** 2 pages letters / 2210 words **
** You choose which one to leave out - but keep the last one **

Considering a PC?

I have been looking at some of the PC deals that can be bought now in the high street, and I must admit they all looked very tempting. Out of curiosity, I borrowed a couple of PC magazines (PC Pro & Computer Active) to see what was going on in the PC world. Well, I can honestly say that reading them has cured me from any PC itch that I might have had. There were horror stories about macro viruses that E-mail copies of your word documents to every one you know, reams of column inches on known software bugs (like excel pie charts that add up to 101%....) and stacks of reader queries on how to get their system working properly (which usually entails them booting up in MSDOS mode and hand editing a system file to call a new DLL which has to be downloaded from the MS website). There were 2 stories that really got me. One was informing the readership about a new feature of NTFS 5 that let them mount HD partitions, and the other was about Windows 98. Apparently this secretly embeds the network card ID of your PC into every word document you produce, and can send this to MS HQ. Therefore MS can track the originator of most word documents created. Big brother or what? Finally, the debate was raging about a new system to hit the PC platform... Linux!

I think I will stick to my trusty Falcon. If I ever do upgrade, I will probably get a second hand PII and run MagiC PC and Linux. If you are having difficulties getting your ST to work, think yourself lucky that you don't have a PC! And despite how this reads, I'm not trying to knock PC owners - just the hardware.

Gaz, via CIX ataricomputing conference


It's Not The End Until YOU Say So!

** GNOMES.GIF here **

It was with great sadness that I heard of the impending closure of Atari Computing. Many magazines came and went since the ST was released in 1985 but few will be remembered like Atari Computing, the magazine written by Atari users for Atari users. Funnily enough, this publication would never have been launched if it had not been for the collapse of the "last" remaining Atari magazines.

It all goes back to the news-stand days when ST Format, Atari ST Review and Atari ST User were all household names. The Atari market was a shadow of its former self by the time that ST User closed down and Future Publishing had bought over ST Review with the sole intention of closing it down, which they did swiftly. Those were the days of doom and gloom with ST Format left as the last surviving Atari magazine. How much longer would it be before they too closed and we were left with nothing? By then, almost everyone said it was just a matter of time until we were left with no Atari magazine, but a few months later Atari World surfaced and that got the enthusiasm stirred up again.

Atari World was the phoenix which rose from ST Review's ashes and it was all down to the dedication of a handful of enthusiasts who defied the critics and were determined to show that Atari was not dead and there was still enough life in the market to support two Atari magazines. Regardless of your opinions as to what went wrong at Atari World, Neal O'Nions, Vic Lennard, Andrew Wright and the rest of the team genuinely believed in what they were doing and actually had the courage to "do" something, while everyone else was sitting around waiting for the inevitable.

It was not long before both Atari World and ST Format (which lasted much longer than most had expected) had folded, leaving a huge gap in the market. At that point in time, Atari users had no means of obtaining news on the latest developments in Atari based software and hardware, nor of obtaining reliable reviews of these products. In fact it was nigh impossible to keep in touch with other Atari users unless you were on-line.

The original Atari Computing Group (and later Renegade Publishing) pulled off the impossible by launching a brand new professionally produced magazine into a so called "dead" market on a subscription basis AND making a success of it. The conditions were right for this type of magazine at that time. It would never have come about without the collapse of the news-stand titles, yet it is likely to be the publication we will all remember for many years to come. Atari Computing has always been owned and run by Atari enthusiasts. They had no axe to grind and no commercial interests to pursue. They were more reliant on subscriptions than advertising revenue so their first loyalty was always to their readers.

Despite the fact that Atari Computing was run on a non profit making basis, it could never have been described as an amateurish publication. Just because the writers (and indeed proprietors) gave their time freely, did not mean they were a bunch of amateurs. Many of them came from professional backgrounds, all had been using Atari computers for many years and they knew their stuff. I always found Atari Computing to be well presented, factual and a joy to read. It brought together a whole community not only through the pages of the magazine but also by way of the Atari Computing Conventions, its support for local and national user groups and in its drive to get everyone connected to the Internet.

Although we will all lament the passing of Atari Computing, we must respect the decision of the team to call time, as did our customers when we bowed out earlier in the year. Joe Connor, Mike Kerslake, the late Brian Stanton, Al Goold and all the regular contributors have produced sixteen issues of this magazine out of a common love for Atari computers. Atari Computing has been a major part of their lives for the past three years and their contributions to the Atari community have arguably surpassed those who came before them. We cannot thank them enough for their immense contribution to the Atari community.

The closure of Atari Computing is undoubtedly the end of an era. A third phoenix will not rise from the ashes and the Millennium will not bring with it an Atari revival. Atari computers were the best in their day and for several years they were technologically ahead of many of their rivals. Having said that, for many of us Atari computers continue to competently carry out the tasks we purchased them for and we don't NEED more. In conclusion, please remember this is the end of Atari Computing magazine, not of Atari computing as a culture. That will only end why YOU decide to call it a day!

Steve Delaney (ex Floppyshop)


Imaginary AC Covers!

I have been watching the tennis at Wimbledon, and Henman has some stripes on his strip which look just like the Atari logo - maybe it could be used on the cover of AC?
I've also had an idea for a while which would be fun to see, that is three staircases set up like the atari logo. Like the song If I were a rich man, one staircase going up one going down and one more going nowhere just for fun.
Just a couple of suggestions - I'm not offering because I can't "Do Art".

Thelma, via the CIX ataricomputing conference

Nice ideas, too late now though and unless some other magazine would like to use them these ideas will go to waste as well:

** UL **
* Leopard skin design, but with Fuji logo spots instead of normal spots.
* Snowman in garden being looked at from inside a frosted-up window, with window cleared in Fuji shape.
* The back of someone's head with the Fuji logo shaved in.
* Stars in the sky in the shape of Fuji logo - this idea was actually included on the AC7 cover between the œ3.00 and the STraTOS logo but was so subtle no-one noticed it (it's near-invisible on some copies but clear on others).
* The wake of a speedboat with water skiers in tow in the shape of a Fuji - I actually saw this live on TV, if only we'd taped the program!
* A Trojan Horse, cross-sectional/rear view in shape of Atari logo going  through gates of Troy where the walls of Troy are adorned with PC  logos.
** /UL **


Sorry To Hear The News...

As the title says. Nay - I was shocked! But if you really can't make a go of it and at least cover your costs, understandable. I don't suppose a cheaper paper would have helped?

In any case, all the Atari community's thanks are due to Joe and his team for their sterling work over the years - it must have been a hard slog for little thanks. So a big thank you from me - and I hope we can keep in touch via TransAction at least!

Peter West, via CIX Email

Thanks Peter, sadly the problems are more to do with free time than production costs. At least the controlled closure means we won't be taking any of our customers money down with us and we have this opportunity to say thanks and goodbye to everyone who has helped us over the last three years.


Dear Atari Friends

It was sad, but no real surprise, to read that Atari Computing is to close. The show in Stafford last Autumn hardly gave the impression of an Atari scene with lots of life left in it - and this is not intended as a criticism of the organisers. So maybe I shall have to learn that Gemulator is not the only useful program available for Windows.

Where do we go from here? For my part I have invested too much time and money into MagiC, Papyrus, Pagestream (did Soft Logik help to kill the Atari market, or did they just make a sound commercial decision?) and various others to want to change platform. There is still some software development in the German market, though even that appears to be declining slowly. It is not helped by the time lag in producing English language versions (Papyrus 7, Texel 2 and Artworx 2, to name three excellent Applications which are still not translated). Can the Milan reverse this? 
In your interview Ali Goukassian appeared optimistic - but then he would,
wouldn't he? And, in terms of content ST Computer/Atari Inside can more than fill the gap Atari Computing will leave - in my view it and its predecessors have always set the standard in the serious Atari press, being way ahead of ST Format and the like, and having the edge on ST Applications. The most obvious problem is one of language. Less obvious problems are:

** UL **
* All the advertisements are oriented to Germany or Switzerland
* The European banks and postal services still seem to be doing their best to discourage trading in the common European market.
** /UL **

Even so, would there be enough interest for Atari Computing to distribute the German magazine in England? If not, is there scope for a (partially) translated edition? - despite the extra costs of printing and the delays in publication. I could offer some help with the translation, for this would, no doubt, not be viable if professional translation had to be paid for. Or, maybe, any version in English would have to be produced on the internet to save printing and distribution costs. These are just a few ideas, thrown out almost randomly, in response to your request. Behind it all is the fact that, if the Atari market is still viable, it is probably only so on a European wide scale, so any solutions have to be looked at in that way.

Dr Brian Mulhall, via Email


And finally...

"Amazing" and "wonderful", two words I use to describe AC. From inception to, as Joe Connor wrote in issue #14, "The fat lady sings", we have seen an extraordinary output of Atari material for Atariphiles to absorb, use and enjoy. This is no accident. The required committed efforts of everyone associated with AC, making all the good stuff available in AC, is commendable.

By itself, the preceding is a lot however, this final issue #16, heralds an unusual in Atari history, that of its imminent demise being announced well in advance. And while the final issue will be the end of AC as a publication, it is not the end of a several year run and a history of honest and fair dealing with the readership, right up to the final, mailed out, AC#16. Such has sadly not been true of Atari publications, hardware or software, generally speaking.

So in advance, thank you for your spirited enthusiasm, good production values, delivery of product; all a testimonial to the hard work that dedicated, personal investment always delivers. Last but not least, AC magazine has been and remains, a fair deal.

Best wishes in the future to each and every one of you at Atari Computing.

Gary C Matteson, Norfolk, Nebraska, USA, via email