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
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You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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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
Fidocon '90 Update! ...................................... 1
FIDOCON 1990 REGISTRATION FORM ........................... 12
2. COLUMNS .................................................. 15
A View from the Bridge ................................... 15
Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 17
3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 20
Latest Software Versions ................................. 20
4. NOTICES .................................................. 23
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 23
FidoNews 7-15 Page 1 9 Apr 1990
The Fidocon '90 Committee continues to work to make this year's
convention one of the best ever. We have already received
registrations from as far away as Holland, and as close as our
own backyard.
One of our main goals in planning the event was to allow Fidocon
to be part of a family vacation. New Jersey has a great variety
of summertime activities, as well as the proximity of the
convention site to New York City.
We have gotten many requests for family plans, and we are more
than happy to accommodate! Therefore, the following plan is
added to the Fidocon '90 schedule (Note: These prices are ONLY
in effect until 5/1/90):
1) For a participant and spouse, the cost for BOTH will be
$620.00. This includes conference registration for the
registrant, and hotel and meals for both you and your spouse.
2) For each child attending the conference (accompanied by either
a plan A or the above spouse plan participant), add $75.00 to the
cost. This will include hotel and meals.
*** Discount Deadline Extended ***
Because of some confusion, and problems associated with "tax
time", we have extended the deadline for discounted registration.
Instead of the deadline being 4/1/90, we are extending it to
5/1/90. Any registrations postmarked by midnight on May 1, 1990
may register at the discounted rate.
*** Deposits for Fidocon! ***
As I said before, we are (sometimes painfully) aware that it is
tax time. If you plan to attend the conference, but your funds
are low right now, don't fret! We will accept a $100.00 deposit
(nonrefundable) toward your registration. This will lock you
into the discounted rate, and give you until July 1, 1990 to pay
the balance.This, of course, only applies to plans A through F
and the family plans.
*** Any ideas? ***
FidoNews 7-15 Page 2 9 Apr 1990
If you have any ideas on things you would like to see or do at
the convention, drop us a note at 1/90. We WANT to hear from you!
FRIDAY 8th - MONDAY 11th JUNE 1990
(Queen's Birthday Weekend)
at
Australian Institute of Management
(Victoria Division)
10 St.Leonard's Avenue
St.Kilda, Victoria
Australia
Speakers, Workshops, Panel Discussions and Social Functions
OPEN TO ALL WITH AN INTEREST IN FIDONET!
All Netmail Enquires to:
FidoNews 7-15 Page 4 9 Apr 1990
FIDOCON OZ! 1990
3/90
WELCOME TO FIDOCON OZ! 1990......
FidoCon Oz! 1990 is the First Conference of Fidonet in
Australia, hosted this year in Melbourne.
As this is the first such conference, the Fidocon Committee has
decided not to have an overall theme to the event, but to cover a
reasonably wide range of topics of interest which can hopefully
be developed further in future FidoCons.
From the conference programme, you will see that we have tried to
assemble an array of first-class speakers, each an expert in his
own field ranging from software and hardware, through to computer
fraud and viruses.
With the inclusion of a panel discussion and workshops, we wish
to encourage all registrants to participate and have their say on
matters which are of concern to them. Our hope is that through
this discussion and the workshops, FidoNet as a whole can benefit
into the future.
We also hope that many of the issues raised during the conference
will become the beginnings of positive ideas which can be acted
upon and developed - and that future FidoCons in Australia can
then take these ideas, review them and then develop them further.
We have also included several social functions and a small amount
of free-time so that registrants from all over Australia can meet
and get to know each other - to put real people to what may only,
until now, have been disembodied names in echomail.
Finally, this entire conference will be situated in a venue which
could not be better. The Victorian headquarters of the
Australian Institute of Management is a first-class conference
venue with all the necessary facilities within a modern building,
located only minutes away from the city centre of Melbourne.
The venue and the programme are excellent. As a first, FidoCon
Oz! 1990 will be a milestone in the history of FidoNet in
Australia. Be part of what promises to be a most memorable
event!
FidoNews 7-15 Page 5 9 Apr 1990
FidoCon Oz! 1990 Committee:
--------------------------
Rob Bates (Sysop 634/381)
Gordon Castle (Sysop 632/306)
Andrew Newbury (Sysop 634/385)
David Nugent (Sysop 632/348)
Andrew Rajcher (Sysop 634/388)
Simon Walsh (RC Rgn 50/Sysop 632/301)
FIDOCON OZ! 1990
PROGRAMME
====================================
FRIDAY 8th JUNE 1990
--------------------
7.30-9.30 pm COCKTAIL PARTY
- official welcome and conference registration.
Social get-together. (Casual dress)
SATURDAY 9th JUNE 1990
----------------------
9.15-10.OO am "486, OS/2 AND BEYOND"
Don Fraser
Southern Region Manager,
Microsoft Pty.Ltd.
10.OO-10.30 am Morning Tea
10.30-11.15 am "COMPUTER CRIME & BULLETIN BOARDS"
Sgt.David Costello
Computer Crime Section,
Australian Federal Police.
11.15-12 noon "MODEMS IN THE 1990'S"
Mark Ostryn
Product Manager,
Netcomm Australia Pty.Ltd.
9.30-10.15 am "TELECOM TOWARDS 2000"
Frank Smith
Manager - Community Relations,
Telecom Australia
10.15-10.45 am Morning Tea
10.45-12.30 pm WORKSHOPS
- Conference participants will attend a
workshop of their choice. Topics will include
FidoNews 7-15 Page 7 9 Apr 1990
areas of interest to both Sysops and Users.
12.30-2.00 pm Lunch
2.00-3.00 pm WORKSHOP SESSION REPORTS
- Each Chairperson will present a brief report
on the proceedings of their Workshop session.
3.OO-3.30 pm Afternoon Tea
3.30-4.30 pm "Challenges for the 1990's"
Ian Robinson
Editor
"PC Week"
MONDAY 11th JUNE 1990
---------------------
10.00 am DAY TRIP TO MITCHELLTON WINERY
- includes tour of Winery, wine-tasting and
hot-carvery smorgasbord lunch. NOTE: Buses
will return via Tullmarine airport (4.30 pm)
- 5 -
FIDOCON OZ! 1990
WORKSHOP INFORMATION
====================================
All conference attendees will participate in a workshop of their
choice on the Sunday morning (10/6/90).
In the session after lunch, all workshop Chairmen will present
brief resumes of their workshop proceedings to the conference and
afterwards will write short reports which will be circulated to
the network.
These workshops offer all conference attendees a great
opportunity to participate in an area of specific interest to
them.
The workshops, and their respective Chairmen, will be:-
FidoNews 7-15 Page 8 9 Apr 1990
(A) DOES AUSTRALIA NEED AN A.F.N.A.?
Chairman:- Simon Blears
- with the demise of I.F.N.A., is there a need in Australia
to create a organization with an awareness of our local
situation?
(B) HIGH SPEED MODEMS/MULTI-TASKING
Chairman:- Gordon Castle
- the emphasis is on doing more and doing it faster. Modems
and multi-tasking are both getting more sophisticated.
(C) MAILER SOFTWARE & MAIL MANAGEMENT
Chairman:- Joaquim Homrighausen
- a great opportunity for Sysops to meet and discuss items of
interest with the author of FrontDoor and Tosscan himself.
(D) OPUS VER 1.10 - EVALUATION & FEEDBACK
Chairman:- Bill Bolton
- the long awaited upgrade has arrived. Express your opinion,
ask questions and exchange tips with others.
(E) NEW/PROSPECTIVE SYSOPS
Chairman:- Simon Walsh
- thinking of starting a BBS? Find out exactly what is
involved. If you are a new Sysop, this is a great chance to
ask questions.
(F) BBS UTILITIES - LET'S FANTASIZE!
Chairman:- Paul Marwick
- ever thought to yourself "I wish someone would write a
program that would......"? Talk about it and maybe someone
will.
(G) BBS USERS
Chairman:- David Hellwege
- new or seasoned user, learn more about different types of
BBS's and how to get the most from them.
- 6 -
FIDOCON OZ! 1990
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
====================================
SOCIAL FUNCTIONS:
----------------
Attendance at the social functions is NOT limited to people who
register for the entire Conference. Additional bookings may be
made for the Cocktail Party, Conference Dinner or Winery Trip,
but these additional bookings MUST be made AND paid for when you
register and pay for the Conference.
FidoNews 7-15 Page 9 9 Apr 1990
DRESS:
-----
In line with the nature of FIDOCON OZ! 1990, casual dress is
acceptable at all times during the Conference. Appropriate smart
casual dress is requested for the Cocktail Party and Conference
Dinner.
ACCOMODATION:
------------
All information regarding hotel/motel accomodation is contained
in the file ACCOM.TXT - please read it carefully before
stipulating, on the Registration Form, the accomodation you would
like us to book for you. The accomodation is NOT included in the
registration fee and will remain your responsibility.
AIR FARES:
---------
Information regarding cheaper air fares to Melbourne is contained
in the file AIRLINES.TXT - please contact the airlines or your
travel agent to arrange your transport.
SOFTWARE COPYING SERVICE:
------------------------
Upon registering at the Conference on Friday evening, you will be
given a satchel containing various items of information, included
in which will be an order form. Diskettes, containing the latest
versions of public domain and shareware software, will be
available at the Conference. A small charge will be made to
cover the cost of the diskettes.
FOR PEOPLE RETURNING HOME ON THE MONDAY EVENING:
-----------------------------------------------
If you will be returning home on the evening of Monday 11/6/90,
please note that the buses will be returning from the winery trip
via Tullamarine Airport. It is anticipated that we will arrive
at the airport at 4.30 pm. If you wish to take advantage of this
arrangement, please have your bags with you when we meet the
buses on the Monday morning.
REGISTER EARLY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
THE EARLY-BIRD DISCOUNT!
F I D O C O N O Z ! 1 9 9 0
===============================
8th-11th JUNE 1990, MELBOURNE
=============================
FidoNews 7-15 Page 10 9 Apr 1990
ACCOMODATION DETAILS
====================
If you intend arranging your own accomodation for FidoCon OZ!,
then you can disregard this file.
You will notice that the Registration Form allows you to indicate
your preferences for accomodation. If you have indicated that
you would like us to arrange a billet for you, please understand
that we CANNOT guarantee to find one. So make sure that you have
ALSO indicated your preferences for hotel/motel accomodation.
Upon receipt of your completed Registration Form and full
payment, we will make a booking for you and we will confirm that
booking in writing when we acknowledge receipt of your
registration.
If you have indicated on the Registration Form that you wish us
to book TWIN/SHARE accomodation, then:-
(a) if you have also indicated the name of the person with whom
you wish to share, then the accomodation will NOT be booked
until that other person ALSO registers.
(b) if you have not indicated a name of anyone with whom you wish
to share, then the FidoCon OZ! Committee will "match up" the
accomodation as registrations are received.
PLEASE NOTE: The organizers of FIDOCON OZ! undertake to make
and confirm accomodation ONLY. Your registration fee does NOT
include any accomodation costs and will always remain YOUR
responsibility.
We have checked several medium to lower-priced hotel/motels
within a short walking distance of the conference venue and
supply the following details:-
COSMOPOLITAN MOTOR INN
======================
Cost per night: $76 (single) $85 (double/twin-share)
The Cosmopolitan is located five minutes walking-distance from
the conference venue. All rooms are well-appointed, having en-
suite bathroom, tea/coffee making facilities, fridge, radio-
alarm telephone and television.
FidoNews 7-15 Page 11 9 Apr 1990
DIPLOMAT MOTOR INN
==================
Cost per night: $54 (single) $59 (double/twin-share)
The Diplomat is located two minutes walking-distance from the
conference venue. All rooms have en-suite bathroom, tea/coffee
making facilities, fridge, telephone and television. Good
medium-priced accomodation.
SPACELINE MOTEL
===============
Cost per night: $45 (single) $50 (double/twin-share)
The Spaceline is located two minutes walking-distance from the
conference venue. All rooms have en-suite bathroom, cooking
facilites, television and air-conditioning. Good budget-priced
accomodation.
KINGSCOURT MOTOR INN
====================
Cost per night: $39 (single) $45 (double/twin-share)
The Kingscourt is located two minutes walking-distance from
the conference venue. All rooms have en-suite bathroom,
tea/coffe making facilites, radio, television, telephone and
air-conditioning. Reasonable budget-priced accomodation.
The Secret Sysop Society presents __
*** Conclave '90 *** / \
The SYSOPS Convention /|oo \
Home of FidoCon 1990 (_| /_)
Lyndhurst, New Jersey _`@/_ \ _
August 1-5, 1990 | | \ \\
| (*) | \ ))
______ |__U__| / \//
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
Rate Plan Schedule: Before 6/1/90: Before 5/1/90:
-------------- --------------
A. Single Occupancy.......$595.00 $545.00 $495.00
B. Double Occupancy.......$450.00 $400.00 $350.00
C. Conference w/ meals....$300.00 $250.00 $200.00
D. Conference w/ Banquet..$205.00 $155.00 $105.00
E. Conference only........$175.00 $125.00 $ 75.00
F. Banquet only...........$130.00 $80.00 $ 30.00
G. Registrant & Spouse....$720.00 $670.00 $620.00
(All rate plans except plan F include all conference and hotel
fees. Those registering before 5/1/90 get a $100.00 discount,
those registering before 6/1/90 get a $50.00 discount.)
You must pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send
no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be
made out to: "Conclave '90"
The following registration form must be completed and mailed to:
PO Box 12
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/90 for
processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone
number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail
confirmation is required within 72 hours of electronic filing.
If you are paying by credit card, please include the required
information. For your own security, do not route any message
with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/90.
The official Conclave '90 airline is American Airlines.
American offers a 5% discount the lowest applicable round-trip
fare, including 1st class travel, subject to availability of
inventory. All fare rules and restrictions apply. In addition,
American offers 40% off their round trip unrestricted day coach
fare. International travelers qualify for special benefits,
including complimentary admittance to the Admiral's Club Lounge
at any American Airlines terminal. Newark is an American Air-
lines city with direct flights to most major cities. When making
reservations, you must call American's Toll-free reservation
number at 800-433-1790, and reference Star number 13704F.
FidoNews 7-15 Page 13 9 Apr 1990
C O N C L A V E '90 R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
When I was a young boy, I used to like to watch Star Trek (I
still do, though I don't have as much time for it as I used to),
and I was always impressed with the technological advances they
demonstrated on the show. Push a button, and food was instantly
prepared. They had little t.v.s that you could carry around
your neck on a strap. Other things. I always wished I was born
just 100 years into the future to see all these marvelous things
and grow up in that technologically advanced civilization. (Of
course, I also wished that I'd been born 60 years before I was
to witness the 'exciting times' of the early 20th century.)
Just the other day, I was using my microwave oven. As I used
the touch-sensitive keypad, I reflected on how it wasn't long
ago that these machines used dials, just like a kitchen timer.
Then I realized that it wasn't long ago that we didn't even have
microwave ovens.
It came to me in a flash that I was born at just the RIGHT time.
In my short lifetime, I've seen men land on the moon (I still
have a laquered copy of the NY Daily News issue of that day), a
president of the United States resign. I've seen the effects of
an oil gluttonous nation, and the development of nuclear power.
I've seen the creation of digital watches, now the norm (and
driving into Manhatten to buy one for $150.00 that used 24 hour
time just before I joined the Air Force). I've witnessed and
participated in the birth of the personal (it used to be 'home')
computer, and how its changed, and continues to change, our lives.
Some things haven't changed too much. Cars are still cars, they
don't fly, aren't electric, and still pollute. The phone,
though finally starting to show some progress towards its
potential as an information processing device, is still a phone.
Even with the advancement of cellular technology, we still don't
have Dick Tracy "2-way wrist tv's".
Some things have gotten worse. The US Space Program is at its
worst point since the days of Sputnik. If you have a few
minutes, please write your congressman, and ask him to vote some
life into NASA.
The bottom line, however, is that it appears that I have lived
the ancient chinese curse. I truly was born in interesting times!
FidoNews 7-15 Page 16 9 Apr 1990
(P.S. See you at FidoCon! The time to put in your deposit is NOW!)
Did you ever see 'Rosemary's Baby' The Exhibit at the state
fair. It had that wonderful droning carny voice, on a
continuous tape, blaring out of a bullhorn speaker...
"Rose..mary's..baby. Half..man, half..devil. And..It's..
A..live, or..is..it?" I never actually paid to see it, too
much fun listening to the tape.
I used to work on 6800 line controllers attached to PDPs.
Tandem still uses them. DEC has the same thing, only they use
LSI/11s. Now I have one for my PC. It's got a Hitachi 6309 ( 4
Mhz ) and all the bell and whistle chips like DMAs, VIAs and of
course double channel USRTs. It's strappable as to PC port
address, IRQ line and PC memory address.
It has NO ROMs. Normally a 6309 will RESET through address
FFFE, but some fancy circuitry on this baby remaps that address
down to 0FFE for 35 milliseconds. 0FFE happens to be the last
two bytes of some dual addressable RAM that the PC can see
starting at C400:0. This gives the PC the opportunity to write
boot strap code in there before resetting the 6309.
Norton SI sees the memory and calls it 'extra ram'. Contention
( ie. both processors writing to the same byte ) is handled by
the RAM chip itself. I've got a ton of code for various line
protocols that will run in the 6309. Lot's of work here now,
maybe a FOSSIL is in order. 3270 ? Nah. T1 ? All right!
OPUS 2.00 --
Speaking of Opus, you surely have noticed the latest release,
version 1.10. I applaud all the development team for a job
well done. It would appear that the most noticeable work was
performed on the user interfaces. There's a new menu system
and expanded privilege checking levels. My sources tell me
the next version will have something even better.
What's the worst thing about running an Opus system ? Right,
those damn message files. I, for one, run 8k clusters and
those echo subdirectories get big, fast. I know of several
folks working on a MESSAGE FOSSIL, which will allow Opus to
make generic message function calls, independent of the storage
mechanism. One guy might run a .msg file fossil and get
basically what we have today. Another might run a database
fossil and have all the message data stored in a single huge
file.
FidoNews 7-15 Page 18 9 Apr 1990
The message fossil would handle calls like 'read next header',
'change area' and 'read message body'. The functions provided
by fossils would be the same, the way they read and write
messages might all be different. You might run a Dbase message
fossil, and I might run one too, but your's stores the message
body as sets of 1K rows, and mine stores them line by line.
I think the migration will be somewhat eased by a first release
of a basic .msg fossil, such that your message readers and echo
mail tosser/scanners will work as before. After that, you
would expect to see new fossils released as those utilities
began to use the fossil functions. Times are a changin'...
Phantom City --
Phantom City, The Double Round Trip, The Back Date : no, these
are not new AIDS prevention techniques, they are ways to cheat
the airlines and their stupid pricing policies.
The Phantom City : Dallas to San Francisco to Dallas. You
need 600 bucks. Wait, Dal-SF-Dal-Kansas City is only 500.
Why ? SF to Kansas City is cheaper ( builds market share in
KC ). Pack light, carry your bags and get off for good in
Dallas. It's against the rules, you save 100 bucks.
The Double Round Trip : Chicago to Miami to Chicago. You need
to fly out Monday and return Friday. Business travel, high
traffic, 600 bucks. Wait, Saturday to Friday, and Monday to
Sunday total is 550. Use the 2nd ticket first half, and 1st
ticket second half. Why ? It's much cheaper to fly off days
and stay across a Saturday. It's against the rules, you save 50
bucks.
The Back Date : Anywhere to Anywhere next week. Too late for 2
week advance booking. Not really. Hand written tickets have
one week delayed computer entry leeway. Most travel agents
will do it. If yours won't, another will. It's against the
rules, you can save a bunch.
These techniques are not recommended. You can be denied
boarding if caught ( unless you raise a big stink and make up a
plausible excuse ). What they do point out is the idiocy of
current pricing tactics by the airlines. Airlines are also
aware of these techniques, watch for a new rule limiting carry
on bags to ONE and probably not a garment bag.
Honey's New Computer --
Hey, that Danish keyboard and print really did work. Honey
wants a computer for her desk. I offered her my old ( circa
1985 ) Compaq Portable 286, with the EGA external monitor. I
even threw in a laser printer. She didn't byte.
FidoNews 7-15 Page 19 9 Apr 1990
Seems she has been reading a little; knows that old 286 is dog
meat, VGA is where it's at, etc. ad nauseum. She will take the
hand-me-down if I don't replace it. Otherwise, she wants the
new one.
Oh, and another 95 bucks per month for some kind of travel
agent comm line to a reservation system. Thanks a lot. No,
wait, maybe two new computers... AH HA HA HA
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.
3 Jun 1990
Comdex/Spring, which will run from June 3-6 in Atlanta, will be
held at the World Congress Center and other locations.
5 Jun 1990
David Dodell's 33rd Birthday
12 Jun 1990
Fifth anniversary of FidoNet's switch to multiple nets.
13 Jul 1990
Start of Eurocon / Techcon conference in Antwerp, Belgium.
Further information will follow.
27 Jul 1990
The beginning of the REGION 17 Convention at Menucha Resort in
the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. For details contact Ken Zwaschka,
1:105/54.
1 Aug 1990
Start of FidoCon '90. Contact Bill Vanglahn at 1:1/90 for
details.
5 Oct 1990
21st Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
6 Nov 1990
First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28
14 Nov 1990
Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at
2:332/16.0
1 Jan 1991
Implementation of 7% Goods and Services Tax in Canada. Contact
Joe Lindstrom at 1:134/55 for a more colorful description.
16 Feb 1991
Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush.
7 Oct 1991
Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland,
Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo,
FidoNews 7-15 Page 24 9 Apr 1990
Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay
Islands will retain area code 415.
1 Feb 1992
Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and
eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area
code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport,
West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los
Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and
Montebello) will retain area code 213.
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
