Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!gatech!udel!udccvax1!gdtltr From: gdtltr@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (Gary D Duzan) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit Subject: Re: Re: My new Turbo-816 Message-ID: <3908@udccvax1.acs.udel.EDU> Date: 30 Jun 89 23:07:30 GMT References: <8906300342.AA28172@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Reply-To: gdtltr@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (Gary D Duzan) Organization: Galadrim (really a disorganization) Lines: 87 In article <8906300342.AA28172@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> AMONSON@IDCSVAX.BITNET writes: =>Gary, => => Thanks for the address but I am reconsidering because of cost. I am =>not rich and I think I need a new disk drive. Mine is beginning to break =>down (sometimes it just quits and I have to jar it to get it working again!). =>Its an old (1983) and WELL used 1050. I can't complain, it lasted longer =>than I first thought it would (it gets real heavy use). So I think I will get =>a 551 and wait to see what improvements are made in the Turbo-816, or in its =>price. => Understandable. A Turbo-816 is no good if you can't load programs into your system. => =>Charles, => => Currently I have a Atari 800XL w/ 256K (Rambo), a 1050 disk drive =>(almost), a Star NX1000 printer w/ P:R: Connection, and a used Mercury modem =>(1200 baud). I am running MYDOS 4.5 and am considering SDX (input wanted on =>SDX!!). I have read the reviews and am disappointed that ICD decided to go =>to a MS-DOS style after MS-DOS started going towards a UNIX like shell. I am =>a UNIX guru so would have been more happy with a UNIX like interface. I don't =>know about you but I've worked on CMS, VMS, MS-DOS, UNIX (both system V and =>Berkley), and Atari DOSes. And, although its not perfect, UNIX is the best of =>all of them. => So what does your system consist of? Do you own SDX? I would like to =>know about it from a REAL user and not a review in some magazine. => => Paul Amonson => BITNET: AMONSON@IDCSVAX => =>P.S. Oh, and thanks for any help you (or anyone) can give me. I'm not Charles, but I own an SDX. It isn't bad at all. I am getting really spoiled having ARC at my fingertips at all times. If you are getting an XF551, SDX would be a good choice. It supports the increased size & speed of the 551 with no problem (note: I don't have a 551. This is an ICD claim which I have not heard disputed). The interface is nicer than SDCS 3.2d & does resemble MS-DOS. Devices such as E:, R:, D:, P: etc. are not supported in the command processor. CON:, COM:, DSK:, and PRN: are used instead. Note: COM: had no default driver & does not recognise the R: driver. Therefore, there is currently no way to call the R: device from the command processor in SDX. In the command processor, drive letters may be used instead of numbers. D1:, D2:, ..., D9: can be written A:, B:, ..., I:. From programs, you can use DA: instead of D1: & so on. You can also use DCON: instead of E:, DPRN: instead of P:, etc. There is an additional device, CAR:, which is a ROMdisk on the cartridge. This is where the Command Processor, device drivers, and built-in utilities lie (e.g. ARC). Like MS-DOS, SDX has environment variables. PATHs are quite useful. PATH defaults to "CAR:" so that you don't have to type "CAR:ARC". Two other variables, "BASIC" and "CAR" act like MEM.SAV. When you return from BASIC, if the "BASIC" variable is set, your work area is saved to the filename in the variable. "CAR" is similar in function. BASIC and CAR are different commands in SDX. "BASIC" refers to the built-in Atari BASIC while CAR refers to the cartridge piggybacked on top of the SDX cartridge. Therefore, theoretically, you can work with Action!, switch to BASIC, and then go back to Action! without losing anything. I/O redirection is handled differently from 3.2d. Batch files now only executed command processor commands & don't redirect the E: device. To execute a command & redirect the input/output from/to a file, just add <> and the filename to the command. For example "DIR >>PRN:" will list a directory to the printer. "BASIC <