DIALOG BOX
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WHITHER CARDSTAK?
I do not believe I imagined this, but I recall several issues back that START was promising us an improved and expanded version of the database, CardSTak. Has this project been shelved? Or can we still expect to it?
Robert Hochwalt
North Canton,OH
A number of readers questioned our inclusion of CardSTak Pro in the January 1990 issue's "Coming Next Month" blurb. Unfortunately, author Alex Leavens decided to release the program as shareware. CardSTak Pro will not be published in a future issue of START.--START Ed.
CALAMUS HELP
Scott Wasser's overview of desktop publishing programs in the April 1990 was interesting. In it he mentions a "300-page book available that offers hints and tips for Calamus." However, he fails to mention the name of the book and where to get it. Can you help?
Bill Doerrfeld
Jersey City, NJ
The Guide to Calamus Desktop Publishing is currently available from ISD only to registered Calamus owners. To purchase a copy, return your registration card, along with $29.95 (U.S.) to ISD Marketing, Inc., 2651 John St., Unit 3, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R2W5, (416) 479-1880.ŃSTART Ed.
BORN AGAIN
About five months ago a friend and I were talking about computers and he told me that he owns an ST. A few days later he showed me what it could do. Incredible! I must admit, when I left him I felt jealous and worried. I owned an Apple IIGS and I thought, "Could it be that Atari has a computer that can run circles around my IIGS and costs about half the price?" So the next day I bought an issue of START magazine and combed through it for information and prices. I was shocked to find that the library of software was so large and all the prices actually lower than software for the IIGS. After a month of reading all my friend's STARTs, I was convinced. I sold my IIGS and bought an ST. I would like to thank START magazine and my friend for introducing me to the ST. At least now I'll be spending my money on something that's worth it.
Leland Coleson
No Address
The ST is a great machine. Glad we could be of some help.--START Ed.
MORE MONO PLEASE
Even though I take my computing seriously and have a mono system because I use it for business, that doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy at least trying out some of the games listed in the magazine but most games require a color system. Isn't there some way, or some program, to change colors into shades of gray so a monochrome system can run a color game?
Joseph A. Gaudet
Hamilton, ONT
The vast majority of our game submissions are in low resolution. Whenever START does come across a solid, playable monochrome game, we'll publish it. In the meantime, there are a number of great monochrome games in the public domain. Check for them on the major online services or mail-order houses such as BRE Software (800/347-6760).
As to color emulators, we can't be of much help. A couple of years ago there was a commercial program called Omnires from Hypertek/ Silicon Springs in the Vancouver, B.C., area that did exactly what you're looking for. However, the company appears to be no longer in business and the fate of the program remains a mystery. To our knowledge no color emulators are available in the public domain. If any readers are aware of other sources, please let us know. --START Ed.
AN EDUCATED GUESS
I noticed that every year you have an issue dealing with games, which is good. My wife and I would like to see an issue dealing with nothing but education each year. An issue with programs that can be used to help teach children different topics at home with the ST. Could this possibly be arranged? If so we would be very grateful.
W.S. Mclemore
No Address
Welcome to START's annual Education issue. While the content is not exclusively on education, it does include many useful, scholastic programs and articles.--START Ed.
VDT SCARE
I was shocked and frightened by the information contained in "The Magnetic Field Menace," an article in the July 1990 issue of MacWorld magazine. The article provided surprising and much-needed information about the harmful effects of the Very Low Frequency (VLF) and Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) radiation emitted by computer video-display terminals (VDTs). START magazine would do a great service to the Atari community if you conducted quantitative tests of the amount of magnetic radiation emitted by monitors used with Atari computers. As far as I know, this information is not readily available to most users. Perhaps publishing the results of such tests would motivate monitor manufacturers to produce safer monitors, if necessary.
Robert Plotkin
Brooklyn, NY
Unfortunately, START does not have the facilities to conduct tests on the scare you describe. We are, however, well aware of the danger of ELFs and VLFs. In the July and August 1990 issues we published a two-part series, "The Body Electronic" by Rebecca Rosen Lum, which covered medical issues and the possible health dangers that have been traced to computer use, including repetitive strain injuries and video-display-terminal hazards. Of course, not all of our readers thought this was a good idea. Read on to find what one in particular had to say.--START Ed.
A SECOND OPINION
I have been a subscriber to START for over three years and I have truly enjoyed your magazine. I do recommend, however, that you not write about VDT hazards. These are medically related articles and I am not interested in them. Let's have some great articles on the ST and the STE. There is plenty of material around.
Gerard Starrenburg
No Address
You're right, there are plenty of other things to write about in the ST world. However, our two-part series on the medical hazards of computing was intended to help readers prevent costly and debilitating physical problems. We thought the issue of your health was important enough to digress from our exclusively technical and product-related focus.--START Ed.
FONT CHANGES
In his overview of desktop publishing (START, April 1990), Scott Wasser makes the statement that with Timeworks' DeskTop Publisher ST it's impossible to use different font styles or sizes within the same word or headline." This is incorrect: changing the font or size of selected text is a simple selection from the Style menu.
George Fergus
Schaumburg, IL
REFLECTING ON REFLECTIONS
In his article, "Reflections" (June 1990), Jim Pierson-Perry mentioned that the program SEQUENCR would only read its resource file off of drive A. There is a fairly simple fix for that and other programs that are stubborn when it comes to reading files off a particular drive. If you use one of the many program/disk editor utilities, such as the public-domain MemFile, all you need to do is have the program search for all occurrences of A:SEQUENCR.RSC in SEQUENCR. Then change A: to whatever drive you want, such as C: for a hard drive. Just remember that when you move the file to another partition that you must also change the letter.
Michael Zucca
Harriman, NY
Thanks for the tips. We welcome readers' suggestions and responses to articles and reviews in START. In fact, we're starting a new section, "User Interface," consisting entirely of our readers' hints, tips and power-user tricks. Send yours to START User Interface, 544 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107.--START Ed.
MIDI BLISS
Each month I look forward to receiving my START magazine. The July 1990 issue is exceptional. As a MIDI musician with a home studio, I must congratulate you on an exciting collection of noteworthy programs on disk. I've had time to work with bits and pieces of each program, but have become a nut about AlterTune by Bill Sethares and John Bell. What fun to be able to alter the tunings within the program.
Tom McBride
Santa Barbara, CA
MIDI musicians should check out Richard Viard's and Jim Pierson-Perry's article on film and video scoring in next month's issue. You could put your talent to work for some (relatively) big bucks.--START Ed.
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