"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But
the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound
truth."
Niels Bohr
ST SOFTWARE NEWS
by Richard Karsmakers
Last time Stefan wrote most of this. But I'm back now. Back to
save you from his horrendous revealings, so as to enable you to
once again cuddle back in the embrace of my proze. I'm back. And
this was probably the most worthless excuse for an intro to this
column I came up with in the six years I've been doing this.
Superboot 7.2
Probably, most of you have already heard of this program, that
enables you to organise your accessories, AUTO folder programs
and DESKTOP.INF files in a way not surpassed by any other program
(not even the one Jurie uses that he thinks is best, "Xboot" or
something). Basically it's Stefan ancient "Bootbaby" or STRIKE-a-
LIGHT's less ancient offering of that sort - but with knobs on.
Please refer to one of the older ST NEWS issues for a somewhat
more extensive review of version 6.0, and a later bit about 7.0.
This entry will mainly consist of a summary of the new options in
7.2, so that you can judge for yourself whether it's worth to get
an update of now.
o Fixed bug where 4 hidden programs (SUPERBT, SUPERBTA, STARTGEM,
HEADSTRT) were being removed from the file list but Super Boot
would not substitute in other programs in their place. So if
you had 25 AUTO programs but only 1 column selected to display
them (1 column = 19 files), Super Boot would only show 15
instead of 19 of the files on the file selection screen
o Fixed bug where STE's had 00/00/28 date on files like
DESKTOP.INF which are copied in Super Boot.
o Increased Cold Boot time factor to allow for longer boot up in
TOS 2.05 and greater. Cold Boot detection should now work
correctly on all models.
o Allow colors from expanded STE color palette. Two buttons were
added on the color selection screen (color monitors only)
called "512 Palette" and "4096 Palette". Click on "4096
Palette" if you have an STE machine for expanded color. The
512 option allows for color values from 0 to 7 while the 4096
option allows for color values from 0 to 15.
o Changed final update screen to show selected F-key and other
miscellaneous data such as if Super Boot was bypassed, if it
timed out waiting for a keypress, etc.
o 8 character root filename of DESKTOP.INF is now user-
specifiable to allow for NEWDESK.INF or anything else that
comes down the pike. If you are using TOS 2.05 or greater, go
to the "Specify Disk Drives" option in the Super Boot
Construction Set and type in "NEWDESK" instead of "DESKTOP".
o Fixed #Z line for TOS 1.4 and greater to be line # 5 in the
.INF file instead of the first line, to prevent 2 #Z files in
the same .INF file (in case resaved).
o Made F-keys for default configuration user selectable.
o Pictures and Sound Files can now be shown sequentially. The
SEQUENTIAL method shows pictures in order (still one picture
each boot) so that you will be sure to see them all. If you
were using RANDOM before you probably noticed that you might
see one picture several times and others you might never have
seen.
Super Boot creates a new data file when this method is used, it
has an extension of .STS and the filename will be something
like 00230002.STS. The first 4 digits of the filename are the
next picture to show (it would show the 23rd picture in the
specified directory in the above example filename) and the
second set of 4 digits are the next sound it will play (it
would play the 2nd sound in a directory in the example). When
it reaches the end of a directory it starts over at number 1
again. You can add and delete pictures/sounds from the
directory and Super Boot will have no problem with it. The
.STS file is created automatically. You can delete it with no
problem if you stop using the sequential method or if you want
Super Boot to start over at 00010001.STS again.
The reason that the filename is actually the data instead of
writing the data inside the file is that it is much faster to
rename a file rather than to change the data inside it.
o Monochrome color selection should now work correctly and the
menu is more informative.
o Clearing the screen now works properly in the "Hide Files" menu
option in monochrome.
In case you're interested, you can contact Gordon Moore
directly. His address is 2300 Beech St, Ashland, KY 41102, in the
United States of America. Don't forget IRC's if you expect him to
reply!
Disk Maggie - Issue 8 v.II
The Lost Boys' "Disk Maggie" has been through somewhat of a
transformation. First it went from the Boys to the German Delta
Force what with Michael Schussler (its editor) moving back to the
Heimat and all. Second, New Mode of Delta Force starting to fully
recode the user interface. Michael's GfA Basic interface was
replaced by a smooth looking, brilliantly coded machine code bit
of software.
When looking at this magazine it is evident that the new
"Maggie" aims at the same sort of people that would normally have
had to wait for the first real issue of "STabloid" to come out:
Demo freaks who are interested in varied things. The user
interface now looks great, with graphics, colours, easy menus and
everything. Everything fades in and out, and the 'see pic' effect
is particularly pleasing to the eye. The user interface as such
is more intuitive than the one in "STabloid", and surely looks as
good. Excellent graphics (Gogo), good music (Big Alec)...what
more could one want?
Of course, this would all be nothing without good stuff to read
in it. "Maggie" has improved a lot in this field as well. It
seems they have attracted some new writers (partly British) who
write both copiously and excellently. This is evident in the
'games' department, where about 20 games are reviewed.
Impressive, indeed.
Before I forget: All their stuff (menus, scrolling, pic, the
whole shebang) works on color as well as monochrome!
All in all, "Maggie" now offers more than ever, at a higher
standard than ever. And the user interface just begs to have
beautiful words of praise hurled at it relentlessly. Let's hope
that the editorial contents will continue to be as good as these.
Let's also hope that Michael will continue to have his feet on
the ground (he now already proclaims "Maggie" to be "the biggest
disk magazine ever", which succeeded in having me raise my brows
a bit). If these things happen, "Maggie" will surely deserve to
hear its name echoed down the disk magazines' hall of fame!
I will give no rating, as I think I am not unbiased enough, and
disk magazines don't need one actually. It's just an excellent
effort that's very much worth getting, so get it!
Hardcore Demo by The Overlanders
If you're into Napalm Death, you'll surely like this demo.
Basically it's a disk filled with a tiny program and a huge chunk
of digitized sound data. Don't expect great demo effects or
anything like it. Basically it's a huge Napalm Death logo with a
scroller below it dedicated the program to every distorted weirdo
that likes this kind of mayhem cacophony (i.e. Dave and Marc of
TLB, Tanis of TCB and yours truly).
The sound sample features a couple of complete Napalm Death
songs (of which one is quite long for Napalm Death standards). I
believe the ones present were the bonus tracks present on the CD
version of "Scum" and "From Enslavement to Obliteration".
I'd like to give two ratings. First the rating as a demo: 4.
Second, the rating for enthusiasm and generally likableness: 8!
*****
Short interruption that you'd better not read if you think
Michael Jackson is actually quite a swell dude.
While I'm at the subject of music, I'd like to ventilate my
opinion about the latest Michael Jackson video clip (a song
called "In the Closet"). In the previous issue of ST NEWS my
utterances regarding Mr. Jackson's "Black and White" video clip
had to be made into a hidden article because it contained various
rather extremely rude terminologies. Therefore I will this time
try to restrain myself.
The most prominent part of the video clip, except for Mr. White
Fart himself, is an almost terrifyingly beautiful negress. Her
eyes are shaped like almonds and seem to want to undress you, the
lashes emphasizing their classic beauty in a way that would put
Cleopatra and Aphrodite to shame. Her shapely legs run off for
miles and miles, her lips are lush and moist. Her collar bones
beg to be caressed, he jugular bones seem present solely for the
aim of lover's kisses. Her hair is long and almost like that of
an animal; the kind of hair you would gladly be strangled with.
The dress she wears is sexy beyond just being astonishingly so,
and the movements she makes are sensuous and highly hormone-
provoking. She seems to have arisen straight from the perfect
coffee commercial.
Mike finds it necessary to constantly dance around this perfect
feminine form in a most tasteless manner, properly failing to
hide his desire for the real gender he would like his dance
partner to have (i.e. neuter). In this video clip, he doesn't
even seem to bother any more to remove his hand from his crotch -
indeed, both his hands seem to find it necessary to rest on them.
Obviously he is very keen on them not falling off.
Of course, the actual song is filled with the usual pathetic
high squeels of this person, and the music as such is remarkably
without melody (unlike, I have to add with reluctance, some of
the other stuff he produces).
I would hereby like to call upon a worldwide boycot of the
Michael Jackson phenomenon.
"Yes, and now is the moment we've all been waiting for! The
first ever broadcast of the new Michael Jackson clip!" - switch
to another channel for about five minutes. God forbid the viewing
figures might be polled at that precise instant and half the
nation might turn out to be watching a Michael Jackson video.
"Next week Michael Jackson performs at your local sports arena!"
- Wear the local soccer club's cap and don't buy a ticket.
Discourage your little sister and other people of the neutered
persuasion from doing so by threatening to subject them to 2
hours of Napalm Death.
"Tomorrow the new Michael Jackson album will be in the shops!" -
Don't bother buying it. Accidentally urinate on the album's show
stands. Draw moustaches on all Michael Jackson posters you see
(even then you will find he does not look male at all). Put the
Michael Jackson CDs between the classics on the other side of the
shop. Steal the inlays (or, better, draw moustaches on them, or
little genitals - female's).
"And now...the new number 100 in the Top 100...the new Michael
Jackson song..." - briskly switch channels on your radio. There's
so much better to hear. Even the classics channel might prove to
be of interest. With a bit of luck they're playing Tchaikovsky or
Strawinsky and that's a whole lot better than 99% of what's in
the average Top 100 (including, needless to say, any entries by
Mr. Pathetic).
"Hello. I'm Darren. I carry a badge!" - Check the badge. If it's
harmless (i.e. non-Jackson) then compliment the boy on the fact
that he saw "Dragnet" the other day. If not, then accidentally
spill some food or drink all over the little prat - or, even
better, regurgitate last day's food all over his greasy hair (and
let's not forget the badge).
As Michael Jackson is reported to like Benny Hill, Diana Ross,
the Beatles, Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Mouse, likewise boycot
measures would be in order involving these bands/people/mice
(which is a shame, really, but you got to make a point and be
consequent these days).
End of short interruption. If you like Michael Jackson, you may
continue reading after this sentence. Well, actually, please
don't bother reading any more then. Format this disk and never
contact us. Better even, plummet yourself into a deep abyss or
crawl into an industry quality microwave, close the door and ask
the neighbour to put it on the "Grill Chicken" position (that's
the position with a little icon of a grilled chicken next to it
in case you don't know).
Disclaimer
The text of the articles is identical to the originals like they appeared
in old ST NEWS issues. Please take into consideration that the author(s)
was (were) a lot younger and less responsible back then. So bad jokes,
bad English, youthful arrogance, insults, bravura, over-crediting and
tastelessness should be taken with at least a grain of salt. Any contact
and/or payment information, as well as deadlines/release dates of any
kind should be regarded as outdated. Due to the fact that these pages are
not actually contained in an Atari executable here, references to scroll
texts, featured demo screens and hidden articles may also be irrelevant.