It's all in the name!
I love trolling through the Atari ST archives looking for anything that might entertain this old man I have become. Not only games but anything - just look at sections of my website like Software or Other STuff Out There.
Well, I've found a program called (wait for it) Steve and, being the owner of such a cool name, I thought it was funny. The name is an acronym for ST EVent Editor which is a multi-function program. It does just about everything we dreamt about back then - Text, Graphics, Database, Desktop Publishing and Computer Aided Instruction.
ST Event Editor was developed in 1989 by Primož Jakopin, a Yugoslavian (wow, that takes me back) whom I had to contact. He still has an active website, which shocked me, but not as much as finding out that the manual is available to download. Wanna know a little more without clicking any of the links down below? Here ya go, mister lazy pants...
"STeve - ST EVent Editor - is a general-purpose software tool that can handle text, pictures, data records, full pages (in DTP mode) and computer-aided-instruction units. It has been designed to get the most out of the ATARI ST range of computers - to be as fast as possible, to save as much space as is feasible and last, but not least, to be easy on the eyes. Processing of Mega-byte files, containing hundreds of pages with text and graphics, makes sense with STEVE. The program comes from Slovenia, a small country in the northwest of Yugoslavia, situated between the Adriatic Sea, the Alps, the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula."
STeve seems to be all things to all men but it's surreal to see something like this today. Using the program is complex so take a gander at the online manual - especially because of the keyboard commands. The potential is massive and I can only imagine how this program was utilised back in the day - read "The usage of STEVE" in the interview below.
Let me know if you boot up STeve and what you think of it in the comments below. My greetings to Primož for his time over the months since summer. I certainly enjoyed hearing all about his fascinating stories, ST program and history.
Are you interested to know more about Primož and the ST EVent Editor? Then check out these links:
• AtariCrypt interview with Primoz: https://www.jakopin.net/papers/memoirs/On_STEVE_en.php• His website: https://www.jakopin.net/primoz/• STeve's manual: https://jakopin.net/steve/STEve_Reference_Manual.php• Demozoo download: https://demozoo.org/productions/194056/• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primož_Jakopin• Other Atari ST software featured here: https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/search/label/Software
Interesting find, the programmer was from yugoslavia, but the 'publisher' Theo Richel is Belgian. Wonder how these two got connected.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting story about how the program was born and evolved. Quite stunning that some local libraries in his country even used Atari ST and Steve for their professional work!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a fascinating journey through the Atari ST archives! Steve sounds like a versatile program for its time, offering a wide range of functions. It's impressive that Primož Jakopin still maintains an active website. Have you had a chance to try out Steve yourself?
ReplyDeletebmg