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1991-12-28
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D'Bridge Gamma 1.31
-------------------
25 December 1991
- Packet header structures modified to support the antiquated standard.
- Setting the environment variable "RUSSIAN" to any non-blank value will
cause the soft-return characters to be displayed. (8A, 8D hex)
- Merry Christmas and so forth...
Chris, 1:108/68.1 (Fidonet)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Beta/1052
------------------
10 December 1991
- Point support now functions correctly in all tested cases.
- COMM/MODEM SETUP has been completely revised. All fields on this screen
must be re-configured. This screen should be self-explanatory. If you
are confused, maybe you should wait for the general release including the
full documentation.
MCFILES.LST contains a directory of MCFILES.ZIP. Do not unZIP this...
Modem Control Files will be unZIPped as needed be D'Bridge. Please report
problems directly to 1:108/68.1!
- The default security level for new areas has been changed to 5000.
Chris, 1:108/68.1 (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Beta/1051
------------------
13 November 1991
- Several problems have been resolved.
Chris, 1:108/68.1 (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Beta/1050
------------------
3 November 1991
- Nodelist problem repaired... Sorry!
- There might be a mystery feature. Then again, maybe not. If you find any
problems, remember: ONE MAN'S BUG IS ANOTHER'S FEATURE. It's all a matter
of perspective. Look at it this way, because the nodelist in 1049 didn't
work, you couldn't make outbound calls. Inbound calls are almost always
cheaper, so I saved you money. DEFINATELY a feature from my point-of-view.
- This has been another version produced entirely while driving down the road
at high velocity. Well, I wasn't driving at the time, but when I did drive,
I didn't use the computer. "Don't Debug and drive... You might hit a bump
and erase a line accidently!"
Chris, 1:108/68.1 (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Beta/1049
------------------
31 October 1991
- This is the HALLOWEEN edition of D'Bridge beta.
- Point support, XMAIL and assorted problems have been addressed.
- Trick or treat!
Chris, 1:108/68.1 (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Beta/1048
------------------
14 October 1991
- This is literally an "on-the-road" version as it was created while driving
down interstate 40 in our motor home. (Yea, we bought one of those 110 volt
inverters that lets my PC run anywhere we go. Only $250... Such a deal!!
- Bugs are fixed, I think. Enjoy
- P.S. The rumors are true. I'm getting married to my best friend, Nancy Jo
Smith on the 4th of April. (She's my hero... She was on the world's record
for largest all-female skydiving formation, an 88-way)
Chris, 1:108/68.1 (Fidonet)
Following is a history of the alpha versions that came to create BETA 1048!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.29
----------------------
16 September 1991
- An on-the-road fix made while at Arthur's. Hope it works. (I heard that
NETmail was broken - sorry for the trouble, but "IT'S AN ALPHA!"
Chris, 1:??/?? (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.28
----------------------
14 September 1991
- Don't start believing in old superstitions or anything, but the "Friday
D'Thirteenth was similar to a version that stepped on a crack in a sidewalk
while walking under a ladder with a black cat crossing in front of you.
No, the number 13 is indeed lucky, usually.
- Saturday D'Fourteenth should make up for yesterday. (Let's hope)
"How low can you go?"
- All database files have been erased and renamed. They appear in the sub-
directory DATA in the DB root. If you ran the program before reading this,
you will lose all ACCOUNTING/TRANSLATION information since midnight. If you
did change anything, EXPORT the data to COSTING.XDC first!
- Problems with machines 30mhz+ should be resolved
- Point support "might" be fixed
- Fido-style NETmail should now scan 500% faster after the initial scan in
each event.
- There was an error in the LHA decompression command. It should use the
"E" option rather than "X." Press CTL-Y on that field to accept the default.
- Smaller... Faster... eh?
- I'm on the road. I got my computer out of the trunk of my car because I
heard there was trouble. Simple fix. I tried to save too much memory.
Chris, 1:??/?? (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.27
----------------------
13 September 1991
- Well, I'm on the road as of tommorrow. You may reach me at my parents'
until my apartment is ready, October first.
- This might be a good version. If you need help, call Arthur.
- Dup checking changed out of necessity. You may pass some duplicate mail
through during the transition... but hey - it's not your fault. Nobody
should send you duped mail in a perfect world. (It is perfect, right?)
Chris, 1:??/?? (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.26
----------------------
4 September 1991
- Did you ever have a feeling that you just caused lots of trouble?
- Now go in to the editor and tell all your echolinks that Professor Irwin
is quite sorry... Remind them that mail is like Doritos; they'll make
more, lots more.
Chris, 1:18/68 (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.25
----------------------
3 September 1991
- Complete compliance with all documented and political standards for message
packet creation. The correct zone will not be used everywhere. There may
still be a potential problem with point support, but I need somebody to show
me exactly what the problem is, based on the actions of this version. There
will be differences.
- Session passwords should not have any security leaks like reported to exist
in previous versions. ALL or 1:18/ALL is no longer valid in the session
password fields... but then again, I suspect that nobody at all used that
feature.
- There's a new key in the editor (CTL-K) that will show you how absolutely
ridiculous this CTL-A kludge business is becoming. As a courtesy to our
customers, the editor now allows you to create your own "hidden messages"
by starting a line with CTL-A (a smiley face) and ending it with a hard CR.
Only 74-column or less kludges will display nicely, but they certainly will
stand out in our editor.
- In preparation for the upcoming beta, we will quite soon begin license key
registration procedures. Stay tuned to all channels for more details. It
seems that we might be rushed to get a public gamma release out becuase of
the building pressures at hand...
- Also, I'm collecting nodelists. If everyone would do me a big favor and
send me a copy of DBNL.AUT and any alternate network lists they have, I
am quite curious as to how large the consolidation of all our automatic
lists are. Please ZIP DBNL.AUT inside an archive called NLnnnnnn.ZIP, where
n's are your key number. Thanks in advance for this help. 1:18/68 is now
listed in the Fidonet nodelist. Please send direct and save a stamp!
- Oh yea, there's a new log file. I like it, you will too.
Chris, 1:18/68 (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.24
----------------------
31 August 1991
** READ THIS FIRST... AT LEAST THE FIRST PARAGRAPH... REALLY! **
- Here's a test to catch those who don't read the DOC file before upgrading.
The XMAIL setup screen has been re-written. All previous XMAIL CREATE /
EXTRACT commands WILL NOT BE IMPORTED from your previous setup. This is
to make sure that it is done right. D'Bridge now REQUIRES the use of the
"MOVE" option that all archives have implemented. When DB creates a new
XMAIL archive, the move option deletes the packets, saving the entire step
where the archive is validated. It only checks to make sure that no of
the source files still exist in the queue directory.
Defaults have been established for all archive formats supported and you
may re-select the default by erasing the entire line in the setup screen
for compress / decompress programs. (CTL-Y restores the suggested command
format.) The XMAIL commands may not be located in the D'Bridge root for
several reasons. I assume you have a path to C:\UTIL or some such thing.
There are several new formats for XMAIL, limits on archive and packet size
and a different method for selecting default and specific formats used by
your mail links. All in all, no big deal - just a cleanup badly needed.
ARJ compression requires about 300K of available memory. If you find that
it doesn't work, add a plus (+) to the commands to make them DROP instead
of PUSH. Actually, ARJ is a special case where I free up as much memory as
possible by performing a mini-drop, let's call it a SLIDE.
NOTE: The XMAIL archive size limit is currently disabled. A structural
change is in the works to make multiple outbound XMAIL files work.
- There are several fields missing. In fact, there's a blank line in the
middle of PACKET/MAIL control. We don't need those fields.
- Point support has been modified. Hopefully it will function better.
- Systems running 2400 baud or less will no longer have the modem init
string going randomly to your printer. It didn't always print - sometimes
the data got written to another file, causing who-knows-what.
- This version either takes more or less memory and runs either faster or
slower than .23 - let me know what you find.
- The COSTING database has changed. It is not located inside DATABASE.DAT/IX,
a new, integrated database system that will contain virtually all of the
operational data currently scattered around other files and screens. It is
possible that changes to ACCOUNTING/TRANSLATION might be lost and the DXC
file created at midnight will import.
- There were files called SAVE-MON.DXC (SAVE-TUE... etc.) that may be erased;
this was supposed to happen automatically.
- Let's try this again... This is hopefully the predecessor to a "beta" release! ]
You have until 18:00 SMDT (South Miami daylight time) to tell me to "hold
the presses" on a beta. The next change I need to make should come after
the beta, so I need to get it out there.
- This offer isn't void where not prohibited, usually.
Chris, 1:18/68 (Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.23
----------------------
10 August 1991
- What? Nobody found the hotkey in the last version? It's still there, but
the "horse of a different color" is history.
- This version is hopefully the predecessor to an actual "beta" release! Let
me know what you think.
- Dynamic events and polling during events have both been fixed to work the
way I designed them. If you still have trouble, tell me about it. These
events (tagged dynamic) will end as soon as no more mail is outbound - the
instant you HOLD the last entry or kill it.
- Other things are fixed / different. Intercom mode will not function after
the mail session when online with any previous versions. The protocols have
changed for a reason you will soon find out about.
- Be sure to change the battery inside the DBUTIL.EXE file at least once every
six months. (Nicad OK, but Alkaline preferable. DO NOT USE LITHIUM OR ANY
FORM OF BROMIUM-TRIOXULATED-SODIUM-DECARBOXILATED GELL-CELLS. THIS COULD
CAUSE PERMENANT DAMAGE. You will find a spare battery under the ENTER key
on IBM-style keyboards manufactured after December '89.
Chris, 1:18/68 (renegade Fidonet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.22
----------------------
1 August 1991
- Congratulations to Bernd Hinkmann and Karim Ashur. Both were crazy enough
to look for the hidden hotkey. I said crazy, because if they were wrong,
that key would have rebooted their computer. What a time-consuming price
for a wrong guess!
(Wie die Arbeit, so der lohn...)
- I would classify this as a version with nothing really new, just a lot of
general clean-up work. There is one thing that you must be aware of:
The DBCOST.DAT and DBCOST.IX files are no longer used. Neither will the
exported cost file "*.COS" continue being supported. There are new files
and exports:
COSTING.DAT / COSTING.IX and COSTING.XDC is a default export file.
You will need to import your cost file in this upgrade. It should happen
automatically before the actual upgrade of the DBRIDGE.AUT... Please let
me know if there's trouble.
- That's about all... Oh, you may notice a small change to the ACCOUNTING /
TRANSLATION screen. Please let me know if you have any complaints about
its mode of operation or "ergonomics." That screen template is about to
become a standard for all scrolling windows - THIS WEEK. Make sure you
let me know about any problems in look and feel or otherwise. I'm still
making refinments to it before moving the next database into that format.
Please don't mention the fact that the colors are locked in. I'm working
on that this evening - I wansted to get this release out for testing ASAP.
- The SET ZMODEM=OLD is no longer required.
- Black tie optional.
- Have fun... Oh yea, there's another secret hotkey. This one involves some
new keys and is guarenteed not to boot your computer. (Unless you get it
wrong)
Chris, 201:201/0
1:18/68 (renegade Fidonet address)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.21
----------------------
29 July 1991
TWENTY DAYS since the last alpha? Is that true? Sorry, but I got lots done
even though it might not look like it. (The changes are internal structure
changes for the most-part.)
Before the ALPHA story, I've got something off-the-subject to ask:
------------------------------------------------------
"If you know anyone who has a Yamaha SY-77 Synthesizer,
I would be interested in cooresponding with them using
NETmail..."
------------------------------------------------------
- There's now a buglist, but you know that. Request BUGLIST.ZIP from your
favorite uplink for D'Bridge ALPHA goodies for details.
- Many of you tried desperately to find some hidden key sequence in .20 that
never existed. Sorry, but I didn't mislead you, there was (and is) a way
to activate that new feature, but it wasn't a keyboard action. It seemed
like some people like a puzzle, so...
CHALLENGE: There is a hidden HOTKEY in D'Bridge that has no other purpose
than to simply be discoverd. When the secret HOTKEY is pressed,
you will be notified that you found it... First person to tell
us what that HOTKEY was will be the winner. For a prize, you
will receive no-expsense-paid trip absolutely nowhere. (We're
on a limited budget this week...) The prize might not be so hot,
but think of it... You'll be famous and maybe even get a movie
contract out of the fame you aquire! Na...
HINT: It is not a series of keystrokes, but a single combination of
keys pressed, maybe with CTLs and ALTs and so forth, Maybe not.
- First, addressing high-priority BugList reports:
1. <*> BELL David Wurz 10 Jul 91 18:52
Mailer sounds bell and goes out to lunch if phone rings while it doing
anything else.
IRWIN: Well, tell your wife I'm sorry. It finally happened to me and
I was able to isolate the problem. I hope it's gone and not a
multi-dimensional bug.
2. <*> Lockup Ken Irwin 11 Jul 91 00:10
Confirming Robert Vanburkleo's problem. Total system lockup after mail
session.
IRWIN: Sorry, Dad. The lack of an EMS driver was the cause of this one.
I neglected to test to see if an EMS driver was loaded before I
tried to use it. This happened generating the LASTCALL report.
3. <*> DBRIDGE_LOG Sir Dep 11 Jul 91 19:04
After upgrading to 1047.19, I found that using wordstar 5.5 I was having
trouble editing the DBRIDGE.LOG file. Parts of the file would be missing,
and when saving changes, the first part of the log would get lost.
IRWIN: Jim, I'm not sure about that problem. It may have been caused by
the lack of an EOF character or editing the log while pushed to
DOS or in DESQview. Also, a crash of D'Bridge might give the log
a fragmented appearance as a full 512 bytes are buffered before
being committed to disk. I've made a slight change debuffering
that may or may not fix the problem. (if it was as I assumed...)
4. <*> UTC Sir Dep 11 Jul 91 19:31
The UTC time variable won't remain constant. It looses the confidence
percentage, and doesn't work properly. This has been a problem since Beta
1046. (Beta 1046 kept the reliability part). A system calling in with a time
variation would reset the local TZ from correct to +0. The allow/sync system
statement (set to NONE) doesn't work all the way back to 1046.
IRWIN: The UTC and CLOCK system has had a few errors resolved. As to
whether it's fixed as you need, "time will tell." Bad pun...
5. <*> QKey_Error Scott Munhollon 12 Jul 91 00:37
When scanning the queue returns 'DEBUG: Queue Key Not Valid' and
writes this entry to the LOG file repetively until it is manually
interfered with or the disk gets full (!).
Dean Laviolette 14 Jul 91 05:16
Also ran into the "DEBUG: Queue Key Not Valid" today. The log was over
two megabytes when I noticed. No details as to why at this time.
IRWIN: Well, I was awaken the other night by the sound of the "HELP ME,
MY DISK IS FULL!" alarm that D'Bridge uses. It's desperate plea
for attention worked as it was supposed to and I got up to check
it out. I had just deleted my log file an hour earlier and it
had grown to over a megabyte in just a few minutes. Luckily it
was just before midnight and AutoUpdate was the only thing that
caused it to stop before completely filling the disk with that
debug message. I put it there for a reason and I'm glad that
people noticed; it wasn't intended to get your attention in that
manner... I think it's fixed. The message (WHEN it occurs,)
should only happen once, so please try to notice if it appears
in your log. It will now go into a TERSE log.
6. <*> Wait_Screen Bob Wingender 12 Jul 91 07:34
The Fossils copyright notice is corrupting the wait/idle screen. When I use
any ESC key menu or exit to the editor/external program and then return to
the Idle/Wait screen, I'll have the Fossil's Copyright notice overlaying
part of the screen, at the top. I have seen, at one time, three Fossil
notices overlaying the Main screen.
IRWIN: Yea, I guess it would. I forgot about the "Quiet" option in the
open call. D'Bridge no longer access the FOSSIL at all, as it
is my understanding that there is no problem, whether the FOSSIL
is HOT old COLD upon startup.
7. <*> NoModemLights Mitch Williams 14 Jul 91 12:54
With a Hercules monochrome addapter, the operator has no idea what the the
modem is doing. This feature did work in 1046. Current solution: VGA!
IRWIN: I guess I neglected to mention that ALPHA versions don't work on
monochrome systems. Sorry. I'll attack the color problem all in
one pass near the end of testing. Maybe some colored plastic you
could tape to the screen would trick DB into thinking it's a CGA
monitor. (On second thought, it might not work, but who knows?)
8. <*> NORING Bryan Curry 22 Jul 91 14:17
The audible ring alarm is not happening all the time
IRWIN: Try it now.
- There's nothing new that I'm going to officially tell you about it. Those
in-development feature that you have figured out can be activated by setting
an environment variable are not complete. Please... not a single bug report
about a feature that you activate by a secret environement string.
- I have made an experimental change in ZMODEM to try to solve the long delay
that occurs when calling a Binkley system who has no pickup mail for you.
I've know about this delay for about a year, and I've known the cause. I
firmly believe that it's Binkley's fault for not following the ZMODEM spec
in this case, but I've tried to make a work-around. I could be wrong about
saying it's not a D'Bridge bug, but I don't think so.
The drawback from this Binkley patch is that it is possible that this fix
may cause the old "Can't pick-up mail from a FrontDoor system" problem. It
seemed like when one was fixed, the other was broken... If you find that
there is trouble with picking up mail on an outbound call, you can disable
the ZMODEM change by setting the environment variable "ZMODEM" to "OLD" in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
SET ZMODEM=OLD (if you have trouble)
Please report all cases where this is needed!
- PLEASE READ THE BUG REPORT BEFORE ADDING A NEW BUG TO THIS LIST THAT IS
THERE ALREADY!
- ZMODEM file-transfers have been limited to daylight hours only. Between
sunset and sunrise, XMODEM must be used or you are in violation of some
obscure Fidonet policy (in some regions.) You can get around this limit
by setting the environment variable "ZMODEM-AFTER-DARK" to "ENABLE" in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Chris, 201:201/0
1:18/68 (renegade Fidonet address)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.20
----------------------
9 July 1991
- I'm not going to go into great detail because I'm rather tired; I've been
working three-straight days, with only food and sleep to break up the
excitement.
- ZMODEM problems are, if not solved, different. (That's a good way to put
it, eh?)
- I don't want to make anyone angry by telling you about the new features,
so I decided that I would wait a few days and see how rumors travel.
I'll give you this hint: There are three new features, two of which are
closely related. The first person that figures out how to activate the
new screen wins. (what I don't know...)
- There is still a known problem in point support. I didn't even begin
to address that; there were other pressing problems that warranted a
release this evening.
- D'Bridge will no longer walk your dog; due to a lack of interest in the
dog-walking feature, the hardware was discontinued. I'm sorry, but this
time it's just not my fault.
- All in all, this release has not been put to the test that the last one
had, but I'll stand behind it (to duck!)
Enjoy,
Chris, 201:201/0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.19
----------------------
6 July 1991
- This release was essential because the FROM and SUBJECT fields of NETmail
messages packed by D'Bridge had random character preceding the actual data.
Because of this problem, I had to release this version with only two bytes
of code modified because I couldn't produce a patch - I wasted about 1/2
hour trying. Sorry for the wasted phone time.
- Another bug was that ALT-T, ALT-F and ALT-P did not function properly in
the editor.
- The letter "G" is no longer allowed in ECHOmail messages. Please another
mailer to send messages containing the letter "G." Next week, "Q" will be
replaced with "B." (It gets better...)
Later,
Chris, 201:201/0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.18
----------------------
6 July 1991
First of all, the news:
[a message from my now former NET host, edited for brevity]
Msg # 1014 Private, Immediate, Rcvd
Date: 04 Jul 91 07:13:00
From: Scott Samet on 1:135/990 Friends of Dorothy in Miami FL
To: Chris Irwin on 1:135/303 Unlisted node in Miami Area & Florida Keys
Subj: Sorry about that...
____________________________________________________________________________
> Because I didn't have a deposit on file, I got a rapid-fire series of
> five interrum [telephone] bills in a 9 day period... All due the day
> before they arrived!
> Anyway, if you could be so kind as to remove the "DOWN" flag for the
> next cutoff period (12 July, I assume,) I would appriciate it.
On June 17, your system appeared on my undialable list, and I discovered that
your data and voice numbers were disconnected. I placed your node in DOWN
status. After two weeks in DOWN status without contact, I removed your node
from the nodelist. That was submitted to RC18 yesterday morning as part of
the routine weekly update.
As a commercial software vendor, you receive a large amount of mail. When
you went down without notice, and stayed down without contact, I had to
return that mail, on my time and my expense.
Two or three weeks before this incident, you used node number 135/303 without
making netmail application, contrary to my explict telephone instructions.
Mail for 135/303 was routed to my system in reply to your traffic using that
address. Since this was not a listed node, the mail was orphaned, and I had
to redirect it manually.
In the past, you have tested D'Bridge by sending larges files to my system,
filling my inbound file area and making it unavailable for legitimate
purposes.
Your conduct suggests a complete disregard for Fidonet rules and procedures
and an inconsiderate abuse of the hardware, time and money that I donate to
Fidonet in my service as NC. It is for these reasons that I decline to
reinstate you. You may contact 18/0 to apply for an independent node number,
or appeal my decision.
Scott Samet
*EOF
- I've been kicked out of Net 135...
- Alpha .17 was never released.
- ECHOmail problems are resolved, hopefully.
- TRY ALT-D while reading ECHOmail in the editor. You might like it.
- Because of the ALT-D feature, the PATH line will be stored by D'Bridge
when unpacking mail - EVEN if you have SAVE SEEN-BYs set to NO.
- The format of the .ADF file has changed. If you use any utilities that
rely on the 1.30 file structures, watch out. It will change again within
the next week or so.
- Mail waiting is back. The default is that you will not be notified about
any ECHOmail received. To enable notification of ECHOmail, use the setup
screen for LOCAL/ECHOMAIL AREAS and add an "ALERT FLAG" for each conference
you wish to know about. Since a limited number of flags can be displayed
on the status line, you should group the areas logically. Flags may be any
ASCII character greater than space. HINT: for the BETA echo, hold down the
ALT key and press 225 on your numeric keypad. That enters a beta symbol.
If you don't use D'Bridge to unpack ECHOmail, you may want to have your
batch file or mail processor create a DBRIDGE.EMW file. A small number of
characters from the file will be displayed on the status line for "ECHOmail
waiting."
- Unpacking/forwarding has a logic for operations with limited disk space.
Let me know if it doesn't do what you think it should.
- Please don't complain about terminal mode. I'll get to it soon.
- Modems over 1200 baud are no longer supported.
- Just kidding, have fun and don't go skydiving without me.
Ciao,
Chris, 201:201/0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.17
----------------------
4 July 1991
- This version was never released.
Take care,
Chris, 201:201/0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.16
----------------------
24 June 1991
Well, there are certainly some bugs fixed in this one. However, I didn't
receive enough feedback on .15 to really know what its problems were.
I've also been finalizing the new nodelist format. More details will be
coming soon...
I don't feel like typing a whole lot of details right now, I'm tired and
have been working hard on it all day!
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.15
----------------------
15 June 1991
This is yet another version that will either work GREAT or cause you lots
of grief. Be sure to keep a copy of what you previously used.
- Problems have been corrected.
- New problems have been added.
- Most old bugs remain.
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.14
----------------------
4 June 1991
This is one of those versions that will either work GREAT or cause you lots
of grief. Beware and hang-on to Alpha .13!
- D'Bridge may now be run from another directory (with a PATH to the
root directory for DB) It changes to the DB directory, then changes
back on exit.
- The editor will now run for MANY more configurations using the PUSH
method. I can PUSH to the editor, then PUSH to DOS and still have
50K free (starting in a 550K environment.)
- DB EDIT takes only 200K.
- DB EDIT has different operational commands now, though the old ones are
still supported. I need to get away from Function keys for commands as
I later will have F1 for help, etc.
- New editor functions:
MARK Marks the current message with the LASTREAD pointer. Along the
same lines, only reading the next message advances the MARK, if
you just go to the last message with LIST mode, the MARK is not
moved. Press RIGHT ARROW and read the next message and the mark
will be changed.
NEXT These options simply switch to the next or previous message area
PREVIOUS without using the AREAS selection screen. Don't worry - I'll
soon have modes where it will advance to the next area with un-
read mail, etc.
- Overall, the editor has a slightly new look and feel. I'll try not to sue
myself for the similarity! :-)
- A bug that caused the display of "PLACE?" and a crash is gone.
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.13
----------------------
2 June 1991
Nothing new, just better.
- Sessions with TIMS and SEAdog should be improved.
- Running the editor or DROPping to DOS shouldn't crash the system.
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.12
----------------------
31 May 1991
For purely personal reasons, this will be the last release until Tuesday,
at the earliest.
This fixes the fact that D'Bridge didn't like to send files to any other
system that wasn't also an ALPHA!
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.11
----------------------
30 May 1991
I guess you guys want your session passwords to work again...
...Well, OK.
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.10
----------------------
30 May 1991
I finally experienced two problems that people were talking about...
ZMODEM LOCKUP
-and-
ANSWERING-A-MILLION-TIMES-A-MINUTE
...I hope I have at least one of these solved!
*NEW FEATURE* (Yes, I couldn't help it.)
On the NODELIST CONFIGURATION screen, you will find a new field called
"SYNONYMS." This allows D'Bridge to translate a handy codeword to a fully
qualified address. For example, anywhere I need to list a node number, I
type "TOM" and instead of the nodelist alpha-search, I immediately get the
address 2:280/280; in the editor, I get his full name as well. You can use
short codes like "C" for Chris or "JOHO" for Joaquim. This is very handy.
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.9
--------------------
29 May 1991
This should be a good one (or a bad one.) It could go either way.
I've spent HOURS cleaning up some memory stuff and now it should definately
use less memory. You make think it is using more, but the truth is that
the previous versions were liars. When you told it "380K" total memory, it
used about 430K or so!
The solution to this problem was obvious. I'm tired of explaining what are
the best memory settings, so I've eliminated the decision. D'Bridge now
allocates memory automatically, providing the optimal settings and the most
available DOS memory. I think that EVERYONE will find that their memory stats
are better than before - it's in the LOG when it comes up.
Also, take a look at DB-ALPHA.LOG that this one creates. If any of the
numbers get critically low, I'd like to know about it. Here's what I am
seeing as "normal."
START: STK = 983b I8STK = 1800
910529 12:31:10 END: STK = 1621 I8STK = 0bb0 LOW = 004270 MEM = 00845a
These numbers are "cool." Let's compare the lowest numbers you experience
in the BETA echo. Don't send them too me netmail unless they're under 0100
(hex.)
----
Q. What's fixed?
A. Lots of stuff:
AREAFIX
UNPACKING ABORT / RESUME PACKET
ZMODEM LOCKUP PROBLEMS ? (I hope I squashed it)
I'm sure there's more, but I forget what. Have fun with this one and if
anyone can't import their configuration due to the new memory subsystem,
please let me know via NETmail. I think all will go well.
Sincere thanks go out to Arthur Greenberg for helping test this one just hours before
its release. His configuration was a good one to test as it was quite a bit
larger than mine.
Take care,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.8
--------------------
27 May 1991
Looks like Binkleyterm-syncs and non-D'Bridge mail-pickup were a couple
problems that justified this release.
Viele Gluck, (did I spell that right? Entschuldigung, if not)
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.7
--------------------
27 May 1991
I got lots of sleep while the world was having lots of EMSI/A1 sync failures.
I'm awake now...
Later,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.6
--------------------
27 May 1991
It's been a great day!
Lots of bugs squashed in this one, many remain, no doubt. My voice number
leaked out to the world, so I got quite a bit less done than normal, but it
also gave me some more input as to the bugs I didn't understand. BTW, if
you got my voice number, please try to only call for important matters.
When I release an alpha that has a major bug, I seem to spend the day on the
phone listening to the same complaint over and over. I will make a system
whereas you know whether I am aware of a bug already...
Here's what's fixed:
- ZMODEM... Shouldn't lock-up anymore and should be stable and fast.
- PICKUP from Binkley and FrontDoor should once-again work. Let me know
if this isn't the case.
- AREAFIX problems have been cured, tell me what's still wrong with it.
- LOCAL/ECHOMAIL AREAS had a problem with the sort routine whereas points
would screw up the NET or ZONE number of the whole listing. Thanks to
John Rafuse for pin-pointing this problem as the pattern wasn't obvious.
- There are many other little fixes here and there, so I can't think of
all the details. My appreciation goes out to Steve and Richard, QuickBBS
gurus and authors for their excellent attention to detail and spending a
fortune on long-distance. One pre-alpha managed to trash their entire
message base, and I didn't even get yelled-at. That's pretty understanding
of Mr. Gabrillowitz.
Anyway, this is the best I can do for a late-night release, .5 had problems
that you guys/ladies don't deserve to live with.
Later,
Chris, 1:135/303
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.5
--------------------
25 May 1991
Oops... EMSI
-Chris
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.4
--------------------
25 May 1991
Looks like I'm working out the bugs. This version is to save those people
who are stuck with the problems in the last few alphas. There are still
known bugs, such as AREAFIX problems. I will address those on Sunday.
The Intercom seems to work fairly well now. It will continue past the end of
a session, provided there is no more than 60 seconds on inactivity on either
end of the line. It's true that you can add another minute to an inbound
caller's phone bill, so please let me know what security arrangements should
be added.
Once in the intercom, there is no way to exit other than letting the call
complete or hanging-up with CTL-A. When there are other interactive options,
I will change that.
Please don't report bugs in terminal mode. I know.
When telling me about a problem, MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE THE EXACT VERSION #.
-Chris
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.3
--------------------
25 May 1991
More problems caused me to only release the last version to a few unlucky
people.
This one has a rather nifty addition. It has to do with ZMODEM. Let's see
if you can find the new feature. This one's SURE to win us some supporters.
BTW - The new feature is in its infancy and definately needs some work, like
when the mail is over, D'Bridge hangs up, whereas you might want to continue
what you are doing...
It is possible that you will witness bad performance from ZMODEM. Let me
know. I can only test here at 2400 baud...
You'll see. BTW - it only works between new alpha systems.
When telling me about a problem, MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE THE EXACT VERSION #.
-Chris
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.2
--------------------
24 May 1991
One more time. The ".1" version had a bug which made the system address have
a random point number attached. Oops.
--------
The last two alpha versions had a bad problem with DBUTIL - The address was
not read correctly from DBRIDGE.PRM.
--------
Other minor changes, too small to mention.
When telling me about a problem, MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE THE EXACT VERSION #.
-Chris
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.1
--------------------
24 May 1991
Oops - I forgot to warn the people using the previous 1047 alpha versions...
The install will run "DB EXPORT" which (in error) runs DBEDIT. Just exit
the editor - make sure that DBRIDGE.AUT is current!
--------
There's some new modem handling with answering and collisions. Let me know
if it causes trouble.
--------
Hopefully, some of the strange problems with ZONES will be solved.
--------
Just so this doesn't catch you off guard. CTL-A to abort an outbound call now
causes the "next call" pointer NOT to advance. This is so you can type "CTL-A,
H" to hold the current call. I like it better - hope you do too.
--------
I think that's all that is different. Feedback, please.
-Chris
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'Bridge Alpha/1047.0
--------------------
24 May 1991
What's new?
--------
Well, the installation procedure should now be obvious. Run the EXE file
in your D'Bridge root directory.
WARNING: The release file (DB1047A0.EXE) will self-destruct after the
installation has completed. To save an un-installed copy,
save the ZIP file.
--------
NODELIST.AUT is now created automatically by EMSIs with unlisted systems.
You will notice that it adds all a system's alias addresses as well as those
nodes not in any of your nodelists. You can now reply to the renegade nodes
that aren't really in a network - providing they supply the phone number in
the EMSI-IDENT packet. (DB ad FD both do...)
--------
BBS:
*T should now pass the time until the next event properly. I had "X-Y" when
I really meant "Y-X." That will do it every time.
*L now passes the line on which the call came in. DATA/1, 2 or 3. This is
translated as a single digit, 1-3. RINGMASTER or DISTINCTIVE RING may be
available from your phone company. If so, you can use D'Bridge on a shared
VOICE/DATA line or run up to three BBS systems on one phone line. The users
will not know that you don't have three separate systems.
--------
FIXED:
- Session passwords, I hope.
- Events and scheduling. WOW! This was really messed-up!
--------
Please make all bug reports reference version 1047-a0 so I understand what
you're talking about.
BTW - I'm in this week's DBNET nodelist, so you can reach me!
Take care,
Chris