The internet is a great place to give us unlimited access to almost all the software or information we need. But there is still some time on the Internet that we have to rely on magazines and public domain libraries [PDL] to get Atari ST / STE related software and information. I often look forward to buying commercial Atari ST magazines from WH Smith, such as ST format, ST reviews and ST users, and eagerly review the contents of the cover disk. I will sit in a comfortable armchair in my comfortable bedroom, enjoy reading magazines from start to finish, check out the latest PD [public domain], freeware, shareware, Licencware and commercial software reviews as well as useful tutorials and articles.
The magazine will promote a number of PDLs that offer PD, freeware, shareware and licensed software on floppy disks, priced between 1 and 3 pounds. PDL ads only provide a small amount of software in their list, but they will provide you with a disk-based or paper-based catalog listing their complete software libraries. The advantage of PDL is that they can access software written by bedroom programmers, which are never found in stores. For programmers like me, they are a useful resource, such as source code, fonts, sprites, music files and images. They also offer a variety of disk issues such as St osser, Power, ST Plus, Atari Times and Maggie.
What is DISKZINE
A disk is a collection of documents on a floppy disk that can be viewed using software called a "shell." The shell will list the names and descriptions of all the documents on the disk. These documents will be displayed in the form of articles, comments and tutorials, as well as various other interesting items such as advertisement pages, someone's comics and contact lists. The shell will have its own built-in document display, which will load each document, format it and display it with the option to change the font and music. A higher version of the document display will display images and text, such as Tony Greenwood's popular Stosser Doc Displayer. Some disks can also be supplied with free software, such as Stosser Diskzine or Tony Greenwood. Diskzines is sometimes referred to as "diskzenes" or "diskmags."
How to make a DISKZINE bring me benefits
Diskzines can provide content on virtually any subject. Stosser diskzine covers articles and tutorials related to the STOS Basic programming language, while Atari Times covers everything related to Atari ST. Another disk called Power actually provides everything you've always dreamed of, even something like the entire script of the popular Terminator 2 movie. If you don't buy Diskzines from PDL, they are also free. You can distribute the disk to your friends and contacts for free, they can do the same for you - so you get a lot of software and information for free, instead of paying for the commercial Atari ST magazine I mentioned above. Diskzines allows you to encounter other computer users who share the same interests as you can exchange content. Some may even have a question page where you can quickly respond to a business magazine question.
Who wrote the contents of DISKZINE
The general idea behind diskzines is that the reader writes content and shares it with other readers. Stosser and Power are two disks that rely heavily on contributions. The main character behind diskzine is the one who puts all of this together, including editing and creating shells. There may even be someone running a regular page, such as a question page. Diskzines usually has some people who become regular contributors to each question every month, while others will trickle from odd readers or two people. Software is also a contribution, and is a good way to ensure a lot of distribution work.
Where can I download DISKZINES?
Try Exxos Atari Pages for the best disk selection.
Orignal From: Atari ST Diskzines
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