Copyright 1990, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software.
FidoNews is published weekly by the System Operators of the
FidoNet (r) International BBS Network. It is a compilation of
individual articles contributed by their authors or authorized
agents of the authors. The contribution of articles to this
compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors.
You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. 1:1/1 is a Continuous
Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day.
Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are
used with permission.
Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors
and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software.
Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
responsible submission received.
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
Commercial Advertisement Echo ............................ 1
SCSI-ONE Echo Started .................................... 7
Telegard Does ECHO's ..................................... 8
2. COLUMNS .................................................. 10
A View from the Bridge ................................... 10
Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 11
3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 13
Latest Software Versions ................................. 13
4. NOTICES .................................................. 16
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 16
FidoNews 7-10 Page 1 5 Mar 1990
For months now I have deliberated about doing this and know I
will probably get all kinds of stones thrown at me but I have
just about had it with: We do not allow commercial advertisement
in this echo, or we do not want anyone to make a profit from this
echo. It is not that I do not disagree with all of that it is
just that I am sick and tired of all the whinney babies an how
much it cost to send messages around the world. Well guys and
gals who do you all think you are kidding.
When we (those of us who really do this for FUN) want something
the cost is not the Object. Nor is it the hold back. Well I
think it is about time an echo where commercial advertisement can
take place. A place where sysops can post their BBS
advertisement's, or if they have something for sale that does
not belong in For-Sale, or Modem or Hd or what ever. A place
where If I want to advertise my wares or my programs or my
services I can do so.
So here is what I have done. I have established an echo area
called ADVERT. There is one catch, this echo is not FREE. It
will never be placed on a backbone, nor will it ever be made
available for free distribution. There will be one point of
distribution, and one point for delivery. Connection to this
echo will cost $1.00 per month. Payable in advance of
connection, and connection will only be made upon receipt of
payment and validation of correct node number. I will also not
make any out going distribution calls, all calls must orginate
from the receiving node. The echo areas may be set up as READ
ONLY or Sysops May allow Users to Enter Messages. Sysops may
establish their own fee for entering messages into the echo area,
and will be responsible for content.
As I said at the start I am tired of hearing you can't so I am
now giving all of you out there who have heard these words and
even violated the policy of entering such messages now You have a
place to do just that. But rememeber I warned you nothing we do
any more is free. I have established a Flat Rate of $10.00 per
message and this may be used as a guideline.
Echo Area Guidelines are as follows:
1. Only commercial advertisements should be entered.
Advertisements of personal nature's may be entered at local
sysops discretion.
FidoNews 7-10 Page 2 5 Mar 1990
2. Messages should contain only standard american characters, no
upper ascii should be used.
3. Messages will remain posted on individual systems for a minimu
of 30 days or deleted as often as necessary by the sysop.
4. Individual BBS will be responsible for monitoring messages
entered by users, and so long as messages are not offensive or do
not attack any person place or thing there will be no ground for
removal from the echo.
5. Sysops may pay for as many months of receipt in advance as
they would like, and will receive a full refund for any full
unused months if they request connection termination.
Ok there you have it. A way and a means to advertise your stuff
with no hassles and a promise you will not be told you cannot
advertise that here.
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Payment may be sent to:
C_Tech's Computer Services
13 Osage Drive
Los Lunas, NM 87031
Connection Notification will be made via Echo Mail distribution
within 48 hours of receipt.
Come and get it, you have been wanting it. Now you have it.....
=================================================================
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FidoNews 7-10 Page 3 5 Mar 1990
* * * A N N O U N C E M E N T * * *
Third Annual Poor Man's FidoCon and Lake Party (in TEXAS)
---------------------------------------------------------
All SYSOPS and their family, pets, and assorted
accoutrements are cordially invited to attend this fine
three-day weekend.
SPONSOR: Net 106 of Houston, Texas and other friends of our
Net.
DATES: April 20, 21, 22. [ The Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday following EASTER. ]
PLACE: Big Creek Park Pavillion (and campsites) on Lake
Sommerville in Burleson County, Texas.
EVENTS: Volleyball; swimming; boating; fishing; other water
sports; chattin'; and eatin'.
SATURDAY PICNIC: pot-luck, do-it-your-way communal feast.
There may be a special treat in-addition to the regular
fare. Come and try it!
BIKE RIDE: Saturday morning Early Bird Tour and Ride through
the Deer Meadow.
CAMPING: Six campsites are with the Pavillion.
There are a good number adjacent to the
Pavillion Point. Well-lit,clean,
maintained restrooms are nearby. Water
is also available; but no electricity at
the Pavillion.
Here are DIRECTIONS to the Region 19 Picnic:
From OKC: Take IH35 thru Dallas or Ft. Worth to
WACO. In Waco,take Hwy 77 to CAMERON.
Go left on TX 36 to CALDWELL. About 10
miles south of Caldwell on TX36 is
LYONS. On the north edge of Lyons turn
right onto FM 60. You should see a sign
for Big Creek Park. Its about 6 - 8
miles from Lyons. Turn left onto the
road to the park.
From Austin: Take US 290 East approx. 89
miles to BRENHAM. At the west
FidoNews 7-10 Page 4 5 Mar 1990
edge of Brenham, turn left
onto TX36 and go north approx.
20 miles thru the town of
SOMMERVILLE to LYONS. Turn
left at the second road which
should be FM 60.
From Dallas: Follow same directions as for OKC.
From Ft. Worth: Follow same directions as for OKC.
From Arkansas: Take IH30 west to DALLAS and
then take IH35 (east) south
and follow the OKC directions.
From Louisiana:
Take IH10 to HOUSTON. Take 'Loop 610 North'
around the edge of the inner city. You'll cross
US 59 and then IH45. Keep going. Take US 290
towards Austin. It's 73 miles to BRENHAM. Follow
the bypass around town. It becomes TX36. Do not
turn to follow US 290 to Austin. Stay headed
North. Approx. 18 miles northeast, you'll pass
thru the town of SOMMERVILLE. There is one motel
here. Continue thru town and over the rise to the
little crossroads berg of LYONS. There are two
places you can turn left. Take the second one.
This should be FM 60. Approx. 8 miles to Big
Creek Park.
From San Antonio:
Take IH35 north all the way to AUSTIN. At the
north edge of Austin, turn right onto US 290.
Follow the Austin directons.
You can cut across on TX 21 at PAIGE. Go to
CALDWELL. Turn south on TX 36. About 10 miles
you'll reach LYONS. At the very edge of Lyons you
should turn right on FM 60. Approx. 8 miles to the
Park which will be on your right.
From El Paso:
Take IH 10 to JUNCTION. About 22 miles east of
Junction take US 290. Follow US 290 north thru
AUSTIN. You'll turn right to the east toward
HOUSTON. Follow the Austin directions.
From All Directions - At Big Creek Park
=======================================
FidoNews 7-10 Page 5 5 Mar 1990
After you enter Big Creek Park, turn right at the
sign directing you to the campground. Tell the
gate attendant that you are with the Houston
Bird/\Dog Society. Follow the campground road
staying to the left at every fork until you reach
the Pavillion.
DETAILS:
LYONS to Big Creek Park turnoff is 3.8 miles. Gate
is 3.3 miles further. Campground is 0.1 mile from
Gate. Restrooms to left just beyond gate. 0.3 mile
from Gate is first fork. Stay LEFT. 0.1 mile to
next fork. Stay LEFT. To right are electric
campsites. Big Rest Rooms at this fork. Also
dumpster. 0.2 mile to Pavillion Point. Open area.
MARINA (one (1) mile from Gate. Deer Meadow.
Brand new building with groceries and ice and
fishing pier.
ACCOMODATIONS:
==============
AT BIG CREEK PARK:
Ample campsites. $8 with water. $10 with
electricity and water.
In nearby locations for those not camping :
AT MARINAS:
Big Creek Marina: 6 cabins with icebox and stove.
No tv. high wood steps. Telephone across road. 3
cabins with _two_ bedrooms and 3 cabins with _one_
bedroom. Reservations must be for TWO nights
whether you stay or not! No credit cards. $5.00
key deposit. Advance deposit of $25.00.
TELEPHONE: 1-409-596-1616
2 - bedroom unit $40.00 per night.
1 - bedroom unit $35.00 per night.
OverLook Park Marina: 6 blue and white cabins.
Single rooms. No steps. Same owners, same
conditions.
TELEPHONE: 1-409-289-2651
FidoNews 7-10 Page 6 5 Mar 1990
1 - room unit $45.00 per night.
SCREEN SHELTERS: $15.00 per night.
CALDWELL:
13.7 miles from LYONS. Surry Inn; Varsity Motel,
and Texan motel (low dive). Two resturants next
door to Surry Inn. Wal-Mart next to Varsity.
Nice grocery stores here! STOCK UP!!!
Interesting METAL SCULPTURE STUDIO on BASTROP hwy.
Check it out. Neat!
BRENHAM:
19.5 miles from LYONS. Preference Inn and (?)
Motel - across from McDonalds on Hwy. 290. Coach
Lite Motel (2 sites) is 1.2 west of Brenham on hwy
290 toward AUSTIN (the Austin folk may want to
stay here!). Judge's resturant, sunday buffet,
bowling alley, etc..
SOMMERVILLE:
3.5 miles from LYONS. One motel on southside of
town. No grocery stores! Several drive-in
markets. FOUR places to eat. 1) D's Diner - 24
hrs. just relocated into larger, newer, formerly
vacant resturant. 2) Schopp's (?) local greasy
spoon in center of town. 3) COUNTRY INN -* best
food* !!! Steaks, club sandwiches, and baked
potatos very popular. Own meat.. hudge pieces!
4) Dairy Queen. Heritage Museum. Nature Museum at
Corp of Engineers Headquarters. Primarily Railroad
with Loading Pens for _cattle_.
Sommerville Motel - 1-409-596-1000
BRYNA/COLLEGE STATION:
Approx. 30 miles east on Tx 60. Many places here,
including a Motel Six.
( Submitted by Net 106, via Justin Marquez, 1:106/100 )
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FidoNews 7-10 Page 7 5 Mar 1990
By Bill Weinel
1:151/121.0
SCSI-ONE Echo for SCSI Discussions
There has been a great deal of discussion involving SCSI topics
lately in HDCONF. Consequently, a need was seen for a dedicated
area devoted to discussion on the SCSI-1 standard and the
proposed SCSI-2 standard, as well as the handful of new PC SCSI
adaptors on the market today. SCSI-ONE was formed for just this
reason. SCSI-ONE is moderated by Jeff Lengel (the developer
of the Scsi System One PC SCSI adaptor) of 1:151/121.10 and may
be used as a forum for discussion by anyone interested in SCSI
applications, host systems, hardware, and theory. SCSI-ONE is
available on the Z1 backbone and should be available through
your local REC. Should you encounter problems getting connected
to SCSI-ONE, contact me via netmail at 1:151/121.0 to arrange
a feed.
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FidoNews 7-10 Page 8 5 Mar 1990
Evan S. Dictor
Fido 1:369/14
Telegard Does ECHO's!
Telegard, a BBS already known for it's flexibility and powerful
security, now adds ECHOMail support to it's list of features.
Adding an ECHO area to a Telegard BBS is as easy as adding any
other message area -- and that's EASY!! The BBS just prompts you
for the directory where the ECHO is stored, and then with the
help of a small, quick utility called TGMAIL, ECHOMail can be
easily Tossed and Scanned in regular events controlled by the
mailer being used. This new feature has already been tested with
D'Bridge and FrontDoor, and other mailers will be tested shortly.
TGMAIL not only Tosses messages into Telegard, but it colorizes
them using Telegard colors to give a new 'flavor' to reading
ECHO's. The program colors text, quoted text, origin lines and
tear lines all in different colors (all configurable by the
SysOp) to make the messages easier to read.
For a long time now Telegard has been the choice for closed BBS's
due to it's strong security. What many people don't know is that
ALL of the security features are optional. The flexibility of
Telegard's menu system makes it perfect for any environment. If
your users tend to like a PCBoard type of menus, Telegard can be
easily customized to duplicate EXACTLY every command in virtually
any BBS software available. The downside of this is that by
emulating another BBS, you would have to DISCARD many of
Telegard's features!
With most BBS's you can have a menu option to send feedback to
the SysOp. Telegard has this too. However, why limit it to just
that? Why not a Feedback Menu which allows the user to send mail
to either the SysOp or any Co-SysOps just by entering the choice
off of an easy to follow, 100% custom menu.
Do you like ANSI Colors and Animation? I do. Telegard's menu
and logon systems incorporate a full ANSI Sub-Sytem which allows
not only different ANSI's to be displayed based on User's
Access Level, but also by day of week and even 10 full randomly
displayed ANSI's for any or all of those. That means that
without even accounting for the Users Access Level, you can
create up to 70 ANSI's for any screen including Menus, Welcome
Screens, Bulletins ... the list is endless. I've seen Telegard
SysOps run out of disk space from making ANIS's as opposed to
Uploads. However this, like everything in Telegard, is fully
optional and the SysOp can use as much or little of it as he
wants. The authors of Telegard do not impose there features on
SysOps, they offer them.
FidoNews 7-10 Page 9 5 Mar 1990
Why do I come here and sing the praises of Telegard? I use it.
If it wasn't exactly what I wanted or couldn't do something I
needed and there was something else that did, I would switch.
However, that hasn't happened. Every time I have come up with
a suggestion for Telegard, I have sent it to the authors and nine
times out of ten it's in the next release. Now I'm a Beta Site
for the software. Sure, I get errors. You don't! That's why I
get the errors. The authors of Telegard do not lose touch with
the users of the software. Bugs are found in the Beta versions
and usually fixed within the next two days. There are over 100
Beta Sites nationwide pushing every part of the software to it's
limits and every single bug is vanquished prior to any Standard
release coming out. And this Standard version is FREE to all!
If you would like to see a list of Telegard BBS's in your area,
there is a FREQable file on my BBS which you can get with the
magic name of TELELIST. Go ahead, call one. You'll be glad you
did!
New Pompeii BBS
(305) 721-9690
FIDO 1:369/14
1200-9600 v32
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FidoNews 7-10 Page 10 5 Mar 1990
Well, it looks like Andy's back on CBS. Why am I not surprised?
Geez, what a pain this week was! I wanted to buy a 32 bit ram
board for my Hauppauge 386 XT replacement motherboard and put 2
meg on it. Simple, no? Cost me about $500, right?
Wrong. First of all, I wanted to get this thing installed
before the weekend pushed my shipping back to monday or later,
so I paid the additional $20 to get the card UPS 'red' (and the
same for the memory. I wasn't about to pay THEIR prices for
chips!), but I didn't complain.
Anyway, I get the board, plug it in, but it only works
intermittantly. "What's wrong?" I asks meself, and gets on the
horn to Hauppauge (day long distance rates!) What kind of power
supply you got, they ask. 130 watt, I answer. Oh, you have to
have a minimum of 150 watts to run that card, they says.
Great. After spending all that extra money to get the stuff
'next day', I still have to buy a $200 power supply! Well, no
time to get cheap. I buy a 200 watt 'turbo-cool 200' from PC
Power and Cooling. Yes, I get it shipped red, again.
Finally, I get my power supply installed, the memory board is
running, and I think, gee, what a great time to install that
SEAgate 4096 hard drive. I already have the machine apart...
Well, 36 hours later I was back up and had recovered my D:
drive. Needless to say, I was not happy. Still, I learned my
lesson again, the same one I've learned all my life...
Don't rush, and get it right!
'Till next time...
Ciao for now!
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FidoNews 7-10 Page 11 5 Mar 1990
Henry Clark
124/6120
The Death of Shareware and Other Good News --
"Shareware enters mid-life crisis." I read these paragraphs
with somewhat backhanded interest; I always do when 'they'
mention anything about Procomm, but that's another story.
Ever hear of FONDIR ? That's my particular excursion into the
MYTH AND REALITY of Shareware. Now sure, you say, the user
interface was messed up. What with all the GUI wars about to
hit, that's going to become the de facto reason for failure in
the software industry. I think the real reason is that
Shareware is dead. None too soon.
Why? The banner reads Militantly Public Domain. It's
Please-Run-Me-Ware, written for the fun of it, shared out of
pride, and unencumbered by all the license agreement nonsense
that runs the gamut from 'Please' to 'Will destroy your FAT
after 3 executions'.
What this really means is the illusion is gone. No more
deception. Thank the gods.
The Big Mistake --
A huge and terrible MISTAKE has been released upon all the
sysops in the world. What is it ? It's the "ARCHIVE
COMMENT". It's immoral and probably illegal. It's a downright
nuisance.
It might not be so bad if it was treated like a PATH; you could
track a program back to it's source. Will this ever happen ?
Silly me.
For this to end, Mr. Katz has to release a NEW HOT compression
method and the program that implements that compression method
will have NO ARCHIVE COMMENT facility. Now wouldn't that be
special.
Until then, it's pkzip -z filename < return where return is
a file with a <return> CRLF sequence in it. This is not what
it is.
Big Blue Subterfuge --
Have you heard the words brother : "COOPERATIVE PROCESSING".
This is where a certain mainframe database product and an OS2
based presentation manager will allow you all the RDBMS
productivity you need. Well here's the scoop. It's called
'Mega Block Mode'.
FidoNews 7-10 Page 12 5 Mar 1990
Hurt by repeated bashing about the inefficiencies of regular
old Block Mode, Big Blue has gone one better with Mega Block
Mode. Your OS2 is not required to do the background
communications, ( which it may do only slightly worse than a
Desqview task ), it's the protected mode feature which allows
you to run huge programs that wouldn't fit in 640k. Huge
programs and memory you will need to manipulate the 'Mega
Block'.
"Cooperative processing" ( better understood as 'weakest link
syndrome' ) is simply a less interactive mode of data access.
You spend hours updating up the data and then send the whole
thing back, where it's rejected because of a missing parameter
on line 609.
Honey Learns MSGED --
Oh my god.
Cooperate this... <grin>
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FidoNews 7-10 Page 13 5 Mar 1990
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
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FidoNews 7-10 Page 16 5 Mar 1990
