Volume 2, Number 44                         16 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.




                           Table of Contents

      1. EDITORIAL
         Tom Jennings' Trip to Europe
      2. NEWS
         Multilink, JRam Boards, & Fido
         Using the FIDO sysop command `0' on sanyos.
         Introduce Deaf/Blind to Computers
         Free Fidogram Christmas Deadline
      3. COLUMNS
         FidoNet Musings
         Why You Should Use A Retail Store
         Fido with Multilink
         Rainbow Corner
      4. WANTED
         In Search of Rainbow BBS's
         Fido's Wanted- Earn Money!
      5. NOTICES
         The Interrupt Stack












      ============================================================
                               EDITORIAL
      ============================================================

      Tom Jennings
      9 Dec 85
      125/1

              Some interesting things happened to me in the last
      few weeks; the Hobbycomputerclub (HCC) of Holland invited me
      over there to officially open their club-run FidoNet in
      Holland, consisting of some 15 or 16 Fidos. I spent a total
      of 12 days out of the country, visiting England as well.

              There is so much to tell that I don't know where to
      start. I'll first just cover the trip serially, but there is
      also important information about Fido, and BBS's in general,
      in Europe that will have to be covered seperately. I may
      have to leave out important details at first, and get to the
      later. Please bear with me.

              At first I was a bit suprised that a computer club
      could and would afford to fly someone from the U. S. just to
      attend a club show and open a FidoNet network. The real
      suprise was discovering that the HCC has over 25,000
      members, and that their "newsletter" resembles a slightly
      thin issue of Byte magazine! Clubs on this scale just don't
      exist here in the U. S. as far as I know.

              I was greeted at Schipol airport, outside Amsterdam,
      by Henk Wevers, whose house I would be staying at. Henk, as
      it turns out, is a major force behind the Dutch FidoNet, and
      Fido in Europe in general, as well as one of the key people
      in the HCC. Henk also runs a Fido in Ede, which appears in
      the nodelist.

              After recovering from serious jet lag (9 hour clock
      difference plus a 9 hour flight) we headed to the show in
      Utrecht Friday morning. Utrecht is a major city in Holland,
      and a major business center. The show filled a large hall,
      similar to most US convention centers (SF's Civic Center for
      instance) and had about 30,000 attendees on Friday. The Fido
      booths were right at the main entrance; there was a large
      entranceway announcing the HCC show, and Fido was right
      where you went in. Fido had a very large presence, and there
      were a couple of Fidos running demos during the entire two
      day show.

              BBS's are just starting to generate large interest
      amongst hobbiests, because of the modem problem; while we in
      North America have only three universal protocols (Bell
      103A, Bell 212A, and CCITT V.22bis for 2400 baud), in Europe
      there are at least a half dozen incompatible protocols, and
      the North American models are all useless. This subject will
      be covered in detail later.

              There was a tremendous amount of interest in Fido,
      if you had told me beforehand I would not have believed you.


      Fidonews                   Page  2               16 Dec 1985





      At a talk given by Henk explaining the HCC's plans for Fidos
      in Holland, and where I answered questions, the room was
      filled to capacity, standing room only. Needless to say, I
      was not prepared for such a response, I'm not used to this!
      There was coverage on national TV, newspapers and radio
      about the show (the HCC is taken very seriously) including
      Fido.

              The next day, Saturday, was similar, but much
      busier. Hectic is not the right word, we literally ran from
      one event to the next for much of the day. The show was
      packed with visitors.

              I guess all computer shows are basically the same,
      no matter where they are held. There was row after row of
      booths, all displaying various products, many small machines
      making noise and playing games, others showing more sedate
      things like monitors for IBM clones, and so on. There was
      also a very large user group presence; anyone familiar with
      the unfortunate recent history of the West Coast Computer
      Faire will appreciate this! The fact that most communication
      is done in Dutch is the first indication that something is
      different, and after looking closely you see that emphasis
      is put on different kinds of products and services.

              The most common machine by far is the Commodore 64.
      While it's a popular machine here, it's nothing compared to
      Holland at least. I saw more add on hardware and software
      that I decided to think about purchasing one for myself.
      CP/M is very popular, mostly a thing called the Amstrad
      (spelling?) which from what I've seen is very nice, color
      graphics and so on, and seems to be high quality.

              On Saturday morning, Pieter van Diepen, the current
      publisher of the HCC magazine, gave me a quick tour of old
      Utrecht. (The part we were in was a typical high tech city,
      with the usual traffic and hotels.) The old city surrounds
      canals, ancient churches (I mean ancient, hard for us
      Yankees to appreciate 600 year old anything), and a
      coffehouse that has been in continuous operation for about
      300 years, where we had coffee, and made us late enough to
      mess up the plans for opening FidoNet on live radio. Sigh.

              I don't remember seeing a single IBM computer; like
      here, most these days are Taiwan clones. The Taiwanese are
      changing the world of computing in ways they may not
      realize; someone like IBM does the large scale design, the
      cloners simplify and improve the design (Faraday, etc) and
      the Taiwanese manufacture them in *huge* quantities, for
      cheap, and all that I've seen are of pretty good quality.
      Even I have one. These are what most European Fidos are
      running on, and I would guess the same is true for North
      America.

              The international sysops meeting was held Saturday
      afternoon. Henk Wevers and other Holland sysops where there,
      plus Frank and Silvia Thornley from England, Martin ? from
      England, Bob ? (sorry for the ?) from Dataflex (a modem


      Fidonews                   Page  3               16 Dec 1985





      manufacturer) in London, Arne Asplem and Robert Hercz from
      Norway, and of course me. Helge ? from Sweden had an
      accident and could not make it.

              It was not a big complex affair, mostly just a get
      together, but past experience says that more was
      accomplished than meets the eye. Merely putting names with
      faces does a lot of good. We cleared up some
      misunderstandings about putting the European nodes in the
      Boston net; for example, what we thought was a convenience
      turns out to really make for additional work. Since Fido
      doesnt know about "countries" (yet) they were included in
      the Boston net so that the mail would get routed properly;
      in reality, it makes it extremely difficult to handle mail
      in Europe, as most mail is done via PICKUP and POLL due to
      the lack of autodial modems.

              That night, there was a big banquet for the HCC
      staff that put it all together, we ate too much good food
      and drank real beer, not this "lite" stuff. Pour that stuff
      down the drain!


              The next day, Sunday, Frank, Silvia, Arne, Robert,
      Bob, Martin and I went in two cars to Belgium to take the
      ferry to Dover, and then on to Frank's house in Woking. The
      drive itself was interesting; by the time we made it on to
      the ferry, I had three flavors of money (dollars, guilders,
      pounds), which makes small purchases very interesting until
      you get used to it. Robert and Arne also had German marks,
      and presumably Norwegian money. Welcome to Europe.

              From the ferry we all went directly to Frank's
      house, where we all spent the night. The truly hardcore gang
      (Martin, Bob, Arne and Robert) stayed up all night setting
      up Robert's computer, and playing with Frank's huge
      collection of IBM PC software. Us more rational types went
      to bed.

              For the next few days, we talked about various
      things, Fido of course among them, and Frank gave us the
      grand tour of London and area. It was an excellent tour; it
      would have taken me weeks and weeks of vacationing to hit
      all the spots, if I could have ever found them at all.

              One I would not have found was the pub at Fullers
      brewery. The best bitter beer I ever had, period. Drank a
      fair amount there, took some back with us ... us hardcore
      types drank it and other things, the more rational ones went
      to sleep. Guess who had a hangover. And yes, it was worth
      it.

              For the next three days, four of us traveled around
      London and area, Martin and Bob having gone home. We visited
      Dataflex (makers of addon boards for various computers, and
      soon a Hayes compatible modem).

              On Wednesday, I returned to Holland, and spent three


      Fidonews                   Page  4               16 Dec 1985





      days pointlessly wandering around Amsterdam, having a
      wonderful time taking pictures and freezing to death.

              A hint for travelers: the standard travel books
      (Fodors, Baedakers, etc) absolutely refuse to mention the
      weather, with one exception that crammed "average yearly
      temperatures" over much of Europe into one paragraph.

              Europe is miserably cold in the winter. Plan on New
      York City weather. Cold, wet, more cold and wet. It was
      supposedly colder than usual for that time of year. this
      always happens to me; I was in the South West high desert,
      and it rained. I went to Phoenix AZ four years ago, and it
      rained there, too. Maybe it's me.

              On Sunday, I returned to San Francisco, on an eleven
      hour flight; jet lag in this direction isn't too bad,
      relatively speaking.


              I want to thank once again everyone who made my trip
      over pleasant, never mind possible. Henk Wevers and his
      family for making me welcome at their home and to Henk for
      arranging things; Frank Thornley for putting me up at his
      home, and or putting up with all the hackers messing up his
      house, and for the grand tour of London. It was appreciated!
      And of course to the people fo the HCC for their enthusiasm
      for Fido and friendliness.








              The modem situation in Europe is very very different
      than here in N. A. In the U. S., we have the "benefit" of
      having our modem protocols dictated to us by the one time
      telecom monopoly, AT&T. We have the Bell 103A protocol for
      300 baud and less and Bell 212A for 1200 baud. There are and
      were others, of course, but most have thankfully died out;
      Bell 202A is still used by radio amateurs, however, mainly
      for radio use.

              This is not a discussion of technical excellence in
      protocol design; merely observations on practical reality. I
      don't care for the way Bell did their 1200 baud protocol
      either. Anyways ...

              In Europe, however, things are a little different.
      There are at least a half dozen different protocols, most
      defined by the CCITT. (Don't ask ...) The main ones, I
      think, are 300 baud V.21, 1200 baud V.22, 1200/75 Viditel,
      and V.22bis 2400 baud. Modems are very expensive, and there
      doesn't seem to by the hobbiest/microcomputer type array of
      modems we have here.



      Fidonews                   Page  5               16 Dec 1985





              While compared to the North American continent
      Europe is physically compact, (it takes 5 hours to fly from
      San Francisco to New York, and somewhat less than that from
      there to Amsterdam) there are many languages in use, most
      incomprehensible to each other. Lucky for us, English is the
      technical language of choice, so Europeans are not as
      intimidated by English as we are (generally) by Dutch,
      French, German, etc.

              I am familiar somewhat with AT&T's policies as to
      making connections to the phone line; I do not know what the
      situation is in countries in Europe, whether it's easy or
      hard, or if it varies from country or not. The PTT seems to
      be everywhere; is it the same across Europe or different all
      over?

              Last, but definitely not least ...

              The person who basically started Fido in Europe was
      Ron Smallwood, in London. He was Fido #33, and first started
      in early 1984. Talk about pioneering ... not too much was
      heard from him over here, due mainly to the incompatibilities,
      the time differences and the expense of overseas phone
      calls. Ron is not running Fidos anymore, but he kept things
      going long enough for others to pick it up. I did not get to
      meet Ron, I ran out of time and had to leave, but I'm sure
      we will meet in the future.

              I'm sure I missed or glossed over many important
      points, if there are any questions or corrections please
      feel free, etc. And thanks once again for everyone involved
      for the very pleasant and informative trip to Europe!



      ------------------------------------------------------------
























      Fidonews                   Page  6               16 Dec 1985





      ============================================================
                                  NEWS
      ============================================================



                          LET'S GET IN TOUCH!


      Fido is such a great tool.  There are now literally hundreds
      of Fido Bulletin Boards across  the  nation  and  the inter-
      national list  is growing  too.  These boards provide a rich
      exchange of public domain software, technical  questions and
      answers and can also be an interesting social environment.

      In addition  to these  technically-oriented boards, a number
      of non-techie boards are springing  up.    They  are focused
      around some  "special interest."   For  example, there are a
      number of boards with  a medical  bent, boards  dedicated to
      music and  concert reviews, etc.  Sometimes these boards are
      not very visible and are hard to find  just by  browsing the
      board names  in the  Fido Node  List.  That is the reason we
      are writing this little public announcement.

      There are a number of boards in the net who  have a "special
      interest" in  the Gay & Lesbian Community.  We'd like to let
      all of our gay brothers and  sisters out  there know  who we
      are.  The boards listed below are places that you can get in
      touch with the Gay & Lesbian Community.   You can  use these
      boards  as  a  social  tool  and  also  to read and exchange
      information about current events and issues of importance to
      us all.  So give us a call and let's exchange some ASCII!


           Bernal Bears Board       San Francisco, CA   125/448
                                    415-648-3014   1200 24 hrs

           Community News Board     Costa Mesa, CA      102/504
                                    714-631-5859   1200 7pm - 12pm

           Compu Cruise             San Jose, CA        143/4
                                    408-275-9326   1200 24 hrs

           Fidoplex                 Memphis, TN         123/2
                                    901-377-8180   2400 8pm - 10am

           Laguna Xroads            Laguna Beach, CA    102/522
                                    714-494-5272   1200 24 hrs

           West Hollywood GBBS      West Hollywood, CA  102/112
                                    213-874-9484   2400 24 hrs


      We've  also  discovered  many gay-empathetic boards, many of
      which have "special interest" sections among the technical!

      Are there any other gay Fido BBSes out there?  If so, please
      make yourself  known.  There is some talk about establishing


      Fidonews                   Page  7               16 Dec 1985





      a Gay Fido Network.  In fact the boards in Northern Califor-
      nia have  already been  doing this for some time.  This is a
      sensitive time for our community.   We can  use each other's
      support.  We empower each other by communicating!

      ------------------------------------------------------------






















































      Fidonews                   Page  8               16 Dec 1985





      Butch Walker
      10/620


                   Multilink, Jram, & Bulletin Boards

          This is more of a request for help than it is an
      article. It seems that I am not the only Sysop having
      trouble with the above combination. I have talked to other
      Sysop's around the country and find that they also have
      problems with Multilink, JRam boards, and Bulletin Board
      software. For whatever reason, our systems will lock or
      crash periodically for no apparent reason.

          I know that several boards are running Multilink
      successfully without the JRam board. Allen's board (Fido
      108/10) is an example. However it seems that when you add
      the JRam board, whether the JRam AT, or JRam 8, the
      problems start. Neither Tall Trees, nor Software Link are
      much help at solving the problem. I have talked to them
      repeatedly, and Rudy Gordon (Sysop of The Machine) has
      talked to them for the last 4 months.

          The problem is the same whether you run Fido as I do,
      or RBBS as Rudy does. What we need is for anyone that has
      experienced the same problem to get in touch with me.
      Please put out the word to non Fido boards as well. We need
      to put some pressure on the two companies involved to get
      the problem solved. Frankly it makes me mad that I spent
      about $1,000 buying Multilink and the "approved memory
      board" only to have problems that the software company
      doesn't seem to want to correct.

          Just for your information, I am running a IBM AT with
      256k, a JRam AT populated at 2mb with 120ns chips, Hercules
      color card, Princeton HX-12, Seagate 30mb, one USR 2400
      internal, and a Courier 2400 external.

          Please send replies to me, Butch Walker - Sysop TBLUG
      Fido 10/620.


      ------------------------------------------------------------

















      Fidonews                   Page  9               16 Dec 1985





      EJ McKernan
      Node 14/386 ... The "Bit Bucket"
      Emporia, KS  (316)343-8028
      300/1200/2400 Baud ... 24 Hours/day

      As most of my fellow fidosysops know, fido has the ability
      to allow someone with a SYSOP priv. level to drop to
      dos, execute some code (sysop utilities, edit FILES.BBS,
      ect...)  It works great, IF (and this is a big if) one
      is running fido on any machine, except for the sanyo.
      I've often wondered why it was that the sysop 0 command
      croaked on the sanyo and receintly jumped in with debugger
      cocked to see if I could discover what was going on.

      For quite some time I blamed the trouble on Sanyos AUX1.SYS
      driver. Sanyo goofed their first try on the serial port
      device driver and released AUX1 as a replacement driver. It
      seemed to run great if you executed "CTTY AUX" immediatly
      after bootup, but the system locked up if you tried it after
      running fido_syo.exe. Well in looking at the code for fido
      I discovered that the transmitter is disabled in the sanyo's
      serial port when fido exits. One bug down.

      Further looking at FIDO, I discovered that the interupts
      are also disabled (masked out) from the UART. It
      seems that sanyo coded the device driver using a ring
      buffer on the receiver (interupt driven) and polled the
      xmitter if dos needed to transmit anything. Well a quick
      routine to enable the transmitter and turn the interupts
      back on fixed everything.

      If your running fido on a sanyo and would like copies of the
      above mentioned software it's available on my board,
      the Bit Bucket, at 316-343-8028 in the Network file area.
      The file is named SANINTFX.ARC. It contains AUX1.SYS from
      sanyo, my RUNFIDO.BAT file, and SANINTFX.COM the interupt
      patch routine. It also contains a modified version of
      watchdog called WATCHDGS.COM (watch dog sanyo.)

      One other item of note. You can't must remote sanyo from
      a terminal with 8 bits, 1 stop, no parity. Otherwise
      you'll get everything echoed back from DOS but nothing
      will be accepted as valid keystrokes.

      Finally...I can remote sysop my FIDO!


      ------------------------------------------------------------












      Fidonews                   Page 10               16 Dec 1985





      " THE BULLETIN BOARD "
        NET 106 NODE 100
        HOUSTON TEXAS
        SYSOP CARL PIPKIN
        SYSOP CAROLYN PIPKIN

      We are starting a new data base in the Houston area and we
      are asking the help of all Fido Nodes to help me build up my
      Data Base.  We have a lot of programs to offer our users but
      we are going to run short in a little while because of the
      great response to our system.  We are offering programs in a
      variety of areas.  But since the board is up 24 hrs there's
      not enough time to download programs from other boards to
      offer first class service to our users.  So thats why I am
      asking the help of all of my fidonet operators to Net Mail
      me some Free Ware programs to help build up our Data Base "
      THE BULLETIN BOARD" we are on the Fidonet Network as Node
      100 Net 106 Baud Rate 300 Phone No. 1-713-590-4609 any Free
      Ware Programs would be greatly appreciated in these areas:

      (1) Word Processing Programs
      (2) Utilities Programs
      (3) Games Programs
      (4) Spreadsheets Programs
      (5) Database Programs
      (6) Business Programs
      (7) Communications Programs
      (8) Artificial Intelligence Programs

                                          THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP
                                          SYSOP CARL PIPKIN

      ------------------------------------------------------------



























      Fidonews                   Page 11               16 Dec 1985





                    Introduce Special Users to Fido

      If you are like many Fido network users, you probably
      demonstrate the system to friends and acquaintances who
      express even the mildest interest.  How would you like to
      show the network to a group of people who could put Fido's
      potential to maximum use, but may not even know of it's
      existence?  There are approximately 20,000 to 45,000 people in
      this country who are both deaf and blind.  Some of the Deaf
      Blind are totally deaf and totally blind and special skills in
      sign language is needed to communicate with them.  Others
      who are "hearing impaired" and blind, can be vocally
      instructed in the use of computers and can use computers
      with braille attachments.  Still others are deaf and
      "visually impaired" and can see a CRT well enough to use
      the computer.  It is for this third group that this article
      is written.

      Ever stop and think how often you use the phone to talk with
      friends?  Give a thought about someone who can't use the
      phone normally and must use a Telecommunication Device for
      the Deaf (TDD), a sort of baby computer with one line of
      letters that bump across the display, teletype fashion.
      Deaf people with normal vision have little trouble with
      TDD's but a visually impaired person may have trouble
      reading the moving letters due to the speed they move and
      the person's restricted field of view.  And they can't take
      their eyes off the display for an instant without losing
      track of what's being said unless they have a TDD model that
      also prints paper messages or has a "save" recorder feature
      - neither a satisfactory solution for the visually impaired.
      In addition they are limited to people who also have a TDD
      to talk to; or they must use the services of a volunteer
      relay service to get messages to friends without TDD's.

      How many people do you know have TDD's?  How many have
      computers?  Lots more!  So why don't these D/B people use
      computers for communication? (just think of the use they
      could make of the FidoGram feature.)  The problem is
      communications itself; someone must "communicate" and
      explain the system to them on a "one to one" basis.  And
      that someone is reading this article right now.  OK, you'll
      give it a try.  Where do we find a D/B person to show Fido
      to?  They may know even less about you than you know about
      them and some of them are actually in hiding from rejection.
      Some areas have D/B support groups, often associated with
      the American Association for the Deaf Blind (814 Thayer
      Ave., Silver Spring MD 20910). Some church and temples have
      a "Office for the Deaf".  A call to the HELEN KELLER
      NATIONAL CENTER, Sands Point, Long Island NY (voice or TDD
      516/944-8900) or the HKNC Field Service Supervisor, Dallas
      TX (214/630-4936) will get you the name and phone number of
      the HKNC district representative who may be able to advise
      you about groups to contact with a offer to help.  These
      groups in turn will see if any of their members are
      interested in learning about computer communication.

      After you have meet a D/B person, then what?  Two rules: (a)


      Fidonews                   Page 12               16 Dec 1985





      Never take the advise of "experts" in D/B rehabilitation as
      the last word.  Just like computer "experts" they're right
      most of the time and wrong just often enough to be human.
      (Yes, that includes this article.)  (b) ASK.  Just that:
      Ask!  Ask the person you are trying to help how you can
      help, communicate with or show something to, how you can
      best do it.  Each D/B person "see's" a little different and
      only he/she - not a expert - can tell you how.  For the
      first contact, arm yourself with a black ink ballpoint or
      felt tip pen and white paper - NOT a pencil and yellow legal
      pad.  Some visually impaired people need large letters.
      Others, due to restricted field of view, read normal size
      letters better.  All need contrast between words and paper.

      Write out a short note telling the D/B person your name and
      explain your interest in computer communications.   Describe
      the room the computer is located in before you take them
      into it - and be prepared to follow the Blind Persons Rule
      of Doors: "All the way Open or All the way Closed!"  Clear
      the decks of anything bumpintoable.  Ask the person if
      he/she can lipread; some can if conditions are right. If you
      have  a mustache or are in a dimly lit room conditions are
      not right.  And few D/B's can read smoke signals if you talk
      with a pipe in your mouth.

      Keep in mind that the D/B person can't look at you and the
      screen or keyboard at the same time so you can't "back seat
      drive" him/her thru Fidoland.  Since you will have to give
      them a chance to become familiar with the CRT display, it
      would probably be best to put a text file on screen first to
      see how well they can read it.  I'd suggest letting them
      read the Fido USERSMAN.UAL on screen first; this will save
      you the trouble of explaining how the system works and find
      out how well they can see the screen.  Depending on their
      individual eyesight condition, some will do well with the
      standard size screen.  Others will need larger size
      characters or a larger screen.  Still others will be most
      comfortable reading small, sharp characters on a small
      screen like the Kaypro 2-84 / 4-84 or Radio Shack TRS-80 /4P
      (the portable model).  LCD displays usually do not have
      enough contrast for a visually handicapped person to read.
      This will probably be the most important part of the project
      and will require some patience to help the person read the
      screen comfortably.  If you have a file containing a logon
      of a fido node that you captured on disk, put it on the
      screen so the person can become familiar with the menus
      while they "hold still".  Remember that the person may not
      be able to see the entire screen at the same time and will
      "scan" it by sections.  (They may also need time to scan the
      room and the parts of the computer so don't start this
      project when your pressed for time.)

      Most D/B's will have some typing ability from using a TDD
      but will need a little time to adapt to the new keyboard.
      Some use Hi Marks (a red cement for the blind) to make small
      "bumps" on the right edge of the "F" and the left edge of
      the "J" keys.  You might place a thin strip of masking tape
      on the edge of these keys to make locating them easier.  The


      Fidonews                   Page 13               16 Dec 1985





      concept of commands may be new to them and you may have to
      explain, for example that typing "M" at a menu will either
      get you into the Msg. section or back into Main Menu
      depending on where it's typed from.  Another concept you may
      have to explain is the password security procedure.

      When you're sure the D/B person can use the screen and
      understands what's going to happen then it's time to go
      online.  Dial up your favorite Fido node and let the person
      watch you "read the mail".  Use 300 baud the first time
      (even if you have a capture buffer on) as 1200 may be too
      fast for some people to follow.  And if your running on
      "Expert" mode, you might drop back into "Novice" with "M)ore
      On" for this project.  Then give your D/B person a chance to
      try it him/her self and browse through a message or text file
      area.  If you have a Sysop in your area who's always read to
      chat at the touch of a Y)ell key, give the D/B person a
      chance to "talk" to him/her as this "one to one" feature may
      be important; they will be comparing it to the TDD.  (Best
      to make advance arrangements with the Sysop.)  Be sure to
      explain that many Sysop's are not usually available.

      In addition to message posting and retrieval, explain the
      Fido ham telegram setup and it's restrictions (especially
      msg length).  If they have out of state friends, and no one
      to make calls for them, this feature will be important.

      And finally, be prepared with some realistic information if
      he/she asks about buying his/her own computer, including
      pricing information.  Keep in mind that the least expensive
      system may not be suitable for a handicapped person.  Few
      blind people can comfortably read a Radio Shack 100.  A
      person who can't hear a dial tone will want a Auto-Dial
      modem.  The ability of the computer to run a program with a
      text file download capture buffer is almost a must for
      someone who can't read a screen quickly; they can always
      grab all the messages and exit the board to read them, then
      return to post answers to messages.

      Showing a deaf, partly blind person the Fido network may
      take time and patience and you will have to reexamine some
      of the things you take for granted.  But for a D/B persons
      with few communication options, you will be opening the
      world for them.

      Stu Turk  (User, Fido 129/13 or 129/384)
      ------------------------------------------------------------













      Fidonews                   Page 14               16 Dec 1985





                  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
                  :                                :
                  :FREE CHRISTMAS FIDOGRAM DEADLINE:
                  :                                :
                  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

      The deadline for free Christmas Fidograms to arrive at
      101/105 is December 20th.  this should give our packet
      switching systems and other network sufficient time to
      route your messages.

      What are Fidograms, you say?  Egads! - We've accepted
      Fidograms all the way from Sweden, Alberta and Holland,
      bound for every which way, and you don't even know about
      them yet?  Sheesh...

      OK - a brief recap.  Fidograms are your way of sending free
      personal telegrams to almost anyone in the USA who has
      access to a voice telephone.  Just like Western Union.  You
      provide us with your complete name, address and fone number,
      as well as the same complete data for the addressee of the
      Fidogram.  Naturally, you want to provide us with the text
      of the Fidogram (20 words, more or less max), and a
      signature.  That's it - we take it from there.

      Your Fidograms are routed from Fido 101/105 via Amateur
      Packet Radio at 1200 bauds into our networks, and are
      relayed by radio across town, or across the country until
      they reach the city of ultimate destination, at which point
      they are telephoned to the addressee.

      There are no limits to the number of Free Fidograms that you
      can send, but there ARE limits as to the contents.  Nothing
      related to business or the making of profit to any persons
      may be contained in a Fidogram.

      You can send Fidograms to certain countries overseas, but
      only those whose governments have the necessary agreements
      with our government.  Those that do include Canada, Mexico
      and many central and south American countries, but virtually
      none in Europe.  If your local Fido does not yet have the
      file describing Fidograms, contact me at 101/105 and I'll
      try to get it to you.

      One more reminder - college and University Fidos should
      consider "advertising" free Fidograms during the week
      preceding Valentine's day.  Terminals placed in college
      cafeterias usually net us several thousand Fidograms each
      year - bundles of fun!  Enjoy.

                     Luck Hurder 101/105 Cape Cod Fido

      ------------------------------------------------------------







      Fidonews                   Page 15               16 Dec 1985





      ============================================================
                                COLUMNS
      ============================================================

                            FidoNet Musings
                         by Ben Baker - 100/76

           Thom  has asked me if I would do a regular (or at least
      semiregular) column for the newsletter.   It  is  with  some
      misgivings  that  I undertake this venture.  I enjoy writing
      on occasion when the mood strikes me, but the thought  of  a
      weekly   deadline  is  very  unsettling.   My  wife  is  the
      journalist in the family.  Several years ago she worked  for
      a  chain  of  local newspapers and did a weekly column which
      appeared in several of them.  I can still remember the  days
      she  would  sit dowm at the typewriter with a blank page and
      nothing to say.  At  those  times  even  the  cats  tip-toed
      around the house!

           Thom  has given me no guidance as to format or content.
      I interpret this as having a good deal of  latitude,  and  I
      shall  make  the  most  of  it  as I meander from subject to
      subject.

           It is incredible to me that Fido was conceived only two
      years  ago  this  month, the brain-child of Tom Jennings and
      John Madill.  I first became involved when I put up  version
      4 in March of 84 and was "officially listed" as Fido # 10 in
      April.

           Those were the days of  at  least  three  new  software
      releases  a  week.   I can recall at least one occasion when
      two new versions were released  the  same  day,  only  hours
      apart.   I had considered doing an "early history" piece for
      this first column, but things happened so fast  and  furious
      that, on reflection, it's all a blur!

           Unfortunately,  none of us kept a journal (how could we
      know we were making history) and Fido's early  history  can,
      at best, only be approximated.  I'm not sure how the idea of
      "the  network"  got   started.    I   recall   a   telephone
      conversation  or  two  with  TJ in which he talked about the
      concept in abstract terms.  "I have no  intention  of  doing
      it, but wouldn't it be neat if.  .  ." Within a week, we had
      version 6 and FidoNet was born!  I think that may have  been
      June.

           I  think  the phrase "Wouldn't it be neat if.  .  ." is
      as responsible as anything for many of Fido's features.   Of
      course,  each  new  feature  usually  broke two or three old
      features and could be counted on to supply at least four new
      releases.

           Not  all  the  features  this   phrase   spawned   were
      necessarily  good.   I remember when TJ added "broadcast" to
      FidoNet.   The  first  version  of  this  feature   had   an
      interesting   bug.    Whenever  Fido  received  a  broadcast
      message, it would rebroadcast  it.   Sort  of  an  automated


      Fidonews                   Page 16               16 Dec 1985





      electronic  chain letter.  A single message could have, in a
      week's time, choked the  network!   We  never  did  get  the
      feature  to  work properly, and when we passed through about
      forty nodes on the net, we decided we didn't want it to work
      right and it was removed.

           Our  early node lists were, at best, only about seventy
      percent accurate.  I recall two weeks of  trying  unsuccess-
      fully  to  send a message to a new node in Texas.  Finally I
      dialed the number one day and a mechanical operator informed
      me  "The  number  you have dialed has been changed.  The new
      number is.  .  ." A call to the new number connected me with
      a real person.  When I told her that my information was that
      an electronic bulletin board  was  supposed  to  answer  the
      first  number,  she  explained that the board was her son's.
      He had accidently reversed his voice and  board  numbers  in
      his  request  for  a  node  number.  After several nights of
      being awakened out of  a  sound  sleep  by  incessant  phone
      jangling  between three and four am., they had changed their
      number.

           Anecdotes  abound,  but  my  wife  tells  me  a  column
      shouldn't  be  too  long.   (I  think she wants to limit the
      amount of proof reading sne has to do.) I would like to hear
      from you with suggestions for future topics, questions about
      FidoNet, whatever.  Send FidoNet mail to 100/76.  I will try
      to  respond  directly  to  all messages, and some with broad
      general interest I will share with you here.

      ------------------------------------------------------------






























      Fidonews                   Page 17               16 Dec 1985





                    Why You Should Use A Retail Store

      By Robert Bova
      President, MicroAge-Downtown Computer Store
      Lexington, Kentucky

              Nowadays you can buy a computer from almost anybody.
      Toy stores, discount stores and by mail-order.

              But from most of these "computer stores" all you get
      is  a  computer or some software which may or may not run in
      your computer.

              You get very little,  if any,  help in figuring  out
      how  to  connect  the  cables  or  learning  how  to use the
      machine.

              After all, how do you get training by mail-order?

              But if you purchase a computer from  a  good  retail
      computer  store  (and  the  key  is  finding a good computer
      retailer),  you get more than just hardware and software  --
      you get a human being, one who will spend the time necessary
      to teach you how to use your computer.

              This is called SUPPORT.

              Support takes many forms. Not the least is the skill
      your  sales  representative  has  in  guiding  you  in  your
      purchase of equipment and software.

              True,  no computer store can  carry  everything  and
      every  brand,   but  today's  retail  computer  store  sales
      representative generally has a wide  selection  of  computer
      brands and software from which to choose.

              If the salesperson (who should really be more than a
      salesperson,  but  a  guide  in the often confusing world of
      computer hype) is doing his job,  he or she can size up your
      requirements for computer power.

              Often  a  good computer salesperson will determine a
      client's needs would best  be  served  by  a  less-expensive
      computer configuration.  In many ways,  today's professional
      computer salesperson is  a  consultant  to  the  purchaser's
      business, rather than just someone trying to sell as much as
      possible to the customer.

              That isn't always the case,  but new professionalism
      has come to computer retailers.  It had to happen  since  we
      all want your repeat business.

              A  good computer dealer will follow up the sale with
      effective and comprehensive training.  He'll  pre-test  your
      computer  at  his  shop,  install it and then re-check it at
      your location.  Plus he'll train you and your  employees  in
      its every function.



      Fidonews                   Page 18               16 Dec 1985





              From  hardware  to  software,  you  should know your
      computer and its uses after the  dealer  has  completed  his
      initial installation.

              The  job  isn't  done here.  A good dealer will stay
      with you until you are confident that you can make your  new
      computer  an invaluable asset.  Then he'll provide follow-up
      support, maintenance and the consultation required to insure
      your success.

              A good dealer will make available to  you  reliable,
      tried and tested hardware and software, all sized and priced
      to  fit  your present requirements,  but with the ability to
      grow as your needs expand.

              And, more importantly,  the dealer makes sure you'll
      never be alone in your computer needs.

              A  local  computer  retailer  provides conveience as
      well.  The store is nearby and you can usually test software
      and hardware in the store to get a feel for how it works. No
      ad,  no  matter  how flashy,  in a magazine can give you the
      feel of "hands-on" experience.

              And you know that if you have a  problem  after  the
      sale, your local computer dealer is just going to be a local
      phone  call  away  for aid and comfort.  If it isn't a sale,
      those folks with the 800 numbers in California that sell  at
      a discount, don't want to hear from you at their expense.

              My  advice?  Find  a consultant you feel comfortable
      working  with  at  a  local  computer  store.  Explain  your
      computer needs with him or her,  then give the salesperson a
      chance to evaluate your situation and make recommendations.

              Then expect your consultant to follow  through  with
      support, that magic word, which should lead to satisfaction.

      ------------------------------------------------------------





















      Fidonews                   Page 19               16 Dec 1985





      Allen Miller 108/10

                           Fido with Multilink


           I would like to find out how many of you are running
      Fido along with Multilink multitasking software.  If you
      are, or know of another Fido system that is, please send me
      a message letting me know the name of the system running
      Multilink (to Fido 108/10 @ 513/579-2587).

           One consequence, that I have found, of running Fido with
      Multilink is that the elapsed time computation that Fido
      does is off by a factor of 2 (2 if you run 2 Multilink
      partitions).  This means that if you set your session time
      limit at 60 minutes, a user is really allowed to be on for
      120 minutes.  You can compensate for this by changing your
      time limit parameter to 30 if you really want to have people
      able to stay on for 60 minutes.  The catch is in the file
      trans-fer transaction.  If a user wants to download a file
      that would take 35 (real) minutes, Fido says that there is
      not enough time remaining even though your intention was to
      permit 60 minutes of wall time.

           A friend of mine is writing a program to work in
      conjunction with Fido & Multilink to correct for this
      elapsed time distortion.  Part of the reason for this
      solicitation is to evaluate the usefulness of this program
      to a wider audience.  Once again, please let me know of any
      Fido systems that are running with Multilink.

      Regards,
      Allen

      12/08/85

      ------------------------------------------------------------























      Fidonews                   Page 20               16 Dec 1985





                             Rainbow Corner
                          by Theodore Needleman


      Welcome  to  Rainbow  Corner.  I'd like to introduce myself.
      I'm the  guy  from  Business  Software  Beat.  So  much  for
      introductions.  What  is  "Rainbow Corner"?  My hope is that
      it is someplace where friends will gather to talk about  the
      DEC  Rainbow.  What hardware is available from DEC and other
      vendors to enhance it?  How about  software  -  how  can  we
      accomplish what we want to?

      The  "Corner" was created because of requests from you,  our
      readers, for more coverage and information on the micro side
      of the street.  (Our Editor:  "Hello Ted - Our  readers  are
      asking  for  more micro coverage,  so we're adding a Rainbow
      column.  Want to write  it?"  ME:  "Well...Ah...Um...Sure!")
      The  column comes at an auspicious time.  Last week (this is
      being written in mid February) DEC announced it is switching
      the plant used  for  production  of  Rainbows  over  to  the
      production  of  "OTHER  SYSTEMS".  Rumors  abound.  My local
      Digital Systems Center is claiming that  production  of  the
      Rainbow is being moved to Hong Kong.  Other sources say that
      the  Rainbow  100  series is dead - when (and if) production
      starts up again,  it will be of  a  new  model.  I've  heard
      rumors  of a completely IBM-PC compatible Rainbow,  and of a
      lap-top Rainbow.  Someone has even suggested to me that  DEC
      will  be  coming out with a coprocessor system that will run
      both VAX and MS-DOS.  Are any  of  these  rumors  true?  Who
      knows?  Only DEC, and they're not saying!

      In  any  case,  there's no reason to feel abandoned.  In the
      coming weeks Rainbow Corner  will  review  hardware  add-ons
      that will make your system more powerful.  Numerous requests
      for review software have gone out, and some very interesting
      packages have already started to arrive.

      One  last  point  before  we move on to other business.  The
      "Corner" exists as a place to share  information.  If  there
      is  something you are particularly interested in,  drop me a
      line and I'll try to cover it.  The same offer goes for your
      questions.  If I don't have (or can't find) an answer, maybe
      another reader will be able to help.  The Rainbow is a  well
      designed  and engineered computer.  Its biggest defect seems
      to  be  the  dearth  of  information  available  about   it.
      Hopefully, the "Rainbow Corner" will help fill the void.

      Before  I  close  this  week's  column,  I'd like to briefly
      discuss an interesting piece of software that came across my
      desk recently.  As most of you no  doubt  know,  the  "Print
      Screen"  key  works  only  when  you are in "Terminal" Mode.
      Wouldn't it be nice to be able to accomplish a  screen  dump
      at  other  times?  An  inexpensive  ($39.95)  utility called
      "PRINT-SCREEN"  from  Micro  Resources  Inc.,   (154  Needam
      Street,  Newton,  MA.,  02164, phone 617/965-2890) gives you
      this capability with CP/M-86/80 (versions 1 & 2) and  MS-DOS
      (versions  2.01 & 2.05).  It has a few limitations,  such as
      not being able to print graphics screens or the Set-up  mode


      Fidonews                   Page 21               16 Dec 1985





      screen,  but  for the price,  it is a worthwhile addition to
      your utility library.

      That's it for now.  See you next issue.

      (c)opyright 1985 by Ted Needleman-all rights reserved

      ------------------------------------------------------------




















































      Fidonews                   Page 22               16 Dec 1985





      ============================================================
                                 WANTED
      ============================================================

      Rob Elliott
      Fido #115/100

                       In Search of Rainbow BBS's

      If you know of any BBS's  or public access mainframe systems
      serving the DEC Rainbow (or other DEC PC's too) that are not
      listed below,  please send a FidoNet message to  Illini Data
      Services Fido #115/100 with information on the BBS.


      FidoNet Fido Systems
      --------------------
      11/600 15/1002 17/22 17/28 19/67 100/16 100/17 100/22 100/51
      101/14 101/27 101/44 101/45 101/111 101/112 101/202 101/310
      101/367 101/4601 102/101 102/104 102/109 102/110 102/111
      102/301 102/501 102/508 102/701 107/1 107/2 107/17 107/23
      107/31 107/55 108/50 109/74 109/483 109/601 114/3 115/100
      115/444 121/90 124/2 124/10 125/1 129/14 129/15 132/107
      132/620 132/615 141/320 141/491 143/5.

      Other bulletin boards
      ---------------------
      SF PC LUG, CAMPPUS, Scherer's, DEC MARKET, DEC PDL, Latin
      Express, The Land, Albuquerque PC LUG, Oz.


      Illini Data Services  maintains three lists of Rainbow BBS's
      (entitled DECBBS.LST, DECBB.LST, and  DEC4BBS.LST)  that are
      available for downloading on many of the listed boards.   If
      you do not have access to the list, you can download it from
      Fido #115/100 or send us a message and we'll send the latest
      updates via FidoNet to you.


      ------------------------------------------------------------




















      Fidonews                   Page 23               16 Dec 1985





      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 24               16 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.

      ------------------------------------------------------------



























      Fidonews                   Page 25               16 Dec 1985