Atari/Atari Games VaxMail 1988 Jed Margolin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: MIKE::LIEBSTER 4-JAN-1988 14:39:28.82 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: PAYMENT OF CONSULTANTS/CONTRACTORS STARTING THIS YEAR WE WILL BE PAYING CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS THROUGH PAYROLL INSTEAD OF ACCOUNTS PAYABLE. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO AUTOMATICALLY KEEP TRACK AND GENERATE YEAR-END 1099 INFORMATION. THIS WILL APPLY TO ALL CONTRACTORS OR COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT INCORPORATED. A CHECK REQUEST AND W-9 FORM SHOULD BE SENT TO MY ATTENTION FOR PAYMENT AND WILL BE PAID ON THE REGULAR PAYROLL CYCLE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, OR ARE IN DOUBT AS TO WHO IS OR ISN'T A CONSULTANT/CONTRACTOR, PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL. THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION. SHERRY EX. 3761 ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::DENCKER "Andrea Dencker" 6-JAN-1988 11:43:21.06 To: @SYS$MAIL:MANAGEMENT, @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER, HUTTON, SUMNER,DENCKER CC: Subj: New person on board in Publications Dept. Effective next Monday, Jan. 11, we have a new person in the Publications Department. Rosalind Hutton replaces Pat Cook as a technical writer. Rosalind will be responsible for writing the text for all of our techni- cal publications, and she will also be doing some page layout with one of our new Macintoshes. Rosalind has a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona. She came to us from SEI Information Services Co. in San Jose, where she also was a technical writer. Before that she worked at Space Age Publishing in Santa Clara. She was a mechanical engineer for 3 1/2 years in Colorado, Oregon, and Arizona. Among the more interesting things she has done is teach English at Hunan University in the People's Republic of China. Please welcome her and feel free to introduce yourself; her extension is 3719, and her username is [HUTTON]. Andrea ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::ROTBERG "Professor of Gonzo" 6-JAN-1988 20:34:27.93 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Stress Diet Having been under a bit of stress lately, I have found that the diet given below has a remarkable way of dealing with STRESS. THE STRESS DIET --- ------ ---- Breakfast --------- 1/2 Grapefruit 1 Slice of whole wheat toast 8 oz. Skim milk Lunch ----- 4 oz. Lean broiled chicken 1 Cup steamed zuchinni 1 Oreo cookie Herb tea Mid-afternoon Snack ------------- ----- Rest of the package of Oreos 1 Quart Rocky Road ice cream 1 Jar hot fudge Dinner ------ 2 Loaves of garlic bread Large Pepperoni and mushroom pizza Large pitcher of beer (light!) Entire frozen cheesecake eaten directly from the freezer *********************************************************** *********************************************************** DIET TIPS ---- ---- 1. If no one sees you it it, then it has no calories. 2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, they cancel each other out. 3. When eating with someone else, calories don't count if you both eat the same amount. 4. Food used for medicinal purposes NEVER counts against your diet. Such as: Hot chocolate, brandy, toast, and Sara Lee cheese cake. 5. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner. 6. Movie related foods don't count against your diet because they are simply a part of the entertainment experience and not a part of one's personal fuel. Such as: Milk duds, popcorn with butter, junior mints, and red liccorice. 7. Cookie pieces contain NO calories. The process of breakage causes caloric leakage. - Gonzo - ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::TOLONEN 7-JAN-1988 18:32:31.36 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,TOLONEN CC: Subj: New Assignment for Kevin Hayes Effective ective January 1, 1988, Kevin Hayes , Vice President, Operations, has been given a new assignment as Executive Vice President of Atari Operations Inc. and will take charge of the day-to-day operations of that organization. Reporting to Kevin are Richard Adams, Vice President AOI for the U.S. Southern Region , and Satish Bhutani, Vice President AOI for the U.S. Western Region. Kevin has moved and will be temporarily located next to the front lobby in Building 675. Please welcome Kevin to his new position. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::ALBAUGH "Dr. Bizarro" 8-JAN-1988 09:54:51.76 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: Yet another Greenhills Bug The following Greenhills C bug (version 1.8.0) caused a really obscure bug in the stats package on XYBots. I have kluged around it on all the stats packages I "control", but those of you who are winging it on your own, or just generally multiplying unsigned shorts occasionally, should watch out! The following code fragment: unsigned int coins,time; ... time = (unsigned short)time * 60; produced the following assembly: MOVEQ #0,D0 MOVE.W D3,D0 *fr MULS #60,D0 note that it "knew" that D0 was unsigned, and that the constant 60 (which is clearly positive) would fit in a short, but it used a MULS. Changing the second line to: time = (unsigned short)time * (unsigned short)60; fixes the problem (this time). ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::LOGG 11-JAN-1988 13:06:07.80 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: AMS DNL The new AMS have a newer version of the software. This means the old DNL EPROMs will not work! But there is a solution. I have created a different version of the EPROMs which will work with this software. Read DNL.DOC in CHARM$USERDISK:[LOGG.AMS] for all the details. Everything works the same, just burn the EPROMs from a different file. Ed Logg ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::FRYE 13-JAN-1988 08:58:54.58 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,FRYE CC: Subj: PARKING TOMORROW AT 7:30 AM CAL AIR WILL HAVE A CRANE HERE AT 675 TO LIFT A NEW COMPRES- SOR ONTO THE ROOF. PLEASE DO NOT PARK ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING IN THE PARKING AREA JUST OUTSIDE THE ADMIN AREA (THE PARKING SPACES FACING THE BUILDING) THANK YOU, BOB ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::CAMERON 13-JAN-1988 09:58:07.51 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: ROOF YEA! The crane is coming tomorrow to lift the hot tub onto our new roof sun-park. The park benches and shade trees aren't arriving until Friday. Boy Howdy, isn't this exciting!?! Fun in the Sun ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::CAMERON 13-JAN-1988 10:17:30.50 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: From: KIM::ALBAUGH "Dr. Bizarro" 13-JAN-1988 10:12 To: ERNIE::CAMERON Subj: RE: ROOF Actually, the hot tub has, for some months, been located in that big metal box that Meyette tells everybody is an environmental test chamber. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::SHEPPERD 14-JAN-1988 12:01:56.94 To: @sys$mail:junk,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: Texas tea I usually disdain recommending investment opportunities, however, I think this gizmo is worth mentioning. First a little background: As oil is pumped from the ground either on dry land or especially from under the ocean, water is usually also included in the fluid (sometimes on purpose because water is injected into the well to help with the oil extraction). The oil/water sauce is typically run through a simple floatation extractor which removes some of the free oil by letting it float the surface of a tank then skimming it off. This method removes none of the dissolved oil (oil molecules bonded to or trapped between water molecules). This filtered water would then be dumped overboard in the case of an off-shore well or into some nearby river or lake in the case of an on-shore well. As you might imagine, the water systems in areas where there are active oil wells gets pretty contaminated with oil. Fish, birds and plants die off. The EPA has established some standards for a maximum oil/water mixture and oil/sand (oily sand is also sucked from off-shore wells) that can be dumped into the local environment. The standards are set based upon what the current technology can provide (perhaps also via bribes). The gizmo: Glenn Gilley of Gilley and Associates has developed what is known as a Solvent Extraction Method (SEM) of removing free and dissolved oil from production water. It looks quite neat in its simplicity; it uses centrifugal force to remove the free oil, injects a gas (solvent) into the water to attract the dissolved oil and later extracts the solvent from the cleaned water to be recycled. It can purify water to far in excess of the current EPA standards which (I hope) will prompt the EPA to tighten up their standards. The machine has only 1 moving part (a pump) and takes up roughly 1/10 the space of the current SEM systems. Minimum investment is $10,000. I have a prospectus in my office if you care to look at it. I also have a 10 minute video tape with a demo on it. And to satisfy the SEC: THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY THESE OR ANY SECURITIES. ds x1711 ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SHEPPERD 20-JAN-1988 17:58:28.78 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: You want to change what? A couple people have asked about a "global search and replace" function. There wasn't one yesterday, but there is one today. The next time to login or RESTART, type: $ GSR file where "file" can be a wildcarded filename or a single file. It will prompt for a search string (can't be null), whether the search string is a TPU regular expression (normally No, the default) and whether you want a case sensitive search (normally No, the default). It will then open each file, do a global search and replace through the file and write out a new one in the same directory as the source if there were any changes. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::HORN "Erich Von Horn" 18-JAN-1988 17:37:08.88 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: I WILL HAVE A NEW TEST CART FOR YOU TUESDAY EVENING - ERICH OF HORN ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::HORN "Erich Von Horn" 18-JAN-1988 17:57:00.86 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: PLEASE IGNORE MY LAST MESSAGE PLEASE IGNORE MY LAST MESSAGE IT WAS SENT TO THE WRONG PEOPLE! ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::GROSSMAN 21-JAN-1988 10:20:56.35 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Congratulations to Becky and Rob Rowe Becky and Rob are the proud parents of a baby BOY, Jonathan Brady Born 11:13 p.m. yesterday, 7 lbs. 11 1/2 oz. After a long hard labor, Becky and Jonathan are resting comfortably. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::CHING 21-JAN-1988 10:54:59.31 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: IT'S NEW!!! IT'S EXCITING!!! ATTENTION ALL CONSUMERS: Tired of using that old, beat up-looking tupperware, or worse yet, imitation tupperware? Well, it's about time you bought some new ones. Come on over and take a look at the latest Tupperware Catalog. They've got some cool colors now a days. And for all you people with young children, they've got some great stuff to make traveling with their meals a little easier. They've got some classic toys, too. So come one, come all, and come to my Tupperware Party if you like. ( Thurs, Jan 28, 7:30 PM ) RSVP to this address or call x1714. For you married men, don't forget to ask your wives about this. Or better yet, put in an order and give it to her for Valentine's Day. Not the most romantic gift, but it's just as good as the Food Processor you gave her last year. Catalog is in my office. Come and take a look at the new, exiciting world of Tupperware!!!! (What a commercial. Shut up, Nat) ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::HOFF 25-JAN-1988 14:16:52.54 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: VPIX users: current and future If you currently use or expect to use VPIF, a tool that allows one to view picture files on the GPX terminals, then read on. This program, running on the GPX's in the LSI CAD lab, has a nasty problem. It takes almost all of the cpu. EVEN WHEN THE DISPLAY IS STATIC AND THERE IS NO APPARENT PROCESSING OCCURING. The batch queues grind to a sub-crawl. This stops LSI design unnecessarily. So please, if you use VPIF get what you need then log off. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 29-JAN-1988 11:05:59.34 To: MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: games names. It was funny when you told a salesman that the new game was "drivin' " and he thought it was about a drive-in movie. I mentioned the word "drivin' " to someone and they thought it was a golf game. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MCCARTHY 1-FEB-1988 18:37:35.95 To: @sys$mail:hardware,MCCARTHY CC: Subj: Obsolete RAM ICs. Be warned ! Do you use 2Kx8 static RAMs. (6116 variety). We recently were looking for 100,000 - 500,000 of these ICs at 150nS only to find that most major companies are obsoleting this part in favor of 8kx8 static RAMs. Pat. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::FRYE 2-FEB-1988 08:02:54.03 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: BUILDING VISITOR THIS AFTERNOON I WILL BE ESCORTING OUR INSURANCE REP. THROUGH BOTH BUILDINGS FOR OUR SEMI-ANNUAL INSPECTION AND FIRE SPRINKLER TESTING. PLEASE DISREGARD ANY BELLS, IT'S ONLY A TEST. THANKS, BOB ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::PAAUW 2-FEB-1988 15:41:59.73 To: MARGOLIN,MONCRIEF,DOWNEND,VANELDREN,PAAUW CC: Subj: TWIG FILES SENT TO MAINFRAME The TWIG files have been transferred to National's mainframe for pre- route simulation, which should match the simulation results from the Mentor workstation. The first attempt failed 2/1/88 and the National engineer is currently massaging the files. I don't expect any major problems and still expect mask release about Feb. 15 and protos in mid-March. The steps remaining before mask release are pre-route simulation, fault grading (one pass, gratis), place & route, post-route simulation. -- Don ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::ALBAUGH "Dr. Bizarro" 3-FEB-1988 10:58:49.38 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Unsolicited Testamonial (Mexican Restaurant divison) Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you like Mexican food. You like Casa Azteca, but sometimes would like something a little more well... "Mexican". La Milpa suits your taste, but you would rather not wait 2 hours for a one hour meal. Well, have I got a deal for you. Last Saturday I was in exactly the situation described above and my wife suggested that we try out a new little place called "Gardenia", in Abel Plaza. I am now glad La Milpa was so crowded. I will continue to go there sometimes because: a) There have Chicken in mole sauce everyday (not just Sunday). b) They are closer to my house. c) They are a bit dressier (although they aren't the Ritz and Gardenia is not a dive.) d) I like the people there. But Gardenia is a VERY attractive alternative. Yes, they have Mexican hot chocolate (like La Milpa). Yes, they have the tomato/onion/cilantro salsa, like La Milpa. (Casa Azteca has neither). PLUS, they have Penafiel sodas, which I remember fondly from my school days and can get at neither of the others. I had the Verde, while my wife had an enchilada/chile relleno combo. Both were excellent. And they have all sorts of neat stuff on the menu which I intend to try.... So why am I telling you? After all, I was one of La Milpa's first customers and now all you riff-raff are lining up and keeping me waiting. Well, we were only the fourth party on Saturday night, while La Milpa was spilling onto the sidewalk. I am afraid these folks won't last long enough for me to eat my way through their menu if they don't get some more business soon. So... cruise over 17 (pardon me, 880) on Calaveras and turn right on Abel, then left into the parking lot. Gardenia is at the far left of the little shopping center. Try it, you'll like it. Mike ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::OHARA 5-FEB-1988 08:53:04.10 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,OHARA CC: Subj: My Schedule & Phone lists I have posted a new schedule at each mailstation, on my door, with Yvette the receptionist, and various individuals thruout our two Buildings. Hopefully this will make it for you to find me, it also describes the process thru which one may get Supplies from me. Also, I have available Phone lists in three formats: Phone numbers only: 3 column 8 1/2 x 14 dated 28 jan 88 4 column 8 1/2 x 11 dated 1 feb 88 4 column 11 x 17 on demand Phone numbers, Mail stops, Vaxmail Nodes or Accounts Booklet style 8 1/2 x11 dated 28 jan 88 2 page 11 x 17 2 page 11 x 17 on demand 2 page 8 1/2 x 11 (same as above, reduced) on demand On demand means that I'll make them for you as you ask for them. If yours are dated more than a year ago they are hopelessly out of date, there have been a large number of changes since then (If they are undated this is still true). thanks james ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::SYSTEM "Colossus/Guardian" 6-FEB-1988 20:00:25.87 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: Charm The current Charm is actually one of the new Vaxen. It doesn't have ANY disks of its own. Instead, it is using GAWD's system disk for system, page and swap files. CHARM$USERDISK is located on Kim, so Kim does the file serving for Charm's userdisk. It may crash because DEC says the system can't be hooked up like this, but I did it anyway. You will know if they were right. For some things, you may notice that this system is about 3 times faster than the old Charm. However, since it does its page and swap access via Ethernet, it may slow down quite a bit for other things. Also, it won't run MAC65, the BSO assembler or TECO. I believe that the 780 Charm's system disk has some kind of problem which has been the reason for 780's crashes recently. I dual-ported Charm's disk controller last weekend so that you could get to the userdisk even if Charm was down. As it happens, the problem in the system disk seemed to cause both Kim and Charm to crash, so it has been disconnected. A 780 won't work without a system disk which is why I tried hooking things up this way. Perhaps by tuesday the disk will have been fixed and I can put things back to normal. dms ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 8-FEB-1988 16:01:25.36 To: @sys$mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: GAWD - Gettin' Alot of Work Done... The new VAXen are hooked up and appear to work. Kim and Charm's SYS$BATCH default to running on the compute server (GAWD) and we strongly recommend that you use BATCH for all your compiles, assemblies, links, PPS utilites and any other compute bound tasks. You'll find that your jobs will complete in 1/3 to 1/4 the time it would take on an un-busy 780 (there used to be such a thing as an unbusy 780, but I think such a thing is extinct these days). I believe it will be faster to batch even "tiny" compiles than to run them interactively. Besides, you'll automatically get a log of any errors. There are two commands (.COM files actually) that make it easy to use the batch stuff: AT and BATCH. Use AT in place of an "@" on a .COM file that you would normally run interactively to cause that file to be executed in batch mode. Use BATCH to execute a DCL command in batch mode. For example: $ AT A_COM_FILE $ BATCH MAKE MY_PROGRAM MAC65 users are out of luck for a little while yet. MAC65, LINKM, TECO and the BSO 68000 assembler will only run on a 780. You should switch from using TECO to TPU; from LINKM to LLF; BSO to Intermetrics. If these system problems give me a break, a new MAC65 written in C should be useable by April. DEC will be out this coming thursday to "install" the new VAXen, so I'll have to take them apart and put them back in the box wednesday night. They should be back online by noon thursday unles DEC breaks them. dms ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::DEPEW 9-FEB-1988 08:41:43.96 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Empire Strikes Back One of our licensees in England is in desperate need of an Empire Strikes Back game in order to do a conversion on to software for the home computer market. Is there anyone out there who has an Empire Strikes Back game who will help me out by loaning the necessary elements to convert a Star Wars game to an Empire Strikes Back? Please contact me if you have any clues as the location of such an animal. Thanks: Becky x3704 ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::DRIVER 9-FEB-1988 16:11:11.66 To: MARGOLIN CC: Subj: foo ~INIT = $on control_y then goto endmake\n$on error then goto endmake ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$on warning then goto endmake\n$ oldver = f$verify(1) ~DEINIT = $ endmake:\n$ t = 'f$verify(oldver)\n$ exit drive : drive.hex $ BEEP "DONE" drive.hex : drive.ol drivesubs.ol db.ol racecor.ol driveasm.ol sort.ol coms.ol clouds.ol strig.ol tables.ol s42code.ol gmain.ol link.ol dash.ol duart.ol movable.ol main.ol driveloc.opt $ LLF drive,drivesubs,db,racecor,coms,clouds,movable,strig,dash,- GMAIN,LINK,DRIVEASM,SORT,TABLES,s42code,duart,main,- driveloc/OPT/OUT=drive.hex/SYM drive.ol : drive.h drive.c $ gcc drive o R drivesubs.ol : drive.h [.univcad]drivesubs.c $ copy [.univcad]drivesubs.c tmpdsubs.c; $ gcc tmpdsubs o R $ ren tmpdsubs.ol drivesubs.ol $ del tmpdsubs.c; db.ol : drive.h db.c $ gcc db o R racecor.ol : racecor.trk $ trktos racecor racecor $ asm68 racecor $ pur racecor.s driveasm.ol : driveasm.asm $ asm68 driveasm dash.ol : dash.c ptrtab.h modelboard.h dashimages.h $ gcc dash R trk.ol : trk.c $ gcc trk R tables.ol : tables.asm pytable.asm sincos.asm col.asm $ asm68 tables s42code.ol : s42code.c $ gcc s42code o R gmain.ol : gmain.asm $ asm68 gmain sort.ol : sort.asm $ asm68 sort link.ol : link.asm $ asm68 link coms.ol : coms.c drive.h modelboard.h $ gcc coms R clouds.ol : clouds.c drive.h $ gcc clouds R movable.ol : movable.c drive.h $ gcc movable R strig.ol : strig.c trigtab.h $ gcc strig o R duart.ol : duart.c $ gcc duart R ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 11-FEB-1988 15:19:57.45 To: @SYS$MAIL:HARDWARE,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: MCR SLEEPsync......... Those of you who were interested in or concerned about the 8Kx8 SRAMs from Toshiba which had in their specification, 'internally syncronous,externally asyncronous': I have tentatively set up a meeting with the sales rep and a Toshiba engineer who is a specialist in memory devices (EPROMs, RAMs, mask ROMs, etc). He should be able to answer any questions regarding the 'address activated circuit technology' that some had voiced concern about. Any other memory topics would also be welcome. May I have a raise of hands of those who would like to attend a meeting that has been tentatively set up for Tuesday, February 23 at 4:00PM. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 11-FEB-1988 15:24:54.14 To: ERNIE::ARVIDSON,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: RE: MCR SLEEPsync......... I do. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::SHEPPERD 12-FEB-1988 16:05:11.66 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: cdefs There are a couple of changes which you might want to include in your LOGIN.COM file to eleminate the recurring problems with cdefs.com moving or becoming obsolete etc. A CDEFS.COM is permanently located in UTL$COM. This file references a system logical name IM_TOOLS: which will change with future releases (if any) of the intermetrics tools so without making any changes in your procedures, you will always be using the latest release of the tools. There are instances where one must keep using an older release of some tools. In this case, you can assign the logical IM_OLDTOOLS to IM_TOOLS before calling CDEFS.COM. At this time, there are no old IM_TOOLS so both names point to the same directory. $ assign IM_OLDTOOLS IM_TOOLS !if you don't want new versions !as they are released. $ @utl$com:cdefs !gets the Intermetrics tools logicals The GreenHills C compiler is called up via a foreign command. It appears everyone has a different word for invoking the C compiler so I can't do a common command file to set it up. There are however, two logical names to assist in defining your GreenHills C compiler startup: GH_EXE and GH_OLDEXE GH_EXE will always point to the latest release and GH_OLDEXE will point to the previous release. At this time, GH_EXE and GH_OLDEXE point to the same directory. Use it thusly: $ GCC :== $GH_EXE:CCOM68 !for the current release $ GCC :== $GH_OLDEXE:CCOM68 !for the previous release ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::ALBAUGH "Dr. Bizarro" 19-FEB-1988 18:49:38.85 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: Abject apology, with forelock tugging Since I've been raving about how those $%#&* hardware guys keep screwing up the coin switches, I guess it's my turn to eat crow. The reported problem with mech-multipliers on Blasteroids is in fact my fault. Those poor coins went through two processors and at least 4 subroutines before I twisted them at the last possible moment. Anyway, all this is really pretty straightforward on the standalone audio board. The rightmost switch gets hooked to the rightmost bit (D0). The rest follow in order (up the byte right to left). These single bits get translated into two-bit (what else, at least in the U.S.) fields that get sent to the game board, but again, rightmost is rightmost. Should we bring up 6502 based boards that connect their coins to the MSB's MSBs of the inputs? In case you wondered, the rightmost switch connects to D7 (actually the rule is that rightmost goes to the bit that falls out first when you shift). Anyway, it's supposed to be the 6502 coin routine's problem to get things straight before sending them on to the game, and the S.A. board does it right. On a separate-mech game (e.g. Xybots), everything stays consistent again, the rightmost mech is for the rightmost player. But players are number left to right (0..3), whereas bits are numbered right to left (fun, huh). This is still not too confusing, until I re-converted the Gauntlet-style coin routine, as hacked for S.A. Audio, back to System I style. The software is clearly wrong, and can be fixed in one of two ways. I can change which mech I consider "right", leaving right the more valuable mech. Or I can change the wording of the coin options, acknowledging that the Left mech gets the higher value. I vote for option one, but will listen other arguments. Can get some mercy by pointing out that if I didn't have to keep changing this stuff I wouldn't keep breaking it? Didn't think so! Mike ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 23-FEB-1988 09:28:55.70 To: MCCARTHY,ALBAUGH,MARGOLIN,SNYDER,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: Reminder... Meeting with Toshiba this afternoon at 4:00. Place: engineering conference room. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::FRYE 23-FEB-1988 16:10:23.97 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: INTERIOR PAINTING, 675 STARTING MONDAY, 2/29 PAINTERS WILL BE HERE TO PAINT EXTERIOR OFFICE WALLS, SOME HALLWAYS, AND THE ENGR. & MAIN CONFERENCE RMS. SINCE MOST OF THE PAINT- ING WILL BE IN THE ENGINEERING AREA, A MAP WILL BE POSTED OUTSIDE THE ENGR. CONF. RM. INDICATING AREAS TO BE PAINTED THANKS, BOB ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 23-FEB-1988 16:51:13.40 To: ALBAUGH,MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: MEETING CANCELLED. Sorry, but the applications engineer was detained in Palo Alto and couldn't be here 'til after 5:00. He may have time for us tomorrow afternoon and will let me know. I'll keep you informed. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 23-FEB-1988 18:45:50.79 To: JOE,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Slapstic The part number for the Driver Slapstic is 137412-117. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::PAAUW 25-FEB-1988 14:59:29.31 To: DOWNEND,MARGOLIN,MONCRIEF,VANELDREN,PAAUW CC: Subj: TWIG released to mask The TWIG chip passed the final post-route simulation and was released to mask on Tuesday, Feb 23. The protos should be here in about four weeks ( officially 4-6 weeks, most likely 4). -- Don ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::FRYE 2-MAR-1988 15:00:55.23 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: 675 WAREHOUSE MANUFACTURING IS MOVING A PRODUCTION LINE INTO OUR WAREHOUSE AND IS PRESENTLY INVOLVED IN REMOVING EXCESS MATERIALS & CLEANING UP THE WAREHOUSE TO SUPPORT THIS OPERATION. ON TOP OF ALL THIS I'M MOVING IN FURNITURE FOR TENGEN. WE REALLY NEED TO TIGHTEN OUR BELTS ON THIS ONE AS EVERY SQUAR FOOT IS NEEDED. I HAVE MOVED GAME CABINETS AND OTHER RELATED ITEMS INTO THE CENTER OF THE WAREHOUSE TO MAKE ROOM FOR FURNITURE. ENGINEERING PLEASE CHECK TO SEE THAT WE DO NOT DUMP ANYTHING OF VALUE, SUCH AS THE PIN BALL GAME WHICH SHOULD GO INTO ARCHIVES. ON 3/10 ALL REMAINING ITEMS WILL BE DUMPED. WE DO NOT HAVE STORAGE SPACE FOR ALL THE EMPTY GAME CABINETS, SO PLEASE BE SELECTIVE. THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO CLEAN OUT UN- WANTED ITEMS IN YOUR AREA, BUT PLEASE DO SO BEFOR 3/10 AND PLACE ITEMS IN THE DESIGNATED DUMP AREA. THANKS, BOB ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 2-MAR-1988 20:29:13.31 To: @sys$mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: DIO model 288 Finally, the DIO model 288 talks to the VAX. This programmer has 8 32 pin sockets so it can program 1 megabit EPROMS. It has 512k of ram (same as the IMI). It appears to be somewhat slower than the IMI but it is no doubt faster than waiting in a line for the IMI. Unlike the DIO model 29A, this programmer has an automatic family/pin code selection mechanism that actually works. There's even a way for the VAX to find out the real F/P code after it automatically figures one out. So, it is no longer necessary to specify a DEVICE command to the DIO procedure if you are programming devices larger than 27128's. The VAX will force an auto f/p select and report the other manufacturers parts that may be interchanged with the ones you are programming. Until I get a switch box built up, you can switch between the 29A and the 288 by unplugging and replugging the RJ11 connector (telephone type) from the light blue (29A) and dark blue (288) DB25 connectors lying behind the two units. If you need to upload a set of EPROMS but want the data to appear in the uploaded file as though it were 16 or 32 bit words, you can do that with the /WORD=nn option on the UPLOAD command. I think you will also have to specify the whole range too. For example, if you want to upload 4 27256's into a file as 16 bit data: DIO> UPLOAD your_file_name 0-1FFFF/WORD=16 Both the 288 and the 29A (with the GANGPAK) will do this. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::THEURER 4-MAR-1988 15:36:16.06 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: MacPaint to PIF/RAD conversion, and EASY picture digitization Here are a couple utilities to make life easier for somebody: 1. Convert any MacPaint file to a PIF/RAD file. Read charm$userdisk:[theurer.mac]mp.doc for details. 2. Digitize a picture and get a PIF/RAD file, almost as easily as running the Xerox machine. The digitization is done on Mary Sumner's scanner / Mac II system. "Publish Pac" program scans your picture and produces a MacPaint file (bi-level or halftone style 1 bit deep). (You can specify the size of the resulting picture). Then execute the MacPaint to PIF/RAD conversion. This works really well on line drawings. Coming Real Soon Now: Conversion of TIFF files (scanned pictures with 256 grey levels) to RAD. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: MIKE::BELL "Component Engineering - Ext 1750" 4-MAR-1988 16:45:52.89 To: MARGOLIN CC: Subj: using .COM files with AVL You cant get there from here... Because I had to have AVL support ANY terminal types, yet still needed timeouts, I had to use QIOW's for the inputs. The QIO's are to the terminal, and a file isnt a terminal. I'd have to write the program using FAB's (file access blocks) and RAB's (record access blocks) which would more than quadruple the code... at least thats what the systems folks tell me. I think I could do it with a call to SMG$READ_COMPOSED_LINE, which allows for timeouts and doesnt do anything thats terminal specific. I'll try to get around to it next week or so. I tried using a .COM file with another program that uses SMG$READ_COMPOSED_LINE and it worked. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 4-MAR-1988 19:07:33.52 To: @sys$Mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: More on the 288 I forgot to mention how to enable the DIO 288 for VAX access. The message COMPUTER CONTROL should appear on the top line of the LCD display. If it doesn't, then press one of the arrow keys repeatedly until the message RS232 PORT shows up on the top line of the display. (If pressing the arrow keys doesn't change the top line of the display, then press any of the number keys until the 288 beeps, then try again with the arrow keys. I.e. bang any or all the buttons until the DIO cries for you to stop.) After you get the RS232 PORT message, press ENTER twice. After the first ENTER, the message COMPUTER CONTROL will appear in the lower window (if not, press the arrow keys until it does) and after the second ENTER that message will replace the RS232 PORT message. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::MCCARTHY 7-MAR-1988 10:29:29.88 To: @sys$mail:hardware,Jackson,leon,MCCARTHY CC: Subj: Scidesign schedule. There is a scheduling problem with the Scidesign schematic entry stations: Not enough stations for current projects. Here are the Projects that I know of: SAC Audio board. McCarthy et al. Field testing with Cyberball and Escape... April/May/June. Cyberball. Snyder. Field testing April/May. War. Stempler. For two projects, War and Quarterdeck. MOB. McCarthy. New Motion Object chip development (schematics only). Blitter. Snyder. New Motion Object technology We need to get together briefly to decide on some time allocation scheme to take care of these projects. If you know that you will not need a station at any particular period, please reply now so that we can see how big the conflict really is. It there are any more projects requiring Schematic entry time this month please relpy to me also. Pat. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::WIEBENSON 7-MAR-1988 14:05:31.91 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: breathe deep Not being a proponent of central air circulation systems, I have a concern that with all the activity in the back of 675 that we will be breathing a lot of exhaust fumes for a while throughout the building. Does anyone know/care? Of course the people in 715 are exposed to that stuff all the time and they seem healthier than us in 675 so maybe it's good!? ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::BROWN 9-MAR-1988 12:21:11.11 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,BROWN CC: Subj: ACME TRADE SHOW As many of you may be aware, this coming weekend, March 11 through 13, our industry will be sponsoring its annual ACME Trade Show in Reno, Nevada at the Bally Grand Hotel and Casino. This is the first time that this trade show has been held in the western United States. Though we have officially limited the number of Atari employees who will be formally attending the ACME Show on "company business", I would like to clarify that any and all employees are welcome to attend this function "on their own time and expense". It is unlikely that another major Coin-Op industry trade show will be held this close to the Bay Area any time in the foreseeable future, and as such, this is an ideal opportunity for those who have never attended to do so. Hide Nakajima ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 12-MAR-1988 21:51:19.28 To: @sys$mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: Some new stuff Have you been steamed at MAKE, the quemanager, DIO or IMI lately? Well, I just added somemore junk that may REALLY make you mad. On the other hand, you might like it. For the IMI and DIO, the system will broadcast a message to all terminals logged in with a username that matches the top level directory specified in the FILE command announcing that "your roms are done" when they are done programming, verifying or uploading or any other stuff that you might do. (I'll try to fix it to be more discriminating later). It remains to be seen if this is a good feature or not. I'm sure you'll let me know one way or the other. I have found that the message returned at the completion of a batch job leaves a lot to be desired (i.e. bla_bla completed with status of "%NONAME-E-WHAT, Undecodable message number %X09898080" or some such nonsense. So, I tried to fix that. There's a new program to do the announcing and there's some changes to MAKE.EXE and MAKE.COM. One key point is that the notification of completion of a job started with a DCL BATCH or AT command is done by an announcing program rather than the que manager. As a result, your job may not actually be complete until a couple seconds AFTER you get the message. Sorry, but this appears to be the only way I can get meaningful messages to your terminal from make. If you cause your make procedure to exit with a status code between 0 and 4, then one of the following messages will be broadcast to your terminal: code 0 = Completed with warning(s) code 1 = Normal successful completion code 2 = Completed with error(s) code 3 = Completed with information message(s) code 4 = Completed with fatal error(s) i.e. $ EXIT 2 would signal completion with errors. Any other codes will be translated to the VMS message that it may represent and sent to your terminal. For example, if you trapped the error status from some VMS utility and exited your procedure with that status, then the appropriate VMS error message would be broadcast to your terminal. In addition to these changes (and partly to better use the messge facility), I've added three special macro names to MAKE: *, < and >. These names represent the current root filename (*=whole root; < is name portion only; > is type portion only). You may use these macro names anywhere in the makefile except in a dependency list which wouldn't make any sense anyway. The macro is not expanded until it is used in a method stream. The following example (an excerpt of MAKE's makefile) uses this feature along with the new announcing program to blast reports of compile and link errors AS THEY OCCUR during the make. Using this feature makes the methods for the files quite small (in the case of the .c files, a single macro call): FILES = #H, make.c, macro.c, token.c, parsedir.c, file.c ~INIT = $ cc := cc/deb/lis ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ wo := write sys$output ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ mess_severity == 1 ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ mess_map = "0020401234222240323444444" ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ set noon ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ goto skip_stchk ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ status_check: subroutine ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ cs = 'p1' .and. 7 ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ if cs .gt. 4 then $ cs = 4 ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ if p2 .eqs. "" .or. cs .eq. 1 then $ goto 10$ ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ if cs .eq. 0 then $ mc make_system:notify "Warning(s) while making ''p2'" ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ if cs .eq. 2 then $ mc make_system:notify "Error(s) while making ''p2'" ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ if cs .eq. 3 then $ mc make_system:notify "Information message(s) while making ''p2'" ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ if cs .eq. 4 then $ mc make_system:notify "Fatal error making ''p2'" ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$10$: cs = cs * 5 + 'mess_severity ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ mess_severity == 'f$ext(cs,1,mess_map) ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ exit %x10000001 ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ endsubroutine ~INIT = #(~INIT)\n$ skip_stchk: ~DEINIT = $ get_out: exit mess_severity ! Define some macros to blast old .LIS, .OBJ and .MAP files ! NOLIS = $ if f$search("#<.LIS;") .nes. "" then $ delete #<.LIS;* NOMAP = $ if f$search("#<.MAP;") .nes. "" then $ delete #<.MAP;* NOOBJ = $ if f$search("#<.OBJ;") .nes. "" then $ delete #<.OBJ;* ! ! Define a macro to delete the old root file NOROO = $ if f$search("#*;") .nes. "" then $ delete #*;* ! ! Define a macro to call the status checker/announcer routine SCHK = $ call status_check '$status' #* ! ! Define the macro for the .c to .obj method C = #(NOLIS)\n#(NOOBJ)\n$ wo "CC #<"\n$ cc #<\n#(SCHK) ! ! Define the macro for the .mar to .obj method M = #(NOLIS)\n#(NOOBJ)\n$ wo "MAC #<"\n$ mac/lis/deb #<\n#(SCHK) ! ! Define the macro for the .msg to .obj method MS = #(NOLIS)\n#(NOOBJ)\n$ wo "MESS #<"\n$ message/lis #<\n#(SCHK) ! ! Define macro to be used before link is called L = #(NOROO) L = #L\n$ if .not. mess_severity then $ goto get_out L = #L\n$ wo "Linking #*" ! ! make's dependencies make : make.exe make.exe : make.obj macro.obj token.obj parsedir.obj file.obj #L $ LINK/nomap MAKE/OPTIONS #(SCHK) make.deb : make.obj macro.obj token.obj parsedir.obj file.obj #L $ LINK/nomap/deb/exe=make.deb MAKE/OPTIONS #(SCHK) make.obj : make.c #H #C macro.obj : macro.c #H #C token.obj : token.c #H #C parsedir.obj : parsedir.c #H #C file.obj : file.c #C notify.obj : notify.c #C notify_getstuff.obj : notify_getstuff.mar #M ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::FRANZELLA "Yvette" 14-MAR-1988 14:49:50.04 To: MARGOLIN CC: Subj: message Peter Kibben of Tech Sales would like you to phone him regarding TRW. 727-7200. 3/14 1:39 ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::PAAUW 14-MAR-1988 18:45:44.61 To: @SYS$MAIL:HARDWARE CC: Subj: MEETING: WED, MAR 16, 1:30, EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE. Gene Cavanaugh is with a Mississippi consortium called the Institute for Technological Development. This is a cooperative effort between the government, academia, and industry to try to develop a better base for high tech industry in Mississippi. The entire group has initial funding of $20 meg and the advanced microelectronics section has the largest share of this. The engineering manager for this section is Bill Durham from Texas Instruments. The group's plan is to generate local industry by encouraging spin- offs from projects they initiate. According to Gene, the group has about 14 engineers and 14 Sun workstations with a very wide variety of software packages. They are planning on getting VTI's tools. The group's recent work has included megacell development for NCR, Thompson, and others. Gene wants to come by with Bill Durham to see if we have any basis for joint projects. Some possibilities include them doing designs for us for little or no NRE in return for manufacturing rights or their licensing some of our designs to market. (Gene specifically suggested licensing the PIXI or Calfee's RISC). I've tentatively scheduled a meeting with Gene Cavanaugh and Bill Durham in the executive conference room at 1:30 on Wed. March 16. Please let me know if there is any interest in this meeting. -- Don ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 15-MAR-1988 15:20:48.43 To: ALBAUGH,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: GSP text routines /* This program shows how to put up text on the screen using the GSP text routines. The routines shown, and some others to do things like draw polygons, lines, and rectangles, are in the file 68_gsp.c in kim$userdisk:[margolin.gspex] */ DisplayTest() { int i; char line[100]; DOWN_340(); /* Load up the 340 code */ while(1){ next_gsp_buffer(); /* Allocate a new GSP command buffer */ clear_gsp_screen(BLACK); /* Clear the scrn */ xy_font("This is the small font", /* string */ 100, /* X coordinate */ 100, /* Y coordinate */ WHITE, /* Color */ 0); /* 8x8 font */ sprintf(line,"DISPLAY CYCLE %d",i++); xy_font(line, /* string */ 30, /* X coordinate */ 200, /* Y coordinate */ WHITE, /* Color */ 1); /* 16x16 font */ end_gsp_buffer(-1); /* Switch buffers, start display */ } } ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MCCARTHY 16-MAR-1988 10:15:59.28 To: @SYS$MAIL:HARDWARE CC: Subj: HARD TIMES FOR RAM ICs This message from Erwin indicates the severity of the RAM chip shortage in the industry at present. First, 2Kx8 slow (100-150nS) have been obsoleted by most manufacturers. Now we can't get 8Kx8 at the right speed. This problem is going to add $12-$14 to the cost of the board. Pat. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 16-MAR-1988 10:00 To: MCCARTHY,BURNIAS,ARVIDSON Subj: 8Kx8/80ns SRAMs for Vindicator. Pat, Due to the extreme difficulty in locating these parts, I have advised purchasing (Mary) to go ahead and order 55ns parts from Motorola (MCM6164C-55) at high cost to us (over 6 dollars). Between Mary and myself, we have contacted over 20 manufacturers or their representatives with the result that there is no chance to obtain 80 or 85ns parts in time for Vindicator production. If you have any objections to using 55ns parts, please let us know immediately. There seems to be three reasons that 80ns is not available: 1. The manufacturer does not make slower than 55ns, 2. The manufacturer does not make faster than 100ns, 3. The manufacturer will not be producing speeds in the 70 to 85ns range until many weeks or months from now. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::FRYE 24-MAR-1988 07:18:14.93 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: BUILDING VISITORS THIS FRIDAY MORNING, 3/25 AND MONDAY, 3/28 I WILL BE ESCORTING VISITORS THROUGH BOTH OUR BUILDINGS. BOB ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::WIEBENSON 24-MAR-1988 11:04:23.53 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: what's the trick? Anybody know of a defined proceedure and designated personel to procure the supplies and parts we need for development and those endless runs of field test and sample units? All I get is frustrated when I spend all day trying to track down this person and that person and run up against the enevitable shortages. We are a production line in our own right with all the games we build up here, but we simply don't have the stores or supply channels to support it. If there aren't enough 512's for us to do all those field tests then we have to cut back on field tests. If there are enough 512's then where are they? Are they hard to get on purpose so we will respect their value? This is one game I don't enjoy. (and it's not just 512's) ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::WOOD 25-MAR-1988 14:51:09.98 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Acquisition of real property Atari Games has entered into negotiations to purchase approximately 15.6 acres of land in San Jose at the corner of Tasman and Vista Montana near North First Street. Final negotiations have not been completed and the possibility does exist that the deal may not go through. If everything goes well, we are expecting to finalize the purchase of the property during the latter part of April or the first part of May. The purpose in buying the property is to build a series of buildings, the first one being for Manufacturing. It is anticipated that if all goes according to schedule, Manufacturing would move into the new facility by March 31, 1989. Thereafter, a second building will be started with the expectation that company personnel in building 675 would move into that building during the first half of 1990. We will keep you advised on the status of the company's plans as they develop. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::OHARA 28-MAR-1988 12:30:46.90 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,OHARA CC: Subj: New Postal Rates As you may have heard Postage Rates are increasing as of 3 April 1988. I just recieved the official notification of this from the Post Office, and this is what they said: for 1 oz or less: 25 cents for each additional oz: 20 cents Post Cards 15 cents Canada (1st oz) 30 cents International (1/2 oz) 45 cents Express Mail Domestic 1/2 pound $8.75 less then 2 lbs $12.00 less then 5 lbs $15.25 less then 5 lbs $15.25 little has changed besides this but I have left copies of the official notification on various Bulletin Boards. Thanks james ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 31-MAR-1988 10:48:40.14 To: @SYS$MAIL:HARDWARE,JACKSON,POPKIN,FRITTS,DIEU,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: FYI: New IC socket p/n's & cross reference to old. IC SOCKET SUMMARY 3-31-88 The following is a summary of the part number conversion from the old IC socket series, 79-42Cxx, to the new series, 17925x-xxx. Open framed sockets are specified for those with row-to-row pin widths of 0.600" and 0.900". Open or closed may be specified for 0.300" or 0.400". OLD P/N NEW P/N DESCRIPTION ROW FRAME of FRAME of WIDTH NEW P/N OLD P/N 79-42C08 179259-008 Socket,IC,8ckt 0.300 Open or closed Open or closed 79-42C14 179259-014 Socket,IC,14ckt 0.300 Open or closed Open or closed 79-42C16 179259-016 Socket,IC,16ckt 0.300 Open or closed Open or closed 79-42C18 179259-018 Socket,IC,18ckt 0.300 Open or closed Open or closed 79-42C20 179259-020 Socket,IC,20ckt 0.300 Open or closed Open or closed none 179259-022 Socket,IC,22ckt 0.300 Open or closed n/a none 179259-024 Socket,IC,24ckt 0.300 Open or closed n/a none 179259-028 Socket,IC,28ckt 0.300 Open or closed n/a 79-42C22 179258-022 Socket,IC,22ckt 0.400 Open or closed Open or closed none 179258-024 Socket,IC,24ckt 0.400 Open or closed n/a none 179258-028 Socket,IC,28ckt 0.400 Open or closed n/a 79-42C24 179257-024 Socket,IC,24ckt 0.600 OPEN * Open or closed 79-42C28 179257-028 Socket,IC,28ckt 0.600 OPEN * Open or closed none 179257-032 Socket,IC,32ckt 0.600 OPEN * n/a 79-42C40 179257-040 Socket,IC,40ckt 0.600 OPEN * Open or closed 79-42C42 179257-042 Socket,IC,42ckt 0.600 OPEN * Open or closed 79-42C64 179256-064 Socket,IC,64ckt 0.900 OPEN * Open or closed * The OPEN frames of the new parts with row-to-row spacings of 0.600" will be approved such that they will accept an axial leaded component (capacitor) mounted in-line with the two third pins from one end and with PC mounting holes spaced 0.300" apart. The socket with 0.900" row-to-row spacing may have the axial leaded component placed either in-line or across the socket's direction. EXAMPLE: _______ location/orientation of axial component for | sockets with 0.600" row-to-row spacing. | V ___________________________________________________ | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []--|-------------- | .------------------. .------------------. | | | XX | | | | | | XX | | | | 0.600" | | XX | | | | | | XX | | | | | '------------------' '------------------' | | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []--|-------------- '---------------------------------------------------' | | | | ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::DOOM "Doctor Doom" 1-APR-1988 11:56:52.54 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: ex It has come to my attention that a variety of dangerous and addictive mind-altering drugs are being used and/or distributed here at work by Atari Games employees. In fact, some of these substances have reportedly been supplied, free of charge, by the company itself. This is intolerable and must stop immediately. First of all, a large number of workers are apparently addicted to the powerful stimulant caffeine. These so-called "caf-fiends" will go to any lengths to get their morning fix, even if it involves taking the last available dose and leaving a quarter cup of coffee in the pot for the next poor addict. Others abuse the substance known as "Jolt", apparently because they feel its well-known eye-bulging effects make them more physically attractive. Coca-Cola may have removed the coca from the formula, but it still has the cola - a caffeine-rich nut which leaves its victims feeling "wired" and "awake". Chocolate also contains caffeine, and users will obtain their "bars" any way they can, even procuring them from innocent young girls. Caffeine has been shown to cause insomnia, heart arrhythmias, mild delirium, and broken chromosomes, and is regarded as possibly hazardous to the fetus during the first three months of pregnancy. Ethyl alcohol is another psychoactive drug used by certain employees. This substance has been distributed at various Atari Games functions, ("brainstorms" and "parties"), despite the fact that it is highly addictive and extremely toxic. Its use may result in disorientation, impaired insight and judgement, diminished intellectual capability, and throwing up on your shoe. (Prizes have even been awarded to encourage the latter.) Many of our employees display the tell-tale bloated look, flabby muscles, and chronic degeneration of the typical alcohol abuser. Some days you can hardly walk down the halls without seeing someone who is apparently in the midst of an acute delirium tremens episode. Finally, certain employees have been observed toking on nicotine cigarettes while at the workplace. With no regard for the health threats posed to themselves or others, these "ash-holes" suck one "butt" after another to get their foul chemical gratification. As with all stimulant drugs, the stimulation of the brain is followed by a period of depression, which reinforces the user's dependence. The user may require larger and larger doses to achieve the same level of central stimulation. Side effects include coughing, bronchitis, emphysema, death, and smelly clothes. Use during pregnancy and breast-feeding is contraindicated, although one cigarette immediately following conception is probably okay. The second-hand smoke inhaled by nearby non-smokers has been shown to be hazardous, and is particularly annoying to those who are allergic or otherwise sensitive to cigarette smoke, and are just trying to do their job without having to breathe someone else's personal pollution. These forms of chemical abuse cannot be ignored any longer by Atari Games Corporation. Therefore, on Monday we will be conducting tests to weed out the "druggies" in our company. These tests will be as private and non-invasive as possible, but you will understand if there is some slight discomfort or embarassment involved. It will be necessary to take blood, urine, and fecal samples, as well as a small amount of liver, lung, and brain tissue for analysis. Please refer any questions to my secretary, April. Frankly, some of you have been behaving as if your bodies were your own, and as if whatever you choose to eat, drink, inhale, sniff, or take by enema were your own business. Let me remind you that Atari Games is in business to make money, not to support your decadent drug habits. If you damage your bodily tissues, you hurt our profit margin. This we will not tolerate. Remember, you work for us. Atari Games. We own you. DD/af ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::BROWN 1-APR-1988 15:36:38.40 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,BROWN CC: Subj: 401(K) CERTIFICATES WE HAVE FOUND OUT THAT MOST, IF NOT ALL, OF THE CERTIFICATES (ESPECIALLY THE ROLLOVERS) ARE INCORRECT. HOLD TIGHT, HANG IN THERE, BEAR WITH US; WE ARE GETTING THE MESS (OOOPS!) SITUATION CLEARED UP AND WILL GET CORRECTED COPIES. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::RAINS 1-APR-1988 16:08:51.59 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: Sam Comstock I am pleased to announce that Sam Comstock has been promoted to the position of Supervisor of Animation. Sam has been with Atari for nearly five years, and had eight years of animation experience prior to joining us. Sam came to us from LucasFilm, where he worked in the special effects animation department on such films as 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and 'Return of the Jedi.' He started out at Atari in a consumer software group, working on game graphics for Sesame Street cartridges for the Atari 2600 VCS. Sam was transferred into Coin-op when we began work on computer generated graphics for videodisc games. He was responsible for the beautiful art which was created for a videodisc version of Road Runner (which, unfortunately, was never manufactured). Since then, he has worked on a varitey of products, and most recently completed both Xybots and Blasteroids. Using his vocal talents, he has also narrated or appeared in some of our sales and promotional video tapes. Please join me in congratulating Sam on his promotion, and please cooperate with him as he assumes his new duties. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 1-APR-1988 18:42:53.16 To: MOORE,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Marty's mini-emulator Marty asked me to give you my input on his proposed mini-emulator, probably because at one time I was considering doing something similar. If there is only going to be one built it is not a cost-effective use of Marty's time. Buying a cheap emulator would undoubtedly require an enormous amount of time to debug and is, again, not a cost effective use of Marty's time. If there are to be several made the danger is that various people will not be happy unless it duplicates or surpasses the functions of the AMS. Doing a full scale emulator is not a cost effective use of Marty's time. Making an emulator whose functions are transparent to the target hardware is not trivial. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::DAVE 5-APR-1988 06:36:19.66 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: how to save the company money I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me who is in charge of maintaining the grounds, and specifically who is in charge of the sprinkler systems? I have pointed out that the sprinklers are watering the asphalt several times but I must not have found the right person yet. It is particularly offensive in the face of a drought to see a sprinkler head in front of the building discharging water at the rate of AT LEAST 50 gallons a minute directly into the gutter because it has been broken for months!! in addition, the watering cycle lasts so long the grass becomes saturated and water just runs off. THIS IS COSTING THE COMPANY MONEY!!!! while i'm at it, the faucet on the left in the executive rest room gets stuck on very easily, which can easily waste a gallon/10 minutes. thank you in advance for help finding the person responsible. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::DAVE 11-APR-1988 06:09:44.82 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: once more with feeling shame on whoever is in charge of maintaining our facilities. i still haven't found anyone that knows whos really responcible, so that's why i keep sending this to junk. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!! READ MY LIPS....D R O U G H T THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM IS STILL SPEWING WATER INTO THE GUTTER AND THE REST OF THE SPRINKLER HEADS TEND TO WATER ASPHALT TO. we should be cutting back on the watering schedule to the bare minimum. please excuse my spelling errors, it's too early and i'm too upset. p.s. i'd hate to make this a weekly exercise. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 15-APR-1988 20:32:21.92 To: @sys$mail:engineer,ohara,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: NEWS print... I had nothing to do with obtaining the "new" paper that has found its way into our line printers. James O'hara is responsible for all aspects of the printer paper and ribbons for all the company printers. If you have SERIOUS objections to the current newspaper that we're printing on, then please direct your courteous comments to OHARA. Thank you in advance for your patience. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::BROWN 25-APR-1988 13:57:48.22 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,BROWN CC: Subj: 401(k) CERTIFICATES ANYONE NOT YET RECEIVING THEIR SECOND, CORRECTED ROLLOVER CERTIFICATE, PLEASE CALL JUDY. (SORRY FOR THE LAST NO-MESSAGE) SANDI ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Yo speako TECO" 25-APR-1988 16:50:18.52 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,SUTTLES CC: Subj: MCI credit card calls (not AT&T) For the select few of you who have opted to get an MCI credit card, you can now make credit card calls from our phone system. You'll note that there is a local number on the back of the card for you to call, in order to get a dial tone for placing an MCI credit call. This number is now in the system speedcall directory. So, to make such a call: Pick up the phone. DO NOT DIAL 9. Instead, dial #624 (four buttons, pound, six, two, four). This happens to be pound, M, C, I. You must then wait for the dial tone (different from the ones you get here). Now dial the number you want to call. Again you'll get a tone. Next, dial your credit card number. Your call will go through (and be billed to your card) if you did it all right. Contact me if you have problems with this procedure. For those of you concerned with AT&T cards: This is possible because it is a workaround. I'll check into the possibility that AT&T has a similar service; I doubt that they find it necessary. It is still the best I can offer to dial #600 (pound six hundred) for an AT&T operator, and place the call by voice (operator assisted). There is a change in the works to make it possible in a few months to dial some kind of access code like the MCI guys. As usual, if you have complaints or suggestions, let me know, and I'll probably find a way to screw it up. sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Yo speako TECO" 25-APR-1988 17:26:07.17 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,SUTTLES CC: Subj: sprint FONcard calls I shoudna dunnit. I KNEW I shoudna dunnit. Sprint FONcard users: Your magic number is #678 (pound six-seven-eight) INSTEAD of dialing nine for an outside line. Remember to wait for the tone, or Sprint wont get all the digits. #678 deosn't stand for anything, it's just easier to remember than some others. Is there anyone else I forgot? sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::DOWNEND 25-APR-1988 18:08:31.47 To: ROTBERG,MARGOLIN,DOWNEND CC: Subj: MultiDIR/NEW-Sync H/W cost In reviewing the MultiSync Hardware costing a couple of areas appear low, and I would expect them to be issues for contnetion at the initiation meeting. I would recommend revising them. 1) 27512 OTP EPROMS: I checked with Rod Petersen, and we have never bought 27512 OTP's for less than $4.80. We have a supply at that price through September. After that, the price goes to $5.30. I suggest using $5.30. I also suggest costing the elctronic hardware WITHOUT EPROMS since the price and quantity can vary so much. I suggest that the EPROM Cost should be a separate item on the final assembly cost estimate placed right under the elctronics cost. 2) SRAMs: As of today, on Vindicators which is in production, 8k x 8 SRAMS vary in cost from $5 for 100 nS to $8 for 55 nS. Gary has a qoute on Toobin (production in June) for 1k x 4, 25 nS SRAMs of $7.65. I have no information to forcast where SRAM cost are going, but prudence suggests using a cost around $5-6. 3) Raw PCB cost: The lowest price we have for a recent PCB purchase (Blasteroids) was $.34 per sq. inch. this was a small PCB (100 sq. in.) and they made them "2-up" to reduce cost. A recent quote on the larger Toobin PCB (200 sq. in.) came to $.38 per sq. in. I suggest revising Mult-sync PCB costs accordingly. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::DURFEY 29-APR-1988 11:32:56.95 To: MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Visitiors at 6675 From: KIM::DROBNY "Buddy Flyback" 28-APR-1988 14:21 To: DURFEY Subj: FYITB From: KIM::FRYE 1-DEC-1987 13:46 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK Subj: VISITORS AT 675 TOOMORO MORNIN' I WILL BEE ESCORTIN' AN AABBRRAAIISSEERR (FOR THE PROPIRTY ONER) THRUOUR BILDIN' FOR A LOOK SEE. BOOB ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::WOOD 29-APR-1988 18:14:28.95 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: Property acquisition This is to confirm that today we purchased 15.6 acres of land at the corner of Tasman and Vista Montana near North First Street in San Jose. We plan on commencing construction within the next several months, subject to obtaining the necessary approvals from the City of San Jose. We will keep you advised as the date firms up on construction. As soon as we have the approved site development plan from the City of San Jose, we will put the plan on display. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::BRAD 2-MAY-1988 13:48:50.21 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,BRAD CC: Subj: FOR SALE 19" RACK. A very well constructed metal rack. Half size (about 3 feet tall) Almond color. $70. DRAFTING TABLE. Nice, good condition. Made in Italy. $95 Coffee Table. Dark hardwood. Very good condition. (Dimensions: ~2.5' x 5') $70. ADM terminal. Works fine. In ok condition. $20. All prices are negotiable. If interested call x3788 or reply via vaxmail to this station - brad - ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::THEURER 2-MAY-1988 17:25:34.58 To: @SYS$MAIL:ANIMATORS,@SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: New Improved VPIF For those who don't know, VPIF is a tool which runs on the GPX workstations near Chris Downend's office. It will display any PIF or RAD file stored on the VAX. As of 5/2/88 there is a New Improved VPIF: * faster * fewer bugs * more user friendly (you don't need to touch the keyboard anymore after the first session) * new features: > supports RAD files > supports palettes up to 8 bits deep > supports squashed pictures (stretches them vertically) > for those files with a lot of cels, it puts out 1 window at a time now and waits for you to hit the middle button before continuing. > remembers the last 5 directories you used (from previous sessions) to make directory selection easier For complete documentation, print charm$userdisk:[theurer.ws]vpif.doc For help, call Dave Theurer at x1725. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::THEURER 2-MAY-1988 18:21:13.56 To: @SYS$MAIL:ANIMATORS,@SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: conversion of Mac pictures to RAD format Have you got some Mac pictures you want to use in your game? Yes: Have I got a tool for you. mac_to_rad will convert 3 different kinds of Mac pictures to RAD format: > color pictures produced by PixelPaint, one of the greatest paint tools on this planet. It can convert a file with up to 256 colors down to 16 colors. > grey scale scanned pictures > MacPaint (1 bit deep) format black/white pictures. It's easy to use. Practically all you need to know is the name of the file you want to convert. To learn more about mac_to_rad, print charm$userdisk:[theurer.mac]mac_to_rad.doc No: Why would anybody want to use Mac pictures? A few reasons: > better looking text: there's hundreds of fonts in MacPaint format > need pictures scanned in & don't want to trace them: the scan conversion process (on the Dest scanner in Pubs) takes about 10 minutes. It works PERFECTLY with line drawings. It does 16 level grey scales also. > a number of superior paint tools are available on the Mac: color PixelPaint will blow your socks off. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 3-MAY-1988 16:06:20.82 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: Precious water wasted (or who's in charge?) Whoever is in charge of the sprinkler system or responsible for reporting pipe breakage: There's a broken 'pop-up' sprinkler head adjacent to the north-east building entrance (a few yards from the doorway, outside Components Eng). ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 6-MAY-1988 12:24:44.30 To: MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: IC sockets, 24ckt/.400. I spoke with Bill Hedgepeth of Pinnacle Sales about the availability of JAE sockets (our only source, now). There is none in U.S. stock at this time. He will FAX Japan this afternoon and request 320 pieces which will take about three days. Our options of lead plating are tin and gold (gold being nearly twice as much). I said we would prefer the tin plating but we don't know what Japan has in stock. Question: Can you afford to wait a few more days for tin if it turns out that they only have gold in stock? I will call Bill at 1:45pm to give him the go-ahead to have parts shipped from Japan. The three days mentioned above is travel time only. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::WIEBENSON 6-MAY-1988 12:32:30.07 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: One born every minute Yes, I was suckered by an ad to go to the new "Good Guys Clearance Center" despite my conviction that the Good Guys aren't (good). What a waste of time! They are trying to sell pre-owned, abused, and reposessed stuff at prices that many other stores sell brand new stuff for. For advertising purposes they throw in a couple of loss-leaders, but they're obsolete junk anyway. All they really sell is trouble, and the only thing they give away is a hard time. Have I been clear enough? ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 6-MAY-1988 13:22:55.65 To: ARVIDSON,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: IC sockets, 24ckt/.400 Yes, we can wait a few more days for tin if they have only gold in stock. If the difference is more than a week I would go for the gold if it is necessary. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 6-MAY-1988 13:56:53.42 To: KIM::MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: RE: IC sockets, 24ckt/.400 The sockets will be requested by FAX this afternoon. The Japan factory is closed today so won't act on the request until Monday. The tin plated leads are usually the ones that they stock. I was told that this socket is not stocked in the U.S. and orders should be placed early. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 9-MAY-1988 19:10:49.90 To: JACKSON,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: MultiSync I have the Inputs for the MultiSync Board. When do you want them? Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::HERETIC "To be, or not to be?" 10-MAY-1988 09:55:17.06 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Thought for the day ... and He spake, and He said, "Let there be Tuesday," and it was so. And He saw what He had done, and it was terrible, and He hid his head in shame... ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 12-MAY-1988 10:13:45.89 To: MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: Your sockets, 24/.400, 179258-024. Your sockets are available from JAE, Japan, and will take about two weeks. They wish to stock their southern California facility at this time for our use later this year. Can you take a guess at our usage for the next six to eight months? They also want to know when they will receive a purchase order for the 320 parts. I promised to return their call this afternoon to respond with the answers to these questions. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 12-MAY-1988 12:48:51.69 To: ARVIDSON,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: 24/.400, 179258-024 Each game uses 32 sockets. We expect to be in production within the next six months. I expect we will produce at least 1,000 games. If you will provide me with ordering information I will find someone to order them. Thanks, Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 12-MAY-1988 13:28:23.26 To: KIM::MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: RE: 24/.400, 179258-024 The manufacturer is JAE with p/n DICF-24C-E2. I was quoted 32 cents each for 320 pieces. Whoever places the order should talk to Mariane at Pinnacle Sales, (408) 249-5129. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Talk data to me..." 13-MAY-1988 15:05:07.08 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,SUTTLES CC: Subj: pseudophones It's officially working. Atari Games people can call Tengen people office-to-office without using outside lines (we pay for each and every outside call, even local ones). It works the other way too. The good news: You may dial any Tengen extension (including 0 for operator) following a 6. Because we knew this was coming, the extensions are all three digits, so a four digit number starting with a 6 is a Tengen phone. They can also call over here, by preceding your extension with a 6 (they already know this). The bad news: we cannot forward phone calls between facilities. This may or may not be coming in the near future. Things you should know: There is a delay between the connection to the tie line and the time Tengen hears Atari people (it doesn't seem to be as bad the other way). This may (or may not) change. DON'T transfer outside calls over tie lines. As soon as you drop out, so does the outside call! This also applies to conference calls. Once a tie line is involved, you CANNOT FLASH. So, any features like add-on, consultation calling, hold, are unavailable to you while talking to Tengen people. James has already included Tengen people and numbers in the Atari Games phone list. THESE ARE NOT OUTSIDE NUMBERS. You can't get to them through Pacific Bell. Tengen has one outside number, (408)435-2650. This goes to their switchboard, and the desired party or extension must be asked for. If you wish to give out a number for Tengen, this is the ONLY number. Methinks the 64xx number group has been issued to Hewlett Packard. Calls going over the ties are treated as inside calls by both systems. For those who can tell what extension a call is coming from, incoming Tengen calls come from extensions starting with 0 (so they can't be dialed). You can't tell what Tengen extension is calling you; and they can't tell who we are (we have strange extension numbers over there, too). When you have problems (notice I didn't say IF), let me know. To save all of us some time, I already know that there is a delay between everybody being able to hear. Sometimes the call doesn't go through, for no known reason (dial again). In this event, you'll hear their error tone, which is similar to ours, but markedly different. You'll be able to tell whose switch didn't like what you did. You won't be able to do anything about it. sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 16-MAY-1988 18:53:51.59 To: FRYE,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: a Leak The carpet near my window is wet. Appears to be a leak. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 18-MAY-1988 10:27:31.27 To: @sys$mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: New LLF I just released v2.5 of LLF. There are no functional differences between this and previous versions. This one is a VAX re-make of the sources after all the changes were installed during the port to MS-DOS, Atari/ST, etc. I added a couple of bits in the .OB/.LB file format to accomodate the new MAC65. If you use the /ERROR option on the command line while you are LLF'ing an old .OB or .LB file, you will be notified that the object file format is obsolete and you should remake it. You can choose to remake the file(s) in question or ignore the message. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 18-MAY-1988 10:42:49.19 To: @sys$mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: A new MAC65 Attention 6502 programmers! The is a request for volunteers to test the new native mode MAC65. It's substantially faster than the old one, however, there are also some substantial differences that you may not care for at this time. If you are using the HLL65F macros, the new one won't work yet. You can print or vu CHARM$USERDISK:[SHEPPERD.MACXX]NEWMAC65.TXT for more details if you are intrested. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::MCCARTHY 18-MAY-1988 11:39:00.74 To: @sys$mail:junk,MCCARTHY CC: Subj: Hex calculator response Thanks for the huge response to my hex calculator request for information. The results are : HP 16C, programmable, $70 approx. : four people say its great (if you don't mind paying the price.) Casio CS-100, solar powered, $15-20 at Best : six people reported that it does the job and you can't beat the price. Lots of people here are using this one. Casio fx-451 : Favoured by one, its the only one that has all the scientific functions as well. TI-36, solar powered : Owned and liked by one person, borrowed by many. Texas Programmer : Hated by many, liked by no-one, the keys bounce. Pat. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 18-MAY-1988 13:09:05.05 To: GAWD::SHEPPERD,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: RE: A new MAC65 Does the Blue Box work with whatever it is that LLF produces? ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SHEPPERD 18-MAY-1988 14:00:30.26 To: KIM::MARGOLIN,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: RE: A new MAC65 Yep. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 26-MAY-1988 15:38:22.68 To: @sys$mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: A new downloader This is specifically to 6502 programmers. I have released a new blue box downloader (the vax end) that will accept any file type that the DIO/IMI will accept, including .VLDA. This downloader also allows for a third parameter that is an address to which to download. For example, the blue box command for a download might be: { filename 10000 10FFF 8000 } vlda load which would download the data in the file from hex 10000 to 10FFF to memory addresses 8000 to 8FFF. This effectively does a block move of the raw data, it doesn't relocate any symbolic addresses. You may find this useful when downloading different banks for the FC. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: MIKE::LIEBSTER 31-MAY-1988 13:44:26.66 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: 401k YTD on Bonus Check 401(k) year to date balances are incorrectly showing on your bonus checks This will be corrected by your next pay date. payroll ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::MCCARTHY 1-JUN-1988 11:51:43.14 To: @sys$mail:hardware,MCCARTHY CC: Subj: Hardware meeting summary notes The original of this document will reside (for a few months) at KIM$USERDISK:[MCCARTHY.HARDWARE]hdw52788.mtg Report on Hardware meeting on 5/27/88 Attendees : Albaugh, Downend, Hoff, Ly, Mc Carthy, Paauw, Snyder, Stempler, Theurer. Summary of discussions: . Planned deactivation of components from the AVL . Components group are currently reworking the AVL to fully implement an Active/Inactive catagorization. Pat Mc Carthy will recieve a list of all 137xxx and 37-xxx parts to make an initial pass at determinimg what parts will be active. This will then be reviewed by all the other engineers. The exact mechanism has not been determined. There were a whole bunch of questions ranging from "What happens when we reach 137999-xxx", to "How does an inactivated part be made active (CER?)". A little (or a lot) of information from components about what is happenning would be appreciated. . Industry RAM shortage . There continues to be a shortage of Static RAMs. 8Kx8, 55nS and 70nS were recently a problem. If anyone has current price/availability on any RAM ICs mail it out. Maybe we can log it in a central place and keep track of RAM trends on an ongoing basis. . Stamp hardware integration (MOB et al.) forum . Pat Mc Carthy successfully introduced the MOB asic on 5/23. Vendor selection will take palace by 6/3. At the same meeting a standard chip set for stamp hardwares (standard and medium res.) was suggested and favourably received. The chip set would probably comprise 5 chips (MOB, VAD, PRI, SAS, LB2). Initial work has been done by Pat and Doug in determining the functional divisions of the chips. The following expressed a willingness to be involved on some level. Contribution levels are : level 1 - Discussion group only, level 2 - Discussion group and possible IC design, level 3 - Total involvement. Sam Ly : Level 1 Pat Mc Carthy: Level 3 (MOB chip in process ) Doug Snyder : Level 2 (possibly the PRIority chip ) Don Paauw : Level 1.5 (back end involvement & maybe the SAS chip) Gary Stempler : Level 2 (Possibly the VAD chip) Mike Albaugh : Level 1. If anyone else wishes to contribute some effort please let Pat know. As soon as we have something to offer, the programmers will get involved. . Classes, Matrix of hardwares . The subject of doing classes was once again brought up. After much discussion (and with direction from Chris Downend) we decided that we would do one and see what the interest level was. Pat and Rusty will prepare something for a ROMALOT class. . Standardization of TTL families . The list of TTL families is large. We need some consensus on which families are preferrable for stocking purposes in engineering, and make full use of the economies of scale on production. The general agreement was : 7400 and 74L00 series should not be used (except for 7406, 7407) and we do not need to maintain stock of them. The preferred families to use, in order of preference are : 1. 'LS00 series 2. 'F00 series 3. 'AS00 series "F" parts were preferred over "S" because of better cost/performance. 'S00, 'ALS00, 'C00, 'HC00 and 'HCT00 series will still be used where necessary. This is not a Golden rule. It is a voluntary convenience to help reduce costs and maintain better stock. . Earl . Earl Vickers is leaving sometime in June. . Next meeting . Interest level in these meetings as expressed by attendees is high. We will continue to try to do one every month or two, preferrably the last Wednesday of the Month. Anyone can call a meeting. Just send out a VAX mailer to sys$mail:HARDWARE with your suggested topic or topics. If you received this mail then you are on the sys$mail:hardware distribution list, probably because you asked to be on it at some time. There is no obligation to come to a meeting just because you are on the list. We will try to publish summaries. If you have some contribution to make (or complaint to air) about hardware topics just come on down. Technicians, programmers, managers etc. are all welcome. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Talk data to me..." 1-JUN-1988 14:24:22.28 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,SUTTLES CC: Subj: phone problems MCI, our long distance carrier, has had some fiber optic cables cut between Hayward and San Fransisco. San Fransisco is apparently the nearby distribution center for regional traffic. A portion of our access to the world is therefore cut off. Calls within the 408, 415, and 707 areas are not affected. Any other call (including international) will find a higher rate of busy rejection. Since it is external to our system, you can't camp on. This happened early this morning. At first, it seemed like we wouldn't be affected much at all, but as the busiest period of the day (now, you guessed it) approached, our access dropped to nearly nil. While writing this memo, I've been asked 7 times for a workaround, and also have spoken to MCI about it. The good news is that the problem will be fixed by this evening (they estimate 6 PM). And the workaround is to wait if you can, because in order to make a call, you must dial the Atari operator and ask her for the long distance operator. Then you must make an operator-assisted call--tell the long distance operator the number you need and she will connect you. If she says you can dial direct, tell her our lines are down and you can't. They'll be hearing that a lot today. A word to the wise: Operator assisted long distance is one of the most expensive calls you can make. In summary: If you need to call out of the 408, 415, or 707 areas: Wait til tomorrow if you can; otherwise dial 0 and tell Robin or Yvette that you need an AT&T operator. They'll connect you, and tell them what number you want. This offer expires at the end of today (they will NOT connect you to an AT&T operator after the lines are repaired). sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Talk data to me..." 1-JUN-1988 15:06:14.08 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,SUTTLES CC: Subj: more phone stuff The AT&T operators are known to tell people, "If you dial 10-ATT or 10288, you can dial direct." WE CAN'T. Our switch is too old. It was designed, built, and programmed long before the phone network breakup. We are getting an upgrade which should make it possible, but we don't have it yet. If you want to make a long distance call (non 408, 415, 707), and it has to be today, it has to be done by voice. If they insist, tell them you want the call to be operator-assisted (cuz we'll pay for it that way anyways). Please tell those who need to know but don't read VAXmail regularly. sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Talk data to me..." 2-JUN-1988 12:17:30.31 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY,SUTTLES CC: Subj: MCI lines ... have been repaired. You may now dial direct. MCI warns that since the lines were down yesterday, traffic is expected to be a little heavy today. If you encounter a busy signal provided by the outside network, simply try again in a few minutes. To make things a little easier, you may use the SAVE/REPEAT functions; when you get the outside busy, FLASH, and dial a pound-4. You'll be reconnected to the busy signal. Hang up. When you want to try again, simply dial pound-7 (don't dial 9 first). Your saved phone number will be dialed instead. This should work for any outside call, including international. By the way, this feature is available and useful all the time, not just today. The Atari-operator-getting-the-long-distance-operator offer has expired. They are no longer supposed to extend calls to the long distance operator for you, so please don't put them in the uncomfortable position of explaining it to you--don't ask them to. Please pass the word. sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 3-JUN-1988 10:15:45.69 To: @SYS$MAIL:HARDWARE,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: Part numbers pending inactive status Components Engineering has begun the process of trimming the fat from the QPL by inactivating Atari part numbers for ICs that are no longer used or are obsolete. These parts will be removed from the active QPL and placed on a data base containing inactive parts. From time to time I will send out a mail messege that will refer you to a parts list in an EDT file in my directory, [ARVIDSON.AVL.REVIEW]. The file is for your review and will contain a list of ICs planned for inactive status. If you feel that some parts should remain active, please send me a listing of those parts. Old part numbers (37-xxxxx) remaining active will be converted to new part numbers (137xxx-xxx). The first list of IC part numbers planned for inactivation can be found in ERNIE$USERDISK:[ARVIDSON.AVL.REVIEW]9X-1.LIS. They will be inactivated in two weeks. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 6-JUN-1988 13:12:17.77 To: ARVIDSON,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Inactive Parts What does it mean for a part to be "Inactive"? Does it mean it will not appear on the AVL in Datatrieve? Does it mean that Manufacturing will scrap existing stocks of said "Inactive" parts? If I want to use an "Inactive" part will I have to fill out a CER? Some of the parts I am using on Driver and Stun Runner are being reported as "Inactive" They weren't "Inactive" when they were first put on the parts list. What is the deal? Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 7-JUN-1988 09:59:20.17 To: MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: Response to your questions. What does it mean for a part to be "Inactive"? Inactive parts are placed on a database for presently unused or unspecified parts. This means that they are not found on MANMAN or not known to be used on any project in development. The new-project parts lists as found in PC Design directories are researched to determine parts used in projects under development. If a part was inadvertently removed, it will be replaced. Does it mean it will not appear on the AVL in Datatrieve? Inactive parts and obsolete parts are removed from the AVL but not from Datatrieve. They are merely transferred from the database containing active or frequently used parts to a database for unused parts. There are six databases used and here are their Datatrieve names: reserved parts = DB3, active parts = DB4, inactive parts = DB5, obsolete parts = DB6, spare parts/marketing = DB7, approved vendors/part numbers = DB8. DB8 contains a status code for all vendors' part numbers: 0 = approved, 1 = restricted, 2 = temporary, 3 = disqualifed. When accessing Datatrieve directly, it is important to look at the status code. For a complete explanation see Rick Meyette or Jeff Bell. Does it mean that Manufacturing will scrap existing stocks of said "Inactive" parts? No. Removing seldom-used parts from the active list just clears the clutter from the database. It does not effect the physical inventory. If I want to use an "Inactive" part will I have to fill out a CER? I think not. A message or note to Jeff should do it. Ask Jeff or Rick Meyette for details. Some of the parts I am using on Driver and Stun Runner are being reported as "Inactive" They weren't "Inactive" when they were first put on the parts list. Send a list to Jeff and it should be taken care of. What is the deal? The purpose is to reduce the enormous size of the approved parts list, remove seldom-used or obsolete parts and speed up searches. Included in this clean-up process is the conversion of old part numbers (37-xxxxx, etc.) to new (137xxx-xxx, etc). All of this was started on 4-6-88 and the job must be complete by 10-6-88. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 7-JUN-1988 17:21:40.02 To: MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: F.Y.I. Regarding your questions about inactivating numbers and the AVL and Datatrieve, sometime ago I created a summary chart of the Datatrieve domains that contain the various status of parts. You may be interested in this one sheet outline so I'm going to send it to you via your next mail message. I already have a hard copy if you prefer to copy it. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 7-JUN-1988 17:22:21.56 To: MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: 9 3-8-88 NEW AVL / QPL FILES (DOMAINS) DTR Domain DB2 Part number & status codes | ____________| | | DB3 Status = 0, reserved DB4 Status = 1, active DB5 Status = 2, inactive DB6 Status = 3, obsolete DB7 Status = 4, spare parts/marketing DB8 QPL (including vendor status codes) | _________________| | | 0 = approved 1 = restricted (!) 2 = temporary (*) 3 = disqualified Example: PR PN,GENERIC,DES,MFG,VPN,STATUS OF STUFF ______ | prints vendor status code ____| or : PR PN,GENERIC,DES,MFG,VPN,STATUS VIA VSTATUS OF STUFF __________________ | prints vendor status ____|  9 ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::VICKERS 8-JUN-1988 13:39:34.53 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Buy! Sell! For sale: 1 used refrigerator, 5' x 2' x 20", 11 cubic ft. (I know, the numbers don't work out.) Runs great, perfect for home OR OFFICE. Great secret hiding place for the kids. Gold/yellow. $50 or I'll trade it for a used 35mm camera. For sale: 1 Cross Classic Black ball pen/pencil trio. The warranty's still good long after you're dead. Why wait 5 years when you can get it now? Best offer. Various data books - TI, etc. Free, but ask me before you take them - there are a few I want to keep. Casio fx-115 scientific calculator, high-power solar cell. Free (well, actually it's Atari's.) First reply gets it (unless Brad wants it to stay in the audio group.) You don't get to take possession until Friday. Also, an assortment of office furniture, filing cabinets, desks, telephone, cubicle space, all FREE!!! And, if you act now, you can receive, at no additional charge, one fully equipped JOB!!! Oh yeah, there's one of those folding artist's lamps too. Wanted: 1 camera, used, cheap, working, preferably 35mm. This camera should take great pictures and require little or no knowledge, skill, talent, or intelligence. It should also be below $50 if at all possible ($75 max.) Reply to this VaxMail box or x3781, or (xxx)xxx-xxxx. Earl ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::HOFF 8-JUN-1988 19:40:22.45 To: RAINS, MOORE, VANELDREN, DOWNEND, PAAUW, MONCRIEF, MARGOLIN, FYI::DAVE, FYI::LY, FYI::BURNIAS, FYI::WALLIN, REFF::HOFF CC: Subj: VADRS chip in prototype fabrication and 256k VDRAM shortfall VADRS and 256k VDRAM's: Purchasing's difficulty in getting 256k VDRAMS for the "DRIVER" project in Q3, Q4 88 has alerted me to the analogous potential problem for Sys3d in '89. The word from TI's Jon Henricks (Field Sales Engineer) is that fab lines are being converted from 256k DRAM and VDRAM to 1M DRAM and VDRAM, that the parts are hard to get now and will be harder to get in the future. This is just one vendor's plan. The VADRs chip is currently on the fabrication path. It is useless without 256k 120ns Video RAMS. It will not work with 1M Video RAMS. Using 1M parts would require redesign starting at the TTL prototype stage and would take an estimated 9 monthes to get to engineering samples. The other chips in the system will work with 256k or 1M or ... video RAMS (Sorter, Gobot, Zippy, Clippy, Maggie). Dave and I are contacting vendors (Hitachi, TI, Fujitsu, Mits, NEC, Toshiba) and working with purchasing to get a feel for 256k VDRAM availability in '89, '90. Consequently, I asked Robert Pescosolido to investigate what we could do to suspend the VADRS. He has put the VADRS fabrication on hold just prior to mask making. Suspension of the job incurs no additional cost, avoids the mask charges (10 - 15K) and will not impact the Sys3d video schedule if the hold is release before GOBOT CIF is released (expected at the end of August). I expect/hope that once the VDRAM vendor information is in, and the tea leaves are read, we will feel adequately comfortable in releasing the VADRS for fab. Also, Mary Burnias has offered to invite the vendors in individually to discuss their plans for the 256k VDRAM's. Who wants to attend these sessions? I'd like to get a head count by the end of Thurs 6/9. ---------- Rick and Jed, I think only TI has come in to discuss long term 256k VDRAM plans with you and that the suggested vendor sessions would not duplicate your prior efforts. Is that correct? Morgan ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 10-JUN-1988 12:21:34.69 To: @sys$mail:everybody,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: Downtime The good news is some of the new disk space has arrived. The bad news is that I'll need to take down Kim, Gawd, Ernie and Icy for unspecified intervals at various times over the next few days. This is going to be a painful and time consuming process and take a great deal of cabling and re-cabling to get the whole thing to work. So you'll get a better feel for what I'm up against, here's what has to be done: Format and verify the new disks (in process 6-8, hours/drive). Shutdown Gawd and hookup the new drives to it, reboot. Dismount (logically) Kim's userdisk from the cluster. Mount Kim's userdisk and the new disks on Gawd only. copy all the files from kim to the new disks (should take about 3-4 hours). Mount the new disks on the cluster as KIM$USERDISK. Shutdown Kim and disconnect the 2 drives that were KIM$USERDISK. Adjust all hardware and software parameters indicating that Kim has only 1 disk and reboot. Format and verify these disks so they can be plugged into a different controller (6 hours/drive or so). Shutdown Ernie and hookup one of the newly formatted disks in place of ERNIE$DUA1:, reboot Ernie standalone mode. Copy ERNIE$DUA0 to the new ERNIE$DUA1 (will take about 2 hours), disconnect ERNIE$DUA0, hookup the old ERNIE$DUA1 and reboot. Shutdown ICY. Pull all the boards out of Icy and Bib (Bib has been shutdown since yesterday) and trade cabinets. Hookup the drive removed from Ernie (needs no reformatting) and the other drive from Kim to Icy. Hookup the little drive that was on Icy to Bib. Adjust software letting Icy and Bib know that they now have disks and reboot them. As you might well imagine, this is going to take SOME time to complete and due to vacation conflicts, I'd like to get going on it immediately. I propose the following schedule, and if unless there are some serious objections, this it roughly what'll happen: Beginning tonight (6/10/88) 19:00 - shutdown Gawd and dismount Kim$userdisk. The copy from Kim to gawd will run overnight. Tomorrow (6/11/88) 10:00-12:00 Kim will be down to disconnect drives. Icy will be shutdown from about noon saturday until monday. When or if the Zippy DRC batch job currently running on Ernie completes on sunday, I'll begin the Ernie disk to disk copy. If not, then I'll do it next week. In summary: This eve, Kim and Gawd will be down until about noon tomorrow. Icy will be down tomorrow through monday. Bib will be down until monday. Ernie will probably be down all day sunday. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::DOWNEND 10-JUN-1988 15:45:36.40 To: MONCRIEF,MARGOLIN,ROTBERG,HALLY CC: Subj: Mult-sync and VRAM's A flag has been raised that 256K VRAMS as used in Multi-sync are in short supply now, and may become even scarcer as VRAM manufacturers convert 256K Fab lines to 1MEG VRAM fab lines. Just in case this really happens, I would like to know what contingencies we have, if any. 1) Can Multi-sync be re-designed to use (1) 1Meg VRAM for (4) 256k VRAMs? if not... 2) Can Multi-sync be re-designed to use (1) 1Meg VRAM for (1) 256k VRAM? (and then only use 1/4 of the 1Meg part...ugh) 3) Are there software implications if the VRAM size changes? If so, what software changes and to what extent? I am not really going to worry about this in a serious way until about January '89. StunRunner production is tentatively planned in June '89. We would have to start a PCB re-design in a January timeframe to have it ready for June production. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 13-JUN-1988 13:27:17.98 To: KIM::DOWNEND,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: RE: Mult-sync and VRAM's 1. No 2. Yes/No 3. No ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::MORRIS 17-JUN-1988 15:17:15.46 To: @sys$mail:engineer CC: Subj: Unix make now on VAX For all those out there who are unix fans, I have just put a unix-like make in utl$exe:umake.exe. This is pretty much like UNIX make, with rules etc. If you know the unix make go ahead and use it. Otherwise I will post the documentation and send another mail message for those who don't know UNIX make syntax but would like to learn. The main advantage of unix make is that the makefiles are a lot shorter as it knows how to make a .o (or .obj) from a .c so you don't have to specify them in the makefile. (Note for unix hackers, use $$ to get a $ in the method line). Any bug reports, requests to this address. Jim. PS Any one have a machine readable form of unix make documenation?? ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::MORRIS 17-JUN-1988 18:30:08.49 To: @sys$mail:engineer CC: Subj: Documentaion for Unix make Initial documention for the unix make (UMAKE) can be found in: charm$userdisk:[morris.vaxutils.make]make.doc This is not exactly the same, (No library or sccs support). However it is mainly correct, especially for the sort of thing we are likely to use it for. I may update the doc file sometime in the future. A good article on how to use make appears in a couple of issues of the C users Journal. (I have a copy if you want to copy it). Jim. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Talk data to me..." 20-JUN-1988 20:47:46.45 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,SUTTLES CC: Subj: Instant reruns I've had to do some substantial work on the editor command shell. When I did, I found I never finished the documentation. Some of you weren't around then; all of you may wish to look at it. It's in DOK:EDIT.TXT. I have addressed the issues of want/not wanting default extensions, and want/not wanting memory, as well as "it don't work with /RECOVER right after the EDT". Of course, bug reports to this address. sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SNYDER 21-JUN-1988 15:10:52.29 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: new hardware Does anyone out there have a need for growth/shrink motion objects for up-coming game projects. I have a new growth/shrink motion object hardware up and running and need to know what new projects may require such a hardware. The current version is a medium-res hardware capable of filling about 2/3 of the screen with motion objects. These objects are not position (scan-line) limited and the grafix data is run-length encoded with 16 to 256 colors per object. Growth objects can vary from 1 to 16 times the data stored in the grafix ROM. Shrink objects can vary from 1/64 to 63/64 times the data stored in the grafix ROM. Objects are controlled with the standard parameter RAM control blocks. A lo-res version of this hardware would be capable of filling about 1 1/2 screens with motion objects. Depending on the complexity of the playfield and alphanumerics that went along with the growth/shrink motion objects, the hardware would cost about $150-$200 for lo-res and $250-$300 for medium-res. Since the motion object grafix are run length encoded, the cost of motion object grafix ROMs may be less than for standard hardwares. If you have a need, or think you may have a need for this type of hardware, please respond to this address or x1790. Thanx, Doug ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::SUTTLES "Talk data to me..." 22-JUN-1988 17:45:22.77 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,SUTTLES CC: Subj: Making VAX mail a little easier to use For those of you who want mail to be a little smarter than the lame horse it is, there are some options. They are spelled out in DOK:MAIL$PRINT.DOC (type it). You can have messages printed at a printer nearby, and you can use the editor of your choice for editing your messages. If you use mail infrequently, it isn't worth the effort; but for many it just might be. Look into it, and see if it's for you. sas ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 23-JUN-1988 17:32:49.51 To: POPKIN,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Driver ADSP Board When you make the Driver ADSP Board REV A: 1. Change the copyright year to 1988. 2. Change 'Born in the USA' to 'Made in USA' . Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 29-JUN-1988 09:05:15.23 To: @SYS$MAIL:HARDWARE,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: AMI Gate Arrays Steve Hayes of I-Squared now reps AMI who is a supplier of gate arrays. They have some unexpected free time in their schedule this afternoon and would like to present their gate array capabilities if anyone has an interest. If you would like them to come by (between 2 and 4 pm) let me know. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 29-JUN-1988 12:46:56.96 To: ARVIDSON,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: AMI Gate Arrays The last time we used an AMI Gate Array was in the Vector Generator for Star Wars. Two or three years later when I needed it for TomCat, AMI had scrapped the tooling. They were willing to redo it; for about $20K. I will NEVER use an AMI Gate Array again. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: MIKE::BELL "Component Engineering - Ext 1750" 29-JUN-1988 17:35:12.86 To: MARGOLIN CC: Subj: FOR VENDOR CURR VEND VENDOR CODE ADDRESS 3 VENDOR NAME FLG ADDRESS 4 ADDRESS 1 ZIP PHONE ADDRESS 2 CONTACT NAME TYPE STATUS NA0150 NAMCO AMERICA INC. 343 GILBRALTAR SUNNYVALE, CA 94089 0 0 NA0151 NAMCO LTD. 2-8-5, TAMAGAWA OTA-KU, TOKYO 146, JAPAN 0 2468521 0 ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 1-JUL-1988 16:33:46.75 To: JOE,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Driver Sound On the Driver Sound Board, Connectors J3, J4, and J5 are reversed. Pin 1 is on the left. Pin 1 should be on the right. Please relabel the schematic to reflect pin 1 on the Right. Also add a '1' on the silkscreen to the right of these connectors. I do not want any traces changed. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: MIKE::DENTON 11-JUL-1988 15:25:33.25 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: TENGEN TAPES STARTING MONDAY, JULY 11, EMPLOYEES WILL BE ABLE TO ORDER TENGEN RBI CARTRIDGES. WE WILL TAKE ORDERS MONDAY THRU WEDNESDAY. EMPLOYEES MAY PURCHASE UP TO 3 CARTRIDGES AT $28.89 EACH (INCLUDES TAX). CARTRIDGES MUST BE PAID FOR WHEN ORDERED. YOU MAY PLACE YOUR ORDER WITH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE: KAREN GRAHAM 675 ANN DENTON 737 MARIE JULIAN 735 ORDERS WILL BE READY FOR PICK-UP ON FRIDAY, JULY 15TH. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: GAWD::SHEPPERD 11-JUL-1988 19:23:00.94 To: @sys$mail:engineer,SHEPPERD CC: Subj: New MAC65 I just distributed a maintenance release of MAC65 (version 7.1) that fixes a couple of bugs in internal memory managment as well as removed some extraneous characters and blank lines that sometimes appeared in the list file. ds ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 14-JUL-1988 09:46:33.91 To: @SYS$MAIL:HARDWARE,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: Part numbers planned for inactivation. Components Engineering will be inactivating another group of Atari part numbers of ICs that have no known present usage or are obsolete. This list is contained in the file, ERNIE$USERDISK:[ARVIDSON.AVL.REVIEW]37-2.LIS and will be inactivated in two weeks. These parts will be removed from the active QPL and will be placed in a data base containing inactive parts. If you feel that some parts should remain active, please let me know. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 14-JUL-1988 17:00:33.00 To: CHARM::STUN,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: RE: STUN Runner Status Report Kindly use 'MultiSync' as the description for the hardware, unless you are actually planning on using System 3D. Please advise if this is so. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: MIKE::MARGOLIN 15-JUL-1988 14:05:53.74 To: POPKIN,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: ADSP Rev A For the Driver ADSP Rev A Board, I need a Rev A schematic and a Rev A Parts List. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::HORN "Erich Von Horn" 19-JUL-1988 15:38:45.32 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: BAD RECEPTION, IS THERE ANY HOPE! Because of all the radio waves put out by the different machines in this area my reception is not excellent. In fact I can't even pick up my favorite stations. Now if we were to install a big intena on the roof and wire jacks to all the labs and offices we might be able to get those good stations. I jote yes on on getting better reception. How about you? sincerly, Mr. Radio ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::PAAUW 19-JUL-1988 18:51:19.51 To: DAVE,DOWNEND,HOFF,MCCARTHY,MARGOLIN,LY,STEMPLER,SNYDER,PAAUW CC: Subj: GPX LOCATIONS We currently have two GPX's for use in IC design in the CAD lab. One was slated to be moved into the new 3D lab and the other was to go into one of the PPS rooms. We also have two AED terminals but no CPU's to run them on. Morgan has asked that both of the GPX's be moved into the 3D lab. The advantages to this would be keeping all of the IC resources together and would make both GPX's convenient to the 3D team. The disadvantage would be that anyone needing a graphics terminal for other designs would need to intrude into the 3D lab. I currently see very limited non-3D use for the second terminal: Pat may need to do some touch-up on his gate array and Doug may need some time for the ASAP at a later date. Simulations, DRC's, etc could be run on the other CPU's. If anyone has any strong feelings on the matter, please let me know. Otherwise, we'll plan on moving both of the GPX's into the 3D lab along with the manuals and the Versatec plotter. The actual move won't take place for at least two weeks. -- Don ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 20-JUL-1988 16:22:50.55 To: PAAUW,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: LETA Are there up-to-date specs available for the LETA? I only need 2 quadrature inputs. Can LETA be packaged in a 20 pin skinny DIP? Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::PAAUW 22-JUL-1988 12:18:02.77 To: MARGOLIN,PAAUW CC: Subj: RE: LETA There is an updated copy of the LETA-II spec in the components file or I have an extra copy that you may have. The LETA-II should fit into a 20 pin DIP but this would reqiuire a new te test fixture and a new test program for VTI's Sentry test. This would cost a few thousand dollars. The piece price wouldn't change much, if at all, so it would be hard to justify a new package. -- Don ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::OHARA 26-JUL-1988 11:42:40.49 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK,OHARA CC: Subj: shredding of "confidential" papers An accident happened today when the shredding was put out for Mobile Shredding to shred, it was thrown in the dumpster! This was an unfortunate misunderstanding but the question been asked if it is necessary to search thru the muck to retrieve it, so it can be shredded before throwing it away. I don't know so I'm asking for your opinion; send replies to OHARA, or a note in the mail will do and I will forward them on and keep record for future reference. While I'm on my soapbox a couple of other points: A. I see no reason why end sheets need to be shredded, yet 1/3 to 1/2 of the shredding I pick up is just the sheets that come at the end of listings and such. This cost the company $25 to 35 worth of corporate money each month or so ($400 a year or more). B. The shredding is not trash despite the fact that it eventually ends up there, I do not appreciate the candy wrappers and such that seem to find their way into the shredding. enuff said and apologies to those who don't need to hear this james ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 26-JUL-1988 13:19:50.01 To: OHARA,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Shredding Item 1: Let me see if I have this right. You want to use expensive Programmers' time to separate the end sheets of program listings so you can save $25 per month? Also, I disagree that the end sheets are unimportant. The end sheets would allow an individual to know what programs people are working on. People generally choose program titles representative of their content. The end sheets would tell an industrial spy what programs to target for acquisition. I expect you are already saving more than $25 per month from the execrable printer paper you bought. Item 2: As I understand it, the reason for shredding things is to prevent them from falling into the hands of our competitors. I use the shred pile to get rid of old schematics (although, fortunately, not this month). I would not like the result of my last two years' work wasted because you did not think it was all that important to have things properly shredded. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::OHARA 26-JUL-1988 14:07:23.39 To: KIM::MARGOLIN,OHARA CC: Subj: RE: Shredding I do not intend to make the programmers rip sheets off some people do as a matter of course. I agree with your point about the names it didn't occur to me until now. I, however, break my back weekly cleaning up the mess in the printer room and sometimes this gets to me. Further, is my time more valuable picking up what may not be confidential (not everything is) proctecting it from some hypothetical 'spy' or is it more valuable for me to make sure everyone is properly supplied? As far as the 'execrable' paper is concerned everyone told me that it was no big deal what the quality of the paper was so I did the obvious thing and have been paying for it ever since. Note if you need better quality paper for some project all you need to do is ask, you HAVEN'T so far. I'm sorry you got bent out of shape james ___________________________________________________________________________ From: SANDY::PAAUW 26-JUL-1988 15:00:43.21 To: MARGOLIN,MONCRIEF,VANELDREN,WALLIN,PAAUW CC: Subj: TWIG lead time In the process of getting a quote from National, I found that their production lead time is out to 14 weeks for ASIC's. I am not aware of the schedule for Hard Drivin' but this lead time should be kept in mind for the TWIG chip production orders. For reference, the National quote was for $2.50 in 10k quantities. -- Don ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::OHARA 27-JUL-1988 08:06:59.39 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER,@SYS$MAIL:TEAMTACO,OHARA CC: Subj: shredding Thank you all for your responses, it is clear to me that alot could be read into a name. I will make sure that things are taken care of more responsibly in the future. However, wouldn't it be more confidential to shred things right away, for example; have a shredder in the printer room (they are made to feed like trash cans and are somewhat sealed so the dust is minimal and don't sound any louder then a line printer these days) and shred the stuff daily and have the janitors throw it away every night. This would heighten the security of our operation somewhat, since it now stacks up in the warehouse until there are enough boxes to make it worthwhile to call Mobile Shredding, the boxes are unattended, and not locked up (no room for this). just a suggestion, thanks james ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::ARVIDSON 27-JUL-1988 11:57:28.63 To: MONCRIEF,DURFEY,BEHENSKY,MARGOLIN,ARVIDSON CC: Subj: Custom potentiometer, 3.5 turn. I just received a quote for prototyping four samples of the three-turn (3) potentiometer: $250 approx. 5 weeks ARO. Normally the charge is $1000. They recommend prototyping the 3-turn because it's easier and faster to do than the 3.5-turn. If the resolution is satisfactory on the 3-turn samples, then it will also be satisfactory on the 3.5-turn. The choice of 3 or 3.5 will then be based on the steering wheel stops. As soon as a purchase requisition is written, I will order the samples. erwin ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 27-JUL-1988 12:58:18.49 To: OHARA,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Shredding We had our own shredder and did our own shredding. When it broke the company decided not to fix it because sending it out was supposedly cheaper. By the way, the printer room is scheduled to disappear. The printers will go in the computer room. (Bad place for a shredder.) Nonetheless, it would be nice to have our own shredder again. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::OHARA 27-JUL-1988 13:20:23.37 To: KIM::MARGOLIN,OHARA CC: Subj: RE: Shredding I agree, new shredders have been sealed somewhat to cut down on the dust whether this is enough or not I don't know. Also a shredder up to the volume we seem to generate costs about $3 or 4 grand. Also, please except my apologies for snapping back at you yesterday. thanks james ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::DOWNEND 27-JUL-1988 15:27:20.51 To: @SYS$MAIL:ENGINEER CC: Subj: Current 1 MEG EPROM Prices Mary Burnias gave me this information today: 1) 1 MEG EPROM, 200 NS, 32-pin, 128kx8: TOSHIBA: TC571000D-20/TC571001D-20, 10K QTY. $23.35 each HITACHI: HM27C301-20, 10K QTY. $19.50 each 2) By comparison: (2) 27512-200 EPROMs cost about $13.00 (6.50 each) (2) 27512-200 OTPs cost about $10.70 (5.35 each) (1) 231000-200 ROM costs about $ 4.15 (plus $3500 mask chrg, 2500 min qty) 3) CONCLUSION: 1 MEG EPROMs are still not cost-effective compared to an equivalent number of bits in 27512's. 4) Mary is getting more quotes. ___________________________________________________________________________ From: ERNIE::FUJIHARA 4-AUG-1988 19:32:22.73 To: @SYS$MAIL:EVERYBODY CC: Subj: NEW EMPLOYEE As of Monday, August 8, marketing/sales will have a new secretary, Georgia Mongelluzzo. Her office will be located where Jackie Sherman was previously. Jackie will now resume full-time rsponsibilities as a marketing/sales administrator and will no longer be doing "double duty" as the department secretary. Jackie will be moving to the office adjacent to her old one, and can be reached at her same extension. If you'll be interfacing with Georgia, please introduce yourself when you get a chance. M. Fujihara ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::DECK 8-AUG-1988 13:53:21.16 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: Remember Lisa Ellision? If you do, Lisa is STARRING in a comedy-musical called CHICAGO at the Sunnyvale Performing Arts Center near Fair Oaks and El Camino. 550 E. Remington. The show dates are Aug 11-14(this Thurs,Fri,Sat,Sun), and Aug 18-20(next Thurs,Fri,Sat). Showtimes are 8:00 P.M. except for the Sunday show which is at 7:00 P.M. Tickets are $8. Lisa is playing the lead "Roxy" and would love it if any Atarians who knew her went. For more information you may call the box office at (408) 733-6611 or VAXMAL to [DECK] or [FLANAGAN]. Make sure you say hi if you go!! Bob ___________________________________________________________________________ From: CHARM::THEURER 8-AUG-1988 14:29:20.28 To: @SYS$MAIL:JUNK CC: Subj: ST System for sale From: Owen Rubin [70715,542] Subj: St for Sale 1040ST w/ 2 meg memory and updated TOS in EPROM Built in DSDD drive (720K/3.5" floppy) and reconditioned mouse included. Both color and monochrome monitors "Monitor Master" monitor select switch 80 Mb Fujitsu Hard disk with Adaptec Controller and Berkeley Microsystems Interface card. (this disk is 100% compatible with Atari's hard disk and uses the Atari drivers.) Epson FX-85 printer (less tnan a year old) and LONG cable. Hayes 1200 modem (the "real thing, not a compatible) Much software including a legit copy of Mark Williams C compiler, just recently updated and includes the C Source code debugger. Additional SSDD external floppy drive (360K/3.5" floppy). Magic Sac cartridge: runs 75% of all Macintosh programs at full speed; uses hard disk. Many games in original boxes. Solid Oak monitor and disk drive stand (computer sits under and in front of this unit) Total market value of this package is around $3800. Owen will take $2000 or make him an offer. If you want just 1 or 2 pieces, call and make him an offer. Call him at home(xxx-xxx-xxxx) or car(xxx-xxx-xxxx) or work(xxx-xxx-xxxx). ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 8-AUG-1988 15:07:37.18 To: BURNIAS,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: Micron VRAMs I tested the Micron VRAMs over the weekend and they work. I have submitted a CER for Micron MT42C4064-120 and -150. They also make a MT42C4065 <-- (last number is different) which would probably work but were not the ones we tested. Jed ___________________________________________________________________________ From: MIKE::MARTIN 10-AUG-1988 10:30:44.94 To: MARGOLIN CC: Subj: JAE #DICF-24C-E2 JED, I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU ASAP REGARDING THIS JAE SOCKET. JAE HAS QUOTED 12 WEEKS, WHICH I KNOW IS UNACCEPTABLE. THEY HAVE 8000 STOCK OF JAE #DICF-24C. THE QUESTION IS, CAN WE USE THEM??????????????????? ALSO WHAT IS THE CORRECT ATARI PART NUMBER????????????????????????? PLEASE CALL ME OR HAVE ME PAGED, I AHVE TRIED TO GET AHOLD OF YOU FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. I REALLY NEED YOUR INPUT. HELP.............................................................. THANKS MELANIE 3930 ___________________________________________________________________________ From: KIM::MARGOLIN 10-AUG-1988 14:58:50.40 To: MARTIN,MONCRIEF,ARVIDSON,MARGOLIN CC: Subj: VRAM Sockets 1. According to Erwin, JAE #DICF-24C without the E2 suffix is 0.6" wide instead of