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Volume 3, Number 22 9 June 1986 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | - FidoNews - /|oo \ | | (_| /_) | | Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | | Users Group | | \ \\ | | Newsletter | (*) | \ )) | | ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (C) Copyright 1986 by IFNA (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings FidoNews is the official newsletter of the International FidoNet Association, and is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file FNEWSART.DOC, available from node 1/1. The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them. Everything here is subject to debate. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL The Right to Information 2. ARTICLES EchoMail and Host Routing: A Plea for Sanity New Utility: FIDODATE The latest FIDO distribution list Minutes - Cincinnati Fido Sysop Meeting Help a Lost Dog Find His Way The Survival Communication Forum 3. COLUMNS Notes from Abroad The World of Computing: Multitasking and multicomputers 4. WANTED Wanted: Computer Related T-Shirts 5. FOR SALE Entertainment Software for your PC! 6. NOTICES The Interrupt Stack CARTOON: Gruesome George, by Bruce White Starting a Conference for the MINDSET PC Fidonews Page 2 9 Jun 1986 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= This week's guest editorial is by Peter de Jager of 148/103. The Right to Information Greetings FidoWorld! The editorial in FidoNews volume 3, number 17 has prompted this response. The question has been asked, "Do we have a right to information?" That is to say, "is someone immoral if they withhold information from me?" I have heard the argument that information does not "belong" to anyone and therefore should be accessible to all at no cost. I disagree. Firstly, "information" is a result of data having been processed in some fashion. This processing of data into information, requires energy, therefore it is not free; there is a cost involved in its production. Secondly, even the raw material, data, is not free. There is a cost to collect and store it. Try to collect any datum and you will find that you must make some effort to do so. For example, taking the air temperature (available to to everyone) requires the use of a thermometer, and time to take the reading. Thirdly, assuming that nobody is currently collecting the data, nobody is pointing a moral finger at someone else stating "It is your moral duty to collect and analyze, in case it might provide a solution." Nor is there a hue and cry about the fact that the data is expensive to collect. After all, the cost of the data collection is dictated not by some greedy individual, but by the rules of nature. So to tie this back to the editorial, the first example given was of a private weather bureau that has deduced the arrival of a hurricane through its own efforts. Only its subscribers now know about the danger and many other people die due to lack of knowledge. Is the company responsible for those deaths in any fashion? No! My reasoning is: a) That the raw data was available to all those that could afford it. Granted the raw data cost is high, but the bureau did not set that price! It was set by nature; no one is responsible for the high cost, therefore no one is to blame. b) The information was available to all persons that either: 1) Collected/analyzed the data themselves, and paid the high Fidonews Page 3 9 Jun 1986 cost to do so, or 2) Paid the Bureau a subscription fee, which would be much less than the costs involved in (1). In other words, the bureau has provided you a FREE service by giving you an additional option! You now have a choice! Pay the high cost set by nature OR the lower cost made possible by the activity of the bureau. To now claim that the bureau is now somehow responsible for the death of people that chose not to, or could not, pay the lower price is worse than ludicrous. By increasing our options, the bureau has made our life better, not worse! To inflict them with some form of moral obligation is punishing them for being a service to us! Since when has excelling become a crime? To impose this moral obligation on any type of activity will hinder its growth, to our continued detriment! Sadly, this logic will not prevent the "takers" of the world from imposing these types of rules on the "makers". There are many things that happen in this world because someone is willing to take a personal risk, then there are those that would lay claim to those efforts based on their "need". Perhaps one day the makers will decide it is no longer worth the effort... and shrug... and strike... to protect their efforts from the thieves and mooches of the world that contribute nothing but wish to inherit everything; because they "need" it, not because they've earned it. Yours in frustration, Peter de Jager Toronto, Canada May 1986 on 148/103 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 4 9 Jun 1986 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Josh Gordon, 125/93 EchoMail and Host Routing A Plea for Sanity This isn't really my argument to make; I don't run a Host or even a Hub. However, I am participating in one EchoMail with about six other boards: the MAGICK conference. And we have had some disagreements regarding topology and routing, so I'm bringing this up for general discussion and response here. There is a very strong argument to be made for NEVER HOST ROUTING ECHOMAIL. There is only one argument in _favor_ of host routing EchoMail; convenience (you don't have to do ANYTHING). But a moment's reflection will show the problems in host-routing. First and foremost, the net topology and routing structure was set up for irregular but small mail loads. In normal use, without the repetitive load that EchoMail imposes, a host/hub does not have to bear a grossly huge load, just a normally large load. EchoMail, on the other hand, demands repetition of messages. So, if my board were to host-route, and (as the conference coordinator wanted) all of us on the conference sent to all others, my board would generate maybe 60 messages on a busy night, divided between 5 recipients. What's worse, the growth is at least quadratic, possibly exponential. Such a load on the hosts is unfair and improper, and impedes the usual flow of regular mail: which is supposed to be the host's primary responsibility. Another argument in this vein is that the hosting system is designed for a loosely-linked system, so that the individual board doesn't need any knowledge of the remote boards schedules. However, in an EchoMail topology, each board is cooperating with its EchoMail neighbors, so a direct tightly-linked system is possible (and can be more timely). I would like to recommend that host-routing of EchoMail be treated as a capital offense: the offender should be doghoused. This seems to be the trend; I caught hell from the Pack Leader from the start, and got wise quick. (Arf!) Some hosts are not as sure of their rights and obligations, and are continuing to encourage this questionable practice (or at least, allow it.) A general policy would clear things up. Well, while I'm at it, I'd like to invite any interested boards into the MAGICK conference. The past few weeks have seen serious (and not so serious) discussions on Paganism & Tolerance, Heresy (and Rumors of Heresy), Ritual vs. the Party Mentality, Political Alerts (there's an obnoxious bill in the House Ways and Means Committee that would ban tax exemptions from "organizations having an interest in witchcraft"), and other interesting stuff. Fidonews Page 5 9 Jun 1986 Drop a line to 125/93 if you are interested. Its a lot of fun and sometimes even educational. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 6 9 Jun 1986 Matt Gertner, 141/320 I have just released a fourth version of Fidodate, a program which adds dates to the FILES.BBS file. The dates (thanks to Bill Thomas of SeaCoast Fido) are added in the format mm-dd-yy in front of the file description. For example, the line: FDATE43.ARC Version 4.3 of FIDODATE Would be changed to: FDATE43.ARC 05-18-86 Version 4.3 of FIDODATE If a description + date is too long, the user is prompted to enter a shorter description. In addition, the date of the newest file is added to the DIR.BBS file (allowing users to scan with the 'a' command to see which of the file areas have received new files since their last call). FIDODATE can also be run automatically from a batch file. The program is public domain, with a requested donation of $10-20, and it is available from the Fido mentioned above (I unfortunately don't have the cash to mail it out to any number of people). Source code is supplied. I hope this program will be of use to someone. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 7 9 Jun 1986 FIDO DISTRIBUTION LIST 27 May 1986 If you are a distribution node, and would like to be added to this list, send the relevant information to the SYSOP on 109/74 - The Bear's Den. I will release updates to this list as new distribution nodes are added. NODE NODE NAME LOCATION PHONE NUMBER Version ---- --------- -------- ------------ ------- 11/601 Old Frog Rhinelander_WI 715-362-3895 * ALL 100/10 MDC RCC, St._Louis_MO 314-232-6881 * ALL 100/22 PC LUG St._Louis_MO 314-576-2743 * D,I 100/51 DECUS Central St._Louis_MO 314-576-4129 * ALL 101/27 Dave's FIDO Gardner_MA 617-632-1861 * All 101/106 NewWorld Magic1 Swampscott_MA 617-595-5626 * I,G 104/56 Denver's Fido Denver, CO 303-973-9338 * ALL 106/343 PC-Interconnect Houston_TX 713-955-8120 I 106/106 Black Star Houston_TX 713-458-5406 I 107/23 HitchHikers Guide Williamson_NY 315-589-7361 D 107/312 Dance Studio E_Brunswick_NJ 201-247-0573 I 109/483 Wash-A-RUG Fairfax_VA 703-359-6549 D,I 109/603 NET-EXCHANGE Reston_VA 703-689-3561 I 114/1 Phoenix Net Phoenix_AZ 602-242-5230 I 115/100 Illini Data_RB Bolingbrook_IL 312-759-5402 * ALL 115/500 Sit UBU Sit Lombard_IL 312-960-5928 * ALL 102/101 Rainbow Data Los Angeles_CA 213-204-2996 * D 122/6 PSG COOS Bay COOS_Bay_OR 503-269-5202 * I 123/6 FIDO Hydrant Memphis_TN 901-353-4563 * I 124/12 Inside Track Ed Plano_TX 214-422-4772 I 125/1 Fido's Board San_Francisco_CA 415-864-1418 * All 125/521 Satore Center San_Francisco_CA 415-647-8528 I,V 128/10 The Three Laws Colorado_Spgs_CO 303-574-1110 I 129/11 TACO Sanyo Fido Trafford_PA 412-856-1428 * S 132/107 M'Cycle Bytes Amherst_NH 603-889-3366 * All 133/1 ATL/FIDO1 Atlanta_GA 404-928-1876 * D,I 134/1 Calgary Fido Calgary_Alberta 403-282-1703 * I,S 135/14 Metro-Fire Fido Miami_FL 305-596-8611 I,S,T,G 137/19 The Ark Tangent Tampa_FL 813-977-5347 * I 138/3 PROBUS INTRNTL Puyallup_WA 206-848-9232 * I 138/14 BECS_Tandy_Fido Seattle_WA 206-527-5619 * All 3101/1 Fido Nl1 Ede_Holland +31-8380-37165 I * Supports 2400 Baud FIDO Version: I[BM], D[EC], V[ICTOR], S[ANYO], T[ANDY], G[ENERIC] This version of the list was squeezed a bit, to allow it to fit into the FIDONEWS format. If you would like a full 80 column copy of this list, it may be downloaded from either FIDO 109/74 (The Bear's Den), or FIDO 109/483 (Wash-A-RUG). - NOTE - It has been pointed out to me that not all of these listed nodes Fidonews Page 8 9 Jun 1986 are carrying the latest release of FIDO. If you find old or obsolete versions of FIDO on a listed distribution node, please let me know at FIDO 109/74. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 9 9 Jun 1986 MINUTES - Cincinnati Area Fido Sysop Meeting - May 16, 1986 Allen Miller 108/10 May 16, 1986 - We had the first Fido Sysop's get together for the Cincinnati area Fido's. A rather informal affair, it was held at Mr. T's, a pizza parlor in Western Hills, Cincinnati. If I can speak for the group, I would say a rather pleasant time was had by all. The first order of business was introductions, because other than one or two for each of us, every face was a new one. We had nine sysop's in attendance, seven from Cincinnati one one each from Fairborn and Sydney. After the introductions we moved on to the next important order of business, pizzas, hoagies and beer. Before, during, and after the food (and beverages) we had some very helpful discussions. Often times there were two or three of these discussions going on at the same time so I really can't comment on all of them. - Some of the sysops discussed problems with users that spend an inordinate amount of time downloading and those that insist on leaving messages using foul language. Preregistration, Fido's time parameters and orientation of the Fido system were discussed as ways to limit these activities. - Announcement was made that only the NODEDIFF files will be distributed automatically in the local area. File transfer time was cited as the reason for this change. Sysops should get XLATRGEN or LISTGEN utility to merge the NODEDIFF file with the prior week's NODELIST.nnn file. - General use of the Sysop "0" command and the O)utside command were discussed, along with the OUTSIDE utility program. Sample .BAT files were distributed illustrating structure for invoking these functions with security of the WATCHDOG utility. One sysop expressed interest in finding a generalized utility to allow full screen video applications to run well in the Outside environment. - Several Fido operation problems were discussed and resolved either at the meeting or after. One problem involved the "disk full" error message generated when trying to enter messages and was found to be caused by not having the FILES=20 and BUFFERS=50 statements in the CONFIG.SYS file. A question was also raised on how to upload *.* to Fido. Allen Miller's solution is to use Telink protocol in a program such as PIBTERM and enter the command U TC X to Fido, and then *.* to PIBTERM's request for a filename. - Use of .BAT files along with Fido's event scheduler were discussed as an effective means of performing regular system maintenance functions. Samples were distributed. One of my Fidonews Page 10 9 Jun 1986 favorite items is to use COMMAND /C filename.BAT to have my RUNBBS.BAT file execute its external event by calling an external .BAT file and allowing the event statements to be maintained in a separate file. When the event .BAT file is completed, control is returned to the calling .BAT file. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 11 9 Jun 1986 Announcing the Official GAGS Game Contest May 26, 1986 ----------------------------------------- ------------ Users of the Generic Adventure Game System (GAGS) now have a chance to enhance their reputations and income by writing a game using GAGS. The author of the best game submitted to the Official GAGS Game Contest will receive $100 or 100 floppy disks, and his or her game will be included with all copies of GAGS for at least a year. Depending on the number and quality of entries, other entries showing merit may receive Honorable Mentions and token prizes of some kind. GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS: To be considered for the contest, your game must work with version 1.06a or later of the Generic Adventure Game System. The game should be playable (i.e. it must be possible for a reasonable player to complete it in less than 5 years, and not require that the player save the game status before every step). Please realize that the line between cleverness and cruelty in game design is a fine one. The winning game need not use the standard "adventure game" format; any interesting and enjoyable script for GAGS will be considered for the contest. It is not necessary to use any particular feature of GAGS, and the game can be as large or small, or as simple or complex, as you feel appropriate. Games which rely on IBM-specific features (such as the IBM graphics character set) will be considered, but games requiring specific features of other computer systems will not be considered. Keep your game clean. If your game were a movie, it should be rated PG-13 at the worst, since GAGS is aimed at a wide audience including pre-teens. It should not contain explicit or offensive language, and should certainly not require obscene or offensive behavior on the part of the player. The game should not infringe upon any copyrighted material or upon any trademarks. In other words, while you are welcome to base your game upon a fantasy-role-playing environment, or a space travel scenario, you cannot legally use names like "Dungeons and Dragons" or "Star Trek," which are registered trademarks. It might be acceptable to use modified trademarks if the game is a deliberate satire. All text must be original to the game author(s), who must own all copyrights to the game. Entries may be written by an individual, a team, or, if desired, by an artificially-intelligent computer program. Fidonews Page 12 9 Jun 1986 PRIZES: The author of the best game submitted by September 30, 1986 will receive his or her choice of a check for $100 or 100 double- sided, double-density floppy disks for the IBM PC. Depending on the number of entries and the disposition of the judge(s), other prizes may also be awarded, either as additional prizes for the author of the best game or as less valuable prizes awarded to games considered worthy of an Honorable Mention. RULES: No purchase is necessary: You need not be a registered user to enter the Official GAGS Game Contest, and registered users will have no advantage in the contest. All entries should comply with the Guidelines for Submissions listed above. The winner of the contest will be the game that, in the opinion of the judge(s), is most interesting and enjoyable to use. The contest will be judged by Mark J. Welch, or by one or more person(s) chosen by him to judge the contest. All decisions of the judge(s) will be final. The winning game file will be included with all copies of GAGS distributed by the author from October 31, 1986 to October 31, 1987, and possibly thereafter. Other than the $100 prize, the winner will receive no additional compensation from Mark J. Welch; however, the winning game may include a "shareware" contribution request within the game itself. The winning game may be edited for style and grammar before release. All entries may be individually copyrighted by their authors, and may be distributed as "shareware" or as "public domain" works independent of the Official GAGS Game Contest. Entries which are copyrighted and distributed as "shareware" by their authors, including the winning submission if appropriate, may include requests for contributions to their authors. Submissions should be sent as an ASCII text file, on a 5-1/4 inch floppy disk, formatted for use with an IBM Personal Computer. Entries which include a return mailer and sufficient postage will be returned; no other submissions will be returned. All submissions must be mailed to Mark J. Welch, P.O. Box 2409, San Francisco, CA 94126. All submissions must be postmarked by September 30, 1986, and must be received by October 10, 1986. The winner of the contest will be announced on or before October 31, 1986. ---------------- Sorry, games may not be submitted electronically. WelchNet (Fido 125/459) has become a private node with an unpublished phone Fidonews Page 13 9 Jun 1986 number. I am moving to Berkeley, California effective June 1, 1986; please call Directory Assistance for my new voice number, or call my old voice number (415-564-1066) for a referral. ---------------- For those who don't already know, the Generic Adventure Game System (GAGS) is an adventure-game authoring system for computers that use the MS-DOS operating system (such as the IBM PC, DEC Rainbow, PCjr, and the Amiga with Transformer). It's distributed as Shareware, and is available from many bulletin-board systems, users' groups, and other sources of public-domain software nationwide. An unregistered program disk can also be purchased from the author for $10. Registration is $15 more; and registered users can buy the Turbo Pascal 3.0 source code for $25 more. ---------------- Good Luck, everyone! Mark J. Welch P.O. Box 2409 San Francisco, CA 94126 (tm) GAGS and "Generic Adventure Game System" are trademarks of Mark J. Welch. IBM, IBM PC, and IBM PCjr are trademarks of IBM. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. Amiga and Transformer are trademarks of Commodore Business Machines. DEC and Rainbow are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corp. Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 14 9 Jun 1986 Charles Wallace, 13/999 Help a Lost Dog Find His Way I am the SYSOP of the LOST DOG FIDO in Cape May, N.J. and I propose that perhaps the FIDO sysops, working together can do what seemingly can't be done otherwise: I priced a "good" brand of GENERIC PC with COLOR monitor and a 20-Mbyte HD, 5151 Keyboard, serial, parallel,C/G, etc and the total price (with 1 year guarentee) was under $2,000.00 Now I know that Tom Jennings is off-line because of a "disk crash" and that he is "re-building" a system, but I'm sure that the guy is busy. And he has to work for a living, (so say we all!!). Now, I like and use the FIDO system, got a lot of good stuff and met a few nice folks, try to upload my share, and frankly, if I had two grand in loose cash, I'd personally send TJ a new computer. But if you think about it the way I've thought about it, you'd realize that it ain't the money. So, to make a long story short, here is what I propose: the LOST DOG FUND, c/o IFNA in St. Louis. contributors? All interested FIDOUSERS. how much? NO DONATION OVER $5.00!!! and we will get TJ back on-line..... WHY ONLY $5.00, because there are about 800 nodes in the U.S. amd Canada, plus UNTOLD numbers of fidousers and if just 1/2 the SYSOPS gave, then we could get TJ his system. I spoke to the guy I get computers from and told him about it, he said that for however much we collect, he will sell us the MOST SYSTEM with the MOST MEMORY and DRIVES that our $$$ add up to, and AT HIS COST plus shipping to San Francisco. So, we have a dealer who also has a heart, we have $2,000 plus to raise, and we have 800 plus contributors to ask. And WHILE WE'RE AT IT... if you want to send MORE than $5.00, then make the difference out to the IFNA fellows who do great work for no pay and little thanks. Remember, a FIDO, by itself, is just another bulletin board, and even THAT wouldn't run without the work TJ did. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 15 9 Jun 1986 From: Survival Communication Forum, Santa Rosa, CA Sysop: Don Kulha, #125/7, BBS: 707-545-0746 Howdy Folks! I'd like to take a moment here via the FidoNews to say hello and introduce our system, SCF. Our aim with SCF is to serve the members of the survivalist community as a communications medium and spread the word on the merits of preparedness to the public at large. We survivalists generally do not fit the media stereotypes you usually see, indeed may of us do not even refer to ourselves as such. Generally speaking our goal is to be prepared for natural and manmade disasters, along with the common day to day type of emergencies, which really seems prudent doesn't it? SCF has been in continuous operation since January of 1985. The system was converted to FIDO about a month ago and we joined the net as 125/7 just recently. Our Forum has 15 file areas and 16 conferences. Some of the topics are: Medicine, Radio Communications, Independent Energy Systems, Weaponscraft, Food, and Finance. We also have hosted discussion areas on radio/alternative energy and Survival Viehicle maintenance and modification, plus an online interactive version of the Game "Diplomacy" to sharpen ones bargaining skills. Our Forum is constantly changing and growing and you are most welcome to join in or stop by for a visit. We also have a "sister" survival system on the East coast, just getting started, called SURCOMM which operates 9pm-8am EST at 703-249-5085 (soon to be in the net). I'd like to take a moment here to thank the Network Administrators, Tom J. and all of the system operators who have built and nurtured the net-without you we would not have the opportunity to join in this truly amazing thing you've spawned. I've also been amazed at the open, friendly and helpful manner of all the Fido sysops I've contacted, it's a great feeling to be a part of this family. Special thanks to Butch Walker and Bruce Ong. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 16 9 Jun 1986 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Notes from Abroad The modem situation in Europe is very complicated and from Fido's point of view much worse then in the USA. V21 and V23 seems fairly standard, with v22 and v22bis modems coming but at high prices yet. Most of your callers will use v21 (300/300 baud) or v23 (1200/75 baud). If your Fido must serve them your modem must autoselect between the two modes and adjust accordingly. There the problems arise, most of these so called "dual standard" types are incompatible with each other, effectively preventing the mail between Fido's while manual callers don't have any problems. Also so-called "Hayes emulators" with v21 and v23 are not quite Hayes (yet) giving more problems with the European mail situation. Because of these technical differences mailing to some other European Fido is quite a jump into the deep and connection to some Fido's will even be impossible to make. To cure this situation we are strongly supporting the national host scheme, with hosts taking care of international mail for the Fido's in his/her country. Between national hosts and between Europe and the USA we have agreed upon the v22bis system as the standard. At the moment Fido's 3101 and 4403 the national hosts for Holland and the UK are able to send/receive mail on this standard with 4601 and 4701 following shortly. Sending your international mail through this hosts will costs you less because messages will be packed and send at a high baud rate. There is some accounting involved here, mostly the national host will require you to send some money in advance and will deduct the actual transfers from your account. You must contact your national host about this if you wish to use this system. Note that for sending files to another country this routing will not work and you must either play your hand and try to send it, or send the file between country hosts. Also there is now a possibility that you can mail WITHOUT actually having a Hayes compatible modem. You must request the host to poll you every night and PICKUP your mail. A simple auto answer modem is then sufficient and the scheme is also very cost efficient if you have mail beyond an occasional message every month. Please contact your country manager if you wish to be "polled". In order to accommodate for all kind of modems, and to accommodate for the mail "pickup" and "distribution" slots, the European time slot must shift to an earlier hour to avoid the distribution slot winding up in high rate hours in, for instance, Finland. Also some early birds calling in will jump in the middle of a mail slot. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 17 9 Jun 1986 THE WORLD OF COMPUTING written by Reuven M. Lerner FidoMail 107/233 It's been hectic for me these last few weeks. With a cold, several article deadlines, and Passover, there has never been a better time for me to speak about multitasking on microcomputers. For those of you who don't know, multitasking is the ability to do several things at the same time. For instance, if my DEC VT180 was multitasking, I could not only do what I'm doing now and write this column, but I could also compile my last big program. Mainframes and minicomputers both use multitasking a great deal; it's only been very recently that micros have had the power to do it. One of the best-known (and best loved/hated) multiuser, multitasking operating systems is UNIX. Developed by Bell Labs, it allowed one person to do more than one thing at a time, for many different users. There were several problems with UNIX, though, that restricted its use on micros. Memory and storage were the biggest problem. The UNIX PC, put out by AT&T, has a 10-megabyte drive that has nearly one-half of its capacity used up just holding the operating system. Those of us who use CP/M or MS-DOS know that the operating system usually takes up a negligible 4-20K. 5 megabytes is a little much to ask for out of a company that is experimenting with a new operating system! Another big problem of UNIX is that it is what could be termed "user-hostile", being as far away from user-friendly as possible. I've never used it myself, but the different articles and books that give examples tell me that most businessmen aren't going to want to sit down and learn strange commands just to find out what files are on the disk. Using Topview and Microsoft Windows as examples, we have today limited multitasking for microcomputers. Both can be used on any IBM machine, but are used best on the AT, with its increased speed (now 8MHz, over 4.77MHz for the PC and XT) and better graphics. The biggest problem, again, though, just like UNIX, is memory and storage. As Personal Computing magazine pointed out in their review of Topview, they could easily fit 1-2-3 and WordStar and dBase III into the AT with Topview, but then they had about 12K to work with total! Even with the EMS (extended memory specification, that allows you to use up to 4 Megabytes more) from Lotus/Intel/Microsoft, there's still not a lot of room there. Yet another problem is that it's slow. Even mainframes perform more slowly when they have more terminals on-line; try loading 5 programs into your micro and waiting for them! So that you IBM fans don't criticize me for not speaking Fidonews Page 18 9 Jun 1986 about multitasking on other computers, or the lack thereof, I'll tell you that no other computer has it. Sure, the Mac has Switcher, and the ST series (520 and 1040) have the potential, and the Amiga has multitasking but no software to show for it. Does anyone here think that Apple II+'s are going to be multitasking soon? If you ask me, the new 68000 machines (ST's and Amigas) will have it much sooner than the others. If you ask me again, though, it may be a while until we get true multitasking onto any micro. Multicomputers I told you once before that I have four computers at home: a DEC VT180 (on which I'm writing this), a Fountain XT (an IBM clone), a Seicom II+ (an Apple clone), and an Osborne 1. It seems as though I'm going to need some format-changers pretty soon, since I'm trying to do more and more work on different machines. One of the biggest problems that I'm beginning to have is with the modem on the DEC, a Qubie. Either a chip is loose, or its just not working too great, or the Old Westbury phone lines are as bad for computers as they are for humans, but the modem likes to drop carrier a lot. Anyway, what I tried to do a few weeks ago was transfer a file from the Fountain to the DEC. After about an hour of trying different methods, I finally gave up, and in desperation, uploaded the file to my local Fido, downloaded it onto the other machine, and presto! All done. There's got to be a better way. Any ideas? Software support I just got off the phone with Borland International several hours ago, regarding upgrading my Turbo Pascal to the IBM version (with windowing, color graphics, and the like). I must say that they are very easy to deal with, and responded quickly and courteously to my questions. If only we had more companies like them in the world. [Editor's note: Yeah, but don't look for reviews of their stuff here. FidoNews doesn't qualify.] One thing that I thought was excellent was the quality of support. It wasn't an operator who told me that she didn't know the answer, I got a knowledgeable person who could answer everything that I needed. For those of you who are considering doing what I did (trade up from CP/M to IBM), I'll give you the information that they gave me, so you won't have to call them. Basically, you get a certain amount of credit toward newer or different versions. Version 3.0 gives you $39.95, 1.0 and 2.0 are $29.95. You then apply that credit toward the purchase of a newer or different version, send in a check with your original master diskette, and they'll send you back a diskette with the newer version on it. Fidonews Page 19 9 Jun 1986 Even though the Borland license is much easier to understand that those of most other companies, I wasn't sure about if I was allowed to keep copies of my old version of Pascal. If you are interested in knowing, you aren't allowed to use the old diskette. Actually, it's kind of easy to understand. The license only applies to the diskette that you have in your possession, and as you send in your original diskette and get back a new one, you only are allowed to use the new one. Not that I had so many programs in CP/M that I wanted to keep, but I wasn't sure if I could still use both of them. As an unsolicited plug, let me say that I advise each and every one of you to go out and buy Turbo Pascal within the next week. Unless you have some really weird machine, they've got a version for you, and unless you would rather program in another language, it's the best purchase you'll ever make (I have never regretted switching to Pascal as my primary language). Hot News! Hot News! (last-minute update) I just found out that Pitney-Bowes is working on a facsimile machine that will send and receive data using a modem! Although it's still in the design stages, and won't be released for another month or two, this has the potential to change a lot. I came up with the idea (is anyone from P-B listening?) to use the new Fastlink 10,000+ bps modem, which would enable Fax documents to be transmitted in less than 20 seconds or so! Even without the Fastlink, this is an incredible idea, one which may change the face of faxes forever! I'll keep you people posted with the news as I find it out. Next time As I said last time, I know that this is a short column, but until I get myself past all of these different deadlines (next week or so), and then an election campaign for my youth group (which should be over by the time that you read this), and then maybe even writing a few more programs, they may stay that way. Depending on what I'm interested in next time, I may discuss public-domain software, the future of BBS', computer English, or any of a number of other things. We'll see. Until next time, happy computing!! (c)1986 Reuven M. Lerner. All Rights Reserved. Permission is given to copy this column so long as it is for non-profit use. If you wish to use it for other than non-profit use, write to the author at 21 Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, or at FidoMail 107/233. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 20 9 Jun 1986 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= James Pallack MINDSET FMUG - 16/635 Computer Related T-Shirts Looking for T-Shirts that are imprinted with items relating to computers. The first order would be a small purchase, but future purchases could be in bulk. If you know of a retail and/or wholesale company that deals in this market, the information would be appreciated. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 21 9 Jun 1986 ================================================================= FOR SALE ================================================================= ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE FOR YOUR PC! SUPERDOTS! KALAH! Professional quality games include PASCAL source! From the author of KALAH Version 1.6, SuperDots, a variation of the popular pencil/paper DOTS game, has MAGIC and HIDDEN DOT options. KALAH 1.7 is an African strategy game requiring skill to manipulate pegs around a playing board. Both games use the ANSI Escape sequences provided with the ANSI.SYS device driver for the IBM-PC, or built into the firmware on the DEC Rainbow. Only $19.95 each or $39.95 for both exciting games! Please specify version and disk format. These games have been written in standard TURBO-PASCAL and run on the IBM-PC, DEC Rainbow 100 (MSDOS and CPM), CPM/80, CPM/86, and PDP-11. Other disk formats are available, but minor customization may be required. BSS Software P.O. Box 3827 Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 For every order placed, a donation will be made to the Fido coordinators! Also, if you have a previous version of KALAH and send me a donation, a portion of that donation will also be sent to the coordinators. When you place an order, BE CERTAIN TO MENTION WHERE YOU SAW THE AD since it also appears in PC Magazine and Digital Review. Questions and comments can be sent to: Brian Sietz at Fido 107/17 (609) 429-6630 300/1200/2400 baud ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 22 9 Jun 1986 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 14 Jun 1986 The Next Occasional MetroNet Sysop Meeting, to be held in West Milford, New Jersey. Contact The Wizard at node 107/16 for details and directions. 14 Aug 1986 Start of the International FidoNet Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Contact George Wing at node 128/13 for details. 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 FidoNet node 1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Gruesome George by Bruce White, 109/612 +-------------------------------------------------+ | Hey, the memory exansion module works! | |_ Now it has twice the memory! | | \ ===== \ | | \ \ | | George, you forgot \ | | to pick up Jimmy at \ ____\__ | | school again. I wish \ |_| \ | | I could double your _____ |\ | | memory! ==== | _ | | | | ______ | |_| | | | | __(______)_|_____|___ | | | ||-----------------|| | | | ______ || || | | | \ {} / || || | | |(c) 1986 bw \__/ ||-----------------||__|__| +-------------------------------------------------+ ----------------------------------------------------------------- James Pallack, 16/635 MINDSET Conference using EchoMail I am looking for Fido's around the U.S. that are willing to participate in a conference for the MINDSET computer. This would be using the EchoMail software and dedicating a message section to the conference. Fidonews Page 23 9 Jun 1986 If you are interested or am willing to have this conference on your BBS. Please contact me via FidoNet at 16/635. If you are interested in participating, but don't have the funds for the service, please contact me anyway. Arrangements can be worked out (e.g. I'll pick up the mail). -----------------------------------------------------------------