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1993-09-25
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FrontDoor 2.11 Shareware release notes 930925
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This release of FrontDoor/Shareware is the new version of FrontDoor
2.02/Noncommercial. Along with many new features and corrected bugs,
the legal status of the software has changed. This will, undoubtedly,
cause irritation for some people. I will explain myself briefly and
then get to the stuff you really want to know about.
Noncommercial goes Shareware
----------------------------
FrontDoor has existed in a free-for-noncommercial-use form ever since
1986 and eventually a commercial version emerged with far more capa-
bilities than the noncommercial version. I have stated, several
times, that FrontDoor/Noncommercial would always be around as long as
there was FidoNet - and that is still true. If you qualify to use
FrontDoor 2.02/Noncommercial (as per the licence agreement), you may
continue to use that version for as long as you desire.
In the past seven years, the most frequently asked question from non-
commercial users of FrontDoor has been "How do I register?", and the
answer has always been the same "You can't" - this has now changed. I
quite frequently receive messages along the lines of "Well, I can't
afford to purchase FrontDoor/Commercial, even with the SysOp
discount - but I want to support further development of the version
I'm using - the noncommercial version".
FrontDoor 2.02/Noncommercial was the last free-for-noncommercial use
version. FrontDoor 2.11 and onwards are released as shareware with a
thirty day evaluation period. There is still, of course, a commercial
version.
I won't try to defend this decision against some of the current non-
commercial users out there that will start sending me flames, etc.
about the change of status. Nor will I enter into an argument about
this.
Please refer to the files in the REGFORM archive for information
about how to obtain your personal registration code.
On with the show, what's the news?
----------------------------------
With that out of the way, there are two more pieces of "bad news" in
store. No, 2.11/SW does not support HYDRA, nor does it support JAM.
If you don't know what HYDRA and JAM is, this probably won't affect
you. JAM will DEFINITELY be in the next version of FrontDoor (both
commercial and shareware) and HYDRA is being looked at. And I promise
that it won't be another two years before the next shareware release
is ready.
All new features are not listed here, you'll have to read the FD.DOC
file and see for yourself, but I will mention a few goodies:
o Support for any and all nodelist flags.
o Support for extended baudrates.
o Support for custom baudrate (and errorlevel) to handle modem
messages like "CONNECT FAST".
o Support for external file request processors.
o Support for custom display modes.
o Support for logging in the Terminal.
o Support for logging of CALLER*ID information (where applicable).
o Support for "CONNECT FAX" to trigger an immediate exit to an
external fax receiver.
o Support for ISO 8859-1 during EMSI handshakes. This mainly
affects people who communicate with non-DOS mailers.
o Support for an alternate inbound directory for files received
during a secure (password-protected) mail session.
o Support for unique passwords for each entry in the Terminal's
Phone Directory.
o New Editor macros.
o Improved support for use in OS/2 DOS boxes.
Now what?
---------
To upgrade from 2.02 to 2.11, there are a few things you will have to
change in your current configuration. Replace your 2.02 executables
(FD.EXE, FD.OVR, FM.EXE, FM.OVR, FDNC.EXE, FDNC.OVR, and FDSETUP.EXE)
with the 2.11 executables and run FDSETUP.
o If you're using nodelist flags in ROUTE.FD, you must edit it and
put a single '%' (per-cent) character in front of them. The
documentation explains this in detail.
o You must execute the Terminal Phone Directory conversion utility
(PHONECVT) supplied in the distribution archive.
o You must modify your batch files if you are using the "Create
.BAT file" option under Mailer > Errorlevels in FDSETUP. The
parameters that DOBBS.BAT passes to EXEBBS have changed somewhat.
o Make sure you check the Mailer > Errorlevels section in FDSETUP
since support for many new baudrates has been added.
Ooohh..
-------
One more thing.. I've received some raised eyebrows from people that
have read the new licence agreement. It's sounds worse than it was
intended. I'm not out to get anyone to sign their life away. It's
just a matter of tightening up a few loose ends.
Phew.. I made it.. time to do the traditional release shakes dance
and see if I really feel any older tomorrow.
Hasta la.. whatever.. "I'll be back".
:-)
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Copyright 1993 Joaquim Homrighausen; All rights reserved.
Absolute Solutions
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// end of file "readme.1st"