Document Title: [vax85.txt (text file)]
Atari/Atari Games VaxMail 1985 Jed Margolin
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 4-JAN-1985 17:20
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK.UAF
Subj: Printer in Rains's area
There is another printer hooked up now in the phone closet near Rains's office.
It's known as RAINS$PRINT and if you want it to be the default printer for you
then put the following in your LOGIN.COM file:
$ ASS 'f$log("RAINS$PRINT")' SYS$PRINT
The physical name is TXD5:, but I advise against using that name cuz its
probably gonna change (nothing stays the same around here if you hadn't
noticed). This printer is quite a bit slower than the others but it may
still be preferable to walking over to the hot DIO room.
It is imperative that you keep the room tidy. Paper fragments must be kept
outside the room and due to the fragile nature of the telephone hookups,
please be careful when walking around in there. An accident could wipe
out the phones in that area for several days (maybe even weeks) which I
think you'd find very inconvenient.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 8-JAN-1985 12:37
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
Subj: Just when you were getting used to the way it worked...
Due to popular demand, the utilities MAIDIR and MAILCK have been
enhanced. This is a major release (rewritten from scratch), and probably
has brand new bugs.
As far as I know, the current usage is not affected at all (total
upwards compatibility), unless you have one mail file in particular
(DIR.MAI).
Here's how to use the new stuff:
In your LOGIN.COM file, you say
$MAI*L :== @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.COM]MAIDIR
and from that time forth, when you invoke mail, a file (WAS MAIL.RVN,
NOW DIR.MAI) is created which indicates the time you exited. Under the
new version, the contents of this file is a directory of SYS$LOGIN:*.MAI;,
so you can READ DIR to find out what categories you have filed stuff under.
Somewhere AFTER the first definition (in your LOGIN.COM file), say:
$ @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.COM]MAILCK
to automatically enter MAIL if you have received mail since you last exited
the MAIL program. Note that it is possible to exit the program without reading
all your new mail, so it is conceivable to have new mail and not auto-invoke
MAIL. But if this happens, you set it up that way, presumably on purpose.
You have not received any mail since you last exited MAIL.
The really neat part is that you can also (or instead) say:
$ @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.COM]MAILCK device/directory_spec
to check for new mail on other logins. This even works across the network,
although you may find the time required for access to be restrictive. You
might define the @...MAILCK part to be a word, and then CHECK [so-and-so]
interactively. You can find out if the other accounts have mail, but
it is not possible to read their mail (don't bother), so you are simply
notified that there is "New mail in what-you-said". It's up to you to
log in with your other account and read the mail.
Incidentally, the DIR mail file will contain the directory as of the
last time you exited MAIL. If you delete or rename files using DCL, these
changes won't be seen until you exit mail again. The DIR file also does not
have the standard MAIL format (FROM and TO lines are missing) so a MAIL
DIRECTORY command will blow up (not my fault!). Take my word for it, there
is only one message in the file. I do not reccommend FILEing that message
anywhere.
Another fine point: the MAIDIR command procedure takes an optional
parameter. If it is absent, the DIR.MAI file will be typed out before
the first MAIL prompt--this shows you where you have things FILEd. If this
bothers you, you can supply anything for the first parameter, and it will
be skipped. I reccommend "-Q" in case of further changes. This is not
a change from the older version, and your LOGIN.COM definitions will work
the same way as they have in the past.
If you find that the changes I have made make you unable to use MAIL,
please send me a mail message describing the problem. Have fun, and good luck.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::MARTINEZ 10-JAN-1985 13:40
To: @OURGANG
Subj: Magazine Subscriptions
If you are still receiving magazines addressed to 1501 McCarthy, a
change of address needs to be sent to the publisher. It costs
between 60 and 95 cents per magazine to have them forwarded to
Sunnyvale.
If you need help sending in changes of addresses, let me know.
Carol
P.S. Change the address to the one below:
Atari Games, Inc.
P.O. Box 3618
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3618
(The street address is 1272 Borregas Avenue.)
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 11-JAN-1985 13:55
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
Subj: The new, but not improved, mail checker
There are some problems with the new mail checker. It works
fine in the applications it used to be used in; the (known) problems
are all in the enhancements.
To start with, when you check someone elses mail file, you have
to have read access in order to find out the attributes (date of last
modification is an attribute). So, you need to change the protection
on your mail file in order for that to work--and then anyone can read
your mail. I think that's icky.
Then, for CHECKs across the network, DCL doesn't close the channels
used to obtain the information about the file--so you wind up with 4
jobs started on the other node. This is a somewhat excessive overhead.
These jobs stick around till you log off.
Lastly, if circumstances are "right" (don't ask, I don't know
for sure myself) you can get an RMS error, Dynamic Memory Exhausted. I
checked into that and the suggested cure is to relink the program so
that the control area is bigger. The program I'm using is DCL, and I'm
not that eager to replace the current version.
None of this happens if you are checking your own mail (which is
all it used to do). I haven't decided whether or not to fix it, cuz of
version 4 coming up (mail is different in V4...you will get a { L O N G }
list of changes for V4 soon {maybe eventually, anyway}). It seems that
the cure is to write a quick and dirty (or time-consuming and correct)
program to do the checks and return a status.
Sorry for the false alarm, but I'm sure somebody with a dirty
mind once said it: Hope springs eternal in the human breast. Don't let
it get you down.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::LIPSON 13-JAN-1985 13:04
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
Subj: mail reading
for those of us usually on CHARM:
you can use the aforementioned MAIL CHECK routine IF you do a kludge in
your LOGIN.COM on KIM. If you add
$SET PROT=W:RE DIR.MAI
then CHARM::[WHATEVER] will be able to check your mail.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::LIPSON 13-JAN-1985 13:09
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
Subj: the problem with kludges
- by the way, It doesn't do it in a very elegant way: if you DO get
new mail, you get an error message
%SYSTEM-F-NOPRIV, no privilege for attempted operation
And if you've read all your mail, you don't get the error. Useful but UGLY.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 14-JAN-1985 11:27
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
Subj: the patch to the kludge
The correction to the protection of the directory file ($SET PROT=W:RE DIR.MAI)
is indeed necessary to avoid a privilege violation. Unfortunately, the
same kludge is necessary to the MAIL.MAI file, and I think the system
resets the protection if new mail is received. I could have stuck these
commands in the file that creates DIR.MAI but I expected to get a lot
of flak for making your mail publicly accessible without telling you.
Also, I'm pretty sure the system will change the protection back, so
the error wouldn't go away. And on top of that, there is still the
problem of the 4 processes (per $CHECK) that are created on the remote
node.
Public opinion poll: How many people (not accounts, PEOPLE) would use
CHECK if it worked as intended? That is to say, if it didn't blow up,
didn't advertise your mail, and also didn't use up multiple job slots
forever?
How many would use it if I couldn't avoid the advertising?
Please respond to KIM::SUTTLES.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::WIEBENSON 30-JAN-1985 15:16:00.00
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: 68010 DEV SYS UPDATE
The new and improved Applied Microsystems Emulator EPROMS have been
distributed to each and every station. Does it fix known bugs?
Wow, does it ever! Does it reset and clobber the EEPROM?
Wow, does it ever! Restore the settings to bring it out of the weeds.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 4-FEB-1985 15:45:43.16
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: MAIL$nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.MAI files
Some of you may have noticed the presence of files in your home directory
with the name MAIL$nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.MAI where the "n" is a arbitrary number.
These files are created when your mail message is greater than 3 disk blocks
(1500 bytes) in length. There's one file for each of your long messages. You can
make MAIL put these files in a different directory if you want by issuing the
command:
MAIL> SET MAIL_DIRECTORY [.sub_directory_name]
where the [.sub_directory_name] is one of your choosing. For example:
MAIL> SET MAIL_DIRECTORY [.MAIL]
will put "folder" files in the subdirectory [.MAIL] and out of your way.
dms
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::AVL 7-FEB-1985 15:54:48.77
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: Here you go!
PART NUMBER: 137414-001
DESC: IC,MICROPROCESSOR,16-BIT,8MHZ UOM: EA SC: P REV: 00
COST FIELD STD COST CUR COST VARIANCE
------------------------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
MATERIAL 0.000 0.000 0.000
LOWER LEVEL MATERIAL OVERHEAD 0.000 0.000 0.000
LOWER LEVEL DIRECT LABOR 0.000 0.000 0.000
LOWER LEVEL FIXED OVERHEAD 0.000 0.000 0.000
LOWER LEVEL VARIABLE OVERHEAD 0.000 0.000 0.000
LOWER LEVEL OUTSIDE PROCESSING 0.000 0.000 0.000
LOWER LEVEL OUTSIDE PROC OVH 0.000 0.000 0.000
THIS LEVEL MATERIAL OVERHEAD 0.000 0.000 0.000
THIS LEVEL DIRECT LABOR 0.000 0.000 0.000
THIS LEVEL FIXED OVERHEAD 0.000 0.000 0.000
THIS LEVEL VARIABLE OVERHEAD 0.000 0.000 0.000
THIS LEVEL OUTSIDE PROCESSING 0.000 0.000 0.000
THIS LEVEL OUTSIDE PROC OVH 0.000 0.000 0.000
PURCHASE COST (PER EA)* 20.500 27.150 6.650
PURCHASE COST OVERHEAD* 0.000 0.000 0.000
------------ ------------ ------------
20.500 27.150 6.650
PART NUMBER? *
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::COX 11-FEB-1985 09:50:00.88
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: A Fond Farewell
Dear Friends,
The time has come for me to move on. The two years I have spent with you have
been educational, challenging, and enjoyable. My reasons for leaving are
varied, and are directly related to the recent re-organization. I would have
liked to stay, as I still think I can be challenged and the product is still
interesting, but the enjoyment is gone.
Reflecting on the past two years makes me kind of sad to leave. The Atari
Coin-Op atmosphere was really radical for me at first, but it is an easy thing
to get used to. John Ray was an excellent supervisor. The people are very
talented and inspired. The product is fascinating, and has nothing to do with
the DOD. I really enjoyed this stimulating environment.
The job of Team Manager was a great experience for me, also. We worked on
several exciting projects including MACHO44, FIREFOX, CRYSTAL CASTLES, and of
course, SPOOK. We were breaking new ground with that one. I was real excited
with our version of EVOLUTION, also. The work of game design is a really
creative process, something I don't feel as much when I design hardware.
Designing hardware is like looking for the answer to a question. When the
answer comes, it feels like the answer was always there, and your work was
spent in just discovering this existing information. Of course, there may be
several answers to the same question, and discovering the best one is what
differentiates engineers.
Game design is a little more non-tangible. I still don't have a feeling for
what makes a good game. Past versions of Gremlins indicate this fact very
effectively. I really hope that Gremlins receives the attention it deserves
from management as the next System II game. I'm sure that the current project
team has the ability to pull it off.
I believe that we cannot interact with someone without affecting the future
course of their lives. My time here at Atari has affected me greatly, some
positive, some negative. Here's hoping that I only touched you in a positive
way. My last day is 2/15.
Goodby.
Ross Cox (xxx)-xxx-xxxx
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 11-FEB-1985 10:02:37.39
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF
CC:
Subj: A new C
Kim has VAX11C V2.0 installed on it. It is a field test version of the new
release of C. DEBUG knows about it though, so it ought to be easier to fix
your programs. We have a hot line (via modem) into the program developers
back east, so let me know of any problems. You can look at
SYS$LIBRARY:VAXCSPR.DAT
for the current SPR's on the compiler and $ HELP CC RELEASE_NOTES for the
differences between v1.x and 2.0.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 11-FEB-1985 11:56:19.58
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: documentation on version 4 differences (such that it is)
There is a document (a LARGE document) in SYS$LIBRARY:VMSV4.DAT
which is supposed to outline the areas in VMS that is different between
version 3 systems and version 4 systems.
It is not finished. (If you read it, this will be obvious.) We are
still working on it in our spare time (I'm serious). Because of it's size,
I ask that you do NOT copy the file anywhere; to look through it with
an editor, use EDT/READ and you can do anything you want (search, etc).
You can print it, but you probably won't want to until it is more complete.
It only exists on kim and charm, since they are the only V4 systems.
It will be updated as new chapters are finished. You will get announcements
of same when same is announceable. And if you think this is hard to
follow, just wait till you read the update descriptions.
Incidentally, there are two tables of contents; one that shows the
general outline, and one that is much more specific (hence longer). I
intend to provide an index (eventually) but I am saving that for when the
text is finished.
Bug reports and typo detections are encouraged. Please reply to this
address via vaxmail (only).
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 11-FEB-1985 12:41:29.43
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF
CC:
Subj: More about C
I forgot to mention in the last mail that there's three logical names that
have to be made prior to linking C programs. What I suggest is that you put
the following command in your login.com file (or better yet, in a C startup
command file so as not to bother the links from other compilers).
$ @SYS$LIBRARY:VAXCLINK
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MAHAR "Dr. Memory" 11-FEB-1985 16:34:13.58
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF
CC:
Subj: New 68000 assmebler
There is a new assembler for the 68000. This assembler is 4 times
faster than asm68. Part of the reason this assembler is so fast is
because it is limited in what input it will accept. The only legal
inputs are the output files from the Greenhill C compiler. Any other
inputs and the results are not guaranteed. This assembler should be
used to assemble Greenhill compiled programs only!!!! If you have
assembly language programs for the 68000, PLEASE use asm68.
This assembler does NOT support:
Error checking of syntax or addressing modes.
Complex expressions in an effective address.
The * operator in an addressing mode.
MACROs in any way shape or form.
The short form of a register list for MOVEM.
D1-D3/A1-A3
must be written:
D1/D2/D3/A1/A2/A3
ORG or RORG, TTL or any other pseudo-op that
Greenhill does not generate.
In other words, if Greenhill didn't generate it, this assembler
probably doesn't understand it.
The output of the assembler is compatable with clnk. It does
take about 10-15% longer to link files generated by this assembler.
On the good side, This assembler is about 4-5 times faster than asm68.
It should be look at as a second pass to the Greenhill compiler. In which
case, your compiles will take about 50% longer but you can skip the
assembly step. I recommend that a command file be created of the form:
$NCC-R 'P1'
$AS68K 'P1'
$DEL 'P1'.ASM;*
This way your directory doesn't get cluttered up with .asm files that
are never reused. The compiler is then viewed as generating an .ol
file instead of a .asm file.
The name of the assembler is AS68K. It is a command on both kim and
charm. The command syntax is:
$as68k infile.asm outfile.ol
It is not necessary to specify the extension on the input file.
.asm is assummed.
It is not necessary to specify the output file.
infile.ol is assumed.
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 13-FEB-1985 11:39:09.90
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF
CC:
Subj: New Fortran
Kim has a new Fortran compiler and RTL. The compiler is a little slower to
compile (taking between 10-25% longer) but is supposed to produce much faster
executable images. The compiler is 3 times bigger so it needs 3 times as
much memory to run without page faulting itself to death. Come and see me
if you plan on using this compiler often.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 14-FEB-1985 17:59:31.08
To: @KIM::SYS$MAIL:JUNK.UAF,@CHARM::SYS$MAIL:JUNK.UAF,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: MAILCK and MAIDIR for version 4 MAIL
Good news and bad news.
The good news:
MAILCK and MAIDIR have been updated to make more sense with VMS V4.
The bad news:
They only work as good as before (no known bugs fixed...network
access still is not feasible).
It now uses the logical name MAIL$LOGIN as the default for where to
look instead of SYS$LOGIN. MAIL$LOGIN will translate to SYS$LOGIN if you
don't override it. If you told mail to SET MAIL_DIRECTORY somewhere-else,
you broke MAILCK. Here's how to fix it:
In your LOGIN.COM, before you use either MAILCK or MAIDIR, do
$ ASSIGN SYS$USERDISK:[username.maildir] MAIL$LOGIN:
where [username.maildir] is where you told MAIL to put your stuff.
You can delete the old DIR.MAI file in SYS$LOGIN.
There aren't any new features other than that. If you try to tell
mailck to check ANYWHERE IN PARTICULAR, it knows you are looking to see
if another user (your pen name maybe?) got mail, and that you can't
read it. So it won't even try. The logical name (mail$login) is the
only way to get MAILCK to automatically invoke mail. Incidentally,
if you want to check your own mail, but don't want to automatically
invoke it, do a $CHECK MAIL$LOGIN: and it will just announce that you
have new mail (but VMS does that already).
To recap how to use them: (my mail directory is [SUTTLES.MAIL])
$ ASSIGN SYS$USERDISK:[SUTTLES.MAIL] MAIL$LOGIN:
$ MAI*L :== @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.COM]MAIDIR
$ CHECK :== @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.COM]MAILCK
$ CHECK ! go into mail if I have any
$ CHECK SYS$USERDISK:[SHEPPERD.MAIL] ! spy on my boss
$ CHECK SYS$USERDISK:[OBRIEN.JUNK] ! her mail is in this directory
Remember you have to know where they set their MAIL_DIRECTORY to.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 19-FEB-1985 09:53:05.97
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Gensym, 68000 emulator symbol generator.
There is a new version of GENSYM (or CSYM) available, it should be faster and
it now allows downloadable symbols of upto 16 characters, it will truncate any
symbols longer than that.
Make the following assignment to use the new version.
$ GENSYM:==$SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.EXE]GENSYM.EXE
Please change your command files to use this version, so you will
automatically get any updates, if you still link to [MAHAR],[MORRIS] or your
own version we can not guarantee those version will always exist or work.
Any bugs, or requests, see Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 19-FEB-1985 13:19:40.43
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: RE: Gensym, 68000 emulator symbol generator.
The addresses should always be in HEX.
Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::SHEPPERD 20-FEB-1985 21:15:59.34
To: @KIM::SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF
CC:
Subj: .LNK files
Due to popular demand you can now put comments in .LNK files. They won't
however appear on your link map (sorry about that). The /C (continue option)
is optional and no longer required (it won't bomb anymore if you put a /C
on the last line either). The comments are delimited with an exclamation mark
and everything to the right of the mark is assumed to be a comment.
Tabs are equivalent to spaces. Blank lines are permitted anywhere in the file.
! This is an example of a .LNK file
file1,file2,file3 !comments
!more comments
!still more comments
file3,file4 !tabs are the same as spaces
(blank lines are ok too)
!the "!" doesn't have to be first on the line
file5,file6 !filenames don't have to begin in col 1
There can't be any spaces BETWEEN filenames (file1,file2,... is ok but
file1, file2, ... is not ok) but there can be spaces or tabs in front of
the first name and behind the last name. The comments will not appear on the
link map (sorry about that), but you can't have everything. The /C at the end
of the line is optional. There can be any number of filenames on a line
seperated with comma's but the names can still be no longer than 6 chars.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::CAMERON 21-FEB-1985 11:46:29.77
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: WARNER STOCK CERTIFICATES
IF YOU ARE EXPECTING WARNER STOCK CERTIFICATES AND HAVEN'T
RECEIVED THEM YET, READ ON..........
WARNERS IS STUPIDLY (OR NEGLIGENTLY) SENDING YOUR STOCK
TO ADDRESSES THAT ARE OVER TWO YEARS OLD. IF YOU HAVE MOVED IN
THE LAST TWO YEARS YOUR STOCK IS "IN-THE-SYSTEM" OF THE UNITED
STATES POSTAL SERVICE. IF YOU WANT TO EVER GET YOUR STOCK, CALL
ROSALIE HYLAND AT WARNER COMM AT (212) 484-7873. (REMEMBER TO
DIAL 8 FOR MCI). IF YOU GIVE HER YOUR NEW ADDRESS, WHICH THEY
SHOULD HAVE ANYWAY, THEY WILL SEND IT AGAIN IN THE EVENT THE
POST OFFICE RETURNS IT.
THE STOCK WILL PROBABLY BE BACK DOWN TO $20/SHARE
BY THE TIME WE GET IT. VERY SMART PLANNING, WARNER!
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::HAYES 22-FEB-1985 15:38:50.38
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: T-TH-TH-THAT'S ALL, FOLKS!
Since there seems to be a tradition of goodbye speeches via VAXMAIL
at ATARI, I too will bid you all a fond farewell this way. As a
matter of fact, VAXMAIL is going to be one of the things I'll miss
a lot when I'm no longer at ATARI; this is the neatest thing since
CB radio for instant dissemination of juicy news tidbits, soliciting
help for god-knows-what project...its even good for work-related stuff.
I've really enjoyed these last two years; I've gotten to work on a
variety of interesting projects and to go places I've never been (like
Mexico City, Pajaro Dunes and Chicago.) I feel that I learned a little bit
about computers and a lot about organization of information from the
programmers and other animators I've worked with. My only real regret is
that I can't stay long enough to see the projects I've put the most time
into: PACKRAT, JAMMIN', and DUNGEONs, finished and selling like hotcakes.
I want especially to express my appreciation to Lyle Rains, whom I've enjoyed
working for very much, for being so gracious about my leaving, and to Yoko
Takiyama, Chuck Swensen, Rich Moore, Peter Thompson, Robert Weatherby, and
Ed Logg, who could also have made me feel guilty but didn't! I'm going to
miss daily contact with them, as well as with my ex-cell-mate Barry, Susan Ginzu
McBear, Samwise Comstock, John B. & Dave P. (the rude boys,) Nill Woble,
the Mikes, Janey-Sue, Stephanie, Cynthia, Carol, Cindy G. (Women of ATARI,
unite!) Mark (the little brother I never wanted), Jed, and ALL OF YOU except
the cafeteria. I won't miss the cafeteria. At all.
So I won't say "goodbye"; I'll just close by saying " you've always got a
friend in the Magic Kingdom!"
(dissolve to Sleeping Beauty's Castle; chubby figure sillouetted in doorway,
waving; CAM pans up to night sky)
(music fades in: "When you wish upon a star....")
(roll credits)
(fade to black)
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 22-FEB-1985 18:52:39.59
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: some new logical names and some heavy user stuff
Hiya, VAX fans!
At one time there was a cartoon posted in 1501 that read something like:
"First you set default SYS$USERDISK:, then you
type @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.COM]NOLOG, then..."
Well, we SYS$MANAGER types resemble that remark. So, we have an announcement:
You can now use UTL$MAC: instead of SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES].
You can now use UTL$COM: instead of SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.COM].
You can now use UTL$EXE: instead of SYS$SYSDEVICE:[UTILITIES.EXE].
These are on all 4 systems. You may edit your com files to make them
shorter, or easier to read, or you may leave them alone, at your option.
We will use the new names in future announcements of new utilities (even used
ones) cuz they are easier for us to type, as well.
...and now....
I dunno if any of you have felt as limited as I have by DCL's constant
refusal to believe in subroutines, but for those of you who have, there is:
HLLDCL!!! (sorry, Greg)
You can now include in your command files, the line:
$ @UTL$COM:HLLDCL ! (told ya!)
and you will have the symbols JSB, SUBR, and RSB defined. I picked these names
so they wouldn't conflict with the GOSUB and RETURN command files of olden days.
You can also pick your own names, by specifying them in that order. You MAY NOT
NEST routines called this way. If you want to, you have to execute HLLDCL a
second time, and provide a whole new vocabulary to it, as in:
$ @UTL$COM:HLLDCL CALL ROUTINE RET
To use these new words, you MUST enclose them in tic marks:
$! Assuming: $! Assuming:
$! $ @HLLDCL $! $ @HLLDCL CALL ROUTINE RET
$! then this is legal: $! then this is legal:
$! $ 'jsr' routine_name $! $ 'call' my_routine
$! $ . $! $ .
$! $ . $! $ .
$! $ . $! $ .
$! $ exit $! $ exit
$! $ $! $
$! $routine_name: 'subr' $! $my_routine: 'routine'
$! $ . $! $ .
$! $ . $! $ .
$! $ . $! $ .
$! $ 'rsb' $! $ 'ret'
Notice that the two examples use different vocabularies: the first
allows the default vocabulary (identical to @HLLDCL JSR SUBR RSB) and the
second calls out different verbs to be defined. Notice the tic marks!
Because of the different vocabularies, ROUTINE_NAME may 'CALL' MY_ROUTINE
<OR> MY_ROUTINE may 'JSR' ROUTINE_NAME, but not both (circular recursion).
You can multiply this technique to any practical limit. Pairs must match
(in the examples, you must 'RSB' from a 'JSB' and 'RET' from a 'CALL').
The definition of the routine must also be from the same set (you must
'JSB' to a 'SUBR', not to a 'ROUTINE').
Oh, yeah, the command file generates a label that is a 16-digit decimal
number that is supposed to be unique each time you execute it (it is built
from the current time of day in hundredths of seconds). So, don't use any
16-digit numeric-only labels in the command procedures you wanna use HLLDCL
within. (Is that a reasonable restriction??)
The whole thing hinges on how DCL handles labels in command procedures,
and relies pretty heavily on symbol substitution (by the way, the symbols so
defined are defined as globals...they will live past the exit of your command
file, so don't use words like DIR or SET {you won't do it twice, anyways}).
The inner workings are kinda hard to explain, so I won't. Rest easy, though,
the things it relies on are documented and therefore supported, so we can
complain to DEC if it breaks.
Also, the whole thing is tested pretty thoroughly, cuz I couldn't believe
there really was a way to do what I wanted, that has been under my nose for
all this time.
Have fun, and let me know if you have any problems (so I can avoid them).
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MAHAR "Dr. Memory" 26-FEB-1985 13:20:47.14
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.DIS
CC:
Subj: new as68k
There is a new version of as68k on both kim and charm. This fixes an
opscure local variable bug that I'm sure none of you have run into yet.
As68k also recognizes statements of the form:
DC.B 'Hi there',10,'how are you'
This is new to as68k. Before it only would accept statements of the form:
DC.B 'Hi there'
or
DC.B 10,20,$30
You can now mix constants with ascii strings. This helps with making
asciz strings. i.e.
DC.B 'This is a test',0
If you have any problems, feel free to write or phone
mpm
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MAHAR "Dr. Memory" 28-FEB-1985 21:36:03.76
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: New Green Hills C compiler.
There is a new version of Green Hills C. This version generally produces
a little bit better code then the one were now using. There is an exception,
However, some subtraction expressions are worse. This is because the old version
was a little bit cavalier about lossing precision. The new version took an
overly cautious approach to the problem. There is supposed to be yet another
new version in a few weeks which does the right thing.
Why get a new version when we are going to get a better one in a few
weeks? You may ask. Well, This version fixes a bug in pointer arithmetic that
allows you to link in external constants. This is of the form:
extern SND1;
#define SOUND1 (byte)&SND1
The symbol SND1 is an external sound number generated and linked in.
This way you don't have to edit your .h file every time you get new
sounds. There is a bug in version 1.7.1 that prevents you from doing
this nice trick. The new version (1.7.6) fixes that.
I've tried 1.7.6 and it seem to generate OK code. For all of My modules,
it was a little bit smaller. For a packrat module (Player.c) It was a
little bit bigger. In general, The code should be better with this new
version.
How do you get the new version?
Change the definition of NCC in your login.com file to:
NCC :== $sys$sysdevice:[green.1v7v8]cc68
If you have any problems with this new version, Contact Me asap.
mpm
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::BATTLE 1-MAR-1985 11:26:02.65
To: MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: state rom generator
1) it is done
2) your directory is locked, so i couldnt insert your file
3) the generator is in [battle.jed]tcstat.mac
4) i can go thru it later with you. it is general so other state roms
could use it too
G
R
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MAHAR "Dr. Memory" 1-MAR-1985 14:17:00.06
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: NEW C COMPILER
Last night I sent you all a message about the new Green Hills C compiler.
After more testing, I have found that it generates slightly larger code.
About 1%-2%. We are scheduled to get a better version in a few weeks.
If you can wait, please do. If you have a bug, try this version. Otherwise
continue to use the current version.
mpm
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 5-MAR-1985 23:07:30.30
To: @sys$mail:everybody.uaf
CC:
Subj: The fastest login in the west
Has anybody noticed that Kim is kinda S-L-O-W sometimes? This is actually due
to a couple of things: one is that that you guys are using Kim to do lots of
hard work (this is good, keep it up). The other is that VMS 4 and its
associated processes gobble up about 2Mb of memory out of an available total of
4. This is about 1000 pages more than under VMS 3 (once again proves that
software grows to fill the available space) and as a consequence, programs
running on Kim do a lot more page faulting. What's even worse is that most of
these additional page faults are "hard" in that they are resolved by disk
accesses. There is (or will be shortly) a document called DOK:PAGES.DOC that
describes in some detail how VMS manages its memory. Read it if you're
intrested.
In the meantime you can take it on blind faith that Kim needs more memory to
reduce these page fault rates, which in turn will make it run faster. There are
two ways to achieve this goal, one by hardware and one by software. The
hardware solution costs about $40k (buy more memory) and there's no chance of
gettin that kind of money. The software solution is to reduce the demand on
Kim's memory. One can achieve this by restricting access (boo-hiss), kicking
off users (blech) or by having the users help VMS manage its memory. Its this
last method that I want to try so I've written up a little program to do just
that. You guys have to help out by getting into the habit of running this
program yourself. I've tried to make it as easy as possible for you to do this
by setting up all the VT100 type terminals for "applications keypad" and
defining the keypad 0 key to "RUN SLEEP". All you have to do is press the 0 key
on the keypad if you expect not to be doing any work at your terminal for
anywhere from a few seconds to several hours. To wake up your terminal again,
just type any key which can if fact be the first character of your next
command. For the blue box development system people, DOWNC automatically chains
to SLEEP at program termination. (For all those who have already defined their
keypad 0 key to mean something else, sorry about that, your definition wins so
you'll have to define some other key sequence to SLEEP. You can require that
your password be entered to "wake up" your terminal by running SLEEPWP which
is done easily by pressing the PF1 (gold) followed by the 0 key.
Please understand that you're not giving up anything in either performance or
functionality in doing this, it only improves system performance for everyone
by allowing programs to use more memory TEMPORARILY. You get back all the pages
you freed up (plus more if you need them) as soon as you "wake up". You may
think "Why should I give my pages? I want to keep them all!" Actually, if the
system gets real busy, it'll take ALL your pages away from you whether you are
sleeping or not. It is NOT possible to hoard pages. But by sleeping, you
volunteer your pages for somebody else saving the system the trouble of being
sneaky about taking them from you. Also, don't expect Kim to suddenly get 10
times faster. I realistically expect that it will change from S----L----O----W
to a mere S---L---O---W, but every little bit helps in this case.
As an added bonus, ZAP_THE_USER will leave your process alone if you are
running sleep and the process(es) sleeping with password won't get zapped at
23:30. You can use sleep with password in lieu of logging out, which makes
logging back in as fast as just typing your password. But please don't sleep
with password on public terminals since it will prevent users who don't know
your password from using them. You will notice that Sleep says who it's waiting
for, so if you inadvertantly lock up, say the VT100 in the DIO room, you will
surely be hunted down and set upon by an angry mob of users. Should you
find that you've done such a foul deed, SUICIDE from any other terminal will
quickly solve the problem. Lucky for us so far, we can correct such breaches of
honor by comitting SUICIDE with a few keystrokes at our terminal instead of the
more conventional everlasting method requiring the use of a blade.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MAHAR "Dr. Memory" 6-MAR-1985 10:57:58.02
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: New as68k
There is a new version of as68k on Kim and Charm. This version generates
variable length record files instead of stream-LF. This means that they
can be copied over the NET.
mpm
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MAHAR "Dr. Memory" 8-MAR-1985 10:54:59.99
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Yet another release of as68k
There is a new version of as68k. This version will assemble the output
of PBEXTRACT. IF this fails, let me know asap.
mpm
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::SLADE 11-MAR-1985 08:31:40.39
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: A WORD TO THE WISE
For those of you who, like myself, leave your wallet
and/or purse in your desk, BEWARE!!!
Friday night, after the Beer Bust, I returned to my office
to pick up my stuff, and found a Janitor reading one of my magazines.
He quickly left and on my way out the front lobby I thought I had
better check my wallet. You guessed it: $20 lighter. Soooo, if
you're gonna leave them, lock them!
Howard
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::JANITOR 11-MAR-1985 14:08:11.31
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: A WORD FROM THE WISE
FRIDAY NIGHT AFTER THE BEER BUST, AS I WAS POLISHING HOWARD SLADE'S DESK,
I NOTICED HOWARD IN THE BROOM CLOSET. AS I APPROACHED, HE LEFT IN A HURRY.
I THOUGHT I HAD BETTER CHECK MY BUCKETS AND I FOUND THAT ONE OF THEM WAS
ABOUT 16 OUNCES HEAVIER. SOOO IF YOUR GOING TO LEAVE YOUR BUCKETS AROUND
WHEN HOWARD IS DRINKING; LOCK THEM UP.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::STUBBEN 11-MAR-1985 14:44:45.71
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: NAMCO VISITORS
WE HAVE NOT BEEN VERY FORMAL ABOUT OUR INTRODUCTION OF THE NAMCO
ENGINEERING VISITORS, SO HERE'S THE SCOOP.
MR. NAKAMURA IS THE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING - EQUIVALENT TO OUR
V.P. LEVEL. HE IS THE SON-IN-LAW OF THE MR. NAKAMURA WHO IS FOUNDER
AND MAJORITY OWNER. (IN JAPAN, WHEN YOU MARRY INTO A FAMILY OF HIGHER
STATUS, YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO TAKE THAT NAME IF YOU ARE THE HUSBAND.
MR. HIRAOKA IS A SECTION MANAGER (LIKE OUR DIRECTOR LEVEL), WHO REPORTS
TO NAKAMURA JUNIOR. HE HAS A H/W AND S/W BACKGROUND.
MR. TASHIRO IS A SECTION MANAGER ALSO, AND REPORTS TO NAKAMURA JUNIOR.
HE IS A GAME DESIGNER, PREVIOUSLY.
MR. OZAWA IS THE SECTION MANAGER OF THE ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SECTION.
THIS IS LIKE OUR MECHANICAL GROUP, BUT SINCE NAMCO ALSO BUILDS MECHANICAL
PRODUCTS, I SUSPECT IT IS A LARGER GROUP.
TED JINNO IS AN ACCOUNTANT FROM NAMCO AMERICA, WHO IS SERVING AS
TRANSLATOR ALONG WITH OUR OWN KEN HATA.
THIS GROUP WILL BE HERE PROBABLY THROUGH WEDNESDAY, IF YOU WANT TO
TALK TO THEM - DON'T BE BASHFUL.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 15-MAR-1985 11:22:06.24
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF,@CHARM::SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: Due to public command, EDT.COM has (yet again) been changed...
Last time I changed EDT.COM, I added some filespec defaulting, which
was, to say the least, not appreciated. By most. But some people want
the new way (oops). So, here's the compromise. Beleive it or not, it is
just as easy/hard for the system to do it this way as the other way;
I just didn't choose this way the first time.
How it comes up with the filespec to edit is this:
First, it extracts the filespec you supplied, if any.
Next, it applies defaults from the global symbol USER$_FILE_DEFEXT.
This symbol might be set to ".MAC" or ".C" in your login.com file.
Next, it applies defaults from the global symbol EDT$MEMORY (if it
exists yet).
Then it extracts just the name and extension from the result and
makes that the new value of the global symbol EDT$MEMORY.
Finally, it invokes the editor on the fully-specified file (device
and directory too).
So, if you want the default to ALWAYS be such-and-such, give that value
to USER$_FILE_DEFEXT. If you want the default to be what it was last time,
leave USER$_FILE_DEFEXT undefined. You can stick a filename in
USER$_FILE_DEFEXT if you want a default filename too, but this might
break other stuff. For which I will take no responsibility.
The advantage of all this noise is that if you use EDT.COM, you guarantee
that you won't step on anybody elses edit, unless they go out of their way
to fool EDT.COM, or you both start your edits more-or-less simultaneously
(on the order of a second or so apart).
If there should be discovered a way to break this protection, PLEASE LET
ME KNOW since a fair number of people (you just wouldn't BELEIVE how many)
depend on this protection.
FYI, here is the comment block at the beginning of the file which is
supposed to give an overview of the algorithm.
$! Apply filespec defaults:
$! Take filespec user supplied (command line must first be parsed)
$! Apply "''USER$_FILE_DEFEXT'" as default
$! Apply "''EDT$MEMORY'" as default
$! save resultant name and extension (only) as EDT$MEMORY
$! Check for other people editing same file:
$! Determine journal filespec
$! Check for journal file's existence
$! if journal file is open, abort
$! if not /RECOVER, abort
$! Select EDT initializer file:
$! Select filename (EDTVT100, EDTVT52, or EDTINI)
$! If file exists in UTL$COM:, select that
$! If file exists in SYS$LOGIN:, select that
$! If file exists in current default directory, select that
$! Invoke editor.
From: KIM::SUTTLES 20-MAR-1985 09:45:30.43
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF,@CHARM::SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: EDT.COM again
It has been pointed out that since I forced the journal file to be
created in the same directory as the file being edited, you can't
@EDT somebody else's file /READ cuz you can't create the journal file.
So I changed it (surprise!).
\
As of this morning, /READ will imply /NOJOURNAL. If you want
a journal file with a /READ, use /READ/JOURNAL or /JOURNAL/READ (order
doesn't matter). The location for the journal file will be your current
default directory. Or you can specify a filename on the journal switch,
ie, /JOURNAL=SYS$LOGIN: or some such.
Because the primary purpose of the com file is to provide protection
against two people in the same directory editing the same file, when you
use the com file and cause no journal file to be created (this is what it
checks for) a warning is printed on the terminal to let you know that you
should be careful. This applies to the /READ qualifier as well.
Contrary to popular opinion, the com file does NOT exist to generate
junk mail. Just works out that way.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::TAKIYAMA 22-MAR-1985 10:44:18.38
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: "Graduation" from Atari (March 22, 1985)
This is going to be rather long as I have spent 7 1/4 years here. It
is time to say my farewells. I leave in good company.
TO: Dan Van (or Dan Ban Elderen)
Who always aggravated me by asking the one question I didn't have
an answer for; who after many years of teasing Taco, couldn't
remember if Taco was Mexican or Japanese and had to ask me; and
who affectionately called me "the little nipper". (It was meant
to be affectionate, wasn't it?)
TO: George Opperman (The Kraut):
Who I constantly told if it hadn't been for the German's, we'd
have won the war. Georgie, you finally learned my name as Yoko
and not Kyoko and now I am leaving.
TO: Pete "Taco" Takaichi:
Who when I first came to the company, in conversation, thought I
was speaking Japanese to him when it actually was English - the
word he misunderstood was "culture". (Remember, Pete?)
TO: Ricky Moncrief (Mr. Bedroom Eyes):
Who in conversation always tried to embarrass me, but got
embarrassed instead. (Carol and Carrie can attest to that.)
Anyway try to be good.
TO: Dave Sherman:
Who supplied my little pudgy body with tea and cookies (and even
sympathy when my dog died 6 years ago).
TO: Mike Albaugh:
Who gave me my U.S. Daily Requirement of hugs, some days in the
past, it was the only gesture that kept me going.
TO: Morgan Hoff:
Who provided me with such "intellectual" entertainment any much
more.
TO: Dave Shepperd:
Who I tried to emulate and who tried his very best to teach me
to be a programmer when I grew up, and who always bailed me out
when I screwed up my computer (which was often).
TO: Rich Moore:
Who was ever constant and positive in his attitude when things
got bad.
TO: Mike Mahar:
Who never failed to stop by to say good morning and who functioned
as my EDT instructor.
TO: Susan McBride:
Who made it her job to bother me at every opportunity but who made
up for it by sharing with me her coffee ice cream. You always made
me laugh.
TO: Mary Johnson, Otto DeRuntz and Gerry Lichac:
We've been to Adcotech, now Atari - we may be together again
one day. What company should I choose?
TO: Carol Martinez:
Who gave me a bad time at every opportunity and whom I will
always remember when I eat at Taco Bell. You made my life a lot
easier at times.
TO: Erik Durfey:
(Also known as my baby brother) I won't be around for your
birthday this time. Have a Happy Birthday. I still feel we look
alike - we just got the "yellow" color reversed. You have blond
hair and I have yellow skin! Love, Jen
TO: Cyndy Grossman:
Who's life I enjoyed being a part of and who saved my sanity many
times over the last three years.
TO: Lorie Carbello:
Who I now, bequeath my son, please take care of him for me.
TO: Wyle B. Wains:
My son the engineer, Mr. Excitement, Hollywood Rains -
We'll keep in touch you and I, but I feel you should know how truly
grateful I was to work for you, with you, and sometimes even
against you. Both you and Atari afforded me great opportunities
and personal growth. I am forever in your debt. To you a very
fond goodbye.
P.S. I still feel the Decmation Word Processor cannot compare to
the Wang. I know, defiant until the end! I never did
learn to say your name either.
TO ALL THESE PEOPLE A SPECIAL THANK YOU. TO THE REST OF ENGINEERING,
I THANK YOU AND WISH YOU ALL VERY WELL AND MUCH SUCCESS. I HOPE I WILL
FIND A COMPANY WITH AT LEAST HALF OF THE KIND OF PEOPLE I HAVE MET HERE.
IT HAS TRULY BEEN A PLEASURE, NOT TO MENTION A DEFINITE EXPERIENCE.
Warmest regards, Yoko
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::BELL 22-MAR-1985 12:33:50.72
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Log off
Well it's time to log off for the last time. Thanks for the use
of the toys! Since the first day, I never did believe that I was getting
paid for this anyway. I have to admit, I loved every minute of it.
I will continue to maintain the Alumni Phone List on my bulletin board
(xxx-xxx-xxxx) so those of you with modems can always call for a bit
of the "old Atari".
My special thanks to Dave, Steve, Steph... I hope you can understand what
I wrote.
If your ever in Washington DC, be sure to stop by the Smithsonian and
visit the Pong on display there...chances are 1 in 3 that it was one of
mine.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SINKOVIC 22-MAR-1985 14:01:42.63
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: I can take a hint !
For those of you who missed my LAST farewell message, here's Rev. 2:
I can honestly say the time I spent working here has been the most
demanding but also the most rewarding. Most of the people who work
here are Really Good, and working with Good people can make having
to deal with all the other bullshit worthwhile. Good luck to all
of you who are left here to carry on.
I hope to be enshrined in the Atari Hall of Fame for being laid off,
by the same group, twice in seven months. If not the Hall of Fame
then perhaps the Believe It Or Not.
See you all on the ski slopes,
Linda Sinkovic
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::PETROKA 22-MAR-1985 15:53:46.09
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: so long and thanks for all the donuts
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::WATMORE 25-MAR-1985 11:01:34.22
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Why am I still here?
Well, it's cheerio from me. No, this is not a breakfast cereal commercial -
it's my way of saying goodbye. I've really enjoyed working here at Atari
and it's been a wonderful introduction to California and the U.S.A.
There's lots that I'm going to miss:
parties, doughnuts, Evolution, the Beermeister, Stubben's pipe, Drobney's
mutterings, searching for coffee/sugar/cream in the mornings, rumors (they all
seem to be true!), moving office regularly, finding photocopiers that work,
"now you have a friend in the paper business" every five minutes, dodging
falling (asbestos?) ceiling tiles, Vax mail, cafeteria tables, Mario Brothers
and the best bunch of foreigners this side of London!
Here's the catch - I'm not going just yet. Since my status in the U.S. is
questionable without Atari's employment, Atari have been decent enough to
keep me on until I get my green card (permanent residence visa) which should be
in about a month or so's time.
So there's plenty of time for you all to say goodbye to me (via Vax mail if
you like). Good luck for the future.
Cheerio,
Paul Watmore
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VICKERS 27-MAR-1985 17:41:45.31
To: ALBAUGH,BRAD,MARGOLIN,MONCRIEF,RAINS,WHITEBOOK
CC:
Subj: Sound Pong
PONG - THE AUDIO GAME
This is a 1- or 2-player game, which uses the bat ranging
circuit for the controllers (designed into ping-pong paddles), and
an audio motion object circuit with headphones. There would be a
very small ping-pong looking table (foosball sized or smaller), with the
paddles on relatively short and destruction-resistant cables. At the
beginning of the game the players are given various choices by voice
synthesis. Choices such as difficulty of game and headphone loudness
are made by raising and lowering the paddles.
1) Type of game
A.) Competitive ping-pong
B.) Cooperative ping-pong (joint score, object
being to keep the ball in play for as long
as possible)
C.) Juggling? (with 1-4 objects)
D.) Other variants
2) Type of motion object
A) Ping-pong ball which makes whooshing noise which
moves spatially to let you know where the
ball is
B) Tennis ball
C) Mack truck
D) UFO - sci fi
E) Baby chick (peep peep peep...BGAAAWK...peep peep peep...)
F) Other objects
3) Difficulty (speed) of game
The speed of the game will normally be slower than
a normal pong game, since it will take longer to
figure out where the ball is and how it's moving.
4) Headphone loudness
5) Other factors (gravity, etc.)
Once the game choices are made, the game play begins. The voice will
tell one player to serve. The game processor must keep track of whether
the paddle hit the ball, and if so, how hard and in what direction. The
processor won't know how the paddle was angled, so it will assume it was
orthogonal (or whatever) to the ball. This allows a spin to be put on the
ball, if we want to carry this that far, by hitting the ball while moving
the paddle in a slight sideways direction. The processor bounces the ball
off the court in 3-d and into the other player's court. There could be a
small speaker mounted on each paddle, which could make the sound of hitting
the ping-pong ball, to give the players tactile feedback and to entertain
bystanders. There could also be a speaker on the table, for the bystanders.
There will be separate sounds for each player when the ball bounces off
a paddle, or bounces off the court, or dribbles to a stop, etc. There will be
as many subtle audio cues as possible. The sound of the ball's collision with
the paddle or the court will vary in loudness and brightness depending on the
speed and possibly the angle of the collision. The pitch of the ball's motion
could have a slight doppler shift depending on velocity. The critical factor
for game play will be how accurately we can inform the player of the ball's
distance and spatial position while it is in flight. The main distance cue
is the proportion of direct vs. reverberant sound. The main left-right cue
will be small time-delays between the left and right channels. The up-down
cue is the most difficult, as it depends upon differences in frequency response
due to the filtering caused by the shape of the external ear. Some research
would need to be done to find out how easily this latter effect can be
simulated.
The audio motion object simulator might consist of the following:
1) One or more Yamaha sound chips
2) Delay controller, which would preferably be 1 or more
microprocessors (6502), if speed constraints allow.
The controller would keep track of where the RAM delay
pointers are, read in and scale data from
various locations, add it together, and save it to
another location, depending on left-right time delay,
percentage of direct and reverberant sound, and
percentage of filtered sound.
3) A RAM (on the order of 10K words.)
4) A DAC, analog multiplexer, (processor-controlled) lowpass
filters, and A-D's for doing the frequency-response up-down
cuing. This would ideally be done in software if we had
something fast enough to do it. Alternatively, we could
skip the up-down cuing simulation and just raise and
lower the frequency of the ball to indicate where it is
vertically. But the realism would be lost. Another
possibility is changing Yamaha parameters in real time to
correspond to the change in frequency response between
up and down. This is the section for which much research
must be done.
5) Quality low-pass filters for the output.
This circuit will be somewhat expensive, but there is no overhead
for a monitor and video hardware. Even if some of the audio parameters
are somewhat arbitrary, so long as enough information is present, the
skill may be learnable and perfectible. The speech synthesis could carry
on a running play-by-play, or could say to each player what the other
player is supposedly saying. Once the basic game play and motion object
circuitry are designed, many variations can be easily added.
A similar hardware could be used for a Star Wars type light saber
game. The player puts on his blast helmet and uses the light saber, with
bat ranging circuit, to battle the floating training orb.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::DAMERY 28-MAR-1985 11:31:04.35
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: SYSTEM I GAMES: IDENTIFICATION BYTE
All system I games are required to initialize a byte in the configuration
area (Addr. 1006E specifically) to a certain value. The utility system
on the main board interrogates this byte to determine if a new game cart
has been installed and clears the EEROM accordingly. For more information
see the documentation file on the VAX at KIM::DRA0:[SYSTEM1.DOC]SYSTEM1.DOC.
The following values for the byte at 1006E have been assigned. All new
System I games should contact Lori Carrabello (X2845) for assignment of
a number.
Diagnostic Cart: 255
Pack Rat: 00
Marble Madness: 01
Temple of Doom: 02
Evolution: 03
Off-Road: 04
Chris Downend and Rich Moore
Dist: All programmers in Alpha, Delta, Omega and Rick Moncrief.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RIVERA 29-MAR-1985 09:36:50.34
To: KIM::MARGOLIN,RIVERA
CC:
Subj: calculations
Just some quickie ideas that might speed up the calcs
1) The ground objects (sets of points all with same orientation, with lines
drawn from a common set of points) were much faster than normal object
calcs.
2) all normal objects are symmetrical around at least one plane. Thus
nine mults for the first point, then THREE more for the second. This
may speed up normal objects by a third. More planes of symmetry mean
more savings. E. G. for a simple plane body and wings, old is
(9+9+9+9)=36 mults. 2-plane symmetry is (9+3+3+3)=18 mults ==>twice speed.
3) Historically, in Star Wars we ran out of room for the vectors at the same
time as blinking started and excessive calcs(assuming all ground objects).
Remember that our ground objects were excessively simple.
You are right that the calcs are the slowest. Vector is slow(blinking) only
during alphanumerics and banners (large pre-stored pictures).
4) if vector was faster(and this includes converting points to relative
vector) then each ship could be done not only in brite outline, but also
with internal trusses, brite trusses near player, dim trusses away from
player. This would give the whole outline, with obvious direction cues.
g
r
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::MARTINEZ 11-APR-1985 11:50:02.81
To: @OURGANG
CC:
Subj: See below
TO: GROUP ALPHA
FROM: DOWNEND
SUBJECT: EXPANDED ROLE FOR MARKET RESEARCH PRODUCT MANAGERS.
Mary, Linda and Don have been playing a larger role in bringing
our products to the Market. The attached description formalizes
the role of the Product Manager. The Product Manager role overlaps
and complements the Project Leader role. The Product Manager carries
the project into the Marketplace and makes sure it is presented in the
best possible way to maximize sales. To accomplish this of course
requires an intimate feel for the strengths and weaknesses of the product;
Hence, the Product Managers need to interact with the project during
the development. Please be sure to include the Product Manager as
part of the team when setting up meetings and developing the product.
Calfee used to say the a game sold itself, i.e., the collections
determined success or failure of the game regardless of any
Sales or Marketing effort. That may have been true when intial
orders for a game ran close to 10,000, but in the current marketplace
we desparately need the the Marketing follow-through of a Product Manager
to even get a few thousand games out there - only then can a game begin
to sell itself.
- Chris Downend
Mary Fujihara has developed the following description:
PRODUCT MANAGER FUNCTION
Overall Goals
* Assist managment in defining and maintaining appropriate product mix.
* Provide engineering teams with current market data and player trends to
be used in developing new start ups and designing game play features.
* Provide objective assessment of product potential throughout the deve-
lopment process and communicate to teams to reach mutually defined goals.
* Drive product to market through sales and distribution, with advertising
and promotion responsibilities.
FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Product Initiation
* Briefing with available programmer/team on current product mix and focus.
* Review of current market trends and successful features of top games and
player behavior.
* Evaluate marketability of new product proposals once concept and game
specs defined (target players, locations, price point, potential sales).
* If licensed properties available for consideration, review parameters
and potential application of property.
Product Development
* Coordinate with project leader on timing and goals for each phase in
development (e.g., goals for reviews).
* Follow up with project leader on action items from reviews.
* Establish timing and objective of focus groups and field tests.
* Provide development recommendations as result of focus and player surveys.
* Maintain product logic/focus throughout development.
Product Release
* Recommend marketing release decision based on earnings history and product
need/demand.
* Responsible for game manuals.
* Recommend factory settings.
Product Marketing
* Review game graphics and packaging.
* Recommend launch strategy (timing, samples, introduction method).
* Allocate advertising budget and programs for print materials, trade ads,
promotional events.
* Drive product introductions to the field and any secondary merchandising
campaigns.
* Work with sales team on product posture, positioning approach, key selling
features, and earnings performance.
Additional Functions
* Coordinate the evaluation and testing of all potential licensed games
(primarily test boards from Japan).
* Responsible for evaluation and review of outside game submissions.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 12-APR-1985 11:33:59.95
To: MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: [.asm20a] has been copied to sys$sysdevice:[asm20a]
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::AVL 17-APR-1985 14:22:40.39
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: [avl.avl]avlno99.txt
I just created this new text file for the AVL. It's yours to search at
your own risk, that is, anything associated with the vendors and vendor
part numbers might not show up in a search. That's because this list
shows the Atari part number and description once only, listing vendor
sources on the following lines. So if you search for an Atari part number
you'll find it with only one vendor, though there could be multiple
vendors. If you search for a generic part number (ex: 23128) you'll
find the Atari part number and those vendors with the generic pn as
a part of their vendor part number. If the generic part number you're
looking for isn't listed in the generic field of the part description
you'll find either nothing, or vendor part numbers only (no Atari pn)
(unless the vendor pn is listed on the same line as the Atari pn and
part description). You could even come up with something that has
the string you were looking for, but isn't the part you had in mind.
So as long as you're aware of the risks and/or don't care about vendors
at all, this is a much faster way to search for parts, especially since
it finds more than one string in the same time span.
I almost forget to explain the name of the file. Since most of us
in engineering don't care about spare parts I left them out of this
list, thus it's called avlno99.txt (99-xxx are spare parts). If you
do need to look at spare parts, search [avl.avl]avl99.txt.
(oops, forget should be forgot but I don't want to type all this again.)
That's all unless I think of something else! Chris
(ps. please pass this on to Carol too, I could copy avlno99.txt to ERNIE.)
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::HARPER 17-APR-1985 16:31:30.97
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: LOCK-OUT
IF you have a locking office or lab...
AND IF you have no key for the above mentioned work space...
AND IF you have been LOCKED-OUT by janitors doing their job correctly...
THEN, this message is for you:
I have discovered a secret phrase in code that will should keep your door
unlocked during the night. It is:
Por favor,
NO CERRAR LA PUERTA.
I also have been good enough to print a number of these phrases on small
sheets of paper, suitable for mounting near a doornob. IF you would like
one, THEN come and see me.
Dennis
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::AVL 17-APR-1985 18:22:34.07
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: bbs's (thank Jeff for this!)
BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS
<nc> = No carrier on last attempt sorted by area code 13-FEB-1985
Phone Number System Name Comments
____________ _______________________________________________________________
201 391 5519 AMIS -JOLLY ROGER
201 542 8706 THE ELECTRONIC PRISON
201 689 0492 XANTH
202 276 8342 ARMUDIC Washington DC
202 364 8617 Aladins Lamp
205 928 2515 AMIS -PURPLE 12
206 574 5438 AMIS -Action BBS Wash
206 763 8879 SEACOM 80
207 455 6894 PC CONNECTION
208 383 9547 AMIS -BOISE USERS
208 466 4769 B.E.B.B.S.
208 667 9630 FIREFOX BBS
208 772 9421 AMIS -I PACE
209 225 3460 The Rock Shop
209 835 3361 AMIS -BUFFER ZONE
212 598 0719 ARMUDIC New York
213 271 0224 FoReM Twilight Zone
213 638 3204 AMIS -Los Angeles
213 701 7670 FoReM Software Bank
213 783 8373 AMIS -L.A.A.C.E.
213 822 3553 FoReM Funny Pharm IV
213 993 7006 FoReM M.O.S.C.I.A.
213 305 7843 Venice Beach
215 659 3562 CARNIVL Search System
216 582 2797 ARMUDIC Ohio
301 299 6202 FoReM Risky Business
301 344 9156 NASA GAS Net
301 424 4112 ACA BBS
301 474 7591 FoReM Ricky Moose
301 540 8379 FoReM The Funhouse
301 540 9362 FoReM US Army BBS
301 587 2132 ARMUDIC Maryland
301 871 1027 FoReM Amuse II
301 871 1094 Forem The BBS
301 881 3007 FoReM Amuse
301 963 2991 FoReM Risky Business
303 574 2307 SHAMUS
303 758 6233 AMIS -Denver
305 266 6178 AMIS -S.A.R BBS
305 335 1426 PHANTASM
305 439 5754 SiMMS SB RCP/M (002)
305 557 6984 AMIS -LODE RUNNERS
305 574 8566 FoReM Risky Business
305 830 0315 WAVELENGTH DIMENSION
305 878 1422 SWAP SHOP
312 397 0871 PET BBS COMMODORE
313 274 3940 AMIS -MACE West
313 589 0996 AMIS -MACE
403 482 6854 RCP/M COMPUTRON
404 252 9438 ATABBS Georgia
404 434 1168 ATABBS Georgia
405 681 6929 FoReM Tebbtowi
405 765 2598 FoReM Triad BBS
408 226 1005 apple Temple #2
408 227 9366 NOMAD ][
408 238 9621 DATATEC 007, RCPM/RBBS San Jose CA &
408 241 0769 BULLET 80 <nc>
408 243 3142 BREAKDANCER SEMI BBS <nc>
408 247 2853 SANTA ClARA RBBS/RCPM <nc>
408 247 2930 OBS <nc>
408 247 4536 NIGHT HAWK
408 248 5135 DARK TOWER
408 249 6946 RATS NEST vernon anderson
408 251 3178 FoReM Temple of Doom
408 252 9198 AMIS -FOUNDATION
408 253 3066 RCPM/RBBS Games, San Jose, Ca no answer
408 253 5123 THE IRON MAIDEN
408 253 8527 General Store blaa
408 255 8919 Bullet 80, Cupertino CA no answer
408 259 4030 APPLE TRIVIA
408 259 7194 GHOST SHIP
408 263 1345 THE WANG BANG BBS
408 263 2588 Oxgate 002 RCP/M Milpitas
408 263 3475 SILLY BILLY
408 267 3558 AMIS -STARBASE
408 267 9728 STAR SHOPPE
408 268 2660 THE CONVENT
408 279 8086 AMIS -COMIC SHOP
408 281 7059 PicoNet #4 Wizard's Keep RBBS RCP/M
408 287 7380 THE AUDIO CAVE
408 287 9996 Doghouse
408 288 9949 MBBS San Jose
408 289 9151 FoReM Modem Magazine
408 293 6207 AMIS -FLY BY NIGHT
408 296 0912 NIGHTHAWK (FIDO NETWORK)
408 296 5078 Skyhouse Systems
408 298 6930 FoReM Itsy Bitsy Hobby my board folks!
408 338 9511 Stuart Boulder Creek Hobby 40 meg Apple nice
408 353 1836 COMPUCAT
408 354 5934 OxGate 001 Monte Sereno, CA
408 374 3974 BYTE BANDITS (TRON) Campbell
408 378 7474 POTPOURRI BBS & RCP/M Oxgate 012, San Jose, CA
408 378 8733 OxGate dBASE II RCPM, Campbell CA&
408 379 8086 Atlas Micro Associates "MCI" RCP/M RBBS
408 384 3806 AMIS -Deathstar
408 475 7101 (7161?) Conf Tree
408 578 6185 RCP/M RBBS Skyhouse Systems, San Jose CA&
408 688 9629 Mines of Moriah RBBS Santa Cruz, Aptos CA
408 729 5023 AMIS -Gar's Kingdom
408 730 8733 SIMMS 003: Baylist RCP/M
408 732 1079 AMIS -VanVision
408 732 9190 SIMMS 001: Silicon Valley Interchange RCP/M
408 733 1364 Metal RCPM RBBS # ? Sunnyvale CA (IES)
408 733 6809 Color 80
408 736 7356 Dial ur Match If you can get on...DYM only
408 737 7284 S Bug TRS 80
408 739 5370 apple Shoalin Temple
408 773 9326 moon beam dennis moon
408 779 1254 FoReM The Mushroom
408 867 1243 OXGATE SARATOGA #1
408 867 7982 Scavengers RBBS San Jose WEEKDAYS ONLY no answer
408 926 8767 Cal/Tex99 TI99 ???
408 942 8164 AMIS -TBBS
408 945 1569 AMIS -RAM PAGE BBS
408 946 2179 Greene Machine 2 Milpitas no answer
408 946 2286 South Bay TRS 80 User Group, Sunnyvale CA busy
408 996 7464 DRAGONS LAIR pretty nice
408 997 0440 SHOALIN TEMPLE
408 997 2790 Comps for Christ better than it used to be...
412 655 2652 ARMUDIC Pittsburg PA
414 352 2772 MIL ATARI
415 282 6138 AMIS -GGBBS
415 284 9524 ABBS Lafayette, CA
415 327 8876 Living BBS, Menlo Park, CA
415 349 3126 INFO NET Foster City, Ca
415 367 1339 IAC Message Base, Menlo Park, Ca!
415 383 0473 RCPM/RBBS, Marin County, Ca ew
415 462 7419 PMS Pleasanton, Ca!
415 469 8111 CBBS South of Market, San Francisco, CA so
415 493 7691 PMS Palo Alto, CA
415 526 7733 CONFERENCE TREE #1, Berkeley, CA
415 538 3580 CONFERENCE TREE #3, Hayward, CA
415 552 8268 Kinky Kumputer, San Francisco, CA so
415 585 6334 ABBS Apple Core, San Francisco, Ca
415 587 8062 AMIS -ABACUS
415 591 5509 Oasis BBS, San Francisco, CA$!
415 647 9524 Kinky Kumputer, San Francisco, CA so
415 651 4147 AARDWOLF EXPRESS TBBS Fremont CA
415 658 2919 CBBS Lambda, Berkeley, CA so
415 668 2052 AMIS -EBBS
415 668 5365 FOREM THE OASIS
415 757 9013 RIVER CITY EXCHANGE
415 775 2384 PIRATES BAY
415 794 9314 ABBS Computerland, Fremont, CA
415 796 5402 BOOT HILL
415 845 2079 HMS Horny Message System, Oakland, Ca so
415 851 3453 PMS Portola Valley, CA
415 863 4703 ABBS/PCnet, San Francisco, CA
415 871 9382 FoReM U.N.I.T.
415 881 4479 THE ALLIANCE EXPRESS
415 881 5662 ABBS Hayward, CA
415 889 8506 AMIS -ANOLABBS
415 895 5706 AMIS -THE WOLVES DEN
415 928 0641 CONFERENCE TREE #2, San Francisco, CA
415 941 9573 VANAMIS OUTER LIMITS
415 949 2563 Metal RCPM RBBS # ? Palo Alto CA
415 961 1990 REALM OF ROGUES
415 961 2655 APPLE BAUDVILLE
415 965 4097 Metal RCPM RBBS # 1, Mt View CA&
415 967 0946 AMIS -METAL SHOPPE
416 499 7023 IBM HOSTCOM
416 624 5431 PET BBS WORDPRO
502 247 3286 BOSCOW TRON
502 658 3447 AMIS -K.I.T.T
503 343 4352 ARMUDIC ACE Oregon
504 272 8314 THE HOME GROWN BBS
504 273 3116 RCP/M STAN JR.
504 275 6930 TERMINALLY ILL
504 291 4970 THE TRADING POST
504 293 5009 CITY MORGUE
504 293 6774 THE ICE CREAM CASTLE
504 654 6384 EPSILON NINE
504 766 6010 CAJUN ATARI
504 769 0923 COPYRIGHTED SOFTWARE
504 769 2483 THE TIGER BBS
504 775 0969 BAT BOARD
504 775 2004 SPACE STATION ATARI
504 926 9290 THE DARK TOWER
509 534 3661 amis
509 575 7704 ATABBS Washington
509 582 5217 AMIS -A2 D2 BBS
512 342 6299 BORBER PATROL
512 658 7223 SAN ANTONIO ATARI EXC
513 541 8507 THE OUTER LIMITS
515 961 8881 AMIS -Middle America
516 626 6990 CHAMEL Chameleon
602 272 1623 AMIS -P.A.B.B.S.
602 326 1186 ZANDOR 9PM 6AM
602 790 8805 FoReM TWILIGHT ZONE(?)
602 840 9109 AMIS -CompuWizard
602 956 7143 FoReM The Elephant
602 991 0144 GBBS GARDEN OF EDEN
609 429 8140 MOUNT OLYMPUS
609 451 7475 C.C.B.B.S.
609 546 9343 TIMELORD II
609 625 4633 FLYING CIRCUS
609 751 0569 OUR GANG
609 858 8861 HITCH HIKERS GUIDE
616 241 1971 AMIS -Michigan
617 738 5051 TIMECOR Intl Modem Ex
619 246 7950 AMIS -BLACK STAR
619 942 7092 AMIS -U.F.P.
703 978 3516 APDEN The Clubhouse
704 252 2145 FoReM Castle Darkskull
707 545 0746 SURVIVAL COMM FORUM
707 884 4221 Critical Mass RCPM/RBBS, Ogalala CA!
713 682 0191 MILLIWAYS
714 731 6523 AMIS ACAOC
714 772 9671 AMIS -SOFTWARE CELLAR
714 973 2086 ARMUDIC Santa Ana
801 789 6439 AMIS -R.G.O.B.B.S.
805 526 5660 PIPE LINE
805 922 6630 FoReM SCBS BBS
809 781 0350 COMMODORE
812 299 9891 T.H.A.T.S.
813 324 4416 AMIS -SSPSSP
813 596 4437 AMIS -SPACE
813 734 7837 ACTION ACTION
813 952 0705 FOREM SPECTRUM II
816 587 9543 AMIS -Kansas City
817 532 2981 FoReM Centex
817 595 3195 AMIS -COMP U TALK
818 346 8889 AMIS -WARRIORS CASTLE
818 761 6342 banshee - mark
818 887 7738 THE CEMETERY
818 998 2544 TIME ZONE BBS
907 338 1462 AMIS -FROST BYTE
913 642 1743 AMIS -EXPRESSWAY
914 225 2471 EL TRADING PLACE
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VANELDREN 26-APR-1985 13:31:49.69
To: MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: ANONYMOUS MEMOS
I don't have any recollection of the memos you referred to. Could you
get me copies of a few of these memos so I could look into it and try and
teach the writer(s) some manners??
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MARGOLIN 1-MAY-1985 18:51:29.03
To: VANELDREN,MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: Namco Power Supply
To: Dan Van Eldren
Fr: Jed Margolin
Re: Namco Power Supply
Dt: 5/1/85
To put things into perspective I have converted the costs into dollars.
I have used the conversion that 12,740 Y = $51.00 .
1K 5K
------------- -----------------
Switch Bracket 120 Y $ 0.48 120 Y $ 0.48
Transformer 3,000 Y $12.00 2,800 Y $11.20
Switcher 5,250 Y $21.00 5,280 Y $21.00
Filter 540 Y $ 2.16 470 Y $ 1.88
Audio PCB 3,210 Y $12.84 3,100 Y $12.40
Metal Base 620 Y $ 2.48 620 Y $ 2.48
------- ------ ------- -------
12,740 Y $50.96 12,360 Y $49.44
I do not believe there is any way we can match these prices with
a unit that we design, purchase the parts for, and build.
I must raise the following questions about the Namco supply:
1. Will the switching power supply operate over a range of
102-135 VAC or must it be redesigned?
2. Will the switching power supply operate at an installation
ambient of 55 degrees Celsius without derating?
3. Both the switching power supply and the audio amplifier
board are single-sided. In the past we have avoided the use
of single-sided boards because the the parts have a tendency
to fall off due to vibration during shipping. Would that be a
problem with this supply?
4. Normally the remote voltage sense lines are connected at the
game board. Here they are jumpered together at the supply.
Was this done on purpose or is this an error?
5. System I and System II were designed to use +15 VDC and -15 VDC
for the audio. This supply contains a 7812 and a 7912 which
normally produce +12 VDC and -12 VDC. Are they used in a circuit
that raises their outputs to +15 VDC and -15 VDC or do they actually
produce +12 VDC and -12 VDC? (System I can probably use +12VDC and
-12VDC but Doug does not think it would be satisfactory for System II.)
6. Is the heat sink containing the audio amplifiers and the regulators
large enough to operate satisfactorily at an installation ambient
of 55 degrees Celsius?
7. Does the transformer have an acceptable temperature rise? Ours
are Class 105 transformers with a maximum heat rise of 55 degrees
Celsius. This allows them to operate at a game installation
temperature of 38 degrees with a 12 degree rise to the inside of
the cabinet.
8. How much will it cost to change the transformer to operate at
120 VAC?
9. In order to operate at 220 VAC and 240 VAC, either the power
supply must be redesigned or we will have to use an auto-transformer
which I believe would cost $14.
9. How much would the Namco supply REALLY cost if we were to use it?
Now about our supply (Power Base and Regulator/Audio III):
1. $80 sounds a little high. My guess is that it would cost $70 if
we bought the parts intelligently instead of scrapping the parts
and then buying them back at a premium. Or paying a premium because
of inadequate lead time.
2. If the Regulator/Audio III could use two cheap trimpots for $0.20
each instead of the Dual Audio taper pot that we pay $2.00 for, we
could save $1.60 . (The pot wasn't supposed to cost that much; somehow
Purchasing has managed to do it.)
3. If I could produce a supply that operated at only 120 VAC I could
reduce the transformer cost by $4.00 and the harness cost by $2.00 .
Caveat:
At Atari there is no way to find out how much things will REALLY cost
ahead of time. There is not even a way to find out how much things
have REALLY cost in the past.
I think you should buy the power supplies from Namco and be done
with it.
Jed
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::NAKAJIMA 3-MAY-1985 19:36:18.01
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: HI GUYS. NOTHING IMPORTANT. '
THIS IS MY FIRST MESSAGE OUT THRU JUNK MAIL.
SINCE I WOULD LIKE TO GET TO KNOW EVERYONE (UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT ME TO
GET TO KNOW YOU LIKE VERONICA IN LA LAST SUMMER) I HAVE DECIDED TO HAVE
TEA-SOFT DRINKS-COCKIE-CAKE SESSIONS WITH YOU GUYS WITH POSSBLE BS...
(PLEASE EXCUSE MY INCORRECT SPELLING AND GRAMMER AND SO FORTH.)
IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, I WILL BE ASKING SMALL GROUP TO GATHER IN THE
CONFERANCE ROOM FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR SO AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT INTERFERE
WITH YOUR WORK.
SINCE I DON'T KNOW WHO TO START WITH I JUST HAVE TO ASK PEOPLE RANDOMLY.
IF IT IS ALL POSSIBLE, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS GATHERING ONCE A WEEK
MAYBE ONCE TWO WEEKS. SO PLEASE BE PATIENT AS I HOPE TO INVITE ALL OF
YOU BEFORE LONG.
LASTLY, JUST BECAUSE I AM ON THE VAX SYSTEM, DO NOT CENSOR YOUR FUTURE
MESSAGES. UNCENSORED MESSAGES ARE THE ONES ACTUALLY FUN TO READ. HIDE'
SEE YOU GUYS..
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::MARTINEZ 9-MAY-1985 09:54:32.81
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Building Access Hours
Inter-Office Memo Atari Games Corporation
To: All Engineering Employees
From: Dan Van Elderen & Lyle Rains
Subject: Building Access Hours Date: May 8, 1985
Due to the significant cost savings of reducing the building access hours to
1272 during evenings and weekends, we are considering limiting "standard"
access hours to Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. We would propose
having no security guards on evenings and weekends. The majority of lights
and non-critical air conditioning would also be switched off during these
times. The projected cost savings of such a change are approximately $95K
on an annual basis.
During "non-standard" access hours, building access would only be via
Schlage card entrance through the front lobby door, if your Schlage card was
appropriately programmed. We have the capability of programming individual
cards on both a general and specific instance basis to allow this "non-
standard" access. Depending on the specific area an individual was planning
on working in during non-standard hours, he might be required to throw a
breaker switch to get lights in his specific work area. All power
receptacles (wall outlets) will be left powered on at all times; also all
major computer systems would continue to be left powered on.
Please respond with any input you may care to make regarding these proposed
changes. Also please respond with any general and/or specific requirements
you may have for non-standard hours of access. Please send all responses to
either Carol or Lori by this Friday, as we are considering the
implementation of something similar to the above proposal on Friday, May 17.
DVE,LVR/clm
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::WIEBENSON 9-MAY-1985 10:39:03.96
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: The Big Trade-off OR Birth Control in a Can
If you like to drink sodas, but don't want the sugar or calories,
fortunately for you there's diet sodas. In the past the trade-off
was that saccarin could cause cancer. Today the trade-off is that
women who drink diet sodas may stop ovulating, for that has been
found to be one of the effects of Nutra-Sweet[TM].
Of course it's totally up to you whether you see this as a feature
or a bug....
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 13-MAY-1985 13:46:22.14
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: computer utilization
For those of you guys who have noticed the many differences between
batch and interactive, there may be a solution in sight. There are now
two words (on kim & charm only) AT and BATCH, which do the desired command
in batch, PUTTING THE LOG FILE in the current default directory, and setting
the current default directory for the batch job to be the same as the
interactive job's default was.
AT is used in place of an @ sign, when you are gonna execute a command
file anyways.
BATCH is used for symbols or DCL commands (you can also type another
@ sign).
Both of them are implemented as command files. Each takes its list of
parameters, and examines each parameter in turn. Until it finds a parameter
that does NOT start with a slash, the com file collects switches; these
are assumed to be qualifiers for batch (like /NONOTIFY or /PRINT or /NOLOG).
As soon as it finds one that does NOT start with a slash, the rest of the line
is assumed to be the command to execute (an @ sign is prepended in the case of
AT). The defaults for batch submission are /LOG='default'BATCH/NOPRINT/NOTIFY
(/NOPRINT implies, since the log file won't be printed, it won't automatically
get deleted either).
As usual, if any of my bugs should be caught unkilled, I will disavow any
knowlege or retractions.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VANELDREN 14-MAY-1985 12:21:20.11
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: MACHO-BRAIN MICRO-MOUSE
I have a functioning proto of Namco's Mappy MicroMouse. This product is
marketed by Namco in Japan as a hobbyist kit (ala Heathkit) for building
and programming your own MicroMouse Maze contestant. The original MicroMouse
Maze contests originated in the U.S. several years ago. Though the level of
popularity and interest in it has faded recently in the U.S., the contest
concept has received enthusuastic support and an avid following in Japan by
both hobbyists and corporations. Mr. Nakamura, as president of Namco, is
one of the major corporate supporters of this movement in Japan, and serves
on the Executive Committee that is trying to organize and sponsor both
national and international contests thru-out Japan and the world. I suspect
it is this pet project interest of Mr. Nakamura that led to Namco's develop-
ment and marketing of the Mappy MicroMouse. Anyway.....
We now have a mechanically functioning prototype with reasonable mechanical
capabilities but no smarts. Other than a simple selftest program and a couple
simple motion algorithms (i.e. left-hand rule), the kit comes basically
"unprogrammed". Soooo, if anybody out there has an interest in AI or just
plain thinks they're clever or just wants to goof around, you're welcome and
encouraged to borrow the rodent and see what you can make it do. Some English
instructions, batteries, and any required Eproms included. And if you can
guarantee a successful maze completion in less than 30 seconds, we'll consider
sending you to Japan this summer to compete in the international contest
being held at the Tskuba Expo 85 Science Exhibit. (The most recent contest
winner had a best time of 30.13 seconds. See article in IEEE "The Insitute"
June, 1985.)
Dan Van
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DROBNY 14-MAY-1985 14:19:30.53
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: DIO Users
For those of us that use the Data I/O, If you havent noticed, our system 19
(Thats the one that burns many different types of ROMS) had burned out
its cooling fan. So now it gets about 4 or 5 if not 10 times hotter than
when the fan was running. Well I just installed one of our "White Box" fans
in it so it will be running cooler than no fan at all. However, this fan
is not quite as powerful as the fan that was originally in it, so PLEASE!
when your done using system 19 PLEASE! shut it off before you leave. We
take for granted how nice that piece of equipement is. Have you ever tried
to burn an 82S129 on the system 29? You cant! If your in the DIO room and
it appears nobody is using sys19, the on-off switch is in the back on the lower
left side (But also make sure nobody's using it)
For a more reliable system 19..............this is Buddy Flyback
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::OBRIEN 22-MAY-1985 10:12:13.47
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: New Marketing Mail list
Now you can send junk mail (or serious mail, too) to the marketing
staff (Fujihara,Benzler, and Traeger) with one easy filename! To do this,
type @sys$mail:marketres after the To: prompt in the mail utility.
Happy Mailing,
Steph
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 22-MAY-1985 10:36:12.61
To: CERNY,COMSTOCK,LY,MARGOLIN,HOFF,ALBAUGH,MOORE,DURFEY
CC:
Subj: FEEDBACK ON BONUS SPLIT
Back in mid-April I sent out a solicitation for
input on the Marble Madness Bonus Split. To
date, I have had minimal feedback, and I want
to insure that everyone has an opportunity to
express their opinion. The committee meets
Thursday afternoon so don't delay.
Thanks,
Chris Downend
P.S. Please respond in writing via paper or
VAX mail to KIM::DOWNEND.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MARGOLIN 28-MAY-1985 12:32:12.66
To: MOORE,MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: New Product
New Product Jed Margolin 5/28/85
This is a box with a microphone connected to it. You can plug headphones
into it or you can hook it up to your stereo.
Mode 1: You hum into the microphone (or play a kazoo), the box determines
the pitch and uses it to control a Yamaha chip set. The play has
a wide choice of instrument voices.
Mode 2: As in Mode 1, however, it is "recorded". The player can then play it
back while recording additional tracks. The tracks can be different
instruments.
If it is cheap enough it can be marketed for kids as a toy. It can also be
marketed for people who play single note instruments (such as clarinet, flute, saxophone)
who have not be able to use synthesizer technology if they did not also play a
keyboard.
Hardware:
1. It will be powered by a transformer lump (To make it easier to do UL)
2. The electronics will be:
6502
RAM (Perhaps Non-volatile)
ROM
Yamaha chip set
Membrane switch pad, with illumiunated switch positions
Cheap Pitch Extraction Circuitry (This is the key element)
3. It should come with a cheap microphone and a kazoo so people can start using it
right out of the box.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 3-JUN-1985 09:54:48.18
To: MONCRIEF,PATTEN,DURFEY,MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: Switching Power Supply Status
At the 5/31/85 Status Meeting, Material Control informed
us of their intent to sell off all existing inventory
of parts for the Atari Switching Power Supply that are
unique to the Atari Switching Power Supply. Please
be advised that this unspecified list of parts are
no longer in inventory.
-Chris Downend
P.S. I was asked to pass along the message, so don't bug me
about what the unique parts are - ask Rod Peterson if
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ALBAUGH 3-JUN-1985 11:06:58.15
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Business Ethics
I was thinking, while I drove to work this morning,
about starting a "special-interest group" on ethics. As if
to settle my internal debate, the radio announced that
Scientific Games Inc., recently named the supplier of tickets
to the California State Lottery, had started building a factory
in Gilroy months before the initiative passed. To those of you
still unfamiliar with the issue, SGI (a division of Bally) wrote
the initiative (i.e., their lawyer drafted a "model" which was
adopted by the "citizens group" which actually sponsored the
proposition), and contributed heavily to the campaign. There
was a time limit in the initiative which could only have been
met by contracting with SGI, but Gov. Dukmejian ignored it and
took a bit of heat for that, although the lottery directors of
most of the existing lotteries said publicly that it was an
unreasonably tight schedule. Anyway, the limit wasn't needed to
secure the contract for SGI.
Now, the question for debate is:
Given that SGI did all this legally, filing the proper
funding disclosures etc., was their action ethical. More
broadly: Is a company ETHICALLY bound to respect more
than the letter of campaign funding laws when pushing
legislation which would be directly beneficial to it.
I would like to hear from any of you who are interested
in such questions (perhaps not including this particular one).
I will create a distribution list so we can carry on with a
"forum" without clogging "JUNK".
Side note to industry watchers- The "factory in Gilroy"
sounds like Bally found a use for the old Sente factory, no?
Mike
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::TRAEGER 10-JUN-1985 15:20:06.34
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: UPCOMING BRAINSTORM
JUST THOUGHT THAT I'D PASS AL;ONG THIS LIOTTLE TID-BIT OF INFORMATION I SAW
IN A RECENT EDITION OF AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHICS.
IT MAY BE SOMETHING WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT AS WE CONSIDER NEW IDEAS AND
CONCEPTS:
"THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE AGED 13 TO 24- THE HIGHEST PER CAPITA CONSUMERS OF SOFT
DRINKS- IS NOW SHRINKING, WHILE THE NUMBER OF 325 TO 44 YUUEAREAR OLDS IS GROWING
RAPIDLY. SOFT DRINK MANUFACTUREERERS WHO ANTICIPATED THIS TREND HAVE SHIFTED THEIR
MARKETING STRATEGIES TO APPEAL TO THE OLDER AGE GROUP WITH DIET AND CAFFEINE-
FREE SOFT DRINKS. THEY ARE ALSO P ."---TAKEN FROM AN ARTICLE ON AMERICAN DRINKING TRENDS
AS WELL IN AN EARLIER SECTION OF THE MAGAZINE, THIS PRE-AMBLE APPEARED:
"WELLS-GARDENER ELECTRONICS CORPORATION INVESTED TOO HEAVILY IN COLOR VIDEO
MONITORS FOR VIDEO GAMES JUST WHEN THE MARKET A SHRINKING TEENAGE POPULATION COULD NOT
SUSTAIN THE D4EMAND VIDEO GAME CRAZE".."
WHILE THIS MAGAZINE TENDS TO OVERSTATE THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF DEMOGRAPHISIC
RESEARCH OCCASIONALLY, THEY DO MAKE A GOOD POINT. THE CYCLKE IS CURRENTLY
TOWARDS THE OLDER END OF THE POPULATION AND AWAY FROM KIDS...ARE THEIRRE AREAS
THAT WE CAN EXPLOIT THIS TREND FOR OUR OWN GOALS? THE BAR MARKET, STRATEGY
GAMES FOR OLDER PLAYERS NOT SKILLED IN HAND/EYE, ETC.?
MAUBE YBE WE SHOULD MAKE A VIDEO GAME WITH NEUTRA-SWEET, NO"?
DT
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ALBAUGH 12-JUN-1985 10:04:21.13
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: New Twist on FreeWare
Just got through talking to Rob Fulop (some of you
old-timers may remember him). He is currently working at
Buy-Video (not sure of the spelling), and pushing something
called soft-ads. One example: He wrote a program for the
IBM PC which is sort of a "travel advisor", to help people
plan vacations. The program is "sponsored" by American
Express, so it leans toward their services and those of
Hilton Hotels, Hertz, etc. (who pay Amex for the plug). The
disk is sent out with Amex cards and included free in
"specially marked boxes" of Verbatim Diskettes. Verbatim is
happy to distribute, because it is adding value to the
blank diskette. Amex is happy because its customers like
the program, and, by extension, Amex. the customers are
happy because the program is useful, not ONLY an ad. Rob is
happy because Amex paid him.
Perhaps some of you brain-stormers will get some
inspiration from all this happiness.
Mike
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MARGOLIN 12-JUN-1985 16:59:11.05
To: MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj:
I talked to Bob Fry today and asked him when the guy was coming
in to fix the ventilation in the office area.
Fry said that the guy had already looked at it and concluded
that it was already putting out as much air as it was capable
of.
I told Fry that there used to be a lot more air than there was now
and why was it all of a sudden incapable of putting out at least
as much as it used to?
Fry said that the guy had already looked at it and concluded
that it was already putting out as much air as it was capable
of.
I told Fry that there used to be a lot more air than there was now
and why was it all of a sudden incapable of putting out at least
as much as it used to? Had he checked the right area?
Fry said that the guy had already looked at it and concluded
that it was already putting out as much air as it was capable
of.
I asked him why he woudn't answer my question.
Fry said that the guy had already looked at it and concluded
that it was already putting out as much air as it was capable
of.
He then advised me to set up a meeting with you and me and him
because he wasn't going to talk to me anymore. He then said goodbye and
hung up.
This is the same man who earlier this year feigned surprise that the
ventilation system wasn't working saying, "Nobody ever told me,"
(making Rick out to be a liar) and said that I should talk to him directly
if there was a problem.
Since then, Fry has been completely unresponsive to my requests. It has
always been:
1. The thermostat just needs to be adjusted.
2. The system needs a few days to settle.
3. Why didn't you tell me sooner.
4. The system can't be made to work any better.
Sometimes there is air and sometimes there isn't. Sometimes the temperature
is ok and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it seems to be directly related
to the temperature outside and sometimes it doesn't.
There are two major problems:
1. The system needs to be properly adjusted.
2. Bob Fry
I would like you to take care of this matter before you go on vaction
because Fry is obviously not going to do anything for me and I don't
think I can stand it for another two weeks.
Jed
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SALWITZ 13-JUN-1985 09:43:23.16
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Ronny made me do it.
YECCH.
1) Yesterday the congress voted to send 24 million in aid to the Contras.
... this is the policy of a free democratic nation!
2) The "arms talks" ( I use that term loosely) are dead.dead.dead.
... the Reagan administration will not discuss space
weapondry. Of course any 4 year old child can see
that any Earth Bound arms control is useless without
discussion of space weapons.
... That good old M.X. sure is a great barganing chip!
3) The Senate (with the Reagan administration's strong push) aproved millions
for the research and production of Nerve gas weapons.
... More maddness.
4) The D.E.A. wants ( and will get ) 140 more million dollars to fight drugs.
... There are starving Americans.
5) Secratary Winberger wants the ALLEGED navy spies shot.
... Oh GOODY.. more state run killings.
Sorry,Sorry,Sorry.. I just had to relay this tabloid of the current
performance of the Reagan administration. I promise to relay good news when
it happens. But don't expect any for at least 3 1/2 years. This administration
is incapable of creative thought. Ronald Reagan is making all the errors that
history would show him (if he looked) to avoid.
... PS:
Don't say.. " The federal government did such and such to those poor
people"
Say.. " The Reagan administration did such and such to those poor
people"
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::WOOD 14-JUN-1985 10:56:40.66
To: MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: ventilation
Dan Van has told me about your complaint with the ventilation system
and/or Bob. I tried to give you a call to discuss the matter. Can
you give me a call today before close of business? Thanks.
Regards
DW
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MARGOLIN 14-JUN-1985 14:49:26.37
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: 3D ALGORITHMS, PART 2
The second installment of 3D algorithms is now in
SYS$SYSDEVICE:[GENERAL]math3D2.doc . It covers
the use of Magic Tics and the generation of Terrain
Objects, the Horizon, and Runway Lights.
The figures referred to in the Horizon section are not
available yet. If you want a copy let me know.
Please direct any comments on this material to me.
Jed
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RUNNER 14-JUN-1985 16:04:08.58
To: MARGOLIN,RUNNER
CC:
Subj: math3d
1) thanks for the mention.
2) a "even more 'more complicated'" tic for faster rotations involve
adding 165 tics for 10.5507 degrees.
that is, 14/165 is .895
78/165 is 4.986
and 165/165 is 10.55
I get the impression that there are other even higher angles that have common
factors, but the 10.55 is the only other one I have written down. I think at
these faster angles problems should start showing up cuz of associative order
changes between the Primary set and the Working copy.
G
R
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::TRAEGER 18-JUN-1985 13:29:32.30
To: @ SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: GENERAL B.S.
LATEST COLLECTION INFORMATION IS CONFIRMING THE DROP IN EARNINGS OF "COMMSNANDO".
FOR EXCAAMPLE, IN IT'S FIRST FIVE WEEKS AT FASCINATION ARCADE IN N>CN>Y>C>. .Y.C.,
"COMMANDO" EARNED A TOTAL OF $3860.75...IT'S FIRST TWO WEEKS WERE QUITE IMPRESSIVE
IMPRESSIVE...EARNING OVER $1000.00 EACH WEEK.
HOWEVER, LOOKING AT "PAPERBOY" WE SEE THAT IT EARNED $4135.25 FOR IT'S FIRST
FIVE SWEEKS...THAT IS ABOUT 275.00 MORE THAN "COMMANDO".
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT "PAPERBOY " IS A MORE CONSISTENT LONG TERM EARNER...
UNFORTUNATELY, THE COST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO PIECES MAKES "COMMANDO"
SEEM LIKE A BETTER BUY...WE MUST CONVINCE OUR OPERATORS THAT WHEN THEY BUY
TH"THE BOIYY", THEY ARE GETTING A SOLID MONEY EARNER FOR THE LONG STRETCH, A GOOD
LONG-TERM INVESTMENT.
REGARDING THE NEW GAME "MAYHEM" (THE BALL BLAZER RIP-OFF) COLLECTOIONS ARE NOT
THAT GREAT SO IT'S NO BIG DEAL...HOWEVER, ONE GAME THAT OLOOKS LIKE A SLEEPER
IS PITFALL !!II--IT'S BEEN DOING REAL WELL AND CONSISTENT AT THAT.
THE LATEST VS. PRODUCTS--HOAGANS ALLEY AND DUCK HUNT MAKE ME SCARED...
THESE GAMES TOGETHER IN A SPLIT SCREEN VS. SYSTEM ARE DOING OVER $1000.00
A WEEK AT FASCINATION ARCADE IN N.Y. THE PRICE FOR EACH ONE ((WITH GUNS):
A REAL CHEAP 195$195.00...THESE THINGS CAN PAY FOR THEMSELVES IN ONE DAY!!
EVEEN IF THEY DROP IN EARNINGS REAL QUICK, AT THAT PRICE IST'S A GREAT BUY.
THATS ALL WEEK
[C FIR NOIWOR NOW...
DT
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::TRAEGER 19-JUN-1985 14:36:37.71
To: @ SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: METRO-CROSS EARNINGS UPDATE
LATEST METRO EARNINGS:
GI:
#1 GAUNTLET--UNGODLY AMOUNTS
#2 COMMANDO -- 263.00
#3 THE BOY -- 207.00
#4 FU -- 118.00
#5 SPY HUNT -- 109.00
#6 METRO-CROSS-101.00
NOTE: SOMETIMES THE JUMP CONTROL IS A LITTLE FLAKEY AM UNSURE IF IT IS IN
HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE...ALSO, MAY BE SOME PLAYER BURN OUT AS LEVEL 6 PLATEAU
IS TOUGH TO GET BY.
OAKRIDGE LANES:
#1 METRO-CROSS -- 158.00 (THIS IS IT'S SECOND WEEK HERE)
#2 JACKS TO OPEN- 120.00
#3 POLE POSITION- 86.00
TOTAL GROSS--777.00
DT
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 19-JUN-1985 16:26:55.43
To: MCCARTHY,MARGOLIN,CC::CHARM::AVL,US,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: READAVL (on charm) and REM-E-QIOERR stuff
I looked into the problem, and I think I know what is causing it.
Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about it. I am reasonably certain
that DEC has been bit by their own bug. The system service to sense terminal
characteristics is supposed to return stuff you can send to the set
characteristics service; it doesn't. All the information is there, but
it takes a page of code to rearrange it properly. I begin to suspect that
DEC isn't aware of this.
The program seems to continue to function after the error, so
I suggest that you ignore it until they fix it. I will let them know about it.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MCCARTHY 25-JUN-1985 11:13:24.51
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,MCCARTHY
CC:
Subj: ex
Those of you using 68010 Cpu may be interested in the following
potential pitfall.
Problem description. : The program goes out to lunch when
returning from interrupt. (RTE instruntion)
Whats happening : The 68010 gets confused as to whether it is
executing autovectored interrupts or not.
Solution : DTACK should not be asserted while VPA is asserted.
For some unknown reason, this bug has not shown up on System I.
However, on Gauntlet, using almost the same circuitry, the
problem showed up immediately. System IV has had some occurances
of the same problem.
Pat McC.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::CARRABELLO 25-JUN-1985 11:30:19.66
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Credit Union
Don't forget the credit union is closing this week. Friday will be the
last day to withdraw any money, otherwise you have to call the Burbank
office. Also if you have payroll deduction to your credit union account
this weeks deduction has already been processed so don't close your
account completely otherwise there won't be any place for the money to
go. You'll have to leave a little in there and then call Burbank to
close it out completely.
Lori
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 25-JUN-1985 12:23:58.38
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: AMS 68010 PODS
Please be EXTREMELY CAREFUL handling the Applied Microsystems emulation
pods. Right now 3 of our 13 development system are down due to flakey
pods. So far we have been unsuccessful getting them repaired by
Applied Microsystems. Please avoid hanging them by their cables or
other abusive behavior. As a matter of operating procedure, please
think of the pods as your gonads when you have to touch a pod.
Apparently the gold pind on the 64-pin connector that plugs into
the 68010 socket on the target PCB are particularly snssitive.
[that should read "gold pins" rather than "gold pind".]
- Chris
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::TRAEGER 3-JUL-1985 11:48:52.28
To: @ SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: OUR HELP IS NEEDED!!
I GOT WIND OF SOMETHING RECENTLY THAT I THINK WE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP OUT
ON...YOU KNOW SOPHIE AND OMAR, THE CAFETERIA PEOPLE? WELL, THEY ARE IN A
BAD WAY CURRENTLY AND COULD USE SOME HELP.
HERE'S THE STORY:
THEY ARE FROM IRAN (YOU KNOW, THAT CRAZY PLACE WHERE TERRORISM IS A NATIONAL
PASTIME). ANYWAYS, THEY ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET THEIR MOTHER OUT OF THEIR
BEFORE THE (I MEAN THERE) BEFORE THE AYATOLLAH ((?) DECLARES WAR ON MOTHERHOOD.
WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT THEY CAME TO ATARI SEEKING A LOAN IN ORDER TO GET SOME
DOUGH TO GET THEIR MOM OVER HERE PRONTO. THEY ARE CURRENTLY TRYING TO GET
BANK LOANS, SELL THEIR CAR, ETC. IN ORDER TO RAISE SOME CASH (I THINK THE
TOTAL REQUIRED IS CLOSE TO $8,000.00)
WHAT I AM PROPOSING IS THAT WE START A DONATION POOL TO RUN THROUGHOUT NEXT
WEEK, IN ORDER TO HELP THEM GENERATE SOME CASH. WE CAN EACH CONTRIBUTE
WHATEVER WE CAN GIVE AND AT THE END OF THE WEEK WE WILL TURN OVER ALL THE
MONIES COLLECTED DIRECTLY TO THEM. PLEASE SEE EITHER SANDY BROWN OR MYSELF
IN ORDER TO CONTRIBUTE.
BY THE WAY, I HAVE NOT TOLD OMAR OR SOPHIE WHAT WE ARE DOING SO YOU MAY
WANT TO KEEP A LID ON IT FOR NOW. THEY MAY GET A LITTLE EMBARRAED BY THE
WHOLE THING...BUT THEY DO REALLY NEED OUR HELP.
ONE THOUGHT I HAVE IS TO SACRIFICE OUR DOUGHNUTS NEXT FRIDAY AND PUT THAT MONEY
INTO THE FUND...ANY OTHER IDEAS LIKE THAT WOULD BE MOST WELCOME.
ANOTHER POSSIBILITY IS TO WORK LARGER DONATIONS OUT AS A LOAN...THEY ORIGINALLY
ASKED SHANE ABOUT LOANING MONEY FROM ATARI...I'M SURE THEY WOULD PAY BACK ANY
MONEY'S GIVEN, ESPECIALLY IF IT WAS A LARGE AMOUNT.
ANYWAY, PLEASE SEND ME ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAVE REGARDING THIS IDEA, ASAP.
I WILL GET BACK TO YOU SOON ABOUT DETAILS FOR THE FUND RAISER THAT WILL
RUN NEXT WEEK.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE
DT
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::CAMERON 3-JUL-1985 13:56:34.78
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj:
NEWS FLASH
STUDIES HAVE PROVEN THAT DOLPHINS ARE AS SMART AS MAN.
THAT'S PRETTY AMAZING CONSIDERING THAT THEY ONLY STUDIED THE ONES
WHO WERE DUMB ENOUGH TO GET CAPTURED!
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::DND 3-JUL-1985 14:55:33.24
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: AMS RAM errors
For those of you out there using the Applied Micro Systems
68010 Dev Sys, the following applys to YOU. If you have internal
memory problems, that is internal to the AMS, then there is a simple
way to determine which chip is bad, if you decide it is a chip.
There is a file in CHARM::[DND]AMSMEM.DOC which contains a picture of
the RAM board and a list of which parts are at which addresses. This
list is for a 256K Dev Sys. MOst of you out there have 128K systems
with two RAM boards, each with 64K, The board lay out is the same,
the address spacing is probably, although I have not checked it out,
$1000 instead of $4000.
Bye Now
Bob
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 10-JUL-1985 10:53:34.29
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: New greenhills c compiler.
There is a new version of greenhills 68000 c compiler (V1.7.17)
available on kim & charm.
To use it make the following definition:-
$ ncc:== $sys$sysdevice:[green.1v7v17]ccom.exe
This appears to produce better code than the old one (V1.7.1).
(It certainly fixes a number of bugs that have been found in the old one)
There are two optimise switches available in this version -o & -o2.
The first does some good things, the second will probably upset certain
things (like volatile variables etc). The documentation for the new version
is in SYS$SYSDEVICE:[GREEN.1V7V17.DOC].
*** WARNINGS ***
The only gotcha (that I know of) is that it will produce a call to ldivt
in the following case:-
/* generic case of assigning to a pointer to a short */
test()
{
short *a,b,c,d;
*a= (b * c / d); /* this produces JSR ldivt */
}
The fix is :-
/* cast the whole of the right side of the expression to short */
test()
{
short *a,b,c,d;
*a= (short)(b * c / d); /* this uses DIV */
}
I would be interested in getting feedback on changes in code size and speed
so I can tell greenhills.
Any bugs let me know.
Jim (x2827).
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SALWITZ 10-JUL-1985 11:21:20.48
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: new T-11 devsys rev.
*** SYSTEM II STUFF ***
There is a new DEVT11.LDA file available now. I have changed the downloader
to accomidate mmu offsets not equal to 10000 octal. This should come in handy
when you use more than 16 pages or when you set up your roms to use smaller
page increments. The old ROMS should work fine as long as you only use 10k
increments.
- Default page select offset is 10000 octal (page 0 select=00000,
page 1 select=10000.) However, if you want to use another
offset between two consecutive pages you can... The bottom 4 bits
of the page select word (address bits 16 thru 19) show the offset
/1000. (ie: 1 = 1000, 2 = 2000,...).
ex:
Output address = 30004000 (hex) (default offset)
Download address = 40000 octal
MMU page offset = 10000 octal
Page 3 (30000 octal) is selected for mmu page 0
Page 4 (40000 octal) is selected for mmu page 1
ex:
Output address = 50024000 (hex) (non default offset)
Download address = 40000 octal
MMU page offset = 2000 octal
Page 20. (50000 octal) is selected for mmu page 0
Page 21. (52000 octal) is selected for mmu page 1
enjoy..
jfs
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MARGOLIN 12-JUL-1985 18:05:37.03
To: MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj:
To: Dennis Wood
Fr: Jed Margolin
Re: Revised Vaction Policy
Dt: 7/12/85
Since the new vacation policy takes effect March 31, 1986 I assume that
the "old" vacation policy will be in effect until then. Is this correct?
Since I currently have almost 5 weeks of vacation accrued and my
anniversary date is January 15 your memo indicates that if I don't take most
of it (all but two weeks) before January 15, I will lose it. Is this correct?
Now, about the "old" policy. The last memo that I have on vacation
policy is dated 3/12/84 and was issued by Richard Stearns who was at that time
the Human non-Resources Director. According to this memo, employees could not
carry over more than two weeks of vacation time each CALENDER year, starting
January 1, 1986. This is the first time I have heard about the anniversary
date method. When was it changed to the employee's anniversary date?
Jed
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::CARRABELLO 15-JUL-1985 11:03:09.79
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: vacation
Per Sandy Brown, the old policy (you can only carry over 2 weeks as of
Jan. 1, 86) is voided out. You can now carry all of it over until
March 31, 1986 (new policy) after that you can only carry 5 weeks.
Lori
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::CARRABELLO 15-JUL-1985 13:52:17.16
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: RE: vacation
I'LL ASK.
LORI
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::CARRABELLO 15-JUL-1985 14:10:09.55
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: VACATION POLICY
SINCE NO ONE ELSE HAS QUESTIONED SANDI, SHE FEELS THERE'S NO NEED FOR
A MEMO. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SHE SAID TO CALL OR SEE HER.
LORI
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::SUTTLES 17-JUL-1985 21:59:10.16
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: kill a tree and learn, or save the forests and be stupid (good stuff!)
To all you (VAX) C programmers and XEROX stockholders:
I have available a small number (no more than ten at a time)
of documentation sets for the (new) C on Kim and Charm. This
amounts to a copy of the help text on Kim (that's where it started).
I got lost trying to find my way through all the functions, and
since you can't ask for help in the editor (except, of course, TECO),
I needed a desktop reference. So, I dumped the help text and MUNGed
it into a cross-referenced document. Since there isn't any other
stuff available for version 2, I thought there might be some interest.
Come by and claim one if you can use it. You will find them (if there
are any left) in the Data I/O room, on the bookshelf by the door
(right behind the public-use water cooler). Of course, if there
aren't any left, you won't find them. You'll have to wait for the next
batch. I will keep up the supply to meet the apparent demand. Don't
bug me about them, or I won't.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::BROWN 19-AUG-1985 11:46:38.78
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: COMPANY PICNIC
I WANT TO THANK ALL YOU ATARIANS WHO WERE THERE SATURDAY TO HELP
MAKE OUR COMPANY PICNIC A SUCCESS. I HAD MY DOUBTS THERE FOR AWHILE
THANKS TO THE WEATHER, BUT IT CLEARED UP NICELY. THE WEATHER WAS
ALSO TO BLAME FOR THE CANCELLATION OF THE DUNK TANK (AW SHUCKS!)
I WANT OFFER CONGRATS TO OUR VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT TEAM WINNER FROM
THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT. THE TEAM MEMBERS WERE:
DAN VAN ELDEREN
ED LOGG
PETER LIPSON
GARY POPKIN
CAROL CAMERON
ROBERT WEATHERBY
ALSO CONGRATS TO OUR RAFFLE WINNERS:
DAVE WIEBENSON PAPERBOY ARCADE GAME
JUNE YAMAMOTO QUANTUM ARCADE GAME
KAREN GRAHAM 1200XL COMPUTER
GEORGE MILLINGTON PONG GAME (A REAL COLLECTORS ITEMS)
I WELCOME ANY CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS REGARDING THE PICNIC
(SITE, FOOD, ACTIVITIES, ETC.)
SANDI
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 22-JUL-1985 10:39:22.23
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Greenhills C compiler version 1.7.18
Ok all you Guys 'n Girls, its another edition of :-
"lets try the new Greenhills C compiler".
We have (yet) another version (1.7.18). This one produces exactly the same
code as the last version (1.7.17). but fixes some bugs that we hadn't found
yet. I have checked that the code is the same, and it is. Sooo...
please make the following change to your login.com (or wherever you do it).
$ ncc:==$sys$sysdevice:[green.1v7v18]ccom.exe ! new one
Please could everyone start using this version as we should get rid
of the old versions. The new one has been used for a couple of weeks and
doesn't seem to have any fatal bugs.
I would prefer to have people make the change themselves, rather than
putting the compiler in UTL$EXE and just change it when a new version
comes in, as that could upset an unsuspecting programmer.
It is necessary to use the latest version so we can get feedback to
Greenhills on improvements, bugs etc.
Any problems, comments etc. mail to this address.
Thanks.
Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 22-JUL-1985 10:50:59.35
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: 68010 emulators.
Could everyone who uses the Applied Microsystems 68010 emulator please check
that their system boots up with V2.2S, and that you do not get a checksum error
report on power up. It would be nice to get all the systems upgraded to the
latest Revision. If yours is an old version see me for a new set of eproms.
Thank you.
Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 22-JUL-1985 19:50:23.06
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: BLISS16 querks
A number of users have mentioned some of the goofy things that BLISS16
seems to do when you try to tell it to swap the bytes of a word or just
to get the high byte of a word. I did some investigation into the matter
and have concluded that, "yep, it does things goofy, so don't do that".
There is a simple solution (if you haven't already thought of it):
SOURCE : WORD; !the source word
DEST : WORD; !the dest word
REGISTER TMP : UNSIGNED BYTE; !get a fast temp byte
TMP = .(SOURCE+1); !get the high byte
DEST = .TMP; !put in the dest
BLISS-16 generates pretty tight code for this type of thing.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 23-JUL-1985 18:45:38.95
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: I.C. Fab Costs
Just F.Y.I.
I talked to Jim Wallin and got the following information regarding
CUSTOM I.C. WAFER FABRICATION:
- DATE: 7/23/85
- VENDOR: NCR
- LEADTIME: 3 WEEKS; TYPICALLY 6 WEEKS
- MINIMUM ORDER: 25 WAFERS ( this is considered a production order)
- TYPICAL YIELD: 22-23 WAFERS (at wafer level or die level?)
- COST PER WAFER: $400.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Reference, Don Paauw says there are 1000 die on a wafer for both
SLAPSTIC AND SLAGS.
The cost per die is:
($400.00)/1000=$.40 per die, untested, uninspected
Our minimum order quantity is:
(25 wafers)*(1000 die)= 25000 die untested, uninspected
In the case of SLAPSTIC which has (8) versions on one wafer, we get
(25000 die)/(8 versions)= 3125 die of each version, untested
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
These two devices are relatively small. Hence, yields have typically
been in the 70-80% range. SLAGS had lower yields (50%) initially due to
poor processing by the vendor. When I say that the yield is 70-80% I mean
that 70-80% of the packaged parts received by Atari passed ELECTRICAL test
and inspection. Typically, the vendor performs one to three optical inspections
to screen out mal-formed die, reject die attach, and reject wire bonding.
At this time I do not think Atari is paying for the creation of test programs
to electrically test die at the wafer level (wafer probe..."Sentry Testing").
In summary, actual yield from fabricated die to functional part, will be
less than 70-80% since die fallouts at the wafer fab and packaging vendors
are not included. I have no data on yields in those two areas at this time.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 29-AUG-1985 10:35:32.93
To: @ALPHAGANG.DIS
CC:
Subj: Work Hours
Well guys this is kind of embarassing. It's 10:00 AM and there
isn't much of Alpha-Gang around right now, and I don't know
when to expect to see anybody. I think that shifted schedules are
O.K. but I strongly believe that everybody's work-day should overlap
a solid 4 hours or so. This allows for us to interact, share ideas,
answer questions in our various areas of expertise etc. As a rule
of Thumb, I think that a starting time between 6:30 AM and 9:30 AM
is ideal. A normal work day is 8 hours plus an hour for lunch. I
know most of us put in a lot more than 8 hours and I certainly
don't want to discourage that through rigorous rules.
Please send me a note specifying your typical work hours. Also,
if you expect to miss your typical work hours, please call and
let me know. My number is 747-2867; Karen's is 747-2765; otherwise
just leave a message at the lobby.
Thanks,
Chris Downend
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ALBAUGH 29-JUL-1985 15:08:18.39
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Making changes...
I have just placed a new version of make on UTL$EXE:. Those of
you who have been using make with no problems should continue to do so.
Those of you on whom make has died mysteriously should now have better
(i.e. existant) error messages to guide you. Those of you who have not
been using make at all should seriously consider it - read the file
charm::sys$userdisk:[Albaugh.Make]make.man for info and then see me.
You can save a lot of hassle this way.
Bye-
Mike
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 15-AUG-1985 19:03:41.10
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: New ASM68 (kim only, for now)
I have very recently (a few minutes ago) finished a command
parser for ASM68. The old method used to be done in DCL, and was very
messy and slow. The new method is in assembly, is still messy, but
it SHOULD be faster. Along the way, I found several bugs in Intermetric's
stuff that I had to work around, plus the usual quota of DEC bugs.
I think I caught them all, but you know me!
As usual, if any of your programs should be caught, or killed,
I will disavow any knowlege of my actions.
All seriousness aside, if the new way doesn't work, you can use
the old way by saying OLDASM68 instead of the (former and now new) ASM68
command.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 15-AUG-1985 19:05:16.71
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER.UAF,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: more of the same
Oh yeah, if you do find bugs in my program, please tell me about them.
... gently.
Guess who?
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 16-AUG-1985 17:43:05.32
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: More changes for the sake of change
Per Jim Morris' request, I have changed ASM68 yet again.
This time, I tried to trap errors and warnings from the compiler
and return them so that command files executing the ASM68 command
may successfully determine if the ASSEMBLER exited with an
error (or warning) status. If they exit the program after complaining
about errors without passing along the fact that they are exiting
in an error (or warning) status, there isn't anything I can do.
But at least the command file will tell you different things now,
where it used to always say that everything was fine.
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 19-AUG-1985 14:33:41.10
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: new intermetrics linker/locater/formatter/assembler
There is a new release of the intermetrics assembler, linker, locater &
formatter.
The linker/locater now will allow sections with lengths greater than 65536.
It seems to work ok, so please update your login.com files as
follows:-
$ @sys$sysdevice:[c68r3v0.com]cdefs.com ! setup intermetrics stuff
If you encounter any problems please let me know, thanks.
Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 21-AUG-1985 15:40:32.99
To: @ALPHAGANG.DIS
CC:
Subj: BONUS PLAN
The much-heralded new "Atari Product Bonus Plan" is ready for
Distribution. This new plan replaces the plan in effect since
March 1982 (revised March 1983). The new plan will apply to
all product sold since January 1, 1985.
If you report directly or indirectly to Chris Downend, please
see me anytime AFTER 5:00 PM, August 21, 1985, to get your
very own copy of the 6-page plan.
There will be a meeting at 10:30 AM, August 22, 1985 in the
Lyle Rains Common Area where Dan Van and possibly Dennis Wood
will be available to answer any questions.
-Chris Downend
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ALBAUGH 23-AUG-1985 10:28:37.08
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: "Features" of the new ASM68
As many of you may have already noticed, the new
Intermetrics assembler for the 68000 has a few differences.
You probably already know that you must say "BSET" rather
than "BSET.B" or "BSET.L" ( also "BCLR" and "BTST" ), but
you may not have noticed the change in the treatment of ADDQ
and SUBQ. The assembler used to automatically convert, say,
an "ADDA #4,SP" to an "ADDQ", or an "ADDQ #12,SP" to an
"ADDA". It no longer does so. The latter case produces an
(obscure) error message and the former produces EXACTLY
what you asked for, which happens to be two bytes longer
than the old automatic substitute and may well push branches
out of range and other fun stuff.
SO, it would well repay your efforts to check all
your sources for compliance with the new rules to avoid some
subtle and nasty problems. I should also point out that as
of now you need to be sure to include the appropriate
release of the assembler, as well as the compiler, when
producing the archive tape for a released project.
Incidentally, they also changed the starting number
for symbols, so you can't easily compare .ol's. See me if you
are baffled
Mike
P.S. I wrote this memo on the bus this morning (which may
explain the choppiness), and am quite happy with my new toy,
an Olivetti M10 portable computer. Techno-freaks (and people
who would like to do their word-processing in formerly unlikely
locales are invited to drop by and play with it.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DND 23-AUG-1985 10:34:49.06
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: 27128A
It is important for all to know that when programming 27128 EPROMS that
you take a good look at what the "real" part number is. There is a
significant differance between an 27128 and a 27128A. The differance is
basically that a 128 is programmed at 24v and a 128A is programmed at
12.5v. I think currently the only 128A's we have are AMD's. So if using
AMD parts, take a good look at the number to see if it is an "A" or
not. It is too easy to confuse. You can also tell by the fact that AMD
also marks the 128A packages with a "12.5v PGM" at the bottom of the
package.
for your info
Jerry Saunders
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 26-AUG-1985 17:38:30.16
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: FYI: I.C. PACKAGING COSTS (EXCLUDES COST OF MAKING WAFER)
FYI - IC PACKAGING INFO
DATE: AUGUST 1985
VENDOR: AME
DEVICE: GANG OF THRICE (FOUR LESS ONE)
ORDER QUANTITY: 3000 EACH (9000 OR 12000 PACKAGED PARTS?)
ORDER DATE: ? ( NO EARLIER THAN 8/13/85)
DUE DATE: 9/6/85
PACKAGE: 40-PIN PLASTIC
SERVICES: WAFER SCRIBE, SORT, DIE-ATTACH, WIRE BOND,
ENCAPSULATE, LEAD FORM, MARK, PACK.
COST: $.56 EACH
.014 PLASTIC TUBE COST OF $.14; ABOUT $.014 PER PART.
-----
$.574 TOTAL
YIELD: 98% JIM WALLIN SAYS THIS IS WHAT THEY EXPECT FROM
PAST EXPERIENCE. IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE SEND THEM
3000 DIE, WE'LL GET 98% OF THEM BACK AS PACKAGED
PARTS. THIS IS BEFORE ELECTRICAL TEST.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 29-AUG-1985 16:42:46.07
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Memory Hogs
Well memory hogs, AMD has it for you - the 27C1024 CMOS EPROM. That's
right, a megabit on a chip. It's organized as 65536 words by 16 bits.
It comes in a 40-pin package. Access time is speced at 170nS. And
it can be programmed in 49 seconds! It uses 1.5 um CMOS technology
resulting in a die under 80,000 square mils. It should be in full
production by third quarter 1985. No price info; but figure $200.00
or so through 1985 and 1986.
Plus, they think the memory cell size can be shrunk even more yielding
multi-million bit devices.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 4-SEP-1985 12:39:00.11
To: @ALPHAGANG.DIS
CC:
Subj: Work Hours
With the Holiday and all, I suspect many of you forgot to send me
a note specifying your work hours. Kudos to the four of that responded
so promptly. Here are the Guidelines (let me know if you think this is
reasonable or unreasonable):
- Shifted schedules are O.K.
- Must include 4 hours in the core of the day for interaction
- Ideal starting time is between 6:30 and 9:30 AM.
- Normal work day is 8-hours plus an hour for lunch
- Call and leave a message with Downend/Graham/Receptionist
if you're going to be sick or Accidently detained.
Here are the responses so far:
Rivera: 9 am to 6 pm
Lipson: 9:30 to 6:30
Ralston: 7:00 to 4:30-5:30
Drobny: 8:30 to 5:30 or 9-6
Downend: 9:00 to 6:00
Websters says kudos is: "fame and renown resulting from and act or
achievement: prestige".
The rest of you can have Kudos too - just send in your work hours!
Thanks,
Chris
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::GRAHAM 5-SEP-1985 11:19:07.59
To: @SYS$MAIL:VANGANG
CC:
Subj:
HELP!!!!!!! As the only secretary up here I'm starting to get
a little overwhelmed. Though it's been great exercise I find I
need some help....so, I'm asking if everyone in Electrical Engineering
will pick up their own mail (the mail station is next to Dan's office),
and to pick up phone messages from Evelyn in the lobby (you can give
her a call once in a while). I really appreciate this, it will save me
at least a couple trips around the building.
Karen
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MCCARTHY 5-SEP-1985 18:37:40.75
To: @DIST2,MCCARTHY
CC:
Subj: remote sense on power supplies
The question has arisen as to the necessity of sense lines on
five volt switching power supplies.
Background:
Traditionally, we have designed our in-house power supplies with
remote sense for the five volts output. We found this necessary
because there was an appreciable difference between the voltage
at the power supply and the voltage at the logic board, due to IR
drop in the harness and in particular at the edge connector. As
the board aged the voltage drop tended to get worse, due to dirt
and wear on the edge connector.
In recent times we have learned to make shorter harnesses and use
connectors more suitable for power connections at the logic
board.
For example, on Gauntlet while drawing 5.5 - 6 amps, there is a
difference of 90millivolts between the 5 volt power connections
and the sense connections, measured at the power supply. This is
not likely to change with age, as the connectors are better and
tend to be self cleaning.
The question then is. At what load current do we need remote
sense on purchased power supplies. We have a sample of a japanese
switching supply rated at 10amps. It does not have remote sense.
It does have an accessable voltage adjustment pot. A similar
model from the same company, rated at 20amps does have remote
sense.
Do we require remote sense for:
all supplies
all supplies supplying more than 5 amps
all supplies supplying more than 10 amps
we don't need remote sense
Send your vote,comments,thoughts,suggestions,etc. to this address
please.
Pat.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 5-SEP-1985 18:39:37.23
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: POKEY INVENTORIES
5 SEP 85
POKEY STATUS
WALLIN/BRODREICK TELL ME THAT ATARI GAMES BOUGHT A LARGE LOT OF POKEY
WAFERS FROM ATARI CORP. FOR $.50 A DIE. APPARENTLY THESE ARE STILL AT
THE WAFER LEVEL. AS WE NEED THEM, THEY HAVE BEEN SENDING THEM OUT TO
BE PACKAGED.
CURRENT INVENTORY OF DIE: 54,000+
CURRENT PACKAGED PARTS: 0
DIE AT VENDOR: ?
PAAUW RECENTLY EXAMINED 1 WAFER AND NOTICED THAT ONLY 25% OF THE
DIE WERE GOOD - THE OTHER 75% HAD A "RED DOT" INDICATING A FAILED PART.
IF THIS YIELD HOLDS FOR ALL THE WAFERS THEN WE REALLY HAVE 54000/4=13500 DIE.
LOOKS LIKE WE NEED TO:
1) VERIFY DIE YIELD
2) CHECK WITH ATARI CORP ON AVAILABILITY OF MORE POKEY DICE.
3) DESIGN IN A NEW SOUND CHIP IN ALL DESIGNS NOW ON PAPER, EG.
SYSTEM 3D AND BEYOND
COMMENTS??
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 6-SEP-1985 13:01:02.53
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Revised POKEY inventory
5 SEP 85
POKEY STATUS - REVISED
Well, when we went to verify POKEY die yield, we found that Atari Games has
54,000+ GOOD die. Dan Van has recommended that no further action is required
at this time on POKEY or a replacement thereof.
Here is a edited tabulation of various suggestions just for the record:
Brad Fuller: Hope we don't use POKEY too much longer: most SFX are now done
on YAMAHA. Would like to see either (2) YAMAHAs per game or
(1) YAMAHA and AMY.
Vickers (via Fuller): We have ability to make a new POKEY...we share rights
to it with Atari Corp. is their recollection.
Rivera: We could do our own simple version of POKEY with just the shift
registers, control latches and square wave output and
maybe get 8-12 channels (instead of 4) 1n a smaller (24-pin?)
package. then the investment in RPM would still be useful.
At any rate, I agree with Dan - no need to worry at this time with 54,000
good die in inventory. We will need to re-visit this in 9 months
or so (6/86) when POKEY supplies will have been depleted by the GAUNTLET
Production run!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the original VAX message for reference:
CURRENT INVENTORY OF DIE: 54,000+
PAAUW RECENTLY EXAMINED 1 WAFER AND NOTICED THAT ONLY 25% OF THE
DIE WERE GOOD - THE OTHER 75% HAD A "RED DOT" INDICATING A FAILED PART.
IF THIS YIELD HOLDS FOR ALL THE WAFERS THEN WE REALLY HAVE 54000/4=13500 DIE.
LOOKS LIKE WE NEED TO:
1) VERIFY DIE YIELD
2) CHECK WITH ATARI CORP ON AVAILABILITY OF MORE POKEY DICE.
3) DESIGN IN A NEW SOUND CHIP IN ALL DESIGNS NOW ON PAPER, EG.
SYSTEM 3D AND BEYOND
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::SHEPPERD 9-SEP-1985 12:26:24.01
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Shareable libraries...
Those of you that have linked programs to the shareable libraries will
have to re-link them. This happens with each new release of VMS and is
an inconvience. For programs that are used by everybody (such as AS68K),
it is worthwhile to link them shareable. For programs that are only run
once in a while and/or by only one person, it isn't necessary to link
them shareable and you can avoid having to re-link each time a new VMS
or compiler is installed by NOT linking them shareable. In case you're
confused, then the following in an options file are:
VAXCRTL.EXE/SHARE !means to link to shareable library
VAXCRTL !means to link to non-shareable library
using C as an example.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 9-SEP-1985 18:03:48.55
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: DIO volunteers anyone?
I need some assistance. We have max'd out the capabilities of our DIO's.
They currently each hold 64k bytes of memory and because of hardware
limitations (who will ever need more than 64k?) cannot be upgraded to
contain more. Since we are starting to use 27512's (64k bytes in one
EPROM), this is cramping everyone's style. DIO tells me that we can
buy (for a few thousand bucks) the latest and greatest model 29B which
doesn't have the 64k limitation. We can also get their gang programmer
which has 128k (not limited to, however) and 20 (count 'em, T-W-E-N-T-Y)
sockets that each can be programmed with different data. The gang programmer
is a model 121 and I've been lead to believe that production has (or had)
several and one of them might be "extra".
Here's where the volunteer stuff comes in. I need somebody to run this
down, see what can be done and how much it'll cost, etc. The one(s) who
use the DIO the most stand the most to gain by 'fixing' what we've got
and/or making recommendations for what we should get in the future. Atari
corp's production and engineering used IMI programmers which were better
than the DIO's, so maybe you can hunt one of those down. Anybody got nuthin
to do who wants to design and build a new one?
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::PAAUW 9-SEP-1985 18:38:39.19
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: SYSTEM I CART 2 & COCKTAIL
THE SPLIT SCREEN INTERRUPT ADDED TO THE LATEST CART BOARD CAUSES PROBLEMS
IN ITS CURRENT CONFIGURATION. THE LEVEL 3 INTERRUPT CAN BE LOCKED ON IN
TWO WAYS. FIRST, THE LATCH CAN POWER UP WITH AN INTERRUPT REQUEST OR,
SECONDLY, IT CAN BE LEFT SET BY THE RAM TEST. THE INTERRUPT IS NORMALLY
CLEARED BY THE FETCH OF THE SECOND LINE OF PICTURE CODE "FFFF". IN THE
OLDER GAMES THIS OBVIOUSLY WILL NEVER OCCUR AND THE GAMES WOULD BE LOCKED
UP.
THE PROPOSED FIX IS AS FOLLOWS:
SINCE POWER ON RESET IS NOT SENT TO THE CART, I AM PLANNING ON USING
"SOUND RESET" TO INHIBIT THE LEVEL 3 INTERRUPT. THE INTERRUPT WILL BE
ENABLED BY READING THE PORT AT ADDRESS 240,000. THIS SHOULD MAKE THE
CIRCUIT COMPATIBLE WITH PROGRAMS THAT IGNORE IT (ASSUMING THAT A "SOUND
RESET" IS ISSUED BEFORE LEVEL 3 INTERRUPTS ARE ENABLED
). PROGRAMS THAT USE THE INTERRUPT WILL HAVE TO ENABLE IT BY READING
ADDRESS 240,00 BEFORE IT IS EXPECTED TO BE USED AND WILL HAVE TO RE-ENABLE
IT AFTER EVERY SUBSEQUENT "SOUND RESET".
IF THERE ARE ANY COMMENTS OR OBJECTIONS TO THIS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP.
DON
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RUSTY 11-SEP-1985 11:48:35.32
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,RUSTY
CC:
Subj: NEWSFLASH!!!
Today, per Jim Wallen (straight from AMD along with our samples).
The latest CURRENT price for 27512's is ...
(ARE YOU READY!)
$9.00 in production quantities (1000's) for -3s
slightly higher (negotiable) for -2s
LESS by year's end!
Rusty
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 12-SEP-1985 18:10:49.96
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Thieves...
Ok, who took them? We're missing two CIT-101 terminals. One was in the
analog lab and the other was in the main telephone closet downstairs
sans keyboard. Please return them or tell me where they are. Thank you.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 16-SEP-1985 17:40:30.09
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Gulp....A new editor...
Announcing a new editor: TPU for Text Processing Utility. There's
a file UTL$MAC:NEWTPU.TXT that you can peruse at your convience with
details about how to use it and stuff.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::AVL 17-SEP-1985 13:31:30.94
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: Battery RAM
I've assigned Atari P/N 137442-150 for the 'Zero Power' RAM chip on cer#3842.
The only vendor listed is Mostek #MK48Z02B-15.
If you need a copy of the CER or data, come on down and grab it.
J Bell
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 17-SEP-1985 19:50:44.46
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: New section file for TPU
I've updated the TPU section file in UTL$EXE. The new options are:
You can exit via VAXTPU command EX, EXI or EXIT
Type GOLD/I to include a file (prompts for filename) into
the aux_buffer (it will do a Gold/W for you).
Type GOLD/U to include a file to be updated at exit
(Same as "include", except TPU will write a new version
of the file if you make changes in the aux_buffer).
Buffer and file names reported on the aux_window status line
Changes upcoming (later):
GOLD/F to cause current window to grow to full screen size
Execute EDTEM commands with GOLD/7.
Single key adjustment of aux window size (inc/dec).
Tab adjust line mode command
Vertical cursor movement accounting for tabs
Probably others...
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 18-SEP-1985 12:11:43.95
To: @ALPHAGANG.DIS
CC:
Subj: AMOA Update
The AMOA show is scheduled for 10/31-11/2/85 in Chicago this year. This
of course is THE trade show for the Game and Coin-operated Industry.
The name of the game this year is Cost Reduction. Hence, a new booth has
been designed; you can see a Blueprint on the wall near Dan Van's office.
This booth is 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the previous booth and has room
for up to 12 games, an information booth, a conference room and a storage room.
At this stage the game line-up is: (4) Gauntlets, (3) Temple of Dooms and
either (2) Roadrunners or (2) Paperboys - depends on what shape Roadrunner
is in by show time. There will be (2) overhead displays set up on Gauntlet
and a third overhead display showing a video tape. All the games will come
from production - Engineering will supply the 3 overhead displays and
associated paraphernalia, and (2) roadrunner kits. (for a real surprise,
read Websters definition of paraphernalia below...).
Attendence will be extremely limited - around 25 people total with around
half of that being Engineering Personnel. When you consider that the main
purpose of a show is to sell games, I think having as much as half the
attendees from Engineering is pretty good. At this point the Attendence list
includes Opperman, Rains, Van Elderen, Moore, and Downend. Then each
electrical team (Alpha and Omega) will be allowed to bring 4 team members
each. With Gauntlet and Temple of Doom definitely at the show, four members
from those projects have been invited: Bob Flanagan, Pat McCarthy,
Peter Lipson, and Dave Ralston. All members of Alpha-team attending the
show will fly out early Wednesday morning, Oct. 30th to help with set-up.
We will be returning late Saturday night, Nov. 2nd.
For those of you who are considering attending at your own expense, here
are some numbers:
- round-trip to Chicago: $238.00; from San Jose or San Francisco.
Atari can make these reservations - please let me know.
- One night lodging (sharing a room) - $50.00
Atari has reseved a larger than necessary block of rooms which
will be held until 10/1/85 - please let me know if you're interested.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote: Webster's definition of Paraphernalia:
1: The separate real or personal property of a married woman that
she can dispose of by will and sometimes according to common law
during her life.
2: personal belongings
3: a) articles of equipment: furnishings
b) accessory items
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 19-SEP-1985 10:21:03.70
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: DIO
The DIO works again. I put in the auto-F/P select code so for EPROM's of
27128A and above, you don't have to be specific about either the device
number or the manufacturer. I.E. to program a 27256 you can specify a
DIO>DEVICE any_garbage_you_care_to_type_in
because the DIO (somehow) can find out the EPROM type and manufacturer
right from the EPROM (in socket 1) itself. My DIO programs will fall
back to using the "any_garbage_..." if the DIO can't figure out what
part is installed.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::WIEBENSON 21-SEP-1985 10:42:20.47
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: High speed CMOS
HC series IC's may be a magic cure for some of our noise problems
associated with development system hookups. The noise immunity of
these IC's is far better than Schmitt Triggers with the same delay.
There is another series called HCT that should not be confused with
HC because HCT input levels are the same as TTL and so offer little
noise immunity.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::GRAHAM 23-SEP-1985 10:24:15.47
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj:
We have the new PO Box for Milpitas so it would be a good
idea to start changing the address on all those magazines
you want to keep getting when we move.
P.O. Box 361110
Milpitas, CA 95035
Changing the address now will save us money on forwarding them
after we move.
Karen Graham
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::BROWN 23-SEP-1985 10:50:20.80
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: DENTAL CLAIM
I GOT IN TOUCH WITH YOUR DENTAL REP AT JOHN HANCOK THIS MORNING AND
UPON CHECKING THE COMPUTER, SHE SAID THAT THE LAST DENTAL CLAIM THEY
HAD RECEIVED FROM YOU WAS IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. YOU MIGHT WANT
TO CHECK WITH YOUR DENTIST'S OFFICE TO VERIFY THE ADDRESS TO WHICH
THEY SENT THE CLAIM. THE CORRECT ADDRESS IS:
CALL BOX 1501
BRYN MAR, PA 19010
SANDI
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MURPHY 23-SEP-1985 12:49:55.12
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: EVELYN WOODHEAD
duz a unybudy haf a atare tap ricordr i kan yuz too lern howe too sped read?
az sune az i lern howe too sped red i kan pa u bakc bi bing yr prsonl seckretryty fore az lhawng az u lik!
ore i kan teech u howe too serf n yr bithtub r pla th bhinjo.
izent ths phun?
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 23-SEP-1985 17:54:38.10
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: DIO and MIXIT updates
MIXIT has been updated. The /WORD=n and /GROUP=m options now work (on
input files only, those options on output filenames are ignored for now).
DIO accepts n bit words (multiples of 8) and will try to program whole
words into n/8 EPROMS. If word size times EPROM size is greater than the
available memory in the DIO, it will automatically switch to programming
1 EPROM and will prompt for group number.
A word about group numbers. From the VAX's and DIO's point of view, all
words are organised the same, that is, bytes are stored in the file in
increasing significance and bits within the each byte are mapped directly
to the corresponding bit in the EPROM. In other words, higher addressed
bytes are assumed higher significance in the word. The Gangpak will
program n-byte words into n EPROMS simultaneously. Assuming 16 bit words,
the Gangpak will program:
fileoffset +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 ...
-----------------------------------
socket # 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 ...
If the word size were 24, then the Gangpak would program:
fileoffset +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 ...
-----------------------------------
socket # 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 ...
MIXIT and DIO (in group mode) behave exactly the same. MIXIT will extract
every nth byte from the input file starting with the group_number divided
by 8. Presently the group_number is the power of 2 significance of the
bit in the word and must be a multiple of 8. I.e. (in VAX/T11/6502 addressing)
Group bits fileoffset (=byte number)
0 0-7 +0
8 8-15 +1
16 16-23 +2
24 24-31 +3
etc.
If the majority would prefer that the group number be a byte number (0-3
in the above example), I would be willing to change it.
The important thing to remember is that the 68000 operates contrary to this
scheme. Bytes are addressed by DECREASING significance so the concept of
low byte/high byte should not be used. Instead use the fileoffset value
as an indicator of the EPROM contents (meaning I should really change the
group code to be a byte number).
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RUNNER 24-SEP-1985 18:03:17.32
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,RUNNER
CC:
Subj: Bad Bug in Vax C (and in some PPS utilities)
Just a polite warning to anyone using any C programs: (i.e. I
just got chomped upon by this bug):
When using formatted input via VAX C, if you request a hex
(i.e. %x) conversion, any solitary zero will be dropped from the input
string. For example, if you type '0,4000' as an input address range, the
'0' will be ignored, and the program will only see a single input
item of '4000'.
So far, at least two pps utilities (pbfmm and sys1gr) have this
bug.
A quick fix is to never allow zeros to be alone -- type 2 or more
in a row and the C input routine will notice the number correctly.
I.E. type the previous address range as '00,4000' and it should be read ok.
G
R
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::TRAEGER 25-SEP-1985 17:43:04.19
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE COIN OP TRAIL
FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE COIN-OP TRAIL
FOR THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS I HAVE BEEN TRAVELLING ACROSS THE LAND, TALKING WITH
DISTRIBUTORS AND OPERATORS, AND LEARNING HOW TO SELL OUR PRODUCTS. THIS MEMO
WILL TRY TO SUMMARIZE SOME OF THE THINGS I HAVE LEARNED DURING THESE TRAVELS.
I. GENERAL INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
IT DOES SEEM THAT THE INDUSTRY IS COMING BACK SOMEWHAT. MOST DISTRIBUTORS
HAVE BEEN STATING THAT THEIR BUSINESS SEEMS TO BE PICKING UP SOMEWHAT AND
THAT THE OPERATORS ARE STARTING TO BECOME MORE HUNGRY FOR PRODUCT THAN THEY
HAVE BEEN IN SOME TIME.
OPERATORS, TOO, HAVE BEEN SEEING MORE POSITIVE SIGNS. ON AVERAGE, I WOULD
SAY THAT OPERATORS EARNINGS HAVE BEEN UP AROUND 5% OVER THE SAME PERIOD
LAST YEAR. WHILE THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE REAL HIGH OF AN INCREASE, IT'S
A LOT BETTER THAN THE 20% DECLINES WE'VE SEEN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
THE GENERAL FEELING AMONG OPERATORS AS TO THE COMEBACK OF THE INDUSTRY STEMS
FROM A COUPLE DIFFERENT REASONINGS. FOR ONE, THE OPERATOR IS BEGINNING TO
FEEL THAT MANUFACTURERS HAVE BEEN COMING OUT WITH BETTER PRODUCT LATELY...
AND THIS PRODUCT IS STIMULATING INCREASED REVENUE. AS WELL, I THINK THE
OPERATOR IS FEELING BETTER ABOUT THE MANUFACTURERS ABILITY TO PRODUCE GOOD
PRODUCT AND REASONABLE PRICES. ESPECIALLY WELL LIKED ARE THE SEVERAL
SYSTEMS AVAILABLE (NINTENDO'S AND OURS) AS WELL AS THE WIDE VARIETY OF LOW-
PRICED KIT PRODUCT.
GOING INTO THE AMOA, ONE THING IS CERTAIN...THE OPERATORS WHO ARE LEFT IN
BUSINESS SEEM TO BE THE OLDER, ESTABLISHED GUYS WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND THE
BLOCK A FEW TIMES. THEY SEEM PRETTY BUSINESS SMART AND WON'T JUST BUY
ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT. THEY CONSIDER ROI ISSUES CAREFULLY AND MAKE
DECISIONS BASED ON THE EFFECTS TO THEIR WHOLE ROUTE. THEY SEEM TO BE
EXTREMELY PRICE SENSITIVE AND WILL USUALLY OPT FOR LOW PRICED WHOLE GAMES
AND KITS TO COVER THEIR ENTIRE ROUTES RATHER THAN INVEST HUGE SUMS OF
MONEY FOR A LOT OF HIGHER PRICED EQUIPMENT, EVEN THOUGH THAT EQUIPMENT
MAY BE EARNING MORE THAN THE LOWER PRICED STUFF.
II. WHAT'S HOT OUT THERE
ONE OF THE HOTTEST THINGS GOING IN THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW IS CLASSIFIED
AS "REDEMPTION EQUIPMENT". THESE ARE THOSE CRANE GAMES, ETC. THAT YOU
PUT COINS INTO, MOVE A CRANE ARM AROUND, AND TRY TO PICK UP PRIZES LIKE
LITTLE STUFFED ANIMALS, RUBBER SPIDERS, PLAYING CARDS, ETC. THESE
THINGS ARE EARNING A TON OF MONEY ALL OVER THE COUNTRY (WHERE THEY'RE
LEGAL) AND HAVE A LOT OF DISTRIBUTORS AND LARGER OPERATORS EXCITED.
THEY ARE TYPICALLY QUITE EXPENSIVE (6-7,000 BUCKS) AND ALSO REQUIRE A
WEEKLY INVESTMENT IN PRIZES BY THE OPERATOR.
ANOTHER HOT CATEGORY, PARTICULARLY IN THE MID-WEST AND EAST COAST ARE
"ACTION ORIENTED" PIECES SUCH AS SKEE-BALL AND ELECTRONIC DARTS...
PARTICULARLY ELECTRONIC DARTS. IN THE MID-WEST SOME DISTRIBUTORS SHOW
ROOMS LOOKED LIKE DART SUPPLY SHOPS WITH ALL SORTS OF DART ACCESSORIES FOR
SALE. AS WELL, MANY DART LEAGUES HAVE FORMED IN THE BARS AND STREET
LOCATIONS AND SEEM TO HAVE GREATLY SPURRED ON THE INTEREST OF ELECTRONIC,
PUB-TIME DART ACTIVITY. INTERESTINGLY, DART ACTIVITY OUT ON THE WEST
COAST IS NEXT TO NIL, WITH MOST THINKING THE CLIMATE HAS MUCH TO DO WITH
IT'S LACK OF SUCCESS...BUT, WOW, IT'S BIG BACK EAST!!
OPERATORS ALSO SEEM QUITE APPRECIATIVE OF THE SEVERAL CONVERSION SYSTEMS
THAT HAVE BEEN PRODUCED. THEY DO SEEM TO FEEL THAT SYSTEMS ARE GOOD FOR
THEIR BUSINESS AND THAT MANUFACTURERS HAVE REALLY ATTEMPTED TO HELP THEM
WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEMS. ONE THING, HOLDING THEM BACK, HOWEVER, IS
A VERY REAL APPREHENSION THAT SOME MANUFACTURERS ARE NOT AS DEDICATED TO
SYSTEMS AS THEY WOULD CLAIM TO BE. IT WILL TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO PROVE TO
OPERATORS THAT OUR SYSTEMS ARE FOR REAL, BUT THEY ARE COMING AROUND. THE
RELEASE OF "DOOM" IS MEANING GREAT THINGS TO THE OPERATOR'S BELEIF THAT, HEY
THE ATARI SYSTEM IS FOR REAL. WE MUST CONTINUE TO ENFORCE TO THE OPERATORS
THAT WE ARE DEDICATED TO THE SYSTEM APPROACH, IF WE INTEND ON INCREASING THE
BASE OF UNITS.
WHILE SPEAKING OF WHAT IS HOT AND ON THE SUBJECT OF SYSTEMS, I WOULD BE
REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION...NINTENDO. TO BE SURE, THESE GUYS ARE VERY
HOT RIGHT NOW, AND OPERATORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY SEEM TO FEEL VERY STRONGLY
THAT NINTENDO HAS DONE MORE FOR THEM THAN ANY MANUFACTURER IN THE PAST
SEVERAL YEARS HAS. WHILE THEY WILL ADMIT THAT MOST OF THEIR GAMES ARE NOT
THAT GREAT AS EARNERS, THEY ARE EAGER TO POINT OUT THEIR UNBELEIVABLEY LOW
COST AND GREAT ROI BECAUSE OF THE LOW COST. THEY ALSO LOOK TO NINTENDO AS
FIRST OUT WITH A SYSTEM AND HIGHLY SUPPORTIVE OF THEIR SYSTEM OFFERING MANY,
MANY GAMES AT THIS POINT IN TIME COMPARED TO THE COMPETITION. ONE THING
NINTENDO DID THAT REALLY WENT OVER BIG WITH OPERATORS WAS OFFERING THEIR
UNISYSTEM AS A CONVERSION FOR OTHER GAMES, NAMELY DONKEY KONG. WHILE THEY
INITIALLY STRUGGLED TO SELL BASE UNITS, IT SEEMS LIKE OFFERING THE SYSTEM
FOR CONVERSION OF DONKEY KONG AT A REASONABLE PRICE REALLY DID THE TRICK.
A FINAL WORD HERE, WOULD BE THAT IT DOES APPEAR THAT OLDER ORIENTED GAMES
HAVE BEEN DOING QUITE WELL. SEVERAL OPERATORS AND DISTRIBUTORS TOLD ME THAT
THEIR NUMBER ONE PIECE THIS YEAR HAS BEEN THE QUIZ GAME TRIV WHIZ. WHILE
THIS GAME DOESN'T SHOW UP IN POLLS AND AT ARCADES, I THINK THAT OVER THE
BROAD SPECTRUM, OPERATORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHOSE BREAD AND BUTTER
ARE DEFINATELY THE BARS AND GIN MILLS, NOT ARCADES, WOULD MAKE THE SAME
CLAIM AS DID OUR DISTRIBUTOR DAVE GILFOR, OF ACTIVE AMUSEMENTS IN PHILLY...
..."I THANK GOD FOR TRIVIA GAMES THIS YEAR!"
III. COMPETITOR UPDATE
HERE'S A BRIEF UPDATE AS TO NEW GAMES AND RUMORS I HEARD OUT ON THE ROAD,
MOST OF THIS STUFF SHOULD SHOW UP AT AMOA.
NINTENDO:
NINTENDO HAS TWO NEW GAMES FOR THEIR UNISYSTEM. A SOCCER GAME THAT REALLY
LOOKED LOUSY SHOULD NOT BE A FACTOR IN THE MARKETPLACE AT ALL, REGARDLESS
OF COST. ANOTHER GAME MACH RIDER LOOKED REALLY PRETTY BAD, BUT MAY DO OK
FOR THEIR SYSTEM..IT IS RATHER POOR QUALITY POLE POSITION ON MOTORCYCLE
WITH SHOOTING AND OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE THROWN IN...STINKO!
THERE IS ALSO RUMOR OF A ARM WRESTLING CONVERSION FOR THE BASE OF PUNCH
OUT GAMES THAT ARE OUT THERE. APPARANTELY, HOWEVER, THE GAME IS NOT
TESTING THAT WELL, AND SINCE IS NOT DEVELOPED BY THEIR HOME DESIGNERS
FOR THE UNISYSTEM, MIGHT BE QUITE EXPENSIVE, I.E. SUPER PUNCH OUT.
THE OTHER THING THEY HAVE DONE IS COME OUT WITH A CONVERSION SET-UP FOR
PAC-MAN THAT ALLOWS THOSE OLD PAC-MAN GAMES TO BE CONVERTED INTO, YOU
GUESSED IT, UNISYSTEMS. HOWEVER, THEY ARE HAVING SOME PROBLEMS WITH
THIS CONCEPT AND OPERATORS ARE NOT EXACTLY GOING FOR IT AS THEY DID WITH
THE DONKEY KONG UNISYSTEMS...THE PROBLEMS ARE FOURFOLD...THE PAC KIT IS
EXPENSIVE (MORE THAN THE DONKEY VERSION AND ALMOST AS MUCH AS A NEW
UNISYSTEM)...IT IS A VERY DIFFICULT CONVERSION...MANY OPERATORS ARE
RELUCTANT TO CONVERT PAC MAN'S...AND MANY OF THE PAC MAN'S HAVE BURNED
IN MAZES IN THE MONITORS AND THE CONVERSION'S LOOK REALLY POOR BEHIND THE
PHOSPHUR BURNS.
BALLY/SENTE:
NOTHING REALLY TO REPORT HERE, EXCEPT FOR A FOUR PLAYER HAT TRICK THAT IS
PRESENTED IN A NEW FOUR PLAYER TABLE TOP CONFIGURATION, NOT FOR THE
EXISTING SENTE CABINET THAT ALREADY HAS BEEN CHANGED BEFORE. THIS SEEMS
TO HAVE REALLY TICKED OFF OPERATORS AND DISTRIBUTORS WHO WERE HOPING THIS
PIECE TO BE A CONVERSION FOR THEIR EXISTING SENTE SYSTEMS.
BALLY HAS SHOWN NOTHING NEW EXCEPT FOR YET ANOTHER ARTICLE BY BOB MULLANE,
THEIR CEO, IN BOTH CHICAGO PAPERS STATING THAT HE DID NOT OPTIMISTICALLY
FEEL THAT BALLY WOULD BE A FORCE IN THE COIN-OP MARKETPLACE VERY MUCH
LONGER...IN FACT HE SAID SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT THAT BRINGING BACK
BALLY'S ENGINEERING FORCE TO ANYTHING LIKE IT ONCE WAS WOULD BE..."ALMOST
IMPOSSIBLE."
DATA EAST:
THESE GUYS SEEM LIKE THEY WILL COOL-OFF SOON BECAUSE THEY DON'T SEEM TO
HAVE ANYTHING TO GOOD UP THEIR SLEAVES...(MAYBE THAT'S WHY TOM PETTIT AND
JOLLY BACKER JUST LEFT?)...BUT YOU NEVER CAN BE SURE WITH DATA EAST...THEY
ALWAYS SEEM TO PULL RABBITS OUT OF THEIR HATS.
THEY HAVE TESTED A SHOOTING GAME CALLED "SHOOT-OUT" THAT IS SUPPOSEDLY NOT
DOING THAT GREAT AND IS ALLREADY APPARENTLY SELLING AT ROCK BOTTOM CLOSE-
OUT PRICES. ALSO, WE KNOW THEY HAVE "TANK" WHICH WE HAD IN-HOUSE AND WERE
NOT TO CRAZY ABOUT, RIGHT?
WILLIAMS:
THEY HAVE DONE IT AGAIN WITH ANOTHER SUPERB PIN-BALL GAME CALLED "COMET".
THIS ONE IS REALLY, REALLY FUN TO PLAY AND OFFERS TONS OF ACTION UTILIZING
AN AMUSEMENT PARK THEME. IT OFFERS GREAT SOUND EFFECTS AND THE FIRST EVER
1 MILLION POINT SHOT...WILL MAKE PEOPLE FORGET ABOUT SPACE SHUTTLE...ROGER
SHARPE WILL LOVE IT (BUT IT DOES END ROGER!) AND HE'LL UNDOUBTEDLY CALL IT
GAME OF THE SHOW AT THE UPCOMING AMOA.
INCIDENTALLY, THE GAME IS ON TEST AT OUTER LIMITS MT. VIEW IF YOU WANT TO
PLAY WITH IT.
CINEMATRONICS:
SURPRISINGLY, THESE GUYS ARE STILL AROUND...BUT PROBABLY JUST BARELY.
THEY HAVE A SYSTEM OUT AND ARE SHOWING A PRETTY DECENT 2-PLAYER SOCCER
GAME CALLED "POWER PLAY". IT IS PLAYED LIKE SOCCER BUT YOU CAN PUNCH
OUT YOUR OPPONENT AND HIS GOALIE WITH A PUNCH BUTTON. HEARING THAT IT
IS NOT DOING THAT GREAT ON TEST.
I HAVE ALSO HEARD ABOUT A BASEBALL GAME APPARENTLY CALLED "WORLD SERIES:
THE SEASON". DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT IT BUT THEIR SYSTEM DOES HAVE
VERY GOOD GRAPHICS AND SOUND CAPABILITIES, JUDGING FROM THE SOCCER PIECE.
KONAMI:
THEY HAVE BEEN SHOWING A NEW CONVERSION FOR ANY RASTER GAME CALLED
"RUSH N' ATTACK"...IT IS A RAMBO GAME ALL THE WAY AND IS REALLY PRETTY
GOOD. YOU ARE TRYING TO RESCUE A BUNCH OF TIED UP GREEN BERETS AND ARE
SNEAKING AROUND IN A RUSSIAN ARMY COMPLEX...IT'S COOL, YOU CAN KUNG-FU
RUSSIANS, SHOOT RUSSIANS, GRENADE RUSSIANS AND EVEN FLAME THROW THE PANTS
OFF OF THEM LITTLE COMMIE BASTARDS...REAGAN WILL LOVE IT...IT'S BEING
CALLED "GREEN BERETS" IN EUROPE BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL SCARED OF THE RUSKIES
OVER THERE.
SEGA:
APPARENTLY NOTHING NEW BESIDES HANG-ON, WHICH IS DOING PRETTY WELL BUT IS
RATHER EXPENSIVE. THESE GUYS ARE ALSO HEAVILY IN TO DOING THE AFORE
MENTIONED "REDEMPTION EQUIPMENT"...AND OFFER SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF
CRANE GAMES CURRENTLY.
ATARI:
I MUST MENTION THE UNBELEIVABLE REACTION WE HAVE BEEN GETTING FOR
"GAUNTLET". WORD IS DEFINATELY OUT THAT THE PIECE IS HOT AND THE WHOLE
INDUSTRY SEEMS TO BE VERY EXCITED BY IT'S EXPECTED RELEASE. EVEN
OUR MANUFACTURING COMPETITORS ARE SAYING THEY REALLY THINK THE PIECE IS
A GOOD ONE.
"TEMPLE" TOO IS REALLY DOING WELL AND SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN THE MARKET AWAY
FOR USED "MARBLE MADNESSES" ALMOST OVER NIGHT, AS OPERATORS SCRAMBLE TO
GET CHEAP BASE UNITS TO CONVERT. WITH THE USED CABINET MARKET GONE, AND
THE GAME DOING GREAT, WE SHOULD HAVE A REAL GOOD SHOT AT INCREASING THE
BASE UNITS OF SYSTEM 1.
THE BOY STILL HANGS! CHECK THE LATEST PLAY-METER POLL...
IV. SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS
WELL ALL THIS IS FINE AND DANDY, BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT CAN BE
DERIVED FROM ALL THIS THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO UTILIZE FOR PROFITABLE
FUTURE PRODUCTS:
1.REDEMPTION EQUIPMENT PSYCHOLOGY:
KIDS ARE FEEDING QUARTER AFTER QUARTER INTO THESE THINGS JUST TO GET A
STUPID EL-CHEAPO PRIZE...SHOULD WE THINK MORE SERIOUSLY ABOUT TRYING
TICKET DISPENSORS ON VIDEO GAMES TO AWARD PRIZES SOMEHOW TO PLAYERS?
IT SURE SEEMS TO DO GREAT THINGS TO EARNINGS REPORTS!!!
2.MORE ACTION ORIENTED OR ACTIVE GAMES
MAYBE THERE IS A WAY TO SOMEHOW COMBINE THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF, SAY, A
DART OR SKEEBALL GAME IN COMBINATION WITH VIDEO...GOLF IS REALLY BECOMING
A POPULAR SPORT OF THE MASSES, REMEMBER THE GOLF TRAINER?
3.BAR GAMES:
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE, BUT WE REALLY SHOULD CONSIDER DEVELOPING
SOME ADULT ORIENTED PIECES...SOME SORT OF TRIVIA OR QUIZ GAME COULD BE
SUCCESSFUL FOR A SYSTEM CONVERSION.
4. SYSTEMIZING OLDER EQUIPMENT:
IT SURE WORKED FOR NINTENDO, AND IT WOULD PROBABLY WORK WELL FOR US.
SOME OF THE OLD CENTIPEDES WOULD MAKE A GREAT BASE FOR SYSTEM 1 AND WE
COULD POSSIBLY THEN OFFER A SYSTEM 1 CENTIPEDE/MILLIPEDE KIT FOR THOSE
WHO WOULD WANT A SYSTEM BUT DON'T WANT TO GET RID OF THEIR CENTIPEDES.
THAT'S ALL FOLKS...UNTIL NEXT TIME,
DT
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 27-SEP-1985 20:18:17.30
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: TPU section file update
'tis the last update for many moons. The latest features of EDTEM are:
(in addition to previously mentioned features)
Gold/W - display aux window/make current window full screen
Gold/up_arrow - goto aux window
Gold/down_arrow - goto main window
Gold/I - read a file into aux_buffer for INSPECTION (read_only)
(NOT the same as INCLUDE file =AUX)
Gold/U - read a file into aux_buffer for UPDATE (auto-write on exit
or at next Gold/I or Gold/U)
Gold/L - Learn the following key strokes (macro creation)
Gold/R - Remember the previous keystrokes (macro end)
Up_arrow/Down_arrow take into tabs into account (works like EDT).
All EDTEM commands can be entered via Gold/KP7 (as well as TPU
commands. Gold/KP7 EXIT is VAXTPU exit however.)
Bells are turned off at EXIT
...working message on prompt line
You can adjust the size of windows by entering the VAXTPU command:
aux_size := bla_bla; !default is 8 (includes a status line)
full_screen := whatever; !default is 22 =
! 24 - 1 message line - 1 prompt line
You'll need to do a couple of Gold/W's to make the new sizes take effect.
There are no checks for legit values for these sizes, so if you set them
to something goofy, you may get some pretty wierd displays.
I'll fix bugs (maybe), but no more gizmos, please.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 28-SEP-1985 15:54:14.76
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Another TPU update
I forgot to mention three additional items:
Assign logical name TPU$EXT to the default file extension you
use or will be using frequently, such as .C or .B16. The
new EDTEM section file will apply this default to filenames
to be edited. (The system defualt is ".").
And left over from debug of the procedures:
Gold/C does: compile(select_range);edt$reset;
Gold/M toggles main_window between main_buffer and
message_buffer if current_window is main_window.
Incidently, only the last 20 messages are saved in message_buffer, not
all since edit startup.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::BROWN 30-SEP-1985 09:04:05.37
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj:
IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, EVELYN PEREZ IS MINUS HER BOW TIE. IN
FACT, SHE IS TOTALLY OUT OF UNIFORM....SHE IS ACTUALLY SITTING
BEHIND THE RECEPTIONIST DESK IN CIVIES. WELL, THERE IS AN ACCEPTABLE
EXPLANATION FOR THIS; AS OF FRIDAY, EVELYN BECAME AN OFFICIAL ATARI
EMPLOYEE! (HMMMM, I WONDER IF THE GOODIES WILL CONTINUE.)
IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO, GIVE EVELYN A BIG WELCOME!
SANDI
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RAINS 30-SEP-1985 15:38:50.40
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: The Amiga Cometh
I have seen the advertising on the tube, and I assume they wouldn't blow
those kind of bucks on vaporware, so I expect the computers to be hitting the
retail shelves REAL SOON NOW.
Since we are planning on using the Amiga as the hardware base for a new
personal animation workstation for the animators, I am interested in getting a
evaluation unit in here as soon as possible. Soooooo. . . if you hear of or
actually witness an Amiga in a store in the area, let me know where and when
so I can check it out.
<LVR>
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::BROWN 1-OCT-1985 11:19:35.80
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: HELP
IF ANYONE KNOWS THE WHEREABOUTS OF JOE CODDINGTON, PLEASE EITHER
LET ME KNOW OR GET IN CONTACT WITH HIM AND HAVE HIM CALL ME. THE
LAST ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER I HAVE FOR HIM IS NULL AND VOID AND
IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO HIM IF I FIND HIM.
SANDI
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RAINS 1-OCT-1985 12:27:08.23
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: to "C" hackers
WARNING: A lesson which might be less painful for you if you learn it here:
FILE *outfil;
char c; /* output char */
int err; /* putc() result code */
.
.
.
if ((err = putc(c, outfil)) == EOF) {
perror(" Output error in putc() - disk full? ");
return (ERROR);
}
.
.
.
This will screw up on binary files when (c = 0xFF) is output, because putc()
will return the sign extended argument, which will be EOF (-1) rather than 0xFF.
You need to either check ferr(outfil) on EOF, or call putc(c & 0xFF, outfil) to
suppress the sign extension. It ain't like getc()!!
OLD NEWS: Also, since getc and putc() are #define macros on some systems
(including UNIX), don't make calls like putc(*cp++, outfil), since the side
effect will blow up in your face. Use fgetc() and fputc(), which make proper
subroutine calls instead.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 1-OCT-1985 17:53:49.41
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: The Times they are a Changin'
I found some old notes today:
Dateline: October 1982
2732-300 EPROM's cost $4.50
2764-300 EPROM's cost $8.25
For Comparison:
Dateline: October 1985
27128-300 EPROM's cost $1.90
27256-300 EPROM's cost $3.75
That says that the cost per bit is about ONE-TENTH of what is was 3 years ago!
14 cents for a 1000 bits in 1982;
1.4 cents for a 1000 bits in 1985;
.14 cents for a 1000 bits in 1988???....271024 EPROMS for $1.43
Wow.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::SHEPPERD 2-OCT-1985 17:53:39.54
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: I lied...
...about the TPU section file being stable. I made one last (?) small change.
It will look for a file pointed to by TPU$INIT: to do last minute setups.
The file is assumed to be a .TPU file, is loaded into tpuinit_buffer and
executed. If the execution succeeds without errors, then the tpuinit_buffer
is deleted else it is left hanging around so you can edit it to fix it.
Useful to do customising for particular jobs. You can use UTL$COM:EDTINIT.TPU
as an example or as your setup file if'n you want. Assign TPU$INIT: to
a directory and file (defaults to .TPU).
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 3-OCT-1985 10:16:00.13
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: 6502 lives
6502 fans can upgrade to a 16-bit processor and still execute all existing
code with a new processor from Western Design Center called the 65C816.
- Designed by Bill Mensch
- CMOS
- 40 pin package
- 16 Megabyte address space
- emulates 6502 code "on-board"
- Two companies have announced APPLE II upgrade boards based on it.
For a little more info see article outside my office.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::BROWN 3-OCT-1985 14:02:06.83
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj:
THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION FOR LOCATING CODDINGTON, BUT I THINK I HAVE
FOUND A WAY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM EITHER BY PHONE OR COMPUTER.
SANDI
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::RITTER 4-OCT-1985 11:45:53.01
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: ((P ^ ~P) ^ ~(P ^ ~P))
In that fine Atari tradition, I wax philosophical, before I leave this
place. I have "tendered" my resignation.
I look around and I still see an incredible collection of funky creative
people. There is still some of "that old magic" that first impressed me when
I joined Atari. I hope the kinds of games that come out of your heads
continue to be far out. I think Atari will consistently put out several
successful games a year, and I don't forsee any other place, not even Data
East, being able to do that. Keep on doing that Voodoo you do.
I hope the games will be leaders and not followers. For what it's worth,
I personally like the kind of game that transports the player to a world
previously unimagined, something a computer can do so well (eg, M.M.). I
think accelerator is one of those types, and I wish it the best. I remember
what first attracted me to video games was that ability to create a
concrete abstract world. ( "concrete abstraction": I like that). But
then that was the days of dancing geometric vector games.
God how I hated Pac Man. I have this knack for liking unpopular games,
and hating popular ones. Fred Silverman has a golden gut. I have a tin one.
However, it's better to know what you like than to know what others like.
Besides, Silverman is fatter than I am.
I must say how much I enjoyed being part of The Last Starfighter team.
One thing I have learned at Atari is that I function much better as a team
member. I regret my situation on my current project, where I am the only
implementor. I dont seem to very good in that role. (Yes, I'm bitching now).
I have been on the interview trail the last 4 weeks, and I have
discovered that there are more suitable environments for me than this one.
"Let he who is without sin get stoned first".
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VICKERS 7-OCT-1985 10:50:35.14
To: MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: Yamaha reset pulse width
If this chip is like one of their other sound chips, the reset
pulse width is probably minimum 80 cycles =~ 22 usec.
Earl
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ALBAUGH 7-OCT-1985 16:07:46.82
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: New Utility- QDF
I have written a "Quick and Dirty Formatter" to translate
an Intermetrics .AB file to an extended Tekhex .HEX file. It
will also include the symbol table in a form palatable to the
Applied Microsystems. To use it, first define a symbol like:
QDF :== $ UTL$EXE:QDF
in your login.com file (or wherever). Then format a file with:
QDF filename
This is a simplified form of:
QDF infile[.AB] [outfile[.HEX]] [/S=[symfile[.SYM]]] [/W[=width]]
which is what it will tell you if you say "QDF ?". A detailed
explanation of switches and options is in DOK:QDF.DOC, but
simply, the "infile", with default extension ".AB" is read and
converted to extended tekhex which is written to the "outfile",
with optional extension ".HEX". If the /S switch is present
with a filename (default extension ".SYM"), the symbols will
be output also. If only "/S" is present (no filename), the
symbols will be included in outfile.HEX. The /W switch sets
the width of the output lines. The default is 80 columns.
"/W" alone (no parameter) is equivalent to "/W=132".
The merged output should make downloading a little
easier, and the longer lines (even 80 is longer than usual)
should make it faster. QDF takes about 1/4 the time of CFOR,
plus 5% more if symbols are included. I make no representation
that this program is the general solution to all formatting
needs, nor that it will prevent tooth decay in rats. It is
intended as a quick substitute for CFOR and GENSYM.
Mike
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 8-OCT-1985 11:38:21.04
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: An undocumented feature of TPU (aka bug)
I didn't know it did this and it may cause you a problem later:
At each edit startup, TPU automatically searches for, opens
and reads in a file named TPUINI.TPU from the current
default directory (SYS$DISK:[]). It does this after the
the section file init and command file (if any) specified
on a /COMMAND option has been read in. This means it is
possible (if using UTL$EXE:DMSEDTSECINI) to have 3 startup
command files:
First - any specified by logical TPU$INIT:
Second - any specified by /COMMAND at DCL level
Third - a TPUINI.TPU file located in the current
default directory.
The TPUINI.TPU file can be a real problem if you've created a bad one
(maybe an infinite loop in it or something), and try to use TPU to fix
it!
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 10-OCT-1985 12:14:17.95
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: Commute time to Milpitas
WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
Do NOT try to reduce the commute time to Milpitas by hustling along
Barber Lane. The speed limit is 40, and it is enforced routinely. Apparently
this has become quite a profit center for the city of Milpitas--the cops
are out there quite often. The stretch they watch seems to be under-rated;
if you drive at what seems a comfortable speed, they will probably make
you uncomfortable.
As they say in some comic books, 'Nuff sed.
WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
Had this been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed in
which direction to face to see it coming. This has been a public service
message brought to you by the VAX Broadcasting System.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::GRAHAM 11-OCT-1985 11:34:46.88
To: @SYS$MAIL:VANGANG
CC:
Subj:
Well, I'm preparing my retirement as the only
secretary in Engineering. As I'm sure you know,
Cyndy Grossman is returning on Monday as Dan and
Lyle's secretary. It's been a hectic two months
but we all made it! I just wanted to thank
everyone for the support I received when I needed
it. You responded when I hollered HELP! I'm sure
I wasn't able to give you the amount of support
you were used to but you understood the situation
and never grumbled (at least where I could hear
you!). I think this really showed we've still got
that old Atari spirit. Anyway, this did give me
a chance to get to know Electrical Engineering
alot better and put some names and faces together
for the first time.
Special thanks to Design Services, who I'm sure
felt orphaned at times.
Anyway, it's all behind us now and HAPPY DAYS ARE
HERE AGAIN, let's give a big cheer for CYNDY!!!!!!
(It's been real, but I'm glad the cavalry
finally arrived!)
Karen
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ALBAUGH 14-OCT-1985 17:13:52.24
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Creeping Featuritis (Moose Turd Pie?)
Per Messr Peter Lipson's request, I have added an
option to QDF which will allow you to omit the RAM portion
of your .HEX files. The switch is "/R" and is described in
the updated DOK:QDF.DOC. Briefly, to format a file without
RAM initialization use:
$ QDF file/R=0-3FFFFF
(assuming System I memory map). This little feature exacts
a performance penalty of 4% whether you use it or not. That
is, formats now take 26% as much time as CFOR did instead
of 25%. If this is intolerable, duke it out with Lipson and
let the winner tell me what to do about it.
Have Fun,
Mike
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RALSTON 17-OCT-1985 10:18:07.52
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: PARTYDOWN....PARTYDOWN....PARTYDOWN....PARTYDOWN....PARTYDOWN
AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, DON "GEEK" TRAEGER IS LEAVING ATARI
TO EITHER JOIN THE ARMY OR GO INTO PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDING. HIS LAST
DAY IS TOMORROW (FRIDAY). WHAT BETTER REASON TO PARTYDOWN?!!!!!!!!!!!
SO JOIN US FOR WHAT SHOULD PROVE TO BE THE UGLIEST OF SEND-OFFS.
EVENT: JAHAMMADOW PARTY
PLACE: ST. JAMES INFIRMARY (WE'VE GOT THE WHOLE
BACK ROOM RESERVED)
WHEN: FRIDAY, 11:45--CCH (COWS COME HOME)
WHY: PARTYDOWN, PARTYDOWN
ATTIRE: UGLY
PLEASE R.S.V.P. PROMPTLY TO JACKIE SHERMAN (EXT. 2744).
PLEASE HELP US SEND THE BIG BABY OFF RIGHT. (EVEN IF YOU DON'T CARE
WHAT THE GEEK DOES, ST. JAMES HAS GREAT BURGERS.)
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::MOTT 17-OCT-1985 14:55:44.36
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Who is this Mott person anyway?
Yes, I really am the same person, but I decided to confuse
everybody and change my name. Instead of sending mail to ERNIE::OBRIEN,
you can reach me by sending mail to ERNIE::MOTT (my 'home' node). See,
it's not really that confusing, and you don't have to type as many
characters either!
Stephanie Mott (aka O'Brien)
(no, I didn't change my first name)
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::TRAEGER 18-OCT-1985 18:38:55.61
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: LATER DATES
HI...I GUESS YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO ONE OF THESE HERE LETTERS TELLING WHY YOU'RE
LEAVING, COMPLAINING ABOUT SOMETHING, ETC.,ETC.
FRANKLY, I HAVE FOUND MOST OF THEM TO BE REALLY BORING AND VERY PRETENTIOUS, SO
I'LL TRY NOT TO BE.
IT IS TRUE I'M LEAVING, IT'S NOT TRUE THAT I HAVE SIGNED ON WITH THE CHICAGO
BEARS AS A DEFENSIVE LINEMAN TO FILL THE VOID THAT WAS CREATED WHEN THEY MOVED
WILLIAM "REFRIGERATOR" PERRY TO RUNNING BACK.
ANYWAYS, I THINK I'M GOING AT A TIME WHEN ATARI HAS LOOKED BETTER THAN IT HAS
IN THE THREE YEARS SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE...DEFINATELY FROM A PRODUCT
STANDPOINT...(NOT FROM A BEER BUST STANDPOINT THOUGH).
I'M GOING TO TRY MY HAND AT CONSUMER MARKETING IN THE SOFTWARE FIELD...CONSUMER
MARKETING IS SOMETHING I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY, AND THE COMPANY, ELECTRONIC
ARTS, SEEMS LIKE A GOOD PLACE TO TRY IT OUT. (I HOPE I DON'T END UP DRIVING
AROUND A MOBILE CAR WASH UNIT TO COMPANY PARKING LOTS, HOWEVER!)
I THINK YOU ARE ALL DOING WONDERFULL THINGS HERE THAT ARE VERY CREATIVE AND
ARE CLEARLY THE QUALITY LEADERS OF VIDEO GAME DESIGN IN THE WHOLE WORLD. I
HOPE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE IN SOME WAY...I'LL MISS YOU ALL...
TO CLOSE, I'D LIKE TO SAY:
KEEP MAKING AWESOME GAMES (THAT I CAN LICENSE AT E/A!)
NEVER MAKE A GAME WHERE YOU RUN OVER DOLLAR SIGNS
AND...
WHY A BIG SUIT?
LATER DATES,
DT
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RIVERA 21-OCT-1985 00:21:11.76
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,RIVERA
CC:
Subj: New Programmer
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the latest
addition to our programmer staff, Brion Dickinson. At his preliminary
interview last Saturday at 6:30 am, it was obvious that he measured up
to our 20" high standards. At 7 lbs 13 oz, I am sure that he will be a
hefty addition to our team. Having just finished his term project
(involving a rather laborious 9 month development cycle), it will be a
few weeks before he shows up at work. Be sure to greet him then in person.
G
R
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 21-OCT-1985 11:51:31.96
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: The fabulous battery operated static RAM.
Jed,
Sorry to inform you that I have just removed Mostek as the source
for the 2K x 8, 150ns, static RAM with battery, our part number 137442-150.
As you may have seen in the Mercury News, Mostek is going out of business.
Erwin.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VICKERS 21-OCT-1985 15:15:58.39
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Subgenius revival
Yes, it's time to be spiritually uplifted again. The enigmatic
Church of the Subgenius is making an appearance Saturday, November 9,
at the Stone in San Francisco. That which began as a parody of fundamentalist
Christianity now threatens to become the new religion of the masses.
HEAR the profound words of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs
SEE the launching of the bleeding head of Arnold Palmer
SING along with moving anti-music hymns like
"Told the Judge (to suck my ****)"
Pull the wool over your own eyes. You will pay $$$ to know what
you really believe. Only $7.50. Tickets available from Bass. See them
now, while it's still optional.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 22-OCT-1985 21:41:14.49
To: @sys$mail:engineer
CC:
Subj: Screen mode debugger
Some of you might appreciate a brief intro to the version 4 VMS
debugger. DEBUG works with all VMS languages, so C, BASIC, FORTRAN and
MACRO32 programmers can use it (even with mixed language programs). It
is a powerful debugger, but quite wordy, which can sometimes be rather
annoying. One of the best things about the debugger is screen mode
monitoring. In order to make full use of the screen mode, you need to
compile your programs /LIS/DEBUG and link them /DEBUG. This will cause
symbols and references to the listing file to be loaded in the
executable. DEBUG reads commands from DBG$INPUT and writes its output to
DBG$OUTPUT which are, by default, assigned to SYS$INPUT and SYS$OUTPUT
respectively. If your program expects input from SYS$INPUT and writes
output to SYS$OUTPUT AND you re-assigned them to other than your
terminal, you'll need to
$ ASSIGN SYS$COMMAND DBG$INPUT
$ ASSIGN SYS$COMMAND DBG$OUTPUT
sometime before you start your debugging. The debugger will
automatically startup when you run your program if you've linked it
/DEBUG. The only module it will know about will be the first one
specified in the link command. For example, a LINK command $ LINK
ONE,TWO,THREE/DEBUG would create an image, ONE, with three modules in
it: ONE, TWO and THREE. The debugger would know that there are 3
modules, but wouldn't know about any symbols and such about any but ONE.
You need to type a SET MODULE xxx to the DBG> prompt to get additional
modules. For you C programmers, debug becomes case sensitive at startup
so you need to type module names in UPPERCASE or it'll give you a
rasberry. DEBUG will attempt to open and execute a startup file
pointed to by DBG$INIT (if any) so you can create a file putting in it
any/all SET MODULE command(s) or anything else and point to it with
DBG$INIT to speed things up a bit. (Note: most commands and options can
be abbreviated to 3 characters, some can be abbreviated to 1 char such
as EXAMINE, STEP, GO, etc.) You can break execution of your running
program at anytime by typing ^Y (unless your program has disabled ^Y's)
and typing DEBUG to DCL's $ prompt.
Breakpoints:
By setting breakpoints, you can suspend program execution at
specified locations. The breakpoint is taken before the instruction at
the specified address is executed. You set breakpoints with the SET
BREAK command:
DBG>SET BREAK [/qualifier] [address_expression -
[,address_expression...]] [WHEN (expression)] -
[DO (command_list)]
DBG>CANCEL BREAK [/qualifier] [address_expression -
[,address_expression...]]
The qualifiers allowed on the SET/CANCEL BREAK are:
/ALL !valid on CANCEL BREAK only
/AFTER:n !break only after n occurances
/BRANCH !break on all branches (no address_exp allowed)
/CALL !break on all CALL's (no address_exp allowed)
/EXCEPTION !break on all exceptions
/INSTRUCTION !break on all instructions (single step macro)
/INSTRUCT=(op_code,...) !break on selected instructions
/LINE !break on each line (single step hll)
/MODIFY !break on any memory write
/RETURN !break on all RET instructions (subroutine return)
/[NO]SILENT !displays no message when watchpoint hit
/[NO]SOURCE !displays the source line that caused the hit
/TEMPORARY !watchpoint is cancelled after first activated
A breakpoint is a program location where the debugger performs the
following actions: 1) Suspends program execution; 2) Checks the /AFTER
count and resumes execution if the specified number of activations
has not been reached; 3) Evaluates the WHEN clause (if any) and resumes
execution if it evaluates FALSE in the current language; 4) Displays
the name or address of the location where program execution has been
suspended; 5) Executes the commands in the DO clause if one was
specified; 6) Issues the DBG> prompt (if a DO command was not GO).
Tracepoints:
A TRACEPOINT is identical to a BREAKPOINT except that program
execution always continues after the trace is reported. The syntax and
options on the SET TRACEPOINT are the same as for the SET BREAK:
DBG>SET TRACE [/qualifier] [address_expression -
[,address_expression...]] [WHEN (expression)] -
[DO (command_list)]
DBG>CANCEL TRACE [/qualifier] [address_expression -
[,address_expression...]]
See the details on the SET BREAK command.
Watchpoints:
By setting a watchpoint, you can cause the program to stop whenever
a particular variable or other memory area has been modified. When a
watchpoint in your program is activated, the debugger suspends
execution and reports the location of the variable modified, the
initial and changed values of the variable and the instruction that
caused the modification:
DBG>SET WATCHPOINT [/qualifier] address_expression -
[,address_expression...] [WHEN (expression)] -
[DO (command_list)]
DBG>CANCEL WATCHPOINT [/qualifier] [address_expression -
[,address_expression...]]
The qualifiers allowed on WATCHPOINTS are
/AFTER:n !begin trace/watch after n occurances
/[NO]SILENT !displays no message when watchpoint hit
/[NO]SOURCE !displays the source line that caused the hit
/TEMPORARY !watchpoint is cancelled after first activated
WATCHPOINTS sound neater than they actually are. They only report on
accesses that MODIFY locations, you cannot watch a location for READ
access. The debugger causes the hardware to detect these modifications
by setting the write protection on the location in question. A serious
problem occurs due to the fact that the VAX's memory protection is
effective to a granularity of 512 bytes (1 page). The modification is
reported to DEBUG by the hardware via an ACCESS VIOLATION FAULT. Debug
examines the addresses involved in the fault and decides whether it
really is a fault or not. If the variable in question is surrounded by
rapidly changing data, there will be many many faults making your
program run V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W. There are further complications if you
happen to have a disk buffer (or any buffer used by a VMS function) in
the vacinity of a watchpoint variable. What happens in this instance is
that VMS is given the ACCESS VIOLATION FAULT and it gives up with
INVALID USER BUFFER which can really be misleading (Gee...what does
"invalid user buffer" mean? and besides, it worked a couple of minutes
ago...).
Screen Mode Debugging:
Type PF3 on a CIT-101 or VT100 to put the debugger in screen mode.
You'll notice that it creates 3 windows. The top window displays the
source (from the LIST file) including LINE numbers and is labled on
the very top line with:
---SRC: module file_name --source-scroll-----
The SRC labels the window, the "module file_name" indicates the file
from where the currently displayed source came, the "source" flags the
contents of the window as being source data and "scroll" means that the
scroll keys will operate on this window (typing a keypad 3 will move
the scroll word to the OUT window).
The middle window is for debugger output and is labled with:
---OUT---output-------------------------------
The bottom window is for command input. The pointer on the left side of
the top window points to the next instruction that will be executed. The
keypad has some predefined keys to do some useful things. Some of the
most often used keys are listed here:
(Gold = PF1, Blue = PF4, HELP = PF2, HELP = Gold/PF2, HELP = Blue/PF2)
PF3 = Set mode screen !to setup in screen mode
Gold/PF3 = Set mode noscreen !to turn off screen mode
8 = scroll window up !up_arrow function
2 = scroll window down !down_arrow function
3 = toggle scrolling from SRC to OUT !move scroll function to other window
5 = examine/source .0\%PC !display source at current PC
- = make SRC window full screen
Blue/- = put SRC and OUT windows up
0 = step to next instruction
Gold/0 = step into subroutine !default is to step OVER subroutines
Blue/0 = step over subroutine !if you changed the default to step/into
, = GO
There are tons and tons of options avaliable. The DEBUG manual is about the
size of a Wards catalog, but you are welcome to brouse through it and
order up all that you take a liking to.
Happy debugging
ds
From: KIM::VICKERS 23-OCT-1985 11:26:35.33
To: @ODDGRP,RAINS,VANELDREN,MARGOLIN,ALBAUGH
CC:
Subj: Hummer
Project Proposal - Hummer/Synkazoo
1. Brief Description
This is a small hand-held musical instrument which analyzes the pitch
and amplitude of humming, singing, or whistling, and controls the corresponding
parameters of a built-in polyphonic synthesizer (Yamaha chip.) The user would
be able to listen to a click track and overdub drum, bass, lead guitar, and
various other instruments, turning the vocalist into a 1-man band.
There would be output jacks for connecting the device to a home stereo
or a guitar amplifier, and there would possibly be a built-in speaker. Also
there would be a MIDI music synthesizer serial output, so that musicians could
control their synthesizers with their voice. The instrument would preferably
be powered by either batteries or an external transformer lump.
Other features could include the option of quantizing each note to the
nearest semi-tone, for people who aren't that great at singing or humming in
tune. In this mode, vibrato could be selected, to substitute for the voice's
natural vibrato. There could be an octave select switch, so you could play
much higher or lower than you can hum. And there could be speed select as
well, so you could hum a fast part slowly and double the speed on playback.
The voice is the most expressive musical instrument, and with this
product, it can be used to directly control a variety of synthesized
instruments.
2. Market
A. Musical toy users - these people would be attracted to the idea of a
hand-held 1-man band electronic kazoo. These are the people who buy $200 Casio
keyboards with built-in tacky rhythm, Mattel Syn-Drums, etc.
B. Vocalists - these people could turn themselves into any instrument
of the orchestra.
C. Synthesizer owners - would view this as an inexpensive accessory
that would allow them to do new and vastly more expressive effects.
D. Other musicians - composers could try out how different musical
lines work together, without having to write the music out and multi-track it.
Players of other orchestral instruments could use those instruments to
control the synthesizer.
It seems like there is potentially a huge market, both fad- and non-fad-
oriented, depending on the price.
3. Price - very rough estimates
6502 $1.50
RAM 8.00
ROM 1.50
Yamaha 9.00 (this is a smaller chip, 3 FM voice + built in GI
chip which could be used for drums and click-
track, plus a monophonic DAC)
A-D 2.00
Mic 2.00
Speaker 1.50
Display 2.00
Switches 2.00
Electr. 7.00 misc. electronics
Package 10.00
_____
$46.50
X 4 consumer markup
_____
$186.00
The general consensus that was reached with people I've talked to is
that the product probably needs to be under $200 to reach the broadest market.
Future models could include more voices, more memory, more features, for more
money.
4. Potential Problems
A. Technical
The only real technical difficulty other than cost-reduction is
the pitch-tracking. There are many waveforms for which the pitch is
undefined, and the 1.7 mHz 6502 has to figure out the pitch in real
time. The issues are - how many pitch errors will be made, how
objectionable will they be, will there be a noticable delay between
when you hum and when you hear the output, and can it be done in real
time. There is a product being sold for the Atari 800 which does
many of these functions in real time, using only an external ADC, and
using the 1 mHz 6502 to do the analysis. Fortunately, singing or
humming is more strongly pitched than spoken voice, so the pitch
analysis can be somewhat simpler. My feeling is that the technical
difficulties will not be limiting factors.
B. Legal
Atari Inc. Corporate Research at one time long ago was talking
about a similar idea (but without the MIDI-out or the advantage of
being able to multi-track with a polyphonic Yamaha chip.) But you
can't patent an idea, and although it would be tacky for us to use
the same name, Hummer, that they were using, so sue us.
A thornier problem is the fact that our current Yamaha contract,
and presumably any future one we sign to purchase the cheaper chip,
explicitly prohibits us from competing with Yamaha in the consumer
music market. Ideally what would happen would be that we would design
the product, do a non-disclosure agreement with them, demonstrate the
product, and market the product as a joint venture using Yamaha's name
and distribution channels. This is tricky, but I'm naive enough to
think it could happen this way. The obvious question is what keeps
them from taking the idea and doing it on their own, and the obvious
answer is - not much. Still, we would be saving them from having to
waste time going through the whole engineering development cycle.
They've used independant programmers in the U.S before to write
computer music software that they could have written themselves.
We wouldn't be in much of a bargaining position concerning
price, but we could always bluff that we could use some other chip
that's almost as good. If worst came to worst, we could either find
some other chip that's almost as good, or market the device primarily
as a MIDI-controller. At least we would still have a product, although
the market would be smaller.
5. Resources and time frame
I currently have time-domain pitch and amplitude analysis software
running on the Sound Processing System. This would need to be considerably
tightened up and tested, and the algorithms transferred to 6502. Most of the
6502 development could be done with a System I or System II board, with an A-D
input added. Final development would need the actual target hardware, with the
cheap Yamaha chip in place of the one we are currently using. Dennis Harper is
interested in doing the 6502 code, fortunately, and I can do most of the
hardware design, as long as there are real engineers around to answer questions.
1. Project initiation meeting, and demonstration of
humming, analysis, resynthesis and
overdubbing with the Yamaha chip - 2-3 weeks
1. Modification and testing of analysis algorithms - 1-2 months
2. 6502 development (concurrent with hardware) - 3 months?
3. Slack - 1-2 months
__________
~6 months
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VANELDREN 25-OCT-1985 17:33:12.86
To: VICKERS,MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: HUMMER
I think the Hummer concept is a neat idea (even with that name) and am
looking forward to seeing and hearing more about it when you're ready to
demonstrate it. I think it's great that you (and others) are being
creative in looking for technologically-related opportunities. With that
attitude and initiative, I'm confident that we as an Engineering company
can continue to be sucessful regardless of what happens to the "industries"
around us. (How's that for a fool-hardy statement??) Anyway, keep on
hummin'.
Dan Van
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::AVL 28-OCT-1985 15:28:01.69
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: CER 3880
Your CER #3880, requesting that General Instrument part #DSP32010 be
recognized as an alternate source for 137434-001, has been approved.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 29-OCT-1985 09:29:30.58
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: new asm68, clnk, cloc etc
Ok, I have checked out the latest release of the Intermetrics stuff, and it's
OK. so please change your initialisation as follows:-
$ @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[C68R3V1.COM]CDEFS.COM ! SETUP INTERC STUFF
Thanks.
Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::AVL 29-OCT-1985 10:10:50.57
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: READAVL
The Approved Vendors List will be moved from CHARM to ERNIE sometime
between noon and 1PM on Tuesday.
If you have defined a word in your LOGIN.COM file to access the
AVL, you may have to make a modification to it..
Users with accounts on remote nodes (CHARM, or KIM)
Type "SET HOST ERNIE" and login to ERNIE as "READAVL" (no password
required). When you exit READAVL, you will be returned to your
default node and directory.
You may copy ERNIE::SYS$USERDISK:[AVL]READAVL.COM to your directory and define
a word in your LOGIN.COM file to execute it.
Example: $AVL :==@READAVL.COM
Users with accounts on ERNIE:
Type "@ATARI$AVL:LOGIN" at the VAX system prompt ($), or just add the line
below to your LOGIN.COM file and then type "AVL" after your next login.
$ AVL :==@ATARI$AVL:LOGIN
Both of these methods will execute a menu driven program that will allow you
to search the AVL and either save the results in a file in your own directory
(if it's on ERNIE) or forward the results to your remote mailbox.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MCCARTHY 1-NOV-1985 13:48:41.73
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,MCCARTHY
CC:
Subj: show news
The latest news from the show.
Gauntlet : 6500 Domestic games sold. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1000 Ireland games sold. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Manufacturing looking at increasing production to 125 per day.
We have lift-off.
Are we having fun yet.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VANELDREN 4-NOV-1985 14:48:00.15
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: AMOA NEWS FLASH
We're just back from AMOA and haven't had much time yet to really sort out
all our thoughts and impressions and numerical results (number of games
sold, etc., etc.), but there are some things that are so obvious to all who
were there that I feel obliged to pass them on immediately. Without a
doubt, Gauntlet was the runaway HIT of the show. And if Gauntlet was a "10",
there wasn't even anything close to being a "9". In the entire 12 years of
my association with Atari (and in attending the majority of trade shows
that took place during those 12 years), I think it's safe to say that we
have never had a more enthusiastic positive reaction to a product than we
had to Gauntlet. Please accept the sincere thanks from an Atari loyalist
to all of you who helped make the design, manufacturing, and sale of this
product possible. I really wished every Atari employee could have been at
the show in person, because then you could really have appreciated the often-
expressed comment of operators and distributors alike: "It's sure good to
see Atari back on top again where they belong." Even competitors were
surprisingly complementary in a very positive way: "It's good to see a game
like Gauntlet putting such a spark of excitement back into an industry
that's been in hibernation for the last couple years."
Reports of initial collections in the > $1,000 per week range were common
on the show floor, as operators compared notes with us and other operators
on what their very early testing results had been on Gauntlet. The highest
reported earnings came from a mall arcade in Toronto, Canada, which had
received their first Gauntlet 10 days before the AMOA Show began. The
game had AVERAGED $500. PER DAY, earning $4500. in its first 9 days on
location. Needless to say, this operator was quite satisfied with his
"projected" ROI on Gauntlet.
As I said earlier, Gauntlet was clearly perceived as the runaway "10"
of the show. Listed below are my personal ratings of the "8"s, "7"s, and
"6"s as I saw it. There were also probably another 20 to 30 "5's and
under" beyond these, but I won't go to the trouble of listing them here.
For a complete report and brochures on all that various products that were
shown, see the '85 AMOA binder that I will be circulating thru-out the
company in the next couple weeks.
The "8"s:
1. Atari's "Temple of Doom"
2. Sega's "Choplifter"
3. Cinematronics "World Series"
4. Bally's "Sarge"
5. Konami's "Rush'N'Attack"
6. William's "Comet" Pinball
The "7"s:
1. Taito's "Legend of Kage"
2. Taito's "Knuckle Joe"
3. Data East's "Shootout"
4. Capcom/Romstar's "Gunsmoke"
The "6"s:
1. Taito/Digital Control's "Ghosts'n'Goblins"
2. Taito/Memetron's "Mat Mania"
3. Nichibitsu's "Terra Cresta"
4. Exidy's "Crack Shot"
5. Capcom/Romstar's "Tiger-Heli"
6. Bally/Sente's "Mini-Golf"
7. Data East's "Ring King"
8. Nintendo's "Arm Wrestling"
The "Specials":
1. Taito's "Super Dead Heat" - 4 player 4-monitor driving game ala Sprint 4
2. Taito's "N.Y. Captor" - long distance (6-10 ft) video shooting game
3. Tatsumi/Data East's "Speed Buggy" - 3-monitor driving game ala TX-1
4. Bally/Sente's "4-Player Hat Trick" - Indy 4 style cabinet
5. Bally/Sente's "Stompin" - Nolan finally got someone to do his "foot-
control dance machine"
6. Bally/Sente's "Sacman" - a generic Sac-1 kit to convert Pacman games
7. Nintendo's Pac Kit - a generic Uni-system to convert Pacman games
Please remember, the above lists are only my personal subjective opinions,
and based on past precedents, are probably not very accurate. The only things
I am clearly sure of (from my typical Atari objective viewpoint) is that there
was nothing there that came close to competing with Gauntlet, and nothing there
that I felt was a better second than Temple. Product sales have clearly
justified my appraisal of Gauntlet. I'm still waiting to see if they'll do
the same on Temple.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 6-NOV-1985 17:10:58.89
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: WARNING INTERMETRICS CLBR ERROR DANGER DANGER
The intermetrics library utility used to create a new version of the library
file every time a modification was made to it. However now Intermetrics, in
their infinite wisdom have decided to just update the existing version, nice!
However the jerks leave a corrupted library file if CLBR is interrupted,
(ie with control Y).
So, WARNING do not control Y in the middle of a CLBR operation.
Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::MORRIS 11-NOV-1985 17:26:48.11
To: @sys$mail:engineer
CC:
Subj: Upload for AMS 68010 emulator
Have you ever wanted to get hardcopy from your DTB, DT or UPL's.
Well now is your lucky day.
When you need a DTB hardcopy, for instance, type:-
$ UPL fred.txt
Uploading text from AMS to file fred.txt, Type Control Z to terminate
Then type <ESC><ESC> to get back to the AMS and do:-
> ON CPY
To enable the auto upload. Now everything that appears on your terminal will
also go to the VAX.
So:-
> DTB 0 TO #200
will send the last 200 lines of disassembled trace buffer to fred.txt.
Once you have done everthing you want type:-
> OFF CPY
to disable the upload, then:-
> TRA
to get back to the VAX. Hit control Z and UPL will write all captured data to
the file fred.txt:-
Writing captured data to file fred.txt. Please wait....
Upload written to file fred.txt
$
The file fred.txt will be a standard VAX text file, all control characters will
be stripped from the input stream, and only linefeeds will cause a newline.
This procedure can be used to capture anything from the AMS that you can
get it to send to the terminal.
*******************************************************************************
P.S.
If for some reason you want a binary file with all data as it appears in
the input stream, type:-
$ UPL - fred.dat
Uploading binary from AMS to file fred.dat, Type Control Z to terminate
Now all data in the input stream will go to fred.dat. But remember that some
control characters will be trapped by VMS. (ie ^Y, ^C, ^S, ^Q etc.)
and ^Z of course will still terminate the input stream.
To be really perverse and capture all binary data you must set your term to
PASTHRU. See HELP SET TERM/PAS. But BEWARE!!!!!!
********************************************************************************
In the (unlikely!?) event of bugs mail:
CHARM::MORRIS.
Jim.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 11-NOV-1985 18:47:11.74
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: You wanna help with debug...
Announcing the long awaited program LLF (Link/Locate/Format) program. It appears
to work, but until everybody tries all their perversions on it, I won't know if
I caught all the bugs. It measures about 5 times faster (elapsed time) than the
Intermetrics CLNK/CLOC/CFOR/GENSYM operation. I'm not sure how it matches up to
CLNK/CLOC/QDF. I'm still working on it (evenings and weekends), so additional
features and bug fixes will be addressed reasonably quickly.
Minor enhancments to be added:
symbol cross reference (for both defined and undefined symbols).
additional filename input via the option file.
Major enhancment to be added:
System II support (accepting BLISS-16's output).
To use it, do the usual @CDEFS that you've grown to known and love, then type
(or have your makefile type):
$ LLF file1[,file2,...][/qualfier...]
Where file1...filen are your input filenames and /qualifier is one or more
qualifiers.
Command line restrictions:
DCL allows up to 1024 characters for the command line with the following
requirements: There be no more than 128 total elements (filenames,qualifiers,
etc.); That any one element have no more than 255 characters; That the
command line consist of NO MORE than 256 characters before being continued
to additional lines (sorry, Greg).
The following qualifiers can appear anywhere on the command line:
Qualifiers Default value What it is, man
------------------ -------------- -------------------------
/OUTPUT[=filename] SYS$DISK:[].HEX output filename. This is
defaulted and the name
defaults to the same as the
first input filename with a
file type of .HEX.
/MAP[=filename] SYS$DISK:[].MAP map output filename. The
filename defaults to the
OUTPUT filename with a file
type of .MAP.
/SYM[=filename] none Symbol name output. If this
option is used with no value,
then the symbols are included
in the output (.HEX) file. If
a value is supplied, then it
becomes the name of a file into
which the symbols are placed.
The default file type in that
case is .SYM.
/SEC[=filename] none Section name output. If this
option is used with no value,
then the section names are
included in the output (.HEX)
file. If a value is supplied,
then it becomes the name of a
file into which the section
names are placed. The default
file type in that case is .SEC.
The following qualifiers must be placed on their specific input filenames to
identify the contents of that file:
Qualifier Why I have to type this crap
----------- -----------------------------
/LIB Identifies the file as being a library file.
The default file type assumed is .LIB.
/OPT Identifies the file as being an option file.
The default file type assumed is .OPT. At
present, only 1 option file is accepted.
All input filenames other than those identifed with a /LIB or /OPT have a
default file type of .OL.
The options file contents is nearly the same as the .LC file used with CLOC
the difference being that LLF doesn't support the MEMORY command (yet).
Examples:
$ LLF game,main,interrupt,vectors,data1,data2 !simple link/loc/form
$ LLF game,interrupt,data/map/sym !give symbols and map
$ LLF /out=alice mary,jane,karen/lib,fun/opt
$ LLF game,main,lib1/lib,lib2/lib,interrupt,vectors,lib3/lib
Report bugs to this address
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 13-NOV-1985 20:20:21.46
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: Yet another TPU section file...
There's a new TPU section file in UTL$EXE:. I also made some updates to the
UTL$COM:EDTINIT.TPU file that turn on the "new" features of the section
file. The new features in the section file are non-destructive, but the
updated EDTINIT file disables PF2 and GOLD/PF2 (the graztifratz HELP keys).
Take note if your using that init file.
The new feature:
Line mode command: ERROR [filename]
which reads the file into the aux_buffer and positions the window over the first
occurance of an error message. The cursor stays in the main window. The filename
is optional and defaults to the name of the file in the main_buffer with a .LIS
extension. The EDTINIT file examines the main input file type and sets a string
that is used as an error message search string (i.e. %CC, %MACRO, etc.). Then
the PF2 key is defined to be 'find next error'. Pressing the PF2 key will scroll
the aux_window to the next occurance of the error string. The direction of the
scroll is determined by the current_direction flag (set by the KP4 and KP5
keys). The line mode ERROR command can be abbreviated to no fewer than two
letters (or else it becomes an EXIT!).
FYI: the file fetch uses the GOLD/I mechanism, so if the aux_buffer has data
in it, TPU may prompt for permission to blow away the old contents (a file
entered via a GOLD/U will automatically be written out).
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 25-NOV-1985 16:34:29.42
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: AMS ports
I changed all the AMS_68k ports to 9600 baud, eightbit and even parity. This
makes them the same as EDT_USER (VT100/CIT-101 user) except AMS has /NOWRAP
also set. This means you have to change your computer port setup on the AMS
systems (if you haven't already) in order for this to work. I have been
told by all users that the AMS, with the latest software EPROMs, works just
fine at 9600, if this is not the case let me know.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VANELDREN 27-NOV-1985 16:29:20.33
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: GEORGE OPPERMAN
This is probably the toughest piece of VAXMAIL I've ever had to send, so
please bear with me if I'm not too eloquent.
As many of you know, George Opperman was admitted to El Camino Hospital
this past Sunday morning. He was diagnosed as having lung cancer in a very
advanced stage. I have just been informed by his family that he passed
away shortly before noon today.
George's family (wife Pat, son Kevin, and daughter Heather) were able to
spend the last couple days at his side. Other than some shortness of breath
and a raspy voice, the last few days were quite miraculously pain-free, and
he was able to enjoy the time with his family and many close friends and
fellow workers who dropped by to encourage him. He and his family were
especially grateful for this, and Pat has asked me to pass on her thanks
to all of his "family" here.
The family will not be making any final arrangements until Friday, but
according to Pat, they will probably be scheduling a Memorial Service for
some time early next week (Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday). I will try and
let everybody know the details of this by first thing Monday morning. I
believe Tuesday will be the most likely day for this to be scheduled.
Few people have given as much of their life to a company as George gave
to Atari, and even fewer will leave behind the marks of permanence and
beauty and art that
George was able to leave. His going will leave a big hole in the lives of
his family, his friends, his fellow workers, and a significant number of
other people who were touched by his role here at Atari.
George's family's home address, where they will all be for the next week or
two is: 5869 Amapola Drive
San Jose, Ca. 95129
I'm sure they would all appreciate your thoughts and your prayers.
Dan Van
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 6-DEC-1985 00:08:33.10
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: modems
The modems are alive and well. The phone numbers are listed in the Atari
telephone "book", but here they are ifn you don't want to look them up:
Ernie: 434-1770 !1 modem
Kim: 434-1771 !2 modems
Sandy: 434-1772 !1 modem (phantom computer just now)
Charm: 434-1773 !2 modems
Mike: 434-1774 !1 modem (another phantom computer)
Those with multiple modems are on a hunt group, i.e. you'll get the first
available modem by calling just that one number.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 27-NOV-1985 17:07:15.52
To: @ALPHAGANG.DIS
CC:
Subj: Clean-up
THIS WEEKEND IS CLEANUP WEEKEND! CLEAN-UP CREWS WILL BE SWEEPING THE BUILDING
FOR EXCESS STUFF AND THEN CLEANING THE CARPETS.
1) IF YOU WANT TO KEEP ANYTHING THAT LOOKS LIKE EXCESS - TIE IT DOWN.
2) PLACE ALL YOUR TRASH IN AN OBVIOUS SPOT TO HAVE IT REMOVED.
3) REMOVE TAGS FROM FURNITURE YOU WANT TO KEEP.
4) GET EVERYTHING OUT OF BOXES AND COLLAPSE THE BOXES.
5) PUT YELLOW POST-ITS ON THE WALL WHERE YOU WANT THEM TO HANG PICTURES
BULLETIN BOARDS AND GREASE BOARDS - IF MORE THAN ONE, NUMBER THEM.
THE SCHLAGE SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO BE OPERATIONAL BY WEDNESDAY; PLAN ON IT
HAPPENING MONDAY.
UNTIL THE SCHLAGE SYSTEM IS IN, BUILDING ACCESS IS RESTRICTED TO 7 AM TO 10 PM.
-CHRIS
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ALBAUGH 27-NOV-1985 18:03:36.06
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: P___ing in the soup
This is addressed to the person or persons who find it
really amusing to dial up the paging port and blast us all out
with "music" (or should I say Musak) or "Speech chip test?".
The ability to use dial up paging is very valuable to
some of us, and very likely to be eliminated if much more of this
B.S. goes on. Perhaps you never work late and need to find a co-
worker, perhaps you are always in your office when anyone needs to
find you. Many of us do depend on paging and found it a real hassle
to live without it, as we will be again.
When we first had this option, many years ago, we also had
a tacit agreement of "one paging joke per person per week". As I
remember it, this worked out pretty well, especially since the jokes
were verbal (hence identifiable) and really poor quality jokesters
got straightend out by peer pressure. Of course, since you have opted
for anonymous aural grafitti, we don't know who you are (yet) and must
fume in silence (so far).
In short: fun is fun, but have a little class and please don't
screw it up for the rest of us.
Mike
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::DOWNEND 27-NOV-1985 18:09:33.26
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: P_ssing in the Wind - it comes back at you...
I heartily concur with Mike's message on the abuse of the pager -
DON'T DO IT FOLKS!
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 27-NOV-1985 18:16:18.94
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: _iss___ in the soup
This is to lend weight to Mike's soapbox with some factual
information. The phone system has been under construction for the
last two months, with various details being nailed down along the way.
Paging should have been nailed down well over two months ago, but there
was a political debate on the merits and demerits of public access
to paging. It is still underway, which is why the paging access numbers
have not been published (officially). Obviously, there is a leak.
It is occasions when a select few demonstrate their lack of
restraint that will (I GUARANTEE) blow it for everyone. It is also
conceivable that access to the page will be granted/denied on an
individual basis, and that abuse will only harm oneself. To some
of us (myself included) public access to the page is a valuable
asset. If you disagree, do so in person, without using the page to
contact me.
I've never heard Jed say it, but "Thank you or else".
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::LIPSON 2-DEC-1985 09:35:59.88
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: pisser replies
Did I miss a general outbrake of page-abuse?? or are the three previous
letters all resulting from one (ONE!) page of questionable (ok, bad) taste????
And that one on a Friday!! (the traditional day for the once-a-week for
those who chose to abuse the system). AND on the first week with a new
toy <<<<oops I mean building. I remember as well as anyone else how annoying
that day was a few years ago when KWIMP or some similar station was left on
the page repeatedly, but I don't really remember that being a frequent problem.
Maybe people around here need to be warned to keep their sense of play in
control (at least those of us with perverse ideas of fun) BUT LETS NOT FORGET
WE'RE NOT IBM!!! OKAY???
And I promise not to send a page THIS week, OK?
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VANELDREN 2-DEC-1985 11:33:01.74
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: GEORGE OPPERMAN MEMORIAL SERVICE
There will be a memorial service for George Opperman on Wednesday evening
(Dec. 4) at 7:00 pm. The service will be held at:
LIMA FAMILY MORTUARY
1315 HOLLENBECK AVE.
SUNNYVALE, CA. (Corner of Fremont and Hollenbeck)
The family has informed us that the service will be open to all friends
and co-workers of George who wish to attend. Also, for any of those who
wish to convey their personal condolences and messages to the family, George's
wife Pat, son Kevin, and daughter Heather are residing at:
5869 AMAPOLA DR.
SAN JOSE, CA. 95129
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::FRYE 3-DEC-1985 17:27:07.47
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: MOVE UPDATE
SCHLAGE SYSTEM: We are still working on the system and hopefully will
have it operational Wednesday or Thursday. Until
then, building access hours will be 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
"COKE IS IT" A coke machine has been installed in the copy room
(located next to the Executive Conference Room).
PICTURES AND Facilities is continuing work on hanging pictures and
THINGS white boards.
PROBLEMS Punch lists and other related building problems should
be turned in to your department secretary.
B. Frye
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 4-DEC-1985 16:06:40.89
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Phones
There are a number of problems with the phone system. In order to save
your time sending messages telling us and to save our time reading
messages telling us, I'll point out some of the known bugs. Steve is
off at Rolm school this week to learn how to make moves and changes
(MAC class), so some of these problems can BEGIN to be fixed next
week.
Lab phones can't dial external numbers. This is a Bob Frye
"feature". All telephones that weren't explicitly assigned
to a warm body, were setup with the lowest class of
service. We think this sucks. You think this sucks.
Actually, the telephones that should have this class of
service are the lobby phones here and at 735 and maybe a
few others. This is entirely a software function so we can
fix it once we know how.
The buttons on some ETS's don't match up to the functions
they perform. This is a hardware problem. We have a bag of
buttons and are making some progress at correcting this
error. If you are one of these "ETS" people, happen to
know your phone number and what the buttons are supposed
to do, drop on by and we may be able to give you the
buttons so you can fix it yourself. In the meantime,
bear with us, we'll get to you.
There may be one or more PacBell trunks with a problem
or one or more of our Rolm trunk circuits with a problem
such that outside calls appear noisy and/or with reduced
volume. This is a hardware problem. We'll investigate this
further and call in the appropriate people to correct it.
The system hold time to too short. If you place a call on
hold and don't re-connect it within a system wide time
limit, the Rolm switch will call you back. It appears this
time is nearer 1 minute than to the more desireable 5 minutes.
Calls are arbitrarily attached to the page. This problem is not
new and is because the page system is a kludge as far as the
Rolm switch is concerned. The fix seems to me to be simple, but
I'll bet that it can't be done. You can flash any telephone by
momentarily holding down the switchook and flashing a call will
place it on hold. Then if you hang up, the Rolm will immediately
call you back. If someone calls the page then hangs up with either
type of flash (either switchook or FLASH button), the Rolm will
call them back connecting them back to the page. I think that
if the switchook flash were disabled system wide most of this
page problem could be solved. We're working on it.
Pick groups are all screwed up. This is a software function and
can BEGIN to be fixed next week. In the meantime, use * 3 number
to pick up other phones.
The page system is sometimes abused. This is a user function and
we can't fix it. The best we can do is tell you from which
telephone(s) these abusive pages are coming and let you figure
out who the offending individual(s) is(are).
If anyone has regularly gotten a busy tone immediately after dialing a 9
for an outside line, please notify me. This may be another problem that
needs to be addressed.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::DAVE 4-DEC-1985 20:09:24.65
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: A BOOK
I HAVE A BOOK TO LOAN. ITS BY EDWARD ABBEY -"BEYOND THE WALL". IT IS WRITTEN
IN A LESS STRIDENT TONE THAN "THE MONKEY WRENCH GANG" BUT IT GETS THE POINT
ACROSS. I MEAN ANYONE WHO CAN COMPARE TROPHY HUNTERS TO SQUID SHIT CAN'T BE
TO IN TOO MELLOW A MOOD!
DON'T COME TO BORROW THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT A WRENCH, KARO
SYRUP, AND SAND HAVE IN COMMON.
REMEMBER, IF WE DON'T GET THEM, THEY'LL GET US.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::BRAD 5-DEC-1985 10:17:46.60
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: finger
Did anyone find a plastic finger that has a threaded screw-like end?
- brad -
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 5-DEC-1985 12:42:15.17
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Rolm
If, when making an OUTGOING call, you experience weak volume and/or high
background noise, please dial FLASH * 563. This will record in the Rolm's
error log all the circuits used in your connection. We need this information
in order to find the trouble (if any). Please don't use this unless your
connection is really "not normal". Thanks in advance.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::FRYE 5-DEC-1985 15:45:59.03
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: TELEPHONE REFERRAL
DISCONNECTION OF TELEPHONES AT 1272 WAS COMPLETED THIS DATE (A WEEK
LATE).
OUR MAIN NUMBER, 747-2700 IS REFERRED TO OUR NEW NUMBER, 434-3700.
INDIVIDUAL TELEPHONE NUMBERS AT 1272 CAN NOT BE REFERRED AS THEY
WERE EXTENSIONS TO OUR MAIN NUMBER.
WE ARE STILL WORKING WITH PACIFIC BELL FOR OPERATOR ASSISTANCE
REGARDING THE ABOVE.
B. FRYE
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SUTTLES 9-DEC-1985 12:44:08.40
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,SUTTLES
CC:
Subj: found...
Remember the "line cord crimp tool" I was looking for so desparately
last week? It has been found. Some absent-minded system programmer type
who shall remain nameless found them in a paper bag in my office at home...
er, that is, HIS office at HIS home. So, thank you for looking and keeping
an eye out for it, as I'm sure you all did. Sorry for the false alarm.
PS: His initials are
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::RUNNER 10-DEC-1985 10:01:28.84
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,RUNNER
CC:
Subj: Greenhill's compiler gotme
Option '-x6' is useful for debugging because it forces the use of the
easily patchable 'mov #0,x' instead of the quicker 'clr x'.
Unfortunately, option '-x6' ALSO forces the default output suffix to
be '.a68' instead of '.s'. So if you expect the '.a68' or '.s' extension,
beware of changing '-x6' for debugging/speedup purposes.
Note: Apparently(?), '-x29' overrides some of this, forcing the
extension to be '.asm'. If so, then '-x6' would again be available for purely
debugging/code-compacting purposes.
G
R
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::HOFF 10-DEC-1985 11:44:57.42
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Headaches and adhesives
I walk in the door and smell the adhesives, the carpet outgassing and
all the other chemicals which are in the air due to the recent, massive
remodeling. About 30 minutes later I get an annoying headache, take some
aspirin, take some more a few hours later ... go home and the headache goes
away.
Please let me know whether or NOT you have similar sensations.
I'll collect your messages and send them on to the right person.
Perhaps, if the gases are what's really doing it, we can get the ventillation
turned up during this initial period when the building is outgassing. Then my
headache and yours can go away.
Morgan
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::PPS 12-DEC-1985 18:04:28.55
To: @sys$mail:engineer
CC:
Subj: BCP Utility
Thanks to Jim Morris, there is a new Graphics Utility available to scale, yaw,
or pitch a picture(s). Scaling can be used to magnify or reduce a picture, yaw
or pitch rotates a picture about the Y or X axis contained within the plane
of the picture (standard Cartesian Coordinate alignment). For location and
documentation, see below.
The exe file is in SYS$USERDISK:[PPS.UTILITIES]BCP.EXE both on nodes KIM::
and CHARM::. The documentation file is in the same place, called BCP.DOC.
******************************************************************************
BCP will yaw, pitch or scale a PK4 file. NOTE: a .PK4 format is equivalent to
a .INT format. The operations required to be done on a frame are explicitly
entered in a command file. The format of this command file follows:
The following must be put at the start of the file in this order:-
input filename(.pk4) output filename(.pk4)
input frame size (width height)
Output frame size (width height)
number of frames in file
The following are optional and tell BCP what to do with each frame:-
! - comment to end of line
p n.n - pitch n.n degrees
y n.n - yaw n.n degrees
s n.n - scale down to n.n% of original size
d - write picture to file
e - end of command list
The d command must be used to write the resultant picture to the output file.
After the d command any operation is performed on the original frame,
(NOT the result of the previous command).
Examples:-
TESTIN TESTOUT
64 64
64 64
1
! start of test scale frame down 50%, then display it.
s 50.0 d
! yaw frame 25.5 degrees then display it
y 25.5 d
! pitch frame 10.5 degrees, then yaw 22.4 degrees then scale down by 22.5%
p 10.5 y 22.4 s 22.5 d
e
The preceding example does the commented operations on one frame in TESTIN.PK4
and outputs the results to file TESTOUT.PK4
The frame is 64 by 64 pixels and so will the output be.
jegm - 12/12/85.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::MARGOLIN 13-DEC-1985 16:30:17.05
To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY.UAF
CC:
Subj:
Does anyone have the design information on the Vector Generator Gate Array
that was (I believe) designed by Dean Chang?
Jed
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 16-DEC-1985 18:33:28.96
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: LLF V1.2
LLF V1.2 has just been released. This version has minor changes from 1.1:
1) fixed bug where sometimes a rotten checksum would be computed
for the termination record in a symbol file.
2) fixed bug where sometimes the extraneous error message
"seg {bla_bla} overlays another segment" would be displayed.
3) all directives can be mixed case in the options file and the
primary directives (LOC, DEC, etc) can be abbreviated to
any number of chars.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::SHEPPERD 16-DEC-1985 19:08:13.39
To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER
CC:
Subj: New TPU section file
A new TPU section file has been placed in utl$exe. This file fixed two
small bugs:
1) a SET SCREEN now affects the main, message and aux windows
(previously the aux_window wasn't changed)
2) the "short cut" GOLD/W (GOLD/{up} or GOLD/{down} when
only 1 window is displayed) has been fixed. This used
to produce the error "unable to operate on invisible
window".
If you have been using the standard TPU calling conventions, you needn't
do anything different to access this section file.
ds
___________________________________________________________________________
From: ERNIE::BELL 18-DEC-1985 14:02:35.15
To: KIM::MARGOLIN
CC:
Subj: TomCat Eproms/proms
Here are the numbers assigned for the devices/locations
for TomCat.
PART
NUMBER DESCRIPTION
136039-001 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1K
136039-002 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2K
136039-003 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1M
136039-004 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2M
136039-005 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1N
136039-006 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2N
136039-007 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1P
136039-008 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2P
136039-009 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1R
136039-010 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2R
136039-011 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1T
136039-012 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2T
136039-013 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1U
136039-014 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2U
136039-015 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,1V
136039-016 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,2V
136039-017 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,13F/H
136039-018 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,13B
136039-019 IC,Programmed EPROM,TomCat,137396-300,13C/D
136039-020 IC,Programmed PROM,TomCat,137336-001,6S
136039-XXX IC,Programmed_Devices,TomCat
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::VICKERS 19-DEC-1985 11:33:41.16
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Book review
For those of you who will be sitting around bored with nothing to
do during vacation, I have the perfect gift suggestion for yourself - an
876-page book! (I'm only up to page 650, but I find myself limiting it to
a chapter a night to make it last longer.) It's called The Mists of Avalon,
by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I know a lot of people who've finished it, and
they all say the ending is great.
Basically it's the story of the Arthur legend, with Merlin and
Lancelet and Gwenhwyfar (a lot of the names are spelled different), Camelot
and the Round Table and the Quest for the Grail. But it's all different.
It's told primarily from the perspective of the women involved, especially
Morgaine, Arthur's sister who is trained as a priestess on the island of
Avalon. The basic theme is the battle for Arthur's mind during the
transition from the Celtic/pagan/nature/Goddess religion of ancient Britain
f
oops - to the Christian religion, which strives to drive the "evil" goddess
out of Britain. Arthur is sworn to defend Avalon, which gave him Excalibur,
the magic sword which protects him from harm. When he breaks this pledge,
Avalon must either persuade him to follow his oath, or overthrow him.
The book gives you the feeling that this is the way the story really
happened, and that "sword in the stone" and similar versions is how the story
was rewritten by the winners. This book is very rich, the characters are
utterly real, the ideas are fascinating, and the atmosphere is magic.
There are a couple of real reviews (without typos) on the Audio
group bulletin board.
Earl
___________________________________________________________________________
From: CHARM::SHEPPERD 19-DEC-1985 16:57:49.33
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
CC:
Subj: Santa
If you're lucky enough to have a CIT-101 as your terminal, then type
$ @SANTA
to get some season's greetings.
Happy Holidays
ds
P.S. I didn't do it.
___________________________________________________________________________
From: KIM::ROLM "SUTTLES, SHEPPERD, MOTT, or ALBAUGH" 30-DEC-1985 13:15:10.40
To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,ROLM
CC:
Subj: "FEATURED FEATURE" feature
Hi. As you may have noticed, we have a new phone system in place.
While there are some real problems with it (surprize!), many problems can
be avoided by knowing a little more about the system. To help spread the
knowledge, I plan on publishing a semi-regular newsletter (like this one)
which has a "featured feature". I will try to discuss a problem or issue
that is of interest to the most people at that time--second-guessing what
would be the most common question or complaint.
The first featured feature is COMPLAINTS, QUESTIONS, and CHANGES.
(How's that for second-guessing?)
To start with: The primary "phone guy" is me, Steve Suttles. I
worked with people from Atari and with Rolm, trying to set up the system
as closely as possible to what we needed. I work for Dave Shepperd, who
runs the computer systems group (in engineering). It is our group that is
responsible for the care and feeding of the telephone system, since it is
actually a computer running the show. The "pecking order" for phone work
is: Steve Suttles, Dave Shepperd, Stephanie Mott, and Mike Albaugh. There
shouldn't be any long time when you can't reach any of us, but we are known
to go out to lunch once in a great while.
As I mentioned, I specified to Rolm how the phone system was to
operate. Of course, needs change, and by the time the system was ready to
be installed, there were several changes already pending. Also, there were
a lot of things we did wrong, or we didn't get the right information, or I
made assumptions that were not justified. Which brings us to questions
and changes.
My extension is 1710. If you call me, I will answer questions as
well as I can. If you call me and ask for a change, I will tell you that
I will do it (because I intend to) and then forget (because I get a LOT of
phone calls). SO, if you really want the change(s) made, I need something
in writing so that I can use it to remind myself. For those of you with
VAXMAIL capability, you can send mail to (KIM::)ROLM. Our group watches
the mailbox and we will check it out when something shows up. If you aren't
hooked up to the vax, send me (Steve Suttles @675, NOT ROLM!) a note saying
what you want done. If I disappear (vacation or some such nonsense), our
group will still pick it up.
Changes: Any phone or phone number in the system can be made to
look/act/work like any other. While there are obvious differences between
the single-line phones and the electronic telephone sets (ETS), they have
essentially the same capability. So if you would like to have your phone
do what someone elses does, there shouldn't be a problem. For example,
if your phone doesn't system-forward after 3 rings, and you would like it
to, it is simply a matter of telling the phone system that your phone should
do that. If I am unable to make a change you request, I will let you know
why, and suggest whatever alternatives might be helpful.
Looking forward (fearfully) to hearing from you,
Steve Suttles
sas
___________________________________________________________________________
}
