_____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE MARCH 1987 _____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE MARCH 16, 1987 ISSUE 43 -HOT ATARI NEWS AND REVIEWS- _____________________________________ ZMAG STAFF Publisher:Syndicate Services Editor in Chief:Ron Kovacs Editor/Coordinator:Alan Kloza Columnist:Steven Godun _____________________________________ USER GROUP/BBS OF THE MONTH THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF OZ Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (808) 423-2754 ____________________________________ Xx This week in Zmag <*> Part 2: Atari Emulator Text from the author of the Atari 800 Emulator Demo <*> New Product announcement from Orion Systems <*> Product review of Super Mario Brothers from Nintendo <*> PCP Update. Get more out of your usage <*> Battery Backup your Atari <*> Atari news and more from the CHAOS BBS and John Nagy <*> Note from the Editor _____________________________________ Xx ATARI ST EMULATOR PART 2 .......Continued from Zmag40......... _____________________________________ Current information about the ST Transformer as of 03/09/87 By Darek Mihocka (CIS 73657,2714) Programmed by Darek Mihocka additional programming and all night testing by Ignac Kolenko hardware supplied by: Xanth Computer Systems 600 First Avenue Seattle, Washington The purpose of this document about the ST Transformer is: - to explain its purpose and give a history of its development - to give the latest information about the ST Transformer - to discuss the legal problems with this program and why I can't release it to the public for all former Atari 400/800 owners - to find other programmers to work on this project. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, you have seen it as the Atari 800 Emulator Demo or the Apple ][ Emulator. Part 1:The history When Atari introduced the ST computers, I was then the owner of an Atari 400, bought way back in 1981 with all my summer's earnings. Like many other people I spent a considerable amount of money on my system for software and disk drives. About the only piece of hardware that I could use on the ST was my FX80 printer. This is not too useful as none of the software works. So I held off buying an ST for over a year as I waited for Atari to introduce some kind of a device or program to allow me to run old software. They never did. I finally sold the 400 and bought the ST anyway because after using 68000 based in machines at my university, I was impressed by its power and already had a program in mind. The implementation: The first project I decided to work on was to somehow run the old software so that all that money didn't all go to waste. I considered 2 approaches: - the first approach is to write a program that reads a binary file from a 400/800 and convert each machine language instruction into a 68000 instruction. This would then create a file on the ST that would run about 10 times the speed of the original file! Problems: - how do you tell the difference between code and data? - how to handle self modifying code? - how to handle the hardware registers? - the second approach is to write an interpreter, similar to the way BASIC interprets a tokenized program, or the way that a real microprocessor executes code. You read in a byte of memory, determine which 6502 instruction it is, and execute it. The real 6502 executes microcode. I would use 68000 instructions. Problems: - the overhead of processing each instruction is greater than the time it takes to actually execute it. - how to handle hardware registers? I chose the second approach because it solves the first two problems of the first approach, and shares the third problem. The problem of speed is also in both approaches. Software running at ten times the speed is usually unusable. This is similar to the problem when some IBM PC software is run on an AT or even worse, a Compaq 386 (18 times faster). It is always possible to use software running slower. The unknown is how slow the software would run. The hardware problem can be solved by a similar interpreter which checks which register is being accessed and does something accordingly. First results: The first version of the 6502 interpreter was written in Megamax C in August. As it turned out, the unknown speed was about 7% of the speed of a real 6502. This does not include the extra interpretation of hardware. It was obvious that hand coded 68000 code was needed. About a month later, I had the hand coded version sort of working at about 30% of the speed. To make the hardware interpreter would be difficult, because of the dozens of hardware locations in a 400/800. I chose then to first do an Apple ][ hardware emulator, because there are only 2 vital locations needed to get it to work: the keyboard and the screen. The next month was spent debugging the many bugs that crept into the 6502 interpreter and porting software from . Finally it worked, at about 25% of the speed. This is the version that you have seen as the Apple ][ emulator. First Problems: One problem with all emulators is inherent in their design: to emulate the software of another machine, you must transfer that software. When I approached Apple about this, they told me that what I am doing is illegal, since I copied the ROMs of Ignac's no name ][ clone, which had ROMs probably derived from an Apple. I approached Apple Canada about getting the real ROMs from them, plus the code for Apple DOS, and anything else they'd want to let me try. As it turned out, they saw my project as software piracy and told me to forget it. I guess they didn't want to expand to the ST market anyway. After the Apple told me they weren't interested, I decided to stop spending more time on Apple emulation. I ported over my copy of the Translator disk's image of the Revision B ROMs. I chose those ROMs because they are made to run with 64K of RAM, which is what the 6502 interpreter sees when it is executing. I also ported a copy of Atari Basic to use as a test file. After only a few days of hacking the Apple ][ routines, I got a very primitive version of the Atari emulator working. It only supported a few graphics modes and still had a major 6502 bug, but it sort of worked. I uploaded it to my BBS and to Atari's BBS as the Atari 800 Emulator Demo. Part 2: the Atari 800 emulator What happened then was a big shock. I got a phone call from one of the Atari BBS sysops telling me that Atari was not pleased with what I had done. They too considered my program as piracy. I was told that I would be contacted within a few days to discuss the emulator. No one ever called back, and I have never been able to get through to anyone that would discuss it with me. The secretaries usually screwed me around on the phone. Attempts to reach someone willing to talk on Compuserve also failed. What I currently have is a program that appears to execute 6502 code according to the 6502 specs at about 20% of the speed. This includes the overhead of the hardware interpreter. The hardware supported so far includes: - graphics modes 0,1,2,3,6,6+,7,7+, and 8 - most display lists, no matter how complex - most keyboard keys, including START, SELECT, OPTION, RESET, caps, inverse, and BREAK. - the color registers, and a few other miscellaneous locations - most read and write DOS operations - 1 joystick port - printer output - Runs most BASIC software I've downloaded from BBSs and tested. Not supported yet: - GTIA modes - player missle graphics - sound registers - a combination of the two mentioned approaches, where parts of the operation system are hand coded to 68000 code and executed directly, not interpreted. This is already done for the D: and P: drivers, but I plan to eventually do the whole operating system which would result in a significant speed increase. Part 3: Legal Problems According to Apple and Atari, it is illegal for me to distribute the emulator any more because I had included the ROMs with the demos. That is the reason I have not released anything in over 2 months. I respect their legal right, but I also believe that Atari has an obligation to all the tens of thousands of 8 bit owners who helped build the Atari empire. The only people who can make a perfectly legal emulator are Atari themselves. I have spent about 500 hours of my time planning, programming, and testing my program. This may seem like a lot, but it works out to about 10 weeks of full time work, or about 2 to 3 weeks work for a team of Microsoft caliber programmers, which I assume Atari has. With their technical knowledge of both the 8 bit and the ST computers, I don't see why Atari couldn't have released an fully implemented emulator 18 months ago. They were quick to introduce the CP/M emulator. I've compared the code of my program and theirs, and it is quite similar. So they are half done already. Until they do, I will keep working on my program until it is functional enough to run most software that can be downloaded. Once released, it will be up the individual used to copy their ROMs over to the ST. Atari says that's illegal. For as long as the people do it for their own use, I do not see this as being illegal. I do not have access to high priced lawyers, so I am hoping that Atari will finally talk to me and come to an agreement that will benefit us all. Part 4: Programmers Wanted Most of the emulator is written in 68000 code, with C code handling the less critical routines. It has been suggested that I write my program for the Amiga, because its superior graphics would make it easier to implement player missle graphics and the other features. Since I have never programmed the Amiga, I cannot make the Amiga version. What I would also like to do is write hardware emulators for other computers, like the Commodore 64, VIC 20, Color Computer, Sinclair, etc. Anyone proficient in 68000 programming that would be interested in writing those modules starting sometime next fall or winter should contact me. Until then, keep an eye out on your local BBS for the ST Transformer which I hope to have released in June. I will update the situation on the board I hang out on, Megabaud 416-243-9519. Anyone having any suggestions on the program or who can help me with the legal questions can reach me on Compuserve or write to me before May 1 ,1987 at 5023 148th Ave. N.E. #G207, Bellevue, Washington [ED.] In addition to this text sent in by Darek. I would like to add that I have spoken to this gentleman myself and feel that he is entitled to some type of official response from Atari Inc. In the weeks ahead and until we feel that Atari is looking into this matter, we will update you on a weekly basis and next week, we will supply you with a few names and addresses to send off letters to. If we can produce a loud enough voice as 8 bit owners, we can perhaps persuade Atari to respond. _____________________________________ Xx PCP Update BY:Steve Godun _____________________________________ Info from Mark Asbell (El Paso, TX) Thanx to The Vault BBS 303-796-0539 Many computer users across the country use a service called PC Persuit (henceforth referred to as PCP). This article is provided to those who want more from PCP. Did you know that PC Persuit has many functions that aren't stated in the user manuals OR in the PCP Newsletter? When I found out what PCP could do, I was curious as to why none of this isn't stated anywhere. Anyway, back to business. Most people who use PCP are quite familiar with the -ATZ- command and the -OK- prompt. Most people think that that's all PCP has to offer. WRONG! There as an entire section in PCP accessed by a single keystroke that can help you a lot! By simply pressing CONTROL+E (for -E-nhanced?) and RETURN, you will see -HELLO:I'M READY-. This is the doorway to the -extra- commands. Most of the commands you will never use, but many of them you will. For example, to dial a number in -regular- PCP, you would have to type -ATDTXXXXXXX-, and then you would see either -CONNECT- or -BUSY-, In the -enhanced- PCP, all you have to type is -Dxxxxxxx-. Enhanced PCP will tell you what is happening by posting -DIALING...-, and then either -BUSY!- (and return you to the command prompt)-, -RINGING...-, and/or -ANSWER TONE:ON LINE-. It will also say such things as -CONNECT FAILURE- or -NO CARRIER-. Other features in Enhanced PCP are redial last number (up to 9 times) and the ability to disconnect from a BBS on your side (very helpful when the BBS is running an Avatex modem which will not hang up by itself). For a complete list of these and more commands, type a question mark (?) after the -HELLO:I'M READY- prompt. To subscribe to PCP, you may call PCP's 24 hour online guide and signup BBS at 1-800-835-3001. Fee is $25 per month, flat rate. More info is available on the PCP BBS. _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE Supplied by the CHAOS BBS- _____________________________________ Reprinted From MICHIGAN ATARI MAGAZINE by permission. ATARI NEWS Compiled by John Nagy The ATARI IBM CLONES may NOT be a reality, on the other hand... for a while, anyway. Two problems are are the major hangups: negotiations for GEM for the machine, and FCC acceptance. Neither area has had any positive movement, despite ATARI's optomistic projected -spring '87- release of the $500 do-it-all PC compatible. The GEM interface, owned by DIGITAL RESEARCH Inc., would make over 700 ST titles directly portable to the machine, but according to DRI, no agreement is near on the licensing of the interface. Additionally, FCC type acceptance is neccesary for any commercial computer product, a process that can take literally forever, but never less than about 40 days. ATARI hasn't even APPLIED for approval, since there is not yet a finished production model. Industry observers note that the announcement has seriously turned down the purchases of the ST machines, and that the lost sales cannot be made up for within the ATARI line because the new machine isn't ready. This is exactly how OSBORNE COMPUTER CORP put themselves out of business a few years ago. They announced that a great new machine would be out shortly, which killed sales of their available product, and then couldn't produce the new product due to lost revenue and production problems. Can't ATARI learn from history? ATr a long seige of difficulty in negotiations with ATARI, Detroit's 400-plus member M.A.C.E. club threw up their hands and pulled out of the effort, cancelling a planned August '87 show for the Southfield Civic Center. Before the body was cold, the competing Detroit area ATARI club, MAGIC about 90 memeber strong, contacted ATARI and took up the torch. They even got SANDY AUSTIN, ATARI's user group contact, to come to Detroit to discuss it. Hard feelings abound, with some M.A.C.E. members crying FOUL, since they had not been able to even get Sandy to return some of their calls. What next? Film at 11:00. In CHICAGO, union costs may make the ATARIFEST planned for there simply too expensive to hold. Requirements of unioned employees only to carry all equipment, set up anything electrical, etc. have driven projected costs through the roof. Again, we will tell you more when we know it. MORE PANIC IN DETROIT: ANTIC MAGAZINE's publisher Jim Capperell wrote to Detroit's M.A.C.E. to notify them that they had to remove any and all ANTIC programs from their BBS. He reaffirmed that they are copyrighted, and to exchange them is PIRACY. Despite previous -understandings- about such things, it now looks like ANTIC wants to play hardball. Nothing was said in the letter about library inclusions of ANTIC material, but that is probably next. This will be quite a blow to many smaller clubs that have had almost nothing else in their club library but ANTIC and ANALOG material. ANALOG went on record last year saying that their materials could not be disrtibuted BEFORE THE PUBLICATION DATE of the magazine, a very reasonable policy. Even a six-month -cooling- period would be understandable... does ANTIC really think they are likely to sell their older disks if the programs can't be gotten elsewhere? More likely, they will simply fade altogether. Looks like ANTIC wants to be like SOFTSIDE magazine... hard to deal with, then gone altogether. 8-bit DOS ON A CART: Spartados from ICD is not the only player in the DOSCART game anymore... and the competition is coming from MICHEAL WHEELER of ALASKA. He has put ATARI DOS 2.5 on a cart and added true double density support and a ramdisk handler. Although it is memory -greedy (16k when resident), the cart can be switched out manually. Another switch handles BASIC in or out. This looks like a basement operation, as plans and code for eprom burning yourself are available for $5, and we don't have a price on finished carts. Contact: MICHEAL E. WHEELER P.O. Box 104013 ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99510. ____________________________________ Xx ZMAG PRODUCT REVIEW .......Super Mario Brothers....... _____________________________________ For the Nintendo Entertainment System, (C)1986 Nintendo, Inc. Review by Steve Godun -One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks, and even field horsehair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin. -The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King. Unfortunately, she is presently in the hands of the great Koopa turtle king. -Mario, the hero of the story (maybe) hears about the Mushroom People's plight and sets out on a quest to free the Mushroom Princess from the evil Koopa and restore the fallen kingdom of the Mushroom People.- So begins the instruction manual for -Super Mario Brothers-. This gives you the general idea of the whole game, but there is more to it than that. This game (the fifth in the popular -Donkey Kong- series) plots you as the hero Mario (or, in two player mode, as Luigi) trying to get through several -worlds- of bricks, coins, fire pits, and a host of assorted baddies ranging from the easily killed -Little Goomba- to the dreaded -Bowser, King of the Koopa-, who can only be killed by several direct hits of your fireballs. -Super Mario Brothers-, for those of you who haven't visited an arcade since the days of Pac-Man, is one of the hottest games today. This arcade -to-home cartridge comes extremely close to the arcade game, but small differences between the cart and the arcade machine makes the difference. Its main fault lies in the 20-page instruction manual, which I will tell you about later. To give you a general example of the quality of this cartridge, my scores at the arcade version of this aren't all that hot, but after playing the cartridge a few days, my arcade scores soared! Playing the game is fairly simple. Using a controller in port 1, you controll Mario/Luigi's movements across several -worlds-, which are divided up into 4 rounds. Your on -screen character can walk, run, duck, jump, swim, throw fireballs, and climb (only experienced players will know when to climb). Covering each world are many dangers, traps, and bonuses. Dangers include things like attacking turtles (both by land and by air), fish (in the water and in the air), nearly indestructable beatles, and mutant fireballs. Traps like pits and rotating -bars- of fire hinder your progress, while things like mushrooms, flowers, and stars increase your powers. What is most interesting about this game is how you lose a life. When you are in -regular- Mario mode, any baddie or trap will kill you. However, if you happen to uncover a magic mushroom, you become Super Mario. You grow to twice the size (very handy for reaching those high placed coins), but nothing else happens to you. If you are REALLY lucky, you will find a Fireflower. This baby will turn you into Firey Mario, and now you can now hurl fireballs at your enemy to wipe them out. If, while you are Super Mario or Firey Mario, you hit a baddie, you don't die. You simply revert back to regular Mario and continue on. A pit, however, is always fatal no matter what stage you're in. You can pick up coins along the way for points and for free men (100 coins=1 free man). There are a few other ways of getting free men, but I won't reveal them. If you happen to find a star (known as -Starman-), you can pick it up and become indestructable for a few moments (but, of course, pits can still kill you). Secret tunnels, hidden prizes, and warp zones complete the package of surprises. That was the good stuff...Now for the bad. The major flaw here is the manual. There is no excuse for poor documentation. If Nintendo was lazy enough to put out such a great game with lazy docs, then that hints at their customer relation work, doesn't it? Anyway, the manual is VERY incomplete. What starts to look like clever hints that attract your attention soon appear to be ommisions, misprints, and even outright errors. For example, the manual states -At the end of an area, fireworks may go off, and for each explosion you get 500 points. The reason (for this) is a secret; see if you can figure it out.- I bought -Super Mario Brothers- when I bought the system, and it took me about a month and a half to figure out why they go off. That's REALLY annoying, and I can't see why they don't just tell you in the first place! If it's just a ploy to get you to play more, it isn't needed; The gameplay of the game is good enough to keep anyone at it for a VERY long time! Another part of the manual says -Pressing the RESET switch...will cause the hi-score to be reset.- This is not true. Pressing RESET simply resets the game to the title page and the hi-score is still intact. A typo? Maybe. Overall. this cart is a masterpiece of programming. If you like the arcade game, you'll love the cart. The $25 list price isn't that bad, especially since I spend more than that on the arcade game. _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SERIES ...130XE/800XL Battery Backup... _____________________________________ SHAREWARE, HARDWARE PLANS by:Peter Hunter This Battery Backup system is designed to work with the Atari 130XE, or 800XL computer. If you are running a BBS on an expanded memory Atari, this will allow you to run the message bases in the Ram-Disk without fear of losing them due to those little power -blips- and long outages. The little 10 second power losses are the most frequent cause of heartache to a BBS SysOp. Well!, fear no more. This hardware project has been several months in the making and testing. I have been using it on my BBS (BBS: EXPRESS!) for about 3 months now and the Great thing about it is you don't even have to open the case on your computer as it requires no alteration to your computer what so ever. At first I thought about offering it to Antic, or Analog for a hardware project but then decided to release it as a SHAREWARE type, hardware plan. As you already know, Shareware really isn't Public Domain material. If you use these plans and they work for you, any donation you care to make will be appreciated and!, might encourage me to design a battery backup for the MIO board by ICD, which would certainly be cheaper than a UPS, transverter type system for about $200.00 and up. Plans For Battery Backup are Copyright (c) 1986 by: Pete Hunter Auctioneers Inc. 2760 W. Whiteside Springfield, MO 65807 These plans can be built for about $25.00 from Radio Shack Parts. The Author accepts no responsibility for them due to inability to control user design techniques and workmanship. Send all inquiries or donations to: Pete Hunter 2760 W. Whiteside Springfield, MO .. 65807 This circuit diagram was written with TextPro and should be viewed same or similar type program to be shure that some of the control arrow symbols are displayed properly. |----------| | 12 Volt | -<<<|---o--o--o____o__o---o--o-- | | | | Gnd| | | | | | | | | | | C1 | | =C4 | \ =C5 o--|(---o | |.1uf| R4/ | | .01uf | | | | \ | T1 | | | | | | | o)|(o | | | | | | )|(--Gnd. | | o----o--o---o | o)|(o | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | C2 | |+ R1\ \ \R3| 1 o--|(---o =C3 / /R2 / | 7v | .01uf | |4700 \ \ \ | | | |uf | | | | | | | | | | | o-->|---o o-------o--o---o--o- 276-1101 Gnd. 1N5400 Gnd. Power Plug connection to computer. Pin Configuration 7. .6 3. .1 5. . 4 . 2 1. +5 Volts 2. Shield 3. Ground 4. +5 Volts 5. Ground 6. +5 Volts 7. Ground If you can't find a 7 pin, DIN plug like what is on your Atari power supply you can get a 5 pin, DIN plug from Radio Shack..#274-003 for the power plug.... If you use the 5 pin plug be extra careful as it is the same plug that goes into the Monitor Jack. If you plug 5 volts into the Monitor Jack I am sure you would have problems so paint the plug red or something like that if you use the 5 pin plug. Any of the terminals that are marked +5 or ground will power the computer. BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN HOOKING THEM UP AND OBSERVE PROPER POLARITY... NOTE* All part numbers given are Radio Shack Part Numbers. Other parts of equal value may be substituted. Parts List: T1..Transformer..273-1515..18vct (2A) V1..276-1770..5v regulator Heat Sink for above..276-1367 D1,D2,D3..276-1101..1N5400 Diodes R1,R2,R3..271-1301..10 ohm resistors R4..271-012..100 ohm resistor R5..Optional...See text! C1,C2..272-131..0.01uf capacitors C3..272-1022..4700uf..35v capacitor C4,C5..271-135...1uf capacitors This power supply can be assembled without a PC board by using a 5 lug, terminal strip. Be extremely cautious as you will have 117 volts present. The 2, 117v wires on the transformer should be taped and insulated to prevent electrical shock. A PC board and plastic or metal case may be used if desired. PRECAUTIONS Some electronic experience is MOST ESSENTIAL to build this project. DON'T EVEN attempt it if you don't have the qualifing experience. Get a friend or someone knowledgeable in this area to help. Most -HAM- Radio operators would be able to help. GETTING STARTED: First wire the line cord to the 2, 117 volt power supply leads on the transformer and insulate them by taping etc. You may also want to put a 1/2 amp fast/blow fuse inline on one side of the power cord for protection. You can tell which side of the transformer to hook the 117v line to because the low voltage side has 3 wires coming from it and the 117v side only has 2 wires. Assemble the rest of the circuit as per the diagram. Look the circuit over very carefully before starting and if it is in a text file on disk I strongly recomend dumping it to the printer, or drawing it out on paper before starting the assembly. If you use a metal case for your power supply don't let the regulator or heat sink get against it. Some people like to bolt the heat sink to the case for extra cooling but it will cause a short with this particular type of regulator. If extra cooling is needed bolt it to a piece of scrap aluminium and keep it insulated from the case. A plastic case REALLY is better for our project. At the top of the diagram you will find -D1- and -R5-...This is the diode that allows the current to flow from the battery to the computer upon power failure. The resistor -R5- is a -BYPASS- -current limiting- resistor to allow the power supply to charge the battery. You may or may not want -Charger- capabilities. If you use a Motorcycle, or Car battery you will probably want to charge it a small amount. A 140 to 150 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor will allow about a 100 milliampere charge rate. A 700 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor would allow about a 20 milliampere charge. In order to determine other charge rates and the proper combination of resistors I suggest you purchase an -Ohms Law Calculator- from Radio Shack for the small price of about 50 cents. It is a small, sliding, cardboard chart similar to a slide rule. In summation of the charging system: If you don't want to attempt to build it just delete -R5- from the circuit and charge the battery manually, with a separate battery charger. You can insert a DC Amp Meter in series with -R5- to determine the amount of current that is actually going to the battery. The Diode -D1-will only let the current go in one direction which is from the battery to the computer. No voltage will be allowed to go -upstream- from the computer to the battery. If you use lantern type batteries, they are not designed to be charged so delete -R5- from the circuit should you decide to use this type. I recommend a Motorcycle, Garden Tractor, Car Battery, or Gel Cells be used as these will keep the computer going for several hours. If you use Gel Cells be sure they are at least 5 Amp hour batteries. A 12 Volt battery IS NECESSARY even though we are only ending up with 5 volts to the computer. The 7805 regulator needs at least 3 volts above it's operating voltage to work properly. Thus the 12 volts as 8 volt batteries are in short supply. Anything other than 12 volts are not recommended because that is what I designed the circuit to work with. If you have trouble, questions, or suggestions please call me at my BBS in Springfield, MO.... The Auctioneer BBS 417/887-4969...24 hours or!, write to me at the address at the top of the text. Please feel free to share these plans with your friends, or other BBS'. They are intended for public distribution and may be shared or distributed freely. Good Luck! Hope you enjoy the project! _____________________________________ Xx Editor Comments _____________________________________ You will notice a slight difference in this issue as compared to recent past releases. Our editor Alan Kloza had a major problem this week with his hardware and I have taken on the job of compiling this weeks edition. It has been a few months since I sat down behind the keyboard and put together a regular Zmag issue. I hope Alan gets his hardware repaired soon, as his talents have been missed this week. A new file was uploaded the Zmag Headquarters this week. I have renamed it to ZPRINT7.BAS and it is available on the Syndicate. This file will print out your Zmag issues in three columns on any Epson or compat printer. ZREAD31 has also been released and is written in Turbo-Basic. This file contains the updated Zmag BBS systems list. Look for ZREAD4 in the very near future. This will be an ARC file with a font and other files for updating later. Details will be here in the weeks ahead. Welcome to Spring!! _____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE 43 MARCH 16, 1987 Please contribute!! _____________________________________ (c) Syndicate Services 1987 These articles can be reprinted as long as the following appears at the top or bottom of the text. Reprinted by permission ZMAGAZINE New Jersey (c)Copyright 1987