ÉN ÎOVEMBER OF 1985 ×ILL ÃORLEY RELEASED VERSION 1.0 OF A PROGRAM HE HAD
WRITTEN CALLED ÌÙÎØ AND THEREBY STARTED ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING 
CONTROVERSIES AMONG MODEM USERS.

ÌÙÎØ IS A FILE LINKING UTILITY THAT WILL LINK A LARGE NUMBER OF FILES 
TOGETHER  FOR TELEPHONE TRANSMISSION. ÉT HAS MANY USES AND CAN BE USED TO 
TRANSMIT A WHOLE DATABASE AS ONE TRANSMISSION. ÉT CAN BE USED TO LINK MANY 
SMALL FILES TOGETHER SUCH AS ART OR MUSIC FILES OR THE MANY FILES OF A 
PROGRAM WRITTEN IN  MODULES.

ÉT WAS RELEASED AS A SHAREWARE PROGRAM AND BECAME ONE OF THE MOST USED 
PROGRAMS IN THE Ã64 WORLD. ÉT WAS EASY TO USE AND WORKED FAST. ÌYNX WENT
THROUGH MANY REVISIONS DURING THE NEXT FEW YEARS. ×ILL RELEASED VERSIONS 
UP TO ÌÙÎØ ØÖÉÉ THAT É KNOW OF. ÈE RECEIVED VERY FEW REGISTRATIONS IN
COMPARISON TO THE NUMBER OF COPIES IN USE.  ÅVENTUALLY HE MIGRATED ON TO
PROGRAMMING FOR THE ÍÓ-ÄÏÓ COMPUTERS. ÁT THAT TIME HE TURNED HIS SOURCE 
CODE OVER TO OTHERS AND NEWER VERSIONS CONTINUE TO COME OUT FROM AT LEAST
TWO SOURCES.

ÄURING THE TIME THAT ×ILL WAS SUPPORTING NEW VERSIONS OF ÌÙÎØ HIMSELF THERE
WERE MANY SMALL (AND A FEW LARGE) SOFTWARE HOUSES THAT TRIED TO REVISE THE
PROGRAM OR REMOVE HIS NAME FROM IT AND PUT THEIR OWN IN. ÏUT OF SELF DEFENSE
×ILL INCLUDED A DESTRUCTIVE FORM OF CHECKSUM PROTECTION AND THEREBY STARTED 
THE CONTROVERSY.  ÉF THE CHECKSUM DOESN'T COME OUT PERFECTLY THE LINKED 
FILES DISAPPEAR INTO NEVER-NEVER LAND. 

ÔHE PROBLEM WITH CHECKSUM PROTECTION IS THAT IN TELEPHONE TRANSMISSION OF
FILES THERE ARE MANY REASONS THAT THE CHECKSUM CAN COME OUT WRONG. ÔHOSE
REASONS ARE NOT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARTICLE.

ÌAST YEAR É DOWNLOADED A RATHER LARGE ÌÙÎØED FILE FROM AN ÅAST ÃOAST BOARD
AND IT WOULD NOT UNLINK WITH ANY OF THE PROGRAMS É HAD FROM ×ILL. É THEN 
USED A UTILITY IN ONE VERSION OF ×ILL'S PROGRAM TO READ THE FILE. ÉN THE 
HEADER OF THE FILE IT HAD A STATEMENT THAT IT WAS LINKED BY A VERSION #
THAT É CAN'T REMEMBER AND ATTRIBUTED THE PROGRAM AND THE VERSION TO SOMEONE 
É HAD NEVER HEARD OF. ÉT NEVER DID UNLINK AND É WASTED ABOUT AN HOUR OF MY
LONG DISTANCE TIME AND MANY MORE HOURS TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK. É WAS OUT
A FEW DOLLARS, SEVERAL HOURS, AND A LOT OF PEACE OF MIND AT THE END.

ÔHE WHOLE CONTROVERSY WAS BROUGHT UP AGAIN BY A RECENT EXCHANGE OF MESSAGES 
ON AN INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER NETWORK BY MYSELF, ×ILL ÃORLEY, AND MANY OTHERS.
ÎOTHING WAS RESOLVED OR CAN EVER BE RESOLVED. É MAY DISAGREE WITH ×ILL ABOUT 
THE FORM OF PROTECTION HE USED IN THE PROGRAM, BUT É CAN ALSO UNDERSTAND WHY 
HE DID IT.

ÎO OTHER FILE LINKING UTILITY HAS BEEN AROUND AS LONG, BEEN AS WIDELY USED
OR GONE THROUGH AS MANY VERSIONS AS ÌÙÎØ.

ÔHE TWO ÌÙÎØ PROGRAMS THAT É HAVE INCLUDED HERE ARE AN UNCOMPILED BASIC ÌÙÎØ 
PROGRAM AND AN UNCOMPILED BASIC ÄÅÌÙÎØ PROGRAM.  É STUMBLED ACROSS THESE TWO 
ON AN ÅASTERN ÂULLETIN ÂOARD RECENTLY.  ÔHEY HAD BEEN UPLOADED TWO YEARS AGO
BY SOMEONE WHO IS AN OLD FRIEND OF MINE AND ALSO A FRIEND OF ×ILLS WHO IS NO
LONGER AROUND.

ÔHE UNCOMPILED BASIC PROGRAMS ARE INCLUDED FOR THOSE WHO WANT A LOOK AT ×ILLS
PROGRAMMING. ÉF YOU PLAN TO USE THEM FOR ANY PROGRAMMING OR REVISION É 
SUGGEST THAT YOU GET IN TOUCH WITH ×ILL ÃORLEY AS THEY ARE STILL COPYRIGHTED
PROGRAMS.