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Text File | 1993-01-03 | 25KB | 496 lines

╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ╟─┐ ║ K E E P I N G I N T O U C H ║ │ ║ ═══════════════════════════════ ║ │ ║ SPITFIRE Monthly Support Newsletter ║ │ ║ for registered SPITFIRE Sysops! ║ │ ║ January 1993 ║ │ ║ Compliments of BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE ║ │ ║ Buffalo Creek's BBS * 515-225-8496 ║ │ ║ 38400/19200/9600/2400/1200 Baud ║ │ ║ 2 Nodes ║ │ ║ ║ │ ╚═╤══════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Edited by Jacque Shipley The Mother Board BBS - (515) 986-3464 - 19200 Baud Sysop Of The Month by Walt Crede Roam This Fertile Land - (515) 288-8755 - 2400 Baud Newly Registered SPITFIRE BBS List by Ann Woltz Other Contributions As Noted ╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Notes from the author of SPITFIRE! ╟─┐ ╚═╤═══════════════════════════════════════╝ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ Listed below are the active registered SPITFIRE boards state by state and country by country. We are providing the number of SPTIFIRE boards per state/country which were active at the end of 1991 and the end of 1992 for comparison purposes. These statistics may not be 100% accurate but they are compiled using the most up to date information that we have. These statistics are arrived at by using only those boards operating with version 3.2. So in other words, we assume any Sysop who has not upgraded to version 3.2 is no longer operating a board or is no longer operating SPITFIRE. Therefore those boards are not calculated in this data even though we are aware of some SPITFIRE boards operating with older versions. _______________1991_1992_________________1991_1992_________________1991_1992 Alaska......... 14 18 Missouri....... 14 21 West Virginia.. 6 5 Alabama........ 7 11 Mississippi.... 9 11 Wisconsin...... 12 20 Arkansas....... 12 11 Montana........ 2 4 Wyoming........ 0 2 Arizona........ 40 51 North Carolina. 19 26 Australia...... 11 7 California..... 105 134 North Dakota... 1 2 Brazil......... 1 1 Colorado....... 5 4 Nebraska....... 24 26 Canada......... 89 116 Connecticut.... 15 19 New Hampshire.. 1 2 England........ 7 13 Delaware....... 17 31 New Jersey..... 16 25 Finland........ 1 1 Florida........ 46 70 New Mexico..... 4 7 France......... 7 16 Georgia........ 18 25 Nevada......... 34 43 Guam........... 1 3 Hawaii......... 0 3 New York....... 31 40 Israel......... 1 1 Iowa........... 38 49 Ohio........... 34 52 Italy.......... 1 1 Idaho.......... 8 12 Oklahoma....... 10 11 Netherlands.... 9 13 Illinois....... 50 80 Oregon......... 10 23 New Zealand.... 14 17 Indiana........ 19 27 Pennsylvania... 30 45 Philippines.... 1 Kansas......... 13 23 Rhode Island... 5 11 Portugal....... 2 7 Kentucky....... 5 22 South Carolina. 16 12 Puerto Rico.... 5 4 Louisiana...... 21 33 South Dakota... 6 5 Scotland....... 1 1 Massachusetts.. 15 12 Tennessee...... 9 11 Singapore...... 0 1 Maryland....... 11 16 Texas.......... 65 119 West Indies.... 0 1 Maine.......... 18 34 Utah........... 5 5 AE............. 0 5 Michigan....... 17 25 Virginia....... 15 23 AP............. 0 11 Minnesota...... 4 9 Washington..... 18 33 I can't help but wonder which state/country can brag about making the greatest gains during the year of 1992. I also notice that there are some areas which reflect a loss. I also wonder if Texas is going to be able to out number California at the end of 1993. Who knows, maybe Canada will out number both Texas and California. It would be fun to see states/countries competing with one another. What do you think? We feel it is important to note that SPITFIRE has been registered 2111 times and according to our information 1523 of these boards are still active. If my calculations are correct, this means there is a 72% success rate among SPITFIRE Sysops. This 72% rate is well in excess of the national average. Time is very quickly running out in regard to upgrading to SPITFIRE v3.2. In the event you know of someone who has not upgraded, you should tell them that they are going to loose their SPITFIRE free upgrade rights if they do not upgrade. Thank you. The SPITFIRE v3.3 upgrade notices and upgrade request forms will be mailed soon. Thank you for your continued support and promotion of SPITFIRE. ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║ LAKOTA IN BETA TEST! ╟─┐ ╚═╤═════════════════════════╝ │ └───────────────────────────┘ As most of you are aware, SPITFIRE v3.3 will include its own QWK mail door and it is be named LAKOTA. LAKOTA is now being tested at various sites. ╒══════════════════════════════╕ │ LAKOTA, SPITFIRE MAIL SYSTEM │ ╘══════════════════════════════╛ Mail exchange is becoming an increasingly important aspect of BBS activity for callers and Sysops alike. Netmail provides a means for exchanging thousands of messages, on any number of various subjects, between BBSes from all over the world on a daily basis. As a result it becomes extremely important for Sysops to provide a means by which callers can access this mail both efficiently and conveniently. And as always, Buffalo Creek Software rises to the challenge with Lakota, the SPITFIRE Mail System! Lakota is designed to work exclusively with SPITFIRE. It allows callers to download messages in mail packets using the QWK format. The caller can then use their favorite QWK offline reader to read, reply and/or enter messages. These messages are compressed into a reply packet which the caller can then upload by using SPITFIRE's Mail System (Lakota) the next time they log on the BBS. One of the features Sysops will enjoy is Lakota's ability to download messages when logged on locally. Lakota will simply save the QWK packet in the SPITFIRE home directory. Similarly, replies can be uploaded when the Sysop is logged on locally. Lakota merely requires the local caller to type in the path (drive/directory) and filename of the reply packet to be uploaded. When downloading messages, the caller has the option of selecting messages which are New Messages or messages To You. New Messages would include any unreceived messages and To You would include any messages addressed to the caller. The criteria can then be further defined by selecting which conference(s) the New Messages or the To You messages will be extracted for download from. The options available for defining which conferences will be included are All Conferences, Select A Conference or Your Queued Conferences. If All Conferences is selected all New Messages or all messages To You (depending on the option previously selected) would be compressed into your download packet. If you opted to Select A Conference, you are required to enter in the number of the conference you wish to extract messages from. Lakota will then extract all New Messages or all messages To You and compress them into your download packet. Selecting Your Queued Conferences works much the same way except that it will only extract and compress messages from the conferences which are configured in your queue. Once the messages are extracted and compressed into the downloadable QWK packet, the caller is asked to select their preferred file transfer protocol (provided the caller is not logged on locally). The transfer protocols available in Lakota include XModem, YModem and ZModem. When uploading reply packets, the same file transfer protocols are available, provided the caller is not logged on locally. In keeping with the Buffalo Creek Software tradition, Lakota does not offer a lot of bells and whistle gimmicks. If this is what you want for your BBS, there are any number of other mail transfer programs available. But also, in the tradition of Buffalo Creek Software Lakota is very affordable for the Sysop (a $1 registration fee) and accomplishes its tasks in a quick, purposeful and efficient manner! ╒══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ SYMPATHY EXTENDED TO THE FAMILY OF JOSEPH SALINA │ ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Mike Woltz and others associated with Buffalo Creek Software were saddened to hear that fellow SPITFIRE Sysop, Joseph Salina passed away on December 14, 1992. Joe was a SPITFIRE pioneer (serial number 042) and operated The Rusty Nail BBS in Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Some Sysops may remember Joe from the first SPITFIRE conference which he attended with his grandson. He will truly be missed. Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to his family. ╒═══════════════════════════════╕ │ THINK IT CAN'T HAPPEN TO YOU? │ ╘═══════════════════════════════╛ One thing that will always aggravate me to no end are the virus writers on the planet. I myself get particularly upset even thinking about a virus. I have a good reason for this and it's because I was one of those unfortunate people to get hit by a virus. Have you ever downloaded with great anticipation a new utility, game, or menu program? You know the feeling! You sit and watch the download counter, seeing the time count down. Just can't wait can you? Well, here's a small bit of advice from someone who's been there. NEVER EVER run a utility, game, or any other piece of software without first running your favorite virus scanner on it!! All it takes is one little command and BOOM! there goes a lot if not all of your many hours of pounding on the keyboard. As I said before, I was hit by a virus just because I couldn't wait to run a program and didn't virus scan it before hand. Due to this incredibly stupid ignorant spell, I lost a hard drive with 80 MEGS of BBS on it. Not to mention all of my own personal programs and such. I also spent a lot of time kicking myself afterward. This article maybe kind of short and not so sweet, but PLEASE never run anything without running some type of virus scan first. Well, take care and may your keyboard never lock! Article Contributed by Rusty Whitten, Sysop NightLife BBS * 318-345-3199 * 1200/2400/9600/14400 ╒═════════════════════════════╕ │ SPITFIRE BOARD-OF-THE-MONTH │ ╘═════════════════════════════╛ Mike's ╥──╖ ╥ ╓──╖ ╥ ───╖ ╥──╖ ╥ ╓──╖ ╥──╖ ╥──╖ ╓──╖ ║ ║ ║ ╙──╖ ║ ╓──╜ ║ ║ ║ ╙──╖ ║──╢ ║──╢ ╙──╖ ╨──╜ ╨ ╙──╜ ╨ ╙─── ╨──╜ ╨ ╙──╜ ╨──╜ ╨──╜ ╙──╜ Sysop: Mike Downie Modem: USRobotics Dual Standard V.32bis & V.42bis Phone: 408-227-1583 Where: San Jose, CA USA By use of this BBS, the user agrees to hold the Sysops harmless from any claim which may arise from the use of this BBS. This is the Log on screen you will encounter when you call to see what's going on at Mike's "Dis iz Dis" BBS... What does this mean you say? Mike isn't telling... However if you figure it out and tell him, he will let you download the BCSALL.ZIP file he keeps updated with all the Buffalo Creek SPITFIRE files. (If you don't know he will let you download them anyway). I'm a single Silicon Valley office grunt at a major Computer manufacturing company. I'm currently working in a telesales organization in a Customer Service/System Admin capacity. I used to work at Atari as a Software Reviewer in a user submitted software group which would (if accepted) publish Home Computer Software. I would work with the authors (no matter how moody they were Mike!) to help them improve their products. Now I have an easier job, I deal with the public. After working at Atari in it's hayday, AND then while it was in it's decline, I said "I never want to own another computer as long as I live". Then back in the summer of 1990 I was at friends house up in Tahoe. My buddy Jim Dukat re-introduced me to computers with his brand new Northgate 386 with Windows. I was hooked! When I got back from Tahoe I had a brand new 386-20 mhz within two weeks. Well that wasn't the end of it. about 3 months later I was asking a fellow employee about modems. Got a $239.00 Practical Peripherals modem for $70.00 and off to the races I went. 2 months later I was running a private BBS. 1 month later I was on line with a 286-12mhz, 5 1/4 floppy drive and that 2400 baud Practical Peripherals (oh and an 8760e Maxtor Hard drive, I like files). The choice to use SPITFIRE was obvious to me. If someone could engineer a relatively technical piece software and make it feel friendly to the user, then the set up for the Sysop must be equally as friendly. My logic was correct. THE BOARD Well enough about the start... I don't seem to be able to do anything halfway. I'm still running a single node board, but it's a beaut!. I have since dumped the 2400 baud modem for a USRobotics Dual Standard with V.32bis and V.42bis. The single Maxtor was joined by a second Maxtor 8760eh with a 1.2 meg a second transfer rate. The original box (HP 286-12) would not accommodate the second drive. I needed more space. A video capture card (impulse purchase) was traded for a Sprite 386-40 mhz board with 4 megs of ram on board. A Clone box was purchased from Gary "the A in GAP" Araki. Gary installed the "Mother" board and sent me home. Gary said "If you have any problems call me". He thought I could put the rest together. Well Gary thanks for the push! With the exception of the Tape controller card it went together without a hitch. Because of my previous experience with Atari, I thought it might be fun to run games (doors) on the BBS... Of course I was going to do files no matter what. Well these two just didn't seem to work well with each other on a single node BBS. I wanted files to be uploaded and downloaded and there was this kid playing a game on my expensive computer. If I have games in files then this kid can play games on his computer. The doors went away. During my development as a SPITFIRE Sysop, it was necessary to get information from other people who had already made the mistakes (momma didn't raise a fool). Frank Crispell (files & netmail), Mike Stewart (netmail), Johnny Bowen (doors) and my close friend Bill Smith (who has moved on to PCBoard) have been both helpful and supportive friends. I currently Hub through Mike Stewart for my Netmail (Rime and Racenet). If someone calls my board and needs a door question answered I send him to the Silicon Valley doors Guru Johnny Bowen. Mike Stewart gets the call on the netmail questions. I still specialize in files. My Friend Bill Smith and I are talking about a CD-Rom. The cost has become minimal. If we go in together we figure we can have a ROM made up for about a $125.00 a piece. The files will be mainly the GIFS and Sound files which will never change. This looks like the direction we will be going in the near future. I'm currently using an Alpha Version of SPITFIRE 3.3. This BBS has also been a supporter of HSLink since day one. I still run Tom Kellen's HSLink door which was developed for use with SPITFIRE 3.1. I'm running two mail doors which give access for message downloads in SFMail or QWK format. Kip Compton's Megamail, and Bob Zimmerman's SFmail help the users gain access to the RIME netmail carried on this BBS. SFCHKUP is used on this BBS to both check for viruses and convert any other archive method to ZIP format. SFCHKUP will also extract the FILE_ID.DIZ, if found, and append the first four lines to the SFFILES.BBS description. About all that's left for me is to move the files out of the Upload area, and answer the messages (Yeah, Right!). This BBS is a Big SPITFIRE supporter. If I don't have a SPITFIRE file you tell me where I can get it. I also keep all the LATEST versions of BCS S/W for download. With Mike's blessing I keep one file (not listed), in the free file area called BCSALL.ZIP. Once again this file contains all the latest Buffalo Creek Software for download from Mike's board in one file. Create a temporary SPITFIRE File area, copy BCSALL.ZIP and open. BCSALL.ZIP contains the current SFFILES.BBS. Use SFFILES or like program to copy these files into your existing SPITFIRE directory. These will be the latest files. DO NOT POST BCSALL.ZIP as this file will constantly be updated by me. ╒════════════════════╕ │ SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH │ ╘════════════════════╛ Dan South Crystal City BBS Bremerton, Washington Dan signed to join the Navy in November, 1975, and left for Boot Camp after graduation from High School in July, 1976. He met his wife Kathy in a Navy Technical School, where they were learning about Structural Repair during the day and more about each other after hours. "Seventeen years have gone by since the day I signed the Navy papers," he reports, "and nearly that long since the Navy assigned Sub-Custody to my wife. I owe them both more than I can possibly repay. "Two things they did brought me to SPITFIRE. "The first was the Command I was assigned to automate. I had been interested in computers since the TI-99-4A I'd purchased in 1984 while we were in Long Beach, CA. Since I already knew a little and was interested the Command sent me to every computer school they could in 1988 to learn how to run our new Z248s. "The second was in spite of all our moving around (Philly, PA; Norfolk, VA; Mayport, FL and Long Beach, CA) and after having three kids, Kathy finished her degree in social psychology at Iowa State University, doubling our income overnight. "I found SPITFIRE 2.5 on a local board and immediately knew I wanted to run my own BBS. Since the author of SPITFIRE was just across town from the Training Center where I was stationed, I left a message on Buffalo Creek and asked if I might register in person. I met Mike and Ann in their home in late April, 1989. I found them both to be extremely pleasant and fun to talk to. I have no idea what they thought of me. Mike wanted me to explain why I was licensing SPITFIRE 2.6C in West Des Moines, IA, but would not be opening the BBS until June when I got settled in Bremerton, Washington (I had orders). I could also tell he knew my 8088 Packard Bell with a 30 meg hard drive and 1200 baud modem was less than adequate to do the job, but he politely said nothing." Dan opened the Crystal City BBS on schedule in June, 1989, using his limited equipment and at once determined to upgrade to more power. Soon he had a 386 sx/20 with 2 nodes under Desqview. Still unsatisfied and after a hard drive failure in October, 1991, (Halloween night even!), he decided to make another change. The Metro BBS Network was born in February, 1992, with a 486/33, a 386/33 and a 286/10 running on a Lantastic Network. He also added a Dual Standard and later a Telepath modem. "There are three important things in my life now," he allows, "Kathy and my family, the Navy and SPITFIRE." ╒════════════════════════════════════╕ │ NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS │ ╘════════════════════════════════════╛ A hearty welcome is extended to the following, who have recently become public registered SPITFIRE Bulletin Board Systems: The "Old 97" BBS.............................704-637-7890...19200 Baud Ron Smith, Sysop...............................Spencer, North Carolina The Swap Shop................................405-252-0347....9600 Baud Douglas Bell, Sysop...................................Duncan, Oklahoma The KRYPT....................................915-592-8619....9600 Baud Douglas DeBord, Sysop...................................El Paso, Texas Down To Business.............................217-793-6569....9600 Baud Robert Levi, Sysop...............................Springfield, Illinois Micro Systems................................513-797-6011...14400 Baud John Troher, Sysop........................................Amelia, Ohio Sidewinder...............................33-1-69-31-27-67...14400 Baud Thibaut Vernier, Sysop................................Palaiseu, France Bridges......................................715-258-2202....2400 Baud Waupaca High School, Sysop..........................Waupaca, Wisconsin The Lurker's Lair............................904-243-3298....2400 Baud Steve McCarter, Sysop.......................Fort Walton Beach, Florida Spanish Dagger...............................915-584-0227...14400 Baud Kevin Scott, Sysop......................................El Paso, Texas The Wizard of DOS BBS........................206-353-8574...14400 Baud Bob Geddis, Sysop..................................Everett, Washington EP2..........................................515-262-2660....2400 Baud Electrical Power Products, Inc., Sysop................Des Moines, Iowa Coffee Cup...................................519-751-0832....2400 Baud Tom Graham, Sysop...........................Brantford, Ontario, Canada The Cracker Factory..........................203-848-4802....2400 Baud John LaFaille, Sysop...........................Uncasville, Connecticut The 19th Hole................................214-390-2745....9600 Baud Rodney Newton, Sysop......................................Allen, Texas Dark Dungeon.................................513-631-0120....2400 Baud Dana McBride, Sysop...................................Cincinnati, Ohio Fantasy BBS..................................414-694-6593...14400 Baud Dale Spencer, Sysop.................................Kenosha, Wisconsin The Shepherd..................................604-392-3110..14400 Baud Bob Holicza, Sysop...........................Williams Lake, BC, Canada The Shadow Realms............................515-225-6775....2400 Baud Jeff Aronow, Sysop.........................................Clive, Iowa Fremont Free Files...........................510-623-9347...14400 Baud Roger Scott, Sysop.................................Fremont, California Coastal Empire...............................912-920-8563....2400 Baud Richard Nyberg, Sysop................................Savannah, Georgia Psychosys BBS for Creative Minds.............208-322-4650...14400 Baud J. Kevin Putzier, Sysop...................................Boise, Idaho Summer BBS................................351-1-988-88-72...14400 Baud Paulo Adriano, Sysop...........................Loures Portugal, Lisboa UNITEK Technology Inc................Unknown Phone Number...14400 Baud Yubo Ho, Sysop.........................................Ontario, Canada The Micro Sense BBS..........................504-682-5504....9600 Baud Daniel Wilkinson, Sysop.........................St. Bernard, Louisiana The Chatter Box..............................519-979-0624....2400 Baud Chad Bardsley, Sysop.........................Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada Blue Banner..................................214-475-8393...14400 Baud Richard Bacon, Sysop....................................Rowlett, Texas The Sight and Sound BBS......................503-325-8271....9600 Baud Scott Spies, Sysop.....................................Astoria, Oregon The PC Lounge................................201-319-1026...14400 Baud Daniel Burton, Sysop.............................Weehawken, New Jersey In addition, there were 3 new private SPITFIRE BBS Systems registered. These private SPITFIRE BBS's included registrations from: Schaumburg, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland and Sunnyvale, California. There were 11 registrations for whom registration information was incomplete. These included BBS's in: Charlevoixm, Michigan; Erie; Pennsylvania; Scottsdale, Arizona; Paris, France; Bath, Maine; St. George, Utah; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jacksontown, Ohio; Ocean City, New Jersey; San Jose, California and Pineallas Park, Florida. The increase in registrations where information is incomplete is largely due to Buffalo Creek's Software's new policy of accepting on-line Mastercard and Visa credit card registrations. JUST A REMINDER...the newsletter is always looking for contributions! Please forward any articles in ASCII text to either Buffalo Creek's BBS or The Mother Board BBS.