¢FRIENDLY VIEWS ON THE ST¢¢¢¢IN PRAISE OF THE FRIENDLY 1040ST¢a friendly rebuttal¢by friendly Les Wagar, Canada.¢¢ I have never before heard any Atarian refer to the ST as "unfriendly." But when that very allegation turned up in Futura issue 11 [Ed: Hardware Warehouse], I decided that the opposite point of view should also be heard.¢¢ I have two 1040STs, both Fs, and wouldn't dream of parting with either of them. I have two SM124 monitors also, having no need for colour. My B Drive is a PCF554, steprate 6, so I can handle 130 mm PC disks if need be.¢¢ My main use for the ST is to create large ASCII reference files out of the Atariwriter files I produce on either one of my two 130XEs. I transfer them across via Darek Mihocka's ST XFORMER program and a cable from my XF551 or 1050 to the Printer Port of my ST. ATWRITER files convert readily into STWRITER files, and STWRITER in turn makes fine ASCII files. I trim and resize these files with Craig Harvey's EDHAK, gathering them gradually into major files of about 600 kb in length, on disks formatted for PC compatibility.¢¢ The whole operation is extremely user friendly. Any difficulties I have had with the ST have been caused by some lack of either insight or software on my part, either of which in due time I discovered. Nevertheless, my typing fingers have always preferred the XL/XE keyboard to that of the ST, and that's why my writing BEGINS on the smaller machine. I love XE and ST with equal computer passion, but each for quite different reasons.¢¢ On my desk, ST and XE sit side by side, and talk to each other.¢¢¢¢IN PRAISE OF THE UNFRIENDLY ST¢a friendly rebuttal¢of a friendly rebuttal¢by friendly Stu Murray¢¢ In my opinion, "unfriendly" is the most common description of the ST by XL/XE owners, on this side of the Atlantic anyway. Whether you are at a user group meeting, computer show, etc. that word will undoubtedly be used against the ST. The other general criticism of the ST is that it lacks classic playable games software.¢¢ I myself see the ST as an unfriendly computer WHEN COMPARED TO THE XL/XE. My reasons? There are many... awful keyboard, dodgy power switch, poor positioning of the joystick ports, cave-like cartridge port, higher price, viruses, size, large percentage of games with zero playability, high cost of commercial appications, etc, etc. Yes, like all computer systems, the XL/XE has its faults and unfriendly aspects, e.g. keyboard burnout, decreasing hardware and software support, restrictive memory (although you can upgrade), no printer interface as standard, etc. but for me these are not as bad as those on the ST.¢¢ Don't get me wrong, I LIKE my STE and feel it compliments my 800XL and 130XE. There is just as much quality software for the ST as there is bad - all systems have a percentage of poor quality software. Replay 16 is a wonderful piece of programming and produces excellent sound quality. Sim City, Kick Off 2, Speedball 2, etc. are excellent games. There are also many quality applications and utilities in the public domain, especially those from Double Click.¢¢ Concerning my closing comment about the 8-bit being at the front on my computer desk, I was speaking metaphorically. My XL takes up most of my computing time so, in effect, it sits at the front.¢¢ The intention of my article was to put forward an argument FOR owning both systems. The unfriendly jibe at the ST was meant in the context of a personal comparison with the XL. If I was comparing the ST to a PC it would be a VERY friendly computer indeed! But then again, many PC owners would object to the word "unfriendly".¢¢ As an Atarian, all my Atari (and non-Atari) hardware lives together in harmony. However, I just happen to have a soft spot for my 800XL. I don't think any computer will ever replace it. Compliment it, yes, but never replace it.¢¢¢There you are! Two friendly points of view from two Atari friends. Wasn't it friendly and most unlike a PC?¢
