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From: njd@cbnewsd.att.com (nick.j.dimasi)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: 40 to 80
Summary: software 80 columns is not so bad
Message-ID: <1990Aug30.225522.5617@cbnewsd.att.com>
Date: 30 Aug 90 22:55:22 GMT
References: <88937@srcsip.UUCP> <33361@cup.portal.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 38

In article <33361@cup.portal.com>, Ordania-DM@cup.portal.com (Charles K Hughes) writes:
> 
> ......
>   The next way is with 80 columns done in software.  There are one or two 
> terminal programs (they stink) that use this.  Very few programs work with 
> software 80 columns, mainly because it requires so much memory (8k).  I have
> a good monitor, and software 80 columns looks terrible on it.
>   I believe those are your only two choices.  If you hear of any others, let
> the net know about them.

I don't know about the other software-80-column terminal programs, but I use
OmniCom (an 80-column VT100 emulator) and while it does not have as many 
features as BobTerm, it does _not_ "stink."  I'm not sure what sort of "good"
monitor Charles has, but I use a Commodore 1802 with the chroma-luma output
of my XE (the 800XL is missing the chroma signal, but a simple modification
will bring it out to the pin).  For a color monitor, this is the sort of
arrangement you usually need if you want to use 80 columns.  (A friend of mine
claims that he can read 80 columns on his ordinary composite monitor if he
turns the color intensity all the way down, etc.)  A B&W monitor is also fine
for 80 columns.  The 800 has the chroma-luma output also.

Related to OmniCom, but not needed to use it, is the Omniview 80-column chip,
which has a modified OS with the software 80 columns built in (to the E: and
S: handlers).  It comes with OmniWriter 80, a word processor similar to
SpeedScript.  Again, not the most full-featured WP in existence, but it does
the job.  One nice thing is that you can use extra memory banks to extend
the buffer (and it's seamless, unlike with AtariWriter).  At the same time,
you can have a RAMdisk set up as the default drive, which makes text deletions
and retrievals (and moves) fast, as the kill buffer (1K in memory) spills onto 
the default drive.

Nick DiMasi				Uniq Digital Technologies, Inc.
nick@udt386.chi.il.us 
     [I'm not there much]
...att!odutsa!njd [I'm on here a lot] | Delphi: TURBONICK
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