NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/comp/sys/hp48/4433

Internet Message Format | 1992-08-30 | 5.3 KB

From: [e-mail] (Joseph K. Horn)
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 07:40:08 GMT
Subject: Sparcom Drive95 Bug
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Path: sparky!uunet!wupost!sdd.hp.com!hp-cv!hp-pcd!hpcvra!rnews!hpcvbbs!akcs.joehorn
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*** WARNING: CONFLICT AVOIDERS, PRESS 'J' IMMEDIATELY! ***

Low Flames Burn Deep.

The ABOUT.DOC file on EduCALC HP 48 Goodies Disk #7 states:

> 9. Directories: Each directory contains no more than 53 files, to
>    avoid bothering people who have a Sparcom Drive95 with its
>    pathetic directory bug that Sparcom knew about and decided not to
>    fix nor to tell anybody about.

I owe Sparcom and Drive95 owners an explanation for this cryptic
statement.

The bug referred to only shows up when the Kermit "directory" command
is used.  Unfortunately, that's what the File Manager uses.

BOTTOM LINE: If you use the File Manager (HP 48 software supplied with
Drive95), OR the direct Kermit "directory" command, the Drive95 will
report the first 53 files correctly (or 51 plus "." and ".." if you're
in a subdirectory), and *ignore* any further files that may exist on
the disk.  No error is generated; the directory listing says "53 files
found" as if the directory had actually been exhausted.  Direct access
by filename (via KGET) always works, however.  You just have to
magically somehow know the filename ahead of time.  And the Drive95
does not exhibit this bug when used with the HP 95 (or a PC), because
Kermit is not used, but a separate command set (which is not
documented in the manual) with its own PC driver.

BACKGROUND: Sparcom asked me a long time ago to break up the Goodies
Disks into small subdirectories so as to speed up file access by the
many HP 48 users of Drive95.  I figured that the favor could be
returned and asked them to send me a drive to work with.  I was told
twice, by two different bigwigs there, that I'd be shipped a drive in
exchange for my extra work of optimizing the Goodies Disks for their
product.  Nothing ever arrived (I waited half a year).  In
desperation, I did what I should've done originally, and bought one.

That's when the fun started.  Goodies Disks 1, 2 and 3 did not work
with Drive95.  It ignored all files past the 53rd in big
subdirectories. Sparcom told me that it must be a problem with my
specific drive, and should ship back it to them.  That sounded fishy
to me, so I popped into EduCALC and tried out a few other drives.  All
exhibited exactly the same behavior.

Sparcom then changed their tune, and told me that it was my fault,
because it's stupid to put more than 50 files in one subdirectory.
I said, "People mail me floppies all the time; do you want me to mail
them back and call *them* stupid because *your* disk drive can't read
them?  Are you telling me to reorganize my entire life just to work
around a defective product?"

That's when they admitted that the Drive95's Kermit directory command
does indeed contain a bug; namely, it reads the directory into its own
RAM buffer, and when the reading stops, it ships it out via Kermit.
Unfortunately, the reading can stop either because the directory is
exhausted (which is what they expected) or because the buffer is full
(which they didn't expect).  It never goes back to read the rest of
the directory if the buffer filled up.

When I asked if they intend to fix that bug, I was told that there are
so few HP 48 users of Drive95 that it wouldn't be worth it for them to
fix the bug.  Besides being a heartless slap in my face, saying such a
thing did not evince engineering excellence.

I mentioned this to Richard Nelson at EduCALC, who called them up and
told me later that they're re-evaluating their position.

The whole fiasco ticked me off badly enough to put that quoted note
above on Goodies Disk #7, where it will be read by several thousand
people, a "few" of whom are Sparcom customers.

The final nail in the coffin came when I told them that my drive often
gives "Disk Not Found" errors even when there is a disk in the drive.
They said, oh gee, we thought that our quality control was better than
that, please ship it back to us.  I said, hey, I'll just swap it for a
good one at EduCALC.  They said, oh no, please send it to us, we'd
like to see what was causing the problem.  I said, school's starting
in just two weeks, and I need a drive!  They said, okay, we'll send
you one "right away", and when you receive it, then you can ship us
yours.

Needless to say, nothing has arrived: no drive, no letter, no phone
call, no email, nothing.  And school starts tomorrow.

(I shouldn't say that NOTHING has arrived; I got a form letter emailed
to a bunch of other folks asking us to beta-test a card they want to
sell, with the promise that in exchange for our time we'd be sent a
free copy of the final commercial product.  Ha!  I did that a year ago
for their Math Pac, the core of whose decimal-to-fraction code I
wrote, and even though I sent them all kinds of suggestions, I'm
*still* waiting for my Math Pac!  Sheesh.)

All my students with HP 48's *will* have a Drive95 to use, however;
tomorrow, I'm going to EduCALC and swapping this lemon for a new one.

If Sparcom never ships the drive, it wouldn't surprise me; it'd be the
third time they broke a promise to send one.  Maybe I should get my
money back and buy their competitors's drive (CMT 48RSFD).

-Joe Horn-    -Once Burned Is Twice Warned-