The Diamond Graphic Operating System does work but is real SLOOOOW. Using a
joy stick is no fun. However you can use an Atari ST Mouse which makes it a
little better.. This is a totally screwed up program. The only things
good about it I created an Express Cart image to work with the Diamond Cart.
The cart back bone is the ICD stackable cartridge. The only reason to purchase
this cart is so you have one for your collection.
I
rate this program the lowest score you can have with a zero
This Article was published in the Summer 88 issues of the Staten Island
Atari Users Group newsletter. The article was also posted onto the
Fordham Prep BBS in the Bronx, NY. At the time, the bulletin board
system that Curt Vendel ran had changed from being run in 83-86 as the Star
Trek BBS to The Earth Access Center in 86-89 to present Atari articles and
data.
During the initial development of Diamond, Alan Reeve sent
Curt Vendel Version 1.0 onto diskette and Curt Vendel proceeded to work using
an Apple Lisa XL with MacPaint and created all new icons for the Diamond
desktop which were null modem'd into an Atari 130XE and using MicroPainter
were converted into Atari format and mailed out to Alan. In
release 2.0 and 2.1 the new icons became the final icons used in the Diamond
GOS operating system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 6, 1988 Diamond(tm) Press Release Info Attention Atari
XL and XE owners. REEVE Software, developers of the powerful News Station page
layout software, will soon be releasing our powerful new graphics based
operating system. It is called Diamond(tm) and when loaded into an XL/XE
computer with 64K or more, gives your computer a complete graphics operating
system similar to what GEOS(tm) has done for the Commodore 64. This document
gives complete information on what Diamond(tm) can do from a programmers point
of view, and I
think you'll agree that Atari XL/XE owners are in for a real treat this year.
Diamond(tm) is our powerful new graphics based operating system. It allows
your Atari computer to use the icon based point-and-click menu systems that
are present on many of the more powerful systems today such as the
Macintosh(tm), Amiga(tm), and Atari ST(tm), and better yet, is the fact that
Diamond(tm) is not a single program that uses drop-down menus and icons, but
rather an environment which means there will be many more programs to come
that are Diamond(tm) based Diamond's(tm) features include A mouse
cursor which can be operated by the keyboard, a joystick, a touch tablet, or a
mouse. It is definable in shape and its point of action can be changed (e.g.
an arrows point of action would be its tip, and a crosshairs point of action
would be its center.) Drop-Down Menus that can have menu
options activated and deactivated which is indicated by highlighting active
items. Menu items can also have check marks placed and removed from them.
These function are all handled by Diamond(tm). Desk
Accessories which can be called up from any Diamond(tm) based program at any
time. Icons that can be activated through a point-and-click system
with a mouse. Icons can be shaped and moved all around as part of our
environment. Dialog Boxes that are virtually unlimited in
design to allow the user to make easy selections that require anything from a
simple yes/no response to anything one can think of. Windows
that can be opened, closed, moved, and sized via simple software calls.
...and many more powerful routines that make up the Diamond(tm) environment.
Most of what has been said up until now deals with Diamond(tm) as an
environment, and is meant to let you know that Diamond(tm) is an environment
that can easily be accessed by anyone that knows how to program, however,
Diamond(tm) is intended
to make computing more fun for those that do not know how to program, or even
know how to use a computer. The primary purpose of an environment such as this
is to make computing easy and enjoyable, and this is a user interface allowing
people to communicate more easily with their computer.
Diamond(tm) is scheduled for July release and includes our Diamond DeskTop
software, which acts as a substitute for those select a letter and command
oriented systems. It allows users to perform every standard DOS function via a
simple user friendly
command such as deleting a file or dragging the file over to the trash can,
and the user doesn't have to use the keyboard unless absolutely necessary as
in renaming a file. Diamond(tm) DeskTop will also be
compatible with Floppy Drives, Hard Drives, and Ram Disks as well as most Disk
Operating Systems such as Atari DOS 2.5 and SpartaDOS(tm).
We hope that Diamond(tm) becomes the new standard of operating environments
for Atari 8-bit owners as we have designed it with excellent flexibility and
power. Diamond which includes Diamond DeskTop and some additional programs and
Desk Accessories will retail for $29.95 as will our other Diamond based
products. Diamond should pump new life into your Atari 8-bit
computer, and in order to put even more power into your XL/XE computer we have
a complete line of Diamond(tm) based software such as:
The Diamond Programmers Kit Explains how to program with
Diamond(tm), and includes macros for Mac/65 and Basic source code to
demonstrate how to use Diamond(tm). Also contains a resource builder to aid in
the construction of drop-down menus, dialog boxes, and icons. It's what REEVE
Software uses to develop our Diamond based programs. (August '88) $29.95
Diamond Write A full featured word processor that
includes everything you've come to expect from word processing on your Atari
XL/XE and the ability to use multiple fonts and multiple text sizes in your
documents. (August '88) $29.95
Diamond Paint A powerful paint program designed to allow
you to paint fantastic art in an environment of drop-down menus and icons.
(August '88) $29.95
Diamond Publish Finally, true desktop publishing for your
XL/XE computer. Once you've experienced Diamond Publish you wont give it up.
Text flows from column to column, around pictures. Several fonts can be
used in several different sizes. Multiple page documents in memory. (August
'88) $29.95
Diamond Draw An object oriented drawing program so that
images used in Diamond Publish will look smooth at any size. Draw squares,
rectangles, circles, and use several different fill styles.(No release date
set) $29.95
Diamond Basic A Basic language designed to take full
advantage of the speed and power of Diamond(tm).(No release date set)
$29.95
Diamond Asm A complete assembly language
development system geared towards the Diamond environment. Allows for macros,
conditional assembly, and more.(No release date set)
$29.95
Diamond C A C language environment that will take complete
advantage of Diamond's many powerful capabilities.
Diamond GOS Cartridge