The Atari A to Z

Matthew Bacon tries to learn his Atari alphabet

Are you baffled by the technical jargon found in most computer books, magazines and manuals? For example, do you know the meaning of ANSI, BCPL, EEPLD and SCSI?

Even those of us who consider ourselves "computer literate" occasionally require a good reference book now and then to prevent us from pulling out our hair! So where can such a reference be found? Look no further than The Atari A to Z from Linnhe Computing.

The Atari A to Z is the result of a great deal of hard work by its author, Mark S. Baines. Drawing from over a decade of computing experience, Mark - a former teacher - has written an extremely interesting and informative reference for Atari enthusiasts everywhere!

The Atari A to Z was originally published in Spring 1995 as a 340 page A5 comb bound book. After several revisions and reprints, Linnhe Computing released the The Atari A to Z in 1998 as Shareware.

The Shareware release (now in ASCII format) comprises of thirty-seven text files and two GEM images that faithfully reproduce the original publication. The book is organised into a preface, title, introduction, twenty-six chapters (that cover each letter of the alphabet) and six appendices.

Although the intuitive layout of the book allows the reader to quickly and easily locate the information they require, I must admit that I would have preferred to have seen a ST-Guide hypertext version released as well. However, if you use a decent text editor , such as Everest, it really isn't a problem.

With 2,239 individual entires, 101 tables and 128,000 words, you might assume that The Atari A to Z is yet another technical reference suitable only for programmers and experienced Atari users. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Atari A to Z clearly and concisely explains the technical terms covered making it suitable for both the novice user and hardened technical guru.

Summary
The Atari A to Z is quite simply one of the best books ever published for the Atari user. If you don't already own a copy, you should download it from the Linnhe Computing web site (www.stsd.demon.co.uk/linnhe.html ) and send your Shareware registration fee to them today!
 

 Summary

 Product

The Atari A to Z

 Author

Mark Baines
'Linnhe', Shore Street
Inver, Ross-shire, IV20 1SF
Scotland
E-mail: msbaines@cix.co.uk
URL: www.stsd.demon.co.uk/linnhe.html

 Requires

Any text editor or word processor

 Price

Shareware registration only £5.00
Registration plus disk £5.00  (UK/Europe), £7.00 (ROW)

 Pros

• Excellent source of Atari information
• Suitable for novice and expert users alike
• Great value for money (Shareware)

 Cons

• A little out of date now
• A hypertext version would have been nice!

 Score