[My old Atari] [Atari Emulation] [Atari Links]
If someone gives you an Atari ST compatible computer, what is it good for?
There are great games, for sure, if you can find any. One of my favorites was the helicopter simulator Gunship. The god-game Populous was fun too.
In its day, the ST was a standard tool for MIDI music making.Sequencing, patch editors, sample editors, and composition tools led to today's modern DAWs..
Recently some of the major commercial programs were generously released to the public. For MIDI sequencing, I always liked Master Tracks Pro 3.6 as my sequencer.
Download them from Tim's Atari World.
Several desktop publishing applications can give commercial quality results. Timeworks or PageSTream were ok in their day. Many preferred Calamus for serious DTP work. I found font-handling very primitive in GDOS.
If the machine has been upgraded with extra RAM and a Hard Drive, you're in luck. With a modem and the right software, you could even get on the internet. A "real" computer is more satisfying in the 21st Century though.
This page provides some information on how to customise software on your STFM to the max!
There are lots of sites on the 'net with Atari ST software for you to download.
For a start, try: UMich Archive.
Which programs are worth trying? One always has to consider the effect on your current set-up.
Over the years I've tried out lots of shareware and freeware utilities, always aiming towards an optimal working system that is tailored to my own computing preferences. Please support shareware authors. Some of this stuff is great!
The AUTO folder utilities and Desk Accessories always appealed to me, as they can improve the function and appearance of a bog-standard TOS interface.
To help you, I have provided lists of AUTO and ACC programs compatible with my set-up. This could save you a lot of trial-and-error. (Old Atari ST magazines gave a bit of help. Try a public library.) I just wish this sort of list was available to me when I first installed my hard drive!
NVDI 4 and Magic 5 OS are strongly recommended commercial packages. You won't regret buying them. Get a hard drive first though! A special cable is needed to connect any regular SCSI HD to the Atari ST. System Solutions in the UK may be able to help supply these.
Unfortunately, some shareware programs don't work with certain other programs. This can cause the ST to crash, needing a reset.
Some programs are said in their documents to run better first (or last) at boot-time, but what if you want to run several of these, one after another? Which should run first? The wrong combination can cause a spectacular crash!
A program like AUTOSORT can be used to change the running order of programs within the AUTO folder. This sometimes fixes conflicts.
A boot manager program is essential for all HD users. The program lists all the AUTO and ACC files, etc on your system. You can use this to select the ones you want to run. Setups and defaults can be made for games, music, DTP, internet use after start up. If the combination you have tried causes the system to crash, a reset allows you to get back to a working start-up. Put it first in the AUTO folder.
I prefered Superboot Ver 8.1, over some "newer" programs. The main advantage of this one is that it doesn't take up much RAM. Start-It! looks great, but is a "memory hog" for 4Mb owners only.
A replacement desktop can help improve file handling while setting things up. The new icons look much better too. Newer desktops support the AV protocol, "drag and drop" etc, which bring the ST into the 1990's computing world.
The TERRADESK 1.4 replacement desktop adds many of the features of TOS 2. The file selector is pretty functional too. I found this an extremely stable arrangement in TOS 1.4, which met all my computing needs with an Atari ST until I needed multi-tasking.
I've tried THING 0.59e, but this didn't impress me as much. It uses a lot more RAM and HD space than TERRADESK. There is a newer version 1.09e, but it still takes up a lot of RAM. Definitely for 4Mb owners only.
The MAGXDESK that comes with Magic 5 OS is pretty good and works with multi-tasking. Lots of RAM and a HD required. I had to use Med-Rez or Mono on the STFM, so don't benefit from the colour icons. It must look great on a Falcon!
Later models like the MegaSTe, TT, and Falcon had an SCC chip capable of up to 153600bps using the Modem 2 port.
Shareware replacement modem routine SERFX20 works, but is old.
The newer HS-MODEM package allows a regular ST to get up to 19200bps connections, but is tricky to set up (it's in German). You'll need a hardware upgrade to get better modem speeds.
Put DRVIN.PRG into the AUTO folder followed by the MFP.PRG (use SCC.PRG with MegaSTe, TT, or Falcon).
DRVIN.PRG has two user options. FASTINT should be "on", EXOPEN "off".
"Drag and drop" the MFP.PRG (or SCC.PRG) onto SETTER.PRG to configure the driver:
| Atari World recommended setting for a standard ST (MFP.PRG): | |
| RSVE | N |
| HISP | N |
| REPL | U (six times) |
| DTR | Y |
| RBL | 16384 |
| TBL | 8192 |
| Atari World recommended setting for MegaSTe and Falcon (SCC.PRG): | |
| M2TT | U |
| M1EMU | U |
| LANBIT | N |
| LANEXT | N |
| LAN_S2 | U |
| DTRM2 | Y |
| DTRS2 | Y |
| RBLM2 | 16384 |
| TBLM2 | 8192 |
| RBLS2 | 16 |
| TBLS2 | 16 |
[Top] [Magic 5 OS] [Single TOS 1.4]
Yes it can be done, if you have enough RAM and a Hard Drive. The experience isn't as good as with a modern computer, of course.
For serious internet use on an Atari ST, you'll need extra RAM (at least 2MB), and a hard drive. Some say it is possible to run STING networking on an ordinary 1Mb ST, but there wouldn't be much RAM left for any applications. Apparently some IRC, News, FTP, and E-Mail programs can run in the RAM that's left.
If you don't already have them, you will need to download HS-MODEM, STING or STiK connection software, and CAB browser to access the internet on an Atari ST compatible computer. NEWSIE is a good E-Mail/News/FTP combined client. There are a couple of IRC clients to choose from.
The original Toxico web site was first FTP'd to my then ISP using NEWSIE client for E-Mail, News, and FTP.
Unmodified Atari STFM users will only be able to get up to 19000 bps out of a fast modem. Later model Mega STe, TT, and Falcon computers do far better. You'll need to install a Modem Enhancer program to get this performance. A lot of old software only runs at slower speeds.
It was a bit slow being restricted to 19400 bps on my 56k modem because of the old Atari STFM hardware.
A multi-tasking environment improves the experience significantly. The freeware MINT OS is a popular UNIX-like alternative to the commercial Magic 5 OS (which is also really good).
Between February-September 1997 I regularly used the excellent freeware package of STiNG networking and the CAB Browser to "surf the net" on my Atari STFM. I was preferring Magic 5 OS at the time.
A comprehensive list of current TOS compatible applications for the internet and general use has been compiled at UMich Archive.
This collection of utilities provides dial-up networking ability via the serial port. It includes an ethernet driver if needed. The latest versions now support PPP as well as SLIP.
A word of warning - it takes some time with a text editor to set it all up correctly. Once it goes, it's great! (The DIAL.SCR file has been the main problem for me. Try to log onto your ISP with a terminal program to see what's needed.)
The newest STiK 2 was posted in 2000 but I haven't tried this.
Get it from Flinny's STiK Pages.
The CAB browser can be run text only, without fancy fonts. You need to run some form of GDOS to use fonts with CAB. I've always liked NVDI for this.
Make sure to get the latest CAB.OVL file to optimize browsing.
The great CAB 2.7 demo does HTML 3, including frames, but has some other features (like saving to the Hotlist) disabled. If you make your CAB 1.5 Hotlist file the browser "Home Page" this shouldn't cause any grief.
They say the commercial CAB browser looks good. The newest German version was available from Applications Systems Heidelburg.
With my old Atari ST set-up I often prefered to browse text instead of pictures to save on RAM use. They were pretty crappy in 4 colour med-rez anyway....
I use a few "viewer" programs to help display odd files. It helps to use a text editor like Everest to display and edit HTML source. With a multi-tasking OS, you run CAB and Everest together and then edit and save HTML files in Everest, and reload CAB browser to display the edited file. That's how this page was first made. Get a cheap book on HTML.
There is a QUICKTIME viewer for Atari, but this wouldn't run in the RAM I had left while running CAB etc. on my old 2.5Mb machine. Maybe a Falcon or TT can make use of this? I wouldn't expect much.
These days I'd try Google
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