B

 

 

                      AMY REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE                            Monday, June 13, 1988                               Vol I  No. 2                                ===========            APEInc., P.O.  BOX 74,  Middlesex, N.J.  08846-0074  PUBLISHER                                              MANAGING EDITOR  Ron Kovacs                                               R.F.Mariano          =======================================================                     AMY REPORT EDITOR: Henry T. Colonna                  CIS:74726,3216          GEnie:HTCOLONNA                        Headquarters Bulletin Boards			     Amiga Headquarters				   NEXUS				804-547-1065 ST Report North             ST Report Central           ST Report South  201-968-8148                 216-784-0574                904-786-4176                   ------------------------------------                                CONTENTS                                ========* Editor's Corner....................* Flight Simulator Followup.......* Arkanoid/Discovery Software Info...* WordPerfect Bugs................* Floppy/Hard Disk Benchmarks........* Atari/Micron Suit...............* Copyright Policies of Networks.....* HP DeskJet Review...............========================================================================= Serving you on:        Compu-serve  -   GEnie=========================================================================Editor's Desk:Apparently the first issue was a success, based upon the number of downloadsfrom CompuServe and GEnie.  I hope that some of you out there are distributingthis to local boards so that Amy Report gets around.  Again, don't modify thecontent just distribute it all intact.  Reprint anything so long as magazine andauthor permission is given.  Those are the only groundrules.  To be honestthough, based on the number of downloads not many people said much!  Speak upout there, I want this to be a user's magazine, not just a one person ramble. On CompuServe leave a message in the message base to 74726,3216, on GEnie Emailto HTCOLONNA or feedback in CATegory 2, TOPic 23, or call Nexus at the numberabove.   Nexus is the "official" Amy Report Amiga bulletin board, everyone isinvited to check it out.  Nexus runs with BBS-PC and a hard drive, and has avery active message base and a lengthy download section.  Unfortunately it willbe down for a few weeks soon while the SYSOP is on vacation.The review of WordPerfect Library will not be in this issue as promised lastissue.  It's coming though, as soon as I give Library a thorough workout anddiscover if it's really worthy of the "WordPerfect" name.Bill Eastburn on CompuServe has volunteered to do covers for Amy Report, whichwill be stored in LIB 6 on CIS, and two ARCs will be available on GEnie - onewith the cover and one without.  The cover will be an original IFF digitizedpicture.  Thanks a whole lot Bill for the effort!Most of the interest and feedback from the last issue centered aroundInterceptor, the hold new release from Electronic Arts, with a little bit aboutJet and Interceptor.   I'll follow up this issue with some more information.  Wealso have some important information on GEnie's and CIS's copyright rules, andan absolutely wonderful review of the new HP DeskJet printer, which can be foundfor less than $1000, often as low as $800 or even lower.  Some other goodies popup here there and yonder.  I know the GEnie/CompuServe copyright information isboring, but I decided to explore it for "educational value", helped by a healthydose of misunderstandings about respective policies from many users.  Finally, some spelling errors are slipping by.  To be honest, they will continueto slip by.  With a 512K Amiga, I simply don't have enough room to runWordPerfect's spell checker, so spelling errors that I don't catch by eye willcontinue to slide by until I get more RAM.Til next time.                   -Henry Colonna=======================================================================Followup on "Amiga Flight Simulators" from issue one From: John L. BishopTo: Henry T. ColonnaSubject: AMY REPORTHenry, after reading your online magazine, I couldn't resist making a fewcomments:1.  Microsoft Flight Simulator (a cousin of FS II) for the Mac also hasthe Learjet option.2.  The reason the engine cuts out in FS II when you pull negative G's isbecause of fuel starvation.  These aircraft do not have an inverted fuelsystem, and therefore the engine WILL GET QUIET!!!3.  The weapons in JET have a lot to be desired.  For missiles, it is merelynecessary to fly 90 degrees to their path at a speed > Mach 1.1 or so toavoid them.  This is simply too easy.  Also, the gun is MUCH too effective -just try Interceptor (which is much more accurate) to see what I mean.  Also,even though the aircraft are equipped with AIM-9L's and AIM-7's - there is noway to "lock" on to a target far enough away for the AIM-7's extra range todo any good!.  Additionally, it is a LOT easier to fly formation in JET thanit should be...I know from personal experience!4.  Interceptor's HUD displays are documented on page 10 of the manual.What part didn't you understand?5.  Over all, the "feel" of military flight is much better represented inInterceptor than in any of the other simulations you mentioned.  I am aretired Navy pilot (due to medical disability) and I really get a kick outof Interceptor.  Despite the lack of proportional stick input, I feel theyhave done a good job without it.  I don't really miss it nearly as much asI thought I would.Thanks for a nice newsletter,                               John  //                                  \\//Thanks for the message, John.  Several people would disagree with you aboutInterceptor's realism, however.  Complaints center specifically around lack ofAnalog joystick support, Interceptor not self-centering when banking, and theceiling limit of 40,000 feet.  I'm not a pilot myself, but can only relate whatother pilots have heard.  Interceptor's HUD displays are diagrammed on page 10,but not documented.  I didn't understand about the Range Marker until I calledElectronic Arts - its only used for the gun, and shows where your fire will go. Also, the fire will only hit the enemy if he is on the same flight path andturning the same as you are.  If a plane is outside the HUD but within thecockpit view, then it's not properly being targeted by the HUD and a missilewon't be aimed properly.  The cross-hairs don't refer to anything about theweapons but as a reference point of some sort while banking and doing loops.  Istill haven't quite figured that one out.  But none of this is documented in themanual, which I find hard to understand since the HUD is an integral part of thegame.As far as Flight Simulator's engine sound stopping, that's interestinginformation.  If the sound stopping is accurate because of lack of fuel, whythen does the plane continue at full speed?  And why does the Lear Jet's soundstop also?  If the sound is accurate for the Cessna, then the full power of theengine is not.This next message comes to us from the StarShip Amiga Roundtable on GEnie.  Itwasn't addressed to AMY Report specifically but has some great information fromMike M.  Thanks to GEnie and Mike!Category 4,  Topic 24Message 41        Tue Jun 14, 1988MIKEM [- Mike -]             at 18:24 PDT Apparently, EA has been getting mega-calls from owners of Interceptor (Italked to them recently myself).Since we're talking strange goings-on in the program, I'll relate some of therecent wierdness I've encountered.  First, if you inch along the carriers deckyou find that you can extend the plane over the edge (almost the entire lengthof the plane).  Taking a look from outside the plane, you'll resemble somesort of funky carrier hood ornament.  Similar to this....if you land at SFOwith AF-1 already on the ground, and inch your way into its tail section youcan take an outside-above view and see that you are resting on top of itstail.  Climbing any further than about halfway over AF-1 will first cause youto sink underneath it, and eventually crash into it's midsection (destroyingit, but not denting your plane).  Also on the AF-1 mission....if you ignorethe MIG's and follow AF-1 to SFO, and land at the airfield with it, you caneasily take out the MIG's from the runway. They usually wont fire until youare down (or close to it), and even then their missiles will generally hitalongside you somewhere (an interesting sight, by the way).  If you do notshoot at the MIG's and let them fly around a bit, they will eventually land onthe water (or close) fairly near the runway.  This not only gives you easytargets to shoot at, but also an opportunity to view the MIG's close-up.Currently, I'm keeping occupied in the program by attempting precisionparachuting.  Already chuted through the Golden Gate, onto Alcatraz Isle, andinto E.A.'s plaza.  Attempting to scrape the TransAmerica building right now(very hard), and you can really view some terrific up-close scenery this way. - MikeThe complaints and confusion surrounding the shadow sub mission continue, as Iconstantly give people hints on how to finish this mission.  There is also someheavy criticism for Interceptor from others.  Here's a great message from DrewLucy of CompuServe's AmigaForum.#: 131003 S7/Games    21-Jun-88  21:41:52Sb: Intercept has no clothesFm: Drew Lucy 76337,75To: ALLAwhile ago someone left a message here saying that they had heard Interceptorwas just a demonstration program, intended to prove that the graphics routineswould work. Whether this is true or not, it exactly sums up my impression of theprogram. Interceptor is an amazing example of 3-D graphics on the Amiga.  Allwho worked on it should be commended for this aspect of the program.  However,"Radar Raiders" is also and excellent demo of the Amiga's graphics capabilitiesand I didn't have to pay over $40 for it. Of course, there's nothing to shoot atin Radar Raiders. On the other hand, it does have analog control via the mouse.I wasn't really expecting Interceptor to be a simulation. I was, however, hopingthat it would be a game with some long term play value.I've "flown" Interceptor for only three hours according to my stats and, I'malready bored. I realized that there was a serious problem when the mostinteresting mission I could think of was trying to shoot down Air Force One withcannon fire. Has anyone been able to shoot down anything with the cannon?I feel the discussion here about the lack of analog joystick control haspreempted discussion of the program's other major flaws. I can accept lack ofrealism in the name of playability. It doesn't bother me that you bounce off theground at MACH 1 with your gear up or that the planes hover at their 40,000+foot ceiling when pointed straight up. It does bother me that Interceptor isdeviod of strategy or variation of play.I'm looking forward to next year when, hopefully, the Interceptor demo will havebeen turned into a real game or, at least Falcon will have been ported to theAmiga. In the mean time, I'm going back to playing "F-15 Strike Eagle" on theold Atari 800 until something better comes along.                              Bitch, bitch, bitch...                              DrewOTHER NEWS - Spectrum Holobyte _is_ working on the much heralded FALCON for theAmiga.  Falcon is known as the world's best fighting simulation for theMacintosh and IBM computers, and a Spectrum Holobyte official showed up onCompuServe to verify the rumors.  It's still aways away, in pre-Alpha now to beexact, but it is coming, and judging from the other versions should bespectacular on the Amiga.SubLogic is working on a new update to Jet.  I discussed Jet with an official atSublogic on the telephone, and apparently all four month old products go backand get updated.  Unfortunately, they aren't doing some major overhauls to Jetbut some minor fixes.  She implied that they were going back to work on Jet'stargeting and HUD system, which still doesn't work especially releastically evenafter the initial buggy version.  However, we're not going to see anycountermeasuers or other major enhancements - they may however come later.--Henry==============================================================================Arkanoid Updated--Henry ColonnaDiscovery Software's arcade conversion Arkanoid has been updated to include 32more levels.  The new packages have a gold star sticker on the shrink wrap thatproclaims the additional levels.  Current owners of Arkanoid can update to thenew version for $15, contact Discovery for more details.An official from Discovery would not comment when I asked him if Marauder II wasbeing discontinued.  He also would not comment when I asked him if it washypocrisy to make Discovery's games uncopyable under their own copy programMarauder.  The official did, however, acknowledge that there has not been a"brain file" update to Marauder for awhile, and that none is planned.==============================================================================WordPerfect bugs!The 4/15/88 release of WordPerfect still contains some problems, as I reportedin the last issue.  Here's some messages from Lynn Lebaron - head programmer forAmiga WordPerfect.  These messages appeared on CompuServe's AmigaForum.129729 S8/Amiga at Work    16-Jun-88  14:10:18Sb: #WordPerfectFm: WordPerfect Amiga 72447,3427To: Bill Leach 71330,2621 (X)Bill, We've had a very weird bug in Switch which we 'think' we have found and fixed.It seems totally random,  in the worst case it starts writing to a temporaryfile, and never finishes (i.e. reboot required to fix it).  This doesn'tpermanently trash the disk, but it will take a while for the system to repairthe open fill after you reboot. MOST people have never seen this bug.  //\X/ Lynn129730 S8/Amiga at Work    16-Jun-88  14:10:36Sb: #WordPerfectFm: WordPerfect Amiga 72447,3427To: Bill Leach 71330,2621 (X)Bill, Just as a point of information for you, the ol' endless macro can still beterminated by pressing the Cancel key (F1). Commodore has just fixed a bug in the printer device which should prevent theoccasional hanging of Cancel & Stop in Print.  Of course you'll probably haveto wait for the release of 1.3 to get that fix.  //\X/ Lynn129732 S8/Amiga at Work    16-Jun-88  14:11:14Sb: #129257-#WordPerfectFm: WordPerfect Amiga 72447,3427To: Ben Blish (SoftCircuits) 72667,1341 (X)Ben, They've had IBM products out there for several years now.  Any time you startwriting for a new machine there are going to problems.  Example, the IBMversion doesn't have the Switch bug.  Switch on the Amiga is switching to aseparate process (each document is a separate process).  On the PC it's justanother set of variables & edit buffer.  I.e. it's something new that has neverbeen tryed before.  We've spent LOTS of time trying to find that bug, but untiljust recently it has completely eluded us.  //\X/ LynnPS.  Working around bugs in the OS has caused us some grief as well129733 S8/Amiga at Work    16-Jun-88  14:11:33Sb: #129260-#WordPerfectFm: WordPerfect Amiga 72447,3427To: Henry Colonna 74726,3216 (X)Henry, No more 'fiascos' even if it costs us several months of release time.  We wereunder EXTREME pressure to release Amiga 4.1 when it did.  I KNOW it wasn'tready to release, but then again, it wasn't my decision. All I can say is, I'm sorry the 4.1 released in the state it did, and we'redoing our best to make sure that it never happens again.  We're also tryingmaking sure that 4.1 is the best it can be.  //\X/ Lynn==============================================================================DRIVE BENCHMARKS*Editor's Note - I found this file in GEnie's Starship Amiga download section.Thanks goes to GEnie for providing this interesting information.*** Updated 05/04/88 ***Performance timings using Rick Spanbauer's DiskPerf program.System                        Dir/   Seek    Read/Write  (by buffer size) /Disk    Size Create Delete  Scan   Read      512    4096    8192   32767======= ====== ====== ====== ====== =====   ======  ======  ======  ======Amiga floppy - DF1: [1]          880K    <=1      1     38     2    11014   12024   12080   12136                                              4974    5180    5170    5190Amiga RAMdisk - RAM: [2]             ?      5     10      5     51  201649  655360  873813  873813                                            137970  262144  291271  327680Amiga ASDG RRD - VD0: [3]            2M     18     43     51    132   70849  109226  113975  119156                                             46811   63937   65536   67216Amiga Turner/MicroForge - DH1: [4]           10M      6     12     46     46   23616   24272   24499   24272                                             13041   17246   18078   17955Amiga Supra - DH0: [5]           20M      7     12     50     50   22215   22215   22405   22598                                             18078   19134   19418   19710Amiga Side-Effects - DH0: [6]             ?      8     13     51     50   25954   25450   25206   25700                                             14324   19275   19134   20641Amiga Xebec - DH0: [7]           20M      2      3     45     47   31207   37449   37449   38550                                             13582   14979   14727   14894Amiga C Ltd - DH0: [8]           20M      7     15     50     40   17133   17133   17133   17133                                             12603   13512   13653   13797Amiga C Ltd - DH0: [9]           20M      6      9     43     42   24499   28493   28493   29127                                             14536   15984   16181   16282Amiga C Ltd - DH0: [10]          135M      9     20     51     53   27025   27025   27306   27306                                             13107   13173   13173   13173Sun 3/50 [11]             ?      6     11    350    298  240499  234057  233189  236343                                            215166  182466  179755  187580VAX 8800 [12]             ?     13     29   1629   1914  449389  421679  419990  410669                                            146585  183960  185807  191812Amiga A2000/A2090 [13]           20M     4      20     35     60   28493   40329    41610  42974                                             12365   12725    12725  12725Amiga A2000/BridgeBoard [14]           29M    10      21     51     50   23831   25954    25954  25700                                             13724   13797    13797  13582Amiga A2000/A2090 [15]           40M    10      27     98     94   74898  119156   154202 201649                                             26749   97069   113975 131072Amiga A2000/A2090 [16]           20M     8      14     45     50   21845   24499    24730  26214                                             12850   16804    16912  17593Amiga A2000/A2090 [17]           41M     6      23     42     73   36921   49461    49461  52428                                             13724   15330    15330  15511Amiga A2000/A2090 [18]           41M     6      24     41     73   36408   48545    49461  51400                                             13239   13374    13374  13374Amiga A2000 Modified ASDG RRD [19]            ?M    20      45     49    137   77101  119156   124830 131072                                             50412   67216    72817  72817Notes: All tests done under 1.2 release 33.46. All Amiga timings done by Fred Fish (unless otherwise noted). [1]  DF1: tests done after "AddBuffers 32" & freshly formatted disk. [2]  RAM: tests done with ASDG RAM attached and active for RAM: use. [3]  VD0: tests done with 2MB recoverable RAM disk, nearly full. [4]  Scott Turner's MicroForge and custom driver results.  ST-225 formatted      at 10M, 87% full, MFM encoding, 65ms. [5]  Supra 20 MB Hard Drive tests performed by deb! Christensen.  45% full. [6]  Side Effects Side Track timings done by Jay Denebeim of Side Effects. [7]  Xebec timings done by Bob Eller; 37% full (3M of 8M partition) with       version 3.0 of the Xebec hard drive device driver.  2.5M Amiga. [8]  C Ltd 20M tested with original interface and driver.  20M Rodime.      Timing by Steve Plegge. [9]  C Ltd 20M tested with the new (October 87) PAL and SCSI.device.  Disk       60% full - and plenty fragmented.  20M Rodime.  Timing by Steve Plegge.[10]  C Ltd 135M tests done by David Salas (RLL Micropolis 5.25" HD, 28ms).[11]  Sun-30/50 timings by Rick Spanbauer, and show what a high-performance       system talking to a SCSI can do.[12]  VAX 8800 timings, done by Mike Meyer, show what a high-performance I/O       system can do.[13]  A2090 controller with 20M Miniscribe and ST506 interface.  Drive is about      65% full.[14]  49M Segate ST157 3 1/2" drive with WD RLL controller (hardcard) installed      on the PC side thru the Bridgeboard.  20M MS-DOS partition and a 29M ADOS      partition.  The MS-DOS partition required an interleave of 5 and ADOS re-      quired a 2 for best results.  The MS-DOS Norton SI test indicate a 1.6       with a transfer rate of 160K/sec.  Timings by Disk Sheffold.[15]  40M Miniscribe 3650, 65ms, on 5M A2000 with A2090 controller.  900K DOS      partition, 40M fast file system (gamma 4) by Neil Katin, 536 bytes/block.      50% full.  Timings by Steve S. George.[16]  20M partition of 40M Phoenix hard drive on A2000 with A2090 controller.      Timings by Ben G. Scheie.[17]  41M Miniscribe 3650 (6 heads, 61ms average access time) MFM.  Timings by      William G. Joyce.[18]  20M Miniscribe 8438 (formatted as an 8425) (4 heads, 65ms average access      time) MFM.  Timings by William G. Joyce.[19]  Modified ASDG recoverable RAM disk - disassembled and rewritten, but not      finished.  Timings by William G. Joyce.==============================================================================Editor's note:  Atari made some news recently when they sued Micron, a maker ofpopular RAM expansions for the Amiga.  Micron makes its own RAM chips and Atariallegedly felt that Micron was allegedly boosting its chip prices to takeadvantage of the current chip shortage.  Evidently Micron is selling some of itsRAM to Atari for ST computers.  Micron has also been under fire from Amigaowners for raising prices.OTC  06/14 1605  ATARI REACHES OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT AGAINST ...SUNNYVALE, CA (JUNE 14) PRWIRE - Atari Corp. (AMEX, PSE: ATC) announced todayan out-of-court settlement regarding its recent lawsuit against MicronTechnology Inc. (NASDAQ: DRAM).The case was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties. The terms ofthe settlement agreement are confidential and were not released.Atari Corp. is a leading international manufacturer and marketer ofpersonal-computer systems and video games.CONTACT: Greg Pratt of Atari, 408-745-2349.==============================================================================			PAY NETWORK COPYRIGHT POLICY			--Henry ColonnaUpon beginning this magazine, I've found it necessary to contact both CompuServeand GEnie officials regarding respective copyright policies, because I wanted topossibly reprint messages, files and conferences from both services, and post this information on both services and on bulletin boards.  Both services have been very helpful and the results I've achieved have been positive.  Coincidentally, I've noticed a considerable lack of knowledge on members' partsof the respective service's policies, so I discuss what I've found out about thepolicies of the two networks.  First the formalities.  This discussion is meant as an "education" and "enlightenment" to the policies of pay networks in regards to their services.It is meant IN NO WAY to state the policy of ANY NETWORK officially, and I andmy affiliates, associates, and pay networks can be IN NO WAY responsible for anymisinterpretation, confusion, or anything (accidentally) blatantly wrong in thisarticle.  Each user has the responsibility to read the copyright policy and contact the appropriate officials if questions arise.  The actual policies areavailable on CompuServe by typing "GO COPYRIGHT" at any main prompt, and timespent there is free.  GEnie's policies are available on page 13.The most important concept that both services use is the "compilation copyright."  This means that the services collect information, add value to it (through many ways - testing, commentary, discussion, description, etc.) and distribute it to others.  Now, contrary to some rumors and misinformation, this "compilation copyright is NOT ownership.  However, the services do retain the right to distribute, reprint, and edit any information (as in messages or text I assume) that a user places in the public areas of the service to other people.  This is an "understanding" that each user makes by becoming a member of the service, and is explained in the user agreements.Neither service allows any copyrighted material to be placed on the service without the author's permission.  This is understandable - they are not going toviolate the very laws that they are protecting themselves with.Both services go to great pains to allow customers to non-commerciallyredistribute copyright programs as long as permission is granted from the ownerand/or author of the program, and for redistribution of non-copyrighted programs.  Most programs specify their distribution rules in the documentation, and I've only seen a few programs that restrict themselves "only for CompuServe members."  This area is particularly interesting - there are some bizarre restrictions I've seen on some programs (this program may not be uploaded to a service that charges more than $15 for non-prime time useage at 1200 baud) and other bizarre restrictions.  These restrictions are of questionable legality - although I wouldn't want to be the person to test those laws, and neither would most people.  I have seen some programs marked "for the exclusive use of XXXX service members only."  One commercial magazine house would occasionally upload type-in programs to a network with that restriction - it was mostly obeyed (from what I saw) but I'm unsure as to the ability of a restriction like that to hold in court.  But again, I wouldn't want to test it.  Someone who goes to the trouble to place that restriction on a download would probably feel strongly enough about trying to enforce it.Both services allow the use of material obtained on the services for acustomer's own use and for redistribution as the customer sees fit, except there are some restrictions here.First, the person who redistributes the software immediately assumes anyresponsiblity and legality for the distribution of that software.  These relinquishes the network for irresponsibility on the parts of the customers about possible restrictions (like some of the examples above) on the distribution of software.  Secondly, a user cannot update a bulletin board regularly or transfer a largenumber of files to another service or bulletin board.  Both services do have restrictions on the messages and other news posted bye customers.  CompuServe says that there shall be no information left on the network that "violates or infringes upon the rights of any person" or anyinformation that would be considered "abusive, profane or sexually offensiveto an average person."  They also prohibit advertising and solicitation (thankgoodness.)  CompuServe also goes to lengths to say what should happen if violations are made, including "cease and desist" orders and retaining the rightto terminate membership of any customer.Redistribution of messages and other information is a little vaguer than programs.  CompuServe does have the "blanket" compilation copyright, but doesn'tspell in detail the rights of redistribution of messages (except that by postinga message on their system they have the rights themselves.)  After dealing withthis issue, I've found that the forum head sysop is the best person to talk toshould the need arise, and that policies are reasonable and sensible (in my opinion at least.)GEnie states that re-printing of any sort requires permission from GEnie, exceptfor "press excerpts."Commentary:  Both services have fairly clear copyright messages, but there'sobviously room for interpretation.  For instance, what exactly does CompuServemean by "high frequency and/or high volume transfers."  They don't give "scientific" numbers - for example, 5 files in 3 days or less.  They leave themselves a little room for interpretation.Sometimes there will be complaints about the respective services' policies. However, to put things plain and simply as I see them (and this is only myinterpretation, for whatever it's worth) each service wants to protect his orher interests.  For instance, it would be legally wrong (and morally wrong in myopinion) for someone to open Cheapo's Telecommunications Emporium for $.50 per hour and drop onto GEnie and capture the entire message base and post it on theEmporium, and then to log onto CompuServe and post the entire file library on this service.  Even if the fictional Emporium were free, it'd still be very unfair.  The other networks' sysops would be doing all the "work" and "advertising" for new members, which I would GRAB for my own use, and those sysops would be doing all the basic testing and checking of files, and organization for the Cheapo Telecommunications Emporium.  Neither service is known for "going after" people who have good intentionsor being overly protective, so there is probably not much for the average user to be concerned about.  But, I would advise bulletin board operators who frequent a pay network to get in touch with officials regarding distributionpolicy.  It's always better to be safe and not to offend anyone, or to live in confusion or fear.  ==============================================================================DESKJET REVIEW[Editor's note:  This review was an "easter egg" discovered in the GENiedownload libraries for the Atari ST.  There _is_ some specific Atari STterminology.  However, there is an overwhelming amount of specific informationabout this fabuluous new printer, that if you "put up with" the Atari STspecific information, it's still very valuable to us Amiga owners.  Preferencesfor AmigaDOS 1.3 will support this printer, and it's possible to get it up andrunning with Amiga software now by purchasing either the Epson emulationcartridge or the LaserJet cartridge.]LASER QUALITY WITHOUT A LASER PRICE!The revolutionary new Hewlett Packard "DeskJet" inkjet printer.Review by Jim Wallace   For many of you who have been anxiously "wishing and hoping" for analternative to a laser printer and expensive memory upgrades for quality desktoppublishing - the wait is finally over! Now,  thanks to Hewlett Packard, you canget real "laser quality" output WITHOUT a laser printer!  This is a review ofthe new, HP "DeskJet" INKJET printer that offers real "power without the price"for desktop publishers, and is without a doubt the single most importanttechnological development for desktop publishing to come down the pike since thelaser printer!WEIGHING YOUR OPTIONS...   It was rumored for some time that Atari might introduce a low cost, highresolution printer that would run with relatively low memory.  Instead, theyintroduced a laser printer for $1,995 retail that requires a minimum of twomegabytes of memory to operate.  This means that on top of the expense of theprinter itself, you must either purchase a new Mega ST with at least two megs ofmemory for about $1,500, or upgrade the memory of your  present ST computer toat least two megabytes.  And since the required one meg memory chips haverecently skyrocketed to around $40 each, you will spend about $700 for a memoryboard and the required 16 chips it takes to get a 1040ST to 2 1/2 megs.  This isbecause most boards require that you go to 2 1/2 megs instead of just two megs.Again, adding this required 1 1/2 meg to a 1040ST to get it to 2 1/2 megsrequires 16 one megaBIT chips since these are measured in "bits" - not "bytes".   Besides buying an Atari laser printer, there are of course other alternativesavailable.  You could purchase a Hewlett Packard LaserJet printer or compatible.Unlike the "Atari solution," you won't be required to upgrade your computermemory to run these printers - but, you'll have to upgrade your printer'smemory, and this will cost about the same as upgrading your Atari computer'smemory.    You can of course, also purchase an expensive "Postscript" printer, but thiswill run you at least $3,500 for one of the "cheap" models!  "Souped up" unitswith more memory and more fonts, faster output, etc. will cost you even more.BITS, BYTES AND BUCKS...   This extra memory, by the way, is needed because a laser printer must printthe whole page "at once."  And for quality desktop publishing, you'll need 300dpi resolution which interprets into 90,000 bits per square inch that theprinter must deal with. For a typical 8 1/2 x 11 inch page, your image area isabout 8 x 10, and 8 times 10 equals 80, and 80 square inches times 90,000 bitscomes to a whopping 7,200,000 BITS of image, which in turn translates intoalmost 1 megaBYTE!  What all this means is that a typical laser printer MUSThave about 1 meg just to create and hold the page for printing.  Additionalmemory is required for fonts and other files.   In short folks, there's a BIG "gotcha" anyway you go if you want a laserprinter for desktop publishing.  In the near future, perhaps as early as latethis summer, when memory chips have hopefully come down in price, and Atariintroduces a rumored "Postscript compatible software driver" for their laserprinter, things should be different.  But, if you're like me, and are tired ofalmost endless "real soon now" promises, and must get things done NOW, an answerhas ALREADY arrived.A DREAM COME TRUE...   Just introduced in the first quarter of 1988, the amazing Hewlett Packard"DeskJet" printer has solved the output problem for most of us.  So finally, the"rest of us" have a relatively inexpensive, practical, and viable answer to highquality output on the Atari ST computer [Editor's Note: and Amiga, grin].  Inshort, the DeskJet is "A DREAM COME TRUE" - and in more ways than one!COMPARING THE TECHNOLOGY...   As most of you know, "laser" printers apply their image to paper the same wayas most "dry" toner photocopiers. In fact, the only difference between a"copier" and a "laser printer" is what FORM the "original" is in - a "digitalstream of bits" or a visible, tangible image on paper. (Note that the new breadof "digital copiers" like the Canon Color Laser Copier, also use lasers to imagethe drum, yet cannot be connected to a computer).   A "conventional" photocopier uses optics and "normal" reflected light toexpose an electrostaticly charged drum with a mirrored image of the original.   A laser printer or laser copier, on the other hand, uses optics which reflecta high intensity laser beam onto the drum which produces "rasterized" rows ofdots which mirror the original, digital computer image.   In either case, after the drum has been charged by light, both technologiesproduce the image onto paper in exactly the same way.  This is done by using adry, powdered "toner" that clings toeither the image, or non-image areas of thedrum (depending on whether "write black" or "write white" technology is used)and is then deposited onto the paper.  This toner, which is basically composedof black carbon and plastic resin, is then "fused" (literally melted, or"glued") to the paper surface by heat and pressure.  There is no "ink" involved,and the toner is left "stuck" to the surface of the paper. I've simplified thisprocess a bit for brevity, but I think you get the general idea.BACK TO THE FUTURE...   As someone who has been involved in printing and "graphic arts" for manyyears, I have a "special affection" for the HP DeskJet. This is because it usesa unique "inkjet" technology to put images on paper.  Specifically, this uniqueprint method is described as "plain paper drop-on-demand thermal inkjetprinting.  "Much like an actual printing press, the HP DeskJet uses real, liquidINK and literally "sprays" this directly onto (and into) the paper, much likeone of those robotic arms which automatically spray paint products on anassembly line.   Although inkjet technology has been used for the past few years forhigh-speed addressing and other low quality "imprinting" applications, HewlettPackard is probably the first to apply this innovative, high tech process tohigh quality output for personal computers.   The DeskJet uses a unique, replaceable ink cartridge/print head that producesan image by blowing ink through tiny, microscopic holes in its patented printhead.  The print head travels down the page in horizontal "passes" from left toright, across the sheet, much like other printers. Unlike printers which use ribbons, an inkjet printer produces perfectly inkedimages without the annoying white lines, faded areas, and other imperfectionsproduced by even the best dot matrix "impact" ribbon printers. Note that inkjet,wire impact,and laser printers are all "dot matrix" printers.  The onlydifference is HOW they put the dots on the paper.    In fact, large-scale inkjet printing technology may someday be used insteadof printing presses to print just about everything- including your dailynewspaper!  The equipment just needs to be built large enough and fast enough tobe able to move more paper through the machine.PERFORMANCE?...It's "BAD!"   And just to prove how "bad" it really is, the HP DeskJet is not afraid toprint large, perfectly printed black solid areas and even fine screens.  Infact, fine screens look so good you can't tell whether they were produced byinkjet or by offset printing.  You see nothing but a solid gray, no lines orstreaks whatever - but that's not all folks! While producing perfect solidblacks,  it also produces the finest hair lines.  Pages produced by this amazingprinter are picture perfect, and are as good (and in some cases better) thananything you can print on even the Atari laser printer.  And I use the Atarilaser printer for comparison because it produces probably the best image qualityof any laser printer on the market today.  And yes, it is virtually impossibleto  distinguish the difference between the same pages produced on both the Atarilaser printer and the HP DeskJet.  The DeskJet is normally slower, but thequality is the same.  And since the DeskJet can be purchased for much less than$1,000, combined with the fact that it operates just fine on one megabyte ofmemory, this makes it a real "power without the price" product!  In fact, theDeskJet is to printer price/performance what the Atari ST is to computerprice/performance.     As you may have already guessed, I'm really sold on the Hewlett PackardDeskJet!  But to put this opinion in perspective, I've  been in the graphic artsindustry for many years.  I've set REAL metal and wood type by hand, and I'vealso set type on some of the leading photo and digital typesetters used incommercial typesetting.  In other words, I'm into desktop publishing "from thetop down," instead of from the "bottom up."  And because of my background inprinting and advertising, it takes quite a lot just to get my attention, letalone my "admiration."     Since purchasing the DeskJet, I've really "put it through it's  paces." I've tried the "hard stuff:" large black solids, fine  screens, and I've lookedthrough a jewelers "loup" to see if the  fine "serifs" are printing well.  I'vealso tried printing both very small, and very large digitized photographsscanned on a Navarone scanner at 300 dpi.     Comparing output from the DeskJet with even a great laser printer like"Atari's own," I've yet to see anything that is not equal in quality.  In fact,I've even made a "game" of it.  By printing the same pages on both the Atarilaser printer and the DeskJet, I  have given these to people just to see if theycan tell "which-is -which."  And so far, no one has been able to tell thedifference!     However, don't get me wrong, there IS a way to tell the  difference.  Butthe "secret" is to look at the BACK of the sheet!  Yep, because inkjet printinguses real INK, it normally "wrinkles" the paper ever-so-slightly wherever itdeposits the ink.  This is not a "problem" however, it is simply one of thosesubtle little differences that are a part of any printing process.  Forinstance, experienced printers can easily differentiate between sheets whichhave been printed by offset, letterpress, gravure, silk screen, and otherprinting processes by simply knowing what "clues" to look for.  FEED THE KITTY...    Besides outstanding print quality, another advantage to using the DeskJet isthat it uses cut sheet, plain paper.  And while some paper prints better thanothers, almost anything works.  The convenient paper tray holds up to 100sheets, and the automatic paper feed mechanism functions perfectly and is veryeasy to use.     Another major advantage to using cut sheet paper is that paper alignment isno longer a problem.  For instance, if your software was set for a half inchmargin all the way around the page, then that's EXACTLY what you will get!  Nomore wasted time trying to align the horizontal and vertical position of tractorfeed paper!     Although any decent "bond" type paper works fine for most work, I'vediscovered by trial and error that for the finest reproduction possible youshould use "Hammermill Laser Plus."  It even has a special "wax hold outcoating" on the back for paste-up of camera ready masters.  For the finest"reproduction proofs" this premium paper is tops.  For a free sample pack ofthis fine paper and a Hammermill dealer near you, you can call them toll-free at1-800-621-8272.      The DeskJet not only feeds paper sizes up to 8 1/2 x 14, but will also feedenvelopes!  But because the paper must wrap around a  roller (called a "platen")much like a typewriter, this limits the paper thickness to about 60lb. stock. Itcannot feed "thick"  postcards, and mailing labels are not recommended. Small,die cut labels might possibly come off and stick inside the machine which couldcause problems.     When printing envelopes, these must be fed by hand.  The envelope featureis included for people who don't have a typewriter and  simply want to printsimple addresses and the like on standard  sizes up to a #10 size businessenvelope.  You can print on these by using almost any word processor, but theprocess is slow and is only included as a "convenience feature."     Personally, I simply use my now "almost obsolete" dot matrix printer toprint labels the "old fashioned way."  And for postcards and other thick stock,I just create an original on the DeskJet and then photocopy this on 8 1/2 x 11inch "postcard stock" and cut out the cards as needed.  But shucks, not evenlaser printers can feed EVERYTHING!     Since having the DeskJet, I really haven't used the old dot matrix much -but it's not yet totally obsolete.  It has now found a "new career" as ascanner, using the "IMG Scan" attachment.  COMPATIBILITY ASSURED...    Surprisingly, compatibility is fortunately a "non-issue" with the HP DeskJetprinter since it uses some of the most popular printer languages in use today.The DeskJet comes with the HP PCL (level  3) printer language built-in and anoptional Epson FX-80 emulation cartridge is now available for about $75.  Nextto Epson and Postscript, the popular HP PCL printer language is supported bymore software than you can imagine.  Practically EVERY serious software programfor both the IBM and the Atari ST [Editor's Note: and of course, Amiga] supportsthis very popular language.  This is mainly due to the immense popularity of theHP LaserJet printers.  In fact, there are more  HP laser printers andcompatibles around than any other type of laser printer, and this includes theApple LaserWriter.  What this means to you is that since the HP LaserJet andDeskJet both use  virtually the same language, you can use the popular HPLaserJet drivers for your DeskJet!  Note that the DeskJet doesn't need to be"compatible" with the LaserJet - it simply uses virtually the  SAME language!I've used my DeskJet with HP 150 dpi and 300 dpi LaserJet drivers with programslike Publishing Partner and Drafix 1 with no problems whatever.         NOTE: Specifically, the DeskJet uses HP PCL "level 3" and the HP LaserJetuses HP PCL "level 4."  But the subtle difference shows up only when doingjustified, "micro-spacing" in TEXT mode when using the DeskJet's internal ROMfonts.  Currently, WordPerfect is the only program supporting this feature inconjunction with HP's optional font cartridges which are almost identical tothose used by the LaserJet.         EPSON EMULATION: While the Epson emulation cartridge works great, and evenadds some special features of it's own, you must remember that the word"emulation" means "to work like something else."  So don't expect that withEpson emulation that your output from Epson drivers will magically print at 300dpi - not so!  It's true that  your printouts will look much better all around,but the resolution will be the SAME as with an Epson or compatible printer.  Itworks this way on a laser printer, and it works this way on the DeskJet.    Incidentally, since there is still no Epson emulator available for the Atarilaser printer, DeskJet owners currently have another big compatibilityadvantage.  And, unlike the Atari laser printer which can only be used with anAtari computer, the HP DeskJet, because of it's built-in, industry-standardserial and parallel ports, can be used with ANY personal computer.  WANTA RACE?...    While the HP DeskJet won't normally beat a laser printer in the quartermile, it does produce exceptional print quality that equals any laser printer. Speed is a relative thing on any printer, and the DeskJet is no exception.  Printouts can take from 30 seconds to about 20  minutes, depending on manyfactors.     TEXT MODE: Like other printers, the DeskJet uses built-in ROM  fonts forfast, text-only output.  The printer's rated print speed for such "defaultfonts" is 120 cps at 10 cpi in letter-quality  mode, and 240 cps at 10 cpi indraft mode.  The printer can use the built-in Courier font, more than a dozenoptional font cartridges which even include big-gun "typeset quality" fonts likeTimes Roman and Helvetica, or "soft (downloadable) fonts" used with optionalprinter RAM.  You can expect to print a  respectable 2 pages per minute whenusing the "built-in" fonts.          Draft mode prints at 150 dpi while letter quality mode prints at 300 dpi. Print quality is indistinguishable from even a daisy wheel, and the normal printfeatures like variable pitch, bold, italic, etc. are obviously supported.  Afriendly printer control  panel and easy-to-use, plug-in cartridges with brightgreen LED's, make using this whisper quiet printer a breeze.     GRAPHICS: Here is where the DeskJet really shines! It does full-pagebitmaped graphics at 75, 100, 150, and 300 dpi.  Margin space around your pageat 300 dpi is the same as for a laser printer.  You can print as close as aquarter-inch from the edges of the sheet which gives you an effective image areaof about 8 x 10 1/2 for a letter size sheet.     The time it takes to print a full-page of graphics depends on many factors.These include:  the program used to create the page, the type and efficiency ofthe drivers used, what printer language is used, the amount of computer memoryavailable, print buffer size (the DeskJet comes with a built-in 16K buffer andan optional 128K RAM cartridge is available), whether serial or parallel is used(parallel is much faster), the make-up of your page (text and high resolutionbitmaps like photos normally take longer to print than simple "objects" likelines, boxes and polygons), and still other variables.     In general, graphic files which can use GEM output - like Easy- Draw -print much faster than programs like Publishing Partner  which currently doesn'thave fast, optimized drivers.  The latest release of "Publishing PartnerProfessional" (which may not be out till summer) is supposed to ship with"enhanced" drivers for  the HP LaserJet/DeskJet printers that reportedly willspeed up the current version by as much as 40%.  [Editor's note:  Publishing Partner Professional is being made for the Amiga too, and WILL come out, thoughit is several months behind.  Stay tuned to Amy Report for further details.]     Average times for Easy-Draw at 300 dpi run about 3-5 minutes per full-page. While Publishing Partner averages about 10 minutes per full-page.  But "small"layouts in Publishing Partner have printed out in as little as one minute, while"heavy" full-page layouts have taken as long as 20 minutes.  (The 150 dpidrivers are used for fast proofing, and print out in about half the time). [Editor's Note:  For comparison, an Epson 9 pin printout with an Epson-style 9pin printer with ST Publishing Partner takes from 30 to 45 minutes for anaverage  page with average graphics.]     Note that the DeskJet only has to make one pass per line regardless ofresolution or mode.  For 300 dpi it just "blows" more dots onto the paper in thesame pass.  This is a far cry from my "old" dot matrix impact printer that mustmake as many as three passes for so-called "high rez" output.     ZAPPING A "MYTH:"  Most people probably think that laser printers are always"lightning fast," but this is simply not always the case.  This probably has todo with the word "laser," which conjures up images of instantaneous light beamsshooting everywhere.  It's true laser beams are fast, the problem is that theymust first be given the "directions" to know where to go.  Laser printers (justlike the DeskJet and dot matrix impact printers) must first change the printerlanguage used by the software into a bitmap (this process is called "RIP," or"raster image processing").  This is a complicated process which can take a longtime to accomplish, since at 300 dpi, the computer must map over 7 millionpixels for a full-page graphic!  Depending of course on which printing languageis used, and other factors, it can take even a $5,000 Apple LaserWriter usingPostscript (no speed demon itself) over 15 minutes to create a rasterized imagein memory.  So, as you can see, it always takes additional time for eachDIFFERENT page to print on a laser printer.  Once the image is created however,a laser printer can then print COPIES of this "original" image as fast as theprinter can physically operate.  And for most laser printers, this is abouteight sheets per minute.     What all of this means is that while both the laser and DeskJet  printerneed additional time to process the first page, the laser printer is capable ofpumping out additional copies of each page much faster, while the DeskJet takesalmost as long to print each copy as it does to print the original.  But thisapplies only to  graphics.     All text pages produced with any printer with built-in fonts will print atthe maximum speed of the device.  Text pages produced  with built-in fonts donot need to be processed as bitmaps since the mapping for the character setsalready reside in ROM.     To sum up folks, the DeskJet will print, on average, much faster than a"dot matrix" printer, but slower than an average laser printer.  Remember thatwhen the DeskJet is printing at 300 dpi, it's printing 90,000 dots (or "pixels")per square inch!     As laser printers go, the Atari laser printer, which uses the very fast"DMA" port, is probably the fastest laser printer around.  In fact, it caneasily print a full-page from Easy-Draw in less than one minute!  But don'texpect to get this same speed from a HP Laser printer or compatible.  Like theDeskJet, these printers cannot be connected to Atari's own proprietary DMA portand must therefore use either the slow serial port or the relatively fastparallel port.  Perhaps surprisingly, I have found that in many cases theDeskJet has actually been faster than some laser printers!     I'VE ALWAYS SAID: "That if I only had a printer that would give mebeautiful typeset quality, I wouldn't care so much about how long it took toprint out."  Well, the DeskJet is just that.  Since I use it strictly forcommercial typesetting, I'm only concerned about getting ONE, good,"camera-ready" page for later reproduction by offset or copy machine.  If youneed a printer for a large office where each sheet must be printed in multiples,or you need a printer that can be connected to a network of users at the sametime, then the DeskJet may not be for you.  But if you're like me and just wantto produce fine "originals" and will be using the  printer just yourself, thenthe DeskJet may be just the ticket.  The DeskJet is advertised as a "personalprinter," and for that  purpose it is well suited.  DOTS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR...    It is important to understand that the "dots-per-inch" produced on lowresolution, dot matrix ribbon printers OVERLAP.  So even though your printer maybe rated at "240 dots-per-inch," this is not really accurate.  All highresolution devices like the DeskJet, laser printers, and higher output deviceslike the Linotype digital typesetters produce dots which are SIDE-BY-SIDE, andthese dots do NOT overlap! The DeskJet, like other "high-end" printers, producesclean, sharp, and accurately positioned dots.  If you wish to check this out foryourself, just use a good magnifying glass or jeweler's "loop" and compare theoutput from different types of printers.  To some of you, this may sound like aminor issue, but the print quality from these different printers "speak forthemselves."   INCIDENTALS...    EASY SET-UP: The DeskJet comes attractively packaged and easily sets up in afew minutes.  In fact, you probably won't even need to look at the beautifullyprinted documentation that comes with the unit!  Just unpack it, plug your STinto the parallel port, pop in an ink cartridge, flip the switch, and startproducing beautiful, whisper quiet output that rivals anything you may have seenbefore.  The DeskJet is the easiest printer I've ever set-up and used!     EXCELLENT SUPPORT:  Practically no other company supports their products aswell as Hewlett Packard.  From the moment you open the first-class packagingthat surrounds your DeskJet, you are literally "awash" with support fromtoll-free phone numbers and local and international service personnel availablearound-the-clock.     RELIABILITY: The DeskJet has an excellent reliability and estimated usagerating ("MTBF") of 20,000 hours. 2,000 hours power-on and 12,000 printed pagesper year, or about 50 pages per day average use.  Replaceable, non-cloggingprint cartridges cost about $17 each and are fully guaranteed.  The printercomes with a 1-year "no-nonsence" guarantee against parts and labor.     THE BOTTOM LINE...  The DeskJet has the same resolution and virtually thesame ability to accurately print "dots" onto paper as a laser printer.  Thus,the DeskJet's true potential to produce top quality output is virtuallydependent upon the capabilities of the SOFTWARE to generate and produce precisefonts and graphics.  This is made especially evident by closely comparing pagesprinted on various laser printers that use Postscript, HP PCL, GEM "meta files,"and "proprietary" schemes used by programs like Publishing Partner and Apple'sown "Quickdraw."  While all of these methods are capable of great output, theyALL have their own strengths and weaknesses.  An in-depth comparison of thesemethods may become a future article, but for now I think that it's sufficient tosimply say that all of these methods - whether used on laser printers or theDeskJet, are capable of superior output.  In short, IF you think that laseroutput looks better than DeskJet output, then perhaps you should blame theSOFTWARE - NOT the DeskJet!     But enough said! If you would like a free color brochure and additionalinformation about the new HP2276A DeskJet inkjet printer, you can call HPtoll-free at 1-800-752-0900.  Happy Printing!   (NOTE: This review was written by Jim Wallace, 1209 S. Chester Ave.,Indianapolis, Indiana 46203, and was published in the June 1988 issue of CurrentNotes Magazine).  ------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMY REPORT Issue #2    June 26, 1988   (c)'88 Henry Colonna and APEInc. All Rights Reserved.  Reprint permission granted except where noted in the article. Any reprint must include AMY Report and the author in the credits. Views Presented here are not necessarily those of AMY Report or of the Staff. -------------------------------------------------------------------------   


Press RETURN -  software can be invoked in any of the Forumsby logging on with an ;OLDF appended to your User ID(i.e. User ID: 76703,4363;OL