🚀 go-pugleaf

Just got this from GENIE:

      BETA RELEASE OF NEW TOS AND HD UTILITIES FOR ST/MEGA

 THIS IS *NOT* A SOLICITATION FOR BETA TEST SITES! IT IS THE
FULFILMENT OF AN EARLIER PROMISE TO PUBLISH THE STATUS OF THE NEW
PRODUCTS.

 The Beta shipments of the new ST/Mega TOS went out to Atari
subsidiaries this week. Some have even arrived already. Beta versions
of the new Hard  Disk utilities and a disk "cache" program were
included. The entire kit consisted of the following:

        TOS ROM set, configured for local keyboard and American text.
        Diskette (D/S) containing:
                RAM loadable image of TOS, same configuration as ROM
                Disk cache program "CACHExxx"
                HDX Hard Disk utility, HINSTALL and associated programs
                Product Tracking System front-end program "SPRgen"
        Release Notes for:
                TOS
                CACHExxx
                HDX, HINSTALL etc (modified to 30/60MB hard disks)
        Draft User Manual for HDX, HINSTALL etc.
        User guide for Product Tracking System
        Various programs, files and tools to assist in translation

  Each subsidiary has been invited to select a small set of Beta
sites, and has been requested to ensure that each such site accepts, in
writing,  certain terms and conditions, including:
        no copies to be made
        products and documentation are prerelease and without
            warranty
        all communications are to be made solely to the Atari
            subsidiary, and not through public channels
        all copies and documentation to be returned to Atari
            subsidiary on demand
        weekly report indicating name(s) of tester(s), tests
            performed, observations to be filed with Atari subsidiary
            each Friday
        any bug reports to be first verified against the currently
            released hardware/firmware, to ensure problem is with new
            TOS

 We want to know what works as well as what doesn't work. A report of
"no problems" is worthless if it is not accompanied by an explanation
of what testing has been performed. If a program fails, it is critical
that it be tested with other RELEASED configurations, so that it is
very clear whether or not the failure is attributable solely to the new
TOS.

 In our testing we have found MANY ill-behaved programs which fail
because they appear to access beyond the Mega 4's 4MB RAM limit. I
believe they are accessing "just beyond" where they are supposed to,
and it's only on the Mega 4 where they run out of physical address
space rather than physical memory. Almost all programs which fail this
way have been retested on the current TOS and fail in a similar way.

 This beta release is not the final one. Programs should not be
modified to look for the date encoded in this version.

 PLEASE DO *NOT* CONTACT ANYONE IN ATARI R&D TO SUPPORT THIS BETA
TEST. ALL ENQUIRIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE TECHNICAL MANAGER OF THE
APPROPRIATE ATARI SUBSIDIARY, OR TO JOE FERRARI (408-745-2010) IN THE
USA. The R&D group must now address the port of TOS to revised and new
hardware platforms, and so I would appreciate your NOT disrupting the
development activity. We have support groups in place, and they MUST be
your first line of support if development of new products is to
continue at optimum speed.

 A summary of the major improvements to TOS follows:

 - Floppy formatting is "more compatible" with IBM-PC format
 - A file may be moved (i.e. copy/delete) in one operation
 - File Copy/Delete/Move can be interrupted with "undo"
 - GEM programs can be autobooted from disk
 - If a name conflict occurs during a file copy, Copy/Skip/Quit are
   allowed
 - A folder may be renamed via "Show Info"
 - The static file allocation limit of 400 is removed; limited now by
   free memory
 - "Show/Print File" are completely rewritten
 - File copying on a single floppy system uses all available memory
   for buffers
 - "wind_update(FALSE)" is set when recovering from an application
   crash
 - All date separators are now "/"
 - File Selector has had major rework:
      16 drive buttons
      Application can send a "title" string to FSEL
      FSEL now takes first <RETURN> on pathname edit as end-of-edit
      FSEL remembers where it was in a file list
      Static file allocation of 100 files is removed
      Long pathnames and "ABORT/CONTINUE" now handled correctly
      Preserves current DTA buffer addresses, clip rectangles and
            default directories
      New bindings available
 - "appl_init" returns version 0130 in global(0)
 - Editable fields may now be followed by non-editable characters in
   dialog boxes
 - "wind_get()" with field parameter WF_SCREEN returns address/length
   of AES menu/alert buffer
 - "Ptsin" (VDI) allows 512 vertices (true since 4/22/87)
 - "vqt_extent": Pixel errors on some 270 degree rotations are fixed
 - "vq_mouse" reliability enhanced
 - 40-folder bug alleviated to the point of improbability. A folder
   only takes up space when "active". Limited now by depth of folders
   and the accumulated depth of open files. FOLDRxxx still
   available.
 - "Malloc" restriction of 20 blocks/process lifted.
 - FAT searching code for floppy and hard-disk is MUCH faster
 - Sector buffering greatly improved, and "CACHExxx" allows expansion
 - "Frename" can now rename a folder
 - Archive bit (0x20) fully supported
 - Time stamps for "." and ".." are now correct
 - "Fsettime/Fsetdate" match BIOS and GEMDOS values
 - "Fdatime" input value byteswap fixed
 - Major improvements to "Ccon*" and redirection in general
 - OS Pool reduced to same size as 11/20/85 ROMs (pre Mega). This may
   allow some programs which fail on Mega ROMs to work again.
 - Soft Reset available from Keyboard if using standard keyboard
   handler:
        Soft reset by CTRL/ALT/DEL
        Cold Boot clears all available memory (CTRL/ALT/right SHFT/DEL)
 - "Rsconf(-2,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1) returns last baud rate value set by
   Rsconf
 - Structure of the reserved part of DTA has changed, and remains
   reserved
 - Improvements made to detection of media change


 THE ABOVE IS A SUBSET OF THE ENHANCEMENTS MADE. THERE ARE MANY MORE,
FULLY DOCUMENTED IN THE RELEASE NOTES SENT TO EACH SUBSIDIARY.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Roy J. Good
 Product Development, Atari Corporation
 Views expressed are my own. Atari may agree or disagree; they have
 the right.