE PROGRAM" : ? : ? " PRESS RET URN TO START" :gF=31970: P OKE 752, 1

32410 ? : ? "PROGRAM WILL LIST AFTER READY PROMPT " : INPUT 0$ : POSITION 2,19 :? "POKE 842, 12:P0KE 752 ,0:L."

32420 QF=OF+30 : POSITION 2,12:? OF:? QF+10:? OF+2 0:POSITION 0, 0:POKE 842, 13:P0SITI0N 2,15:? "CONT " : POSITION 2,10 32430 STOP

32440 POKE 842,12 :GOTO 3 2420

Philip Diedeman Phoenix, MD

TELE-CHESS

Many thanks for the game Tele-Chess (ANTIC, May 1983). It really is super. To give the player a better perspective on the board, I've modified the program slightly. Change lines 1360, 1370, and 1390:

1360 BOARD (T,l)=-1 1370 BOARD (T,6) = l 1390 BOARD (T,0) = A: BOARD (T,7) = B

This sets up the white pieces at the bot- tom of the screen and the black pieces at the top, instead of having the pieces on the right and left sides of the board, as in the original.

Franklin M. Dresler Leeds, England

HOOKEY HELPER

I've added a few lines to "Hookey" (ANTIC, September 1983) that make the game more colorful by randomly changing the screen's color every time a new square is filled in. Add these lines:

51 GOSUB 20000

20000 AB = INT(RND(0)'^-5)

20001 AC = INT(RND(0)''-65536)

20002 AD = INT(RND(0)'^-65536)

20003 SETCOLOR AB,AC,AD

20004 SETCOLOR 1,0,0

20005 RETURN

Ken Simon Van Nuys, CA

800 QUESTIONS

Is there a kit that allows the Atari 800 to use an RGB (high-resolution) color monitor?

Also, is there an interface that would allow the 800 to be attached to the tape- output jacks of a preamp to produce graphics or a visual display of the pro- gram materials audio frequencies in a bar-graph format?

Finally, is there a system that allows the 800 to be utilized as a video titler and mixer for special effects?

E. Benchimol Folsom, CA

Austin Franklin (43 Grove St., Ayer, MA 01432) makes an 80-column board for the 800 with an optional RGB interface. See our review in the January 1983 issue. We don't have the answers to your other questions. Any ideas from our readers? -ANTIC ED

GTIA SKETCHPAD

There is a small error in the circle- drawing routine in "GTIA Sketchpad" (ANTIC, December 1983). The problem occurs when you select a radius that is on a diagonal from the center. The circle, when drawn, skips the designated point on the circumference, because of the un- usual shape of the GTIA pixel (four units wide by one unit high). The variable

SCALE corrects for the pixel shape, but was missed in the calculation of the circle's radius in line 980. Change 980 to:

980 R = SQR(((XD/SCALE)^^-

(XD/SCALE))-i-(YD^^-YD))

William A. Dement Ft. Clayton, Panama

EPSON ERRORS

I've been a reader of your magazine ever since it started (April 1982), and I like your style and the information you pro- vide. Your printer survey (ANTIC, Janu- ary 1984) was good, but I'd like to point out several errors that were made in the review of the Epson FX-80. First, the switches on the front are "on line," "form feed," and "line feed" — not "line feed," "top of form," and "select" as was stated in the review. In addition, the review states that "the buffer holds about one line." This is true if the DIP switch 1-4 is "off." If this switch is placed in the "on" position, however, a 2K buffer is available.

I've owned my Epson for 10 months now, and am very pleased with it (al- though the ribbon needs to be replaced frequently).

Ted Brindle Indianapolis, IN

MAZE MANIAC

Here are some changes I made to Maze Maniac (ANTIC, August 1983). The changes let the program time your pro- gress through the maze, instead of count- ing down from 100 seconds. In line 20, change T = T-1 to T = T -i- 1. Add line 245:

245 POSITION 1,6:PRINT #6; "IN ";T;" seconds"

Change TT = 100 in line 700 to TT = 0. Change POSITION 5,9 in line 240 to POSITION 6,8.

Tim O'Brien

Bergenfield, Nj rm

10

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

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meanatricKy

repairs anda'n'"°- BLUE WAX.

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415/527-7751

Compu'®'

INSIDE ATARI

ATARI INTERNATIONAL

Profits (and perils) abroad

Atari products and service are available in many, but not all, parts of the world. The job of organizing and administer- ing Atari's international efforts belongs to Atari Products International, a Sunny- vale, Calif.,-based division of Atari, Inc.

The president of Atari Products Inter- national, Anton "Tony" Bruehl, has been with Atari since 1979. He was formerly a vice president of one of the Burlington Industries' international divisions. American born, he was schooled in Switzerland and speaks both French and English.

Other Atari International executives include Steve Henick, VP of Sales for Asia and the Pacific area; Jack Beuttell, VP of Sales for Africa, the Americas, the Middle East arid Europe; Chris Derring, VP for Marketing and Product Manage- ment; and Dumas Simcus, VP for Inter- national Business Development. Steve Race, Director of International Market- ing, provided much of the information in this article.

SALES & MANUFACTURING

These executives oversee all sales that are made through independent distributors abroad. In addition. Atari operates wholly-owned subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Benelux countries, the Caribbean, Hong Kong and Japan. Sales outside the U.S. account for about 20% of Atari's total business.

All manufacturing of Atari computers

by ROBERT DeWITT Managing Editor

currently takes place in Hong Kong, where the joint-venture firm of Atari- Wong produces the 600XL and 800XL models. The government of Hong Kong has specified the Atari as the approved computer for use in its public schools. Unfortunately, similar governmental guidelines in many other countries

require schools to use locally produced computers, thus excluding Atari com- puters from a number of educational markets.

Atari cartridges are made in Puerto Rico, and Atari Coin-Op units are assembled in Ireland.

continued on pase 16

14

ANTIC, Thf .ATARI Resource

"Exodus: Ultima III, with a superior plot to match its superior gaming system, is a great game ... it sets new standards for fantasy gaming state of the art."

Softline, November/December 1983

"Caverns of Callisto is a very challenging and enjoyable arcade ga>me. I hope Origiij Systems can continue to provide prodiy

of such quality." Core, December 1#'

Zl

-=«i*.'.

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/

Created by Chuckles

i $34.95

i Apple 'and Atari.

■7

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Ai

sysrens //vc.

p. O. Box 99

Appl*-, Aiafi,- C(

and Lorfi HrifiS

,01845

marks uf A tjf Kichai-<'

Created by Lor^BfmW

^ $59.95

Apple, Atari, Com 64 and IBM

Apple version MOCKINGBOARD enhanced

^ba'.;: ,.i-feM^8

biting to play and constantly | riquinctJiaffiai|»alk. November 1983

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INSIDE ATARI

ATARI INTERNATIONAL

continued from pase 14

Atari computers and software cur- rently are available through distributors in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bah- rain, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Den- mark, Greece, Guam, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Panama, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

NEW MARKETS

Surprisingly, Atari game machines are sold in eight countries where Atari com- puters are not as yet available: Brazil, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar. Several of these nations, as well as some countries not mentioned in this article, are ex- pected to open their markets to Atari computers this year. ANTIC estimates that there are currently about 150,000 Atari computers in use outside the United States.

COMPATIBILITY PROBLEMS

Different television standards in different parts of the world are the main obstacle to the international distribution of Atari products. The U.S., Canada and a few other countries use the National Televi- sion Systems Committee (NTSC) scheme, which is geared to the use of 60Hz of electricity and 525 horizontal

scan lines. In Europe, two systems have emerged. One, called SECAM (Sequen- tial with Memory), is the standard in France, while PAL (Phase Alternate by Line) is standard in Germany, England and many other countries. Both SECAM and PAL use 50Hz of electricity and 625 scan lines. Complicating matters, all three standards use different systems for coding the red, green and blue color components of a TV picture.

This means that Atari computers and game machines must be specially built to meet the television standards in a given market. Software, too, must occa- sionally accommodate these technical differences.

INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE

Atari International maintains software development centers in London, Paris and Hamburg, where Atari products are modified, as needed, to meet local re- quirements, and new products for special markets are acquired. For in- stance. Atari France recently acquired the video game rights to Obelix and Asterix, two cartoon characters who are very popular in France. And a game pro- gram called Lone Raider is distributed only in England.

In some markets, the Atari Operating System has been modified to address the user in the local language — Swedish, for example. A French version of Atari Logo has been prepared for French-


Official Home Computer of the 1984 Olympics
999 ATARI

speaking countries. Hardcopy documen- tation is frequently translated into the language or languages of a given geo- graphical market.

THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET

How does the international market differ from the domestic one? Buyers are more serious and practical, according to Steve Race. "Atari computers are more expen- sive overseas, and people generally have less discretionary income. They legiti- mize their computer purchases by seek- ing effective usefulness," he explains.

In the U.S., Atari usually considers itself to be in competition with the TI-99 (now defunct), the Commodore ma- chines and Coleco's Adam. In England it does battle with computers such as Spectrum (Sinclair), Oric, BBC, and Dragon. In France it faces the Thomp- son and the Matra. Competitive com- puters in the Asian sphere include Sony, Toshiba and National (all MSX-stan- dard machines) and Sharp.

So far, at any rate, there are no reports of counterfeit Ataris, but the pirating of Atari software is a serious (and common) problem outside the U.S.

Atarisoft products (Atari software titles that are designed to run on non- Atari computers) are doing well overseas; Pole Position is the hottest international software item.

Some countries have erected trade and policy barriers that make it difficult to do business with them. For example, Taiwan prohibits the importation of video games, and in the Philippines you can't advertise them. In France, all TV commercial time must be ordered nine months in advance and commercials are aired whenever the station decides to run them. Israel imposes tariffs of up to 100% of the value of the unit. Each country is a knot of laws, customs, tech- nology, and attitudes that must be un- tangled if Atari is to make a profit.

Still, Atari International is profitable, and intends to stay that way. The result of Atari's resolve should be more goods and services for Atarians abroad, and a growing community of shared interests for all of us. Q

16

ANTIC, The ATARI Resoiir

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MOON SHUTTLE"

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MOONSHUTTLE- ovailable for Atari' Radio Shack Caiar", Commadare 64'- coming soon for Apple'

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Zaxxon has all the unique color graphics, super sound and unprece- dented 3-dimensional effects that made it the star of the arcades. Maneuver your ship through the state-of- the-art defenses of the floating fortress to come face-to-face with the deadly Zaxxon Robot. This is the official home version of the Segas arcade hit.

Our reputation as one of the premier game manufacturers

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Moon Shuttle® is a registered trademark of Nichibutsu, USA. ZAXXON " and Sega" are trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Inc.

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(213) 701-5161

STARTING LINE

\

ATARI'S CINDERELLA

The second half of the saga

This is the second part of a two-part tutorial on the Atari computer Operat- ing System. The program listings run on all Atari computers.

Welcome back! Last month, in Part I of this series, we covered the Atari Operating System (OS) in genera! and several sections of the OS in detail. In Part II, we'll continue our exploration of each of the main components of the operating system.

THE I/O SYSTEM

This element of the OS is critical to the functioning of the computer as we know it. No matter how powerful a micro- processor is, it's essentially useless if it can't communicate with external devices such as a cassette recorder or TV screen. Atari has set up its central input/output (I/O) system in a very efficient manner. For example, data transfer is handled in the same way regardless of which peripheral device is involved. A new peripheral can be handled by simply adding a new device handler (a program that communicates with the peripheral) to the OS.

The I/O system is composed of a number of sections: the central I/O

Fred Pinho is a biocheniical research engineer and a self-taught prograynmer who is interested in BASIC and assembly language. The Atari 800 is his first computer.

by FRED PINHO

routine (CIO), the serial I/O routine (SIO), I/O coTitrol blocks (lOCB's) and device handlers. The CIO is the entry point for most I/O performed by the computer. It routes I/O requests to the correct device-handling routine. At the heart of this versatile system are the Input/Output Control Blocks (lOCB's). There are eight of these, each

of which is 16 bytes long. BASIC, or the programmer, sets up a specific lOCB for each desired I/O command. Then a call is made to the central I/O routine. Presto, it's done! All BASIC commands that in- volve I/O to a device, including the monitor screen, are actually performed by the CIO. These include such com- mands as PLOT, DRAWTO, PUT, GET,

18

ANTIC, The ATy\Rl Rcsinircc

STARTING LINE

PRINT and LIST.

lOCB #0 is reserved for the text screen editor. lOCB #6 is used for screen graphics statements (remember the PRINT #6 commands you use to print to a GR.l or 2 screen?). lOCB #7 is used for LPRINT and program loading and saving. But lOCB's #1-5 are always available for the programmer's use. And much can be done with the standard BASIC commands. The OPEN com- mand tells BASIC how to set up an lOCB for subsequent use. Then you can PRINT, LIST, PUT, etc. to the specific device controlled by that lOCB. However, the CIO is capable of even greater computing power. Unfortu- nately, the use of machine language is required to access these computing capabilities. BASIC can be used to set up the lOCB for such extended operations, but a short machine-language routine must be used to call the CIO via the USR command.

BASIC'S LIMITATIONS

A limited data-movement capability is available through BASIC (via commands such as OPEN, GET, PUT, etc.). How- ever, GET and PUT affect only one data value at a time. What do you do if you want to SAVE or LOAD a large amount of data in one operation? Say, for example, that you want to save and retrieve a picture drawn on your graphics screen. The CIO has the capability to do this, but, unfortunately, BASIC does not support this valuable application. It can, however, be accomplished through BASIC if you use a short machine- language routine that directly calls the CIO. This technique is illustrated in Listing 2 (Listing 1 appeared in Part 1).

TRY THIS

Lines 31010-31310 of Listing 2 give BASIC the ability to rapidly save and retrieve an entire graphics screen to disk or cassette. Lines 31050-31160 save the screen data; lines 31200-31300 retrieve it. Type RUN and the computer will create a simple drawing and ask you if you wish to save or load a screen. Be sure that your disk or cassette is ready, and then request save. When the operation

is finished, type in the following: GR.5:GOTO 31020. The screen will clear and once again you will be asked to choose either save or load. This time, request a load. Voila, it's done! If you use a disk, the screen will load quickly. With the slower cassette, you'll see the screen load in sections.

This program is written for Graphics Modes 2-8 (i.e., only the graphics modes that use a text window). Lines 31060 and 31230 exclude the 160 bytes that contain the text window data. Also, please note that the program saved the graphics- mode value. On loading, this value is checked against the existing graphics mode to insure that there is no mismatch. Finally, the color registers are also sav- ed. As a result, your creation is saved and loaded with the colors of your choice rather than with default colors.

SYSTEM VECTORS

Of all the computer jargon words, "vec- tor" caused me the most trouble when I was new to the field. It was used very often and never explained. Basically, a vector is a pair of memory locations that contain the address of a specific machine-language routine. When the microprocessor needs to run the routine, it goes to these memory locations to find the required address.

The Atari OS is loaded with vectors (both in RAM and ROM). The RAM vectors handle most of the interrupt rou- tines and the disk and cassette boot code. The vectors stored in ROM contain ad- dresses to crucial OS routines and device handlers. RAM vectors can be changed to force the microprocessor to do the programmer's bidding; ROM vectors are fixed and cannot be changed. (The exceptions to this are the ROM vectors for device handlers. During initializa- tion, these vectors are copied into RAM. As a result, the programmer can change addresses or add new addresses in the handler vector table.)

TIMERS

A number of timers are built into the Atari OS. The six that are located in RAM are called software-system timers. These timers are updated during the Ver-

tical Blank Interrupt (VBI). During the VBI, the count in each timer is either incremented or decremented by one. Since this update occurs roughly 60 times per second, the minimum time delay that can be programmed via these timers is 0.0167 seconds. For most of us, this is more than adequate. Incidentally, a sixtieth of a second is commonly called a "jiffy."

The timer that is most readily acces- sible through BASIC is the real-time clock (RTCLK). This count-up (incre- mented) timer is located at memory loca- tions 18-20 and occupies three bytes. Location 20 is the least significant byte and is the only one that is incremented during each VBI. When location 20 "overflows" (or goes one past its max- imum value of 255), location 19 is in- creased by one. Similarly, when location 19 overflows, location 18 is increased by one. Note that when a memory byte overflows, it automatically resets to zero. Thus, when RTCLK reaches its max- imum value, it automatically resets itself. A count in each register is linked to human time as follows:

Memory Location 18 19 20

Seconds per Count 1094 4.272 0.0167

To use this constantly-counting timer, POKE zeros into the three memory loca- tions. Then PEEK them and convert the values as in the following example:

Total Jiffies = 65536"PEEK(18)-f 256^'PEEK(19)H- PEEK(20)

Total Seconds = Total Jiffies/ 59.92334

Note that we do not divide by 60. I've used the actual VBI time interval, which is close enough to 60 for most purposes. (Listing 3 is a short BASIC program that illustrates the use of the RTCLK.)

The other five software timers are ac- cessed primarily through machine language. All of them are two-byte, count-down timers (maximum count = 18 -I- minutes). Timers 1 and 2 cause the OS to run on a machine-language sub- routine when they have counted down to zero. This is very handy, since the timer counts unobtrusively in the continued on next page

March 1984

19

STARTING LINE

background while your main program goes about its business. Then, when the timer counts out, your subroutine will automatically do its thing. This is per- formed during the VBI, so any graphics change will be sharp and clean.

Timers 3-5 simply set a flag byte to zero when they count out. By checking this location, you will know when time is up. These three timers can be accessed directly from BASIC. Due to BASIC'S slowness, the timeout check will be rough, but adequate for many purposes. A short demo is given in Listing 4.

Atari offers you an embarrassment of riches, since there are also four timers in the POKEY chip. These "hardware" timers can be used for time intervals much shorter than a sixtieth of a second. They are count-down timers that generate IRQ interrupts and are nor- mally used to generate sound. However, skillful programmers can subvert them to their own purposes.

FLOATING-POINT PACKAGE

This set of OS routines provides the com- puter with extended arithmetic capabilities. The central processor, the 6502 chip, has limited talents. All it can do is add, subtract and compare two numbers. The higher arithmetic func- tions, such as multiplication, division and exponentiation, must be handled by machine-language programs that are built around the 6502's capabilities. It would have been inefficient to have

required that each language loaded into the computer carry its own floating point package, so Atari installed a special chip in the OS cartridge to take care of this task.

The term "floating point" simply means that you can do math with frac- tions and decimals. Integer BASIC'S are available for some computers. These allow only whole numbers to be used (-128. 4. 3600). There is a price one pays for the increased computing abili- ty provided by the floating-point package: speed. Floating-point BASIC'S are slower than integer BASIC'S. (Note that Atari BASIC converts all numbers, even integers, to floating-point notation. Thus, you can't gain the speed of an in- teger BASIC by using only integers in Atari BASIC.)

CHARACTER SET

Also located in the OS ROM cartridge is the so-called character set. The com- puter does its thing via the binary number system. But very few, if any, humans can communicate meaningfully in this way. So, for the convenience of the human user, the computer converts each number (0-255) to a special character (letter, number, etc.) for display on a peripheral device. The stan- dard convention for this conversion pro- cess is called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). Atari has modified its code slightly; the Atari version is ATASCII. In essence,

Listing 2

each character in the ASCII or ATASCII character set is represented by eight bytes that tell the computer how to display that character. The character set is often fixed in ROM, and a "hard" character set is all that many computers have to offer. However, the Atari allows the program- mer to change the character set for his own purposes. Many games use re- defined character sets to create their ex- citing graphics. The basic method used is to copy the ROM set into RAM. Once in RAM, the character bytes can be altered to match your needs. By POKE- ing into a single memory location, you can instruct the computer to use your character set rather than the ROM version.

EMERGING FROM THE CAVERNS

I hope that this short presentation has given you a better understanding of Atari Operating System. I've also tried to sug- gest how much Atari computing power is available to the knowledgeable pro- grammer. Much of the power of the Atari OS is available only through machine language, but you don't have to write whole programs in machine code. Wondrous things can be accomplished within the BASIC universe via short machine-language routines that are ac- cessed by the USR command. There is much to explore in the murky caverns of the OS. Have fun!

SCREEN SAVE ROUTINE

3000 GRAPHICS 5:REST0RE 3040 3060 DATA 6 0,10,65,10,59,11,66,11,60,2

3010 COLOR 1:F0R Z=0 TO 5:READ X,Y:PLO 9,65,29,59,28,66,28,57,12,57,27,58,12,

T X,Y:READ X,Y:DRAWTO X,Y:NEXT Z:PLOT 5 8,27,67,12,67,27,68,12,68,27

29,12:PL0T 29,27:PL0T 28,12:PL0T 28,27 31000 REM^

3020 COLOR 2:F0R Z=0 TO 5:READ X,Y:PLO 31010 DIM T$(1)

T X,Y:READ X,Y:DRAWTO X,Y:NEXT Z 31020 ? ■DO YOU WISH TO:":? ' SAVE A

3030 COLOR 3:F0R Z=0 TO 7:READ X,Y:PLO SCREEN (TYPE S ) " : ? " LOAD A SCREEN (T

T X,Y:READ X,Y:DRAWTO X,Y:NEXT Z:PLOT YPE L)":INPUT T$

59, 12:PL0T 66,12: PLOT 59, 27

3035 PLOT 66,27:C0L0R 1:PL0T 0,0:DRAWT

0 79,0:DRAWTO 79,39:DRAWT0 0,39:DRAWTO

0,0: SETCOLOR 0,5,6 3040 DATA 20,12,20,27,21,11,21,28,22,1 0,28,10,22,11,29,11,22,28,29,28,22,29, 28 , 29

3050 DATA 39,10,46,10,39,11,46,11,39,2 8,46,28,39,29,46,29,42,12,42,27,43,12, 43,27

31030 IF T$<>"S" AND T$<>"L" THEN 3102

0

31040 IF T$="L" THEN 31190

31050 OPEN #4 , 8, 0,"D:SCREEN1 .DAT" :REM

OPEN lOCB #4

END 0

F SCREEN DATA. TEXT WIN00W(160 BYTES) IS EXCLUDED

31070 D L=PEEK( 560 )+256*PEEK( 561): START = PEEK(DL + 4)+256*PEEK(DL-i-5):STARTHI = INT

20

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

STARTING LINE

( S T A R T / 2 5 6 ) : S T A RT L 0 = S TA RT-2 5 6 * S T A R T H I 31080 REM kiiJifiMJililiiJIlll

3 1090 L=( LAST-START )+1 :LHI=INT(L/256) LL0 = L-256*LHI : REM

LENGTH OF SCREEN DAT

Q

31100 G = PEEK( 87) : PUT #4,G:REM UiHJm>M

31110 FOR X=0 TO 4:PUT #4 , P E E K ( 7 08 + X )

NEXT X: REM

31120 POKE 898,11:REM

SAVE COLOR REGISTERS

COMMAND FOR PUT

BINARY RECORD

31130 POKE 900 , STARTLO : POKE 901,STARTH I : REM

31140 POKE g04,LLO:POKE 905,LHI:REM

ADDRESS OF START OF DATA TO BE

NGTH OF DATA TO BE SAVED

31150 X = USR ( ADR (" h h li||LV[]" ),4*16):REM Q

CLOSE IOCS #4

TOTAL JIFFIES

TOTAL SECONDS

530 FOR T=1 TO 7 0 0 : J F = P E E K ( 1 8 ) * 6 5 5 3 6 + P EEK( 19) *256 + PEEK( 20)j^REM

540 TS = JF/59.92 : REM

550 HRS=INT(TS/3600):MINS=INT((TS-(HRS

*3600))/60):SECS=INT((TS-MINS*60)+0.5)

560 POKE 656,2:P0KE 657,2:? HRS;" MRS

■ ;MINS ; ■ MINS • ; SECS ; " SECS" ;

570 NEXT T:POKE 656,3:P0KE 657,2:? "CO MPLETED! PLEASE WAIT!":G0SUB 690:GOSUB 690

580 ? CHR$( 125) ; : REM

590 ? "COUNT-DOWN TIMER'

600 ? "NUMBER MINUTES D E S I R E D" ; : I N PU T

MINS

610 ? "NUMBER SECONDS 0 E S I R E D" ; : I N P U T

SECS

620 STJF=MINS*3600+SECS*60:REM EH

CLEAR SCREEN

END

"SCREEN RETRIEVE ROUTINE^^SET CLOCK TO 0 SET UP CORRECT GRAPHICS MODE

31160 CLOSE #4:REM

31170 ? "SCREEN SAVED

31180 REM

31 190 REM

■anrnn

31200 OPEN #4 ,4, 0,"D :SCREEN1 . DAT" 31210 GET #4,G:IF G<>PEEK(87) THEN ? " GRAPHICS MODE MI SMAT C H I " : C L OS E #4:END 31220 FOR X=0 TO 4 :GET #4 , C : POKE 708+X

,C:NEXT X:REM

31230 LAST=PEEK( 1 06) *256-1 60: REM

COLOR REGISTERS

END 0

F SCREEN DATA. TEXT WIND0W(160 BYTES) IS EXCLUDED

IFFIES TO COUNT DOWN

625 POKE 18,0:POKE 19,0:POKE 20,0:REM

COMMAND TO GET BI

31240 DL = PEEK(560)+256*PEEK( 561): START

=PEEK(0L+4)+256*PEEK(DL+5):STARTHI=INT

( START/256 ):STARTL0 = START-256*STARTHI

31250 L=( LAST-START ) +1 :LHI= INT ( L/256) :

LL0=L-256*LHI

31260 POKE 898, 7 :REM

NARY RECORD

31270 POKE 900, STARTLO : POKE 901,STARTH

I

31280 POKE 904,LLO:POKE 905, LHI

3 1290 X = USR( ADR("hhh|LV[l" ) , 4*1 6) : REM Q

uiWtiiii

31300 CLOSE #4:? "SCREEN LOADED!" 31310 END

TYPO TABLE

630 C0UNT=PEEK(18)*65536+PEEK(19)*256+ PEEK( 20 )

640 JF=STJF-COUNT

650 TS = JF/59.92:HRS = INT(TS/3600) :MINS = INT( (TS-( HRS* 36 00) )/60) :SECS = INT( (TS-M INS*60)+0.5 )

660 POKE 656,3:P0KE 657,2:? HRS;" HRS ";MINS;" MINS ";SECS;" SECS";

670 IF JF>0 THEN 630

680 ? : ? "TIMED OUT!" : END

690 FOR X=1 TO 500:NEXT X:RETURN

TYPO TABLE

Variable checksum =	= 178583
Line num range	Code	L e n g t li
500 - 570	SS	521
S80 - 660	AF	505
670 - 690	VY	77

Listins 4

2000 DIM A$( 1 ) ,N$( 4)

2010 GRAPHICS 5

2020 L0=32 : HI=28 : REM

NUMBER OF JIFFIES

IN 2 MINUTES (HI & LO BYTES OF 72 00)1

Variable checksum = 273997

Line num 3000 3050

31070 - 31150 - 31250 -

range 3040 31 060 31140 31 240 31310

Code AB MD AC YK VN Listins 3

Length 556 504 509 567 249

500 GRAPHICS 3 : POKE 752,1

510 ? "COUNT-UP TIMER" ;: GOSUB 690

520 POKE 18,0:POKE 19,0:POKE 20,0:REM

SET CLOCK TO 0

2030 "DO AS

2040 2050 YES 2060 : ? " $)>9 2070 2080 2090 2100

? "TIMER IS SET FOR 2 MINUTES!":? YOU WANT A DIFFERENT TIME":INPUT

PLEASE ANSWER

IF A$="N" THEN 21i

IF A$<>"Y" THEN ? OR NO!":GOTO 2030

? "INPUT TOTAL NUMBER OF SECONDS- DESIRE D ( 1 5-9 9 9 )": I N P U T N$:IF VAL(N 99 OR VAL(N$ )<1 5 THEN 2060

A = VAL ( N$ ) : J F = 60*A

HI=INT( JF/256) : R E M^

L0=JF-HI*256 : REM

POKE 66, 1 : REM

TIMER HI BYTE

TIMER LO BYTE

SET CRITIC FLAG TO

continued on page 106

March 1984

21

WEUNUASHIH POWERTULGMP

^m^ -mm-

EWORID^MOST

HICS IKHNOlOGli:

You'll never see Infocom's graphics on any computer screen. Because there's never been a computer built by man that could handle the images we produce. And, there never will be. We draw our graphics from the limitless imagery of your imagi- nation—a technology so power- ful, it makes any picture that's ever come out of a screen look like graffiti by comparison. And nobody knows how to unleash your imagination like Infocom.

Through our prose, your imagination makes you part of our stories, in control of what you do and where you go— yet unable to predict or con- trol the course of events. You're con- fronted with situa- tions and logical puz- zles the like of which you won't find elsewhere . And you're immersed in rich environments alive with per- sonalities as real as any you'll meet in the flesh— yet all the more vivid because they're perceived directly by your mind's eye, not through your external senses. The method to this magic? We've found the way to plug our prose right into your psyche, and catapult you into a whole new dimension.

Take some tough critics' words about our words. SOFTALK, for example, called ZORK® Ill's prose "far more graphic than any depiction yet achieved by an adventure with graphics." And the NEW YORK

TIMES saw fit to print that our DEADLINE''^' is "an amazing feat of programming." Even a journal as video-oriented as ELECTRONIC GAMES found Infocom prose to be such an eye-opener, they named one of our games their Best Adventure of 1983.

Better still, bring an Infocom game home with you. Discover firsthand why thousands upon thousands of discriminating game players keep turning everything we write into instantaneous bestsellers.

Step up to Infocom. All words. No graffiti. The secret reaches of your mind are beckoning. A whole new dimension is in there waiting for you.

(For more information on Infocom games contact: Infocom, Inc., P.O. Box 855, Garden City, NY 11530.)

inFocom

The next dimension.

Forynur: Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, CP/M 8.' DEC Rainbow, DEC RT-11, IBM, MS-DOS 2.0, NEC APC, NEC PC-8000, Osborne. TI Professional. TI 99/.1A, TRS-80 Model I, TRS-80 Model III.

EDUCATION

FLASH COUNT

Learn foreign numerals on your Atari

by JAMES ADAMSON

You no sooner step on foreign soil than you discover the importance of knowing your numbers in the local language — for telling time, spending money, understanding addresses and directions. Yet number drill, especially calculating, is one of the most neglected parts of foreign language education.

Now, Flash Count can be used on your Atari to build this skill. Anyone who can read can learn to associate foreign number words with their corre- sponding values, and then add, subtract, multiply, and divide these numbers. (This program only uses zero to twelve.)

The screen display presents a problem which is written in the spelled version of the foreign numbers. The program user presses the number key (or keys) that corresponds to the correct answer. If the answer is indeed correct, the pro- gram goes to the next problem.

If you don't understand the foreign words, you can type 200 to see the value of the first term in the problem. To see what the second term is, type 400. How- ever, if you need this kind of aid, the computer adds to your "wrong score" to deter you from using this method to answer the problem. You have 180

James Adamson is a IS-year-old pro- grammer who lives in North Hunting- ton, PA. His father, George Adamson, is also a member of the ANTIC family of writers.

seconds to work as many of these simple problems as you can. The screen displays a ranking (novice to expert) based on your score, after your time has expired. This gives you a mark to compete against the next time you try the program. The program as listed presents prob-

lems in Spanish, but French or other foreign words can be substituted easily. All you have to do is change the words assigned to B$ and D$ on lines 170 to 290. Foreign word equivalents to num- bers in French and German follow.

continued on page 26

24

ANTIC, The ATARI RcsDurce

Shooting down the menac- ing and constantly multiplying Threads isn't easy, but it's only one of the challenges in this official computer game version of Anne McCaffrey's famous book series.

Your strategy will be put to the test as you try to negotiate alliances with Pern's Lord Holders in an attempt to form the most powerful Weyr on the planet. Should you take a firm stance or compro- mise? Will asking a Craftmaster for assistance increase your chances for success? Maybe you should invite prospec- tive allies to a Wedding or even a Dragon Hatching. Remember to check the Lord Holders personality traits

first. It may be critical to your success.

Numerous screens combine to create truly unique and challenging game play. There's even a practice screen to sharpen your Thread Fighting skills.

If you liked the books, you'll love the game. After all, how often do you get the chance to actually fly a dragon?

One to four players, joystick and keyboard controlled.

Strategy Games for the Action-Game Player

EDUCATION

FLASH COUNT continued from page 24

NUMBER FRENCH GERMAN

0	zero	null
1	un	ems
2	deux	zwei
3	trois	drei
4	quatre	vier
5	cinq	funf
6	six	sechs
7	sept	sieben
8	huit	acht
9	neuf	neun
10	dix	zehn
11	onze	elf
12	douze	zwolf

1

2

3

4

10

20

REM F REM b REM A REM R DIM GOTO

30 NOW= *256)+P 40 TIME 50 POKE 0NE=1 80 60 SOUN TRY AGA 7 0 W=W+ 80 POSI 90 POSI GONE 100 SOU T WGR: ? 110 RET

120 130 140 EXT 1 50 160 170 180 190 200 21 0 220 230 240 250 260 270

SOU

R = R

? "

D

SOU

RET

POK

IF

I F

IF

Requires 16K RAM

LASHCOUNT

y James Adamson

NTIC MAGAZINE MARCH 1984

e q u i r e s 1 6K RAM

C$(20) ,B$( 1 0)

840 INT( ( (PEEK( 18)*65536) + ( PEEK( 19) EEK(20) )/60) GONE=180-NOW: RETURN

18,0: POKE 19,0: POKE 20, 0:TIMEG : RETURN

0 0,121,10,14:? "WRONG ANSWER ! IN !" 1

TION 10,9:? #6 ;"wr on g= ";W TION 3,7:? #6 ; "T IME L E F T= ";TIME

ND 0, 0, 0, 0: FOR WGR = 1 TO 130:NEX : 7

URN

ND 0,96,10,8 :SOUND 1,81,10,8 +1:IF TIMEGONE<0 THEN GOTO 310 CORRECT INPUT":FOR D=1 TO 150:N

ND URN E 71 V=1

V = 2

V = 3

V = 4

V = 5

V = 6

V = 7

V = 8

V = 9 V=1 0

0,0,0,0: SOUND 1,0,0,0

0,14: IF V=0 THEM THEN B$="UNO" THEN B$="DOS" THEN B$="TRES" THEN B$="CUATRO" THEN B$="CINCO" THEN B$="SEIS" THEN B$="SIETE" THEN B$="OCHO" THEN B$="NUEVE" THEN B$="DIEZ"

B$="SERO"

280

290

300

310

320

330

340

350

360

IZ"

370

64

380

": Z

390

400

? #

#6 ;

410

420

532

430

440

450

460

470

480

490

500

510

520

530

540

550

560

570

580

590

600

610

620

POK

630

r d s

640

650

660

670

680

EGO

690

700

71 0

720

730

740

750

760

770

780

790

IF V=11 THEN B$="ONCE"

IF V=12 THEN B$="DOCE"

RETURN

C$="NOVICE"

IF R=0 OR TI<20 THEN 370

RANK=INT( 100*W/TI)

IF RANK<26 THEN C $ = " A V E R AG E"

IF RANK<16 THEN C$="MUY BIEN"

IF RANK<9 THEN C$="ESPANOL MATH

WH

GRAPHICS 2:P0KE 5 3 7 7 4 , 1 1 2 : P 0 K E 16

POS = Z + 4 SOU POS 6 ;"T "TOT POK ? " 79) = GOT END GOS A = I B = I TI = IF IF IF IF IF IF RE = A = A GOT IF T = B B = A V = A GRA E 53 POS

ITION 2,2 :IF Z>Z43 ND 0,Z, 10 ITION 2,4

? #6 THEN 14 ? #6

"YOUR Z = Z9

RANK IS

OTAL RIGHT=

AL WRONG= ";W

E 708, INT( 256*RND( 1 ) )

PRESS START TO BEGIN!

6 THEN 840

0 380

C$: POSITION 2 R : POSITION 2 , 8

IF PEEK

UB 5

NT( 1

TI + 1

0P<3

OP-3

B-0

A = 0

A<B

INT(

A-IN

-RE

0 61

A>B

3*RND( 1 3*RND( 1

A1=A B1=B

THEN 610

THEN 580 THEN 8=1 THEN A=1

THEN T = B : B = A : A = T A/B)=A/B THEN 61 I T( A/B) *B

THEN 610

: A = T

:GOSUB 1 70

PHICS 2 :POKE 710, 14:P0KE 16,64:

774,64

ITION 1,0:? #6 ;"espano I f 1 ashca

B$

POSITION 6,2:? #6 ; POSITION 4,5:? #6 ; POSITION 10,9:? #6 POSITION 0,9:? #6 ; POSITION 3,7:? #6 ; NE V=B : GOSUB 170 ON OP GOTO 710, 760, 740 POSITION 5,4:? #6;"+ " C = A + B GOTO 800

POSITION 5,4:? #6 ;"- " C=A-B:GOTO 800 POSITION 5,4:? #6 ;"* " C = A*B :GOTO 800 POSITION 5,4:? #6;"/ " C = A/B

; "wr ong= ";W "r i gh t= "; R "TIMELEFT= ";

TIM

780 B$

B$ B$

B$

26

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

EDUCATION

800 T

POKE

??" ; :

8I0'

SUB

820

830

840

,121 :

850 T

860 P

RDS"

870 S

SOUND

880

890

N"

900

IC"

910 S

SOUND

RAP 800:POKE 764,255:P0KE 702,64:

694,0:? - INPUT YOUR ANSWER NOW ?

INPUT CI : ? -m-

F CI0C THEN GOSUB 60:GOSUB 30:GO

000:GOTO 800

OSUB 30:GOSUB 120

OTO 460

RAPHICS 1+16:P0KE 710, 14: POKE 708

S-50: POKE 16,64: POKE 53774 , 64

1 = 0: R = 0:W=0

OSITION 1,0:? #6;"espanol FLASHCA

OUND 0, 1 62 , 1 0 , 8 : SOUND 1,108,10,6:

2,128,10,6 OR Z=1 TO S:NEXT Z OSITION 1,3:? #6;"by JAMES ADAMSO

920

930

940

950

960

OUND

970 F

980 S

990 F

1000

1010

1020

1030

1040

1050

1060

1070

1080

2000

;••("; 2010

;•■(■■; 2020

OUND 0,182,10,6 :SOUND 1,182,10,6:

2,144,10,6 OR Z=1 TO S:NEXT Z

OSITION 3,9:? #6;" press "

OSITION 3,12:? #6 ;"( a ) lor +"

OSITION 3,14:? #6 ;"( s ) for -"

OUND 0,243,10, 6:S0UND 1 ,96, 10,6:S

2,162,10,6

OR Z=1 TO S:NEXT Z

=INT( 121*RND(1 ) )

OR T = 0 TO 3:S0UND T, 0, 0, 0:NEXT T

POSITION 3,16:? #6 ;"(m) for *"

POSITION 3,18:? #6 ; " ( d ) for /"

DE=PEEK( 764)

IF DE=63 THEN 0P=1 :GOTO 450

IF DE=37 THEN 0P=2 :GOTO 450

IF DE=62 THEN 0P=3 :GOTO 450

IF DE=58 THEN 0P=4:G0T0 450

POKE 708, INT(255*RND( 1 ) )

GOTO 860

IF C1=200 THEN POSITION 14,2:? #6

A ; •• ) ■■

IF C1=400 THEN POSITION 14,4:? #6

B;")"

RETURN

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TYPO TABLE

Va r

i a b I e cli e

Line n urn

1

90

210

330

430

550

670

790

880

980

2010

Gk r a 80 20 32 42 54 66 78 87 97 20 20

sum n ge

20

359799 Co il e AD MA LI LC YB EH OX HA ZV IV OY

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March 1984

27

LOGO/ PILOT

LOGO'S LINEAGE

The Canadian connection

The Canadian association with the Logo computer language is almost as old as that of Logo itself. The story begins with Guy Montpetit, a Quebcfois, and his friend, Seymour Papert, who both studied under theorist Jean Piaget in Geneva back in the early 1960's. Papert left Geneva to work and study at MIT, while Montpetit started a few small busi- nesses, including a research lab in Montreal. They stayed in touch.

In 1970, the Logo group was estab- lished within the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. Shortly after, in 1971, Montpetit decided to introduce Logo into Canada. In Ottawa, he managed to connect up to a mainframe government computer, a PDP-11; his system used ter- minals at a school in Longueil, one of Montreal's eastern suburbs. His work with Logo there stirred much interest, and members of the MIT group fre- quently came up to see what he had accomplished.

In 1974, Guy took time off from his Ottawa work and moved to Boston, to be closer to his old friend Papert and the MIT experiments. Montpetit soon rea-

lan Chadwick resides in Toronto, Canada, and is the author of the excel- lent reference text. Mapping the Atari from COMPUTE! Books.

by IAN CHADWICK

- - - - - :^Oc^

lized the need for finding an implemen- tation of Logo that would make it accept- able to the world outside the university. In 1980, back in Canada, he formed a

company called SGT (General Turtle

Corporation) and got a contract to

design and manufacture business com-

continued on page 30

28

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

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We show you "why" as well as "how." Lifestyle Budgeting is the first com- plete budgeting paclcage to include &n easy-to-understand book explaining the behavioral! aspects of successful budgeting as well as software to handle the mechanics. It takes a practical approach, showing you not only how you're spending your money, but why ... so you cam identify your true priori- ties and plan for them.

Planning is flie key. Lifestyle Budgeting's software is a forecasting and modeling tool, not a checkbook balancer. It will track your spending patterns, identifying where you're wasting valuable funds. Using that information, and your family's priorities, it will show you specifically how to project and plan future costs.

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LOGO/ PILOT

LOGO'S LINEAGE

continued from pase 28

purer work srarions thar used Logo as rhe operaring language. Wirh SGT, Monr- petir developed a number of business applications for Logo, including a word- processing package. But response from buyers was too small to keep the company afloat, and SGT soon went bankrupt.

KITCHEN COMPANY

Undaunted in his faith that Logo was an important computer language, Mont- petit convinced Papert and other MIT players — Marvin Minsky, Cynthia Sulliman, and Brian Silverman (another Canadian) — to found Logo Computer Systems Inc. (LCSI) in Montreal. The new company, formed across a kitchen table one evening, was dedicated to creating a new implementation of Logo that would run on the Apple computer. MIT had already licensed Texas Instru- ments, Terrapin, and Krell to sell a microcomputer version of Logo, but what LCSI was after was a new, recon- structed implementation, something re- designed from the ground up on their LISP-based computers.

The LCSI group sought out local talent to help them develop the company. In order to give the company a market- able image, they brought in Jim Baroux, a veteran of the corporate world with extensive sales and marketing expertise. To stay close to MIT development, LCSI maintained a lab in Boston, where Papert and Minsky worked. Papert became the media spokesman for both Logo and LCSI, a role Baroux created, because he saw the new company's need for an artic- ulate expert who could talk to the press, to governments, and to educators with authority. Baroux's efforts were so suc- cessful that Logo became a conversation item for people who didn't even own a computer!

LOGO ASCENDING

Meanwhile, under Brian Silverman's sleepless efforts, LCSI polished up and brought forth its first product: Apple Logo. This was sold to the Apple Com-

puter Corporation and marketed under Apple's own label, a unique contract for the industry at that time.

The public response was enthusiastic, and Ixigo became a respected term in the vocabulary of educators. This version was to win LCSI the Best Microcomputer Software of the Year Award, presented by the Learning Periodicals Group. Apple Logo again gained prominence when Apple chose it as the only software to accompany their give-away computers to schools in the "Kids Can't Wait" program.

Not long after Apple Logo's release, LCSI found itself at the center of world attention, with major corporations ask- ing almost daily for an implementation for their machines. Japan, in particular, has been interested in Logo, and many Japanese executives and researchers have come to Canada to work with LCSI.

By mid-1983, LCSI had 15 contracts to develop Logo for various machines: the IBM-PC, Atari 400/800/1200XL, dec's Rainbow and 350, Europe's large Thomson Brandt company's model TO-7, the Fujitsu computer, Coleco's Adam, the Timex Spectrum, an Apple Sprite Logo (a version with graphics to challenge TI's or Atari's), a Music Logo, and more.

Brian Silverman proved to be the guid- ing light of Logo's technical develop- ment. Tireless, brilliant and farsighted, Brian has been offered positions by many ofthe major computer companies. Loyal to LCSI however, Brian began develop- ing an entirely new version of the memory-hungry language for use in the educational field. Brian foresees this as a huge potential market. The first prod- uct to use this new implementation is Atari Logo, a surprisingly powerful pro- gram packed into a tiny 16K of ROM. (Apple Logo takes 48K!)

SOPHISTICATED LOGO

From the beginning, LCSI has consis- tently pointed out that Logo is not merely Turtle Graphics, but a sophisti- cated language with powerful list- processing capabilities. Logo is not just another PILOT, a language designed to allow educators to develop curriculum

and lesson programs. Nor is it simply a "kid's" language, as many outsiders imagine it to be. Instead, it is a fully- expandable language based on the science of learning.

The big dream of LCSI is to see Logo replace BASIC as the language of choice for computing. Jean Pierre Brunet, head of LCSI's Apple products division, says that they are "trying to package and sell thought." He expects Logo to be for the home market "what VisiCalc has been to the business market."

LCSI's position in Canada has not gone unchallenged, however. Recently, Waterloo University released a version of Logo for the IBM computer. This pro- fessional, powerful version reflects Waterloo's position as the finest computer-science school in Canada.

Ontario's educational computer, designed and manufactured by CEM- Corp, will sport a new version of Logo for its 16-bit networking system. So far, no one has been named as the developer, but certainly Waterloo and LCSI are in the running. So is a new company. Human Computer Resources, whose Richard Miller is responsible for writing a Logo which may be upgraded for the new computer. This lucrative CEMCorp contract would insure Logo a place in Ontario schools, since the government has guaranteed an initial equipment pur- chase of $10 million.

COMPETITION LOOMS

LCSI's most serious competitor, in their own eyes, is not a Canadian company, but rather Digital Research, which is based in California. The company that brought us CP/M has also released Logo for the IBM-PC. LCSI sees DR as hav- ing the market credibility to present a solid challenge to their sales. However, LCSI also believes that having DR on the Logo bandwagon will lend credibility to the language.

Meanwhile, independent groups such as the Logo Special Interest Group (Sig- Logo) of the Educational Computing Organization of Ontario (ECOO), are working to spread the interest in Logo into Ontario schools. This group has scheduled a research conference at

30

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

LOGO/ PILOT

Queen's University in Kingston and expects individuals from across North America to present papers about their work with Logo.

Dr. Bill Higginson at Queen's pro- duces the SigLogo newsletter, LOGO- Phile, an erratically scheduled publica- tion which is surprisingly full of Logo information and gossip. Higginson also heads a Logo research project in provin- cial public schools, which is sponsored by the Ontario Department of Educa- tion. Dr. Higginson's co-worker, Dale Burnett, wrote a popular book on Logo.

THINK LOGO

The GAMMA Institute — a think tank jointly funded by Montreal, McGill and Concordia Universities, and Ryerson Polytechnic Institute — recently released a research paper called "On Terminals, Turtles and Turning Teaching Inside Out," which examined the impact of the

personal computer on education. It con- cludes that researchers and educators at higher levels are very much concerned with Logo and its developments.

Elsewhere in Canada, Logo is finding strong footholds in school systems in British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In Quebec, the pro- vincial government's "Buy Quebec" policy is helping LCSI's Logo enter the schools, especially now that the com- pany offers a version in French. In Manitoba, the Department of Education published a pamphlet for teachers called Getting Started in Logo, but as a begin- ners' guide it lacks professionalism and direction. Surprisingly, a 1983 report from the Alberta Ministry of Education on computers in the schools completely overlooked Logo in an otherwise exeeL lent proposal. Obviously, educators still have a lot to learn.

However, through the efforts of a handful of dedicated people in a small

office outside of Montreal, Logo has become an important new element in educational strategy, with Canada in the forefront of research and applications. Perhaps, someday, LCSI's dream that Logo will be available in every school and home will come true. Q

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March 1984

31

LOGO/ PILOT

MERGING TRAFFIC

PILOT does it on the run

MERGING IN RUN MODE? SURE!

This month's PILOT article again fea- tures Phil and Kathy Bergh and an inno- vative program that merges PILOT pro- grams under program control. You can use this technique to "overlay" code and thus fit large programs into small memory spaces by LOADing only the sections of the program needed at one time. Then, when a new section is needed, you LOAD it "over" some un- needed lines.

Our PlLOT/]jogo columns aim to pre- sent useful procedures using features of the languages not covered in the manuals. We invite you to send ideas jor articles youd like to see, or complete articles, to me in care of this column, just cover something new and useful.

Next month I will use Logo to make large letters (BASIC'S Mode 1 and 2), and show you two safe places to put machine-language code. —Ken Harms

THE CHALLENGE: produce a useful PILOT program that teaches a technique or procedure not covered in depth else- where. To meet this challenge, we pre- sent a set of diskette-based, math-drill programs that show how to merge a new subprogram from diskette under pro- gram control without erasing the current program. We also will list the code changes necessary to use the program from cassette.

THE APPLICATION: a math-drill game with menu selection of math

by PHIL and KATHY BERGH

53t T:

KHBam I • aid po I • 1 1 1

t

535 T:

mxu 1 1 \ni I

541 'CONSOLEj

^

''♦S

115 RtHULTIPUCATION PIDaiEMS

■» ^y^ [CLEARS CONSOLE

^54 5 C:e6 53 2l^

BUTT OK REBISTER

\UM C:IC0nflECTl'7l

/PZ: -START ^^}

PRESSED \i

55B J(PB53^

(JuM

P IF START IS PRESSED

555 J (#653279=5) : • I « C R E M E » T

I

\ I JUMP IF SELEf'^

jia t;PI»I8IOII PROBLjmS

PRESSED

5

561 PA: IS

tj565 J :-COKSOLEB0TT

ONS

[LOOP IF

3

operation. We know that the slash mark, be used in math programs of your own.

which Atari uses for its division com- ,, at-t m *t-i-./^

^ , ,, MATHMERG

putations, is not understood by younger

students, so we drew upon the charac- The main program file is titled MATH-

ter set redefinition program presented in MERG. It provides the title page, custom

ANTIC, August 1983, to create a custom character set, menu, screen format, and

division character We will not review the correction routines. The other four files

technique here. The routine that prints (subprograms) contain the problems and

the traditional division sign can easily answers that will be merged with the

M

antic:. The ATARI Resource

LOGO/ PILOT

mam program.

The menu offers choices of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and divi- sion. When a choice is made, the name of the file holding the subprogram to be merged is written to the screen, the cur- sor is positioned above the LOAD state- ment, the computer is ordered to read the screen, and the program is Emded. The computer is now in immediate mode and executes the LOAD command as if it were just entered from the keyboard. Because the program is not running, it avoids the automatic NEW that PILOT supplies to erase the current program before loading another file. ANTIC covered this automatic keyboard feature more fully in the Deleter program (ANTIC, "Lines Away," p. 24, July 1983).

MERGE FILES

Each of the subprograms we will merge are carefully numbered to position the Type statements from the small merge files to come after the POS:ition statements in the main program. Simi- larly, the answers come before the M:atch statements. Changing any line numbers could crash the programs. Notice that the main program has many lines that can be entered by renumber- ing previous lines and making small changes (such as the problem number). After you enter and save the first merge file, simply change the signs and numbers and save it again with the new name.

You can easily create your own merge files with problems suited to your needs. Change them as often as you wish with- out the difficulties caused by going into a large program and finding all of the lines that need modification.

A LOOK AT THE LISTING

Let's look through the listing to see how it works. The code from line 275 through 320 causes the title page to be written in large letters. For a more de- tailed look at how this works, see "Large Text" in The Best of ANTIC, Vol. 1. Remember that when you write to the screen, you must use a CLOSE:S to let the computer know you are finished. See

line 440 for an example.

The lines indented with commas are part of a custom character set routine. They create a traditional division sign to replace the slash. This allows us to for- mat division problems with one number above the other on the drill screens.

Lines 445 through 535 write the menu in large letters on a black screen and type the instructions in the text window. The routine starting at line 540 detects if the [SELECT] or [START] button has been pressed. Always Crompute a value of eight into byte 53279 to clear it before checking to see if a console button has been pressed. This prevents re-reading a previous press. If [OPTION] is pressed, there will be a three at byte 53279. [SELECT] is a five and [START] is a six. Lme 550 J:umps to '■STARTPRESSED only if there is a six in byte 53279. Line 555 checks for a five. If neither [SELECT] nor [START] were pressed, we J:ump back to '^CONSOLEBUT- TONS to check again.

Lines 570 to 610 move the menu arrow to the next choice. The line that the arrow is on is called #L. It is incremented by two each time [SELECT] is pressed. If it is greater than seven, it is set to one again. After the arrow moves, we J:ump back to check the console buttons.

Lines 625 through 640 identify the file to be loaded according to the position of the pointer on the menu screen.

MERGING FILES

Now the fancy stuff — we merge the chosen file! We also learn something about Atari DOS and PILOT'S load rou- tines. Line 660 clears the graphics screen and prepares for normal text. We then skip down two lines on the screen and Type a "please wait" message. We then Type four blank lines. Line 690 Types a LOAD command on the screen and we Type down two more lines. Line 696 Types a J:ump command on the screen so the program will restart. Note that the J:ump command is followed by seven "up-arrows." To include an up-arrow in your program, press [ESC] and release, then press and hold [CTRL] while you push the up-arrow. You will do this seven times. When the program is run, the up- arrows will position the cursor three

rows above the load command.

Line 700 forces the computer to read from the screen by C:omputing a 13 into byte 842. When the program is Emded (line 705), the READY prompt appears. The cursor drops to the line with our LOAD command, and that line is acted upon as if it were just typed by hand on the screen.

"But how," you may ask, "does the pro- gram get running again?" Good ques- tion. The trick answer is simple. After PILOT LOADS the file Typed by line 690, it prints a READY prompt, skips a line and positions the cursor on the line just below. And guess what? When it hits that line, it finds the command J:''' TAG2 already printed there. Since the Atari is still in auto-keyboard mode, it reads the J:ump command, PILOT takes over and does the J:ump.

Why are we J:umping to ''"TAG2 in the merge programs? Because ''■TAG2 is part of our main program after we forced the LOAD. At line 780 we finish the proce- dure by C:omputing a 12 into byte 842. This tells the computer to stop reading from the screen.

Lines 800 through 1510 POS:ition the math problems on the screen. Lines 1640 through 2470 present and correct the problems. Remember that you can enter much of this code by changing line num- bers, problem numbers, and positions. Do not forget the space in and under- line after the M:atch commands, or the program will accept incorrect answers.

Finally, •• CORRECT at line 2570 uses the random number generator to play a series of notes and flash the screen colors if the user gets a problem correct. '■'ERROR gives a two-note response to incorrect answers, and the problem is repeated.

CASSETTE VERSION

The custom character and drill screen in Math Practice can be easily used from cassette by LOADing MATHMERG from tape and then LOADing whatever problem file you wish. Many different problem sets can be accessed on differ- ent tapes. You are not limited to one file for each type of problem, as disk users

continued on next page

March 1984

?>i

LOGO/ PILOT

are, because tape files are not called by name by the program. Two disk files of the same name are, of course, not allowed.

Cassette users should replace two lines in the listing with the following:

675 T:Please insert the

SPROGRAMNAME tape and press play

690 T:LOAD C:[seven up-arrows]

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The youngsters who tested this pro- gram found it "more fun than flash- cards." The adults found other ways to utilize some of these ideas. We hope you, too, will find it instructive and enjoyable.

Listing 1

195 *BEGIN

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34

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

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continued on next pase

March 1984

35

LOGO/ PILOT

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36

antic:. The ATARI Resource

LOGO/ PILOT

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[DIVISION PROBLEMS TO MERGE [WITH MAIN PROGRAM

m

M^irch 1984

37

PROFILES

EXCLUSIVE ANTIC INTERVIEW

JAMES MORGAN

Atari Chairman and C.E.O.

^^^^he year 1983 was a dramatic one I for Atari, Inc. After a meteoric rise I through the late 1970's, interest in I video gaming peaked and began to plummet. The growth of the com- pany, once fueled by seemingly endless profits, soared beyond the support of sales. Quarterly losses of many milHons of dollars began to be posted.

Atari had to economize. Assembly line workers were laid off and computer manufacturing was moved to Hong Kong. The crisis deepened, and white collar workers, too, began to feel the pinch. In one year. Atari cut its work- force almost in half, and it is still prun- ing selected branches from its organiza- tional tree.

In the late summer of 1983, Warner Communications, Atari's parent corpor- ation, announced that Atari Chairman Raymond Kassar would step down, and be replaced by James J. Morgan, 41, then a vice president of Philip Morris, Inc.

Morgan, a Princeton graduate {cum laiide in American history), had worked for Philip Morris all of his professional life. He joined that company in 1963 in the advertising department, and rose steadily through the marketing ranks. Parliament, Virginia Slims and Marl- boro cigarettes have all been products under his direct management.

Last September, James Morgan arrived at Atari to take over as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. His job, clearly, is to turn the company around, to chart the proper course in an industry that doesn't seem to know where it is going. His position is enviable, he says, because Atari's woes were caused by others, and he has no ego investment in past decisions. But the judgment of the future will be upon him soon enough.

Can a marketing manager from the East with a liberal arts background suc- cessfully guide this promising but troubled western computer company? Our interest is more than casual. The following interview was conducted last Thanksgiving by ANTIC Publisher James Capparell in Morgan's Sunnyvale office.

Antic: At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, 1984, will you be showing any new products? Morgan: First of all, let me tell you that Atari will introduce new products in 1984. However, you won't see them at this CES because we are not yet ready to ship those products.

For your background. Atari has de- cided as a matter of policy that we will not show new products anywhere unless

by JAMES CAPPARELL ANTIC Publisher

3<S

ANTIt;, The AlARI Resource

PROFILES

we can ship them almost immediately. This industry, including Atari, has shown products in the past and then delayed shipments or cancelled the prod- ucts altogether. That operating style does not build credibility with retailers, with customers, or with the media, so Atari won't have any part of it. Antic: What is your view of the current state of affairs at Atari? Morgan: 1 see Atari as a company that las bottomed out, that is on its way back. It is on its way back in two respects: 1) sales are improving, ability to run its business in an intelli- gent manner is improving. Therefore, as Atari repositions itself in the home com- puter and video game businesses, it wil do so as a much better-run company than before. The excesses of the past are getting purged out of the organization. Antic: What are the excesses? Or what

continued on next page

"For someone to walk out of this industry now would be crazy- What it takes is imagination and guts.''

March 1984

.39

PROFILES

Morgan: Spending. Atari spent money loosely, in a way that demonstrated that Atari felt that it could be everything to everybody, rather than be a well-focused company.

Antic: You've had the reins now since September of 1983. If you were to state the positive actions yoii'ue taken to cor- rect what's happened in the past, what would you say they arc? Morgan: We arc focusing on product

Antic: Do you see a real need for a com- puter in the home, or for people to be computer literate?

Morgan: Well, if you want to do com- putation, a calculator is easier than a computer. If you want to type a letter, I suppose even today a typewriter is easier than a computer. Again, the balance of the responsibility shifts to the manufacturer to provide consumers with a machine, a vehicle or a device, which

"The products I'm talking about go well beyond the

present in imagination, usefulness, excitement, and

compelling relevance to the consumer's everyday life."

strategy, making certain that we define what we do with our products. Also, we are getting a very talented and capable group of managers to work together, as opposed to merely existing in somewhat isolated surrotindings with no coordina- tion or communication. Third, we are applying tighter standards on how we spend our money and we're making sure that the dollars we spend relate more closely to making our products better. On top of that, we're investing reasonably in the future within a defined strategic arena.

Antic: I'm glad you mentioned the future. What do you see as the future of Atari? And what is Atari's commitment to computing and computer products? Morgan: Without a doubt. Atari is in the computer business to stay. There's no reason for us not to be. In my judgment, the home computer companies have not treated the consumers with the respect and consideration they deserve. The real issue is this: Which company will be the first to go to the American consumer with microprocessor technology that makes the consumer say, "Gee, I didn't know a computer could do that," and secondly, "I have to have one." So far (other than word processing, perhaps), the computers offered to the public really do not do anything much easier than you can do by hand.

This industry is very challenging, and for someone to walk out of it right now, 1 thmk, would be crazy. The opportu- nity is too great. What it takes is imagi- nation and guts.

either makes life more entertaining, assists learning, makes life more eflicient, or m some other way enhances life.

To date, 1 don't believe anybody has really addressed that issue satisfactorily in terms of the home. Clearly, for the office there are superb pieces of equip- ment which accomplish great tasks, but in a home environment I'm not at all sure that anybody has come forth with the ultimate product, or anything that's even close to being the ultimate product. We, at Atari, are committed to that task.

Antic: Prior to your coming to Atari, had you brought a computer into your home?

Morgan: 1 had not purchased a home computer because I couldn't answer the question, "What will this do for me?" I had decided that there was really nothing that it could do for me, other than word processing. Since I'm a businessman and have a secretary, I don't really need word processing capability in the home.

believe that the computer keyboard is already an outdated and archaic device. Other than word processing, you don't really need it for anything. There have to be more appropriate and imaginative ways for the user to interface with this piece of equipment. Antic: Can you name some? Morgan: Well, clearly voice recognition is one. And beyond that there are various devices such as light pens, mice and other vehicles, but I'm hopeful that Atari will come up with other really unique ways.

Antic: Let's change the subject for a moment. Atari started as the premier company in video games and still has that image, somewhat — do you see the video game industry as having peaked? Morgan: No, not at all. I see the video game industry going through the same kinds of phases that other forms of enter- tainment go through from time to time. You know, we not only compete with the other video game companies; we also compete against movies, we compete against television, we compete against roller skating rinks, we compete against miniature golf courses, we compete against magazines and novels. What we compete for is our share of the six hours a day that the consumer does not work or sleep.

Unless your product is constantly at an entertainment crescendo, you tend to fall behind other forms of entertainment in terms of being exciting and new and different . . . something that people would want to spend one or two hours a day with. I believe that the video game industry has tremendous opportunity to

"The XL series is at least two years ahead of what the consumer is aware a computer can do."

yVs a parent, 1 might justify it on the basis that I wotild be terrified that my children would be left behind in society by not being computer literate. But that's not really an appropriate way to sell your product, nor is it an appropriate con- sideration from a consumer standpoint. Antic: What's Atari doing about it? Morgan: We are focusing a substantial part of our resources on that issue. I

rekindle the kind of involvement and excitement it had in its early days. Antic: That's an interesting concept. Morgan: Let's take it one step further. You know, in the middle 1970's the movies were said to be on their last legs, and then "Star Wars" came along. Not only was "Star Wars" exciting as an indi- vidual movie, but it rekindled the American consumer's belief that it was

40

antic;. The .ATARI Rcsdurcc

PROFILES

appropriate to spend two to four hours a week at the movies, and all movies benefitted from it.

The same thing has happened in the record business, where all people could talk about was piracy and how records were on their way out. Then MTV came along as a new, creative medium by which people could listen to records. Now, record sales are booming because American teenagers have been recondi- tioned to spend time listening to music.

I believe that an analogy exists for the video game industry, and Atari has a rightful role, almost a birthright, to be the company that goes to the American public with the next generation of games.

Antic: What are the reasons, as you perceive them, that people have pur- chased computers to date? Morsan: Number one is fear of not hav- ing one. Number two is the novelty. Number three is that manufacturers have sold them at such palatable prices that you can hardly afford not to experiment with one. hi some cases, the cost didn't represent much more of an investment than going out and getting a really terrific jar of wax for your car.

Those reasons are transitory, though. Those are not permanent reasons why

that's been publicized — to our readers, especially. Atari has hired some engineers and scientists who are ex- cellent. Can you tell us anything about what they are doing, what they're up to? Morgan; First of all, you're right about the high calibre of our R&D staff. The R&D group is headed by Dr. Ted Hoff, who invented the microprocessor that has made the home computer and video game industries a reality. Our chief scientist is Dr. Alan Kay, who is generally considered the father of the home computer.

Now, let me tell you about my philos- ophy on research and development. I believe that for every hundred dollars you spend on R&D, eighty of that hundred ought to be focused on your business, and the other twenty you spend as your top research people see fit. Good research people need the flexibility to chase down any idea, any scheme, even though only one out often or twenty of those ideas actually leads to a product.

I'll tell you why we devote eighty out of every hundred dollars of R&D money to products related directly to our business. I believe it is important to understand that Atari exists at the will of the consumer. It's absolutely non- productive to sell something just because

"Atari tries to enhance people's home lives through interactive electronics."

an industry should survive. I believe that it is incumbent on manufacturers to find real, tangible reasons why someone should consider a computer. Everybody talks about why someone should own one. I don't care about why people should own a Computer; I care about why they should use it. Antic: Would you describe Atari as a recreation-oriented company? Morgan: 1 would say that Atari is a com- pany that tries to enhance people's home lives through interactive electronics. That enhancement can take the form of straight entertainment, learning, or functional ease. In any event, that's my idea of Atari's business arena. Antic: I know that Atari has spent a lot of monev on R&D, but I don't think

you can make it, as opposed to selling something because someone wants it. So, this research group, which is com- posed of absolutely outstanding in- dividuals, is being refocused to look more closely at the consumer's wants and needs, not just at what technology can produce. The consumer is king, and no one understands that better than we do at Atari.

Antic: Is the games image something that hurts the company, do you feel? Morgan: 1 believe that people have a built-in preconception of Atari as a games company. That, on one hand, hurts us a little in the comptiter business because we're not taken terribly seri- ously, even though our computers are superior products that don't get the

credit they deserve. On the other hand, if you're viewed as being excellent in something, it should have a positive im- pact on other parts of your business.

I believe that the Alan Alda commer- cials will be exceptionally valuable to this company in terms of having people come to understand that we are com- mitted to the computer business, that we're committed to it in a way that's oriented toward the consumer. The products we come to the marketplace with will be consumer-related products that focus on doing something positive for the consumer.

Antic: Like word processing or home tax or . . .

Morgan: Way beyond that. That's what I call standard stuff. That's taking numbers and words and rearranging them. That certainly has a place. But the kind of products I'm talking about go well beyond that in terms of imagination and creativity, usefulness, excitement, and really compelling relevance to the consumer's everyday life. Antic: We've spoken about the game image, whether it's good or bad, but we haven't really used the term "education" at all. Do you see education as being a subset of, say, recreation or games? Morgan: I don't like the word "educa- tion." I believe "education" stands for institution, which stands for mass cur- riculum. I prefer the word "learning." And I think Atari has an enormous role to play in the learning area. 1 question the degree to which Atari belongs in the big institutional education area. First of all, it's not an area where one can make a large profit. And secondly, the business procedures one finds in the institutional market are not terribly inviting. So I believe that what Atari has to do is stay extremely prominent in the learning area, and deal directly with the con- sumer in that area.

Antic: Prominent in the learning area in the home?

Morgan: Just in the learning area. Focused straight to the consumer. Antic: That's an interesting distinction. D)ts of people are throwing around the word "education." Morgan: Education is what's done to

continued on next page

Maa-h 19X4

41

PROFILES

you. Learning is what you do for your- self. There is, in my mind, a very big difference between the two. Antic: Off the subject a httlc bit — what are your thoughts about software stan- dardization, compatibility problems, etc.? Do you have any? Morsan: I have two thoughts, and they're somewhat conflicting. On one hand, I think that people have to be prag- matists and realize that neither the con- sumer nor the distribution system will be able to support a multiplicity of non- compatible software lines. That issue has to be addressed, it has to be reconciled, and today's popular wisdom has it that IBM will be setting the standards for that.

On the other hand, if one accepts my belief that nobody has gone to the con- sumer yet with a really compelling presentation, I would suggest to you that software compatibility is not that impor- tant. Because software compatibility

Morgan; Standard might be too big a word. It might be the standard of what it does, but it might not do everything one wants. In order to do everything one wants, you might have to buy a series of products which cumulatively, or in aggregate, become the standard. Antic: Have you thought about any

when it was introduced in mid-1977.

When the VCS was introduced people sort of said, "What's this strange little machine?" It was way ahead of its time; then it caught on, and all of a sudden everybody wanted one. I believe you can do the same thing with computers, and hopefully, sometime in 1985 or early

'The Atari 800 might be, pound for pound and dollar for dollar, the best computer that's ever been made''

nicknames for these products? I've often thought that as long as we called them "computer," we were stuck. Morgan: Oh, I believe that. In fact, I think of them as microprocessors. The critical issue in this business is: how does one take microprocessor technology and make it relevant to the consumer?

In the short term, we are selling every computer we can make. We cannot

'7^5 absolutely nonproductive to sell something just

because you can make it, as opposed to selling something

because someone wants it."

assumes that the computer of the future will be the computer of today, i.e., a cen- tral processing unit where you just pump in your software and it runs it.

I'm not so sure I agree with that defii- nition of what the computer of the future is going to be. I'm not sure that the com- puter of the future will in fact be a CPU off which everything's driven. It might well be, on the other hand, a series of semi-dedicated microprocessors which do specific tasks.

Now, let's say someone has a robot that can vacuum your house by starting at one corner, and it has sensors so it can get around and clean your entire house in an hour. If that's what its function is, it hardly matters whether that software is compatible or not; the vacuum is its own unit.

Antic: Do I hear you saying, between the lines, that Atari will attempt to iden- tify the consumer market, address itself to that, and produce products that will, in fact, become a new standard, IBM notwithstanding.

deliver all our orders, and 1 think that's because there is incredible recognition of the quality of the Atari computers. The Atari 800 might be, pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the best computer that's ever been built in this country. While the general public's not aware of that, there is great recognition regarding the quality of that computer.

Antic: And that's after three years, three and a half years; it still maintains that. What about the XL line of computers? Morgan: The XL series is at least two to three years ahead of what the average consumer is even aware that a computer can do. So it seems to me somewhat foolhardy to invest in "normal upgrades" of equipment, especially if you sincerely believe that the answer for the future is not necessarily another CPU with another keyboard and more memory.

I would rather take our resources and go further out and try to find for the computer or the microprocessor that same niche and that same quality that the Video Computer System (VCS) had

1986, Atari will come to the market with a product that people will have trouble figuring out. Is it a computer, or what? It will be there, and it will sell in limited quantities to a number of people who have the imagination to see what it's all about. Then, as time goes on, the market will come to it because Atari will have correctly forecasted what the micro- processor technology of the late 1980's is going to be like.

Antic: You're obviously not leaving the computer business and kissing your position good-bye. Atari has an excel- lent name.

Morgan: Well, having suffered all the pain, why would one pull away when the rest of the competition is abating? The level of competition is substantially less than it was six months ago, and less than it was a year ago.

Antic: What are your priorities at Atari? Morgan: One, is to make a profit for the stockholders of Warner Communica- tions. And number two is to do that by providing reliable, high quality, imagi- native products to our customers. Antic: What's the biggest problem you see affecting Atari's future? Morgan: I would say the biggest prob- lem is demonstrating in a reasonable time that the company is a healthy com- pany; I'd like to stop all the funerals that are being held for it. Those funerals tend to upset Atari employees, upset Atari customers, upset Atari retailers. It makes life just that much more difficult. I would say that's the single biggest problem. At Atari, we're focusing our sights on the future.

Antic: We are just waiting for Atari to do what we've always expected it to do.

42

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

PROFILES

on the product side. Morgan: This company is poised to be a reliable creator and manufacturer of products that the consumer wants. That's the only essential question that faces this company. I believe that there's no reason why this company can't do that. It has the people to do it, it has the products to do it, and it also has the track record.

Its problems were not its products. Its problems were the strategies of its prod- ucts, the timing of its products, and the way the products were marketed. It was not the technology of the products. Atari makes superb products. Antic: What does Jim Morgan say about himself? Do you feel that you are getting up to speed personally and pro- fessionally in high-tech Silicon Valley.' Does this environment feel good to you? Morgan: I'm the last person who should answer that. But, there is one thing I'd like to say, which is that the image of a high-tech, high-speed, incredibly com-

plicated Silicon Vliliey is a vastly exag- gerated phenomenon. While it's true that this is an industrious area — hard- working and fast-paced — the business issues that one deals with, are «o? special to this industry. The business issues in this industry are as common as they are in many other industries, and in that sense I've been surprised because there was so much hullabaloo about Silicon Valley and the high-tech business.

I think it's important to remember that Atari's not a defense contractor, nor is Atari an industrial, high-tech company. Atari is a consumer products company, and the same consumer who decides what kind of frozen vegetables he's going to buy, what kind of beer he's going to buy, and what kind of car he's going to buy, what kind of airline he's going to fly, is the same consumer making deci- sions on Atari products.

In fact, one of my major criticisms of this company and this industry in the past has been that it has moved too fast

and been too much in love with the speed of getting things to market without pay- ing enough attention to the strategy of the products that it's brought to market. Speed for speed's sake can be a very damaging thing, particularly when you rernember it's the consumer who's mak- ing the ultimate decision. Antic: If you wanted to leave Atari com- puter owners with a thought, what would it be, about the company and about its prospects for the future? Morgan: Quite simply that Atari's in computer business, and it intends to stay in the business. Our commitment is to continue to build computers and/or semi-dedicated microprocessors of the highest quality with the greatest rele- vance to their everyday lives. And that if we can do that and satisfy them, then there is nothing but bright days ahead for both Atari and for our consumers.

"Atari is in the computer business to stay." Q

A LIFETIME OF DISCOVERY BEGINS WITH ATARI COMPUTERS

RANA 1000 DISK DRIVE

Single/DoubleDensityDrive B^^li^^****^*^--- '21

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PRINTERS

Gemini STX-80 (80 Column Thermal) $1 69.00

Gemini 1 0X Printer (80 Column) 299.00

Gemini 1 5 Printer (1 36 Column) 399.00

Silver-Reed EXP 500 Daisy Wtieel Printer (80 Column) 399.00

Epson RX-80 (80 Column) Dot Matrix 359.00

Epson FX-8D (80 Column) Dot Matrix 555.00

Epson FX-1 00 (1 36 Column) Dot Matrix 749.00

Prowriter 851 0 AP 375.00

Gorilla/Banana Printer (80 Column) 1 99.00

MPP-1 100ParallelPrinterlnterface(EliminateneedforAtari850) .... 79.00

MONITORS

Gorilla" Hi Res 1 2" Non-Glare Green Screen $ 89.00

Amdek Video 300 Green Screen 1 30.00

Amdek Video 300A Amber Screen 144. 00

Amdek Color-I Screen 280.00

Monitor Cable 1 5.00

MODEMS

MPP-1 000 Modem $1 69.00

Signalman Mark II Modem 69.00

A

ATARI

600 XL	c		1050	Drive
800 XL	CALL		1025	Printer
1400XL	L		1020	Color Printer
1450XL	L		1027 1010	Printer Recorder
	ATARI	3rd Party Software
	ALL BRANDS	CALL

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1 4.99/box	17.49/box	20.99
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13.49/box	1 4.99/box	18.99
skettes with Sleeves - Price Per Disk
SS/SD	SS/DD	DD/DD
1.39	1.59	1.99
1.29	1.49	1.89
1,25	1.45	1.79

TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE: 1-800-824-7506

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All Orders Add $3.00 Shipping and Handling. Ohio residents add 6% for sales lax. ASK FOR OUR FREE CATALOG

C.O.D. (Add S2.50)

March 1984

4.3

THE

IMPORTED ATARI

Points for purchase north of the border

by WARWICK WAKEMAN

Caveat emptor ("let the buyer beware") is the most reasonable guideline for Canadian consumers who import computer wares from the United States (or "across the line" as we Canadians say). Considerable caution is called for, because consumer protection laws and customer services don't necessarily apply in international deals. Even so, many Canadian buyers still choose to bypass local outlets in favor of purchasing computer equipment in the U.S. The primary reasons for this are clear: lower prices and greater product availability.

THE GIANT TO THE SOUTH

There is no question that, even with the addition of customs duties, applicable taxes, and shipping costs, some computer goods can still be purchased by Canadians at great savings outside of Canada. In the giant U.S. marketplace, for example, discount-house competition, price wars and bargain-base- n.ent sales combine to force prices down. In Canada, on the other hand, relatively primitive marketing practices and a lack of competition (Atari has only one distributor here) keep prices high.

Warwick Wakeman, a freelance writer who covers the com- puter field, lives m North Vancouver, British Columbia. Besides being our Canadian connection, he helped coordi- nate international input into our international issue.

THE BANES OF CANADIAN COMPUTERISTS

Another factor that contributes to higher prices is Canada's status as a bilingual country. Under certain circumstances, information in both French and English must appear on product labels. The expense of double labelling discourages some U.S. manufacturers and Canadian importers from serv- ing this market.

Availability is another element that prompts Canadians to investigate "non-commercial" importing. The size o{ a market dictates both product variety and quantity, and if the home market (as in Canada's case) is relatively small and the demand for particular items (such as Atari computers) is relatively low, the consumer with special needs may be forced to buy else- where. In addition, new products sometimes appear on the U.S. scene months before reaching Canadian markets — a merchandising idiosyncrasy that Atari and other manufac- turers would do well to address.

AMATEUR IMPORTING

Amateur importers must solve many new and interesting prob- lems if they are to successfully import products that suit their needs and pocketbooks. The primary considerations at this point are the added costs of importation, the availability of after-sales service and the guarantee of at least some degree of consumer protection. Let's look at these important issues one at a time.

To determine the actual cost of importing goods from the

44

antic:, The ATARI Resource

United States into Canada, you must examine the following: the U.S. price, currency exchange rates between the two countries, duties, Federal sales taxes, excise taxes (if any) and shipping costs. Table 1 focuses on an Atari 1025 printer; it should be used only as a general guide and is not intended to show all the actual costs involved.

Table 1
Cost of importing an Atari 1025
U.S. price	$399
Canadian equivalent (+23%)	491
Duty ($491 @ 3.9%)	19
Total duty-paid value	510
Federal sales tax ($510 @ 9%)	46
Subtotal	556
Excise tax	0
Cost before shippins	556
Shipping (United Parcel Service)	34
Landed cost in Canadian funds	$590

You can reduce your shipping costs somewhat if you ac- tually travel across the border and bring back the goods your- self. Vacationers, for example, can often qualify for exemp- tions, depending on the length of time they are out of the country. Check with Customs before you travel. It is a good idea to obtain information about exemptions and entry numbers for your intended purchases before you make the trip (see examples in Htble 2). This will save you time and inconvenience when you return.

		Table 2
Canadian customs information
Item	Duty Rate (1) Sales Tax	Entry Number
CPU's	3.9%	9%	41417-1
Monitors	3.9%	9%	41417-1
Disk drives	Free	9%	41417-2
Printers	Free	9%	41417-2
Modems	12.97o	9%	44506-1
Software
(disk)	Free (2)	9% (2)	41417-2
Softv/are
(tape)	3.9% (2)	9% (2)	41417-1
(1) These rates apply as of January 1	, 1984.
(2) Software	falls into two categories	. "Application"
software	is liable for duty and sales tax on the cost
of the tape or disk alone; for "	operations" or
"systems	' software,	the total cost of the software
is liable.	Check with Customs for details before
you buy

DON'T CHEAT!

A word of warning: Don't be tempted to cheat! If you do not declare goods that you are bringing into the country or if you make a false declaration, you are subject to a number of un- pleasant consequences, not the least of which is the possible

seizure and forfeiture of the vehicle you use to transport the goods. The least that you can expect is to pay extra duty on the goods, and to have your name placed on file for future reference. The technical term for this offense: smuggling.

SERVICE?

What happens if your imported Atari hardware needs service? First of all, the warranty is not valid in Canada and your local Atari service center will not repair it unless you're willing to pay the going labor rate ($50 an hour) and pay for the required parts. Sending it back to the seller for repair is also far from an ideal answer to the problem, as it is often both inconveni- ent and costly. You are liable for shipping charges, and you may also have to pay additional customs charges or taxes. Check with the Remission Section of Canada Customs before making a move.

To forestall such a dilemma, remember to test the unit you are purchasing beforehand if you are physically present at the point of purchase. It can't hurt.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

A popular misconception holds that a seller is obliged by law to accept the return of an item by a dissatisfied customer for any reason — or for no reason at all. However, no such obliga- tion exists unless it is specifically agreed to by both buyer and seller in a contract. The merchant does have a legal obliga- tion to abide by his advertised claims and to honor the sales terms he's agreed to.

OTHER OPTIONS

This doesn't guarantee customer satisfaction, of course, but in the vast majority of cases these guidelines work fairly well. And, fortunately, other avenues of help are also available to those customers who are unable to get a satisfactory response from a foreign dealer.

Contacting your local Better Business Bureau is probably your best first bet after you've given up hope of gaining satis- faction directly from the dealer. They'll investigate the situa- tion through their office in (or closest to) the seller's area. Another possible route is to contact the Chamber of Com- merce, but in this case you'll have to contact the branch in the seller's city (its Canadian counterpart will not get involved in consumer complaints). A third recourse is to write the con- sumer department of the relevant state. About 40 U.S. states have such departments, but the services they provide may vary in quality. Your last — and least — option is litigation, which is another inconvenient and costly business.

WHY DO IT?

Despite all these problems, many Canadian consumers con- tinue to put up with the hassles involved in buying computer equipment in the U.S. or in other foreign countries. After all, lower prices and the sense of satisfaction that comes from own- ing a computer or peripheral device that is not available locally are very attractive, and many computer buffs find it hard to resist the lure. I hope that this article will help any ANTIC readers who find themselves in this position. Q

M.irch 1984

45

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M.\rch l')«4

Because we (and they) were forced to contend with a deadhne, as well as with the vagaries of international mail service, we accurately predicted that some members of our random group would be unable to participate. However, we're extremely pleased to present the follow- ing letters from those readers who managed to respond. All of them were anxious to share a bit of themselves with you.

These readers are not only unanimous in their enthusiasm for ANTIC; they're also an interesting and varied assortment of people who are united beyond race, age and nationality by a common love of computing.

We had to condense these letters for publication, but we valiantly attempted to maintain the flavor of each writer's individual style. We hope that all of our guest writers are pleased with our edit- ing, and, in some cases, our translations. Now, without further ado, we will let our international pen-pals speak for them- selves . . .

Tulio Jawerbaum

Ramon Falcon

1406 Buenos Aires, Argentina

I am 45 years old, and manage a wire and tube distribution company. At work, I program (in RPGII) an IBM 34 system with seven terminals. At home, as a hobby, I program an Atari 800 computer with 48K, and use an 810 disk drive, a 410 cassette recorder and an Epson printer. I use this system to relax and to study mathematics. My son (who is studying to be a computer systems analyst) and my two daughters also enjoy the computer.

I'm sorry to say that I can't write in your whimsical manner, because of my poor English.

Emanuel Sellner

Burgstallstr. 27

A-4523 Neuzeug, Austria

I was born on November 6, 1960, in Steyr, Austria, which is best known for Steyr bikes and cycles. At present, I study computer science at the University of Linz.

I own an Atari 800 with 48K, an 810 disk drive and an Epson FX-80 printer. I use the computer for my studies, e.g. to test algorithms. Privately, 1 use the Atari to manage my library and record collection. In my spare time, my friends and I play video games with the computer.

Other Atari enthusiasts should feel free to contact me.

BE:L_<3 I LJM

Roger De Spiegeleer

Rue de la Fonderie, 59

7100 La Louviere, Belgium

I am 31 years old. Since the advent of electronic flippers and war games, I've developed a passion for gaming. I first

went crazy over Pong, and found con- tentment by playing it in restaurant lobbies.

In 1980, when I was finishing my studies in clinical psychology at the University of Liege, I bought the VCS 2600. The enclosed photo shows my daughter and me on our way to purchase the machine. The machine was the greatest — it had everything!

In 1982, 1 bought the 400, and since then I have ordered most of the programs for it from the U.S. The kindness and high degree of professionalism of the vendors for these products is extra- ordinary. This is much appreciated, because of the lack of software in Belgium. There is only one store here, and it imports anything but Atari and APX software. However, I am very pleased with the Micro Video store in Paris. At last, I have a place to go to talk about Ataris with other people who love them!

O R <^ 2: I L_

Cecilia Z. Castro

Av. Afonso Pena 4040/1001

Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais,

Brasil - 30000

I am in my junior year at Universidade Federal De Mi'nas Gerais, where I study computer science. I first saw a computer as a high school junior in San Jose, Cali- fornia, where I lived with relatives from 1979 through 1980.

I share my Atari 400 with my parents and four brothers. I'd like to use it more seriously, but I domiss thehelpof adisk drive and a printer (which I plan to buy someday in the future). So, we mostly use the computer to play video games.

My dad is the one who loves it the most — he's what you would call an authentic "MAMA's boy." (ANTIC, Vol. 2, No. 1)

48

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

^--1- .r I I JLt lull — liiMii I

Renato M. Miranda 114 Correo 35 Santiago, Chile

I am 18 years old and in my last year of high school. Besides living in Chile, I have lived in Ecuador and visited the United States.

I started on the Atari 400 at my father's computer store in Quito, Ecua- dor. At the end of 1982, we moved back to Chile, where we now own a computer store called Compu Ram and sell Atari computers and programs.

My main interests concerning the Atari computer involve its wonderful graphics and sound capabilities. At present, I am working on a Chilean geography-teaching program and a 3-D structure-rotation program.

i="iR<^rsJcz::E:

Rene J. Choulet

29 Avenue du Stade

92500 Rueil-Malmaison, France

I am 39 years old and work in the cor- porate finance department of a bank. I had long used a computer in my office, but 1 wanted one at home for recrea- tional and educational use. In 1982, after

having seen a demonstration of the Atari 800, 1 bought one of the first Ataris sold in France - an 800 with 48K and a 410 recorder.

We have used the Atari almost exclu- sively for playing games bought in the U.S. or typed in from ANTIC. We will soon have a printer and I will then teach BASIC to my wife and sons.

1 am not yet ready to write technical articles and teach tricks to your readers, but I wish to start some personally ambi- tious projects soon, such as file manag- ing and budget planning. However, 1 am waiting for a less expensive, more effi- cient disk drive, as well as more time — I usually get home at 8 p.m.

M O INJ CB h=:: O M G

Anthony Kwok

10, Shing Yip Street

5/F, Kwun Tong

Kowloon, Hong Kong

Born in Hong Kong and educated in England, I graduated from Manchester University in 1978 with a B.Sc degree in computer science. 1 remained in England and worked with Plessey Controls Ltd. as an engineer.

After two years of designing hardware, I turned to software development and joined ICL as an operating systems designer. Then, having suffered through one of the worst winters ever, I returned to the tropical climate of Hong Kong in 1982. That was the beginning of my in- volvement with Atari. I was offered a job as the Regional Technical Manager of Atari International (HK) Ltd.

Obviously, working with micros is quite different from mainframes. You cannot play Pac Man on ICL computers!

Thorarinn Jonsson

P.O. Box 12 270, Varrna-Iceland

I got a letter from you yesterday about representing Ireland, but Fm from Ice- land! Please excuse my English, as it is very bad and is written with the help of my pocket dictionary.

I was born in New Haven, Connec- ticut, U.S.A. In August, 1947, 1 left the U.S.A. with my parents to live in Iceland (they were students from Iceland).

Now, 40 years later, I can hardly write or speak English , but 1 understand some. I own an Atari 800 with 48K and an 810 disk drive. The computer is used for learning computer programming in BASIC, and also for recreational pursuits.

This is almost everything there is to say about me. Vm single, have no wife and kids, own nothing ... no car, no house. I'm very fat and bald, so you do not get a photo of me.

I c e: l_ «=!» M D

Haraldur Vidisson

Hraunbraut 34

200 Kopavogur, Iceland

My first acquaintance with computers was when I worked in the loan depart- ment of a bank. I took a course in BASIC, and started working as a com- puter operator at the same bank. Two years later, I got a job as a programmer on an IBM S/38 at Iceland's largest ship- ping company.

There, through my colleagues, I dis- covered the Atari. I liked Atari from the start and bought one of my own quite soon after I first saw one in action. Today I own more than 30 games, along with the Assembler and BASIC cartridges, continued on next pase

March 1984

49

JL. •* ■ii' I ^ w" 'Ti I I Nadav Yehiel 14 Lea St., Apt. #13 Tel-Aviv 69412 Israel

I am a 29-year-old computer technician and have been working with computers for eight years. I am primarily interested in personal computers for graphics.

I had always wanted to buy a home computer, but only recently did I find the one I wanted, the Atari 800. Since it's very easy to program and operate, I wrote a few programs for my son. These include rnath programs and some pro- grams for painting on the screen with a joystick. The next step will be to redefine the character set so that he will be able to learn the Hebrew alphabet.

Roberto Bianchini

36 Regina Giovanna

Milan, Italy 20129

I am glad to tell you who I am and what I do in my life. Born in Milan, Italy, on July 20, 1962, 1 now attend the Medical School at the University of Milan.

Approximately two years ago, I dis- covered that using a computer was, like sports, an amusing — yet intelligent — way to spend my free time; that's why I bought my Atari 800!

I have looked for "medical" software, but my efforts have been in vain. I would be very grateful to your great magazine if you would let me know of the exist- ence of any such software.

Murray Steedman

122 Mill Rd.

Whangarei, New Zealand

1 was living in Australia when I first became interested in home computers and computing. I chose the Atari because of its superb graphics and the tremendous availability of software. Also, four of my friends owned Ataris, so the exchange of ideas and programs made my life a little easier.

In New Zealand, I run my own gym- nasium, and I've used the Atari to help me run the business. I've written pro- grams on diets, nutrition, workouts and the financial aspects of running the gym.

For recreation, I like playing adven- ture-type games. However, I find soft- ware availability in New Zealand is limited, so I correspond with friends in Australia and America and usually get programs and advice when I require them.

Guillermo R. Gonzalez

Apartado 24, Panama 9A

Panama, C/A

I was always interested in computers. For this reason, I went to study at the Ship- pensburg University in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., where I received a Master's degree in computer science.

Because of its low cost and excellent graphics and sound capabilities, I bought an Atari 800, which I have used for two research projects. One project involved the use of INTER-LISP; the other was a program designed to teach little kids how to use the clock.

I now use the Atari to keep students' records, play games and study machine language. I will be glad to hear from other Atari users worldwide.

IIIIIJII

F- O R T LJ CB (^ L_

Carlos da Silva Pereira

Rua Pinheiro Borges, 22-3. c

Alfragide 2700 Amadora, Portugal

I am a Portuguese architect, aged 38. I live in the neighborhood of Lisbon, together with my wife and two children. I was introduced to video-game systems two years ago through the Atari VCS. Having owned this excellent system, 1 developed a greater interest in com- puters, so I decided to buy one which would be applicable to my professional life and useful in my spare time.

I bought an Atari 800 with disk drive and cassette recorder, and am studying Atari BASIC so that 1 can apply it to busi- ness use in the near future. I am also interested in utilizing the Atari's graphics capabilities.

50

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

I would like to say how much I appre- ciate Atari software and its excellent sound and graphics capabilities, which make the Atari one of the best home computers on the international market.

Gordon Sinclair

#2 Hillside

Mosstowie By Elgin

Moray, Scotland

I am a 31-year-old social worker who lives in a small village. I have been interested in computing for a number of years, but I only recently purchased an Atari 800 and a 410 recorder.

I also obtained an Assembler Editor cartridge, because of my desire to learn more about machine code, but quite frankly found it to be limited in compari- son with other products on the market.

There are no Atari clubs in this part of Scotland; therefore, if anyone is interested (particularly in America), 1 would like to exchange notes and tapes on Atari computing. I would stress, how- ever, that I am but a beginner, and my understanding of computing is some- what limited.

swede: ixi

Dick de Jounge

Narvavagen 21 S-114 60 Stockholm, Sweden

Computing was a pastime occupation when I purchased my Atari a year ago; Pac-Man became my favorite, as well as that of my family.

My interest in computing has since become more serious, thanks to my join- ing the Datagallerierna (a distributor chain for personal computers), and my Atari VisiCalc program, which has been good support.

Now, computing is not only a pastime occupation, it is also part of my liveli- hood. Nevertheless, it is still great fun!

I hope that software programs will continue to mature in usefulness, to the benefit of the home computer owner.

Walter Luc Haas

Pilgerstrasse 5 CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland

I have an Atari 800 and I use it for recre- ational as well as professional purposes.

I write regular columns with reviews of games — one for a Swiss newspaper, and others for Swiss and German maga- zines. I get to play games, games, and more games, which I also collect. I have thousands of them.

I came to my present vocation after having studied Protestant theology and French/German history, and after hav- ing been a teacher. I find free-lance jour- nalism, with an emphasis on game reviews, to be a fascinating way to spend one's life.

Because of the subject matter, I have become something of an expert on gam- ing, and I must say that my Atari com- puter has contributed to my education in this area. It opened up a whole new world of gaming for me, from which I have received a great deal of pleasure.

Masahiro Mori

P.O. Box 988

Taichung, Taiwan R.O.C.

I am one of the Atari lovers. I am 13 years old.

[ like the Atari because it is easy to use. I use my Atari to program, and I have written a lot of programs. Most of them are graphics programs. (I have enclosed

one'ot tnem with this letter, it generates five circles, which combine to make an Olympic symbol.) I use my computer almost every day, but not when 1 have homework. Sometimes 1 use it to play games, though.

I would like to learn a lot from ANTIC, because there is nowhere else to learn from, and I wish all the sub- scribers could get to know one another.

WES I IXIO I EIS

Stewart Gordon

P.O. Box 244

St. John's, Antigua, West Indies

Thank you for your letter, but I would like to point out that I do not live in the French West Indies, but in the West Indies. That is probably the reason that I have only received one ANTIC maga- zine these past few months.

I am 11 years old, and have lived in the West Indies, the U.S.A., Korea and Indonesia.

My father bought me an Atari 400 in Hong Kong in 1981, but I sold it before leaving Indonesia. I bought my Atari 800 in Miami, when I was on my way to Antigua to live.

I use my Atari for games and for typ- ing, word processing, and writing simple programs. Q

March 1984

THIRD WORLD

ATARI

Computing in antebellum Grenada

/fter spending three years as a ^professor at St. George's Uni- ^kversity School of Medicine ^in Grenada, the trials and tribulations of Atari users in the States seem like duck soup to me. When was the last time that your electric company turned off the power three or four times a day because the Cubans were blasting? Or that the lights dimmed and your file disappeared because a cow had knocked over the power lines? Or, better yet, imagine that it's evening and the Grena- dians are unloading a special Russian cargo ship — and that, as a result, the entire country is without power until "later."

At St. George's, I was involved in the development of computer-assisted in- struction programs used to prepare stu- dents to qualify for American medical programs. This work resulted in a com- prehensive MSKP (Medical Science Knowledge Profile) Review that covers all areas of medicine on which the students are to be tested. It runs on an Atari 800.

However, developing educational soft- ware and being able to use it eight hours

Dr. Lint Hutchinson taught at the St. George's University School of Medicine for three years, and left the island of Grenada shortly before last year's coup and U.S. rescue operation. He holds a Ph.D. in psychology, and is involved in the desig>7 of instructional systems for medical students. He has more than 15 years of computing experience.

by DR. LINT HUTCHINSON

a day are two different things — espe- cially in Grenada. For instance, when I went to the only electrical hardware store on the island, I found that a much- needed six-foot extension cord cost $30! There were no two-prong to three-prong connectors at all, and to top it off, the island uses two different types of wall plugs that have to be seen to be believed.

CUSTOM-MADE DIFFICULTIES

These were just a few of the common- place inconveniences I encountered in the West Indies, where computers of any shape, size or description are rare.

The first obstacle I ran up against was customs. After all, the British left Grenada, their former colony, with a highly developed sense of procedure. When you inform a customs agent that you want to bring a computer into the country, you have to be prepared to dedi- cate the next four hours to filling out a vast number of forms. These help the authorities to determine which classifi- cation a computer should come under: electronic equipment, typewriters, or toys. In the meantime, two or three customs agents will attend you. But make no mistake about it — once a deci- sion has been made, all the tea in China will not alter it.

If your computer is classified as elec- tronic equipment, you must pay a duty of 105% of its total value before you leave customs. If, on the other hand, it is categorized as an electronic typewriter.

you will be charged only 30-50% of its value. And if you are very lucky, and it is deemed to be a toy, you don't have to pay any duty at all. Sometimes, however, the authorities will simply confiscate your equipment to see if it has any military applications.

RISKY BUSINESS

The first time 1 entered Grenada, it took me at least two hours to convince customs that my Atari 810 was not an eight-track tape player. I patiently ex- plained that the 810 uses single-sided, single-density, soft-sectored, 40-track floppy disks that are something like record albums enclosed within protec- tive covers. My customs agent promptly informed me that each record that enters the country is subject to a $10 import duty. Since I had ten boxes of disks with me (and 10 x 10 x $10 = $1000), I quickly backtracked and explained that, actually, a floppy disk was made of mag- netic tape. The agent noted (just as quickly) that there was also an import tax on all cassette tapes that were brought into the country!

A VALUABLE LESSON

Once I'd recovered in Grenada's warm, crystal-clear, tropical waters from the trauma of having made some unexpect- edly large contributions to the island's economy, 1 decided it was time to get down to some serious computing.

It was only then that I discovered the primitive nature qf the island's electrical

52

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

system. Most Caribbean nations use a 220-volt current at 50 Hz. This current must be converted to 110 volts for com- puting purposes (Atari 800's work on 50 Hz). So, unpacking my computer equip- ment, I took out a converter that an elec- tronics expert in the U.S. had guaranteed would handle anything from an electric shaver to a computer. I plugged it into my system, and for the first 45 seconds everything worked just like it had back in the good old USA. Soon, however, I noticed a strange smell and saw black smoke pouring from the back of my monitor. The converter started to buzz and then slowly melted into a puddle of darkened plastic. Then, nothing. I had just learned the difference between a con- verter (which is what I had) and a trans- former (which is what I needed).

REPAIRS?

Getting a computer repaired in such a setting is no easy feat — in fact, it's just about impossible. What do you do with a burned-out Atari in a country where there are no TV. stations, and where you

are required to carry a license to operate a transistor radio?

The only practical solution is to send it back to the United States to be re- paired. The postal regulations of each island nation in the Caribbean vary, but generally packages cannot be insured by the Post Office, and packages that are sent through the mail tend to wind up in the Bermuda Triangle. With luck, though, you can have your Atari fixed and returned to you in as few as six months. And when your equipment finally does arrive, a friendly customs agent will want to talk to you about import duties.

LIVING IN THE PAST

If you can gear your computer needs to a time frame out of the 1950's, you should be able to use your equipment even in far-off places like Grenada. For example, rather than using fan-fold com- puter paper, which is non-existent in the islands, you should substitute the paper rolls that are common in the West Indies. You should also make sure that each piece of equipment, from a power

adapter to a surge protector, has a double fuse. (You'll soon discover that in the Caribbean a 220-volt current can run anywhere from 170 to 260 volts.) Fur- thermore, you'll need to adjust the speed on your disk drive at least twice a day, and backup your programs every 15 minutes or so. It's best to keep two back- up copies of any program you're work- ing on.

Finally, it will quickly become clear to you that special precautions must be taken regarding the storage of your floppy disks. If your disks are not kept in a cool, dry place, you may someday open a storage box to find that a green slime or a while mold is enjoying the fruits of your modern technology!

ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE

If you ever find yourself computing on a sunny beach somewhere in the Carib- bean, remember to enjoy these minor inconveniences. Consider them to be challenges, rather than major obstacles. It's the only way to survive as a Third World Atarian. Q

CASADAPTER

"IT REALLY WORKS!"

CASADAPTER is a cassette interface that al- lows you use your own cassette recorder or stereo with the Atari 400/800/1200®. CASADAPTER will handle motor control, audio and data channels.

*34.95

48K

RAM BOARD FOR:

THE ATARI 400® *1 15.00

COMPUTER PRODUCTS

12 Scamridge Curve Buffalo, New York 14221 (716) 632-3441

Dealer Inquiries Invited "Product of Gennini Software

Add '2.50 shipping.

Send check or money order

C.O.D. accepted

New York State Residents

add 7% tax

®Atari is a trademark of

Atari, Inc.

*MAGIC DUMP is a screen dump utility that allows you to dump a Hi-Resolution graphics picture to a printer in a variety of different sizes. MAGIC DUMP is used in the RIGHT hand cartridge slot, so it is always ready to use.

MAGIC DUMP will work with all Epson printers and Gemini printers, the Centronics 739 printer, and the Prowriter or N.E.C. printers. $eg gg

*GTIA DRAW is a drawing program that uses all the featuresof Atari's® newGTIA chip. GTIADRAWwill give you three extra graphics modes. Mode 9 (16 luminances and one color), Mode 10 (8 luminances and color), or Mode 11 (16 colors and one lumi- nance).

GTIA DRAW will allow you to:

• Add text to pictures

• Blank horizontal or vertical lines

• Shift the screen in any direction

• 'ZOOM' in on certain areas of a picture

• Fill portions of a screen

• Work on two different screens simultaneously

M9.95

*THE DRUMESISER is a unique sound synthesizing tool that allows the creation of sounds such as a drum, piano, organ, harpsichord, or electronic syn- thesizers. The different types of sounds created are limited by the user's imagination and ambition. THE DRUMESISER comes with an Editor, which allows you to create your own sounds, a Player, which will allow you to play the different instru- ments, and the Memory Options, which make it pos- sible for you to playback any sounds that you have recorded.

March 1984

53

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REI

f\

ATARI

Around

The ^UorldM

^s a part of our effort to solicit .information from Atari users abroad, ANTIC sent queries to the Atari Users' Groups we could identify outside the U.S. The responses printed here have been edited for language and clarity. In some cases it was difficult to read the name of the correspondent. We apologize for errors and thank you all for your replies.

-ANTIC ED

JAPAN

The Fuji Atari Users' Group, which serves the cities of Tokyo and Yokahama, has twenty-some members. Most of them are gamers, even though there are no commercial sources of Atari gameware nearby. And our few business users must endure long mail order delays unless they are able to travel stateside. As you can imagine, the failure of copy- protected software from companies that do not provide backups is more than a mere inconvenience here in Japan. We have no "hope of attaining commercial, Japanese-language software or docu- mentation, but we do have Nagata-san.

Nagata Makoto-san is the practicing genius of the Fuji Atari Users' Group. We have other hardware wizards, program- ming aces, and guiding lights, but Nagata-san always gets the tough ques- tions and is almost always able to answer them. He provides us with the confi- dence and motivation we need to under- take any project (". . . well, I'll try this for now — I can always ask Nagata-san . . .").

When any cockeyed new concept is introduced, Nagata-san will make it work, whether with a BASIC one-liner or a safety pin. One example is his home- brew Epson printer interface. (Epson printers are cheap and easily available in Japan — just the opposite of Atari

continued on next page

55

printers.) Nagata-san learned of some- one halfway across the island of Honshu who was interfacing through joystick ports. He then mastered the crucial con- cepts, helped our hardware specialist make the cables, and assembled the printer-handler himself.

His software includes a bootstrap pro- gram that can load a set of Japanese kana to replace the English characters, and he has adapted several utilities to manipu- late this Japanese character set. This has benefitted our club in several ways. For one thing, Atari's Tokyo branch has asked our members to help adapt the Atari to the Japanese market. Atari- Tokyo graciously provides space and

refreshments for our meetings as well. Nagata-san is not above small tasks.

In fact, I have yet to hear of a better master of BASIC one-liners. He once gave me a disk of his short utilities that uses three screens for the directory, but still has 500 free sectors. One-liners seem to be second nature to him. Club mem- bers often show commercial, published or hand-embroidered software at our meetings, and it's usually a good bet that our practicing genius will recreate their effects, however dazzling, with a single line of BASIC code.

An important aspect of any practic- ing genius is diversity. Nagata-san knows the Atari's hardware. Operating System (OS) and BASIC cartridge as well as if he had written the documentation for them last week. He also has a good eye for quality software. He recently typed in a music system from a magazine that several other club members saw but ignored. They were anxious to get a copy after he demonstrated the program.

Nagata-san even shows a touch of genius with gameware. For example, we had a copy of Sands of Egypt, an excel- lent graphics adventure from DataSoft for a limited time. Although a couple of us worked on it for days, we could not escape the desert and find our way to the more interesting images that we knew awaited us. Nagata-san offered to help, even though English is not his native tongue. Not only did he crack the puzzle, he was disappointed that he had not beaten the author's best score.

Perhaps Nagata-san's single greatest characteristic is his "can-do" spirit. His accomplishments embolden all of us to attempt and complete formidable

projects. Even in areas where he has no particular expertise, his special point of view often provokes a fresh look at the problem.

Thank you for giving us the opportu- nity to share some of our Atari experiences with other Atarians around the world. I don't know if all of you will be able to find your own practicing genius, but 1 do know that ours has been a real blessing.

Bob Rutherford

Fuji Atari Users' Group

AUSTRALIA

We would have been extremely upset if we had not been invited to contribute to the International Issue of ANTIC. Using an Atari computer in Australia is an expensive and often frustrating ex- perience. The differences between the PAL and NTSC computers alone deserve an article, but I don't have the time to write it.

Our users' group in Sydney currently has monthly meetings, a bimonthly publication, a reference library, and special interest groups for adventure gaming and Forth programming, and we're also setting up a bulletin board service.

Atari service here is dismal. The only service center in Sydney employs just one computer technician (and he is often unable to help). Many repair jobs must go to Melbourne, and that means months of waiting.

Some Atari-brand software and acces- sories are available, but they are substan- tially overpriced. A limited amount of third-party material is available at one shop in Sydney, but prices are inflated by the 35% import duty and 20% sales tax.

Local goods are few. I know of one game. Shaft Raiders (a Scramble knock- off), and I've heard rumors about "back-

yard" keyboards and memory boards for the 400.

Atari products are distributed in Australia by Futuretronics Australia Pty. Ltd. Unfortunately, Futuretronics seems to have little concern about the sales, marketing, user support or after-sales service required for computer products. Not only have Atari users in Australia suffered because of this, but thousands of sales have been lost to aggressive com- panies like Commodore, Texas Instru- ments, Apple, and Dick Smith Elec- tronics (an Australian company).

Due to neglect, many retailers have dropped the Atari, and I know many Atari owners who have tried to sell their machines out of pure frustration. Future- tronics makes no attempt to import third-party software or accessories, and sells the Atari products at super-inflated prices. They also have a high rate of staff turnover, and their only employees who knew anything about the Atari have resigned.

ANTIC is also distributed by Future- tronics, and as a result is the most expen- sive computer magazine around (when you can find it!). One shop sells it (dis- counted) for $6.00 a copy. Recently a retailer told me that he is expected to sell ANTIC at a lower price than Future- tronics sells it to him.

Some individuals have complained directly to Atari in the U.S., but to no avail. Australia is apparently considered to be too small a market to worry about. Believe me, this lament is not puffed up or exaggerated in any way. All of my statements can be substantiated with examples that would shatter your lucky U.S. readers. Quite simply, our users' group is an oasis in a desert of despair!

Garry Francis

Founder and Editor

Atari Computer Enthusiasts (N.S.W.)

In defense of Futuretronics, ANTIC notes its aggressive interest to iinport ANTIC ivhen we were new. The price reflects in part that Futuretronics air- ships our magazines to Australia at its expense. —ANTIC ED.

MEXICO

Home computing is not very well estab- lished in Mexico, so those of us who do it in Mexico City are not as exclusive as

56

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

you seem to be in the U.S. Any computer at all is good enough for our users' group, and we're very interested in ways of linking together various machines such as the Atari, the Commodore, etc.

We have only one dealer here, and his supply of hardware and software is small. We have also received some help from Atari in the form of information and books.

As far as we know, no special software has yet been developed here in Mexico for the Atari. Our own efforts have been spent trying to bridge the compatibility problems among our various computers.

We need all the help we can get, and it would be great if Atari would send someone down here with all of their latest products.

Alex Olesnowicz

Atari Owners & Users Group

PANAMA

We are very pleased to hear that ANTIC is doing an International Issue. Those of us who receive the magazine are quite pleased with the work you are doing.

The Panama Canal Atari Users' Group includes both Atari computer owrlers in the Republic of Panama and users who are with the U.S. military forces stationed in the Panama Canal Area. We meet once a month at Panama Canal College, which is located at the Pacific entrance to the canal.

Our club has just welcomed its 100th

member! Our goals are to promote friendship and to help owners of Atari computers with their hobby. We also provide an electronic bulletin board ser- vice (Balboa 52-2401). We have no affili- ation with Atari, and do not receive any support from our local dealer.

The main problems we encounter in this beautiful, tropical land are that disk- drive heads frequently go out of align- ment, and RAM and ROM boards often go bad. There is no service facility any- where on the Isthmus, so most of our gear goes to the U.S. for repair via the mail. Some Atari accessories and soft- ware are available locally, but there has been no local development of either soft- ware or hardware to date.

We hope that Atari and other Ameri- can computer companies wake up soon to the fact that there are a number of markets to be developed throughout the world. They should spend some money to see what can be done in other nations. Otherwise Japanese computers will con- quer the world while the U.S. sleeps on its laurels.

Dr. Carlos Lam

Panama Canal Atari Users' Group

WEST GERMANY

Our group is made up primarily of people from the Defense Department's school for American dependents here in Wiesbaden. We meet regularly to teach each other about new software, and we also hold demonstrations about com- puters in action for others in the community.

I know of no local support for Atari computing, but we are entitled to U.S. mail service, so we do most of our com- puter shopping by mail. Some German shops do carry software, but their prices are very high. Service is also a problem; any information you have about Atari repair service in Germany would be most

appreciated.

"The Computer Encounter" organi- zation here developed a fantastic grade book, class schedule and student-attend- ance program for us. Now we need some double-density disk drives to make use of it.

Gordon Jones Dependent Schools Wiesbaden, West Germany

HONG KONG

There are no serious problems associated with using Atari computers here in Hong Kong. It is relatively easy to understand Atari BASIC, and to operate the system. We also have several stores that sell and service Atari equipment and software, and the Atari is very popular here.

In our group, every member is re- quired to write a program each month to share with the other members. We get together once a week to discuss our pro- grams. So far, however, none of our pro- grams are available for sale.

We're glad to hear about ANTIC's interest in Atari use around the world, and are glad to be a part of it.

(unsigned response) Hong Kong Atari Club

March 1984

57

CP/M ON THE ATARI!

HOW? WITH THE INCREDIBLE

ATRi

III

The ATR8000 is a 4 MHz, Z80, 64k RAM, CP/M microcomputer tl-iat is also the complete ATARI interface. Besides bringing CP/M to the ATARI home com- puter, the ATR8000 also enhances the ATARI'S operation. The ATR8000 has ports for running a serial or parallel printer for ATARI DOS, complete with a built-in 48k buffer. And, the ATR8000 enables the use of standard 5V4" and 8" drives for ATARI DOS!

The ATR8000-ATARI system runs these DOSes:

This is the operating system of ATARI com- puters. The ATR8000 runs this DOS from any

standard disl< drive orfrom an ATARI

810 disk drive.

This multi-density DOS is an ATARI compatible DOS. Insingledensity, it runs on an ATARI 810 or a standard drive. In double density, MYDOS runs on standard drives, single and double-sided, 5Va" and 8"!

This popular operating system comes vi^ith the ATR8000. It is a double density DOS that runs on standard drives. The ATR8000 reads CP/M disks from many other microcomputers, too!

What do the ports of the ATR8000 do?

PERIPHERAL OUT

COMPUTER IN

RS-232

FLOPPY DISK

<^

Runs a serial print- er or a modem In ATARI DOS and CP/M operation. Includes an automatic 48k printer buffer in ATARI operation. Software includes modem programs.

Runs both B'A" and 8" standard disk drives. Runs up to four drives that are any mixture of size, density (single, dou- ble or quad) and type (single-sided or dou- ble-sided).

This standard par- allel port runs a paral- lel printer in ATARI and CP/M operation. Includes an automa- tic 48k printer buffer in ATARI operation.

Interfaces ATARI peripherals to the ATR8000 for use in ATARI operation. Per- ipherals, like an ATARI 810 drive, are connected with an ATARI Daisy Chain Cable.

The ATARI home computer is con- nected to the ATR- 8000 here. For CP/M operation, It is also possible to connect an RS-232 terminal here.

Trademarks: ATARI, ATARI DOS, ATARI 810, ATARI, INC, ATR8000, SWP, Inc CP/M, Digital Research, Inc, ZBO, Zilog.

The ATR8000 is a product of:

MICRDCDMPIJTER PRDDUCTS

For further information contact your local dealer or SWP at;

2500 E. Randol Mill Road Suite 125

Arlington, TX 76011 817-861-0421 or metro 469-1181

64k ATR8000 w/ CP/M $499.95

FUJI

INHJI

Kids keen about computing

by ROB PATTISON

^s a schoolboy, I collected stamps ^ind dreamed of faraway lands. ^That's how I discovered Fiji ■ the stamp showed its longitude (180° west) and latitude (18° south). It was almost exactly on the other side of the globe from my home in England. Now I live and work in Fiji, and try to use my Atari 400 to teach stu- dents and amuse myself here.

My non-Fijian correspondents seem to think that all we do here is lie on the beach and sip drinks from coconut shells. They can't believe that we are serious about computing, but we are! The first meeting of the Fiji Computer Club packed the hall with 160 people. Granted, not many of them knew any- thing about computing, but they were all interested.

I now use my Atari in my classes at Felean Memorial School, and the pupils are keen to learn. My wife has to chase them away after class. 1 guess they're hooked — like me.

But living 2,500 miles away from help is not easy. I bought my computer and a 410 Program Recorder in England before I left there. The salesman guaran- teed that my system would work with the television sets used in Fiji. Not so! But I hnalh fotmd one here that will work. Also, I had loading problems with the 410 right from the start. It took eight

Sdihi Liml Monica, pupils at U'lcau Memorial School, Naiisori, Fiji.

months to discover two blown capacitors and replace them. My elation over my first successful load could not have been much less if I'd won the Nobel Prize.

The first time I brought the computer to school, the students were dumb- founded. Many of them had never even seen a TV before, much less a computer. 1 ran a little homemade program to demonstrate some of the things a micro

can do, and you could hear a pin drop. Then I booted a math-drill program and asked for volunteers. No one moved. Finally, a local teacher came forward and did it. The children slowly approached to watch, and soon they were vying for turns. Two hours later I had to beg them to let me eat lunch. The barrier was broken.

continued on next pase

iVlnrch 19S4

.S9

ri:

oiyMPics

^IL

COMING!

Did you know that the

Atari Computers are the Official

home computers of the

1984 SUMMER OLYMPICS?

Well, what are you going to

ao aoout itr

Exercise your Atari and your brain>

Show us your Stuff!

If it is truly Olympian, we will print

your article, program, game or art in

ATARI

Wl ^^ The ATARI Resource

I first learned about computers and programming while working as an engineer on aero-engines at Rolls Royce in the United Kingdom. Later, I studied some microcomputers in development at Cambridge. When I saw the Atari on the commercial market, I was impressed with its design and capabilities. The price dropped just about the time I was departing for Fiji, so I decided to take one along.

My new dream is to help students in third-world countries get the thrill from doing experiments that motivated me so powerfully as a youngster. The micro- computer is one tool that can help make that dream come true. For example, a computer costs less than an oscilloscope, but can simulate some of the things an oscilloscope can do. The next minute it can present something completely different.

Our computing efforts are not without local hazards. Two diesel generators supply power to the neighbor- hood of our school. When the operators switch generators, voltage sometimes drops so low that RAM is lost. Some- times the local load reduces voltage, too. A recent hurricane flung trees across the power lines, and the voltage spike blew up a ROM chip on a friend's computer. A colleage at the University of the South Pacific has an Atari 800 with disk drive — am I jealous! He brought it to our school to demonstrate some math programs. It was great to copy his code onto cassette for my students later on. We teach in English, but that is the second language for our pupils, and that's one reason the visual aspect of computing is so important here.

A local merchant sells Atari game machines and cartridges, and we have gotten him interested in carrying the computers and software as well. But the market is not big. There is no broadcast TV in Fiji, so the only TV sets are those used with videotape recorders, closed- circuit setups, or game machines. Still, the editor of the Fiji Ti)>u'<: is a keen pro- moter of computers. We have thought about setting up some Atari systems for public access as a way of spreading in- terest. We would train someone to demonstrate them and enroll people for instruction. We are convinced that this approach will work here. Q

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.•\NT1C, The .\T.\R1 Resource

Atari is a registered trademark of Warner Communications, Inc.

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I wnnt to play the greatest Atari"' game of all. Please enroll me in CompuClub for one year, and rush my I registration material, catalog and price list to me. I agree to buy any three programs during the r of membership. I have enclosed my payment of $5, or authorization Co bill my charge card account.

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According to Coach Selinger, the U.S. Women's Volleyball Team is one of the three best in the world.

ATARI'S OLYMPIC TEAM

U.S. women go for the gold medal

/ccording to the coach of the ^Atari-sponsored U-S. Women's ^Volleyball Team, Dr. Arie ^Selinger, the team has reached what he calls "the seventh dimension," and this might be just the

David F. Barry is a technical writer in the computer field, and the author of an upcoming book on the word-processing program Wordstar.

by DAVID F. BARRY

extra boost it needs to capture the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

"The seventh dimension is the team dimension," Coach Selinger explained during a recent interview with ANTIC at the team's training camp in Southern California. "You know when a team has it — you can feel it. In volleyball we have six players on the court, so we call it the seventh dimension."

A CHANCE AT THE GOLD

In eight years as head coach, Selinger has built a solid framework within which this added dimension can flourish; and in so doing, he has brought the U.S. team, once unranked and unrespected, to its current standing as one of the five top teams in the world. And because the 1984 Summer Olympics will be held on U.S. soil, many suspect that this team

62

ANTIC, The ATARI Resource

will do what no U.S. Women's Volley- ball Team has yet done: win an Olym- pic gold medal.

"When we beat China 3-0 in the 1982 World Championship games," Selinger recalls, "I felt that the U.S. team was the best in the world, even though we didn't win the tournament."

With the 1984 Summer Olympics just months away, Coach Selinger excudes a sense of cautious optimism. He knows, only too well, the calibre of competition at the Olympics.

"In this Olympics," he notes, "there will be eight volleyball teams competing. The differences between these eight teams are small, and on any given day, any team can beat another. This is very different from the time when teams like Japan and the Soviet Union were far ahead of everyone else. At this point, I can identify three teams that seem to be slightly ahead of the others: China, Japan, and the U.S.A."

STUNNING PROGRESS

Whether or not they win the gold medal this year, the team's progress over the past eight years has been stunning. Three years after Selinger's arrival, the U.S. women unexpectedly captured fifth place in the 1978 World Championships. Four years later, they took the bronze medal. In between these triumphs, the- team began a rigorous schedule of inter- national competition that was unheard of before Selinger came on the scene.

"Before I started," Selinger explains" "a team like Japan would play the U.S. maybe once a year. We now play about 70 international matches annually, and every top team wants to play us."

Formerly the head coach of the Israeli Women's Volleyball Team (1965-1969), Selinger has brought a much-needed international perspective to the U.S. team. A thoughtful, intelligent man with a granite jaw, Selinger says that this is unquestionably the best team he's ever coached. He gives much of the credit for the team's good fortunes to the United States Volleyball Association (U.S.V.A.).

THE BENEFITS OF EXPERIENCE

Thanks to the support of the U.S.V.A., the U.S. team is entering an Olympic

March 1984

volleyball competition with tremendous depth of experience for the first time this year. Between them, four of the team's members (Flo Hyman, Sue Woodstra, Debbie Green, and Carolyn Becker) have — at eight years apiece — 32 years of international experience.

Flo Hyman, at 6'4", is thought of by many as the best female volleyball player in the world. She joined the National Team in 1975 and has since participated in every major competition for which the team has qualified. Her searing spike is studied by teams around the globe.

Debbie Green, though only 5'4", makes up in speed and agility what she lacks in height; she is considered one of the best setters in the world. Sue Wood- stra, the team's captain, is best known for her serve reception and defense. Carolyn Becker, 6'0", shares setting duties with Green.

The team has also been strengthened by the addition of some younger players. At 5'8", Rita Crockett has the highest vertical jump on the team, and Paula WeishofPs dominant net play helped use win the NCAA championship a few years before she joined the National Team. Clearly, the U.S. has a team of great depth and diversity.

AID FROM ATARI (& OTHERS)

With the aid of sponsorships from cor- porations such as Atari, Ford, and Misuno, the U.S. Women's Volleyball team has been able to practice year-

round at training facilities in Southern California at Goto de Gaza. The team trains six hours a day, five days a week. Without corporate involvement, this kind of schedule would be impossible. Before corporate sponsorships were instituted, U.S. Olympic teams often came together only a few weeks before the Games began, and were able to prac- tice only intermittently.

COMPUTERS TO THE RESCUE

In addition to inaugurating a more rigorous training schedule, Selinger has turned to computers to help improve his team. Atari computers are used to keep track of many of volleyball's dizzying array of statistics, which include vari- ables such as the percentage of success- ful spikes per game, as well as the number of blocks, kills and other impor- tant plays. These statistics are fed into an Atari 800 computer in the coach's office, and analyzed by the coaching staff. Using this information, charts are produced which graphically represent an athlete's performance (and compare it to statistics from earlier matches, to the per- formances ef other athletes, or to a stan- dard unit of measurement). These charts hang on Coach Selinger's office wall and are carefully studied by team members. Additional computer assistance is pro- vided by Goto Research Center, which is two doors down the hall from the Volleyball Team's office. There, as a

continued on next page

Dr. Arie Selinger, coach of the U.S. Women's Volleyball Team.

63

THE 1984 U.S. WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM:

Seven members of this year's thirteen-member U.S. Women's Volleyball squad