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Volume 2, Number 45 23 December 1985 +----------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | - Fidonews - /|oo \ | | (_| /_) | | Fido and Fidonet _`@/_ \ _ | | Users Group | | \ \\ | | Newsletter | (*) | \ )) | | ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +----------------------------------------------------------+ Publisher: Fido 1/1 Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Review Editor: Allen Miller Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 1/1. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the file FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 1/1. Disclaimer or don't-blame-us: The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them; everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING received. SEASON'S GREETINGS Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL Fido for the Deaf/Blind 2. NEWS A Request to Writers of Online Documentation TROFF ITT XTRA USERS GROUP Software Piracy -- What We Can Do Libraries and Squeezed files: an Explanation More Sysop Utility Updates 3. COLUMNS PIBTERM Review Rainbow Corner 4. WANTED Fido's Wanted- Earn Money! 5. FOR SALE 6. NOTICES The Interrupt Stack Looking for Jim Filgo John Epler, Where Are You? ============================================================ EDITORIAL ============================================================ This week's guest editorial is by Bdale Garbee, Fido 129/13. Fido for the Deaf/Blind Last week's issue of Fidonews contains an article from a user of my board who is legally blind, and deaf as well. I think the subject of his article is worthy of considerable thought, and I hope everyone will take the time to both read it and try what it suggests. Let me try and explain why... There has been a fair amount of public chatter lately about why an individual would want to be a Fido sysop. There was even an editorial on the subject not long back. I do what I do to serve as my contribution to the grass-roots space movement. But in addition, the public nature of my system has resulted in a fairly large user base, some of whom have come almost to depend on the services provided. The most obvious example of what I mean is Stu Turk, the gentleman who wrote the article last week. He has found Fido and Fidomail a far superior replacement for the communications channels usually available to people with hearing and/or sight impairments. Stu suggests in his article that we as sysops and users of Fido could do an awful lot of good by helping to introduce deaf and blind people to our systems, to Fidomail, and to the amateur radio Telegram service accessible via Fido. We know how powerful these communications channels are for us... think what they could mean to someone for whom many of the traditional communications channels are worthless! What's the incentive? If you really need one, consider the following... The possibility of Fido/Fidonet becoming a regular, dependable part of the daily communications between D/B people could be a way for Fido, and other BBS's, to become somewhat more respectable. We would actually be providing a real, public service to the handicapped. Imagine what would happen if Congress or state governments then tried to impose restrictions on the use of BBS's and modems! If we could turn the tables in such a way that they were seen as taking away a valuable service from the handicapped.... how far do you think they'd get? Public opinion can be a VERY powerful tool. Enough said on the subject. Even if we aren't worried about all that.... it just gives me a good feeling to know that my system is being used by someone to do something they otherwise couldn't do, or at least couldn't do as well. I think other sysops might end up feeling the same way. Give it a try! Fidonews Page 2 23 Dec 1985 ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 3 23 Dec 1985 ============================================================ NEWS ============================================================ John Plocher Fido 121/90 A Request to Writers of Online Documentation This is a response to the request for newsletter feedback about the FidoNewsLetter layout. I just spent my last few timeslices downloading and printing the FidoNewsLetters from 2-18 to 2-42. Up to about 2-26 or so, I could say PRINT FIDOxxx.NWS and ignore the thing as it printed. But, then I noticed that the header didn't always get printed on the top of the paper! That got me thinking (a dangerous thing to do ANYTIME!) about what Bdale said in his article about document standards. Why does FidoNews (or for that matter, any of the Fido manuals) have to be sent out in a "print image" format? The problems of doing things that way are numerous: 1) If your printer does things differently from the way the file is set up for (8 lpi instead of 6lpi, compressed print...) you have to hand edit the file to make it work. 2) If you never print the thing, but only TYPE them out while online, you have to wade through the page breaks without losing those last few lines which seem to scroll off the top before you can read them... 3) In the current incarnation of the text formatter used to produce FidoNews (I assume its TEXTFORM?) every line has 8 to 10 spaces pre-pended to it. This INCLUDES BLANK LINES! Indenting like that seems to be a great way to make a 600 line (10 page) newsletter 5K to 6K LARGER than it really should be! Could that be why ARC seems to shrink the file OVER 50%? Instead of just complaining, I offer this solution: Send FidoNews out in an unprocessed format. (ie. with .pa commands for page breaks, and a .he FidoNews Vol x Number xx Page # command to set up the header. That way anyone with WordStar (shudder), Tom Jenning's TEXTFORM, or any of the nroff type formatters which recognize the .he and .pa commands can print it out on their own printer, and those who only want to read the thing while online don't have to see the blank pages scroll by. The programs: TEXTFORM Tom Jenning's print formatter, -and- PRINTWS My version thereof including ^char support can both be downloaded from Fido 121/90, MidNet. PS. Before I decided to print out the FidoNewsLetters, I had Fidonews Page 4 23 Dec 1985 been using FGREP to search for articles which I wanted to refer to. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who does this sort of thing, so thus the following PLEA: At the beginning of an article, include a line or two or three labled with Keywords: and containing words which describe what the article is about. If you are replying to someone's article, use some of his/her keywords, also, so your article will show up in the list with the one it references. Things like that would make it feasable to implement some sort of index generator to produce a subject index for the newsletter. Sound useful? Let me know how you feel! (I took the chance and stuck my neck out in this FidoNewsLetter; so can you!) ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 5 23 Dec 1985 TROFF by Rich Gough Fido 129/13 (I wrote this story 3 years ago for the Pittsburgh Area Computer Club newsletter to spoof the movie "TRON", but it still seems apropriate. Send me some fido mail if you have comments about it.) On cold winter evenings, I spend a lot of time sitting at my home computer. Last night however, very strange things started happening while I was loading the operating system. I meant to type "LOAD CPM", but I goofed and put "LOAD MCP" instead. Suddenly, my fingers started to disintegrate, then my hands and my arms. I was being sucked through the CRT piece by piece! I woke up in a strange universe where personal computers are computers that own people, while corporate computers actually run huge corporations (instead of only seeming to as they do here). I found myself at a computer club meeting, which is where a bunch of computers get together to nibble on sugar-coated diskettes and gripe about the people they own. The people they bring with them to the meeting usually just sit on a table and hum to themselves. Apparently, different types of personal computers prefer different kinds of people. (The computers usually call their particular person their "user".) A small video game system angrily pointed a joystick at his user and said, "This jerk wants me to run Accounts Payable and then complains about how slow I am! I've only got 8 bits. What should I have expected for a measely hundred bucks! I should have gotten some teenage kid who would let me do what I do best - shoot down spaceships and munch dots." "You think you've got problems", moaned a powerful 16-bit system. "My user has one dumb spreadsheet package, and that's all he runs! I wish he'd get some interesting software, something that would use me to my full potential. Maybe some business graphics once in a while to keep me in shape." "At least your user gives you something to do once in a while", said a dusty system as he brushed the cobwebs from his keyboard. "My user and I don't communicate. He wouldn't know a Move Register instruction if I hit him over the head with it. I even bought a BASIC interpreter for him, but he won't bother to learn how to use it. If I don't get a break to the boredom soon, sometime I think I'm just going to pull my plug." He choked "I'd even do biorhythms for him." "What are biorhythms?" asked one of the newest machines. An old Altair in a grey metal cabinet spoke up. "Biorhythms were charts that were supposed to tell when your user would operate at peak Fidonews Page 6 23 Dec 1985 efficiency, but they were never very accurate. What you need for that is a special-purpose diagnostic user--they're called psychiatrists." The game system who had spoken first said, "I guess the problem is, we just didn't think about what kind of user we wanted before we each went out and bought one." The 16 bit system said, "The problem is, we just didn't think, period." The dusty system said, "Didn't we buy users to do the thinking for us?" I was about to speak up and add my two bytes worth, when I heard a terrible crash and the lights went out. I woke up sitting at my computer and the CRT screen said "MEMORY SIZE", meaning that its' memory had been erased. I could hear the refrigerator running - it must have cut on and dropped the line voltage. It was late, and I had to get up early for work the next morning, so I turned the system off. Next weekend (after I unplug the refrigerator) I'm going to try to load that diskette again and tell those computers what it is like to be a user. If I don't come back, well, I wanted all of you to know what happened. ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 7 23 Dec 1985 Marv Shelton Fido 107/311 ITT XTRA Users Group As a user of an ITT Xtra PC I am trying to start a nation- wide users group via FidoNet. Currently there are two fido's involved. Fido 107/311 the XTRA BBS located in Clifton, NJ and Fido 114/446 Xtra #1 located in Arizona. These two Fido's will serve as the east and west region headquarters for information on the ITT Xtra PC. We are asking all owners and users of ITT Xtras to contact either of these Fido's via FidoNet with the following information: 1. Name and net/node# 2. Configuration of ITT equipment (#drives,RAM,etc) 3. Address ( for fortcoming newsletter) 4. Comments and suggestions on the user's group goals and objectives. We will be compiling a list of hardware and software that functions with and without patches for the ITT Xtra as well as providing technical reviews, findings and information about upcoming products. Employees of ITT and its many various divisions are especially welcome (please note this in your introductory information). CONTACT VIA FIDONET FIDO 107/311 THE XTRA BBS..........SYSOP MARV SHELTON FIDO 114/446 THE XTRA #1...........SYSOP JOE KENNEDY ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 8 23 Dec 1985 Software Piracy -- A Personal Opinion Software piracy has been around for what seems like forever. Since the beginning of software, people have copied friends' software, and thought nothing of it. I'm writing this because I feel that people SHOULD think something of it, and we should start telling people not to copy software. Don't walk away from your monitor thinking, "Oh, boy. Here comes another lecture on how to use software correctly." My reason for writing is just as a concerned user, not as a commercial programmer, not as a person whose income depends on advertisements from software companies, and not as a relative or friend of someone who wants me to write it. I see people copying disks all of the time, and I think that it's time that we took a stand. The first users of computers were, as we know, the hackers. These hackers, as detailed in Steven Levy's book "Hackers," (an excellent book, by the way), felt that programs should be shared between fellow hackers. When commercial software came out, the authors did not follow this code of conduct, but instead, told people that they must buy their own copy of a program if they want to use it. Over the years, more and more people have started to copy software. Today, most people who buy software will willingly make a copy of it for a friend who seems interested. No longer is it just the people who write copy programs who pirate; everyone else can have the programs for -- what else? -- a copy. Before I outline several of the methods that have been used to deter pirating, let me just make one thing clear, in case my opinion hasn't been understood yet: Pirating is STEALING. Yes, stealing. Pirating software is the same as Xeroxing a book for a friend who wants it. If I gave out free copies of an Isaac Asimov book, wouldn't that be illegal? The same with software -- except that it costs the disk space and nothing more. The first method, and by far the most common, is that of copy "protection." For those of you who might not know, this usually involves changing the disk format so that the computer can read from the disk, but cannot write to it. There are different levels of copy protection -- some can be copied file-by-file but not a disk at a time, while on some others, you can't even get a directory. Copy protection, in my opinion, is wrong. Period. It just adds a little to the cost of the software (although it costs no more to mass-copy disks, the company has to pay another company to protect them), is usually (if not always) broken into and copied and distributed, and makes it harder for us regular people to make back-ups. Several software companies have now started including Fidonews Page 9 23 Dec 1985 two or three copies of the software with the package. A few other companies, in order to get people to send in their warranties, give them the additional copies only after they have registered as users of the software. This helps, but is not perfect. Why, you may ask, am I so much against copy protection? I'll tell you -- I'm a real klutz, and on several occasions I've done different things to destroy disks. Granted, they weren't my originals, and the greater percentage of them were programs that could be re-written easily, but had the software been copy-protected, I would have been out $50 or $100. I'd rather make a back-up copy or two, and use that. In the event that I accidentally erase my disk, I don't want to have to either pay or waste two weeks of my time just to get another copy. A few companies, such as Microsoft, let you make a limited number of copies. This is better, but has the same drawbacks as giving you two or three copies -- what if you lunch all of them? And still other companies use a "key disk," which means that you can copy their software to your heart's content, so long as you have the original disk in at the beginning. That's just as bad a regular protection. What if the original gets ruined? You can't use the copies, since they're useless without the original. Borland International (see later on about them) marketed their SideKick program with this kind of protection. Within a month, so many letters of complaint had arrived that they offered a higher-priced version, with no protection. That's very fair, and showed that they are a company that listens to its users. The second most-common way of protecting software is by using a hardware key. I've used these on several occasions, and although I prefer them to software protection, I detest having to put this little thingy into my computer each time I want to use the program. I work on several different computers, and when I want to take a program back from school to work on at home, I don't want to have to plug something into the game port, or carry around an extra expansion card. I'll admit that this is much better than plain copy-protection on many grounds. First and formost, I like being able to make back-ups of the software, so that if I trash a disk, I can always make another back-up. Secondly, it lets me roam free with my software, only carrying a little thing, rather than the original diskette (but I still like back-ups; see above). Unfortunately, there are many more disadvantages than advantages with hardware protection. As I said before, I would rather carry a hardware key with me than an original disk, but who wants to carry it, and what if it breaks? Also -- if my friend wants to see the software (NOT copy it, just see it), and I go over to his house or bring it to school, knowing me, I'll forget the key. Fidonews Page 10 23 Dec 1985 The third method to deter pirating, and the only one which I endorse, is low prices and no protection. That's it. I personally refuse to pay more than $100 for a program, or for one that is protected in any way. Many companies have started endorsing this policy, and it works. Two companies from whom I've bought software, Beagle Bros. (for the Apple II's that I use), and Borland International (I bought Turbo Pascal from them) are examples of companies that have not done just well, but EXTREMELY well from selling low-cost software with no protection. People, in general, don't like to be policed, and when given the choice, probably go for no protection. Using the example I used before, I have no doubt that sales of unprotected SideKick outnumber protected sales by 10 to one. As for companies like Lotus and Microsoft, well, I just hope that one day they lower their prices. Microsoft has already started unprotecting Access and Chart, and in due time, Lotus will probably do the same with some of their products. The reason that they can keep doing that is because it's mainly huge corporations who buy their products, and to them $600 is pennies. I'd just like to say two more things before you go on with your reading. Firstly, we have to think of the other side of the coin, the software company. I'm sure some employee of a software firm is reading this and saying that what I said is unfair. Well, I do understand that there is a lot of time and expense put into any piece of software, and most companies are just trying to get their money back. My argument on that point is that any software publisher who puts out a product at, let's say, $100, will get at least as many customers as at, say, $600. The companies who would buy it at the higher price will probably buy more copies for their use, and the small business and home use will get it because it does a good job for a great price. Secondly, I'm not alone. I don't know any other people personally who agree with my philosophy, but I do know that several major software firms have started taking off protection. MicroPro, makers of WordStar, protected WordStar 2000 for the first month or so, and because of so many letters of complaint, unprotected it. Microsoft has now taken the protection off of their Chart and Project software. Scarborough Systems, Inc. is no longer protecting its IBM versions of software. To finish up, I believe in the 3P software philosophy -- Priced under $100, no Protection, and no Piracy. I think that if everyone in the computer industry bought software according to that method, we'd have a lot fewer problems. Reuven Lerner FidoMail 107/33 ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 11 23 Dec 1985 From: David Drexler/Mark Grennan, sysops REMARK 19/202 Subject: Libraries and Squeezed files: an Explanation Date: 10 DEC 85 Among the most frequently asked questions on REMARK are: "What are .LBR files?", and "How do I use files like TEXT.TQT?" Those of you who have been working with micros for years will probably not find this article very useful; the rest of you: lissen up! Nearly any filename extension that has a 'Q' as the second letter (ex. TEXT.TQT, FILE.QQQ, PROG.CQ) has been packed with a variant of SQ. SQ uses an algorithm known as Hoffman Dynamic to compress a file so that there are no repeating bit patterns in it. Before the file can be used in any way, it must be unpacked with USQ, NUSQ, or a similar program. SQueezed files, whether originating on MSDOS or CP/M, can be unsqueezed on either system. Files with the .LBR filename extension are library files created with LU or one of its many variations. A library is a collection of files, tacked together end-to- end, with an index at the head to identify each of them. Library files are likewise portable between MSDOS and CP/M. The primary reasons for using libraries are to (a) collect a group of related files into a single unit for organizational purposes, and (b) to save disk space. Libraries are great for grouping an executable together with its documentation and source code; when you download a library, you'll likely find that all the pieces are there in one unit. Likewise, you should put those sorts of files into a library before you upload to a board. A file that contains fewer bytes than the operating system's allocation unit size (4096 bytes under MSDOS) still reserves the full allocation unit on disk. For example, a file that is 10 bytes long on an MSDOS system takes up the full 4k allocation unit on disk. Ten such files would use only 100 bytes in actual space, and would waste nearly 40k of disk space! If those same 10 files were collected to- gether into a library as a single file, only 4k of disk space would be reserved. Files are SQueezed for similar reasons; if the un- squeezed file takes up just a little bit over an allocation unit, then squeezing it will save some disk space. Another reason why files are squeezed, and put into libraries (if they are libraryized and then squeezed, the filename exten- sion is .LQR) is to reduce transfer time over the modem. Sysops often squeeze files that are already smaller than 4k for that reason. A discussion of library and compaction programs wouldn't be complete without a mention of ARC, one of the most useful of this genre of utilities for MSDOS (we hope that it will eventually be available for CP/M - Thom?) ARC performs the functions of both a library program, and a file Fidonews Page 12 23 Dec 1985 compression program, in one step, and is far more efficient, versatile, and easier to use, than any others I have encoun- tered. Rather than go into detail here, I will suggest that you obtain the documentation and examine it. Thom Henderson, editor and distributor of Fido News, is the author of ARC. REMARK Information System (405) 728-2463 - Fido 19/202 The board for serious computerists ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 13 23 Dec 1985 More Sysop Utility Updates by Bob Hartman Sysop Fido 132/101 The UN*X Gateway and Home of Rovermsg Well, after many moons I have finally updated another Sysop favorite, the FILEDATE program. As many of you know, this is a program which creates a file containing a list of all files that are listed in all of your FILES.BBS files, along with their creation date, what directory they are in, their size, and the description that goes along with them. This is useful for each Fido node to do, since a user can then T)ype this file and see which files have been recently updated or changed (after the file gets run through the sort program, the most recently changed files are listed first). Anyway, on some strange versions of DOS, this command used to give the strange error "can't chdir(directory)", where directory was a valid Fido directory. Worse yet, it would actually leave you in that directory after saying it could not get there! Well, I think that I have fixed the problem, and the new version should work properly. Any Fido sysops that would like the new version can call my board at any time and download it from the FIDO file section. Also, I have released version 2.14 of Rovermsg. This new version has some nice enhancements including the fact that if you use the 'RK' (reply and kill) command, then abort the message, Rovermsg will not delete the original. Also, Rovermsg and SEAdog and Fido can all understand each other. There were some problems with Rovermsg not being able to read messages created on a SEAdog system, but that has been fixed. Oh well, that is all I have for this week, but I am hoping to have some more news about Rovermsg, Filer, Renum, and Filedate in the near future. ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 14 23 Dec 1985 ============================================================ COLUMNS ============================================================ Allen Miller PIBTERM Review I have been using PIBTERM v3.2 communications software for about 2 months now and think it is just great. Having used many commercial communications programs as well as several public domain programs, I just wanted to share my experience with this one with you. PIBTERM is written by Philip Burns and distributed for free for noncommercial use. The source code is also available. I run a Fido electronic bulletin board (net/node 108/10) and enjoy the nice features of the Telink file transfer protocol; namely supporting batch transfer and original DOS file size and time/date stamp. PIBTERM supports Telink file transfer protocol as well as Xmodem checksum and CRC, Modem7 checksum and CRC, Ymodem, Kermit, ASCII and Compuserve 'B'. PIBTERM has a dialing directory which is stored as a straight record oriented ASCII file. This is particularly nice since you can use your favorite editor if you want to add several entries at one time. Also you can easily SORT the file alphabeti-cally or by area code using as unpowerful a program as the DOS SORT routine. I use a .BAT file which FINDs all records with an entry, pipes to SORT and outputs to the directory file to periodi-cally maintain my dialing directory. PIBTERM also has a built in area code directory. You supply the area code and PIBTERM will tell you where it is or you supply a state and PIBTERM will tell you what area codes are covered. PIBTERM emulates several terminal types: VT52, VT100, ANSI, dumb terminal and dumb terminal in split-screen mode. VT52 is good to use with Compuserve, ANSI works well for the BBS's with their color graphics and music, VT100 works for many main-frames and the split-screen is a must for conferencing on net-works. PIBTERM supports capturing of session to printer or disk and has macro-key definition capability. PIBTERM has a script language similar to those of $200 commercial communi-cations programs. You can setup completely automated sessions with this script language. PIBTERM also has a built in HOST mode to use for unattended access to a PC for limited file transfer and message functions. ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 15 23 Dec 1985 Rainbow Corner by Theodore Needleman Last week's column speculated on the fate of the Rainbow. This week we know - it has been repackaged as the Rainbow 190. Big deal! While I am glad to see that the Rainbow line will not just fade into oblivion, I was hoping for something more than a "Super 100+". Except for the new software, some of you are already running Rainbow 190's. Anyone who has a 256K Rainbow 100+, with the "Gold Key" keyboard option, just needs one of those little "190" plates and a piece of double-stick tape. Don't get me wrong. I think that DEC will be successful in selling the 190 into their existing VAX user base. I saw the Rainbow Office Workstation and WPS-PLUS/Rainbow Software packages at their March 4th Merrimack press conference. If you're running All-in-1 or WPS you're gonna love them. The problem I foresee is that DEC appears to be abandoning not only the retail market, but the small business entry- level market as well. According to Henry Ancona, Group Manager-Office and Information Systems, "...stand-alone personal computing in the office is a thing of the past". Well, Henry, maybe in your office, where they have a VAX/8600 or two, but there are plenty of one, two, and three person offices (and small businesses). Lots of these people are getting into computers for the first time. Maybe they'll buy a MicroVax, maybe a $6500 Rainbow 190, or a $3500 Rainbow 100. Most likely they are going to buy a $2500 IBM-PC. People tend to buy products from companies that want to sell to them. IBM has been selling electric typewriters to one person businesses for a long time (and has been more than happy to do this). Over the years they've sold a whole lot of typewriters. They also are more than happy to sell you a computer. You want a real big one? OK. A real little one? That's fine too., Want to buy one today? You won't even have to hunt around. Just go to your nearby Computerland, Entre, MicroAge, Sears Business Center or IBM Product Center, pay your money, and take your system. DEC's positioning of the Rainbow as an adjunct to the VAX may be realistic marketing, but it's also extremely arrogant. Not everyone can afford to spring into full blown, heavy-duty data processing. Some of us would prefer to grow into it, one "baby-step" at a time. Rumors still abound about an IBM-compatible Rainbow. Hope springs eternal! Enough diatribe, on to other business. Last week I also discussed Rainbow resources. One of the resources mentioned was Bulletin Board Systems. I recently came across an interesting one. Located in Boston, DEC-Line is a FIDO-net BBS specializing in the coverage of DEC's Rainbow. Run by SYSOP (system operator) Bill MacNeill, this BBS offers over a hundred public domain software programs for the MS-DOS and CP/M operating systems, as well as a separate area for MBASIC programs. Some of these programs look really useful Fidonews Page 16 23 Dec 1985 and I will be reporting on a few of them after I have had a chance to use them for a week or two. In addition to the public domain software, DEC-Line also has a message area. This is a good place to "meet" people, ask questions, or share information. DEC-Line operates more-or- less 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 300 or 1200 baud (8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit). You can reach it at 617/721- 1688. Give DEC-Line a call. I think you'll like it. When you do, be sure to leave a message to the SYSOP that you heard about DEC-Line here at Rainbow Corner. The last piece of business for this week's column is a modest proposal. One of the problems in being a Rainbow owner is finding software that runs on your system. Sure, the Rainbow Referral Software Guide lists about 1400 programs, but this is a small percentage of the estimated 30,000 to 50,000 programs supposedly available for the IBM- PC. Many of these "generic" MS-DOS programs, as well as CP/M-80 programs, will run on the Rainbow. Transferring them onto RX-50 media is not a tremendous problem (see the article in the MARCH '85 HARDCOPY), just a bit time consuming. Thinking about all those programs that might run on the Rainbow gave me an idea. I call it "PROJECT TRANSPORT". "PROJECT TRANSPORT" involves a concerted effort to obtain software released in formats for "other" computers, port it over to the Rainbow, test it to see how (or if) it runs, and report the results. As the project progresses, the results would be reported here in Rainbow Corner, with the intention of publishing an annual (or bi-annual) compendium. Nothing too fancy, you understand. Just the name of the program, its provider, the original system it was intended for, the porting method, whether or not it ran on the Rainbow, and, if so, how well. I need your help with this, in the form of some feedback. Take a moment, and write to me. It doesn't have to be a letter, or postcard, I'll give my Source ID, and MCI mail address, as well as my P.O. Box. Let me know what you think of "PROJECT TRANSPORT" (YES, NO, or YAWN). Are there programs (or types of programs) in particular you would like to see tested? If there's a specific piece of software you'd like to see tested, I'll contact the author and request a review/loaner copy. Are there packages you have already ported and tested? If so, I'll report the results. So drop me a line. Letters and postcards should go to IDEA TECHNOLOGY, P.O. Box 668, New City, NY 10956. SourceMail to TCA920, and MCI mail to "THEODORE NEEDLEMAN". See you next week. (c)opyright 1985 by Ted Needleman-all rights reserved ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 17 23 Dec 1985 ============================================================ WANTED ============================================================ Steve Nyman Fido 107/22 NEED FIDO'S TO PRINT E-MAIL My company, Micro Information Services, needs Fido's from across the U.S. to receive our customer's e-mail, print it and mail it via U.S. Mail. We anticipate moderate mail volume, depending upon the region. NO COST TO YOU: All envelopes, paper, and postage will be provided in advance. PROFITS: You will be paid for your services. IF INTERESTED: Direct inquiries via e-mail to Steve Nyman on Fido 107/22. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 18 23 Dec 1985 ============================================================ FOR SALE ============================================================ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ G R A P H I C S B O A R D O P T I O N A N D G S X - 8 6 S O F T W A R E ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I have SIX (6) PC-1XX-BA graphics options for the DEC Rainbow available at up to +25% off. These are new. PRICING: DECUS MEMBERS: OPTION- $335.00 TAX (Cal only) 20.10 SHIPPED FED. EX. 15.00 ------- TOTAL $370.10 OTHERS: OPTION- $350.00 TAX (CA. only) 21.00 SHIPPED FED. EX. 15.00 ------- $386.00 Cashiers checks or Money orders may be sent to Advanced Software Applications 5258 Vickie Drive San Diego, Ca 92109 (619) 488-5258 Decus members must include your member- ship number. Orders will be taken on a first come first served basis. ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 19 23 Dec 1985 ============================================================ NOTICES ============================================================ The Interrupt Stack 24 Jan 1986 Voyager 2 passes Uranus. 9 Feb 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perihelion. 9 Feb 1986 Diana Overholt (109/74) has another birthday. 11 Apr 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perigee. 19 May 1986 Steve Lemke's next birthday. 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to Fido 1/1. ------------------------------------------------------------ Will Jim Filgo, Fido 131/445, please call Fido 1/1 to pick up his mail? ------------------------------------------------------------ Will John Epler please contact Mark Perloe at Fido 900/15 or at Cserve 73047,1345. ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidonews Page 20 23 Dec 1985