ftp.wwiv.com/ftp.wwiv.com.zip/ftp.wwiv.com/pub/HATCH/WWIVNEWS.ZIP/9407_5.NWS

Text File | 1994-07-24 | 25KB | 501 lines

may or may not be important to you; I originally did this so I could run the
board under DOS or OS/2 without having to change anything. I've never gone
back to DOS though.


ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
─────────────────────────

OS/2 AWARE
───────────

The source code I got when I first downloaded WWIV 4.23 from Amber somehow did
not have the code enabled to allow WWIV to work as well under OS/2 as possible.
If you are registered and have access to your source code, check UTILITY.C and
be sure the following code is in void giveup_timeslice(void):

      case 4 :/* outs("OS/2"); */
        win_pause();                  /* add for OS/2 timeslices*/
        /* delay(17); */
      break;

Many thinks to the person responsible for this "fix". My board ran a lot
better after I put this code in, and I checked with Wayne, who confirmed that
it should be in there. People had been complaining about the system being very
slow and jerky at times until I put this code in. I had even upgraded from a
386DX-40 to a 486DX2-50 in order to help the BBS run more smoothly, but things
didn't really improve until I added this code. The only time the board seems
to slow noticeably now is when someone is doing a file transfer.


INIT
────

I've corresponded with Filo regarding the way INIT handles things with more
than one instance and he's indicated that there may be some changes under 4.24
to make the data it writes more "instance specific" (my word, for lack of
being able to think up anything better). As things are now, the only thing I
feel I can count on being kept separate from instance to instance is the modem
and COM port configuration information. I do know from first-hand experience
that your net low and high times are not kept separate; if you change the net
times under one instance it will be changed for all.


MEMORY
──────

OS/2 is VERY memory hungry and you will not be satisfied with its speed or
performance unless your system is configured with enough memory. I know of
people who are running WWIV under OS/2 with only 4 megabytes of memory, but I
understand the Presentation Manager (the graphic interface) takes up almost 4
MB, so I believe 8 MB is really the minimum for satisfactory performance and
more is, of course, even better. Another consideration is that if you are used
to using a RAM drive you should be aware that using one under OS/2 will take
the memory right off the top and may have a significant impact on the
performance of your system.

Rocker (1@6450) is running his system without using the Presentation Manager
and he reports that this frees up his system significantly.


EXTERNAL TRANSFER PROTOCOLS
───────────────────────────

JAFO (1@8857) had indicated in one of the networked subs that the newest
version of DSZ is much more better behaved under a multitasking environment
than its predecessors have been and I believe he is right. I just downloaded
the DSZ.ZIP file from Telegodzilla with the DSZ.COM dated 02-02-94 and the
GSZ.ZIP file with the GSZ.EXE file dated 02-03-94 and have installed them. The
system used to bog down significantly during file transfers and I believe that
it is a lot better now that I've installed these newest versions of DSZ and
GSZ. If you can't find them anywhere else they are available on Telegodzilla
at 503-621-3746.


MY OWN SETUP
────────────

If you are interested, my system currently looks like this:

I have a 486DX2-50 MHz computer with 8 megabytes of RAM, 550 megabytes of hard
drive storage space, two Mitsumi CD-ROM drives, a US Robotics 14.4 Courier HST
dual standard modem on the first line (612-591-1781) and a US Robotics 14.4
Sportster on the second line (612-591-0173).


CONCLUSIONS
───────────

In case you haven't been able to tell, I am very happy with the way WWIV runs
multiple instances under OS/2. While there are definitely some challenges, the
end result is, in my opinion, well worth it. If you've got the resources to be
able to run OS/2 and if you want to run more than one instance, I heartily
recommend going with OS/2.

-Martin


REFERENCES
──────────

DSZ and GSZ can be ordered from Omen Technology Inc.
                                17505-V Northwest Sauvie Island Road
                                Portland, Oregon  97231
                                Modem: 503-621-3746
                                Fax:   [phone]

The Mitsumi device drivers can be downloaded from IBM's BBS, located at
                                                  Research Triangle Park, NC
                                                  Modem: 919-517-0001
                                                  Fax:   800-IBM-3395

SIO can be ordered from The Software Division
                        Attn: Raymond L. Gwinn
                        12469 Cavalier Dr.
                       Woodbridge, VA  22192
                        Voice orders: 703-494-4673
                        Fax:          [phone]


Reference Books I've found helpful
──────────────────────────────────

Dvorak, John C. "Dvorak's Guide to OS/2 version 2.1",
        Random House, Inc., New York, 1993.


Moskowitz, David and Kerr, David,  et al. "OS/2 2.1 Unleashed",
        Sams Publishing, Carmel, IN, 1993.


Tyson, Herb. "Your OS/2 2.1 Consultant",
        Sams Publishing, Carmel, IN, 1993.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

LORD SIGMA2 ON DOS SETTINGS
───────────────────────────

I have been running with WWIV 4.23 and OS/2 2.1 and found these setting to
be acceptable. True, I run nothing big except the local node, Norton, and a
few other things here and there, but it works a HELL of a lot better than it
did with Windows. In fact, my users get 1650+ cps UL or DL (at 14.4k) with me
there in the background!

A word of advice: A few of these settings are particular to my system, such
as those for the COM ports, so I expect you to make the changes necessary for
it to work 100% for you. It may take a little tweaking, but these settings
should get you in the right direction.

Oh, and for those wondering, I do -NOT- run HPFS. Also, you need to have both
Ray Gwinn's SIO and VSIO COM drivers installed. At the present, I use v1.26c,
but by the time this article sees print I expect Ray to have released at least
one new release.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

AUDIO_ADAPTER_SHARING = ON
DOS_AUTOEXEC = C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION = ON
DOS_BREAK = OFF
DOS_DEVICE = c:\os2\mdos\ansi.sys
DOS_FCBS = 16
DOS_FCBS_KEEP = 8
DOS_FILES = 30
DOS_HIGH = ON
DOS_LASTDRIVE = (f)
DOS_RMSIZE = 640
DOS_SHELL = <DEFAULT>
DOS_STARTUP_DRIVE = <BLANK>
DOS_UMB = ON
DOS_VERSION = <DEFAULT>
DPMI_DOS_API = AUTO
DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT = 2
DPMI_NETWORK_BUFF_SIZE = 8
EMS_FRAME_LOCATION = AUTO
EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION = 0
EMS_LOW_OS_MAP_REGION = 384
EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT = 1024
HW_NOSOUND = ON
HW_ROM_TO_RAM = ON
HW_TIMER = ON
IDLE_SECONDS = 4
IDLE_SENSITIVITY = 90
INT_DURING_IO = OFF
KBD_ALTHOME_BYPASS = OFF
KBD_BUFFER_EXTEND = ON
KBD_CTRL_BYPASS = NONE
KBD_RATE_LOCK = OFF
MEM_EXCLUDE_REGIONS = <BLANK>
MEM_INCLUDE_REGIONS = <BLANK>
MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS = OFF
PRINT_SEPARATE_OUTPUT = ON
PRINT_TIMEOUT = 15
SIO Allow Access COM1 = ON
SIO Allow Access COM2 = OFF
SIO Allow Access COM3 = OFF
SIO Allow Access COM4 = OFF
SIO_Idle_Sensitivity = 100
SIO_Mode_DTR = Turn ON at OPEN, OFF at CLOSE
SIO_Mode_FIFO_Load_Count = 16
SIO_Mode_IDSR = Ignore DSR During Receive
SIO_Mode_OCTS = HandShake Signal, as in RTS/CTS
SIO_Mode_ODSR = Ignore DSR During Transmit
SIO_Mode_RTS = HandShake Signal, as in RTS/CTS
SIO_Mode_XON/XOFF = No XON/OXFF flow control by SIO
SIO_Screen_Sync_Kludge = ON
SIO_Share_Access_With_OS/2 = ON
SIO_Virtualize_16550A = ON
SIO_Virtualize_COM_Ports = ON
VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP = ON
VIDEO_FASTPACE = ON
VIDEO_MODE_RESTRICTION = CGA
VIDEO_ONDEMAND_MEMORY = OF
VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION = ON
VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION = ON
VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION = OFF
VIDEO_WINDOW_REFRESH = 5
XMS_HANDLES = 32
XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT = 1024
XMS_MINIMUM_HMA = 0

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Also, there are a couple of changes to CONFIG.SYS that I suggest:

PRIORITY_DISK_IO=NO
TIMESLICE=32,32
MAXWAIT=1

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Hope these help! If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free
to drop them my way!

───────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
               │                 TechnOTES                   │
               │        Compiled by the WWIVnews Staff       │
               └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

...From the "Sleeping With The Enemy of My Enemy" department: Remember when
Stac decided to go with Microsoft's offer of bundling Stacker with DOS instead
of IBM's offer? Well, IBM wasn't pleased at all, and went with Addstor's
competitive product, SuperStor, in a rather unsuccessful coupon mail-in
gimmick. Less than 30% of the coupons included with IBM DOS 6.1 were mailed
in, with most IBM DOS users preferring to stick with Stacker.

...As WWIVNews readers found out last issue, Addstor is no longer in business,
and SuperStor is history. Add to this Stac's recent defeat of Microsoft over
infringement of copyrights concerning DoubleSpace technology, and you now
have a clear understanding of why IBM went knocking on Stac's door the day
after the verdict with a serious offer to include Stacker 4.0 with IBM DOS
6.3. This time, however, Stac officials decided that the coupon gimmick was
just as bogus as consumers showed it was, and insisted that Stacker be
packaged *with* IBM DOS 6.3. IBM agreed to these terms gladly, and IBM's
"OS/1" will be released as such around mid-May at last report.

...Microsoft, however, was rumored to be courting the now-unemployed software
engineers from Addstor, in hopes of being able to produce a legal successor
to DoubleSpace, and one that will work with NTFS as well. NTFS is scheduled
to be included as part of Windows 4.0 - "Chicago" for those uninformed - and
at last word was still an option and not a forced feature. Word from inside
Microsoft, however, is that were a version of NTFS shows up with working
file compression, the plan was to make this a required feature for at least
one partition, and quite possibly for all others. The general impression
appears to be "Ok, fine. You geeks supported Stac when they challenged our
might. Sure, we lost, and we'll give you file compression that's legal.
However, if it doesn't work with your system or your software, that's just
too bad, chump!"
...Now, if that's all there was to it, you could simply chalk it up to more
sour grapes on the part of Microsoft. However, in late, late June, Microsoft,
on orders from Bill Gates himself, threw in the towel on this fight, and
gave up all court manouvers to reverse any of the decisions made against them
in Stac v. Microsoft. In an agreement that reportedly "took two minutes to
draft, and less time than that to sign", Microsoft agreed to pay $83 million
to Stack, in addition to purchasing a non-voting 15% of Stac corporate stock.
Stac, in turn, granted a cross-platform technology licensing agreement to
Microsoft, which allows the Gates boys to use Stacker code if they wish in a
future replacement for Doublespace.

...The agreement, thankfully, does not prevent Stac from selling similar or
competetive rights to their products to other companies. This, in turn,
protects the recent deal with IBM to include complete versions of Stacker
4.0 in future versions of IBM DOS. In short, folks, Bill Gates finally had
to eat crow, and admit he likes the taste!

...From the "How Green is my PC" department: Ever wondered where those cheap,
bulk diskettes come from? One of the major suppliers is a company called Eco
Tech. This company buys floppies of obsolete, unsold packages in bulk from
major software manufacturers, and reformats them into blank, high quality
diskettes. Manufacturers such as WordPerfect, Lotus, and even Microsoft have
sold their old back stock diskettes to Eco Tech, who in turn sells them
for a reasonable discount.

...These disks are a little higher than the cheap disks you see in _Computer
Shopper_, but the difference in cost is about what Eco Tech donates to the
Wilderness Society for each disk sold. If you want to help save some trees
or some extinct mutant species of albino salamander, and save some cash on
floppies, call Eco Tech at [phone].

...From the Alpha Control department: Amidst all the hoopla about the Pentium,
the PowerPC, and the DX4, Digital Equipment Corporation unveiled a new Alpha-
based workstation as powerful as the one announced by IBM in January, but at
half the price. Running at just under 150MHz, this particular unit is
considered by DEC to be a "scaled-down" version of their 250MHz Alpha
Workstation.

...Those thinking to use one of these systems for netsurfing had better
start saving now; Digital's model costs $36k, compared to $70k for the IBM's
PowerPC workstation. A DEC spokesman attributed the "low" cost to the tight
integration of the Alpha chip with the interfacing chipset used by this
machine, while IBM's machine uses 8 chips to do what the Alpha chip can
accomplish with a single chip. Still, it's a bit pricey for most of us,
but think of the multitasking capabilities!

...Speaking of downsizing, Seymour Cray is at it again. This time, though,
Cray Research is moving into the commercial computing market with a downsized
version of the YMP Interface series. The Cray Superserver 6400 is said to be
based on Sun Microsystem's Sparc chip, and runs software based on Sun's
Solaris operating system.

...The first machines are already being offered for sale, and Cray spokepersons
have reported that the $1 million, unoptimized prototype model handled 700
users as fast as a comparable $5 million midsize mainframe computer, which
also happened to be manufactured by Cray. Talk about shooting yourself in
the foot for a good cause!

...For those looking to push WWIV to its limits, tho, the Alpha looks a bit
closer to reality. System base prices for this new series of Crays will
range from $400,000 to $2.5 million. Wonder if that includes the hard drive?

...From the Shaking the Apple Tree department: While everyone is either
praising or condemning Apple's entry into the PowerPC market, or flipping
out over the overrated 640AV, another Apple entry into the niche market has
been virtually ignored - the MacTV.

...This new Mac incorporates the equivalent of a Macintosh Centris 610, a 14"
color television and a stereo CD/CD-ROM player all in one unit. In a break from
typical Apple archetecture, this unit can be connected to VCRs, camcorders,
video disk or video game players of almost any manufacture, and comes with a
suite of word processing, spreadsheet and database software.

...Priced at $2,079, the MacTV will be aimed at the home and educational
market, and will be available later this year at selected retail stores,
college campuses and through the Apple Catalog.

...From the Legal Buzzards department: A brief nOTE for those who've been
keeping up with former Apple CEO John Sculley. At last report, Sculley had
taken a similar position with Spectrum, a small East Coast company that
controls a series of patents related to the wireless transmission of computer
data. In recent weeks, Sculley has left this position, and filed suit against
Spectrum's owners for breach of contract and false presentation of the
company's financial status at the time of Sculley's hiring. Seems that Spectrum
was nowhere near as stable as they presented themselves to Sculley, nor were
their patents as base solid as they claimed.

...Sculley, who took control of Apple after the ousting of Steve Jobs, left
Apple after sales flagged in response to a more PC-demanding consumer market.
He was replaced as Apple CEO by A.C. Markkula Jr, one of the three co-founders
of Apple, and had relinquished his position as CEO to the president, Michael
Spindler, in June of 1993. A few days later, in a move that surprised most
industry analyists, Sculley accepted the position of chairman and CEO of
Spectrum, who at that point and time hadn't even broken into the NYSE!

...From the Francisco Franco is *Still* Dead department: A nOTE from a
WWIVNetter in Barcelona, Spain, reports that some 100 Spanish Olive growers
have filed a complaint with the proper authorities about how they had not
received their European Community subsidies, even though they'd filled
out the required paperwork. Authorities in Andalucia were more than redfaced
when they discovered their computer wasn't programmed to recognize the letter
"n" with a tilde.

...And yes, all the farmers affected had names with tildes. Go figure.

...With tax time past for a while, here's a bit of trivia that might interest
you: In the first 8 months of 1993, the IRS identified more than 23,000
fraudulent electronic returns. While this might seem a drop in the bucket
compared to the total number of returns, this figure was *double* that of
1992! And this occurred even though the total number of returns filed
electronically had increased by only 13%. Wonder how many of those were
submitted with those goofy incomplete copies of Andrew Tobias' MYM!

...From the I WANT MY MTV.COM! department. Yep, its true. MTV is officially
on the Internet. VJ Adam Curry is now running an ftp and gopher site through
a T1 connection supplied by Digital Express. Since the folks at MTV are not
yet ready to commit financially to the project, Adam is paying for the
connection himself.

...Those wishing to access files such as charts, audio files, schedules,
.GIF's and .AVI files can use the anonymous ftp connection of ftp.mtv.com
and cd /pub/. The pub directory contains a README file explaining the
setup and what's available. Adam hopes to get the other MTV VJs online for
Q&A participation, and plans to have a weekly newsletter out as well. Until
then, those of you wishing to tell those at Empty-Vee to wisen up and drop
all the technoboogiepoprapcrap and Seattle Garage Garbage should pass all
such correspondence to Adam c/o [e-mail].

...From the ZPG (Zero Population Growth) department: At best estimates, The
Internet is growing at 10% increase in users per month Various sources are,
naturally, starting to report serious electronic traffic jams. Those doing the
estimates, the National Center for Supercomputer Applications, report that an
increase in connections increased from roughly 100,000 in June of 1992 to
almost 400,000 in October of 1993, and that this number is expected to
double by the end of 1994.

...Center officials suggest that the only solution to the traffic snarls may
be to take a $15 million supercomputer and use it as both an electronic
switchboard and an an electronic librarian. With Seymour Cray trying to make
his own X and Y-MP's obsolete, at least one should be available as surplus for
this purpose within a year or two, if not sooner!

...Shades of ARPAnet: In a possibly related story, the DOD has announced
that Defense Technical Information Center will separate the Internet early
in 1994. This separation will be accomplished by the installation of a mail
-relay between the DTIC and the Internet. Although esxchange of electronic
mail between the DOD and Internet users will be allowed, the intent is to
add another level of security to prevent any sort of security breach problems
along the lines of those that resulted in the destruction of ARPAnet.

...Although some getting used to will be required by users attempting to
communicate through the new mail-relay, Internet users will not be allowed
to make direct network connections to DoD host computers. This move by the
DOD should probably not be interpreted as an isolated incedent, and
netsurfers should expect other government agencies to start distancing
themselves from the Internet as its size continues to grow exponentially.

...From the Try Before You Buy department: Jumping on the Demo CD bandwagon,
Apple is marketing an Instant Access CD-Rom for the Macintosh, with over 650
MB of commercial software on it. As with the PC versions, demo and test
versions on the disk can be upgraded to full working versions by calling a
phone number and paying by plastic. You'll be given a password for each
program you register to unlock it and install it as if it were a regular,
store-bought version. No word on whether a crack exists for this disk yet
or not.

...From the Disclaimer of the Month department: This disclaimer from Haventree
Software's EasyFlow program was passed onto us by a reader from ICEnet:

"If EasyFlow doesn't work: tough. If you lose millions because EasyFlow messes
up, it's you that's out the millions, not us. If you don't like this
disclaimer: tough. We reserve the right to do the absolute minimum provided by
law, up to and including nothing. This is basically the same disclaimer that
comes with all software packages, but ours is in plain english and theirs is
in legalese. We didn't want to include any disclaimer at all, but our
laywers insisted."

...Hmm, wonder if we should let Wayne and Filo read this section of WWIVNews.
They might get some really nasty ideas!

...From the Pyrhhic Victory department: In Hempstead, NY. a fired computer
contractor was found guilty of using a virus to attempt to collect an unpaid
bill from a customer. He reportedly infected the client's system with the
virus, threatening loss of data if they did not pay for services rendered.
The customers claim his work was substandard and were withholding payment.
While the contractor was both fined and jailed, the customer still lost all
data, and had to reformat several systems on-site in order to regain the
use of their systems.

...From the Let's Copy AOL department: Microsoft is reportedly developing a
an online service along the lines of America Online in structure, but akin
to Compuserve in size and features. This service, code-named "Marvel", will
offer all the usual services and gimmics associated with online services,
but Microsoft spokespersons have gone on record as saying "this *might* be
the only way that users will be able to get bug fixes and quick upgrades
for Microsoft products in the future."

...Plans are to have the graphic front end installed on all machines as part
of the upcoming Windows 4.0. Rumors have it, thought, that delays in the
development of "Marvel" has added additional delays in the release date of
Windows 4.0, which has been pushed back to as late as 4th Q'94!

...Don't let our Editor see this one: With all the hoopla over how many DSP
products don't work with OS/2, it seems Best Data is set to release an
incredible add-on card for IBM PCs. Developed by IBM, the ACE (Advanced
Communications Enhancement) system uses DSP (Digital Signal Processing)
technology to create a single card that is a 14.4 V.32bis modem with 9600
Fax send and receive, a 16-bit CD quality stereo sound card, an answering
machine, a voice mail system, a fax server, and a full duplex speaker
phone! In addition, later releases of the new DSP card will do OCR and then
read your faxes to you!

...This is some card, folks. Should IBM decide to sell these separate from
their systems, the ACE is expected to cost around $399. Standard equipment
includes a microphone input jack, audio I/O jacks, and standard RJ-11
telephone jacks. The ACE also supports basic voice recognition, text <->
speech, and phonic speech synthesis. Future versions of the ACE will have
plans for the card to support colorfax, full motion video, NTSC output,
JPEG/MPEG, etc, etc. All this card needs is a Swiss Army seal of approval!

...From the "Smells Like Windows Spirit" department: Word from insiders at
Sun Microsystems tell of a new version of WABI that has been reportedly
reverse-engineered to allow proper emulation of Windows 3.11 for Workgroups
routines. No release date has been set for this still unannounced product,
as Sun's lawyers are reportedly burning the midnight oil to cover all bases
and keep Microsoft from finding any reasons to sue over the Unix world's
attempt to stay afloat in the mainstream computer market.

...As readers of WWIVNews are aware, Sun released the final version of its
Windows Application Binary Interface late last year. WABI will allow Unix
systems from IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Novell and Sun to run Windows
applications on their systems seamlessly, so long as they don't do any