Volume 7, Number 17                                 23 April 1990
    +---------------------------------------------------------------+
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    |        - FidoNews -                           (_|  /_)        |
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    |  International BBS Network                    | (*) |  \   )) |
    |         Newsletter               ______       |__U__| /  \//  |
    |                                 / FIDO \       _//|| _\   /   |
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    |                                                     (jm)      |
    +---------------------------------------------------------------+
    Editor in Chief:                                  Vince Perriello
    Editors Emeritii:                    Thom Henderson,  Dale Lovell
    Chief Procrastinator Emeritus:                       Tom Jennings

    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
       Splitting Large messages on FidoNet  ......................  1
       Where will EuroCon-V be held in 1991  .....................  7
       IFNA Membership Meeting  ..................................  9
       Region17 Fido Convention  ................................. 10
       Region17 FidoCon Registration  ............................ 11
    2. COLUMNS  .................................................. 14
       A View from the Bridge  ................................... 14
       Talk Me Through It, Honey  ................................ 15
    3. LATEST VERSIONS  .......................................... 18
       Latest Software Versions  ................................. 18
    And more!
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 1                   23 Apr 1990


    =================================================================
                                ARTICLES
    =================================================================


    Large messages on FidoNet - announcing a beta test package
    ==========================================================

    Author:  Pat Terry of 5:494/4.101
             [email protected]
             [email protected]

    Objectives
    ===========

    Several FidoNet (TM Tom Jennings) compatible packers place a
    limit on the size of message that can be transmitted.  This is
    often of the order of 14K which, while sufficient for most
    purposes, is inadequate for several applications, and in
    particular for long messages gated to and from UUCP using
    software such as UFGATE (TM Tim Pozar et al).

    The SPLIT/UNSPLIT suite is intended to handle this problem.
    SPLIT will split long .MSG format messages into smaller packets,
    thus allowing them to be manipulated by software like QM (TM Greg
    Dawson) or oMMM/Confmail (TM Bob Hartman).  After transmission to
    a remote site, the packets may be merged by UNSPLIT to recreate
    the original message, as closely as possible.  The only
    differences are the addition of a kludge line and, possibly, a
    few line breaks.

    The system has been tested between three sites which run QM,
    Msged (TM jim nutt) and BinkleyTerm (TM Bit Bucket Software).
    There seems no reason to doubt that it will work with
    oMMM/Confmail in place of QM.

    The package is now available from 1:105/42 to anyone who wishes
    to join the beta testing team.  As usual, you will be using the
    system at your own risk, but as it has been used quite heavily
    for some weeks without mishap, it is thought to be quite
    reliable.

    FREQ the file SPLIT110.LZH to receive documentation and object
    code for release 1.10.


    Fundamental usage
    =================

    After creating messages, but before transmission, one runs

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 2                   23 Apr 1990


          SPLIT MessageArea {options}

    for each area where large messages are known to be common.
    Messages small enough, "received", already marked "sent", "split"
    or "rejoined" will not be split further; large ones will be split
    up.

    After this one can run the scanner, packer etc as usual.  A
    sequence might be

           SPLIT C:\FIDO\NETDEV
           SPLIT C:\FIDO\NETMAIL
           QM SCAN PACK

    After reception, but before reading the messages, one runs the
    tosser, and then

          UNSPLIT MessageArea {options}

    for each area where one wants to recombine messages.  Messages in
    "transit" or "sent" will not be recombined.

    A sequence might be

          QM TOSS SCAN
          UNSPLIT C:\FIDO\NETDEV
          UNSPLIT C:\FIDO\NETMAIL


    The ^A SPLIT kludge line
    ========================

    Messages split and joined by this system make use of an ^A kludge
    line, which has the form:

    ^ASPLIT: date      time     @net/node    nnnnn pp/xx +++++++++++
    ^ASPLIT: 30 Mar 90 11:12:34 @494/4       123   02/03 +++++++++++
                (when split)    (of origin)  (msg)

    where
          nnnnn gives the original message number from which the
                components have been derived (cols 41 - 45)
          pp    gives the part number (cols 47 and 48)
          xx    gives the total number of parts (cols 50 and 51)

    Thus a large file originally at 123.MSG originating from 494/4
    might be split into 3 parts with the split lines

    ^ASPLIT: 30 Mar 90 11:12:34 @494/4       123   01/03 ++++++++++++
    ^ASPLIT: 30 Mar 90 11:12:34 @494/4       123   02/03 ++++++++++++
    ^ASPLIT: 30 Mar 90 11:12:34 @494/4       123   03/03 ++++++++++++

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 3                   23 Apr 1990


    This is, admittedly, verbose, but if recombination fails for any
    reason (like all the packets not arriving at once) one can still
    retrieve the useful pieces manually.  Note also that the lines
    are added to messages that are themselves "long", and the
    relative increase in length is thus very small.

    Columns 9 through 45 are really a "uniquefier".  The nnnnn
    message number is just the one the message had when it was split,
    and is of no other significance.  Similarly, the system does not
    use 4-d addressing in the node/net, because this is of no real
    interest to this application.  Most systems do not display kludge
    lines, and the ^ASPLIT line should be of no real interest.
    However, in one particular application currently using this
    system, the SPLIT lines are made visible for messages that cannot
    be recombined (because they are too large for gating from FidoNet
    to another RFC-822 compliant network), and here it was essential
    that the line derived from ^ASPLIT became human readable and
    comprehensible.


    Detailed workings of SPLIT
    ==========================

    When SPLIT is run, the following happens:

    The message base is scanned for large messages, and a list made
    of these.

    For each of the (few) large messages found that qualify, provided
    there is enough disk space available, the large message is split
    into parts.  The original FTSC header is placed in each component
    part, save that the FileAttach bit (if any) is removed from the
    2nd, 3rd ... parts.  No attempt is made to modify the To:, or
    From: fields.  The Subject: field for the 2nd, 3rd ... parts is
    modified to include a leading part number.

    Early testing showed that users became confused if they received
    split messages with no "subject" field, just a succession of
    numbers - especially if they received several of these at one
    session.  Thus, rather unsatisfactorily perhaps, a message to be
    split that is found to have no subject field has one generated
    from the date and time of splitting.

    The original kludge lines are retained in the first part.  ^AEID
    and ^AMSGID lines, if any, are removed from the 2nd, 3rd ...
    parts.  Others, like ^AFMPT, ^ATOPT, ^AINTL are retained in these
    parts.  This should cause no real problems.  Large echomail
    messages originating on a system will presumably have their ^AEID
    lines added to the constituent parts at scanning/packing time on
    that system (ie after splitting), and other large messages should
    probably not reach this stage - they should have been split or
    discarded earlier.

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 4                   23 Apr 1990


    A ^ASPLIT line is added to each part to allow for possible later
    recombination by UNSPLIT.  This will be ordered to be the last
    kludge line before the message body proper.

    If the message is addressed "TO UUCP: in the FTSC header, the To:
    lines at the start of the message text are copied to all parts.

    The "body" of the message is then split between the various
    parts.  An attempt is made to split at the end of a line in each
    case.

    The trailing tear line, ^AVia ^APath etc lines are added to all
    parts.

    Normally the original large files are then automatically deleted.

    The system thus ensures that each large message generates a
    collection of small messages, each of which is still valid in its
    own right.  If recombination is not effected, the messages will
    still be usefully received, and split messages to UUCP should
    still all get to their destinations, albeit in parts.


    Detailed workings of UNSPLIT
    ============================

    When UNSPLIT is run, the following happens:

    The message base is scanned for messages with ^ASPLIT lines.
    This is slower than the first scan for SPLIT, as it has to
    examine the kludge lines.  A list is made of messages to be
    unsplit, with each message having a list of its component parts.
    If a duplicate component part is found, it is discarded (thus
    partially getting around the problem of any discarded ^AEID lines
    in the components).  Messages marked "in transit" or "sent" are
    not eligible for recombination.  Nor are messages with a split
    component number of 00, as these will only exist as the result of
    an earlier UNSPLIT recombination.

    For each set of components of messages to be recombined the
    following happens:

    If disk space is too tight, or if components appear to be
    missing, recombination is not attempted.  Otherwise the first
    component is examined so as to extract the Kludge lines, and any
    UUCP "To: " lines. These, and the FTSC header, are written out to
    a new file, with the ^ASPLIT line modified to have a component
    number of 00, so as to prevent further splitting should SPLIT be
    reapplied to the recombined message.

    The text portions of the first and subsequent parts are then
    merged (discarding extra copies of kludges, UUCP "To:" lines and
    the like).

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 5                   23 Apr 1990


    Any tearline, Origin, ^APATH, ^AVia lines etc are appended.

    Normally the component files are then automatically deleted.



    Refinements and options
    =======================

    Both SPLIT and UNSPLIT may be used in conjunction with optional
    command line parameters.  These allow the possibility of keeping
    a simple log file, of stripping LF and soft CR characters, of
    limiting action to above the current High Water Mark for
    increased speed, and of controlling the lengths at which
    splitting and joining occurs.


    Source code and notes
    ======================

    This system has been developed in JPI TopSpeed Modula-2.  After
    the beta testing is completed, source code will be made
    available, on the understanding that it will not be exploited for
    commercial gain, and that modifications and improvements will be
    sent to the original author.

    Speed will clearly concern some folk.  The prototype takes about
    5 seconds to split (or merge) a 20K message, taking a single pass
    over each file, on a 10MHz AT.

    Given that it is suspected that the number of large messages is
    actually very small, and that these will be confined to a few
    sites/areas, it is hoped that the overheads will be acceptable.


    Acknowledgements
    ================

    The following names are either trademarks, registered trademarks,
    and/or the efforts of the person and/or company named:

      Fido, FidoNet - Tom Jennings, Fido Software
      MS-DOS - Microsoft Corporation
      IBM, PC-DOS - International Business Machines Corporation
      ConfMail, oMMM - Bob Hartman, Spark Software, Inc.
      oMMM - BS Software, Marshall Presnell, Jim Nutt
      msged - Jim Nutt
      EchoMail - Jeff Rush
      UFGATE - Tim Pozar, John Galvin, Gerry Paxinos
      BinkleyTerm - Alan Applegate, Vince Perellio, Bob Hartman
      TopSpeed Modula-2 - Jensen and Partners International

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 6                   23 Apr 1990


    Every effort has been made to identify and give credit for
    trademarks mentioned in this article.  Any failure to mention a
    particular trademark in the above list that may be found in the
    text, or failure to give proper credit for a particular
    trademark, constitutes merely an oversight and should not be
    construed as intentional, or in any way a claim of rights to the
    trademark.

    Particular thanks must be expressed to Randy Bush for offering to
    test this system in its earliest releases on the very busy 1/5
    zonegate, and for suggesting various improvements.  Thanks for
    testing are also due to Dave Wilson who operates the 5/1 zonegate
    at the other end of the link from Randy, and to Mike Lawrie of
    Rhodes Computer Centre for useful suggestions regarding the form
    of the SPLIT line acceptable to non-Fido users.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 7                   23 Apr 1990


    Louis Van Geel for the EuroCon-IV committee
    Fido 2:295/3

                             Mortsel-Belgium, April 21st 1990

     ______ Preparing EuroCon

    As you know, Belgium (Region 29) has been appointed as the host
    country for EuroCon-IV, to be held in Antwerp from July 14th
    through July 15th 1990. The organising committee is working
    hard on preparing this popular yearly event, and expects some
    300+ participants from more than 10 countries and at least 3
    continents.

    You may expect more detailed info in the next issues of this
    newsletter.

    Hosting such an event, and working things out to a
    semi-professional level is, as you might expect not an easy
    task. The actual organizers are indeed doing everything in
    their spare time, and are unpaid volunteers.

    One of the first nerve wrecking stages candidates for such an
    organization have to face is the decision on the location of
    the convention. Have we been selected or not? Can we start, and
    when?

     ________ Why the hurry?

    As might be expected, candidates for the organization of a
    EuroCon, want to set up something bigger and better than the
    last one. Doing better than the last time implies that more
    resources, and more funds have to be raised, more participants
    have to be housed and catered for. If you also want to provide
    free or reduced travel, or even hope to be able to invite
    interesting people, you have no easy task at hand. .... and you
    need time!  Lots of time ...

    So here it comes :

     ________ Call for candidates!

    As in the past, the site of the next EuroCon will be appointed
    by the last organising committee. Knowing how precious time can
    be from our own experience (ever tried to get funding from a
    national or local government or the European Community?) the
    EuroCon-IV committee has decided to call for candidates for the
    1991-EuroCon as of TODAY.

    Provided there are candidates (!) we thus will be able to
    appoint the EuroCon-V site on July 15th, the last day of this
    years convention.

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 8                   23 Apr 1990


    The selection will be done by a popular vote between the
    participants of EuroCon-IV, out of a pre-selected batch of
    serious candidates meeting minimum standards as will be judged
    necessary at that time.

     ________ How to post your candidacy?

    Simple : Send us by NetMail to 2:2/999 following information :

      o The proposed site for EuroCon-V
      o The name of a coordinator and his FidoNet address
      o The list of nets/nodes involved in, and supporting the
        candidacy
      o The proposed date for EuroCon-V
      o A concise forecast of expenses and revenues, with their
        origin
      o A preliminary concept of the programme
      o A short story, selling us the idea that your candidacy is
        the best, and explaining the merits of your proposal.


     _________ And the deadline?

    Well, let's say July 1st, which gives us a fortnight to examine
    your plans, and will keep your nerves not too long on the edge.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 9                   23 Apr 1990


     IFNA Membership Meeting

                             A Public Notice
                                  IFNA

         On August 4th, 1990 at 2 pm during FidoCon in the State of New
         Jersey a meeting of the membership of IFNA will be held for
         the Purpose of Dissolution, as Resolved by the Board of
         Directors in January of this year.

                         Respectfully Submitted,

                             Kris A. Veitch
                       Secretary/Treasurer of IFNA

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 10                  23 Apr 1990


    Janet Murray
    Fido 1:105/23

                 WHY ATTEND THE REGION 17 FIDO CONVENTION?

    Because . . .

    * the  traditional  "Curmudgeon  tossing" event has been replaced
    this year with  "Curmudgeon bungee diving" - an event more suited
    to the unique natural  setting  of  Menucha  Camp  and Conference
    Grounds, high on a bluff  overlooking  the  Columbia River Gorge.
    Your early regis- tration (before May  15th) entitles you to vote
    on which brand of shoes he will wear.

    * it will be the only FidoNet  convention  on the West Coast this
    summer.    Although  it's  officially  a "Region 17"  convention,
    sysops and their guests from other regions are welcome to join in
    the  usual  exchange of banter, tall tales, and technical support
    typical of any FidoNet gathering.

    *  it's  incredibly  cheap!  For a mere $70.50, adult Sysops  can
    spend  two  days and nights (food and lodging included) on the 98
    acres of lawns, woodlands and gardens which comprise Menucha Camp
    and Conference Grounds.   The  main  buildings  were  constructed
    around 1914 by Oregon's former  governor,  Julius  Meier, and are
    historical sites.  Menucha is located  in  Corbett,  Oregon  - 30
    minutes  from  the  Portland International airport and  about  45
    minutes  from downtown Portland.  Freeways I-84, I-5,  and  I-205
    are close by.  Reduced prices apply to children and students.

    * Oregon also offers an exceptionally unspoiled seacoast and  the
    Cascade  mountain   range  (including  Mount  St.    Helens,  the
    recovering  active volcano  in  nearby  Washington)  within  easy
    driving range of Portland.    Portland's Saturday Market features
    arts and crafts by local  artisans;  the Oregon Museum of Science
    and Industry specializes in "hands-on" exhibits which are popular
    with both children and their parents.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 11                  23 Apr 1990


    Janet Murray
    1:105/23

      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
      *              FIDONET REGION 17 CONVENTION                 *
      *               OFFICIAL REGISTRATION FORM                  *
      *                     July 27-29, 1990                      *
      *          Menucha Camp and Conference Grounds              *
      *                     Corbett, Oregon                       *
      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    Name _____________________________   FidoNet Address _________

    SnailMail Address ___________________________________________

    ___________________________________________  Date Sent ______

    Voice phone (in case of questions): ________________________

    Please indicate for each person attending, the option selected,
    and fill in the appropriate charges:

    _Number_            _Name(s)_                   _Subtotals_

              Registration fee @ $5
    _____     (FidoNet Sysops ONLY)               $        _____

    OPTION A: Friday 5 p.m. to Sunday 11 a.m.
              DORM
    _____     Adult(s) __________________________ $  65.50 _____

    _____     Student(s) ________________________    56.50 _____
              (Age 12 to 18 OR Full-time student)
    _____     Child(ren) ________________________    36.25 _____
              (Age 11 and under)
    _____     Supply bedding @ $6 per person               _____

              SEMI-PRIVATE
    _____     Adult(s) __________________________    83.50 _____

    _____     Student(s) ________________________    56.50 _____
              (in parents' room)
    _____     Child(ren) ________________________    36.25 _____
              (in parents' room)

              PRIVATE
    _____     Adult(s) __________________________   102.50 _____

    OPTION B: Saturday 8 a.m. to Sunday 11 a.m.
              DORM
    _____     Adult(s) __________________________    48.00 _____

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 12                  23 Apr 1990


    _____     Student(s) ________________________    42.50 _____
              (Age 12 to 18 OR Full-time Student)
    _____     Child(ren) ________________________    29.50 _____
              (Age 11 and under)
    _____     Supply bedding @ $6 per person               _____

              SEMI-PRIVATE
    _____     Adult(s) ___________________________   59.00 _____

    _____     Student(s) _________________________   42.50 _____
              (in parents' room)
    _____     Child(ren) _________________________   29.50 _____
              (in parents' room)

              PRIVATE
    _____     Adult(s) ___________________________   72.50 _____

    OPTION C: Saturday 8 a.m. to Saturday 10 p.m.
    (Meals only, no accommodations)

    _____     Adult(s) ___________________________   37.00 _____

    _____     Student(s) _________________________   32.00 _____

    _____     Child(ren) _________________________   21.00 _____

              SUBTOTAL                             $         _____


    LATE REGISTRATION FEES (_after_ May 15th):

    ================================================================
    |     IMPORTANT NOTE: Since we must estimate  _and pay for_    |
    |     the number who will be attending by mid-May, there       |
    |   will be a limited number of places for late registrants!   |
    ================================================================

          Paid by June 15th:
    _____ Number of reservations @ $10     _____

          Paid by July 15th
    _____ Number of reservations @ $20     _____

          Paid after July 15th
    _____ Number of reservations @ $30     _____

                             TOTAL ADDITIONS       $         _____

                               TOTAL PAYMENT ENCLOSED:       $ _____
    Make checks payable (in U.S. Funds) to:
    Net 105 Treasury / REG17CON

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 13                  23 Apr 1990


    Send registration to:

    Region 17 Convention
    c/o Ken Zwaschka
    Ken Zwaschka & Associates
    P.O. Box 2226
    Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. 97208-2226

    Reservations and room assignments will be confirmed via NetMail
    within 48 hours of receipt.

    Registration packets with a map to Menucha and information about
    Portland metropolitan area shopping and recreational faciltities
    will be mailed to all registrants on July 1st.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 14                  23 Apr 1990


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

    A View from the Bridge         "Captain's Log, Stardate 9003.30"

    What with all the ARC war flames going around, and arguments
    about which program is best, I decided to do something about it
    and write my OWN.

    You've heard of crunching, Crunching, squeezing, squashing,
    packing, crushing, imploding, etc...

    Now there's TRASHING.

    TRASH compresses a file to the smallest size possible: 0 bytes!
    NOTHING compresses a file better than TRASH!  Date/time stamp
    are not affected, and since the file is zero bytes long, it
    doesn't even take up any space on your hard disk!

    And TRASH is FAST!  Files can be TRASHED in micro-seconds!  In
    fact, it takes longer to go through the various parameter
    screens than it does to trash the file!

    This pre-release version of TRASH is yours to keep and evaluate.
    I would recommend backing up any files you intend to TRASH
    first, though...

    The next version of TRASH will have graphics and take wildcards:

    TRASH C:\PAYROLL\*.*

    ...and will even work on entire drives:

    TRASH D:

    ...or be first on your block to trash your system ON PURPOSE!

    TRASH ALL

    We're even hoping to come up with a way to RECOVER TRASHed files!

    This new  utility is available for BARK file request using the
    magic filename "TRASH" from 107/583@FidoNet.  SEAdog users can:

    GET TRASH FROM 107/583 NOW

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 15                  23 Apr 1990


    Henry Clark
    124/6120


    Traveling Circus --

    Why do we waste money on those plastic bags the airlines have
    attached to the oxygen masks ?  You know the ones that 'even
    though oxygen is flowing, the bag will not inflate'.  What's it
    for ?

    Smoking on airplanes?  Another item for the nostalgia bin.  I
    love it.  I'm a smoker, and I love it.  It's really a lot
    better. And it's cheaper to make a stop somewhere along the way
    ( a smoke break, so to speak ) than to fly nonstop.  Great.

    Travel with small children.  You get on first and fill up the
    overheads.  Watch the stragglers get frustrated with their 60
    pound garment bags !

    If you haven't been to Disneyland/world lately, ( and I haven't
    been for 5 years ), you need to check out Captain EO.  This is
    highly recommended audio-visual stimulation.


    Make Work --

    An interesting thing about PCs is their ability to generate work
    all by themselves.  I mean, look at the utilities for hard
    disks, file utilities, file shells and the like.  If you ever
    used 'File Find' or 'Where Is' or even 'Arc Find' ( for God's
    sake ), you know what I mean.

    My PC 'partners' and I have generally kept a very similar
    directory naming structure.  An old friend from Boston recently
    got his first computer, and was helped in setting it up by a
    business partner of mine.  During a visit here, he was amazed
    to find that I knew so much about his directories.

    Let me show you a few of my long time, basic directories :

     \BAT    \CAL    \COM    \DOC    \DOS    \UT

    My PATH happens to be :

    PATH=\ut;\ut\fil;\ut\nort4;\dos;\msc\bin;c:\bat

    I use CED extensively.

    I'd be interested in whether you have the same names, different
    names, or a different structure altogether.  Don't tell me you
    have no directories on your disk !  Also, it's not fair to list
    directories which the install procedure of a program has
    created, such as the \MSC\BIN stuff.  I just counted, I have
    255 directories on my C: drive, of which 107 are Qmail echo
    areas.  I copy 17 of them to my D: ram disk.
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 16                  23 Apr 1990


    I knew a guy once who had two root directories : namely
    \PROGRAMS and \DATA.  Under PROGRAMS, he had a directory for
    every different program or program set.  I don't think he had
    any directories under DATA.


    TAPMFC&LP --

    Region 19 presents :

    The Third Annual Poor Man's FidoCon and Lake Party

    SPONSOR:  Net 106 of Houston, Texas
              and other friends of our Net.

    DATES:    April 20, 21, 22.

    PLACE:    Big Creek Park Pavillion (and campsites)
              on Lake Sommerville, Burleson County, Texas.

    I attended the First and Second Annual Party and this is a great
    event.  The First was held at Lake Grapevine, north of DFW
    airport.  I think I remember dying of heat.  The Second was held
    at Lake Tawakoni, southeast of Dallas.  This was the first of
    the 3 day affairs, a bit wet but a good wind kept the heat off.
    This year will be the best yet.

    "Steaks on the griddle, and suds in the kettle.  Nary a keyboard
    or file spec to mettle. Good folks and fun, no numbers to
    ring... These are a few of my favorite things."

    "When Seadog bites, when zee bee stings..."  uh, sorry, I
    got carried away...


    Slanger, Slanger ! --

    That's Danish, of course, for   SNAKES, SNAKES.

    Honey-dearest won't go near a Texas lake.

    This just leaves young Kevin ( my 4 year old assistant sysop
    and part time modem power button checker ) and myself to PARTY
    HARDY, DUDE on our EXCELLENT ADVENTURE camping.

    This snake thing is ridiculous but she's adamant.  What it
    really means is "I'll just go shopping."

    You know Copenhagen ( no Bubba, not the snuff ) is the English
    name for Kobenhavn ( pronounced 'coo-ben-houn', that 'o' should
    really have a slash through it ).  Kobenhavn is literally Buying
    Port, but it looks like Shopping Haven to me.

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 17                  23 Apr 1990


    Funny though, she's from Jutland ?


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 18                  23 Apr 1990


    =================================================================
                             LATEST VERSIONS
    =================================================================

                         Latest Software Versions

                              MS-DOS Systems
                              --------------

                          Bulletin Board Software
    Name        Version    Name        Version    Name       Version

    Fido            12q+   Phoenix         1.3    TAG          2.5d1
    Lynx           1.30    QuickBBS       2.62    TBBS           2.1
    Kitten         2.16    RBBS          17.2B    TComm/TCommNet 3.4
    Opus           1.12+*  RBBSmail       17.2    TPBoard        6.0
    PCBoard        14.2*   RemoteAccess   0.01    Wildcat!      2.10


    Network                Node List              Other
    Mailers     Version    Utilities   Version    Utilities  Version

    BinkleyTerm    2.30    EditNL         4.00    ARC           6.02
    D'Bridge       1.30    MakeNL         2.20    ARCAsim       2.30*
    Dutchie       2.90C    ParseList      1.30    ARCmail        2.0
    FrontDoor     1.99c*   Prune          1.40    ConfMail      4.00
    PRENM          1.47    SysNL          3.01    Crossnet      v1.5*
    SEAdog        4.51b    XlatList       2.90    EMM           2.02
                           XlaxDiff       2.32    Gmail         2.05
                           XlaxNode       2.32    GROUP         2.16
                                                  GUS           1.30
                                                  LHARC         1.13
                                                  MSG            4.0
                                                  MSGED         1.99
                                                  PK[UN]ZIP     1.10*
                                                  QM             1.0
                                                  QSORT         4.03
                                                  StarLink      1.01
                                                  TagMail       2.20
                                                  TCOMMail       2.2
                                                  TMail         1.14*
                                                  TPBNetEd       3.2
                                                  TosScan       1.00*
                                                  UFGATE        1.03
                                                  XRS           3.20*
                                                  ZmailQ        1.10
                                Macintosh
                                ---------

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailers     Other Utilities

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 19                  23 Apr 1990


    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    Red Ryder Host  v2.1b10   Tabby         2.2   MacArc        0.04
    Mansion            7.15   Copernicus   1.0d*  ArcMac         1.3
    WWIV (Mac)          3.0                       StuffIt       1.51
                                                  TImport      1.331
                                                  TExport       1.32
                                                  Timestamp      1.6
                                                  Tset           1.3
                                                  Import         3.2
                                                  Export        3.21
                                                  Sundial        3.2
                                                  PreStamp       3.2
                                                  OriginatorII   2.0
                                                  AreaFix        1.6
                                                  Mantissa       3.21
                                                  Zenith         1.5
                                                  UNZIP        1.02b

                                  Amiga
                                  -----

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailers     Other Utilities

    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    Paragon            2.06+  BinkleyTerm  1.00   AmigArc       0.23
                              TrapDoor     1.50*  AReceipt       1.5*
                              WelMat       0.35   booz          1.01
                                                  ConfMail      1.10
                                                  ChameleonEdit 0.10
                                                  ElectricHerald1.66*
                                                  Lharc         1.10
                                                  MessageFilter 1.52*
                                                  oMMM         1.49b
                                                  ParseLst      1.30
                                                  PkAX          1.00
                                                  PK[UN]ZIP     1.01
                                                  PolyxAmy      2.02*
                                                  RMB           1.30
                                                  TrapList      1.12*
                                                  UNzip         0.86
                                                  Yuck!         1.61*
                                                  Zoo           2.00

                                   Atari ST
                                   --------

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailer      Other Utilities

    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    FidoNews 7-17                Page 20                  23 Apr 1990


    FIDOdoor/ST        1.5c*  BinkleyTerm 1.03g3  ConfMail      1.00
    Pandora BBS       2.41c   The BOX     1.20    ParseList     1.30
    QuickBBS/ST        0.40                       ARC           6.02*
    GS Point           0.61                       LHARC         0.51
                                                  PKUNZIP       1.10
                                                  MSGED        1.96S
                                                  SRENUM         6.2
                                                  Trenum        0.10
                                                  OMMM          1.40


    + Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software)
    * Recently changed

    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.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 7-17                Page 21                  23 Apr 1990


    =================================================================
                                 NOTICES
    =================================================================

                         The Interrupt Stack


     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 7-17                Page 22                  23 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.

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