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From: trb@stag.UUCP ( Todd Burkey )
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Seriously Bummed
Message-ID: <214@stag.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 19-Sep-87 02:21:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: stag.214
Posted: Sat Sep 19 02:21:54 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Sep-87 15:44:50 EDT
Organization: Mindtools ST Access Group, Plymouth, MN
Lines: 35
Keywords: New Rom Woes?

Rats.

I tried HDSCAN 2.3 out today on a 4 meg ST and got three bombs as soon as the
'fat table scanning routine' started up...Now, I don't do any assembly calls,
just some simple bios calls to read raw sectors, and recursively mush through
the data building up a directory tree (how else do you suppose I could read an
entire 30 meg disks directory contents in <3 seconds)...I can only think that
1) the new ROMS return some different info on bios/xbios calls, or 2) gremlins
are at work. I would really appreciate it if Atari would at publish a little
hint list on the network of the info that they put onto the $serve systems. I
really don't feel that I should have to take the time and money to log onto
Genie and Compuserve just to keep up on 'important' information like this. I
actually do own a Developer Kit second hand (purchased from a now non Atari
developer), but I use OSS Pascal and MW C. I seem to remember being told in
the developer kit docs that if I used the BIOS and XBIOS calls and didn't make
use of memory locations, then I would be safe. If this isn't so then we (both
developers and the casual programmer) need to know this or Atari is going to
have another 1200XL fiasco on their hands (i.e. when even dedicated Atari users
tell friends not to touch the computer with a 10 foot pole.) Right now, I
really can't do anything about the code, because 1) the only mega in town is
owned by a store that bought if from a developer (so I can't do much testing on
it), and 2) I am not really convinced that what is in the current ROMS will
be what is in there 3 months from now...maybe if I bring cash out to COMDEX
this year, I can talk Atari into selling me the ROMS? 

Any comments anyone? Oh...almost forgot...the stuff that I did get around to
testing on the 4 meg ST ran a bit faster...doing simple scrolls of text using
my own vro_cpyfm moves ran around 25% faster with the blitter, nothing
dazzling. Screen updates in gem seemed significantly faster (window fill
redraws), but that could have just been done in the OS as well. Still no
reason to sell the 520 and buy a mega...would rather put the money into a
transputer addon...

  -Todd Burkey
  trb@stag.UUCP