Conference 7.286::atarist

    1.  The first 520ST's shipped required a TOS boot disk.  When the
        1040ST was announced it had TOS in ROM and all new 520ST's had
        TOS in ROM as well.
    
    2.  ST LOGO and NEOCHROME came with early ST's.  I believe LOGO
        and ST BASIC should still come with the machine but NEOCHROME
        is a separate product.
    
    3.  I'm currently using a 2400 DEC scholor modem.  I own an Avatex
        1200hc.  It's a full 1200 baud Hayes compatible modem.  I bought
        it 2 years ago at $130.  I like it.
    
    4.  Haven't heard anything.
    
    Martin H.

    I bought my 1040ST over a year ago and it did NOT come with LOGO!
    I would be interested in getting LOGO for my kids (it has turtle
    graphics right?). Has anyone bought an ST in the past year that
    came with LOGO?
    
    There is a version of Neochrome (namely V0.9) that is PD (or at
    least is circulating like PD). Martin is correct that there is a
    newer version of Neochrome (with added features etc..) that Atari
    is marketing as a commercial product.
    
    If you are considering buying a drawing program I would suggest
    you consider Degas and some of the others on the market. They all
    have there good and bad (or missing) features. I have not heard
    of the one you mentioned. If you have a monochrome monitor check
    programs carefully as a lot of them do not run on monochrome monitors.
    
    	Ray

        I purchased my 520STfm last month.  It only came with ST BASIC.
        The dealer gave me a boot disk (I bought the blank disk) that
        contained:
        
                An AUTO folder with RAMDISK.
                FIXPANEL.ACC (Whatever that is..)
                Neochrome (V??)
                STWRITER V1.04  (I believe the current version is V1.06).
        
        There were documents for STWRITER on the disk, however the was
        no documentation for Neochrome, although it doesn't appear to be
        needed.
        
        No LOGO.
        
        Bob

    I'll upload my version of LOGO that I got with my system.  I don't
    think it is all that fast, but you get what you pay for.
    
    Steph

    
    re .0
    
       3) I just bought a a 2400 baud Supramodem for $140.00, it is
    fully hayes compatible.  I got it from a computer store in the
    Albany New York area.  As of yet, I have had no problems with it.
    
    
    Bill Powers
    

I bought my 520ST about 3 years ago and got Neochrome and the ST Logo.....
even worse I bought a book about ST Logo. As far as I can tell ST Logo
is nearly as big a disaster as the first ST Basics that were shipped.

I believe that the original Logo was missing a number of useful features
(although I never got further than one or two simple examples and it may
not be needed for the kids) such as being able to read and write files.
Also some commands do not reflect the documentation....or vice versa since
we all write the user guide after we've finished the product.

Mail me and I'll make my copy available (Neochrome public domain version
also....though I strongly suggest you look at DEGAS Elite and others
which support the ability to save and restore parts of the screen to
disk).

Nigel

    Arrgh!
    
    It's been so long since I've used a drawing program. . .
    I believe that Neochrome V0.9 did allow you to save part of the
    screen to disk (and had some features I was using that Degas did
    not, but don't ask me to remember what).
    
    I'll check the two out when I get home and come up with a definate
    answer.
    
    Bob K

    When I bought my 520 you got Basic, Logo, First Word, and a few
    PD bits and pieces.
    
    Basic was a waste of time, as it had so many bugs in it you were
    never sure if it was your programming or another new bug.
    
    Logo I have never used, but I have the book and disk, if anybody
    wants to borrow it then let me know.
    
    First Word is a GEM based word processor, and at the time it was
    released it was very good.
    
    
    Peter

    Apologies if asked before (I'm sure it has been....)
    
    What's the difference (if any) between Public Domain software and
    "Shareware"?
    
    Thanks, 
    
    Tony I

re .9

Tony, don't feel alone as a lot of people are confused about the difference.

Essentially, PUBLIC DOMAIN (or PD) software has been released to the public for
their use and dissemination, free of charge and generally without restriction of
any kind. You may legally copy and pass around PD software as you wish.  If it
includes source code, you may also modify it or include it in your own programs
unless the software's documentation specifically forbids such use. Of course,
professional courtesy dictates that you give the original author credit anyway.

SHAREWARE software is similar in that you are free to make as many copies as you
wish and distribute them to others (in fact, shareware authors encourage this).
The only difference is that the author requests a nominal fee be submitted if
you find that you like the software and continue using it.  It's strictly an
honor system, and you are under no legal obligation to do so.  Most Shareware
software is copyrighted, however, which means you may not utilize the code,
publish it or distribute it for profit without permission from the author.

Others in this conference may wish to add to this general definition, but I
believe it's fairly accurate.  Hope this helps.

hutch

    Thanks for clearing that up...
    
    Tony I