I/O Board

I wrote to Antic about TYPO II, which 1 couldn't get to run, despite "50 tries." I had practically lost faith in you! All was rectified in your June, 1985 HELP letter "Checked 100 Times." Using the suggestions in your answer, I then typed in TYPO II again and found that it worked perfectly on the first try.

Charles Hostetler
Detroit, MI

Glad we could help. As we stated in June' it can be confusing when you're getting started typing in magazine programs. We recommend that newcomers start with shorter programs and be sure to read all the typing hints at the start of the Software Library listing section. -ANTIC ED

MYSTIFYING MODULE

Here's a mystery for you! I am the happy owner of a 1090 XL Expansion Module. That's right, a 1090. Does anyone have any information on this device? It came right off the assembly line without documentation.

Stephen Warn
East Helena, MT

The Atari 1090 XL was an intriguing idea that never got to the market. It was designed by a Fellow of the Atari Institute, Bill Steuben, to give XL's compatibility with other microcomputers such as the IBM PC. The project was stopped a week after being exhibited at the June, 1984 CES. Software and plug-in boards that were to accompany it were never completely developed. Antic now owns a 1090 and it makes a good paperweight. -ANTIC ED

COVER COMMENTS

I am disappointed that C. A. Castravelli's letter called your covers childish. 1 think they're great and my schoolmates like them also.

Michael De Fong
Tyndall, Manitoba

PRINTSHOP PRINTERS

Will Broderbund's Print Shop software work with my Okimate 10 printer? I hope you can help.

Todd Hartmann
Edina, MN

Broderbund says that Print Shop will not work with the Okimate 10. A complete list of compatible printers appears on the back of the box in the lower left hand corner. Broderbund requested us to emphasize that the Commodore 6502 and 802 printers alto do not work with Print Shop. -ANTIC ED

SYNFILE+ PRINT STYLE

I have discovered that it is possible to change SynFile+ print styles from inside the program. Create a separate print file using the lookup field. Enter printer escape codes as records in this field of your file. When the record is printed the printer code is sent to the printer. This file can then be closed and another file loaded with your data now printed in your selected font. It will also work with the conditional field, for changes in print styles in individual records.

Bob Stirling
Yukon, Canada

MODEM CHOICE

I need some help buying a modem. I have narrowed my choice down to two of them, but am having difficulty picking one. Please help.

Chuck Ryckman
Brown City, MI

There are many modems on the market and the choice can be confusing (especially if you own an 850 interface). Next issue of Antic reviews some good new modems at various price levels. See if there's anything you like. -ANTIC ED

ONE-ON-ONE 13OXE

New Atari 130XE computers may have difficulty loading Electronic Arts One-on-One game. I have found that the following procedure works:

1. Load in Fix XL or XL Translator (Side B) holding down [OPTION].

2. Following instructions, replace the translator disk with One-on-One disk and press [SELECT].

3. When the drive pauses, quickly toggle computer off and on, while holding [OPTION] down. Continue to hold [OPTION] down during the rest of the loading process, until the demo screen comes up.

Kim Ellison
3E Software & Systems
Hayward, CA

Thanks for the advice, Kim. This is the only program Antic knows about so far that has any trouble running on the l3OXE. -ANTIC ED

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

What different progntming languages are available for the Atari and who markets them?

Jeffrey Velasquez

Not all the languages produced for the Atari are currently available. Because you may be able to find some of these "out-of-print" languages, we've included them in the following list. There are several BASICs from Atari itself. BASIC XL, ACTION! and C/65 are produced by Optimized Systems Software. Another version of C is called Deep Blue C, and is available ftom the Antic Arcade Catalog as is FORTH. There are two versions of Pascal - Draper and I.S.O., neither of which Is presently available (I.S.O. Pascal and an Atari LISP were distributed by the, old Atari Programmers Exchange.) Atari distributes Logo and PILOT. Finally there are several assemblers around, including MAC/65 fiom 0SS, Atari's Assembler Editor and Macro Assembler. -ANTIC ED

THUMBS UP

We'd like to thank the dozens of people who responded to our plea for help with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (reviewed May '85). Not only were the responses plentiful, most were written in the true style of Infocom-hints and more hints, with carefully concealed answers should we fail with the clues. -Jack Powell and Michael Ciraolo of Antic.

NOT TAKING IT

(Russel Casey of Lexington, KY sent atong a copy of this letter from the prestdent of Electronic Arts. It's yet another response to the Antic May 1985 editorial urging readers to demand that software companies release Atari versions of their hit titles.)

Personally I am a big Atari fan and my 800 is mv favorite CPU among the five I have at home. We do have about four more releases planned for the Atari this year. My figures indicate that perhaps 750,000 Atari CPU's have been sold to date, but only about 200,000 of those have disk drives. Many CPU's were sold by stores like Sears and K-Mart when no drives were even available. The "new" Atari claims to be selling lots of drives, and that's great.

Unfortunately for Electronic Arts and Atari users, most retailers are uncertain about the future of Atari and therefore are still trying to sell the old software they have, rather than bring in new titles. There is little incentive for us to develop them. Let them know that you are ready to buy new titles for your Atari!

Trip Hawkins
President,
Electronic Arts

We disagree with Mr. Hawkins only ahout his opinion that two-thirds of Atari owners don't have disk drives. Antic believes that with drive prices dropping below $200 last year virtually all active Atari users are now upgraded to disk. Certainly we rarely see a program submitted here on cassette these days. -ANTIC ED