ST-PAUL-ATARI-COMPUTER-ENTHUSIASTS

NEWSLETTER

Newz from the Prez
February of 1991

Hello members! Thanks for the wonderful January meeting, the attendance was high and I was pleased to see so many returning faces! I hope that this year will see a bigger attendance for SPACE meetings than in years past.

The club has many things going on. First of all, we have purchased some equipment that will be sold or raffled at the next meeting. There is a 1050 disk drive and 130XE among this equipment. Also the club is planning to loan out its direct connect 300 baud modem to any club member interested in starting out in the telecommunicating world.

Our vendor, Lance Ringquist has informed me that there is a small surge in the ATARI 8-BIT software area and he will be bringing some more brand new titles to the meeting if he is able to get them on time. Lance had a brand new Tetris clone game called BLKOUT for sale at the last meeting. Lance is being very helpful in supplying the ATARI user with software, please support him if you have particular software needs. If it is still available, there is a good chance Lance can lay his hands on it.

What's ahead for future meetings? It's looking good! We have, get this, TWO potential monitor suppliers, so if you thought the last deal was good, you have more to come. I am planning special ATARI seminars and different activities for SPACE and they wll be announced at the meetings. In the meantime, come to the meetings and help SPACE support you and other ATARI users.

Happy computing!
Nathan Block

P.S.
Don't miss the film AWAKENINGS, it was excellent.

SPACE SOFTWARE LIBRARY NEWS
Feburary, 1991

Happy New Year and Happy New Decade. It is truely the 1990's now.

BLANK DISKS for sale at the meeting. 10 for $3.

We are still assembling the Disk Of the Month as the newsletter goes to press.

RIBBON RE-INKING

The club can re-ink most printer ribbons (black) for a small fee. There is no longer a reason to use a faded ribbon! Ribbons that can be re-inked are: $1.00/ribbon - Spool to spool (all types) - Epson MX-80 and compatibles - c. Itoh prowriter and compatabiles (NEC 8023A/C) - Citizen 120 D - Panasonic - small ones that turn counter-clockwise: $2.00/ribbon - MX-100 and compatabiles. Other ribbons can be attempted, too. See Jim Schieb at the SPACE meeting. Please pay in advance and be sure to have your ribbon(s) in a plastic bag.

NEXT
MEETING: FEB 8-1991

MINUTES OF THE SPACE MEETING January 11, 1991
by Pat Krenn, Secretary

1. The meeting was called to order by President Nathan Block at 7:38 P.M.
2. President Nathan Block showed our Christmas card from Atari Corp. Director of User Groups Bob Brodie.
3. Alpha Systems, the developers of Computer Eyes, Chipmunk, Parrot II, etc.) is still around and Nathan showed a catalog from them. Nathan also showed some European software catalogues.
4. The Treasurer's report as of January 1, 1991 showed we had a balance of $802.89.
5. A demonstration of the BBS will be done at the end of the meeting through the use of Mike Schmidt's system. Nathan recommended that everyone log on; it's a good way to communicate with your fellow SPACE members and other Atari users.
6. A new supply of color monitors should be available for club members in August/September timeframe.
7. John Novotny checked out the Atari hardware available at the Guadalupe Area Project and 3 computers-600XL, 130XE, and 65XE along with two disc drives--1050 and 810 are available. They are willing to sell to the club for $225. This price has already been agreed upon; the club will purchase and then have possibly a silent auction to sell to members.
8. Joe Danko reported that a hard disk drive is available from PC Source far a good price. Members of the club believe we should wait for the Midwinter Madness Electronics Show on February 9th to check if some reasonably priced drives are available then.
9. News and Problems - "Atari Explorer" magazine shows that Atari still has some 8-bit software available. This magazine can be purchased at Shinders and Software, Etc. Also, Awesomeware has two new products out for the 8-bit and Mindscape Software still has stock of their products. Nathan will develop a list of 8-bit software sources and publish in the newsletter.
10. Mike Weiss asked why the club does not have membership badges; it would help identify members and get to know each other better. If we could find a cheap source for badges, it would be a good idea. John Novotny suggested plastic sleeve badge holders.
11. Jim Scheib reported that members who have items out from the library need to return them the next month; also new donations are being accepted; you get a free D.O.M. for your contribution.
12. Disk of the Month - The set of 6 machine language game disks sold at $1 a piece have some games corrupted on them. Please return the disks and a new set will be given to you. Joe reported that some of the software comes from the GEnie system; you pay a $4.95 a month fee and 10 cents per minute when you are logged on; since software is available to download, Joe feels it is better deal than the advertising, etc. on the Prodigy system.
13. Disk of the Month - The current disk of the month has one game; a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) translator; and other software.
14. Pat Krenn reported that the BBS is now longer listed on the Twin City Computer User; Nate will resubmit our BBS.
15. The meeting concluded at 8:35 P.M. with the demonstration of BBS usage and the demonstrations of the DOMs.

End of the minutes for the January 11th, 1991 SPACE meeting. Respectfully submitted by Pat Krenn, Secretary

BBS CORNER:

Not alot of trafic this past month on the BBS. Mostly about the Middle East situation. Which is getting so much coverage via the newspaper and TV, we didn't need more here.

Editor

Title: File base usage
Author: Larry Serflaten
To: All SPACE members

This BBS is for posting programs as well as messages. To make a great board, we have to find the needs of the callers and supply whatever is needed. I nave found there are few uploads over this past winter, also the file base 10-Local Talent has posts that no one has downloaded. These programs evidently dont fill the needs of the callers, or the callers are unaware of their availability. In any case, check them out, and upload your favorite programs for inclusion on this board.

Co-SysOp
Larry Serflaten

BASIC TUTOR - Side 1 (3 total)
Disk based educational text for BASIC programmers.
Shareware release Ver 1.0 - Larry Serflaten

BASIC TUTOR - Side 2 (3 total)
Disk based educational text for BASIC programmers.
Shareware release Ver 1.0 - Larry Serflaten

BASIC TUTOR - Side 3 (3 total)
Disk based educational text for BASIC programmers.
Shareware release Ver 1.0 - Larry Serflaten

Here is another Word Search puzzle generated by a program from APX, by Max Mulliner. There will be a different one each month. Each with it's own theme.

DISCLAIMER

Published by the Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts (SPACE), an independent organization with no business affiliation with ATARI Corporation. Permission is granted to any similar organization with which SPACE exchanges newsletters to reprint material from this newsletter. We do however ask that credit be given to the authors and to SPACE. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of SPACE, the club officers, club members or ATARI Corporation.