Okay, so you're not particularly interested in tramcars . . . and who can blame you; after all, there's only one original street tramway system remaining in Britain (at Blackpool). The new light-rail systems recently opened in Manchester and Sheffield are vastly different from the pre-war tramway systems of which Bolton was one. This disk contains illustrations of the various types of electric tramcar used by Bolton Corporation Tramways on its fourteen routes from 1899 until 1947. Yes, they were certainly antiquated but how they helped shift the crowds to and from Burnden Park - even in thick fog - in the twenties & thirties!
However, the main purpose of the compilation is to highlight how PC3 format (b/w) pictures were transferred from an Atari 520STe platform to that of a Macintosh Performa 5400 - ostensibly incompatible systems and a feat considered virtually impossible a few years ago.
Each picture had initially been drawn by hand on an Atari 520STe using Degas Elite - a well-known Atari-based graphics' program. The PC3 (b/w) picture files were then transferred from the Atari to the Macintosh using MagiCMac, a remarkable emulator designed specifically to transfer any GEM-based Atari files/programs to the Macintosh platform.
Once transferred, the PC3 picture files were easily converted into PICT format using the excellent Graphic Converter v2.6 program. Each b/w picture was subsequently coloured-in using the Claris Works4 painting program, text being added and then the completed picture being cut & pasted to the Graphic Convertor's screen for precise positioning prior to being "save(d) as . . ." in its respective folder.
Another flexible and effective GEM-based program imported from the Atari to the Mac platform is Papyrus Gold. This is a first-class document-processing package which supports the on-screen display and printing (with dithering) of colour pictures. Supported formats include TIFF, JPEG, Targa, PhotoCD and GIF. Papyrus is extremely user-friendly and can match any of the better known Mac WP programs.
For those who've moved over from Ataris to Macs and who wish to utilise their PCn format pictures as well as Papyrus-generated documents, MagiCMac provides the answer!
Further information is obtainable from Keith Markland - either by snailmail at 15 Stourton Road, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 9BG, or by phone on 01943 600413.
P.S. The final picture, ie 'The End!', was produced using Kai's GOO . . . thought
