Conference 7.286::atarist

    Bernd,
    
    I understand that the Stacey is too heavy to be used as a 'laptop'.
    The screen resolution is not quite 600*400; I think 600*384. And
    the screen update is quite slow.
    
    Carl

    Re: .1
    
>    The screen resolution is not quite 600*400; I think 600*384. And
>    the screen update is quite slow.
    
    Are you _certain_? The story we hear from Atari Sunnyvale is 640x400,
    just like the monochrome monitor.
    				- hbm

If you want to see one of the best LCD screens on the market, I suggest
you look at the MAC portable.  I was impressed, now if it would only run
TOS and was a little cheaper and lighter!  :-)

(Actually, DEC employees can buy the MAC portable for somewhere between
 $4,000 and $4,600 from one of those chains; Computerland, I think.)

						-Dave

    
    I'd be amazed if the display pitch was anything OTHER than 640 x 400. 
    According to ads I see in EE Times, that display is becoming a
    commodity item, available from many sources.  Why on earth would Atari
    try to source an oddball item on such a relatively low-cost laptop?
    
    

	There's a great picture of a 'Stacey 4' in the latest issue of
	Electronic Musician magazine.  It is shown running C Lab's Notator.
	Looks like it's quite a machine...

	Dan

The latest word on availability is that registered developers that
already have Stacy's on order with Atari will not get them before April
1st, and that the general public will not get them until some time
after that.

I'm sad, because unless it comes early :-), I won't have a Stacy for
the upcoming Midi demo NaVAUS meeting on March 27.  I am expecting to
attract some non-computer-owning musicians to this meeting, and I think
that the sight of a portable laptop with direct connection to a synth
would win more than a few converts to the Atari-ST.  (Not the least of
which would be my local musical instrument dealer.  Currently they deal
only in Amiga software for Midi software.) However, I may set up a GCR
demo in April or May, and might be able to draw a few Mac users that
are interested in going portable.

Being an engineer in a large company, I am, however, understandingly
paitent.  I have seen my own project schedules slip as much (not my
fault, of course).  The only differences is that we never got the
outside customer's hopes up.

Jeff and others,

	Do any of you know if the Stacy comes with a monitor port so that the
standard Atari monitors can be used?	

	Does anyone know the list prices yet for each of the advertised
configurations?  I'm guessing somewhere around the following...

	1 Meg and 2 floppies 		     $ 1500 list?
	2 Meg, a floppy and 20 Meg HD 	     $ 2000 list?
	4 Meg, a floppy and 40 Meg HD        $ 2700 list? 

What are 'typical' discounts through dealers/mail-order houses?  What 
mail-order companies are still selling Atari?

Dan (full_of_questions)

PS.  I'd also appreciate a full review if anyone ever gets one. :^)
  

>	Do any of you know if the Stacy comes with a monitor port so that the
>standard Atari monitors can be used?	

Yes, it does.  I have no idea what will be displayed on the monochrome
LCD panel when a color tube is attached to the monitor port.

>PS.  I'd also appreciate a full review if anyone ever gets one. :^)
  
There are reviews showing up in several magazines.  I have a fairly full
review, with good photos, from DEC '89 START.  There were many Stacy
units at the recent NAMM show, from which some quick reviews were generated.

    
    re .7
    
    the Stacy has all the interfaces of the 1040ST, e.g. serial, parallel,
    Monitor (you may run the LCD the same time with a monochrome, as
    Jeff said no idea how it works with a color monitor the same time.
    Guess Pin 4 of the monitor port signals the videoshifter to shut
    down the LCD when a color monitor is running)
    
    Prices in Germany were announced as about $ 2200.- for the smallest
    configuration (3700.- to 3900.- DM) as is: 1 Meg, 1 Floppy, no HD
    which made my smile freeze.
    The large configuration (4 Meg, 1 Floppy, 40 Meg HD) comes for about
    $ 3200.- (~ 5600.- DM). That's what I recall from memory.
    
    The Stacy runs with standart dry cells (no rechargable batteries
    possible! yet) and gives no warning when batteries are empty. In
    some magazine's test they said they lost data because of that. The
    time of operation was said as about 1h to 3h (HD or no HD...)
    
    The LCD is a blue backlit one, and they claim it to be slow for
    a lot of applications.
    
    For me the Stacy meanwhile is second choice, not thoroughly developed
    yet and to expensive for the given features. Maybe Atari changes
    some things the next time until the Stacy is available on the market.
    Let's wait and see
    
    Bernd

Regarding batteries - I've been told that the Stacy 4, because of the
power consumption of 4MB of memory, is not to be run on batteries at
all.  I did ask about running it from the automobile cigarette lighter,
and was told "the engineers say that should work".

    
Here some extracts from the C't test of the Stacy (February 1990):

Two versions: 
Stacy 1: 1MB RAM + 32kB for LCD, 1 Epson Floppydrive, Price: 3698.- DM
                                                           ~ 2180.- $
Stacy 4: 4MB RAM + 32kB for LCD, 1 Epson Floppydrive
                                 1 40MB SCSI Connors HD (fast and silent)
                                                      Price: 6498.- DM
                                                           ~ 3830.- $

Weight:                  7.8 kg with Battery pack
Processor:               68000 CMOS, 8MHz
OS:                      Rainbow TOS
Display:                 slow, blue backlit LCD
Keyboard:                all keys of conventional Keyboard, new design
Floppydrive:             Epson SMD380, 720kB
Harddisk:                Connors CP3040, 40MB, average acces time: 34ms
                                               transfer time: 486kB/sec
                         average values: Read:  419.83 kB/sec
                                         Write: 305.73 kB/sec
Interfaces:              Monitor
                         RS 232
                         Centronics
                         DMA
                         external Floppydrive
                         MIDI in/out
                         Mouse
                         Joystick
                         ROM-Port
Dimensions:              Lenght, Width, Hight:  34cm, 38cm, 8cm


no external Keyboard interface
no Blitter-Chip
no system bus

RAMs in SIL technology, RAMs and EPROMs accessable from outside
additional Custom Chip for LCD-display
Rainbow-TOS in 32-pin Megabit EPROMs
speaker in display

Monitor interface: Color, LCD shut off
                   Mono, both simultaniously

Power: 12 Batteries, Babycells or external power supply

Consumption:  Computer booting:        1.5A
              Computer running:        0.73A with dark display
                                       1.02A with lit display
                                       1.1A with HD access
                                       1.25A with floppy acces

if low batteries, this is signalled by a yellow blinking LED (<12V)
red LED: not enough power to operate
a Floppy access during yellow LED normally forces a Reset
HD runs about 10 minutes longer, then in short periods Resets and the computer
tries to reboot.
 
A test program which copied a 100kB large file from floppy to HD every 5 minutes
sucked the batteries empty within 1 hour (temperature in battery compartment 
after that: 53 degrees Celsius).

That's all for now,
Bernd

    1 It's quite normal for kit to arrive without a wall plug in the UK.
    Some manufacturers are starting to fit them but they're quite bulky
    over here.
    
    2. If it's a UK model WATCH OUT, it may be set to expect 240 volts (UK
    normal) not the US 110v.
    
    Richard

Hi Jeff,

I know you said you'd post more of a review later, but here's a couple of
basic questions which I'd like to know the answers to:

Which Stacy is it? (1, 2 or 4 Meg?)  How bad is the screen refresh rate?
Does it work fine (just like a normal ST) with an external monitor?  How 
would you rate the quality of the construction?  

Enough questions for now, I guess :^) :^)

Dan

The power supply is a lightweight auto-ranging supply producing 16.5VDC
from 110-240, 50/60hz mains.  (I checked.)

This is a 4MB unit.  The mouse disappears if I move it too fast.  (For
that matter, if I move it at all.)  The "flourish" you get when windows
open/close can't really be seen.

I haven't tried the external monitor port yet, but read the message
just before my first one - it clains you can get simultanious
monochrome VDT with the LCD, or plug in a color tube.

The quality of construction is first-rate.  I have some complaints about
some mechanical features:  The on/off switch is easy to hit accidently
when carrying the unit.  There's a door on the back over the connectors
which, when open, acts as a sort of stand which the computer easily
falls off of.  I had to remove the door entirely.

More about the Stacy.  This note talks about few faults and problems
I've had.  I don't consider any of these serious, so please don't think
I'm down on the Stacy in any way.  This is clearly a great machine, and
I suspect it will sell a LOT, if Atari can make enough of them.  This
note covers a few more of my observations about it.  I end on a
particulary high note by praising the keyboard feel.

The package has little openings, with covers, all over it.  On the left
there is one for the cartridge, and one more that I haven't been able
to get open. (Start claims this is the expansion connector.) On the
right there is one for a joystick and mouse, and a switch for switching
from the internal trackball to the external mouse. (I wondered how they
would merge the external mouse with the internal one.) I find the
covers are difficult to remove.  I'm sure that they will get easier with
time and use.

The bottom has two small metal covers secured by machine screws.  Under
one of them is the ROM sockets for the two 1Mx1 operating system ROMs 
(32 pin 27C1000A). Under the other is a view of the system memory
chips.  I can't figure out the reason for the door.  The memory isn't
going to get in or out through it.  Perhaps it's just so somebody can
look inside to see how much memory is actually there.

The battery compartment is accessed from the top, behind the hinge for
the display.  The person who markets an AC power supply that fits in
the battery compartment of the Stacy will make a lot of money - more if
they manage to allow you to coil the power cord in there with it.  This
machine would be a lot more portable if you didn't have to carry a
separate brick (however lightweight) for the power supply.  Since this
machine draws over an amp from the supply, the batteries aren't much
use anyway, so I'd rather use this space for the AC supply.

The only real packaging error is that there is a "flap" on the back
that covers the serial, printer, external floppy, DMA, monitor, MIDI,
and power connectors.  The hinge is set so that the flap opens downward
toward the table.

There appears to be no good way to set the computer down with this flap
open, unless you hang it off the back of a table.  Of course, the flap
has to be open to plug in any of the connectors.  You can sort of
balance the computer on the open flap, but if you bump it the wrong
way, it comes crashing down onto the table, and tries to break either
itself or whatever connectors you have plugged in.  I'm going to drill
a hold in this flap for the power connector, which will take care of
most portable use, and simply remove the flap all together (which is
easy to do) if I have to plug in anything else.  If they found a way
for this to open "up" instead of "down" (and thus rest the lightweight
flap on the connectors), it would be great.

Installing the hard disk drive software was a little bit of a
challenge.  The ICD software won't touch it, because it doesn't use an
ICD host adaptor.  The supra software recognized the disk, and would
initialize it, but the driver itself didn't work (it's very old Supra
software, and I think it dislikes TOS 1.4).  (Note that there is no
need to format the disk.  The Connor disks, like DECs RZ23, come
pre-formatted, but you do have to partition them and initialize the
file system on them.)  The Atari HDX V3.02 software didn't offer this
disk drive as an initialization option, and I didn't feel like learning
how to set up "Wincap" for it.  I was in a hurry to get it working.

What finally worked was to use the Supra formatter to initialize the
partitions, and then use the Atari HDX V3.02 driver.  I then installed
the auto-boot and 100 cache buffers and now it moves right along.

As near as I can tell, this system does NOT have a non-volitale clock. 
It looks like there would be, just barely, room for a Z-time-style
clock under the system ROMs.  You'd have to get Dallas Semiconductor to
make a 32-pin version of their clock chip.  The Z-time was only 28, but
the 1M ROMs are 32.  I'm going to check the pin compatibility, and see
if I can install the Z-time with a "filler" of some sort for passing
the extra four pins through to the ROM.

I'm usually not very picky about keyboards.  (You can't be picky about
keyboards and use an LK201 all day long, can you?), but I will agree
with the Start magazine review - this keyboard feels great.  There is a
very good positive tactile feedback that the keys have gone full
stroke, and except for problems caused by the UK layout, I think I type
faster on the Stacy than on the 1040 or on the LK201.  If you press the
key slowly, it pushes back pretty hard until it's about half way down,
and then it let's go and falls to the bottom with very little
resistance.  Your fingers instinctively feel this behavior, and react
to it by typing faster.

The UK Stacy outputs color at 50hz.  I wonder if putting in US ROMs will
fix this?

The Stacy will run very happily on the cigarette lighter in the car -
as long as the engine is running.  It also works okay with the engine
off, but the low battery light will flash now and then.  The engine off
voltage in the car is a boring 12.0V, but with the engine on you get a
nice, healthy 14v signal, which is strong enough to be regulated down
to 12 internally (to run the disk drive).  (Ordinarly, it gets 16.5
from the power supply, or 18 from the batteries.)

I made a cable using three commonly available Radio Shack parts:
	1 - 274-1567A DP power plug, 2.1mmI.D.x5.0mmO.D.
	1 - 270-021 Auto Cigarette Lighter replacement power cord
	1 - 270-051B Heavy Duty Automotive electrical noise filter.

I also needed a short wire small enough to fit the housing of the DC
power plug, which was too narrow to hold the leads of the power filter
directly.

I included the noise filter (a simple LC network) as an extra
percaution against damage due to ignition spikes and stuff like that. 
I chose this filter (it's an overkill 10A filter) because of it's
shape, it was easily incorporated into the cable.  The 4A filter would
have been adequete, but it was made from discrete parts that would have
needed some sort of housing.  The 10A filter is a nice sealed cylinder
with input at one end an output at the other.

I tried this on a short trip with my wife driving. I was drawing an icon
with NeoDesk's icon editor.  Drawing with the trackball is hard enough
when you are NOT going over potholes, but I did manage to turn out a
reasonable icon anyway.  Typing with the keyboard was no problem.

I did this test in daylight.  The daylight completely overcomes the
backlight in the Stacy display.  In bright light such as this, you turn
off the backlight and work from reflected light.  Glare can be a
problem.  I found the best orientation to be with the display flipped as
far back as it goes, so that the reflection, if any, is of the ceiling
of the vehicle, and not any of the windows.  I think that glare may be
the biggest obstical to outdoor daylight use of this computer.  Using
the computer in the car will be easier at night.

One final note: please don't compute and drive.  I can see it now:
"well, officer, my comptuer had bombed and I was looking at the crash
dump when the mailbox jumped right out in front of me...".  If you are
going to compute, let somebody else do the driving.

A couple of corrections:

- The roms are 128Kx8, not 1MBx1.  My thoughts must have been elsewhere
when I said that.

- The Stacy does appear to have a non-volitale clock.  I has some auto
folder stuff that was masking that fact.  I am able to unplug the power
and the batteries, wait a bit, and plug them back in, and it still knows
what time it is.

    Jeff, (or anyone who owns a STacy),
    
    I am getting the itch that says its time for me to have a new 'toy' to
    play with and I am really interested in the STacy. Having said that, I
    haven't even seen one yet but I know I'd really like one.
    
    You wrote a brief impressions note a while back after you just got
    yours and I was wondering, now that you've had it for a while, if you
    have any more impressions about it... good or bad.
    
    Particularly I am a little concerned about what I have read regarding 
    the 'slowness' of the screen.. mouse disappears on movement etc. Is
    this annoying, a problem ? What about batteries, are there any
    rechargeable packs out yet ?
    
    Are you a very happy man with it ??
    
    Any and all feedback is most welcome.
    
    Thanks a lot,
    
    Jonathan

>    Particularly I am a little concerned about what I have read regarding >
>    the 'slowness' of the screen.. mouse disappears on movement etc. Is
>    this annoying, a problem ?

Occasionallty, I will loose the mouse cursor.  When this happens, I
have develped a habit of rollong the track ball in such a way that it
forces the mouse cursor to slam against the upper-left corner of the
display, and once it is in this "known" location, I get my eye on it,
and I'm fine.  This does not happen often, but it does happen,
particularly with programs like Whack that blink the mouse cursor (as a
side effect of blinking the text cursor).  It only happens when I'm in a
hurry, such as when giving demos.

The other drawback with the screen is that the backlight whines - it
makes a noise that is similar but somewhat higher pitched than a hard
disk, but not quite that loud.  In bright sun, you can turn the
backlight off, and it's much quieter.

A CRT screen is a brighter, more responsive display than the Stacy LCD
display.  The Stacy LCD is sharper than most CRT's, as there is no focus
consideration.  I'm perfectly happy with the LCD for most applications. 

There are some applications where you really need to connect the
optional external mouse, because the track ball just doesn't cut it.

>    What about batteries, are there any
>    rechargeable packs out yet ?
    
I have not yet experienced true portable operation.  You can run this
computer on a dozen size "C" batteries for a few minutes, but it draws
about an amp, which is more than an Alkaline battery can emit for an
extended period of time.  once the Stacy is done sucking on the
Alkalines, there is still plenty of juice left in the batteries for
running tape players, etc.  My theory is that the internal resistance
of Alkaline batteries is too high to sustain this kind of current draw.

A NiCad battery will be able to deliver the current with no problem
across the lifetime of it's charge.  What I don't know is how long it
will be able to hold a charge.  As this computer is not out for general
public consumption yet, I'm not surprised that I haven't seen
rechargable packs for it yet either.  I'm considering trying a set of
rechargable C's from Radio Shack, and modifying the battery holder to
use the trickle charge connector in the battery compartment.  A dozen
size C's from R/S will cost me about $30.00, so I have been putting this
off.  I get asked this question enough, however, that I should just do it.

Also, se my previous writing about using this computer in the car.  Just
be sure you have exited your editor before your spouse turns off the
ignition!  (Her car shuts off the cigarette lighter with the ignition,
mihe does not, but mine does cut off power when cranking the starter!)

>    Are you a very happy man with it ??

Very exceedingly supurbly elated with it.  I have power cord pigtails in
several key locations in the house.  I can now compute and be social at
the same time, in most any room.  The portability factor is wonderful. 
No more lugging equipment to user group meetings, etc.  The complexity
of equipment lugging and wiring to sequence the Hymns at Church is
substantially reduced.

You want fast file transfer?  If I want to move a file from VAX to
Atari, I just carry the Stacy into work like a brief case, and transfer
with Whack/Stransf at 19,200 baud, or put it on the Mill internet with
KA9Q talking to Ultrix Slip and use FTP (It's registered as
"mlo-net.stacy4"). (I have it here about 50% of the time anyway.  I'd
have it every day but when the weather is good I bicycle, and I don't
want to cary Stacy on my bicyclew basket.) 

If I want high quality output, and don't want to mooch off DEC's LPS20,
I carry the computer to my sister-in-law's graphics business and plug
it directly into her Apple LaserWrite-II, spin off what I want, then
just pick it up and take it back home with me.

I backed up my internal hard drive while riding in the car to the
in-laws last weekend.  The 1-hour drive was enjoyable.

-----

I'll get some NiCad batteries this afternoon and let you know how I make out.

    
    
    I want one, I WANT onw, I WANT ONE !!!!!!!!
    
    
    
    
    but where's the money gonna come from :-(
    
    Thanks for the update Jeff, I look forward to hearing about the Nicads
    
    Jonathan

    	Jeff,
    		Any EMI/RFI emissions show up on TV from Stacy?
    	I heard somewhere that the Canadian Stacys were real emittors.
    	I gather your unit is Class A, Class B hasn't been recieved yet?
    
    	ps. I get real tired of hearing people blame Atari product delays
          on FCC.  If Atari had competent EMI/RFI engineers, there would be
          little/no delays.  - Chris, who is trying to find some gasketing
          material that does the EMI/RFI job and good acoustic sealing too.

Jeff,

     What voltage does the Stacy require to operate.  If it has its own
voltage regulator, and takes 12 volts in (I think you mentioned a cigarette
lighter connection) then you best bet might be video batteries.  You will
need to find a professional video dealer, what you want to buy is 14 volt
batteries, not 12 volt (that is why I stipulated the regulated supply).
Due to the nature of Nicads, the 14 volt should provide much better
performance.  There was a great article on batteries in a past issue
of either "Broadcast Engineering" or "Video Systems".  It explained the
technical details as to why the 14 volts are better for video systems.
I am assuming that a camcorder running the video cassette would be
similar to running a hard disk.

						-Dave

Hello Stacy owners,

has anybody tried to apply the FASTLOAD patch on the Stacy?  This patch speeds
up the floppy disk I/O quite a lot (I think by turning off a track verify).
I made this permanent in my "old" 520ST+ with an EPROM, but there is also a
short program which does the patch temporarily.

On my machine this has been working perfectly for years now (with the original
Atari disk drives) and I would never want to miss it when using an Atari ST.
But I know that not all disk drives can handle the extra speed (I observed
problems with older NEC drives). 

Does the floppy disk of the Stacy work with this patch?  That's to say can
you format several floppy disks, copy them from the desktop without any r/w
errors?

BK 

I bought a set of Radio Shack NiCad batteries for the Stacy4.  R/S sells
two kinds of size C NiCad batteries "regular" (1.1Ah) and "heavy duty"
(1.8Ah).  The regular are about $7.00/pair (U.S.), and the heavy duty are
about $5.50 each.  I went with regular (total cost with sales tax $42.78).

The batteries come dead.  The recommended charge rate for "fast charge" is
330mA for 4 hours.  The trickle charger that is built into the Stacy is
only 20-30Ma, so I gave them an initial charge at 330mA for 4 using a lab
bench power supply.  (It would have taken about 4 or 5 DAYS of non-stop
trickle charge to bring these batteries to full charge.)

I modified the battery carrier to have two connectors, the standard 3-pin
connector is for non-rechargable batteries.  The 2-pin connector I added
plugs into a separate location in the battery compartment and provices
trickle charge.

I than ran the computer almost non-stop until the battery light came on.
These batteries gave me about 50 minutes of use, with the back-light on
full brightness and the hard disk spinning.  There was an additional 5-10
minutes when I used it in the car.  I extrapolate that the heavy duty
batteries would have given me another 20-30 minutes.

Some other observations:

- Using rechargable batteries allows the computer to ride-through
stopping/starting the engine in the car.

- If you need to do a LOT of portable use, you will two sets of batteries
and (or at least) an external "fast charge" charger.  Otherwise you are
looking at four days of charge per hour of portable use.  In my case, the
rechargable batteries will be for occasional use and demos, and for riding
through stopping/starting the car.

Now, regarding specific questions:

>    		Any EMI/RFI emissions show up on TV from Stacy?

The Stacy is a LOT cleaner on the TV than my 1040 attched to an unboxed
ICD host adaptor and home-brew hard drive.  I haven't noticed interference
on the TV.  I did notice it on the AM radio in the car.

>    	I gather your unit is Class A, Class B hasn't been recieved yet?

This is a UK unit, and there are no US approval markings on it at all.
(No UL, no FCC, no "Good Housekeeping seal of approval", etc.)
   
>    	ps. I get real tired of hearing people blame Atari product delays
>          on FCC.  If Atari had competent EMI/RFI engineers, there would be
>          little/no delays.

I agree.  Wanna do an acoustical analysis of the Stacy's whine?

>     What voltage does the Stacy require to operate.  If it has its own
>voltage regulator, and takes 12 volts in (I think you mentioned a cigarette
>lighter connection) then you best bet might be video batteries.

The Stacy will take just about anything between 13 and 18 (or more) volts.
It runs on 18V when using Alkaline batteries, 15V when using NiCads, 16.5
on the AC adaptor, and obviously regulates internally.  I think that for
extended operation, this will be the way to go.  Walk into a full-service
video dealer and try 14v battery packs until I find one that fits in the
available hole.  It would be great to get something like an 8Ah 14v
battery pack.  The 20mA trickle charge would still be a bottleneck.

>has anybody tried to apply the FASTLOAD patch on the Stacy?  This patch speeds
>up the floppy disk I/O quite a lot (I think by turning off a track verify).
>I made this permanent in my "old" 520ST+ with an EPROM, but there is also a
>short program which does the patch temporarily.

I'n not familiar with "FASTLOAD", but I'm certain that the floppy drive
in the Stacy is higher quality than any other floppy drive that I have.
It doesn't squeak and squeal on cheap floppies.  If FASTLOAD works by
flipping the "floppy verify" bit in internal RAM, then I'm sure it works
fine on the Stacy, since the GOOD Backup Utiltiy uses this same bit to
speed up floppy I/O, and it appears to work fine.  If FASTLOAD does
something weird to the drive, and I can't say.  Is FASTLOAD on line?  If
so I'll try it.

>Is FASTLOAD on line?
Sorry, I do not have the means to put it on line.  But I remember that it just
flips 1 bit, so it's probably the same thing that the GOOD Backup Utility does.
Thanks for your info!

    Well I have actually seen a STacy now and (needless to say) I fell in
    lurv.
    
    The shop I went to to see it is a new Atari dealership in Regent St.
    (no. 117) and never have I been to a more unfriendly and totally
    unhelpful shop (just my opinion). They would not let me touch the
    machine, and when I	 asked for a demo to see the speed of the screen,
    they point-blank refused and said come back in a week.
    
    Theya re the only place I know in the UK that actually has a STacy.
    
    I asked in another shop and they said they had had the STacy in for
    about 2 days, but they were all withdrawn because of very bad
    reliability issues, specifically to do with the hard disk.
    
    I do want one though.
    
    Has anyone heard when the UK will see STacy's generally available ?
    Particularly the model without the harddisk... this is all my budget
    will spring to ... snif.
    
    Also do you know is the bottom end model mentioned above upgradeable
    in terms of memory and hardisk ?
    
    I have a harddisk on my 1040ST. Will I be able to plug that into my
    future STacy ??
    
    Sorry for all the questions, but info is so short here.
    
    Thanks
    
    Jonathan

Jeff and others,

From the lates STREPORT (issue 416):

********************************************************************************

 April 18, 1990
 For Immediate Release

                             MultiByte
                        Portable Power Case
                         _________________


     The Portable  Power Case  is a soft carrying case and integral battery
 power source for  the  Stacy  laptop  computer  from  Atari.  The standard
 configuration  allows  a  Stacy4  with  a  40  megabyte hard disk drive to
 operate for  up to  four hours  on battery  power. These  batteries can be
 completely recharged in under an hour with, or without Stacy being on. The
 charger's microprocessor control  prevents  overcharging  and  all battery
 packs are equipped with quick blow fuses for additional protection.

     The Portable  Power Case provides two pockets for battery packs. Fresh
 battery packs may be  inserted with  Stacy on,  thus providing potentially
 unlimited battery  power. Additional  battery packs  may be purchased with
 endurance capabilities of four or eight hours. A Portable Power  Case with
 two fully  charged, eight  hour battery  packs would  have an endurance of
 sixteen hours. A third pocket is provided to store the  charger, and there
 is  an  extra  pouch  on  the  lid  for books, extra floppies, cables, and
 anything else one would want to carry.

     Stacy itself is attached  to a  stiff middle  divider that  has enough
 space to  also attach  Spectre GCR,  or any  other large cartridge without
 difficulty. The top lid zips off  for unlimited  easy access  to Stacy and
 all of the connectors on the back. Constructed of thick Cordura(tm) nylon,
 the carrying case is water resistant, protecting Stacy  from the elements,
 and padded,  preventing bumps  and scratches. The MultiByte Portable Power
 Case is available in Flat Back, Stacy Grey,  Woodland Camouflage,  and Hot
 Fluorescent Pink.  (Additional colors are available upon special request.)

     For additional information, orders,  or technical  support twenty-four
 hours a  day, call (703) 406-9139 or FAX (202) 625-6447. The new MultiByte
 Portable Power Case  gives  you  the  freedom  to  use  your  Stacy laptop
 computer anywhere and at anytime.

        MultiByte Portable Power Case for the Atari Stacy
                   Suggested Retail - $348

                        MultiByte
               Power ... Without The Plug
        15 Wedgedale Dr., Sterling, VA. USA 22170
       Voice (703) 406-9139  /  FAX (202) 625-6447

     Specifications  and  prices  subject  to change without notice. Stacy,
 Stacy4 and Atari are trademarks of Atari Corp. Spectre GCR  is a trademark
 of Gadgets  by Small, Inc. MultiByte Portable Power Case is a trademark of
 MultiByte, Inc.

>    I have a harddisk on my 1040ST. Will I be able to plug that into my
>    future STacy ??

Yes.  The Stacy has the normal Atari 19-pin DMA port, and runs regular
Rainbow TOS.

Stacy and I will be at this evening's NASTUS meeting, at the White
Mountian Computer in Nashua, NH. (7:00 PM)

I will be demonstrating the Stacy4 (described in the previous notes) as
the Atari CD ROM reader/player.

    Unfortunately, the STACY is not yet available (as far as I know) in the
    UK.
    
    The type I am interested in is the smallest config (ie no hard-drive)
    so two questions please, has anyone seen these and noticed what they
    cost and are they upgradeable so that if I want to put a h/d in later 
    is it possible ??
    
    Thanks,
    
    Jonathan (still wanting one!!)
    

re. Stacy in the UK ...

Atari were demonstrating the Stacy at the Which Computer Show in Birmingham
recently, and I think I've seen adverts in the music magazines for them.
I'll have a look over the weekend and let you know if I find anything.

Cheers,

    Derek.

We have reason to celebrate!  

At one time, both Bob Brodie and Charles Cherry told me that the decision
was made, and that the production versions of Stacy2 and Stacy 4 would not
include support for battery operation, because the short battery lifetimes
of the Stacy would not compare well to the laptop '286 VGA clones and the
Macintosh laptop.  (I have a pre-production unit that includes the battery
pack.)

Not being one to sit quietly through this, I wrote (twice) to Sam Tramiel
about this, and documented how using commonly available Panasonic
"standard grade size C Nickel Cadmium" batteries, I get as much as three
hours of cordless operation on the Stacy 4, and I still don't have the
software that shuts down the hard drive when it's idle.  I went on about
how I backed up my hard drive sitting on the front steps of the Maynard
post office, developed software while watching the neighborhood kids swim
in the pool, and write up the minutes of the New England Atarifest'90
executive committee meetings while riding the "T".

Yesterday I got a letter from Sam Tramiel, and it says "We want you to
know that we have taken this into consideration and future versions of the
Stacy will contain the battery feature".

Now, I don't know how far in the future we have to wait, but it sounds
good, and I think they really want to do the right thing here.

[I got three hours of battery when running with the backlight off in
bright sun.  I get two hours with the backlight on.  These batteries are a
2.2 amp-hour cell, and are available from "Digi-Key" electronics, a mail
order electronic parts company.  Using Radio Shack's cheapest batteries, I
get one hour with the backlight on.  I am currently charging the batteries
on a lab bench power supply here at DEC.  I am in the market for a good
battery charger, one of the fancy ones that cycles the batteries and
automatically shuts off when the batteries get warm.  If you have any
leads, please let me know.]

    The most recent issue of ST Format in the UK had a news item in it
    claiming that Atari are soon to bring out a new and improved STACY.
    Apparently it will be an STE in a stacy box.
    
    The most recent issue of ST User in the UK had a news item it saying
    that Atari deny any plans to release a new STACY ?
    
    Does anyone know or have any other rumours that might confirm or deny
    this matter ?
    
    Thanks 
    
    Jonathan 

The latest STREPORT says it will be smaller and lighter, and have
battery support, but will not be an "STe family" machine.

    Hi Jeff,
    
    any mention of when it will be available and how its proce will compare
    with the original model ???
    
    Jonathan

Really - that's all it said.

    According to Bob Brodie in the latest STReport, the Stacy is history,
    and the ST Notebook will replace it in the product line.
    
    							Brian  

I happened across a Televeision last night.  It was showing a scene from
"Anything but Love" or some such sitcom.  The scene was in the
protagonist's apartment.  I look at the TV, and like wow...

"Hey, I recognize that computer!
That's a Stacy, I'm sure it is.  I stare at one long enough, I would
know it ANYWHERE, even out of focus in the background of a sitcom!!"

I let the scene run, ignoring the dialogue (something about a
mother-in-law going senile or something), staring at the computer in the
background.

No Doubt About It.  The logo was in the right place, as was the dodad
for the trackball and the built-in copy holder.  There was a Stacy on
this TV show.  THe coloration was right.  The slide-latches that hold
down the display.

Stacy got her 15 minutes of fame.

From an Atary flyer from SYSTEMS fair some STbook specifications:

- CMOS 68000, 8MHz
- 1 or 4 MB RAM
- 512 kB ROM
- 40 MB, 19ms harddisk (no built-in floppy drive)
- Blitter, 640*400 pixel LC-display, not backlit
- 3 channels sound
- ACSI DMA-port (new style) for external floppy drive/harddisk. Adapter
  required
- standard parallel interface
- RS232 serial interface
- midi in/out (new, smaller style connectors)
- port for external numeric keypad, keyboard
- 120pin systembus port
- 84/85 key keyboard with 10 function keys and a VectorPad. The VectorPad
  acts like a mouse. Not bad but you have to get used to it.
- TOS 2.06 (date 15-Oct-1991 !!)
- File Transfer Utility (ST/PC/Portfolio), runs off the ROM
- NewDesk Desktop

Options:

- internal FAX-Modem (FAX 9600bd, data 2400bd)
- external 3.5'' floppydrive
- external mouse
- external 18 keys numeric keypad

Power:

- 7 batteries type AA
- power supply
- runs 5 to 10 hours off batteries. If battery power is not sufficiant
  anymore, STbook goes into Sleep-Mode and stores the actual desktop
  including all data you typed in and haven't stored yet in a static
  memory. So if you got power back, you can continue operations exactly
  at the point where you stopped working. This memory will keep the
  data for about 3 months they said.

Dimensions:

-  215*290*37 mm
-  weight 2 kg 


They said that they are currently producing the STbooks and about 500 of
them should be available by the end of the year worldwide. Most of them
will be delivered to UK and Germany because this seems to be the biggest
market for Atari. A rechargable battery pack is not yet ready (NiCd), but
they are working on it. The LC-display is not bad in a bright environment,
the angle to look at is narrow though. Displays from other notebooks like
Apple's PowerBook, Sharp a.s.o. have been way better, but I must admit that
these machines also have been much more expensive than the STbook. For me
the display is of most importance, so my opinion is biased in this case.
Now for the price: the 1MB machine costs 3998.- DM, that's 2350 $ with an
exchange rate of 1.70 DM/$.

Bernd

	I have been considering STACY for some time, but I think I'll wait on the 
NoteBook now, in the light of the following:-
	I was in a major music shop in Glasgow (Scotland) and was speaking to the
salesman who happens to be an acquaintance (luckily ?). His story was that he had only 
supplied ONE STACY to date (Jan-92). This was to Courtney Pine, for use as a
sequencer. Apparently CP had terrible noise and crashing problems with it, 
including a Prince session, and touring gigs !  "severely embarrassing" was the
phrase. The salesman contacted the suppliers and was told that this was a known 
problem with MIDI software - no solution.
	I never heard this before, but it seems that it wasn't just a faulty 
machine, but an inherent problem. 

..thought you'd like to know...

Jim