Volume 3, Number 11 17 March 1986 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | - Fidonews - /|oo \ | | (_| /_) | | Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | | Users Group | | \ \\ | | Newsletter | (*) | \ )) | | ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Fidonews 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. Disclaimer or don't-blame-us: The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them. Everything here is subject to debate. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL The Freedom to Compute 2. ARTICLES Animator, from Aegis Development - a (P)Review Using DoubleDOS and Fido 11t The latest FIDO distribution list Remote "Full Screen" Sysop Utility An Alternative to LISTGEN 3. COLUMNS Notes from Abroad 4. WANTED Optics Software Wanted 5. FOR SALE Entertainment Software for your PC! Modula-2 Make Utility Public Domain Software Library Sale!! Special Offer to FidoNet Sysops 6. NOTICES The Interrupt Stack ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= THE FREEDOM TO COMPUTE Mike Guffey Professor Loren Graham of M.I.T. recently wrote an article entitled "The Kremlin and the Computer". He depicted life with state controlled computing. His observation that George Orwell had it all backwards in "1984" is shrewd. He noted that Orwell thought technology would allow "Big Brother" to maintain control. Who would have guessed the Soviet Union would turn the tables and retain control by the suppression of technology, especially computer technology? If America's government relied on keeping the population uninformed to retain power and control, things would be different today. What if your government didn't permit computer access to large amounts of accurate data, didn't permit free communication between computer users? What if your government would not allow widespread use of personal computers for fear of losing "control"? How long could your government hope to genuinely keep pace in the information age? These were questions Graham explored in his article. He painted a grim picture of what might be called "retrograde technology". He points out some democratic traditions indicating an edge over communist [and third world] nations: o A tradition of successful technology developed under private ownership and control. o Close relationships between creators, buyers and sellers of technology o A tradition of free access to and creation of massive amounts of reliable information about most topics. o Excellent communications facilities necessary for access to diverse and far-flung data bases. o A tradition of entrepreneurial and innovative freedom . Graham goes on to say, "So far the pattern [of Soviet authorities] seems to be to require that all computers be institutionally housed and controlled. But what [they] may not have realized is that they will pay a stiff price... by severely limiting the rapidity of the growth of the computer culture, by hampering the spread of computer literacy among young people, ...by watching the West become a true 'information society' they will be doomed to follow..." Graham also calls the Soviet Union "the most secretive industrialized power in the world". These observations are based on a recent visit to Moscow and his background in the history of science. There is no known "hacker-culture" in the Soviet Union and its Fidonews Page 2 17 Mar 1986 youth is missing out on the experiences available to millions of American schoolkids, hobbyists and average business computer users. Nor does the Soviet Union's educational system emphasize hands-on experience with high-technology hardware. Even typing is not widely taught. Graham's article raises the question about how long the Soviet Union can retain a genuinely international status with a decaying economy that can neither heal itself with accurate information nor give its children a legacy of competition in an increasingly computer-aided world. Surely a disturbing question for an aging leadership. So what about your most taken-for-granted freedom? How important is it to you? What are you planning to do to protect it? Unlike the gun control or right-to-life issues, the freedoms you enjoy in accessing as much (or as little) information as you desire are seldom regarded as burning issues. Are you to allowing it to slip away as the communications giants gradually make the price of information prohibitive? In earlier times, free enterprise aviation developed rapidly because suffocating regulation had not yet arrived and no one thought to make air corridors into tollways. Later, after long years of gradually instituted legislation, many industry giants couldn't survive their emancipation. Today our situation is reversed. We have started out on overcrowded highways controlled by one giant. Let us hope the giant remains benevolent. Let us hope the giant doesn't team up with the federal bureaucracy to act on our behalf without our consent. Just where does one suggest a constitutional amendment? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 3 17 Mar 1986 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Joseph Lowery Fido 107/34 Published by AMuse New York City Amiga Users AMuse BBS (212) 269-4879 This article may be reprinted if the above credit is given. *FIRST (P)REVIEW* ANIMATOR -------- From Aegis Development ---------------------- Animator is the first in a series of advanced graphic utilities to be released by Aegis Development. When it is initially sold, it will be bundled with Images, their paint program (retail $139.95); this preview will only be concerned with Animator portion, however, as Images was not received in my review package from Aegis. Animator can be entered either from Workbench or CLI and, further reflecting Aegis' commitment to fully utilizing the Amiga hardware, one can multi-task with this program. This facility will only become useful when memory expansion above the 512 barrier is available - Animator leaves free only about 110K, which quickly gets eaten away when you incorporate backgrounds for the animations (a background uses 50K). Backgrounds are in IFF format, which means Deluxe Paint pictures once saved with a ".PIC" extender can be entered into the program. The power of Animator becomes evident at the outset. The icon based "fast menu" occupies a relocatable window on a blank screen. There are 29 icons to provide different functions and a full 32 color selection strip. The icons themselves are moderately descriptive, but a very nice touch is an "?" icon to describe the other icons; for example positioning the "?" over the small movie camera icon displays "Replay This Tween" in the menu bar at the top of the screen. What's a "tween" you say? Unlike other animation programs for personal computers, Animator does not just emulate a movie camera, working frame by frame, but rather uses the advanced concept of the animation segment - the "inbetween." Rather than moving a figure step by step, each time advancing the frame, Animator allows you to move the figure in real time in one tween. This makes for very smooth animation of simple figures (polygons are Animator's forte) without losing the benefit of frame animators, i.e. having changes occur instantly in one frame. Animator allows you to create a variety of simple shapes (lines, free form polygons, circles, boxes, or five pointed stars) all of which can be either in outline form or filled with the current color. Once the object is begun, even a dot is considered a Fidonews Page 4 17 Mar 1986 polygon, you can begin to manipulate it with the other tools. Here's a sample session. You select "make filled polygon" either from the fast menu or the menu bar (under "Create"). Near the bottom of the screen click once with the left mouse button to start the polygon, click again to make another point and then one click of the right button finishes the shape and brings up the fast menu. Click on the still camera icon to advance to the next tween. Pick up the "hook" icon - also found under "Move" menu as "morph-hook." Clicking once with the left button enables you to grab the polygon dot that you've made and extend it. Stretch it out to a straight line; click with the left to put it down and then with the right button to finish the action. Click on "next tween." Still using the morph-hook, grab the center of the line and pull straight up; the "line" becomes a triangle! Do the left-right two-step and now lets see what we have so far. Click on the large movie camera icon ("Replay Whole Strip") and the pixel shoots smoothly across the bottom of the screen and then the triangle grows up from that line. One even flow. Now lets really cook. Choose a different color, again either from the color bar along the fast menu window or from the slightly larger representation that drops down from the main color window. (If you don't see one you like, choosing the "palette" icon takes you into a separate color control menu where you can mix your own.) Along the edge of the triangle on the screen, construct another triangle - from dot to line to triangle if you like or all at once. Now we have a pyramid. Select next tween. Under the "Move" menu select "Rotate in plane." Under the "Select" menu choose "All" for all polygons on the screen. Now pick the center around which you wish to rotate the pyramid and spin it this way or that. Select next tween and "Rotate around X." Now spin that pyramid topsy-turvy. Or choose "Rotate around Y" and the form will spin on a vertical axis. There are also controls to move the object around the screen by grabbing it causing it just to appear there. Or you can plot a free form path for your polygon to follow. You can also move the object toward or away from the viewer, with or without perspective. By using the "Select" menu you can "selectively" choose to manipulate all or any combination of polygons or even any combination of parts of polygons. This can lead to sights that have previously been unimaginable. Here is where the mind begins to boggle. By combining actions on a polygon during the same tween, you can achieve beautiful effects. Try taking your pyramid on a free- form path around the screen while spinning around both the X and Y axes. The program instantly combines all these effect into one smooth flowing animation. As I began to sense the possibilities of Animator, I also began to get a little frustrated. Three out of the four demos provided look so childish that you're tempted to dismiss the whole program. The promo literature proudly states that all the demos Fidonews Page 5 17 Mar 1986 "were made by amateurs." At this stage of the game demos are not only what sells software, demos also sell Amigas! The save function was disabled on my review copy so I was unable to try building my own animations beyond a single session. I have been told the released version will also have a "player" program that enables you to play several animations in a loop. Also the glowing cursor (color register 31 is constantly cycling from green to purple) will be able to be toggled on or off. A good option. One problem I encountered was use of the mouse to grab particular polygons or points of polygons. This implementation seemed a little shaky - although the problem may be corrected with the released version or clarified with the documentation (only a demo sheet was supplied with my review copy). My only other quibble would be the lack of any keyboard input. Animator is completely mouse driven. One of the niceties of Electronic Arts' Deluxe Paint is the keyboard shortcuts that speed you along and allow you to work with a full screen. All in all, Animator is a pioneering original, and will influence generations of programs for years to come. Aegis' first entry in the Amiga sweepstakes is a real thoroughbred, and promises to be a winner. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 6 17 Mar 1986 Bill Allbritten 11/301 Using DoubleDOS and Fido 11t First, let me express my appreciation for the responses to my problems with print spoolers and communications. That appears to be all worked out now. Fido 11/301 is now running 24 hours a day at (502) 762-3140 thanks to SoftLogic's DoubleDOS program and a friendly area sysop who helped get things set up. I had been searching for an affordable multitasker for some time; Multilink is apparently the Cadillac of the line but the analogy holds for its price as well. I tried Topview. I couldn't shoehorn Fido, our career guidance program, DISCOVER (copyright ACT corporation) and Topview into a 640k machine. I don't think Topview likes ANSI.SYS, either. Wonder of wonders, what comes in the mail one day but a flier from SoftLogic. Having noted on the logon screens of a couple of Fidos a mention of DoubleDOS, I quickly ordered a copy. A sysop in a nearby city indicated that he had had no problem with it. The copy came and was installed. It is copy protected, but does not write bad sectors as part of its copy protection, as best I can tell. Three installs/uninstalls are permitted. We quickly got things running with DoubleDOS but the dreaded "Not enough memory to run" message kept popping up when Fido was called. Trial and error led to my clearing CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT of all prompt and set strings, leaving only a path to the root directory. Things ran fine. I see that ENVIRON.FIX is out which tells how to alter the environment size of Fido to cure this problem. Well, things have run fine since then. We have the BBS up in background of 212k (more than is necessary for Fido but just enough for PIBterm) and DISCOVER in foreground with the remainder of memory. DoubleDOS only takes about 18k plus or minus depending on how it is configured and allows four options for printer drivers. A clock driven buffer seems to work fine; there is an interrupt driven buffer option. Given my luck with interrupts, I stayed away from it. DoubleDOS runs very nicely from batch, setting up both partitions without intervention. It also includes a screen blanker. I haven't tried this. The disk also contains a ton of other material; fixes for many, many programs, documentation for programmers, and a notice about a bulletin board run by SoftLogic. Their BBS, an RBBS system, can be reached at (603) 644-5556. Quite a package. Performance degradation occurs; but is noticeable only if you know what the program looks like in a single tasking situation. I guess about 15 percent slowdown occurs, particularly on heavy use of the disk. I have only found one possible problem with Fido and DoubleDOS. I am not a programmer and do not fully understand how Watchdog works; however, when it is run to protect the system during remote exits from Fido, a problem may occur when Fido is stopped from the console. If no program is running in the partition in which Watchdog was run, then switching partitions Fidonews Page 7 17 Mar 1986 usually causes a crash. Anybody have any ideas? The solution I use is either not to attempt a partition switch when the Fido partition is inactive (no program running) or to run Fido without a setting for (O)utside or 0 (and no Watchdog) in the batch file. No sweat then. All in all a fine program, and a $49.95, reasonably priced. SoftLogic's address is: 530 Chestnut Street Manchester, NH 03101 I hope this review is of value to anyone needing to multitask Fido and who doesn't know how. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 8 17 Mar 1986 FIDO DISTRIBUTION LIST 12 February 1986 If you are a distribution node, and would like to be added to this list, send the relevant information to the SYSOP on 109/74, The Bear's Den. I will release updates to this list as new distribution nodes are added. NODE NODE NAME LOCATION PHONE NUMBER Version ---- --------- -------- ------------ ------- 100/10 MDC RCC, St._Louis_MO 314-232-6881 * D,I 100/22 PC LUG St._Louis_MO 314-576-2743 * D,I 100/51 DECUS Central St._Louis_MO 314-576-4129 * D,I 101/27 Dave's FIDO Gardner_MA 617-632-1861 * All 101/106 NewWorld Magic1 Swampscott_MA 617-595-5626 * I,G 104/56 Denver's Fido Denver, CO 303-973-9338 * ALL 106/343 PC-Interconnect Houston_TX 713-955-8120 I 106/106 Black Star Houston_TX 713-458-5406 I 107/23 HitchHikers Guide Williamson_NY 315-589-7361 D 107/312 Dance Studio E_Brunswick_NJ 201-247-0573 I 109/483 Wash-A-RUG Fairfax_VA 703-359-6549 D,I 109/603 NET-EXCHANGE Reston_VA 703-689-3561 I 114/1 Phoenix Net Phoenix_AZ 602-242-5230 I 115/100 Illini Data_RB Bolingbrook_IL 312-759-5402 * ALL 115/500 Sit UBU Sit Lombard_IL 312-960-5928 * ALL 102/101 Rainbow Data Los Angeles_CA 213-204-2996 * D 122/6 PSG COOS Bay COOS_Bay_OR 503-269-5202 * I 124/12 Inside Track Ed Plano_TX 214-422-4772 I 125/1 Fido's Board San_Francisco_CA 415-864-1418 * All 125/521 Satore Center San_Francisco_CA 415-647-8528 I,V 128/10 The Three Laws Colorado_Spgs_CO 303-574-1110 I 129/11 TACO Sanyo Fido Trafford_PA 412-856-1428 * S 132/107 M'Cycle Bytes Amherst_NH 603-889-3366 * All 133/1 ATL/FIDO1 Atlanta_GA 404-928-1876 * D,I 134/1 Calgary Fido Calgary_Alberta 403-282-1703 * I,S 135/14 Metro-Fire Fido Miami_FL 305-596-8611 I,S,T,G 137/19 The Ark Tangent Tampa_FL 813-977-5347 * I 138/3 PROBUS INTRNTL Puyallup_WA 206-848-9232 * I 138/14 BECS_Tandy_Fido Seattle_WA 206-527-5619 A (- V) 3101/1 Fido Nl1 Ede_Holland +31-8380-37165 I * Supports 2400 Baud FIDO Version: I[BM], D[EC], V[ICTOR], S[ANYO], T[ANDY], G[ENERIC] This version of the list was squeezed a bit, to allow it to fit into the FIDONEWS format. If you would like a full 80 column copy of this list, it may be downloaded from either FIDO 109/74 (The Bear's Den), or FIDO 109/483 (Wash-A-RUG). - NOTE - It has been pointed out to me that not all of these listed nodes are carrying the latest release of FIDO. If you find old or obsolete versions of FIDO on a listed distribution node, please let me know at FIDO 109/74. Fidonews Page 9 17 Mar 1986 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 10 17 Mar 1986 Bernie Lawrence Sysop - Dodge City Fido 124/3 (214) 494-1940 RemSysop Hello! I have written a new program to handle the USER.BBS file on Fidos. I'm not sure about everyone, but I'm sure there's more than just me that logs onto their board remotely and there's many of us who have co-sysops who validate users for access. Problem: The problem I've always had is that the only programs out there to handle the USER.BBS file were either programs that worked from the console only, or they were programs who took forever to do a simple chore because of the way they handled the screen. Most, if not all, simply scroll the screen and reprint the whole record every time you make a change. Not only that problem, but most, if not all, require you to use redirection or CTTY to work correctly. Then you run into the problem of carrier loss. Sure, you can run Watchdog, but rebooting is a sloppy way of handling things for something as simple as monitoring the carrier. Also, if you use redirection or CTTY then you can't see what's going on at the console. Someone could be rearranging your whole USER.BBS file and you wouldn't even know it because all I/O is going and coming through the com port. Sloppy, that's all it is. Solution: I have written a program that works both at the console and remotely. This program uses interrupt driven communication just like Fido does so that you can "type ahead" just like on Fido. It also displays everything on the console just like it does over the com port. When your co-sysop is online, you can see what he is doing. Not only that, but my program has a simultaneous keyboards option that can be toggled on/off just like Fido does. That way you can do things while the person on the phone watches on his terminal. It also has the ability to drop carrier immediately (Alt-X) just in case the worst nightmare were to occur and you find someone has broken into your system. When using this remotely it looks and works exactly the same as when using it at the console. All the output uses the ANSI escape sequences and so it works like a full screen program. When you change something it doesn't reprint the whole screen, it just locates the cursor and changes it on screen. That's the best way of doing it! What about carrier loss? I'm glad you asked. This program constantly monitors the carrier and if carrier is lost, the Fidonews Page 11 17 Mar 1986 program exits and your batch file can restart Fido. I have released this program as shareware and it can be downloaded from my Fido BBS. If you like the program, please make a contribution so I can continue to make additions. I've spent a lot of time on this program, so if you like it please contribute and help keep shareware alive. REMSYS11.ARC - RemSysop version 1.1 is the current version. Bernie Lawrence Sysop - Dodge City Fido 124/3 (214) 494-1940 1433 Shorehaven Dr. Garland, Texas 75040 Oh and while you're online check out the Village. It's another program I wrote that uses Fido's O)utside command. Users can play the Slot Machine, play the Shuffle game, have Gunfights with other users, etc. Of course, only normal access users can get into it so you'll have to wait till your second call to try the Village. I named it the "Village" because I had it working before TJ came out with the O)utside command. I just changed the V)ersion command to work like the 0 command, so it's been up for a while. Later days, Bernie Lawrence a.k.a. Josey Wales RemSysop (c) Copyright 1986 Lawrence All rights reserved! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 12 17 Mar 1986 From: Bob Spivack Sysop, Fido 143/3 (408) 972-8164 "The PC-AT" Fido Greetings fellow Fido users. I have finally managed to get a few minutes to jot down a few notes and comments in response to several articles in recent newsletters. Please feel free to respond to me directly via FidoNet, by calling up my Fido and leaving a message to the SYSOP, or by incorporating your comments in your own FidoNews article. 1. Claims of FidoNews readership: Off and on I have seen claims that 50 or 60 thousand Fido enthousiasts read the Fidonews. Although I believe that the news does reach many people, I doubt it is that large. The calculation assumes an average number of callers per Fido node multiplied by the number of nodes. Although every Fido is different, I have found that NO ONE except me, the Sysop, reads the FidoNews on my system. I am curious if my system is an exception or whether the actual readership is perhaps only incrementally greater than the number of Fido nodes/SYSOPS. 2. The "underlining" problem in Fido documentation: The problem of not all printers handling underlining well was raised a while back but no concensus seems to have surfaced. My own two-cents worth is that I truly dislike trying to peruse text files on my video console when they have underlining that makes words turn to blank spaces on my screen. 3. Fido Addictions: I find that I too, cannot resist hitting control-C on my pc and then "Type mailer.log" as the first thing I do after I roll out of bed. There is just something mystical about receiving incoming mail. You know something can arrive every day, but you never know exactly where (or who) it is coming from. This is the real "mystique" of Fido and why, in my opinion, once you get hooked on Fido you can never go back to RBBS and other systems like that. 4: National Mail Hour versus Free-for-all delivery: Recent FidoNews articles have carried messages from two SYSOPS complaining that Fido is getting too big for just a one hour nightly mail linkup. I totally disagree that the solution is to expand the mail time or to allow mail to be sent/received at any time of the day. The beauty (elegance, simplicity, pick your own word) of Fido is Fidonews Page 13 17 Mar 1986 that the only discipline it imposes on every legitimate node is to be available for one hour every night to send/receive mail. I suspect, that the nodes that find themselves overloaded are trying to do too much. Maybe being a local/regional host, a Usenet gateway, and a high volume private node is just asking a bit too much. The whole purpose of regions, nets, subhosts, etc. is to use a "divide and conquer" approach to increased traffic and/or cost- effective (especially important for a non-commercial network) approach to dividing up the mail-forwarding chores. Along the same lines, if one or two nodes consistently have trouble connecting with one another, they should simply arrange a private mail schedule to supplement the national or local mail time slots. I don't want to stand on my soapbox too loudly, but I think the richness of Fido is such that there are many solutions already available to solving traffic congestion problems. Tom's limited time and effort is probably better spent adding new features or cpabilities that extend the concept of Fido/FidoNet rather than just fine-tuning it. To paraphrase (bastardize?) what Spock said: "The needs of the few or the one, should not outweigh the needs of the many!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 14 17 Mar 1986 Thom Henderson, 107/8 An Alternative to LISTGEN Nothing against John Warren. He's done a great job on LISTGEN. It's just that it's a bit slow. That's not his fault. It's Microsoft's fault for making the BASIC compiler so slow. Now St. Louis is adding another step on us: applying a difference file to the node list. Again, nothing against them. They're trying to keep everybody's phone bill down. But still, it all adds up to more time spent creating a node list every week. There has GOT to be a better way! I've found my own solution, which I'm willing to share. I've written a program called XLATLIST to translate my node list, and I'm making it available. There's some of the usual shareware junk tossed in; I'll get to that in a bit. XLATLIST does basically what LISTGEN does, but faster. I timed it on node list #66 (using NODEDIFF.059 to turn NODELIST.059 into NODELIST.066), and tossed in four private network files. I told it to produce a narrow Fido list, a wide Fido list (each with a sorted index), a node list for Fido, and a data file for ROUTEGEN (a separate route file generator). It took five minutes and fifteen seconds. That's on a vanilla XT. (Side note: Is that really faster than LISTGEN? I've been playing with XLATLIST for a few months, so I really don't know anymore.) At any rate, it's faster still if you cut down on the number of files you want it to create. I should mention a few things. Since I was working on it anyway I figured I'd add some stuff. For instance, XLATLIST can add an index to nets and regions to the back of the Fido lists. If you have a copy of Ben Baker's excellent QSORT program (which I highly recommend) then XLATLIST can sort the index by region/net number. Also, you don't need to tell XLATLIST which node list to scan. It looks on your disk for the one with the highest number. While it's at it, it also looks for the NODEDIFF file with the highest number. If it finds one, then it applies it to the node list (but ONLY if it should!) This is more useful than it sounds. Allow me to expound. The gang in St. Louis is planning on shipping a full node list about once a quarter (four times a year). In between, they'll ship a NODEDIFF file containing only the changes to the previous node list. It will be your job (using a utility) to apply the changes to the previous week's node list in order to come up with the current node list. Since in any given week you might get either a node list OR a Fidonews Page 15 17 Mar 1986 node difference file, then you have to know what to do in either case. Or rather, your batch file does. Since both will be shipped as NODEDIFF.ARC, then you can automate it easily using XLATLIST, like so: for %%x in (nodediff.a*) do arc x %%x node*.* xlatlist del nodediff.a* The first statement is a tricky way of extracting the NODELIST or NODEDIFF file from the current archive, whatever it may be named. The second statement invokes XLATLIST. The third statement cleans up the garbage. (Obviously you'll want to tailor this to your own situation.) The beauty of it is that XLATLIST will always do the right thing automatically. If you got a difference file, then it will apply it to create the new node list. If you got a node list, then it will reject any previous difference files and just use the node list. I mentioned ROUTEGEN, didn't I? ROUTEGEN is a companion program to XLATLIST. It doesn't define a new routing language or anything. It's basically a dedicated macro preprocessor for route files. A ROUTEGEN control file looks much like a Fido route file, except that things have been added. You can say things like: Define outhost 16 Route-to outhost all except net-107, area-201 Send-to country-1 Poll area-201-478 Now a word about shareware, as it applies to XLATLIST. Any non- commercial FidoNet sysop can use XLATLIST for free. See the manual for terms and conditions (nothing onerous, I promise!) Commercial users have to pay a license fee. All the rest of you are encouraged to encourage me (I love encouragement!), but it's voluntary. Ten percent of anything I get (if I get anything at all) will go to the International FidoNet Association. End of commercial. If you are interested, XLATLIST is available from SEAboard, node 107/7, and probably from other places by the time you read this. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 16 17 Mar 1986 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Notes from Abroad Compatibility with Tapes Unfortunately, as the fact is for now, almost none of the existing tape backup systems can swap tapes. Although most of them use the standard 3M DC-600, it can even be a problem using a tape created on another system of the same make! A good (of you might say: Horrible) example for this is TallGrass Technologies: If you crash your hard disk (also a TallGrass), your tapes aren't worth a nickel, they cannot be restored to another TG hard disk! (If you haven't been wise enough to use the extremely slow file- by-file copy to tape function). Now, there seems to be a solution to all our worries: Several vendors have finally agreed on a new standard, called QIC-24. This new standard will set (among others) the way the data are stored, how the tape is formatted, etc. This actually means that any tape created at any system can be read by any other device using that standard (pronounced "QUICK twenty four"). I have been in touch with Tandberg Data, one of the manufacturers of drives for this new standard, and they are shortly releasing a drive with card for PC's. Also the worldwide selling vendor QUBIE has promised a new tape backup using this new standard very soon, and several other I've been in touch with are launching compatible systems, too. My suggestion is that we all go for this new standard, it would make life easier for all of us. If you have any comments on this issue, please send mail to: Sysop on 4701/101 - Hackers Unlimited. I have sent Robert a tape containing about 250 disks of public domain software. A friend of mine (Alan Solomon) "borrowed" an AST Colossus for a couple of weeks in order to write a review for one of the UK PC comics. We hooked it up to one of his PC's and then proceeded to fill it up with public domain software. It took the first 100 disks of the PC-BLUE library and the fist 125 disks of the PC-SIG library. Each disk went into its own subdirectory and then the whole thing was ARChived using the ARC program from SEA. The tape is a 60Meg DC600a, you can work out for yourself how much is used. It is in the QIC format as described above and if you can read it (and you want a copy) please contact either me (Frank Thornley) of Robert Hercz. It took about 7 days to make the tape and I suggest that anyone who takes a copy of the tape makes a contribution (50 pounds suggested) to Alan Solomon. You can contact Alan through my board. We are hoping to make a tape in several other formats (Christie, Irwin, Sysgen) When these tapes are available I will let you know. The idea is that we can all increase or software Fidonews Page 17 17 Mar 1986 libraries. At the moment Alan and myself have put all the software we have on line. We too hope to increase our libraries so remember it's a two way operation, I expect anyone who takes a copy of our tape to offer Compulink any public domain software that we don't yet have. There is a box of disks circulating the UK at the moment. I believe these originate from Ode De Presno. These have been in the UK for about three months now and I still haven't seen them!!! If Ode (pardon me if I am spelling your name wrong) reads this; many thanks, and many apologies from those in the UK who will remain nameless for the delay in returning your disks. When I (eventually) receive the disks I will return them immediately. There is a lesson to be learned in this matter. If someone has the decency to send out some disks to be circulated we MUST make sure that the originator receives his disks back as soon as possible. I suggest that any disks to be circulated are sent to the various country co-ordinators, they in turn will take a copy and return them to the originator. If this is not practical then the recipient must take an copy and send them on to the next on the list IMMEDIATELY!! There is no excuse for holding onto them for weeks at a time, as is the case in the disks from Ode. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 18 17 Mar 1986 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= Arlen Fletcher Fido 138/0 Help!!!! I am searching for software that does optical ray tracing. Most any language would be OK. Being able to get my hands on the source code would be wonderful, but not a requirement. I have a BASIC program that performs meridional ray tracing that was published several years back in Sky & Telescope but it is not very well documented, in fact, it's not at all documented! It was translated from FORTRAN to BASIC back in the days when 16K of RAM was a lot of memory and REMark statements were out of the question when writing for a micro. Anyway, I'd be more than happy to exchange PD software, or pay the going price for a decent optics program. Contact me at Fido 138/0. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 19 17 Mar 1986 ================================================================= FOR SALE ================================================================= ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE FOR YOUR PC! SUPERDOTS! KALAH! 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 20 17 Mar 1986 M2Make A Make Utility for Modula-2 M2Make is a utility for updating complex Modula-2 systems inspired by the MAKE program found on UNIX systems. The Modula-2 language allows M2Make to work directly from your source files rather than requiring you to specify the dependancies of your various modules in a separatly written and maintained "script" file. If you are writing large Modula-2 systems then M2Make can save you time and frustration. You need never get another "Module version conflict" message in your compiles or links. You can update any number of interdependant DEFINITION and/or IMPLEMENTATION modules and create a new executable with just one command. Even IMPORT new modules and M2Make will automatically figure out which modules need to be recompiled (and only those which need to be recompiled). M2Make runs on MS-DOS (or PC-DOS) versions 2 or 3 and is designed to work with Logitech Modula-2/86. Normal distribution is via Fidonet attached files. This is not a public domain program so I am relying on the honesty of the sysops to give this program only to the intended recipient. If you want a diskette add $5. A copy of the documentation file is free and available on request (via fidonet again). M2Make executable and example files $30 maintainance and updates $20 sources $500 For more information, send Fidomail to: Lloyd Miller, node 134/1, the Calgary_Fido or paper mail to: Lloyd Miller 2420 Capitol Hill Crescent, N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2M-4C2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 21 17 Mar 1986 Now available from Micro Consulting Associates!! Public Domain collection - 300+ "ARC" archives - 10 megs of software and other goodies, and that's "archived" size! When unpacked, you get approximately 17 megabytes worth of all kinds of software, from text editors to games to unprotection schemes to communications programs, compilers, interpreters, etc... This collection is the result of more than 10 months of intensive downloads from just about 100 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 Plain ol' files (add $50, though, it's a lot of work and takes more diskettes...) 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 22 17 Mar 1986 SEAdog Electronic Mail System Special Offer for FidoNet Sysops System Enhancement Associates, the makers of the popular ARC file archive utility, are proud to announce the release of the SEAdog electronic mail system. SEAdog is a PC-based electronic mail system which is fully FidoNet compatible. In addition to all the functionality of FidoNet mail, SEAdog adds the following: o User directory support, for automatic lookup of node numbers o Return receipts o Audit trails o Message forwarding, with or without a retained copy o Twenty four hour mail reception o High priority mail for immediate delivery o The ability to request files and updates of files from other SEAdog systems. o No route files needed! o A full screen user interface that our beta test sites fell in love with! SEAdog is NOT a bulletin board system, but it can be used as a "front end" for Fido (version 11t), allowing you to add the full functionality of SEAdog to your existing system. SEAdog normally sells for $100/node, but for a limited time only we are offering SEAdog to registered FidoNet sysops for only $35! Orders may be placed by sending a check or money order to: System Enhancement Associates 21 New Street, Wayne NJ 07470 Or by calling (201) 473-5153 (VISA and MasterCard accepted). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 23 17 Mar 1986 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 11 Apr 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perigee. 19 May 1986 Steve Lemke's next birthday. 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to Fido 1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 24 17 Mar 1986