Path: utzoo!attcan!lsuc!canrem![tellabs_canada@canrem.uucp] From: tellabs_canada@canrem.uucp (tellabs canada) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: letter to byte Message-ID: <1990Dec26.1113.4336@canrem.uucp> Date: 26 Dec 90 16:02:37 GMT Reply-To: "tellabs canada" Organization: Canada Remote Systems Lines: 102 Alright fellow North American ST users: Only recently, Byte magazine (North American Edition) featured an article on Desktop Publishing systems for various computers, and failed to even mention the Atari ST. We all know the ST is underrated as a DTP platform - it's as though BYTE were writing a comparison of MIDI software and neglected to mention the ST - so now's our chance to speak up for our system. This mass mailing has been organized on the FNET, and the letter which follows is a personalized version of a skeleton letter posted to the FNET for all to use. I know you may think your letter is a puff in the wind, or that everybody else will send so why should you; but you must realize that _your_ letter _can and will_ make a difference. Cast your "vote" for the Atari ST in a forum where you'll be heard: Below is a copy of the letter I'm mailing. I will be going to work, and I'll be dropping it in the mail-box just outside the building. Its only costing me $0.42 (it's not proofed yet - please don't email me about any gaffes you find ;) --------------8<--------cut here-------8<--------------------- December 26, 1990. Attn: Fred Langa, Editor in Chief One Phoenix Mill Lane Peterborough, NH 03458 Dear Editor: I am writing in reference to your comparison of different Desktop Publishing packages featured in the October 1990 issue of Byte, and to express my dissapointment and frustration in your complete failure to mention the Atari ST computer and its tremendous DTP abilities. I have been a long time Atari ST owner and reader of your magazine, and I was very disturbed to find that your October article completely ignored the Atari ST in its otherwise well-rounded comparison. This editorial decision continues your long standing tradition of ignoring the Atari ST, even in areas where the ST excels. [***this is my personalization - please remove it from your own***] Perhaps I should mention what experience I've had with Atari Desktop Publishing software - I have used an Atari ST for DTP work since 1986 when I purchased a copy of Timeworks DTP to create advertisements and newsletters for a local community group. Since then, I have switched to Calamus, the premier ST DTP package, for work as ambitious as the creation of a 350 page GEM C programming text. Beyond my experience on the ST, I have used Quark Express on the Macintosh and have become quite familiar with Ventura on the IBM. Though these programs demonstrate some strengths over Calamus in some areas, I've always preferred Calamus for its unmatched printing speed and 100% true pixel to print raster correspondence (i.e. you can magnify a document in Calamus to obtain a true pixel-by pixel representation of the printed output). Raster images are actually created within Calamus and sent to the printer directly, bypassing Postscript. I have never been "surprised" by Calamus' output. To top it all, I have also enjoyed on-screen scalable outline fonts through Calamus for years- long before such display schemes were realized on Macintosh systems. [***the skeleton resumes here, keep stuf from here on in***] Although the Atari ST has been available for over five years, the coverage that you have given it has been minimal. While I realize that the number of Atari ST's sold in the United States can not compare with that of the IBM PC or Apple Macintosh (although this is not true world wide), it is unfair to the people who own Atari ST's, or people who would like to purchase a system that is different then the above mentioned computers that you continue to ignore this 68000 based computer. How can a consumer make the right computer buying decision if they are not given all the facts about the systems that are available to them? Now I know it would be silly to expect to see the same amount of coverage that the IBM or Macintosh receives. I would still hope that major software applications, such as ISD's Calamus or Outline Art, Soft Logik's PageStream, Wordperfect for the ST, Goldleaf Publishing's Wordflair, Borland's Turbo C,Migraph's Touch-Up, or the many, many other software packages, not to mention hardware upgrades such as Gadgets By Small's Spectre GCR Macintosh emulator, Talon Technologies' Supercharger IBM emulator, ICD's Advantage Plus hard drive controller, Fast Technologies Turbo 16 accelerator, or Moniterm's 19" monochrome monitor, receive a fair and accurate review as would other software and hardware packages for other platforms. You may not realize that nearly 1 million ST's have been sold in the United States, and nearly twice that number in Europe. Your magazine would certainly see increased sales were you to dedicate a -- Canada Remote Systems. Toronto, Ontario NorthAmeriNet Host