Conference 7.286::atarist

You're in Dayton, OH, right?

Have you tried 1st Stop Computer Systems, 7085 Corporate Way, 45459
(800) 252-2787?  They've advertised Z-Ram in their advertisment in
Current Notes for $119.  I'm sure that doesn't include parts.  They
*ought* to have, or be able to get, Rainbow TOS ROMS.

I've never done business with them, but they do advertise, for all that
counts. 

If you can get the 1.4 ROMS, you could do it yourself brad.

Somewhere in california is a guy who makes a board for 1040s that takes standard
SIMM memory modules.  The board costs about $125 and SIMMs were $70-$80 a few 
weeks ago.  I've heard that prices on memory have gone up a little so your
mileage may vary.

Chad
who_is_thinking_of_just_waiting_for_the_STe_to_upgrade_to_1.4_and_more_RAM.

(I mean, the STe is 1.6 which is 1.4 plus stuff for STe plus hopefully SIMM
sockets built in...)  There is about $200 dollars saved there towards its 
purchase price.

    Points well taken, Chad.  However, I have a fixed amount of bux
    and not a large market around here for used stuff.  Hey - if it
    was up to me, I'd probably trash the 1040 and nab a Stacy.

    Slight aside - if I *really* had the bux, I'd probably get a Mac, since
    Passport shipped me the *wrong* software (Pro*4 for Mac instead of MTP
    v3.5 for ST).  Sigh... 

    Jeff, I talked to these guys (U mentioned in .2) on the phone.  They
    are (and I quote) "mail order only", and didn't seem to be real helpful
    on the phone. I though I read somewhere in here that there was a
    reputable dealer in Columbus, but I've had no luck finding any numbers
    etc. 

+b

    So how do I go about finding out what TOS rev I'm running?  Do I need
    to open the machine and poke around (I've done it before, but didn't
    know what to look for).  Help?

+b

NEODESK will tell you, from it's ABOUT window.

Also, the GEM About frame's are slightly different with each version.
In color, Rainbow TOS will have an animated color Rainbow in an Atari
logo on the about box.  I'm not sure of the details of the Monochrome
differences, but I could figure it out when I get home.

Your rambling here is sounding like you are getting a little frustrated
with your situation.  I'd like to help you out as much as I can from here.
If you have a 1040, the ROM upgrade is a fairly simple thing to perform
yourself.  It's when you have a Mega that it get's tricky.

    Well, I'm not really frustrated (yet!) with the Atari.  It is somewhat
    frustrating living where I do in Ohio (nothing but cows for miles),
    with there not being even a small selection of computer shops (I think
    there's a place that sells Macs in Lima, which is the nearest city of
    any size at all). 

    Anyway, I kind of backed into the ST.  I needed a MIDI machine, and it
    had built-in MIDI ports and some decent software.  I picked mine up
    used, with no documentation or software to speak of.  I've been trying
    to learn as I go, but haven't been all that interested in getting into
    detailed aspects of the machine (like I have to with VAXes and VMS). So
    I suppose it's partially my own fault. 

    All this to say that I really don't know what I'm doing.  I'm
    semi-literate in terms of hardware, but having read all the war stories
    about the thing here in the conference, and not having an area dealer
    to fall back on should I screw up a DIY, I'm somewhat leery of pursuing
    an upgrade of either TOS or memory by myself. 

    Thanks for the offer, Jeff - and for the help so far.  Depending on
    what I find out, I may be taking long-distance lessons.  8-) 

+b

    Well, I poked around a bit last night and tried dumping some things.
    DESKTOP.INF tells me nothing.  Neither do standard utilities (as if the
    image header contained info like VMS images - sigh). 

    Finally did a "Desktop Info..." and got a very simple "TOS - copyright
    1985" message.  No version or nuttin'.  Would it be stamped on a
    ROM somewhere?  I'm ready to take the thing apart and snoop.

    (I would give NEODESK a shot, but I don't own it.)

+b

    I've got a small PD program (once grabbed from usenet) which will tell
    you exactly what tos version you are running. If you are interested
    i can send you a copy.
    
    Oswald

You have TOS V1.0.  TOS 1.4 has more copyright dates in it than just
1985, and TOS 1.2 almost never shows up in a 1040, it's MEGA-specific.

I've forgotten why you want to know.  The big differences for me are
that Rainbow TOS (1.4) is much faster at hard disk I/O, and (unlike
DECwindows) has s file selector that makes sense.

        I wonder if UIS III could be ported to DECwindows? ;-)

I QAR'd the DECwindows file selector as being nearly unusable compared
to the ST's, and got the answer back "we'll switch to Motif".

    Brad, there are two Atari dealers in Columbus that you could try.
    
    	Software Plus @ 614-239-0336 - The guy is incredibly rude, but is
            real knowledgeable about Atari and is usually real helpful.
    
    	Computer Express @ 614-451-1440 - This shop sells everything
            including the entire Atari line. They are bunch a techies and
            are willing to try anything.
    
    I've heard that there's a largish Atari dealer in Dayton somewhere as well.
    There is a fairly active Atari users group in Dayton. As I recall the
    name is MVA something (Miami Valley Atari.....).
    
    Good luck,
    
    Al
    

    
    	I think this fits here - no?
    
    	I've just been fortunate enough (I believe) to pick up on a 
    	1040ST.  The Desktop info shows the Atari logo and a copy-
    	right date of 1985 - is that indicative of TOS v1.0?  I'm
    	trying to understand just what level of system I have.
    
    							Rich

Yup.  That's 1.0.