Q9.1) How do I get a faster interrupt timer than the centisecond ones?
For this you require the use of IOC Timer 1, a 2MHz timer unused by RISC OS and claimable by code for use. Details of how to program the timer are available in the IOC datasheets, or you could look for various PD utilities like TimerCtrl that handle the timer for you.
I am informed that the Acorn TimeCode system now lays claim to Timer 1 and that software using it is deprecated.
Q9.2) How can I create Interlaced GIFs on Acorn machines?
Four utilities exist to let you create these.
spr2gif will take a sprite and convert it to a gif file. It will interlace and render transparent the gif as well. For the transparency it uses the colour of the first masked pixel it encounters in the sprite - suitable for automated gif image creating. (No need to twiddle with specifying transparency colours.)
WebGIF allows you to add transparency and interlacing to your GIFs as well.
Creator, from about v2.00, can create interlaced GIFs. However you have to specify the transparency colour directly.
And finally InterGIF not only can create interlaced, transparent GIFs but is capable of creating animated ones as well.
On top of these utilities an increasing number of commercial programs can create Interlaced GIFs, Photodesk being a prime example.
When reading this section it must be remembered that all references to the Emulator software featured in this section are to the Risc PC PC Second Processor Card controlling software, and not to the older Software PC Emulator software released by Acorn.
Q10.1) What is the latest version of the Emulator software?
The latest, publicly released for all PC card owners, full version is 3.06 and it is available from the Aleph1 FTP & Web site. (http://www.aleph1.co.uk/) Features include memory up to 32Mb, fully redefinable 256 colour modes and the addition of directly accessed SCSI drives.
The very latest version of the software (v3.03) has been released commercially as PCPro. This features SA compatibility, speed enhancements, VESA video drivers, a debugged shared memory system for faster operation, improved support for Windows 95, DirectX drivers and a variety of other enhancements. Details of this software can be found on the Aleph1 web site.
Q10.2) Why does the serial port not work after using the card?
With v1.87 of the controlling software if you choose 'Direct Serial', to enable the serial port under the emulator, and then quit the emulator it doesn't correctly release the serial port back to RISC OS. However a temporary patch is to uncomment the very last line of the !PC486.!Run file.
Run <Diva$Dir>.!RunImage
|uncomment the next line if you need to use the serial port after using !PC
| RMreinit SerialDeviceDriver
Namely uncomment the RMreinit SerialDeviceDriver so that the above looks more like this.
Run <Diva$Dir>.!RunImage
|uncomment the next line if you need to use the serial port after using !PC
RMreinit SerialDeviceDriver
Then you should find control of the serial port returned to RISC OS after you have finished with the emulator. As of v1.91 this has been fixed and the serial port will be released properly. The latest version can be obtained from the Aleph1 FTP site.
Q10.3) Why do Windows programs give me incorrect colours in a 256 colour mode?
This can happen if you forgot to put a 'p' after colour descriptor in your Windows mode definition string. For example to configure the emulator to give windows a 1024x768 screen mode at 256 colours with fully programmable colours your string should look like this:-
Q10.4) How much memory can I configure for the PC Emulator?
Up to v1.86 of the software the upper limit was 16 MB of memory. As of v1.87 that has been raised up to 32 MB of memory. However, for some odd reason, after 16 MB of memory the memory can be only configured in 4 MB chunks. Consequently the possible values go 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,20,24,28 & 32 MB.
Yes, however the installation of it is slightly more complicated than (should be) normal for a PC. Choose a custom setup and inform the Win95 installer of what hardware you have present, under the Video driver section install the default VGA driver.
Then complete the install. Once it is installed you may then install the Arm video driver in a similar fashion as for the instructions for installing it under Windows 3.11. There are specific Windows 95 instructions for ARMDRV v1.99, this version also cures the occasional icon redraw problem with Windows95. You should then be away.
With PCPro specific Win95 installation files and instructions are provided for both the Windows video driver as well as the Sound Blaster emulation. Not to mention general instructions for installing Windows 95.
Win98 should work on 586 cards, but I've heard that it won't work on 486 cards.
Yes, this is possible. However the procedure is extremely risky and should not be attempted if you cannot afford to lose the contents of your partition. Ensure that you either have a backup of the partition or are prepared to possibly have to reinstall everything.
First off run Defrag on your PC to collect all the files towards the start of the partition. This is best done from DOS, doing it from within Windows 95 most likely means that the shutdown procedure will scatter a few files about potentially causing problems for resizing.
Secondly use this BASIC program to change the size of the partition under RISC OS.
REM Resize parition file.
chan=OPENUP("Drive_C")
EXT#chan=<new size in bytes>
CLOSE#chan
Change the filename to suit the name of your PC partition and adjust the size in bytes to the new size of your partition. Increasing the size of the partition is safe, but when shrinking the partition care must be taken to not shrink the partition below the size of the actual files contained within it.
Finally once the partition size has been adjusted boot up your PC and run the program PRESIZER.EXE. This is a DOS partition resizer and should allow you to now adjust the partition table and FAT to the new size of your partition.
N.B. It must be stressed again that this is a very risky operation and could easily result in total data loss of your partition. Also the procedure has only been attempted for increasing the size of the partition, not shrinking it - I'd be interested in hearing from people who have attempted to shrink their partition to know if it works.
Note (added on 2nd Dec 1998): This list really needs a complete overhaul, which I am hoping to carry out, now that I have taken over the FAQ from Philip. Please keep an eye out for announcements of any updates. In the meantime, please feel free to notify me of any additions/amendments to the information provided below.
Here is a list of IDE drives known to either work or not work with Acorn hardware. If the drive appears with no notes then it will work fine with the machine specified. This list is maintained by Toby Smith (tcs@cs.bham.ac.uk) and all corrections, additions and updates should be emailed to him. Many thanks to those who have contributed their info.
The IDE Drives & Interfaces What Works With What list (19th October 1996)
Conner CP3085 (?) 85 ICS Running off computer's PSU too!
Conner CF3008E 80 Std/A5000 A4000 #
Maxtor 80 ICS (FS 2.03)
Conner CP30084E 80 Std/A5000 M-S-CP3044 Use links on base
not drive face.
Seagate ST51A/X 40 Std/RiscPC S-CFS420A
Seagate ST351A/X 40 Watford IDE
Conner CP3044 40 Std/A5000 # S-SQ3105 AT
PrairieTek 20 ICS (FS 2.01)
NEC CDR-273 CDROM Std/RiscPC600
Aztech CDROM Std/RiscPC700
NEC CDR-273 4x CDROM Std/RiscPC
NEC CDR-1300A 6x CDROM Std/RiscPC
NEC CDR1400A 8x CDROM Std/RiscPC
BTC BCD 739 8X CDROM Std/RiscPC Wont in Risc OS, will on PC-Card...
Phillips PCA53 5x CDROM Std/RiscPC Wont in Risc OS, will on PC-Card...
Creatv Labs Hex-Speed CDROM Std/RiscPC
Enlargements to notes:
[1] Formatted to 3 partitions 248M 248M & 316M (to get small LFAU)
[2] Seagate ST3491A Wont S/M to CFS240A (High end A5000). Will slave to CFS420A (Risc PC)
[3] This drive recalibrates for thermal adjustments every 10mins, making a click.
[4] CFA drives will work with RISC OS 3.60 (new Risc PCs, A7000) but not with older versions of the Acorn IDE interface. They will work on ICS interfaces though. (Badly defined part of IDE spec aparently)
[5] The HCCS interface apparently doesn't like podule slot 0, but is happy in others.
[6] WD Caviars often have initialisation problems - there is a fix elsewhere in the FAQ for this.
Understanding the list:
- Interface = 'Std/****' indicates the IDE interface provided with the specified machine as part of the standard purchase package.
- M-XXXXXX -Fitted as Master to drive (slave drive part number given)
S-XXXXXX -Fitted as Slave to drive (Master drive part number given)
- A '#' in the notes section indicates a drive provided as standard in an Acorn machine (at some point in history)
- Sizes quoted are the 'manufacturer' sizes (for purchasing reference) remember that manufacturer Megabytes are 1000k, whereas formatted megabytes are 1024K... to get the 'real' size; multiply the number given by 1000, then divide by 1024.
- Drives over 1Gigabyte are quoted in terms of megabytes (hence a 1G drive will be listed as 1024M) This is so that the list sorts nicely - divide the number by 1024 to get the size in gigabytes...
- Master / Slave information usually refers to other drives in the list!
Disclaimer: This list reports the reported experiences of others. Neither the maintainer, nor the contributors are definitely saying that these combinations will work - just that they have for them. So don't sue us!
Q11.2) What are the master / slave link settings for my IDE Drive?
Most of the modern drives have this information nicely on a label on the top of the drive, but some of the earlier ones don't. There follows a list of drive settings for some of the packaged drives.
Extra submissions to Toby Smith (tcs@cs.bham.ac.uk)
DRIVE AS SOLE AS MASTER AS SLAVE
HSP C/D DSP ACT HSP C/D DSP ACT HSP C/D DSP ACT
CP3044 - y - y - y y y - - - y
CP3008E - y - - - y - - - - - -
CP30126 - y - - - y y - - - - -
CP30174E - y - - - y - - - - - -
CFS210A - y - - - y - - - - - -
CFS420A - y - - - y - - - - - -
Link connectors are on the front of the drive, the narrower end that doesn't have the cables coming in, next to the activity light connector (which is missing on Risc PC Drives - it's on the motherboard)
It should also be noted that if you need an extra linker don't expect it to have been provided (notably on the CF3008E, the 80M drive in the A4000 & A5000.)
(Details translated from table by Dave Walker, as published in Acorn User Sept 95. Not all permutations have been tested, and we ain't promising!)
Q11.3) Why won't my Western Digital IDE drive won't work after a cold boot?
Due to an obscure interaction between Acorn's IDE implementation and the Western Digital drives a problem occurs in that the computer becomes unable to find the Boot record that details the shape, format and other data of the hard drive. This results in a somewhat alarming and frustrating series of error messages that seem to indicate that the drive isn't formatted at all.
(And by extension implying that you have lost all your information stored on the drive.)
Fortunately that isn't the case. In reality your information is safe and sound on the drive and you merely need to give ADFS a helping hand in finding the boot record, after which it can carry on as normal. This BASIC program supplies dummy values to ADFS that allow it to do that.
REM> Specify
drive%=4
DIM rec% 64
FOR I%=0 TO 60 STEP 4:rec%!I%=0:NEXT
rec%?00= 9 : REM Sector size, 2^9 = 512
rec%?01= 8 : REM Sectors per track
rec%?02= 1 : REM Heads
rec%!16=4096 : REM Disc size in bytes
rec%?41= 0 : REM LBA mode disabled
SYS "ADFS_SectorDiscOp",,15+(rec%<<6),drive%<<29
END
(Thanks to Eduard Pfarr for this program.)
Running this program once, during boot up, will allow the drive to be used normally. This does mean, for the moment, that you cannot boot from a Western Digital IDE drive.
NB for RISC OS 3.10, or earlier versions of RISC OS, you will need to replace the ADFS_SectorDiscOp with an ADFS_DiscOp call instead.
This list contains details of peripherals known to work on Acorn computers, and is intended as a rough guide for those wanting to upgrade.
The list covers all storage devices: hard discs, magneto-optical drives, tape, CD-rom, and related interfaces. It also covers modems, serial cards and printers.It does not cover IDE hard discs, as these are covered in a separate list in the FAQ.
This list is based on information from users, but it's fairly out of date now. If you have new information, corrections, suggestions or if you just want to tell me how good it is, please contact me.
If you have any equipment which you no longer require, please consider donating it to Archive magazine or Clares Micro Supplies, who will find a deserving home for it. Contact Paul Beverley at paul@archivemag.co.uk or DClare@Clares.demon.co.uk
Note that in all the following lists the interface refers to the computer and not the peripheral.
Hard discs
----------
Computer Size Manuf. Model Interface Interface Special
RPC600 523Mb IBM DSAS-3540 SCSI-2 Cumana filecore limit
RPC600 550MB Quantum Fireball SCSI-2 MCS none
RPC600 650Mb Cumana Proteus SCSI-2 Cumana New Filecore
RPC600 850MB Quantum TRB850S SCSI-2 Cumana none
RPC600 1Gb Quantum Fireball SCSI-2 Cumana none
FB1080
RPC600 1G Micropolis 4110 SCSI-U Morley none
RPC600 1.7G Quantum Sirocco SCSI-2 Cumana New Filecore
RPC600 2.1Gb Fujitsu 2915 SCSI-2 Cumana New Filecore
RPC600 2.5G Quantum Sirocco SCSI-2 Cumana New Filecore
RPC700 105M Quantum LP105S SCSI-2 Alsystems none
RPC700 140M Fujitsu M2624SA SCSI-U Morley none
RPC700 340MB Maxtor 7345A IDE Acorn none
RPC700 540M Conner CP30540 SCSI1 Cumana none
RPC700 730M Quantum LT730S SCSI-2 Alsystems none
RPC700 2G Quantum Atlas scsi-2 Alsystems early drives noisy *
RPC700 520M Seagate ST3660A IDE Acorn none
RPC700 1G Fujitsu M1614TAU IDE Acorn none
RPC700 1.6G Conner CFS1621A IDE Acorn none
RPC700 1,6G WD AC31600H IDE Acorn slow startup, fast drive
RPC700 1.7G NEC D3747 IDE Acorn none
RPC700 2G Fujitsu M1624TAU IDE Acorn none
RPC700 2G Seagate ST32161A IDE Acorn none
RPC700 2.1GB WD AC21000 IDE Acorn none
RPC700SA 520M Seagate ST3660A IDE Acorn none
RPC700SA 1.6G Conner CFS1621A IDE Acorn none
RPC700SA 2G Seagate ST32132A IDE Acorn none
* RiscPC cases amplify vibrations from drives. According to Quantum technical support, drives with high spin speeds need to be internally balanced like car wheels to avoid vibration. Their first models (including the Atlas range) were not balanced, but current models are. Apparently the vibrations do not affect performance or reliability.
Non-working combinations
------------------------
A410/1 1GB HP C2247 SCSI-8 Lingenuity did not work
A3000 540M IBM DSAS-3540 SCSI HCCS-8i doesn't work!
A310/OS3.1/MEMC1A/ARM3 SCSI VTi see below
This combination has been reported to be troublesome due to timing problems on the bus. This problem does not occur with a standard A310. If the problem is found to be present, it can be fixed by fitting a 2nF capacitor across the /BL pull-up resistor.
Removable hard discs
--------------------
Computer Size Manuf. Model Interface Interface Special
RPC700 6x NEC CDR-1300A IDE Acorn only works in 2x
RPC700SA 6x NEC CDR-1300A IDE Acorn only works in 2x
RPC700 8x Goldstar GCD-R580B IDE Acorn possible clash with some h.d.
RPC700SA 12x Teac CD-512E IDE Acorn none
RPC700SA 8x Toshiba XM-56028 IDE Acorn none
Problem Drives
--------------
Many drives don't work with the standard drivers found in RiscOS. This is usually due to differences between the implementation of ATAPI in the drives. Third party drivers (soft-loadable modules) are available (eg from EESOX) and some IDE and SCSI cards come with new drivers built in.
CD ROM Equivalents
------------------
Manuf Model Manuf Model
Apple CD300 Sony CDU-8003A Rev. 1.9a
Cumana ProTeus Panasonic PD2000</small></pre>
Floppy disk
-----------
Computer Type Size Manuf. Model Interface Interface Special
A5000 Zip 100MB Iomega ZIP 100 SCSI Lingenuity no LL format
* This scsi card will initialise a partition but won't low-level format
RPC600 Zip 100MB Iomega ZIP 100 SCSI-2 Alsystems none
RPC700 Zip 100MB Iomega ZIP 100 SCSI-2 Alsystems none
Note: Powertec supports DOS format for Zip drives
RPC700 Zip 100MB Iomega ZIP 100 SCSI-U Morley none
* The parallel port Zip drive can now be used with the Acorn driver, but requires driver software. This is available from Argo or Partis Computing.
If your scsi software does not support zip drives, see the Tape Streamer section for details. * The write-protection feature of Zip discs is not at present available via any of the scsi drivers. It is fully supported by the parallel port driver.
Tape streamers
--------------
Computer Size Type Manuf. Model Interface Interface Special
Settings: Backgrounding off, disconnect off, and set drive to
SCSI-1 standard (because tapefs=scsi1?)
Tape equivalents
----------------
Some data tapes are identical to consumer AV products. Most manufacturers don't recommend use of the cheaper tapes for data storage but they do work.
DDS or 4mm tape is equivalent to DAT (Digital Audio Tape). A two-hour tape is the same as a 60m, and you can get three hours of audio on a 90m.
8mm tape is equivalent to Video-8. Currently I have no information on tape sizes or merits of using standard or Hi8.
Configuration
-------------
You may need to tweak the options to make your device work properly. Different drives have different requirements, so experimentation might be necessary.
Zip drives require a different setup from the other backup devices. Some users report nothing more than running their scsi config software to identify the drive to the system, the drive appearing as a hard disc. Others are using MagFS.
To set up Magfs:
Download Magfs from Hensa.
Set the MO$SCSI in the Run file of !MagOpt to to match the scsi id of the drive.
Insert a blank disk and run MO-form.
Enter 4 or 5 at first request.
Enter N at second request for a low level format.
Run !Magopt.
Some magopt users are running tapefs. Don't know why.
Software for tape streamers can be obtained from the following sources:
tapefs is in ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/hensa/micros/arch/riscos/a/a050
magfs is in ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/hensa/micros/arch/riscos/d/d160
tar is in ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/hensa/micros/arch/riscos/a/a052
It has been found that the released version of tar won't handle image files (archives, for example). A patched version is available which will cope with these can be found at ftp://ftp.comlab.ox.ac.uk:/tmp/Robin.Watts/Tar_hack
Modems
------
Computer Modem Protocol Manuf Model Interface Interface Interface Special
Note: If you have a Sportster 28.8 with revision dates earlier than 04/28/95 / 03/31/95, and you are having difficulties such as low speed operation or line drop-outs, USR have a return-to-base upgrade which is free of charge.
Printers
--------
Computer Printer DPI Manuf. Model Interface Interfc !Printers Special
RPC700SA Inkjet 300 HP DJ 500 C Par/Ser Acorn 1.28
RPC700SA Inkjet 300 HP DJ 500 C Par/Ser Acorn 1.54 Acorns Rompatch
Third party drivers
-------------------
Computer Concepts' Turbo Drivers are available for popular printers. This software is optimised for speed although Acorn's own drivers have recently been upgraded and the benefits are not as great as they were. The Turbo drivers give greater control over the output and background printing actually works, however the output quality can be worse with dithered graphics.
Optical Scanners
----------------
Computer Manuf. Model Scanner Interface Interface Special
RPC600 HP Scanjet IIcx flatbed SCSI-2 Cumana David Pilling's Twain
RPC600 Epson GT 9500 flatbed SCSI-2 Powertec David Pilling's Twain
Computer notes
--------------
The A3xx and A4xx machines are all similar, and comments about one of these machines should apply to any other, provided it is running with the latest OS and/or chip set.
Similarly, the A4 is a miniature A5000, and the RPC700 is a slightly enhanced RPC600.
StrongARM equipped RiscPCs might have difficulties with interfaces that work on the non-SA computers.
A3xx computers have no on-board disc interface; A4xx have on-board mfm.
The A3000 has no interface, the A4, A3020, A4000, A5000, A7000, Stork and RPC models all have IDE.
Interface notes
---------------
In theory the fastest interfaces are the ones with DMA. These cards perform at their best on RiscPCs in slot 0 or 1. The data rate will be limited by the slowest part of the system, so when upgrading, budget for a new drive in addition to the interface.
The Alsystems Powertec card is a SCSI-2 DMA device with a top speed of around 4.5MB/s. This speed will increase with later software/firmware releases.
The Yellowstone RapIDE32 card is a fast IDE interface using DMA which will give a significant improvement over the standard interface in a RiscPC.
Both Yellowstone and Alsystems are developing rival products.
The Morley SCSI-1 interface is either cached or uncached. The maximum speeds of these are uncached: 2MB/s, cached: 4MB/s. These cards do not use DMA. Currently the Morley software cannot cope with partitions > 512 MB and the "Free" window is broken under RiscOS 3.6. New firmware is rumoured for the Morley card.
The TSP/AAD is the former 'Arxe Alpha Dual', which was produced by The Serial Port, but which is now discontinued. It provides 16-bit non-DMA SCSI-1 and a high density floppy interface.
Versions of Risc OS older than 3.6 can only cope with drives < 512 MB. Larger drives can be used if formatted to this size. Some filing systems allow large drives to be partitioned, ie split into 2 or more sections, each up to 512MB in size. The new limit for RiscOS 3.6 is 4GB, which is already looking too small.
An important new development for scsi card owners is the Alsystems PowerRom. This is a firmware upgrade for many existing cards, including Cumana, Castle, Lingenuity, Morley, Acorn, Vti, HCCS and Oak. The upgrade provides all the features present in the Powertec card, subject to hardware limitations, which will include compatibility with large partitions and devices such as Zip drives. The PowerRom will eventually be able to replace IDE card firmware too.
Which SCSI have I got?
----------------------
To determine the scsi version number of a device, run the following program:
ON ERROR REPORT:PRINT " at ";ERL:END
DIM buffer% 16
INPUT "Enter device number";device%
SYS "SCSI_Initialise",2,device%,buffer%
SCSI%=(buffer%?2) AND %111
PRINT "Version is ";SCSI%
END
This will give you zero if the device is not present.
How big is a Megabyte ?
-----------------------
Some manufacturers quote Megabytes as 1000K. This is of course totally incorrect but they like to cheat with numbers, so to get the real size, multiply by 1000/1024.
Further Information
-------------------
IDE hard discs
IDE hard discs are listed separately in the Acorn FAQ.
Jumper settings and configuration
---------------------------------
Jumper settings are often a problem, and it's rare to get a manual with a drive these days. Some manufacturers have web sites, most of these have detailed information on their current models including jumper settings, and some have databases covering older devices.
Although sometimes biased towards PCs, the information can be extremely useful.
Q11.5) What specification memory can I use with my RiscPC?
RAM for the RiscPC, while a standard 72pin SIMM, must be bought with a degree of care to avoid potential damage to your machine. EDO RAM, while it will work, is not advised as it may have different power requirements that could be detrimental to your machine.
The RAM required is 70ns (or faster), 72pin, square array (equal number of bits used for row and column addressing), non-parity RAM that supports 'fast page mode' and 'CAS before RAS' refresh. Devices that contain more than 16 memory chips (8 on each side) is not recommended as they may have power requirements above and beyond what the computer can safely supply.
Consequently SIMM 'stackers' and 30 to 72pin adaptors are also not advised.
For the more technically inclined out there maximum loads possible are:-
Address 128pF
WE 140pF
CAS or RAS 59pF
Data bus 29pF
Finally, in the maintainers experience anyway, Hitachi parts seem to be fine.
There are two ways this can happen. The first, and most common way, is when you see two copies of the FAQ, one set posted to comp.sys.acorn.announce and the other set posted to comp.sys.acorn.misc. This occurrence is caused by your news handling software being broken. The FAQ is, if you check the newsgroups line when it is posted, crossposted to both of these groups.
This means it is actually posted just the once and with all good news handling software you will read the post exactly once. Given that this is supposed to be standard behaviour for newsreaders I refuse to stop cross-posting purely because people are seeing the posts twice. Quite simply it isn't my problem and I will need other justification before I stop cross-posting.
The second way it can occur is when you see two copies of the FAQ in the same group. Careful checking of your newsbase should reveal that one copy is about 30 to 32 days older than the other. This comes about because I use the Expires: header to ensure that a copy of the FAQ is always present in all well configured newsbases.
Simply because of the wide distribution that the FAQ has. Every time the FAQ gets posted it gets automatically archived into various FAQ databases, propagates on ancillary networks only loosely connected to the net (BBSes in particular) and reaches a wide variety of people whose skills at navigating the net vary considerably. Occasionally it gets copied onto CD ROMs, Magazine discs and extracts get used in various publications from time to time.
All this just from the posted copy of the FAQ.
Given this wide reaching nature and the general idea of an FAQ being to reduce network traffic by providing the answers to common questions immediately then I see clear justification for continuing to post the full FAQ.
To be slightly less terse it is worthwhile doing a comparison of the c.s.a FAQ with other newsgroup's FAQs. For this task I used a 'snapshot' CD ROM of the rtfm.mit.edu FAQ archive that was taken in March 1995. Here are a few sample sizes:-
FAQ Size in bytes
--- -------------
comp.sys.acorn (as posted 6th Jan 1999) 176,678
soc.feminism (resources list) 239,256
comp.sys.amiga (introduction) 167,632
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware 318,882
comp.sys.apollo 162,638
As can be seen by the above table the size of the FAQ is neither overly large nor is it particularly uncommon. This FAQ has grown by about 60K over the last three years (not too bad IMHO!).
Having said that, this table was compiled in 1995 by Philip Banks, so the other FAQs are likely to have grown in size too.
Q12.4) If I find something wrong or am unhappy with the FAQ, what do I do?
Email me first about it.
I mean it. Generally errors or bad information that has crept into the FAQ has been through circumstances beyond my control. Often a lot of the information I am provided with I simply can not check directly myself. So I accept a lot of what I am given on trust and generally try to exercise care with what I include into the FAQ.
If, after getting a reply back from me, you are still unhappy then by all means grumble about it on the newsgroups. But I want the chance to explain things first. I take a very dim view to people posting complaints to the newsgroups, first, about the FAQ, especially ones that imply or impugn improper conduct on my part. I tend to view such posts as attempts to publicly force my hand and make me do whatever said poster wants done to the FAQ.
Thanks go to all the people who have contributed corrections and additions to the list. Without this help this list would be a hell of a lot buggier (spot the programmer... :-) ) than it is...
If you have any additions, corrections or suggestions for the FAQ, please contact me. Being the maintainer of this FAQ I reserve the right to be wrong, incorrect, slow, out of date and generally how I please with the FAQ List.
