FidoNews is the official newsletter of the International FidoNet
Association, and is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1.
You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
FNEWSART.DOC, available from node 1/1.
Copyright (C) 1986, by the International FidoNet Association.
All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted
for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
please contact IFNA.
The contents of the articles contained here are not our
responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them.
Everything here is subject to debate.
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES
Free publicity for your BBS!
USR Does It Again
Yet Another Article on Shareware
ALS...It Ain't Just Sex
New Alternate Lifestyles Fido
2. COLUMNS
Running 8-bit CP/M software under MSDOS =is= possible
Computer Industry Spotlight
3. WANTED
FidoNet information needed!
4. FOR SALE
Get Your Baud in Shape with BDawg
DataCare Hard Disk Utility
Entertainment Software for your PC!
Public Domain Software Library Sale!!
RAINBOW FREEWARE Published
5. NOTICES
The Interrupt Stack
Fidonews Page 2 18 Aug 1986
TAKE A BYTE OF "NEWTON'S APPLE"
WITH FREEWARE FROM DU PONT
NEWTON'S APPLE, the upbeat popular PBS science series, enters the
computer age in October with the introduction of NEWTON'S APPLE
FREEWARE FROM DU PONT. Produced by KTCA-TV in Minneapolis/St.
Paul, and made possible by a grant from the Du Pont Company, the
award-winning series begins its fourth season this fall.
For the past three years, NEWTON'S APPLE viewers at home and in
the classroom have enjoyed the fun and fascination of scientific
discovery. Now viewers can take discovery one step further with
free software made possible by a grant from Du Pont.
The NEWTON'S APPLE FREEWARE package will consist of five Apple
compatible programs that will each treat one of the scientific
principles covered in the series. For example, as NEWTON'S APPLE
host Ira Flatow relates the laws of probability to the workings
of a slot machine, a companion software program brings the lesson
to viewers' fingertips. Through computer simulations of coin
flipping, dice throwing and slot machine playing, the user learns
why gambling doesn't always pay. Additional software will be
based on such program segment themes as mirrors, hypothermia,
inertia and a season quiz.
NEWTON'S APPLE has been endorsed by the National Education
Association and has received awards for both the series and its
educational materials from Action for Childrens Television and
the National Broadcast Promotion Association.
NEWTON'S APPLE FREEWARE FROM DU PONT will be made available at no
cost to viewers. The software will be available on Compuserve
through the Apple Forum and on The Source through the Apple
Special Interest Group (SIG) and EdLine. The software will also
be distributed via a nationwide network of local computer user
groups and bulletin boards, from which users (whether school
systems or individuals) will be able to either download or send
for the programs.
FIDO bulletin boards are ideal for this kind of network, and we
are happy to offer NEWTON'S APPLE FREEWARE FROM DU PONT to all
interested sysops. If your bulletin board would like to offer
this software, please contact Thom Henderson at node 107/7 so
that he can send me a list of interested sysops. We would be
happy to let you preview the software when it becomes available
later this summer. We would also include the name of your
bulletin board in all press releases sent to your area.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Gregory M. Cooke
Fidonews Page 4 18 Aug 1986
Senior Associate
Stone/Hallinan Associates
441 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10023
(212) 557-8400
Monday July 28, 1986 my U.S. Robotics Courier 2400 modem began to
act very odd; by Tuesday it decided not to act at all. After
eliminating all other possible causes I determined that the fault
must have been with the modem.
First thing Wednesday morning I dialed USR's tech support number:
(800) 982-5151. After giving the technician only my modem's
serial number he said, "What can I do to help Mr. Sullivan".
Within moments we determined that there was a physical problem
with the modem. We made arrangements to have a new PC board
shipped direct to me overnight.
Thursday morning UPS arrived with the new PC board and after a
quick replacement I was up and running again.
I have dealt with many mail-order shops, local computer stores,
dealers, and computer manufacturers, and I have never seen
anything that can compare with the accuracy of USR's customer
infomation, quality of their product, and promptness of their
customer support.
"It depends." Mostly, it depends on what type of product it is,
what audience it's aimed at, how often you update it, and, rarely
on what the price is.
Many authors, with Jim Button being one of the most visible
examples, have switched from "Shareware" to "Demo-ware," in which
they include a subset of the manual or a crippled version of the
program, forcing you to upgrade in order to use the product's
full feature set. I think that sucks, but it's also inevitable.
Demo-ware deprives the user of the chance to test-drive the
product completely. It's like getting to test drive a car, but
only for ten feet inside the dealer showroom. You can tell if it
moves, and you can see what color paint it has, but you have no
idea how it's going to perform on the freeway.
Other companies have abandoned Shareware entirely. Take a look at
the August 25 InfoWorld. PC-Index, praised by Jerry Pournelle in
BYTE, was withdrawn from Shareware, because only three people
paid for it. PC-Outline was sold to Brown Bag Software, and is
now available only as a commercial product. (Brown Bag also
sells PC-Write under its own name, in what I think is a bizarre
but quite acceptable compromise: offer the program both as
Shareware and commercially, and see what happens.)
A good compromise is Chi-Write, which gives you a fully
functional program but flashes an advertising appeal for money
every once in a while. You also have to pay for the product if
you want support for certain displays and printers. That's fair:
it gives you a chance to use all the features, but doesn't really
let you get away with using the package forever for free.
Does Shareware ever work? Ask Bob Wallace (of Quicksoft, author
of PC-Write). He has one of the best word processors on the
market, and he gives the whole product and the whole manual
(except the index) on disk, and he makes genuine product
enhancements every six months or so. For him, Shareware sure
ought to work. People use the product every day, corporations use
it, and they can measure how much the program is worth by looking
at comparable commercial packages. Bob makes money. Lots of it.
Quicksoft also offers support to registered users, and for your
$75 (the price was scheduled to rise soon), you get the manual,
the program on disk, and business-reply postcards good for two
disk updates. And you get a newsletter a couple or four times a
year, notifying you of updates and such. Quicksoft is the best
example I could point to.
Then, on the other extreme, there's PC-Talk, the original
Fidonews Page 7 18 Aug 1986
Shareware program, written by the late Andrew Fluegelman, and Red
Ryder, from Scott Watson. In both cases, I have talked to people
who sent in their $35 and got absolutely nothing. Not even an
eighteen-cent postcard saying "thanks." I've heard that the
situation has improved, but the bad reputation will certainly
last, and will hurt other shareware authors.
I hate to upset our Humble Editor, but Systems Enhancement
Associates took my money ($50) and sent me a disk and a
photocopied manual, but I never got a notice of the new version.
I just found it one day on a local BBS. [Thank Ghu the version I
found wasn't 5.13...] Let's be fair, too: despite the fact that
every sysop and BBS user [yes, you!] in the country uses ARC
regularly, very few people have sent checks to Thom and Andrew.
Maybe that explains why SEAdog, the Fido-compatible electronic
mail system, isn't Shareware.
I guess human nature dictates that more often than not, Shareware
won't work. If I can get something for free, I'm not likely to
pay for it just to make me feel good. I already have the program
for free; I want something more for my $35, and in Shareware that
means update notices, upgrades, or at least a thank you that
shows that the shareware author has warm, fuzzy feelings.
Shareware doesn't work for games.
The Generic Adventure Game System (GAGS) has done moderately well
-- I've taken in about $3,000 total, in twelve months, against
total expenses of about $2,500. My time -- 30 to 40 hours a week
for six months of development, and maybe 10 hours a week since
then -- will never be paid for, even at minimum wage. (Alas, I
collect sales tax from Californians, and take hours to file that
paperwork; and I'll file an honest tax return and pay taxes on
that $500 profit as well....)
Most game authors don't do nearly as well. One author I spoke to
received no checks for an entertainment program, even though
after a year he know of a users' group that had sold hundreds of
copies.
Obviously, games are low priority. I use PC-Write every day,
perhaps for 10-20 hours a week. It is a tool, and I value it
highly. I play Trek 2.3 once a week at best. And I can see the
value of PC-Write: it helps me make money as a professional
writer. Trek, on the other hand, is simply fun. We pay $5.50 to
see a movie, for two hours of entertainment, yet most users will
never send the $10 Shareware contribution for Trek.
Yes, I paid for PC-Write, PC-Windows, ARC, and Trek. I have a
vested interest in paying for my Shareware, of course, since I'm
a Shareware author.
I've briefly used dozens of other programs -- the Disk Organizer
(DOG101A), Fansi-Console, PC-Outline, Instant Recall, and others
Fidonews Page 8 18 Aug 1986
-- and not paid for them because, despite their high quality, I
don't use them. That, of course, is the whole point of Shareware:
if you use it, pay for it. But if you use it, pay for it. That's
what they mean when they say "User-Supported Software," which is
more awkward but also more appropriate.
If I were doing it all over again, would I release GAGS as
Shareware?
Yes. I released GAGS as Shareware because I wanted to be certain
of success. If I'd sold it to a publisher, in the dismal game
market of mid-1985, it certainly would have lost money, since it
would have cost a fortune to create packaging, print manuals, and
so on. By distributing GAGS as Shareware, I've managed to get the
program into thousands of people's hands, and I've gotten checks
from a few dozen. And my name is in the limelight, since many
BBSs have GAGS available for on-line game playing.
All in all, GAGS has turned out about as I'd expected. Better, in
fact, since I was much more pessimistic. I was surprised when I
hit the $1,000 mark, and when I hit that point I actually turned
around and put extra effort into upgrading GAGS to meet the
requests of my registered users.
That, I suppose, is what proves that paying for Shareware is
important: getting checks prompted me to provide service to those
users. (The $15 registration for me has been a mixed blessing:
I've sent out four or five update notices, which take time,
energy, paper, envelopes and postage.)
My wildest dreams haven't come true, though. Bob Wallace takes in
hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for PC-Write, and he's
got an office and staff people. Jim Button even has an 800
number. They are the exceptions.
An aside: Public domain, for the IBM PC, is much rarer than it
was for CP/M. I guess that's because of Shareware. A lot of
people who would once have released a package as public domain
are deciding instead to put a little request in, saying, if you
like this program, please send $10, or $25, or whatever you think
it's worth. They get a few checks, maybe some get a couple
hundred dollars, and maybe that encourages them. If it were
public domain, maybe people who'd paid nothing would be more
willing to offer suggestions. Hmm.
The next project? I'm working with some other programmers on BIX
[the BYTE Information Exchange] to write a set of programs to
test for IBM compatibility. It will be pure public-domain,
because we all agree that a public-domain project is much more
likely to elicit help from software vendors and other programmers
(hint, hint) than a Shareware or commercial project where someone
would get money for other people's suggestions.
Fidonews Page 9 18 Aug 1986
The Compatibility Test Program Suite will be public domain
because of the nature of the project. If I were doing GAGS again,
given the fact that the market for games is better, I'd think
seriously about selling it commercially.
I doubt I'll write another game program, though, so there's no
way to be sure. I'll probably port GAGS to the Macintosh this
fall, and release it as Shareware. I won't go to the effort of
porting to any machine that Borland doesn't release Turbo for: I
don't believe enough Amiga or ST owners would pay for it to make
it worth it.
If someone came to me with a proposal to take GAGS commercial for
the Mac or another system, or even enhance it and take it
commercially for the PC, I'd think about it very seriously.
What effect has Shareware had on the industry?
In the case of communications software, it's been devastating. I
think PC-Talk, Procomm, and Qmodem have more installed base than
the commercial packages. Most of them aren't paid for, but people
keep writing new Shareware communications packages. The effect
is that, unless you're Microstuf with a solid, recognized product
like Crosstalk, you don't have a chance. Microsoft hasn't even
made a dent with Microsoft Access, although part of the reason
may be its problems with its copy-protection scheme.
Other areas haven't been as good. PC-Write has done well, and I
love it, but I don't think it's even in the top ten word
processors in terms of regular users. The same applies to
databases and spreadsheets. I don't even know of a good Shareware
spreadsheet.
Shareware has done its part to cut the cost of software, but I
think Borland was much more important at that. The whole idea, to
me, is that if I pay for a package and get lousy support, buggy
code, bad documentation, or just plain bad software, I'm going to
jump ship at the first chance I get, whether it's shareware from
Mark Welch or commercial software from Lotus or Ashton-Tate.
-- Mark J. Welch
P.S.
By now, most everyone knows that the generic terms for this
method of distribution are "Shareware" and "User-supported-
software." "Freeware" is a trademark of the Headlands Press, and
applies only to PC-Talk. In some ways, it's a good thing, since
"Freeware" implies that the program is free, while the other
terms better express what's going on: people sharing software,
and users supporting software authors.
Fidonews Page 10 18 Aug 1986
P.S.S.
For those who are curious: I moved, left InfoWorld, and WelchNet
is now a private mail-only FidoNet node, all because I am
starting law school at the University of California at Berkeley.
(Hmm. Maybe if Shareware had worked better, I'd be going to
Stanford or Harvard....Then again, no.)
Utopian Quest calls itself an "Alternate Lifestyle(s)" BBS which
has been created largely to find and network with other "ALS"
boards, organizations and individuals.
WHAT IS "ALS" AND WHY IS FIDO BEING "AFFLICTED" WITH IT?
First of all, the FidoNet itself has some deep philosophical
roots in the Alternate Lifestyle(s) Movement ... The "shall not
be too easily annoyed" dictum is a basic reality of communal
living. Dedication to "free and gratis" BBSs is something Hippie
and Digger survivors can recognize as their own economic
utopianism in a new context. The Fido wizard's attitude toward
individual creativity and responsibility would strike a
responsive chord among Beatniks and Libertarians.
The term ALS has carried with it connotations of benign secular
humanism, leftish politics and sexual adventurousness. The
"alternatives" in ALS usually referred to replacements for diadic
romanticism. Celibacy (lifelong singleness ... not necessarily
chastity), and various forms of plural marriage and communalism
... were (and still are) explored.
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ... so to speak.
There has been a deplorable trend in the BBS world to use ALS as
a euphemism for Gay. This bit of NewSpeak usually describes a
SIG in a commercial data service run by people who are neither
Gay nor ALS.
Not all Gays are living alternate lifestyles. Conversely, not
all ALS people are Gay. Gay and ALS are are not synonymous; nor
are they mutually exclusive. In the BBS world, Gay BBSs are
among the most numerous, oldest and most sophisticated non-
technical boards.
NOW, ABOUT "SWINGERS" ... ARE THEY ALS?
There are different kinds of "swingers": among them are the
Recreationals, Utopians, and the "Would-Be's." The Bees and their
sons are by far the most numerous, the least ALS, and the most
catered to by the erotic entertainment industry. Fantasy
dominates in these BBSs, with "hot chat" an increasingly popular
activity on commercial, mainstream data services.
AND WHOM ELSE ??
An Alternate Lifestyle(s) BBS, in addition to addressing the
issues of Gay men, Lesbian women, Family Synergy households, non-
exclusive couples and polyfidelitous individuals (be they
Fidonews Page 12 18 Aug 1986
straight, biSexual, or Gay), can also legitimately find itself
providing an electronic center for Feminists, single parents,
Naturists and members of many other groups that find themselves
ill-served by mainstream media.
THE UTOPIAN QUEST
On Valentine's Day, 1985, The UTOPIAN Network's TBBS became one
of the few reality based, sexually oriented, Alternate
Lifestyle(s) BBSs in the country. In March of 1986, Utopian Quest
LI joined the FidoNet and EchoMail capability was added in July.
We want to find other nodes in the FidoNet that see themselves,
partially or totally, as ALS boards. If any of what we have said
in this article strikes a responsive chord, we want to hear from
you ... and soon.
UTOPIAN_QUEST_LI, Fido 107/269, Copiague NY is looking for other
nodes and individual users involved with Alternate Lifestyles.
UTOPIAN started as a correspondence club more than a year ago,
running under TBBS. Until now, it has been used primarily by
bisexuals, non-traditional couples and a few Gay participants.
However, we hope participation in FidoNet will lead to a more
diversified user and information base.
UTOPIAN's efforts are concentrated on issues of social and sexual
(rather than dietary or religious) options. For example; in
conjunction with London's OUTSIDER'S CLUB, we are beginning to
explore how electronic communications can meet the the social and
creative needs of disabled people.
UTOPIAN QUEST is Adult but not X-rated. Mature and non
judgmental discussion of any subject is welcome, although
Alternative Family and Family Surrogate structures: Line,
Contract, Egalitarian and Group Marriages; Multi-Adult, and
Cooperative Households, Singles-By-Choice and Sexual Minorities,
are uniquely appropriate in The UTOPIAN.
In addition to providing a forum and information resource for the
Alternate Lifesyles, UTOPIAN QUEST will operate like any other
Fido node, although with a distinctly non-technical slant. The
files section will specialize in programs with liberal arts
applications and in guides and tutorials which help bring
microcomputer technology to new users.
Combatting both Sexism and CompPhobia through education is part
of the Utopian Committment.
A unique and fascinating product crossed my path the other day.
At first I hardly noticed its existence. Similiar to many of
todays utility-type software packages, this one was bundled in
flat vinyl covered 5 by 7 book-jack, and contained only a slim 40
page manual and a disk. It whispered hoarsely as if lacking in
confidence and self image. No wonder, it sat only inches from a
towering box of Symphony. 80MATE screamed in a dreary washed-out
graphic on a sickly creme background. It almost seemed ashamed
to be what it claimed; a lowly CP/M co-processing package for the
mighty IBM and its ever present opening act "The Compatables".
The image, marketing (or lack of), and claims of this product
were too much. That 80MATE could do what it claimed, seemed too
good to be true. Here was a product few had ever heard of,
claiming to do the task of a chunk of hardware often exceeding
$300 dollars. All seemed a ruse until I noted the software
company, VERTEX. This was a plus. Vertex already had a highly
touted (though overrated) DOS disk format conversion product on
the market called Xenocopy. 80MATE was worth a second look.
Upon close perusal of the enclosed "pamphlet", I found a number
of CP/M formats supported: APPLE CP/M-80, Heath Z/19 - Z89,
Kaypro II/IV, Osborne, Morrow Designs, Televideo 900 series, and
the Zerox 820. I would try it. Further reading revealed that
the thrust of the program was directed at 80MATE being capable of
emulating CP/M in memory when run in your friendly neighborhood
DOS machine. It claimed to set up an island in memory that
intercepted the Z80 code before it could be processed by the 8088
CPU (Central Processing Unit) of most MSDOS computers. A worthy
concept, if it worked.
To create a workable model, the CP/M programs of choice must
first be transferred to a formatted MSDOS diskette. On the
Kaypro and many others, this requires a CP/M format conversion
program such as COMPAT or UNIFORM [or MEDIA MASTER by DG
Systems]. This is not at all obvious until AFTER the product is
purchased, and should be stated on the cover. Obviously, Vertex
finds this a crafty way to sell its Xenocopy disk format
conversion product.
My first two UNIFORM copies that I was able to obtain, just hung
up. A friend tells me that such conversion programs are drive
alignment sensitive, and may be finicky. He reported needing to
try 3 copies before finding one that would work properly. My
experienced confirmed this. I formatted a fresh DOS diskette on
my Compaq Deskpro, placed it drive b: of my Kaypro 4-84, and ran
Fidonews Page 15 18 Aug 1986
UNIFORM in drive a:. When UNIFORM prompted me, I placed Perfect
Writer in a:, and transfered all files to b: I repeated this
process with Wordstar, dBase II, SuperCalc2, and The Word Plus.
In about 20 minutes, all was complete. Moving over to the
Compaq, I eased 80MATE into the drive and asked for a directory.
I typed DIR and received a full report. Z80 was among the many
choices present. I typed in Z80. Response: "Someone has tried a
disk copy. Aren't you nosey?". It immediately locked up.
Investigating this phenomenon revealed that the product is
protected by a sleazey form of Prolock that ruins your disk if a
copy is attempted. Now that would only be half bad if bright
bold letters warned of this feature, but nowhere was it written
that this will occur. To make matters more irritating, I had not
attempted a copy of this product. Apparently this protection
scheme is a means for Vertex to acquire an additional 20 clams
for replacing your violated diskette. On the pricipal of this
practice alone, I was sorely tempted to just ignore the product
all together. Why publicize such obvious victimization and
arrogance. My other self cried for justice through the poison
pen. A third self said, forget it, it will do no good. The
third self was probably right.
Upon finally obtaining a bootable and workable copy, I was
greeted with an "A>Z80 CP/M" prompt. I inserted the Perfect
Writer programs and typed PW. Sure enought up it came. I had also
tranferred a data file written with Perfect Writer, and called it
to the fore. It came up justified, and styled just as I had
written it. I was astounded and pleased. I tried the same for
the dBase II, Wordstar, and Word Plus. The result was the same.
Flawless performance of CP/M under MSDOS. SuperCalc2 I'm sorry
to say, did not fare so well. It seems that 80MATE only supports
those programs for the older Kaypro IIs and IVs. Anything with
graphics calls such as the "new" versions of the Micropro
software packaged with the 2-84, 4-84, and 10 will cause moderate
to severe alterations in the screen output. SuperCalc2 is such a
program in that the version run, was installed to support reverse
video. Normally SuperCalc2 for the Kaypro does not do this, so
it should run with this conversion if purchased and unchanged. I
retried an non-graphic installed version and it performed just
fine.
In retrospect, the video problem is to be expected. The major
drawbacks of most co-processors are their inability to interpret
and re-route various video calls. This is true of the Co-Power
88 board for the Kaypro and even the Quadlink Apple co-processors
for IBM. The ROMS are just too different. Vertex has included
in its 80MATE manual, a section on terminal emulation. Again,
however, the virtues of reverse video, underlining, and boldface
are not taken into consideration for the older Kaypro models
incapable of such functions.
It can be asked why you and I would even consider acquiring such
a product as 80MATE. The vast majority of programs which run on
our Kaypros are also available for MSDOS. In most all cases, the
many other applications that run on the IBM (et. al.), can run
Fidonews Page 16 18 Aug 1986
circles around our prehistoric(?) CP/M stuff. Well that could
certainly be debated at length, but the point is that what most
of us would be after is text file compatability, not 80MATE's
functions.
What 80MATE provides is a means of achieving universality. An
associate writer and teacher tells the tale of how he would like
to have Perfect Writer in MSDOS so that he could use the IBMs
that fill the rooms at his workplace. Programs such as Kamas,
Plu*Perfect Writer, and various CP/M utilities can be run while
not worrying about the unlearned or forgotten commands of
Wordstar or Perfect Writer. Although not a big ticket
application item, 80MATE nonetheless provides a function that is
valuable for many but not most.
Although thouroughly turned off by the company's
protection/numbers racket, I recommend the program. It works
without a hitch, supports a comfortable number of CP/M formats,
at $140, though expensive it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and
it is easy to learn and run. With the Kaypro 16 entering the
marketplace, a number of us will no doubt become a multi-DOS user
as I have. Programs such as the Perfect Software series, Thw
Word Plus (Absent from the 16's software lineup), and Microplan,
may also represent programs strongly invested in. To be sure
80MATE has a place for those in need.
Should you search out this program and buy it, please take a
moment to trounce its company Vertex, thats V E R T E X, with a
bit of hate mail about its protection scheme. It probably won't
do any good, but you'll feel better, I'll be grateful, and heh,
you never know.
ALLEN-BRADLEY COMPANY -- Allen-Bradley's products range from
simple on-off switches to state-of-the-art programmable
controllers, microelectronic networks, custom-developed speed
drives, and business consulting. Privately held, it has over
14,000 employees and 30 plants worldwide. The Systems,
Industrial Control, Electronics Group, Drives, and Packaged
Control Products departments are looking for technical graduates
for entry-level positions in development engineering, technical
marketing, applications engineering, and manufacturing. The
company also has ongoing openings in the sales division. After
sales training in Milwaukee, recruits are assigned to a field
sales office and serve customers using the entire range of Allen-
Bradley products, systems, and services.
Contact: Corporate College Relations, Allen-Bradley Company,
1201 South Second St., Milwaukee, WI 53204.
Have you ever tried to write a FidoNet clone system? I
recommend it as a way to truly appreciate the Fido environment
that we use. I decided to write a clone system for two reasons.
First, already having written a somewhat complex remote system
called RTE (Remote Turbo Environment) I had no wish to abandon
that system and all the effort that had gone into creating it.
Second, and perhaps more important, I run a Z80 based CP/M-80
system with an 8088 coprocessor card with 512K ram utilizing MS-
DOS 2.11. The BIOS functions are emulated fairly well, including
the basic monochrome graphics mode, but that is a far cry from
having a "clone" system.
I was fortunate enough to have several excellent Fido nodes in
my local area (14/609, 14/621 and 14/608), the SysOps of which
have all been most helpful and supportive of my efforts. But the
primary stumbling block to writing this clone software was, and
is, solid technical information. To date, using the formal
network protocol definition that Tom Jennings wrote back in
October of 1984, I have managed to put together a system that is
capable of both sending and receiving mail and attached files,
although I have not yet been able to implement either 2-way
transfer of packets and files, or the POLL and PICKUP functions.
The reason is simple: I do not have any current technical
information on these aspects of the FidoNet protocol.
Having read the latest FidoNews I see that a new formal
definition is apparently going to be put together. We should all
applaud this effort. However, an effort of this type can take an
indeterminate amount of time, and I must admit to being impatient
to bring my hybrid system up to full Fido node status.
If anyone can provide any current technical information or
assistance, it would be greatly appreciated. My node, 14/623, is
on-line and ready for your input!
Thank you for your kind attention, and long live FidoNet.
=================================================================
FOR SALE
=================================================================
Bill Bogartz, 102/901
Get Your Baud in Shape with BDawg
Bogartz Software
(BS is our business)
Has it never troubled you that Fido is a surly beast when first
he wakes? An ill-mannered cur with downcast eyes who shows a
dull blank face to the world, cowering with his tail between his
legs, and too fearful to speak unless spoken to?
Oh, the shame of it!
Have you never dreamed of a happy Fido with his eyes bright and
smiling, tail wagging, ears erect, ready to greet each caller
with a pleasantly well-bred, cheerful welcoming bark?
Of course you have.
Rest easy, my friend. If your computer is IBM compatible, all
those sleepless nights have ended. Your fondest fantasy has been
fulfilled. For only $25.00, a jot, a tittle, a mere bagatelle,
you can purchase a little friend for Fido, a pup named BDawg who
can change Fido's disposition overnight.
BDawg wakes when the phone rings, announces the baud rate and the
time of day, and gently nips at Fido until he clears the cobwebs
from his fuzzy head, gives a friendly bark, and goes out to work
singing. Faithful little friend that he is, BDawg lets Fido
think he found the baud rate by himself, and Fido glows with
sweet satisfaction in a job well done.
Think of it!
All those bitter days of loneliness ended for Fido. No more new
users staring at a blank screen in ignorant dismay. No more
switch hook blips from cheapie modems that trigger the wrong
rate. No more nights spent dreaming of a better day.
No more CRs, no more spaces,
No more users' angry faces!
Be kind to man's best friend. Be kind to yourself.
DataCare, a PC Magazine choice in its recent review of hard disk
products, is available at a new low price - $49.95, down from
$129.95. This is the same product that has been favorably
reviewed. The price is for a limited time only.
This product is used by a number of Fido BBS's in net 109, and
has found favor with many people that are not SYSOPS in the
Baltimore - DC - Virginia area.
Three-week trials are available from any user of the product.
The review can be read in the PC magazine issue that had as its
emphasis EGA boards. A review has been submitted to FidoNews for
publication, but it is uncertain when it will appear.
DataCare is published by:
Ellicott Software, Inc.
3777 Plum Hill Court
Ellicott City, MD 21043
(301) 465-2790
Professional quality games include PASCAL source! From the
author of KALAH Version 1.6, SuperDots, a variation of the
popular pencil/paper DOTS game, has MAGIC and HIDDEN DOT
options. KALAH 1.7 is an African strategy game requiring
skill to manipulate pegs around a playing board. Both games
use the ANSI Escape sequences provided with the ANSI.SYS
device driver for the IBM-PC, or built into the firmware on
the DEC Rainbow. Only $19.95 each or $39.95 for both
exciting games! Please specify version and disk format.
These games have been written in standard TURBO-PASCAL and
run on the IBM-PC, DEC Rainbow 100 (MSDOS and CPM), CPM/80,
CPM/86, and PDP-11. Other disk formats are available, but
minor customization may be required.
BSS Software
P.O. Box 3827
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
For every order placed, a donation will be made to the Fido
coordinators! Also, if you have a previous version of KALAH
and send me a donation, a portion of that donation will also
be sent to the coordinators. When you place an order, BE
CERTAIN TO MENTION WHERE YOU SAW THE AD since it also
appears in PC Magazine and Digital Review.
Questions and comments can be sent to:
Brian Sietz at Fido 107/17
(609) 429-6630 300/1200/2400 baud
Public Domain collection - 550+ "ARC" archives - 20+ megs of
software and other goodies, and that's "archived" size! When
unpacked, you get approximately 28 megabytes worth of all kinds
of software, from text editors to games to unprotection schemes
to communications programs, compilers, interpreters, etc... Over
55 DS/DD diskettes!!
This collection is the result of more than 15 months of intensive
downloads from just about 150 or more BBS's and other sources,
all of which have been examined, indexed and archived for your
convenience. Starting a Bulletin Board System? Want to add on
to your software base without spending thousands of dollars? This
is the answer!!!
To order the library, send $100 (personal or company check,
postal money order or company purchase order) to:
Micro Consulting Associates, Fido 103/511
Post Office Box 4296
200-1/2 E. Balboa Boulevard
Balboa, Ca. 92661-4296
Please allow 3 weeks for delivery of your order.
Note: No profit is made from the sale of the Public Domain
software in this collection. The price is applied entirely to
the cost of downloading the software over the phone lines,
running a BBS to receive file submissions, and inspecting,
cataloguing, archiving and maintaining the files. Obtaining this
software yourself through the use of a computer with a modem
using commercial phone access would cost you much more than what
we charge for the service...
Please specify what type of format you would like the disks to be
prepared on. The following choices are available:
- IBM PC-DOS Backup utility
- Zenith MS-DOS 2.11 Backup Utility
- DSBackup
- Fastback
- ACS INTRCPT 720k format
- Plain ol' files (add $50)
Add $30 if you want the library on 1.2 meg AT disks (more
expensive disks). There are no shipping or handling charges.
California residents add 6% tax.
For each sale, $10 will go to the FidoNet Administrators.
Bruce Jackson's RAINBOW FREEWARE -- a 170-page book which
describes, evaluates, and provides working instructions for more
than 150 of the best public domain, shareware, and freeware
programs now available for the DEC Rainbow computer -- has been
published by New South Moulton Press. Jackson discusses MS-DOS
programs that manage the computer, handle directories, manipulate
files, control printers, and prepare texts. He also describes
games and graphics programs.
RAINBOW FREEWARE is the only book devoted to public domain
software for the Rainbow. It is designed as a practical, working
manual. Program descriptions are organized so even novice users
can be running a specific program within minutes. The book also
provides full information on using the FIDO network to obtain
programs and technical assistance. The "Technical Notes" section
of the book describes in practical detail MS-DOS functions and
operations necessary to take full advantage of both commercial
and free software.
RAINBOW FREEWARE is available by mail from the publisher for $20
($17 for FIDO sysops) plus $2 for postage and handling ($12 for
foreign orders). Foreign orders must be paid in US dollars by
check drawn on a US bank or International Money Order. New York
residents please add the appropriate sales tax. Prepaid orders
for 10 or more copies from Rainbow users groups will be accepted
at 10% discount and will be shipped via UPS; add $10 shipping and
handling for the first 10 books included in such orders and $0.60
for each additional book. Send payment and shipping information
to:
NEW SOUTH MOULTON PRESS
96 Rumsey Road
Buffalo, New York 14209
I recently gave my sister my old cp/m computer/printer/modem so I
could stay in touch with her via FidoNet. I live in Miami, Fl.
and she is attending school at the U. of Fla. in Gainsville. I
drove the six hours up there, set her up and bootstrapped my list
of local bbs's up from the one I initi-ally found by calling a
local computer store. Boy was I suprised to find there is NO
FIDO IN GAINSVILLE! Imagine a university town with all the
computer science students and NO FIDO. This letter is a
solicitation for anybody up there to start one. If you want I'll
modem you the software, or even make another trip up to help you
get one started.
A side note: prior to all this I searched the nodelist and did
find one listed for Gainsville. Node 101/345, Alligator Board,
sysop Sharon King. Unfortunately it is a private board. I tried
calling Gainsville info, but there was no listing for Sharon
King, I tried sending a note via fidonet but never got a reply.
Funny thing is the board is listed as being in net 101 which is
in Massachusetts! If anybody can tell me how I can get in touch
with Sharon please let me know.
Al de la Torre
sysop 135/7 305-554-4602
voice 305-554-9346
\ !!!! A T T E N T I O N !!!! /
\ /
\ PC Techniques (108/62) /
\ /
--------> Has a new phone number: <--------
/ \
/ --> (513) 745-0037 <-- \
/ \
/ Hours: 6p-8a Mon-Fri, 24hrs Wkends \
Frank Thornley, 503/2
Fidonews Page 25 18 Aug 1986
Hi Guys, just a quickie to let you know that the UK will be
represented at the conference in August. My wife and I will be
travelling out on the 5th of August to New York, and travelling
on to Colorado. Can't wait to meet the other Fido sysops.
St. Louis sounds like a nice place. Hope to visit there too. Any
offers to show us the sights would be greatly appreciated.
I think it would be a good idea to start some sort of exchange
program with US sysops, any ideas? I think I will turn one of our
lines over to run a Fido specifically for this purpose.
I'll be glad to turn my house over to a US visitor if he will do
the same for us... sounds like fun....
In the meantime any offers to show us the sights whiile we are in
St Louis would be greatly appreciated....
There is a wide range of Alternate Lifestyles. UTOPIAN QUEST LI
(107/269) has a special interest in options concerning sexual and
sex role behavior, partner choice, family structure, and
polyfidelity. Other Fidos will, of course, have other viewpoints
on ALS.
Can we use EchoMail to find our own E Pluribus Unum?
