EI                            Z-NEWS 705                         30 March 1987
==============================================================================
Of  Significance.   We happily announce long-delayed ZCPR, Version  3.3,  goes
into beta-site testing first week of April.  Jay Sage has greatly enhanced the
command processor over original created by Richard Conn.  Version 3.3 has many
new features:

1. Extended command processors and error handlers work together, and can  run
   in high memory so the GO command can be used.
2. Command Processor configures itself dynamically from environment descript-
   or  as do ZCPR3 utilities.  Maximum drive and user area, acceptance of  DU
   form, and addresses of RCP, FCP, and NDR are fully accessible.  Utilities
   install automatically.
3. Speed of processing increased.  Path searches are faster, current  direct-
   ory can be omitted, explicit directory declaration bypasses path altogeth-
   er,  each directory searched only once, RCP commands are run  before  less
   powerful CPR ones, and many more such features and options.
4. ZEX jobs treated as shell scripts.  ZEX now runs under shells, e.g., MENU,
   VMENU, and VFILER, quickly and efficiently.
5. DU  form  permitted with full pass-word security.   Password  checking  of
   named directories can be disabled when the wheel byte is on.
6. Both RCP and CPR commands are shown using the built-in H command.
7. Improved  CPR  commands REN, SAVE (an added SAVS command  saves  sectors),
   DIR, and GET.
8. Significant bugs fixed.  Long command-line tails handled correctly,  init-
   ialized  and filled file control blocks when an ECP is invoked, path  root
   correctly calculated, built-in error handler activated when external hand-
   ler cannot be found.  No more infinite loops!
9. Code structure reorganized, made more efficient with different algorithms,
   and then completely rewritten.

If all goes as planned we should be shipping 3.3 in a month, about first  week
in  May.   Now that Jay has taken over the management of ZCPR, we  can  expect
lots  of  new,  timely, exciting features periodically--Richard  Conn  is  off
working other projects.  We wish him well in his new endeavors not  associated
with Echelon.
    Major enhancements are being made to ZRDOS to work with BIOSs that handle
features  of newer chips.  In-house, we call new ZCPR, ZRDOS pair:   ZOS,  the
new  Z-System.  Besides Jay, Bridger Mitchell, Malcolm Kemp,  and Ken Taschner
join Z-Team to design, develop, code, and produce ZOS, under Bridger's leader-
ship.  First machines to receive ZOS as bootable-disk upgrades will be  SB180,
SB180FX,  and  DT42,  other HD64180 and Z180 machines,  then  computers  using
Zilog's new Z280.
    Hopefully, the delays of the past are behind us.  We are on new  footing,
moving ahead on many fronts with new optimism (see Software Beat below.)

From Our Mail Box.   Jerry Nelson, Marburg, Germany, relates his feeling about
General  Motors  and the company's Chairman, similar to ours  (Z-News  609-5).
And  about  STD bus (he wishes more hardware and software  vendors  would  get
their combined act together) he says, "We are not trying to finalize the Manu-
facturing  Automation  Protocol  for  a steel mill  or  the  Technical  Office
Protocol for a building full of Boeing engineers.  We are the other people who
make  machines  and  research labs go.  Our common ground is  a  pile  of  STD
cards..."  along with Z-System and Quick-Task.  Yes, Jerry, we agree  STD  bus
can  be an economical solution having open architecture, and there's  develop-
ment software to do what needs to be done.  And that more needs to be done  to
make  the  developer's life easier.  We support companies  offering  STD  Z80,
NSC800, HD64180, Z180, and Z280 processor boards.  Don't forget, we  presently
have versions of Z-System that are ROMable.  (Refer to Hardware Beat below for
more on Zilog's newest chip.)
    "About  a year ago, I purchased the SB180 computer with a  full  software
package  (Z-System + Z-Utilites).  Later on, I also purchased  some  additonal
software  from  your compay (The Libraries, Graphics, Windows  and  Pull  Down
Menus).  Working with the Z-System and its utilities has been a great pleasure
for  me.   Your software is excellent and so is the documentation  that  comes
with  it!   At  present, I am upgrading the system with  the  SB180FX,  GT180,
COMM180,  1 Mbyte of RAM and I hope that my `new' system will work as well  as
and reliably as the `old' one.
    "After installation of the COMM180 modem I would like to try to establish
a connection to Z-Node Central and upload some software if possible.  Is there
a password .. line 65 because of helv header required to do this?"  A fragment
of  letter  from Ernst Schmid, Bern, West Germany, along with $650  order  for
more  software.  Thanks Ernst for kind words and wonderful order.   To  answer
your  question:   many Europeans access Z-Node Central with no  trouble.   You
don't need a password.  But first time you log-on you must leave your name and
address, so that next time you log-on you will have full access to file system
for up and downloading.

Correction.    Contact in England for Z80 Turbo Modula-2 is Mr.  Ian  Rangely,
Grey  Matter,  Ltd., Prigg Meadow, Ashburton, Devon TQ13 7DF,  telephone  0364
53499.   Z-News 704 confused Grey Matter's street address with  Mr.  Rangely's
name, dropped his name, and declared the street's name to be his.  Doing some-
thing like that intentionally is meaner than a boot full of barb wire.  It was
not intentional...fortunately only the hardcopy edition of the newsletter  got
out with this typographical aberration.

Z-Node  Activity.   Z-Node Central activity is at all-time high even with  PC-
Pursuit blocking access to the 489 and other significant exchanges...what  can
we say?  PC-Pursuit must make a profit, just as we.
    Ben  Grey  operates Z-Node #24, Ken Jones, #4.  Will we  never  get  them
right (Z-News 703's corrections failed)?  Maybe the red Zinfandel has gone  to
our  head...we switched recently to some vintaged in Oregon, based  on  advice
from Z-User Davis Northnagel of Eugene.  We wonder...
    Bruce Chilers, P.O. Box 3033, Oakton, VA 22124, provides a super  drawing
program, written in Turbo Pascal, contained in file WDRAW.LBR.  Bruce runs his
own RAS, 703/281-7907.  Give him a call to show your appreciation for WDRAW.
    And,  windows  come  from Bob Catiller, El Torro,  CA.   Bob's  programs,
written in Turbo Modula-2, are in file WINDOM2.LBR.  Rea Williams's Z-Node #10
is  focal  point for TM-2 programs, 714/855-0672.  Gee!   Lots  of  high-level
language activity caused by both Turbo Pascal and Modula-2.  WDRAW and WINDOWS
should keep us busy, learning and understanding, for months to come.

Z-User's Corner.   A neat alias we call DEFRAG uses RESTORE (on SUS #9 and  Z-
Nodes),  Steve  Dirickson's  file block  allocation  fragmentation  correction
utility,  to automate disk and partition file de-fragmentation  process  while
retaining  critical  operator interaction.  It sorts and packs  the  directory
area  using CLEANDIR, enters RESTORE and calculates status of disk  fragmenta-
tion,  then  asks operator to proceed or not, and finally resets  disk  system
using DISKRST of ZRDOS v1.3 and after.

                     ROOT:cleandir;restore;ROOT:diskrst

RESTORE.COM must be on the drive that disk restoration is to take place, which
is  the default, currently logged-into drive.  Other files may be along  path.
Once  into RESTORE, control-C safely cancels process.  At anytime you  can  go
back and start process again--now that's nice!
    RESTORE  orders disk allocation blocks based on an alphabetically  sorted
directory.  Blocks are sequentially re-located to also be numerically  sorted.
After  restoration, entire disk is one of order based on these  sortings.   If
you add a file with name whose first letter is in low alphabet, say ARUNZ.COM,
nearly  the entire allocation has to be re-done, because file will be last  on
the disk format.  There is nothing wrong with this but RESTORE will indicate a
disk completely needing restoring.
    We  wonder...sure, it is important to have file blocks allocated  contig-
uously  on disk.  But having the allocation alphabetically sorted may  or  may
not be important.  Remember Z-News 205-2, Speed Tip Reminder?  It suggested  a
file  placement  order  on floppies to speed access on cold  boot  and  during
normal use.  Principle applies to all rotary storage devices.
    Maybe Steve will rethink his algorithm and offer options, ones to  better
optimize  the defragmentation process.  We would like to have the  ability  to
declare the names of the first 20 to 30 files on the disk.

   "The multiple command capability of Z-System is important not so  much
   because it allows the user to enter a whole sequence of commands  man-
   ually  but because it allows programs to do  so  automatically."---Jay
   Sage, ZSIG Corner, The Computer Journal, Issue 27, page 31.

    Z-System  permits knowing about command search paths.  Few if any  appli-
cation  programs written for CP/M take advantage of paths.  Take WordStar  (or
Newword) as example.  Word processing program has an "R" command to run  files
from  within itself.  The files to be run must be in the default or  logged-in
directory for R to work.  (ZCPR3 shells should not be run because of  conflict
between way shells return to themselves and way WordStar returns after it runs
programs.)   Try using SHSET and CMD to make WS into temporary shell  and  see
what happens...we have, and it was lots of fun learning from such  experiment-
ing.

                              SHSET WS;CMD<cr>

    Another  neat  thing to try:  from VFILER load WordStar, then use  R  and
LZED,  the Z-System editor from Zivio and NAOG/ZSIG (Z-News 701-1), to edit  a
file while you still have WS loaded.  On exit from LZED, saving your work, you
instantly return to main menu within WordStar.  Oh!  Wow!  What a trip!
    On  the other hand, Backgrounder ii (Z-News 704-1, Item 10 on  our  Price
List,  $75.00 plus $4.00 S & H) provides an even more  multidimensional  trip.
BGii  permits being within a file with your favorite editor, exiting,  leaving
the text just where you happen to be.  Next, opening another file with another
editor,  and finally, when desired, returning to the first file and  being  at
exactly the same place you left.

Software  Update  Service Report.   SUS diskette #8 has been  shipped  to  all
registered subscribers.  It's the eighth disk shipped in eight months to those
without  easy access to Z-Nodes but keeping pace with public domain and  other
support  programs  mentioned in Z-News.  Service has been  an  unexpected  but
welcomed  success.  Thanks to you who subscribe--we appreciate your  business.
SUS  #9,  directory partially shown in Z-News 704-2, is about  30k-bytes  from
being  filled,  ready to ship.  It should ship by end of April or  early  May.
Programs just keep coming to enhance Z-System computers.

JetFind  Report.   We have talked (written) a lot about JetFind and its  speed
and flexibility.  Well, early reports indicate you, our users, agree with  our
findings.   It  is  the most, as they say in the trade.   Management  of  text
files,  compressed--both  squeezed and crunched--and files in  libraries,  has
never been easier.  But the bad news.  Introductory period is over, price goes
to  $49.95.   But if you order before 15 April, order desk  is  instructed  to
honor original price of $39.95.  Jet Find is Item 66 on Price List.

Hardware Beat.   Toshiba ships their super high capacity floppy, a 3.5"  drive
with  4-megabyte  capacity.  Interface is same as  conventional  floppies,  so
adding one is a matter of providing table space in computer's BIOS.   Floppies
just  will  not  die...act as excellent backup media to RAM  and  hard  disks.
Konica and Eastman Kodak, look out!
    NEC  is producing V30 chips with full Z80 instruction-set  compatibility,
an  8086 that runs Z80 code!.  They are not offering it in USA because of  on-
going copyright battle with Intel.  NEC is using the chip in a home  computer,
the PC88VA, for the Japanese market.  Wonder if Z-System understands  Oriental
languages?
    "World's  fastest  microprocessor"  is produced by  AMD,  Advanced  Micro
Devices  Inc.,  Sunnyvale, CA.  Called Am29000, 32-bit machine  has  sustained
through-put of 17 million instruction per seconds (mips), peak of 25 mips,  at
clock rate of 25mHz and 4-ns instruction cycle time.  AMD claims that a multi-
font laser printer built around a 29000 runs four times faster that those with
Motorola's  68020.   Surely  Apple is looking into the 29000  for  their  next
version of their relatively slow and expensive, but flexible, Laserwriter.
    Grapevine,  i.e., according to usually reliable sources, tells  of  IBM's
success  with producing 4-megabit memory chips, code named  Gazelle.   Appears
USA  is closer than the Japanese to being able to offer extreme  density  DRAM
chips.  We understand both IBM and Texas Instruments are at least as close  to
volume  production with both 4- and 16-megabit chips as their  Asian  counter-
parts.   Here, we salute IBM and TI and their search for excellence,  for  not
throwing  in  the  towel in face of severe competition.   More  USA  companies
should  have  that  attitude.  (We haven't fully assimilated  impact  of  now-
available  1-megabit chips--to be in IBM's to-be-announced-in-April  new  PCs,
their alleged Apple squashers--now the 4's are almost here.  Yes, we live in a
fast changing technological world.)
    We  have not been missing the new generation of laser printers  announced
and  shipping.  Three using the Ricoh 6-page per minute engine  (ppm),  Epson,
Okidata, and Ricoh themselves, and Hewlett-Packard's LaserJet Series II  using
an  upgraded  Canon engine, each represent a  maturing  technology.   (Canon's
original 8-ppm engine is said to be good for 100,000 pages before major  over-
haul; Ricoh's new 6-ppm, 180,000.  We don't know about Series II  durability.)
All  four  retail for under $2500 and can be discount  purchased  for  between
$1500  and $2000.  We predict that 300-dot resolution laser printers  will  be
selling for less than $800 this time next year.  These printers produce  near-
typeset  quality, are physically small for what they do, are fast, quiet,  and
reliable.  Winners!
    Yes, Virginia, there is a Z280.  Zilog finally does it--the Z280  exists!
It's  what the original Z800 was said to be and more, but Z280 is  not  vapor-
ware!   Chip  is  super extension of a Z80, much more  so  than  the  HD64180.
(Zilog  has  also  started shipping their second-source  AT&T  WE32100  32-bit
microprocessor  chip  and an enhanced HD64180 called Z180.)   Looks  like  the
company finally has its act together.  Z280 has both 8- and 16-bit signed  and
unsigned  multiply  and divide with expanded set of 46 new  instructions  plus
additional  addressing  modes.  Set has over 600  instructions  (goodbye  RISC
concepts).   At clock rates of 10 megahertz and above, 16-megabytes of  memory
address  space,  and  8-bit Z80 bus or 16-bit Zilog  Z-Bus,  capabilities  far
exceed  Intel's 80286 used in IBM PC AT.  Addressing modes offered make  high-
level languages more effective than ever.  Using Z-Bus we have an extended Z80
instruction set CPU that is true 16-bit, as is the 80286.
    Zilog uses 2-micron channel length, a physical aspect of a chip's design,
CMOS technology for the 280; we would feel better if 1.2 micron had been  used
for  future speed increases, but knowing it not to be a perfect world, we  are
thankful  for what we get.  On the other hand, we know of several  2.0  micron
designs  running  at 20 mHz--metal pitch, another aspect of  chip  design,  is
likely more important than channel length at determini
ng overall  performance.
Now  we  re-think our position on appropriate mix between  HLL  and  Assembler
code,  considering  advanced pipeline-cache architecture of Z280.    But  most
importantly,  Z280  runs Z80 code--Echelon's common denominator  in  terms  of
microprocessor  chip  support.   For more  information,  contact  Jim  Magill,
Richard Davies, or Tom Hampton, Product and Technical Marketing, Zilog,  Inc.,
210  Hacienda Ave., Campbell, CA 95008, 408/370-8000 or 370-5166.  The  future
is now!

           (block diagram of z280 chip here in hardcopy edition.)


Zilog Z280 highly integrated CPU.  Major functions are a paged  memory-manage-
ment  unit  with a 256-byte fully associative data and  instruction  cache,  a
four-channel DMA controller, three 16-bit counter-timers, a 6-stage wait-state
generator,  a DRAM refresh controller, and a high-speed UART with rates up  to
2.5 mHz.  Price: 10mHz parts, $40, quantity one; $20 for 1,000.

Mr.  Hampton  presently  runs Z280 benchmarks versus some  common  CPUs:  Z80,
80186,  80286,  etc.   We will pass along source code and his  results  as  he
provides them to Echelon.

                It's easy to create,
                      but being responsible for what
                             the creation does is something else.

Software Beat.   Desktop publishing packages, those that control laser  print-
ers  and  phototypesetters, swiftly move down the path to  completion.   CP/M-
compatible  machine  users will soon have several choices to  permit  them  to
dress  up their hardcopy output, to put them into camera-ready quality  class.
WordStar  v4.0 leads the pack with potential features--features that are  long
overdue--but  programs  from other sources could offer just as much  or  more.
Stay tuned...
    ZAS, Version 2.6, is being offered free to all licensed users of  record.
It's close to what we think it should be.  As a gesture of faith in your  con-
tinued confidence we want all users to enjoy ZAS in its latest form.  The v2.6
release  of  ZAS  has some bugs removed and a few  enhancements.   So  if  you
purchased ZAS from us, send in your master diskette and .lh 6
we'll send the new release to you by return mail.

  1. ZAS, ZLINK, and ZLIB now incorporate ZCPR3-style help, shows when
     trailing "//" parameter is used.
  2. ZLINK now accepts DU: (disk/user) as part of filenames.
  3. Serious error in ".phase and .dephase" processing fixed.  Feature
     should now be 100% functional.
  4. MACLIB statements within IF conditionals now work correctly.
  5. PRN listing object code fields now have accurate information.
  6. With  permission  of the author, we now include XIZ and XZI programs
     to replace ZCON (although ZCON is still included).

In  Other Words.   Present atmosphere cribs and cripples imagination, is  more
concerned  with image than substance, knows little of essence.  "I'm doing  my
best," becomes the great American cop-out.  "You can house (jail) my body  but
my soul soars free," our operative motto.  Recent overrunning of U.S.  Marines
in  Lebanon  by  terrorists is case in  point.   Following  regulations,  they
carried unloaded guns.  Under situation they knew themselves to be in, written
rules didn't seem to apply.  But blindly, they followed standard  regulations,
did not use initiative or even good judgement, their brains turned-off!   When
life-threatening  trouble arrived, they were completely unarmed.   Disarmament
came  when first they decided to use not native intelligence or common  sense.
Regulations ruled!
    We  have become a nation of rules and regulations, not so much  of  laws,
but of men who think not, are so self-centered and self-identified, they think
of  only  the  short-term.  If Marines as  individuals  represent  other  than
leadership, where does leadership vest?  Notice how USA governmental officials
helped  stop  Fujitsu,  a  Japanese company,  from  buying  80%  of  Fairchild
Semiconductor  from  Schlumberger, a French company.  Such officials  are  the
ones  that  make us non-competitive.  Show us quality leadership  and  we  can
learn from and follow it.  Until that time, rebels we shall remain!

   War is not a disease, but rather a symptom of near universal dis-ease.

USA suffers from lack of leadership...our top officials leave us  wanting...we
seek  from  them straight-forward moral and ethical principles,  honesty,  and
actions  based on such...values and doings of the likes of  George  Washington
and Benjamin Franklin.  Please, show us truth, something lasting!
    Returning  to mottoes.  When building the staff for his  newly  conceived
computer company, H. Ross Perot (Z-News 609-5) hired the best people he  could
find.  His motto: "Eagles don't flock.  You have to find them one at a  time."
We wonder what Chairman Smith's and General Motors's mottoes are...

 "The  brain is an organ that starts working the moment you get up in the
  morning and does not stop until you get into the office."
                               ---Robert Frost, 1874-1963, American Poet.
==============================================================================
Of  Angels and Eagles.   Style, rhythm, beauty--the good life!   Happiness  is
not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions.  It's a mental  attitude.
Happiness  comes  from appreciating what we have, instead of  being  miserable
about  what  we  don't have.  It's so simple--yet so hard  for  us  humans  to
comprehend.  Now back to our lute and serenading Magdalena.  See you down  the
lines...



Echelon, Inc.        885 North San Antonio Road        Los Altos, CA 94022 USA
Telephone: 415/948-3820    Telex: 4931646   Z-Node Central (RAS): 415/489-9005

Trademarks:  Little Board, Bookshelf, Ampro Computers; SB180, SB180FX,  GT180,
Micromint; ON!, Oneac; DT42, The SemiDisk, Deep Thought 42, SemiDisk  Systems;
TR-XL180,  M.A.N.  Systems;  PC  AT, IBM;  VAX,  Digital  Equipment;  HD64180,
Hitachi;  Z80, Z180, Z280, Z-Bus, Zilog; 8086, 80286, Intel; 68020,  Motorola;
Z-System,  ZOS, ZCPR3, ZRDOS, Z-Tools, Zas, Zlink, Z-Msg,  Term3,  Quick-Task,
NuKey,  PrintStar,  Lasting-Value Software, Echelon; CP/M,  Digital  Research;
Unix,  WE32100, AT&T; Graphix Toolbox, Turbo Pascal, Turbo  Modula-2,  Borland
Int'l;  LZED,  Zivio;  WordStar, Newword,  MicroPro  Int'l;  JetFind,  Bridger
Mitchell.



                 *                                        *



                                Fly with Z!



                 *                                        *




Z-News  705  is  Copyright  MCMLXXXVII Echelon,  Inc.   All  Rights  Reserved.
Permission  to reprint, wholly or partially, automatically granted  if  source
credit is given to Echelon.