SPACE Newsletter

April 1996

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April 1996

I NEWSLETTER l\ilafch,1996 President's Corner

By Mike Fitzpatrick

There wasn't a file from the President waiting for me in the Newsletter section of the BBS. Left message, now the BBS appears to be down as this newsletter is put together.

Minutes Of Space Meeting Space meeting for March , was held on March 8, ) 996. Meeting opened at 7:35 PM. Mike Fitzpatrick, club president and BBS sysop, welcomed members to the Space meeting. Mike apologized for the Minutes of February meeting not being in the March Newsletter because they were misplaced. Mike asked the club treasurer for a report. Greg Leitner, club treasurer, said the club picked up money for treasury. That the balance was $434.64. The motion was made to accept the report. It was accepted. OLD BUSINESS-

Mike talked about a auction of Atari club property in future. Member said good time for auction would be before summer set in. It was suggested May 1996 would be good time for auction. It was suggested the auction be Atari stuff only. Don Langford was asked to handle this auction. Mike Fitzpatrick said he hasn't been in contact with Atari group with Atari group in Chicago, but he has been in contact with Atari groups in Florida and Toronto, Canada. Greg Leitner talked about Mast Disk Library available on a Single sided, Single density disk. This is a library listing of ST. programs available through the Space Club. It is a 100 pages long . Greg Leitner said he had a few copies on disk available at meeting, for people who wanted a copy. Mike Fitzpatrick thanked a Mike Current for making a Atari Vendors list available for Atari Computer owners. A Web page for all Atari groups on the Internet was discussed. It is being worked on. NEW BUSINESS-

The Space 14th Birthday Party was discussed. Mike Fitzpatrick asked Mike Weist to work on a potluck list for upcoming celebration. And also help on working on plans for this party. The Amateur show was also talked about. Mike Fitzpatrick asked Mike Weist to look into getting a table for our club. Club will pick up table cost. Talk about operations of the Club BBS was brought up. Mike Fitzpatrick said Space Club can't afford the cost of phone line for BBS. Mike is providing this through his business. Mike also stated that if members don't like the way he runs the BBS they can take over his duties. He can't make the BBS a 24 hour a day job. If there is a volunteer to take over, he will transfer the duties and equipment to such a person.

Mike Fitzpatrick discussed F-Mail problems with BBS Glen Kirschenmann asked Mike Fitzpatrick how much F-Mail was used on the BBS. Mike said there was 20% usage. Mike said if he re did access level for F-Mail for Space club, he could get rid o F-Mail problems. The change proposed would be eliminate FMail for Space Club members until updated software would be available for the BBS. to eliminate these problems The proposed change was voted on and accepted by members at meeting. Greg Leitner touched on CD ROM that is available from TOAD Computer. Asked if one is available for the 8-bit Atari. computer A member said one is in the works Mike Fitzpatrick talked abou copyrights of software Told about discussion on Flightline BBS about this subject. He made members aware that a copyright on software should be good for life or until the software owner releases the software copyright. Greg Leitner asked if there was a web browser to get on the Internet for the Atari Computer user. Rich Mier said one was in the works. Mike Fitzpatrick told members about upcoming AtariFest Ill in Indianapolis on July 13, 1996. Asked secretary to announce this, State Computer Show, and the Honeywell Tailgate Swapfest in April Space Newsletter. Meeting adjourned at 8.15 PM. Michael Weist Club Secretary

BBS News This month the F-mail was turned off to the SPACE club user(s) So far there have been no complaints of having a slot lost by the individual user. For everyone's mformation: #1 If you try a command and are informed that your security level is too low, you are not being penalized just not given access to that portion of the BBS and the software. ALL SPACE users have the same security level. If you think that you are having a problem leave me E-mail and I'll check it out. #2 PLEASE! Log off the BBS the legal way by using the "G" key at the main command prompt. Sometimes when one taJces a shortcut it can impact the BBS for other users until I can reset the system. Thanks! I'm strongly considering turning the BBS over to the ST RATSoft program. There are a lot of different items available for the user. For openers a stable F-mail and a voting/polling area for expressing opinions to issues. Right now I just don't have the time

Upcoming Space Events State Fair Computer Show April 26-28 1996 Honeywell Tailgate Swapfest June 8 , 1996 Space 14th Birthday Party July 12, 1996 July 13, 1996 Mist Atari Fest VIII, Indianapolis Amateur Electronic Show July 1996 Information on these events will be available in upcoming isst..!S ot Space newsletters. $1 discount tickets are available for State Fair Computer show.

Treasurer's Report by Greg Leitner The March Club meeting turned out to be a complete success. Not only did we get a new member, we also had a good turnout of our membership for the meeting. Thanks to Terry and Glen for the great DOM. The sale of the March DOM was brisk to say the least. The Club sold 22 disks for March and that hasn't happened in a long while. With the possibility of a Club membership software/ hardware auction or sale in May or June, our financial outlook is looking better all the time. I hope we generate enough interest for the sale to take place, but we need your support, and that won't happen unless you show up at the April meeting and express your feelings. Our receipts for March included two memberships, ( one renewal and a new ST member). The sale of22 disks along with some blank disks took in $72.00. It's very encouraging to deposit $102.00 when only $30.00 came from memberships. That means the members are buying more software which tells me that our members are still eager to get their bands on good Atari 8-bit programs. With this renewed interest in the Club's DOM's, it means a stronger financial position for the Club. Realize that in this position it opens the Club up for a lot of possibilities to do the things we couldn't do before. Our only expenses for the month were the two months newsletter and the monthly BBS bill. Our account grew by $50.00 to $482.00 for the month ended March 31, 1996. See you all on April 12 for another great Atari Club meeting.

State Fair Computer Show April 26, 27, 28, will be the dates for the State Fair Computer Show. The State Fair grounds are near our monthly computer meeting spot. At the show, Atari computer users should run into a few bargains. Maybe run into some Atari software and hardware that you are looking for. Discount tickets were handed out at the March 8 Space meeting. If you weren't at last month's meeting, $1 discount tickets are still available at computer stores. The show should be interesting. Maybe a few of us will run into fellow Atarians. See you all there!!! Mike Weist

Backer's Journal

By Brian Little

Welcome to my new article for the SPACE Newsletter. First of all, rm not going to bore you to death with self-advertisements for my upcoming game, Haunted Nightmare. Instead, I'm planning on writing about the Atari 8-bit world, our club (and views on recent decisions}, and bashing our nice big brother, the IBM and it's sad, sorry and sickening leader, Bill Gates (you know, the rich fag with how much money again). This month, I'm going to discuss why I became an Atarian, plus my view of the BBS (Paul - I'll be on any day now). The reason why I became an Atarian is simple: Atari's cost less, have more programs, a great distributor (I bet Lance Ringquist is ginning by now}, and a great Club. Even more so is because I can get more money off my titles in the Atari market, but the IBM market is so full of titles, I probably wouldn't even get a cent. Worse yet, the IBM is more complex (in other words, complicated and stupid).

Don't just take my word for it, ask any IBM programmer, like Larry Serflatten. Another reason I became an Atarian is because of how unfair the IBM world has become. A walk through my local computer store left me very angry. You see, I happened to of found a copy of a hot new game, Wing Commander 4 (which is made by Origin Systems and the game producer is Chris Roberts, who made a couple of Atari XI games, including Times ofLore). The system requirements are outrageous. My computer didn't even come close to them. I looked around even more, only to find somewhere around half of the great games won't run on my machine. But, the Atari will run almost all the games produced for the 8-bit, and any beginner can start producing their own games immediately. On the PC, you need to learn C or C++ to make games that look at least good. To change the subject, I would like to input my opinion ofthe BBS. I personally love the BBS, and would be on it more often, but my parents moved the PC to an area where I couldn't reach a phone outlet. Now that I own an Atari, with a modem, I can jump on whenever. So my word to the Club members is to get on the BBS more often (I plan on it myself). Finally, I would like to stop and give thanks to all the people who have made an impact on my life (or I have put one on theirs). My parents, Lance Ringquist, Larry Serflatten, Paul, Mr. Data, Charlie Johnson, Kathy Himes, Christina Nelson, Joelle Platt, Jason Ringquist, Wesley Ringquist, and all of you SPACE members who show up at every meeting (and figured out how to program the VCR for the X-Files). See you next month (April). Message # 545 [Atari 8Bit - InterNet] From: Oscar Fowler Posted: IO Mar 96, 23 :32 Subj: Atari BBS List: 96-03-10 UPDATE From: oscar@primenet.com (Oscar Fowler) Subject: Atari BBS List: 96-03-10 UPDATE Organization: Sirius Cybernetics Corporation I've compiled the replies I received for my query on existing BBS's which support the Atari 8bit. The list is in 40-column format in order to accommodate those of us who will be using an 8bit to view it. I've removed "BBS" from the BBS names in order to conserve space. Thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry that I haven't had a chance to reply personally to those of you who sent email. Please keep me informed with updates to the list and 111 post revisions as necessary. In particular, if one of the BB S's is within your local calling area, please give them a call and let me know whether they're currently operational. Also, I just found out (by reading the FAQ ... ) that Rick Detlefsen is putting together a BBS list as well. Does anyone know if he completed it? If so, we can just merge the two lists together. The format of the individual entries is below. Note that each entry uses four lines. "Type" indicates the type of hardware used to run the board. "Status" is whether the board was up or not the last time it was checked, which was on the "status date". I assume the remaining fields are self-explanitory.

******************************************* * Atari 8bit Support BBS's * Last update: 96-03-1 O *

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• <BBS name> : <phone number> <location> <type> : <status> : <status date> <notes>

? : 716-337-3628 New York, USA ? : ? : 96-03-10 Carinu

css: 716-247-7157

ABACUS : 415-564-8062 San Francisco, California, USA Atari-16 :? : 96--03-IO ST Express

Enterprise : 607-648-8027 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode 393

Precinct : 504-766-3315 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode207

ABBUC BOX : +49-54-393265 ? ? : ? : 96-03-IO ProNode408

Hard Core: 203-871-1842 ? ? : ? : 96--03IO ProNode317

Programmer's : 416-466-6749 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 <no notes>

ACUTE: 610-648-8027 ? ? : ? : 96-03-IO ProNode 330

lleechee Heaven : 803-788-7982

Repair Shop: 801-967-8738 ? ? : ? : 96--03-10 ProNode53

ASB Zan Sweeds : +46-3 1-458807 ? ? : ? : 96--03-10 ProNode463

Inside 8bit I : 706-798-2474

Atari Connection: 801-9691468 ? ? : ? : 96-03IO <no notes>

Inside 8bit West : 5 I0-895-8022

Atari Express : 506-652-6826

Iron Horse: 602-2471036 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode381

'I ? : ? : 96--03-10 ProNode 112

? ? : ? : 96-03-10 <nonoles>

? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode366

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? : ? : 96--03-IO ProNode47

? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode 412

? ? : ? : 96--03-10 <no notes>

JAIL: 416-762-9316 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode335

BAAUG: 408-986-0215 San Leandro, California, USA Atari-16:?: 96-03-10 M ichTron

Menz.obarrall7.ell: 504-649-4194 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode415

Beco Tel : +31 -20-6326859 Amsterdam, The Netherlands ? : OK: 96--03-10 Bernard Kok. Hours • 17:00--06:00 GMT Carnival: 810-235-0158 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode 349 City ofGrey : 916-338-1695 ? ? : ? : 96-03IO <no notes> Closer lo Home : 4 19-368-4413 ? ? : ? : 96--03-1 0 ProNode439

Rest Stop: 9 16-568-1712

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Atnri XE Group: 613-225-0901 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ? : ? : 96--03-10 Dave Brown. X_232, IAN net soon

Barvarian Gaus: 303-367-5877 ? ? : ? : 96--03IO ProNode I08

Pot llole : 604-642-6795 ? ? : ? : 96-0310 ProNode 365

Revelstone: 717-263-9689 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode227

Slidell Express: 504-649-7921 ? ? : ? : 96-0310 ProNode 181 SNACC : 702-438-2208

? ? : ? : 96-03-1 0 ProNode 121 SPACE: 612-427-4317 St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Atari-8 : OK: 96-0310 IMegXE, IMegMIO, 40MB IID, 14.4K

MOOSE: 716-381-5139 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 <no notes>

Star Wars: 2!0-737-3019

New Nest : 516-234-4943 ? ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode218

System Reset! : 905-544-61 62 I Iamilton, Ontario, Canada ? : ? : 96-03-10 USF net, JAN net, X_59

Northern Limits : 905-937-2786 ? ? : ? : 96-03-IO ProNode 338

Underdog : 508-820-3089 ? ? : ? : 96-03IO ProNode I02

Owl's Nest: 510-276-6394 ? ? : ? : 96-03-IO ProNode430

Wall : 904-730-8659 ? ? : ? : 96--03-1 0 ProNode287

Part Time : 216-582-1196 ? ? : ? : 96--03JO ProNode7

Wayne's World : 6 14-761-1891 Columbus, Ohio, USA ? : ? : 96-03IO Wayne Arenz.

PAUGS/NWPAC: 602-278-8505 ? ? : ? : 96--03-10 ProNode92

Wcstex: 6 10-776-7495 ? ? : ? : 96-03IO ProNode 169

'I ? : ? : 96-03-10 ProNode 118

Computer World: 716-247-8355

? Atari-8 : OK : 96-03-10 Bob Puff.

CLUB OFFICIALS President: Vice P1·esidenl: $ecrelary: Dmf LibrarianPaper Lihra ri an· Soflware L1bral"ian :

),fike Fitzpatric k Terr y Streeter Mike· Wies t (Temp} Terry Slre<'lc r Vocanl Earline ~'ilzpalrick Mc·mbcr sh ip Chairman: Glen Kirsc:hcnm,inn SPACE Treasurer Greg LcilnE>r SPAC'E Newsleller Edit or· Michael Schmidt

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Saint Paul Atari Computer f:nlhus iasls (SPACT·:)

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in the Fal con Heig hts Community C'cnler nt 2077 Wei;:l Larpenleur Ave. Doors open at 7:00 PM. f

Falcon Heights Community Cenler 2077 W. Lai penleur Ave.

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