February 2010
NEWSLETTER for February 2010 President’s Corner by Michael Current February 2010
It's cold as heck right now, but march madness and spring are just around the corner, hang in there! Meanwhile, why not sit down at your Atari with a friend or relative and warm up with a favorite classic video game? You'll enjoy the time together. Or, why not make a modest purchase from one of the loyal sellers of Atari gear that are still there doing their best to support us? You know you want to! Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting, Friday February 12, 2010. **********************************************
Beginning balance as of January 1, 2010
677.30
Receipts for the January SPACE meeting: Doms St-CD roms
9.00 10.00
Total receipts for January 2010
19.00
Expense for the January SPACE meeting: Web-site for Jan. 2010
10.00
Ending SPACE balance as of Jan 31, 2010
686.30
No much happening in January except the surprise sale of our ST CD's volume 1 and 2. We haven't sold a set of these cd's in over a year and I kind of forgot all about them. I hope the purchaser is quite satisfied and passes the word around that the cd's are still available. Anyway my grandson wants to kick me off so he can play Stronhold 2 so I must say see you all in February. Enjoy the football playoffs. **********************************************
Treasurer's Report by Greg Leitner For January 2010
A very frigid evening awaited those who dared the cold for the January SPACE meeting. But even then seven members were present. Usually after the Xmas party we have an off month in January, but not in 2010. If you missed the meeting you didn't hear some exciting news about the Atari world compliments of Lance. So if you want to catch up on all the scuttlebutt then you have attend the February SPACE meeting. Great things are in store for the 8-bit and 16-bit Ataris. Last month's Xmas party was a huge success, and after all the tacos consumed at the party I thought just maybe everyone would be getting a little sick of them. But then I found out that after Lance had a dozen tacos at the party he later in the month settled down in his cozy chair and consumed a mere fourteen more. And lived to talk about it!!! I don't know what it is going to take to change the menu, but I think we are really stuck in a rut. On to the Treasury for the month ended January 31, 2010;
Secretary's Report By Steven Peck For January 2010
Well, so far it has been a fine 2010, despite what happened in Haiti with the quake which I hope the Haitians can recover from. Sorry I was absent from last month's report. I will try to make up for it with this report. We had quite the auction during the Christmas Party of 2009. So much stuff. With all of those disks I received I could archive almost the entire SPACE DOM Library (there have got to be over 150 floppies in that box). But, I am glad that we had a great time during the party and that it was a successful auction. I hope that we can continue to have many more successful auctions to keep SPACE running. If you have not checked out the party and auction on YouTube, I suggest that you do. Also, please feel free to follow SPACE on Facebook and check out the SPACE wiki on the SPACE website. There is a plethora of information on
all these sites about us. Who knows. You might see yourself on YouTube and think to yourself how renowned SPACE and its members really are. I just hope that our efforts get others to think about joining the club as well, but we are still soldiering on with the member compliment that we have. Well, I got to go for I am a busy guy. This concludes the Secretary's Report. I will see you next month. Atarians Unite!
them to me, Nolan Friedland, at the address shown on the back of this newsletter under the "CLUB OFFICIALS" section.
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From: Michael Current [michael@mcurrent.name] Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 5:44 PM Subject: Atari Flashback 2+ Atari Flashback 2+
Excelsior! -------------------------------------------------------------------------Secretary Notes By Brian Little Its been a long and cold winter so far. Hard to believe its only February yet it feels like we have been in this winter for far longer. Thankfully very soon it will be spring which means warmer weather and the birth of the NSC Minnesota Stars pro soccer team. I can’t freaking wait.... but in the meantime let’s get to those secretary notes! Since Steve was unable to make it to the meeting until the last few minutes I jumped in to take care of the secretary notes. Anyways the meeting started at 7:35. The turnout was pretty small given it was a very cold night. I quickly recapped the December “Taco Fiesta” meeting notes. Greg then gave his Treasurer’s Report in which we have paid our room rental for the year. Glen then discussed the DOM. Side A featured Gastly Knights while Side B featured two different games called Puzzle and Square. Membership count according to Glen is at nine members paid. Lance talked about a forthcoming Falcon based laptop. He then mentioned his S-Video upgrade for the 800XL is delayed until February. He is right now working on an internal based S-Video upgrade that would be require soldiering. At this point Nolan and Steve arrived. Nolan quickly mentioned that he has uploaded some new videos to the SPACE You Tube channel. After some talk about tacos... the meeting ended at 8 PM. ..... and that’s what she said!
For a limited time, Atari is releasing Flashback 2+ through a handful of retailers in small quantities. But you can guarantee yours on Atari.com while stocks last. Pre-order now and receive an exclusive classic Atari T-shirt for free with your Flashback 2+ when it ships on Feb 22nd. This T-shirt features the original Atari VCS 2600, one of the most iconic machines in the history of videogaming. You can't get this T-shirt anywhere else, and the Flashbacks 2+ will be hard to find too (T-Shirt is X-Large). Your credit card will be billed automatically on February 22nd when the Flashback 2+ and Atari T-shirt bundle ships. Use this opportunity to get great deals on great Atari games like Neverwinter Nights 2 or Test Drive Unlimited when you enter code ATARI50 at checkout. (This offer does not apply to Pre-Orders including the Flashback 2+. Any extra games you order will ship with the Flashback 2+ on Feb 22nd.) The Games That Defined a Generation. Flash back to the 80's! New Wave is in, neon is hip and the Atari craze is everywhere! Relive the Atari revolution. With the Atari Flashback 2+ Classic Game Console, you can play some of the most popular video games of the 80's, groundbreaking back then, just as much fun today. Shoot through the chaos of Centipede. Hyperspace through the galaxy in Asteroids. Do it all again with the legendary games that set the standard for the future of video games.
******************************************** BBS Corner By Nolan Friedland For February 2010
If anyone has any comments, suggestions, ideas, or submissions for the BBS Corner column or the SPACE BBS web site, you may email
40 Games built right in to the console: 3D Tic Tac Toe, Adventure™, Adventure™ II, Aquaventure, Arcade Asteroids™, Arcade Pong™, Asteroids Deluxe™, Battlezone™, Centipede™, Combat, Combat 2, Dodge'm, Double Dunk, Fatal Run, Frog Pond, Hangman, Haunted House, Human Cannonball, Lunar Lander™, Maze Craze, Millipede™, Missile Command™, Off the Wall, Outlaw, Quadrun, Radar Lock, Realsports Boxing, Realsports Soccer,
Return to Haunted House, Saboteur, Save Mary, Secret Quest, Space Duel, Space War, Super Baseball, Super Football, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Yars' Return™, Yars' Revenge™. Features o All in 1 TV compatible gaming system, plug it in and play! o Wood grained updated console case, approx 2/3rd the size of the original 1977 release of the Atari 2600 console o Backward Compatible with all existing 2600 controllers o 20 original classic 2600 games (Pong, Missile Command, Asteroids, Centipede, etc.) & 20 new Atari games including sports games like Realsports Boxing, Realsports Soccer, Super Football and Super Baseball o 2 Atari 2600 joysticks capture that classic feel for multi-player competition and vintage controls o Power supply & A/V cable o Single player and Dual player head-to-head
From: Michael Current [michael@mcurrent.name] Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 5:59 PM Subject: Sidetracked music demo from Collapze Sidetracked music demo from Collapze January 22nd, 2010 Speechless of Collapze (ex. Opus) released a new music demo for the Falcon a couple of days ago. The musicdemo is called 'Sidetracked' and constists of eight Graoumf Tracker modules and an interface programmed in GFA Basic. » Download 'Sidetracked' by Collapze http://files.dhs.nu/files_demo/sidetracked.zip ********************************************
From: Michael Current [michael@mcurrent.name] Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 6:02 PM Subject: GemPlay 1.95 released GemPlay 1.95 released January 22nd, 2010
Legal SWE of YesCrew writes: ©2010 Atari Interactive, Inc. All individual game names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Interactive, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Conforms to ASTM F963. Made in China. ******************************************** From: Michael Current [michael@mcurrent.name] Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 5:46 PM Subject: STe digidemo released STe digidemo released
December 25th, 2009
It was too long since i've used this machine, forgot how damn cool it is :D! Finnaly got some time and also will. I've added quazi flextracker support (no dsp efects, just mod par...), did some bugfixes.. Also, it now has database, which counts popularity and store users rating of tunes... ctrl/d display database.. still crude, but i'm going toward flexible playlist... Also, intro mode and quick SNDH tunes browser should now work as they should...
Blinddarm writes:
» Download GemPlay v1.95 http://files.dhs.nu/files_msx/gemplay.zip
Merry Christmas!
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This is a Digi Demo for STE and above...sorry ST Users :( you can hear Amy Grant - Home for Christmas - 2min 32sec. there are 2 Versions, a Floppy friendly Version, playing at 6.25 kHz...requires 2 mb Ram and a Harddisk Version (also 1.44 MB Floppy), playing at 12,5 khz... requires 4 mb ram runs fine on TOS 1.06/1.62/2.06....please use 1.62 on STEEM, 2.06 will not work » Download Xmasdemo by Blinddarm http://files.dhs.nu/files_demo/xmasdemo_by_blinddarm.zip ********************************************
From: Michael Current [michael@mcurrent.name] Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 5:47 PM Subject: 20 years STe megademo 20 years STe megademo
December 28th, 2009
Yes! It's finally released. The Atari STe 20 years megademo was finished late nast night and is now available for download. The demo runs from floppy (1 MB needed) or harddisk (2 MB needed) and features sixteen screens plus intro, menu and reset.
As a personal note I'd like to point out that the screens from TXC were all made in 1991 for various megademos that were never finished. They are some of DHS first assembler attempts. Crews involved in the megademo: * Paradox * Atari Legend * MJJ Prod * No Extra * Paradize * BiTS * KÜA * Dead Hackers Society * RGCD * Elite * Excellence in art * The X'Press Crew Now, download and enjoy (on a real STe!).
- the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). - the Supervision console. - the Oric Atmos. - the Lynx Console. The libraries are fairly portable, so creating a version for other 6502s shouldn't be too much work. This version is a bugfix release against 2.13.0. Changes have been made in the following areas: * Added a missing external declaration for ser_load_driver. * Fixed an error in the 32K linker config for the Commodore VIC-20. * Fixed a problem with bit-fields. * Fixed a problem with initialization of local arrays with unspecified size.
» Download the STe megademo harddisk version http://files.dhs.nu/files_demo/20ste_hd.zip » Download the STe megademo floppydisk version http://files.dhs.nu/files_demo/20ste_dd.zip
* Function designators are now handled correctly when dereferenced.
******************************************** From: Michael Current [michael@mcurrent.name] Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 5:29 PM Subject: cc65 version 2.13.1 is available
* Passing structs by value was never possible but is now correctly refused by the compiler.
--Date: Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:49:54 -0600
* Ignore unknown preprocessor directives in an #if group that is excluded.
I'm proud to announce version 2.13.1 of cc65. cc65 is a complete cross development package for 65(C)02 systems, including a powerful macro assembler, a C compiler, linker, librarian and several other tools. cc65 has C and runtime library support for many of the old 6502 machines, including - the following Commodore machines: VIC20 C16/C116 and Plus/4 C64 C128 CBM 510 (aka P500) the 600/700 family newer PET machines (not 2001). - the Apple ][ and successors. - the Atari 8 bit machines. - GEOS for the C64 and C128.
* Corrected a problem with qualifier handling in arrays and structs/unions.
* Apple ][ target makes use of bit-fields in dirent.h. * Documentation improvements. Precompiled binaries are available for the most common platforms. On many other host platforms, the sources compile out of the box, so you'll able to create your own binaries. For RedHat Enterprise Linux 5, ready made RPM packages are available. These packages may also work on other rpmbased Linux systems. Please note that there are separate RPMs for the compiler proper, the docs, and the target specific libraries. To develop code for one of the target machines, you need the compiler RPM package *and* one of the target machine packages. Be sure to download the documentation package if you're new to cc65. For windows users, there's a user friendly installer package (the one with the .exe extension). All subpackages are selectable from within the installer dialogue. The installer will also setup the necessary environment variables and start menu entries. It is recommended that Windows users choose this package instead of the .ZIP files.
Precompiled binaries for DOS, OS/2 and Windows are available in ZIP archives. As with the RPM packages, you need the package for the development host system (Windows or whatever) *and* one or more of the target machine packages, plus optionally the doc package.
isn't just about nostalgia; its about utilizing an alternative computer platform for specialized digital music creation. On Jan 1, 2010, The Atari Music Network (AMN) was launched, marking the beginning of an exciting new era for Atari based musicians and developers by offering news, resources, and an extensive social network area.
All packages are available from the MU software FTP server: ftp://ftp.musoftware.de/pub/uz/cc65/ More information on cc65 can be found on the cc65 web page at http://www.cc65.org/ There is also a mailing list for discussing cc65 related issues (programming, suggestions, bugs, ...). See http://www.cc65.org/#List for information on how to subscribe to this list. While I'm the main developer of cc65, it is actually a joint effort. I would like to thank the target library developers, all the people on the cc65 mailing list, all those sending suggestions and feedback, and even those bugging me for a new stable release:-) The CREDITS file is probably incomplete, but you know who you are. Thank you!
Uz
-Ullrich von Bassewitz uz@spamtrap.musoftware.de 22:48:41 up 22 days, 7:18, 1 user, load average: 0.02, 0.12, 0.23 ******************************************** From: Michael Current [michael@mcurrent.name] Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 5:27 PM Subject: Atari Music Network --Date: Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:14:50 -0600 (WEBSITE) http://www.atarimusic.net (FORUM) http://www.atarimusic.net/atari-music-network From sequencing Tangerine Dream concerts in the 80's to tearing up the dance floor at the New York Blip Fest in 2010, Atari's reputation as a music monster machine has persisted for a quarter of a century. The secret behind its success is clear: Atari was perfect from the beginning - it didn't need to change. For MIDI enthusiasts, the Atari was and still is the ultimate bridge between man, music, and machine. For chiptunists, the Atari offers a canvas of unexplored sonic colors for electronica and 8-bit pop. AMN believes that Atari
The Atari Music Network (AMN) Mission Statement and Features The Atari Music Network (AMN) aims to: o Stimulate social interaction of Atari based musicians and developers as one global community. o Inspire and support Atari hardware and software developers to update and resell their products or place abandonware into the public domain. o Deliver relevant news, product information, downloads, and hardware support o Provide free marketing for Atari based musicians, albums, and events o Bolster Atari's presence in the 8-bit pop scene o Archive, catalog, and preserve Atari music software for future Atari generations o Encourage the pirating and cracking of ex-commercial software (ethical rules apply) AMN Currently Features o Discussion Forums: The Heart of the Atari Music Community o Worldwide Ebay Power-Searches: Dozens of Predefined Atari Hardware and Software Searches o Facebook Group: Connecting AMN to a Wider Audience o Featured News & Articles: Showcasing Atari Musicians, Developers, and Events o Frankenstein Mods: How-to Guides of user's Hardware Hacks and Mods o Hardware Catalog: An Archive of Music Related Atari Peripherals o Software Catalog: Music Software Downloads Including Freeware and Cracked Abandonware AMN Future Features (To be Announced) o Atari E-Store : A Centralized, Secure, and SEO Enhanced E-commerce site to help developers reach a wider target audience o Artist's Self Promotion: Dedicated Profile Pages for Artist's to Create Sample Albums and Promotional Materials You can also join the Atari Music Network Facebook Group here: http://www.atarimusic.net/index.php/social-network/amnfacebook-group