A P.C. GUIDE
~DUST.FIL~
                                     'If he's right, A son may even
                                      correct his own father'

                                      Confucius

==> A PERSONAL GUIDE THROUGH P.C. LAND <==   
             <== by Slimer ==> 

 
INTRODUCTION
------------

As the Falcon scene runs thin on software and support there are those who 
want to buy a second computer beside their Falcon. We of the D.B.A. have 
also decided to buy a second computer to satisfy our need for software. 
It's a pity that the Falcon can't provide us with our hunger for new 
things(i.e. soft and hardware). Thus a P.C. or Apple would be the answer 
to our needs. Disadvantage of the Apple is the fact that their market 
share is also shrinking and they produce to much different machines. The 
only solution is the P.C. with their awkward Windows and Dos Operating 
systems. The big advantage of the P.C. is the huge amount of software that 
is available for it, ranging from very good games till professional 
applications. Many Falcon users have to make a step sooner or later to 
another machine or quit their hobby as Atari is going down the drain. 
Atari is only interested in the console business at the moment, as no new 
computers are planned. Even if they produce a new computer no one will buy 
as the thrust is completely gone.

It's a shame that a lot of people only use the Falcon to show  GIF pics 
and animations on, or to listen to modules. You don't need a Falcon to do 
that, because these animations and GIFS usually are imported from the 
P.C.. I know that many die-hard Atari users are maybe a bit annoyed by me 
saying these things but, they know that a future with Atari looks very 
dark. I'm nothing saying that you have to sell your Falcon, you can always 
(when you have enough cash) buy a second computer. It's possible connect a 
serial cable between your Falcon and the P.C. and import graphics, sound 
or text from disk or even CD-Rom ! For people who are interested in buying 
a P.C., I  have a few guidelines that maybe are helpful when you want to 
purchase one.

The list you see below this paragraph contains only the minimal system 
requirements needed these days to work properly with the computer. You 
have to take in account that system requirements increase rabidly as big 
and slow Operating Systems like Windows and OS 2 Warp ask more and more 
from your system with each new version. More and more programs will run 
under Windows instead of Dos, taking much memory and speed.


==> MINIMAL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS <==


CPU:

486 DX2 66 Mhz.
(You can buy many clone CPUs but they are most of the times about 20% 
slower and ofcourse cheaper than the original Intel ones). Well-known 
clones are Cyrex and AMD. Also make sure that the system can be upgraded 
with a faster CPU (DX4 or Pentium). I give this information to people that 
want to buy a second hand system as new configurations already have this 
option..

MEMORY:

At least 4 megabytes (8 meg. is better) as most applications take much 
memory. Windows takes huge amounts of memory, the more you have, the 
faster it will operate.

SLOTS:

Make sure that the main-board is equipped with VLB slots or better (PCI) 
for faster performance of the video, I.O. and soundcards. These slots are 
at least 32 bits wide against the old 16 bits slots (ISA, EISA). The data 
flow will not be slowed down by a narrow bus. Performance will increase 
considerably !

GRAPHICS:

Your graphics board has to have at least 1 meg. on it to provide high 
resolutions and faster performance. If you have a 512 Kb. card and it 
gives stripes and snow, it is much to slow to keep up with the system !

SOUND:

There are to much soundcards to describe here but, make sure it is 
Soundblaster compatible with a 16 bits sampling rate. Try avoiding these 
small and lousy speakers that they often try to sell with them. Buy a
second hand (or new) amplifier and a couple of preferably wooden speakers.
It doesn't have to cost much money but will give a much better sound
performance than these small(pathetic)plastic 'speakers'. 

HARDDRIVE: 

Make sure that you have at least a 420 Mb. harddrive because believe me 
you will need it. If computer configurations are sold with a 250 Mb. HD 
you can obtain most of the time for only a few bucks a much bigger one. 
It's the mechanism of the Harddrive that is costly not the disk inside. 
Therefore you can get double the storage capability for only a few bucks 
more. 

CD-ROM: 

A CD-Rom is necessary as new software isn't released anymore on 
diskette's. Make sure that the player is at least double speed. There is a 
lot of software on CD-Rom that won't run on a single speed CD-Rom. Better 
yet is to obtain a triple speed player to stay ahead.


==> OPTIONAL <==


TAPESTREAMER:

If you have a big HD (in Megabytes that is)it will be quite an operation 
to make a back-up of it. With a tapestreamer you can store 250 Mb. or more 
on a small tape instead of diskette's. Keep in mind that the tapestreamer 
is not addressable and is therefore not very fast, this incomparison to a 
Harddrive. 

SERIAL/PARALLEL CABLES: 

With a serial (0 modem) cable you can make a link between your Falcon and 
your P.C., this can be handy to import stuff with. Another possibility is 
that you can use your Harddrive in the P.C. to store Atari stuff on. You 
need 'Ghostlink' to pull it off.  The last useful application for these 
sorts of cables is the fact that you can play games against each-other. 
Try games like flightsimulators or stuff like Doom and have yourself a 
ball.

A fast parallel cable can be used to send data back and forth between two 
P.C's, this is usually done with the program Fastlinx (V2.0). Many of the 
programs found on the P.C. a huge and copying them will become a breeze 
with an interlink.

T.V. & RADIO CARDS:

As the names already suggest, you can also watch telly on your P.C. or 
listen to the radio. The purpose of buying these things is beyond me but I 
guess some people like it. If you use an amplifier with your P.C. buy a 
cheap tuner instead,  so you can listen to the radio even if the P.C. is 
turned off or can change the station without leaving the program your in ! 
If you want to watch telly you have to turn on your P.C.  first, but you 
can't play with your computer if you watch telly. Most people already own 
a normal T.V. so what's the use anyway.

SCANNERS:

They come in different sizes and shapes varying from handscanners till a 
flatbed scanner. There are two types of handscanners (to my knowledge)and 
these are black & white or color. The handscanners are quite cheap and 
deliver an average performance. If you're looking for superb quality you 
have to buy a much higher priced flatbed scanner (it's looks like a 
photocopier). Quite handy for D.T.P. purposes.


==> SOFTWARE <==


OPERATING SYSTEMS:

Try to keep updated with the newest Operating Systems like Windows and 
Dos. I say Dos instead of MS Dos as there are many different kinds of Dos 
systems. It's up to you to decide what you prefer the most the ordinary MS 
Dos or for example DR-Dos.

Between the more graphic orientated systems like OS 2 Warp and Windows, I 
personally would prefer Windows over OS 2 as the latter one sucks even 
more. Both operating systems require fast computers especially with 
Multitasking operations. The advertisements on T.V. make it all seem easy 
but, they forget to tell you that you at least need a DX2 to perform 
decent multitasking operations! Quite deceiving if you ask me.

APPLICATIONS:

Quite an amount of wordprocessors can be obtained for the P.C. these days. 
Most of the battle goes between Ms Word, WP 6.0 Dos/Windows or Ms- Works. 
The latter has besides wordprocessing also a database and spreadsheet 
module, only disadvantage of these modules is that they offer only the 
primary functions. You can imagine that applications like Word and WP are 
more comprehensive as they are designed for one purpose only, 
word-processing. WP 6.0 Windows includes also dbase and spreadsheet 
functions as well as many lay-out features only found in D.T.P. programs. 
But it all revolves primary around wordprocessing in contrast with 
Ms-Works. You could say that Ms-Works offers all basic functions of a WP, 
dbase and spreadsheet for the computer-user who only wants to use it for 
simple tasks.

There also many spreadsheet and database programs on the market. If you're 
looking for a comprehensive database you might want to examen Dbase 4. 
This database offers also a build in programming language, and you can 
even get a compiler for it. If you're looking for something less 
complicated you probably wind up with Perfect View from Wordperfect. This 
is a powerful and userfriendly program that I personally have used quite a 
lot. 

I've seen quite a few spreadsheets but I'm keep coming back to Lotus 
1.2.3. Windows. This program is still regarded as one of the best 
spreadsheet programs around. The newest version offers amazing 
possibilities and is much userfriendly is the old versions that didn't run 
under Windows. 

UTILITIES:

The most important utilities that one can obtain are the Norton Commander 
and Norton Utilities. The Commander will make it easy to control directory 
structures and will make the copying of files a piece of cake. The 
utilities are needed to check and optimize the Harddrive every now then. 
You can also check all the system functions of your computer with it and 
repair physically damaged diskette's and harddisks. These are programs you 
can't live without. 

GAMES:

There are so many games for the P.C. that it is impossible to start naming 
them all. Games who are recommended are Doom 1 & 2, Simcity 2000, Raptor, 
Jazz Jackrabbit and many more. Most stuff comes on CD-Rom these days, so 
check out your local store. For the software-pirates, buy a big Harddrive 
and a parallel cable to copy from others. Don't forget to lay your hands 
on ARJ and ZIP for packing purposes (that counts for everybody). 

DEMO'S:

The demoscene on the P.C. is not as big as that of the Atari & Amiga. You
can obtain several demo's for the P.C. but most of them are not really 
impressive. It's just a matter of time before this will change !  
~BROWN.PAL~
