Volume 4, Number 16 27 April 1987 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet Association as its official newsletter. 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. Copyright (C) 1987, by the International FidoNet Association. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact IFNA. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL IFNA: Past, Present, and Future 2. ARTICLES Old Sysops Never Die Mensa Telecomputing SIG Coordinator Seeks Sysops Tandy User Group Newsletter.... April, 1987 3. COLUMNS Technical Topics - IBM's New Systems Column Without a Name 4. WANTED 5. NOTICES Error on last week's ballot! The Interrupt Stack IFNA Board of Directors Ballot Fidonews Page 2 27 Apr 1987 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= IFNA 1986 Results/1987 Forecast IFNA as a Corporation is now seven months old, multinet FidoNet will be two years old in June, and FidoNet itself is over three years old. The fact that we have survived this long and that the nodelist keeps getting larger is an accomplishment to be proud of. The growth pains have come and gone and very few have left. The work and associated expenses to hold it all together keeps rising. IFNA to date has managed to establish some pretty firm roots to keep things running smooth well into the 80's. A portion of IFNA's track record currently includes: * The establishment of the Region 1 HELP nodes and appointment of all the Regional Coordinators in the USA. * The planning and implementation of the Silicon Valley IFNA Conference in Colorado Springs in cooperation with COSUG. * The creation of the IFNA Echomail Conference. * The appointment of Bob Hartman as Chairman of the IFNA Bylaws Committee as well as the hiring of Aselage Kiefer & Co. to audit the Bylaws election. * Funding the International Technical Coordinator's data line to help offset the expense of holding the international FidoNet Network together. * The appointment of Randy Bush as Chairman of the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee and recent replacement by Ryugen Fisher. * The appointment of Bob Morris as Chairman of the Elections Committee. * The IFNA Public Relations work resulting in articles in most of the major PC trade rags which in turn stimulated 2500 letters of inquiry sent to the PO Box leading to the continued growth of the Net. * The creation of the IFNA foldover Pamphlet which is mailed in response to most of the correspondence along with a current copy of Region 1 and all the network and region coordinators. * The appointment of Ben Baker as International Technical Coordinator 1/0, Henk Wever as Europe Coordinator 2/0, Brian Gatenby as Australia's Coordinator 3/0, and Thom Henderson as FidoNews Editor 1/1. Fidonews Page 3 27 Apr 1987 * The distribution of the FidoNet Technical Standards Documents to most of the major BBS vendors to stimulate further development utilizing the FidoNet Protocol as a "store and forward" Email Standard. * Funding the legal and accounting fees required to obtain a general not-for-profit 501c3 status. * Making the initial contacts and spearheading the testing efforts that eventually led to the USR Courier Special pricing for all SYSOPs. * Coordinating and handling the Special Offer for SEAdog for IFNA members. * Preparing and filing IFNA Corporate income tax. IFNA did not owe money for 1986, but the paperwork still had to be prepared for Aselage, Kiefer & Co. The IFNA financials for 1986 are made up of two parts, the first three quarters of 1986 prior to incorporation and the 4th quarter after incorporation. All monies received prior to incor- poration were treated as personal contributions and then member- ships were introduced in Q4. Income taxes have been paid on the personal contributions segment. Tax Year 1986 Revenues ====================== Contributions $3,500 Membership Fees 1,600 ------ $5,100 Tax Year 1986 Expenses ====================== Telephone $ 980 Computer Paper 75 Ribbons & Diskettes 211 Reproduction 189 Bank Charges 80 Postage and Envelopes 162 Business Cards 107 License Fees 35 Legal Fees 750 PO Box Fee 44 ------ $2,633 The current forecast as projected in the 501c3 application are to double both revenues and expenses. We have intentionally held expenses down until a permanent Board of Directors is elected from among the current IFNA membership. The Administration and Finance Committee should be one of the first Fidonews Page 4 27 Apr 1987 Committees staffed after the BOD is in place. IFNA currently has approximately $5000 in the bank and thus we were able to sign a contract with the Radisson Mark Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, Va. to lock in the dates of August 20th to 23rd for the next IFNA Conference without the need of third party financing. Last year we had to have COSUG in order to pull the Conference off. IFNA has already been made aware of a number of worthwhile projects that should be considered for funding in 1987. One is to assist the efforts of Bob Hartman in attempting to determine a 9600 baud modem standard for use on FidoNet. Another is to assist Tim Pozar in his redesign efforts for a permanent UUCP to FidoNet Gateway. Another suggestion was to provide some public relations financial assistance to the hosts of a number of the better Echomail Conferences. We would like to hear your sugges- tions and ideas for funding projects which would help to improve FidoNet. Your interim Board of Directors thank all of you that have provided support and money to help get IFNA off the ground. We also thank all of the "flamers" that have done such a marvelous job of keeping IFNA on the forefront of FidoNet. Looking forward to seeing everyone in DC this August. Ken Kaplan Node 1/10 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 5 27 Apr 1987 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Dave Davidson Optometry Online 100/514 OLD SYSOPS NEVER DIE... THEIR SOULS JUST ROT IN HELL I am a new FIDO sysop. My logic tells me that, because I am a newcomer to the FIDO scene (and fairly naive), I will probably be told that I don't know what I am talking about and best to keep my opinions to myself until I am better informed. However, I have never been one to trust my instincts, so here goes... I don't think FIDO utilities should be distributed independently under the "user supported" concept. Let me try to explain. I became a FIDO sysop and joined the network (and IFNA) in November, 1986. At that time I was running a 'vanilla' FIDO. Well, it didn't take me very long to realize that a lot of independently written FIDO utilities were available that, if incorporated into my system, would make my life as a FIDO sysop a whole lot easier. So, I started adding various utilities to my RUNBBS.BAT file as need dictated. By the first of the year I had close to 20 utilities augmenting my board as I had originally set it up. Each of these utilities is distributed under the shareware concept and I am expected to pay for their continued use. Some of the authors of these utilities use the 'soft-sell' approach. Like gentle reminders that my soul will rot in hades if I don't pay up. Others are downright belligerent, like programming my bulletin board to send FIDONET messages to the utility author every night allowing him to keep track of each of those FIDO sysops he is going to sue for copyright infringement (I have often wondered who is suffering the most from this approach, the local sysop, or the utility author who is blessed with all these messages accumulating in his FIDONET message area). I don't mind paying for those utilities that are useful to me. I guess what is bothering me is the inefficiency in the present method of paying for these utilities. I am expected to make a separate payment to each utility author for every FIDO utility I choose to incorporate into my system. It seems to me there ought to be a better way. Why not commission IFNA to serve as the distribution center for independently written FIDO utilities? When a sysop decides to begin utilizing a particular utility, he could be instructed to send the requested shareware 'fee' to IFNA, with an indication of the utility he is paying for. IFNA could send payments to the appropriate authors on a quarterly, or semi-annual basis, and recoup a small profit for the service. Thus, if I am adding five new utilities to my system, I am not inconvenienced by the requirement that I send 5 separate checks to five different people. Instead, I could send one check to IFNA, indicating the utilities I was paying for. IFNA would in Fidonews Page 6 27 Apr 1987 turn reimburse the appropriate software authors for the programs I had acquired and purchased. In the end, I would feel as though I had paid a legitimate fee for the programs I was using, and at the same time I could feel like a philanthropist because I would know that I was making a small (but meaningful) contribution to the IFNA coffers in the process. Personally, I'd feel a lot better about this form of reimbursement than I am feeling about the present 'shareware circus'. Listen guys...I am not overly intimidated by threats that my soul is going to rot in hell if I don't pay for my shareware software. After all, there are worse places I could end up... (Los Angeles for example). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 7 27 Apr 1987 George Falcon FIDO 109/648 Mensa Telecomputing SIG Coordinator Seeks Sysops I'm looking for sysops with nodes already established who are willing to join Mensa, the society for those with scores in the top 2% on standardized tests. A few questions will undoubtedly come to mind, among them: 1. Why are you looking for sysops? 2. What is Mensa, anyway? 3. What are the requirements for membership? 4. Why should I join Mensa? 1. I'm looking for sysops because I hope (and this is a personal wish, not official policy of Mensa, which has no official policy or opinion) that one day American Mensa, Ltd.'s official computer communication needs can be fulfilled by the network of FIDO nodes already established around the world. This would benefit Mensa in that it could accomplish its electronic communications goals less expensively. It could benefit sysops should American Mensa, Ltd. and IFNA reach a common understanding regarding donations to those nodes handling American Mensa's communications traffic. Thirdly, it could benefit those shareware authors whose programs are considered by Mensa to be essential to the handling of that traffic. 2. What is Mensa, anyway? Mensa is an international society in which the sole requirement for qualification for membership is a score at or above the 98th percentile on any of a number of standard I.Q. tests. Mensa is a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to serve as a means of communication and assembly for its members. Special Interest Groups within Mensa provide a basis for involvement in various activities and the sharing of opinions and ideas. 3. What are the requirements for membership? Qualification for membership may be determined by tests administered by Mensa or by submission of properly certified prior evidence. All inquiries should be addressed to: American Mensa, Ltd. 2626 E. 14th St. Brooklyn, N.Y. 11235-3992 Chances are pretty good that, if you can unravel the complications of running a bulletin board, you can qualify for membership. Membership dues are currently $33 a year. There are currently approximately 52,000 members in American Mensa. 4. Why should I join Mensa? My recommendation is that you should join because it's a lot of fun. I've had some very positive experiences with Mensa... among them: finding a job, finding someone with whom to share a house, finding an excellently Fidonews Page 8 27 Apr 1987 maintained used BMW motorcycle, and last but certainly not least, finding the love of my life, my wife (and co-sysop) Dot. From what I've heard, the three largest SIGs in Mensa are Sexyg (for the discussion of human sexuality), Singles Network SIG, and GaySIG. At first glance it would seem that bright people join Mensa to meet other bright people, but Mensa offers a great deal more than that opportunity. Our members are celebrated authors, CEO's of huge corporations, accountants, mail carriers, clerks, and computer designers. We skydive, listen to music, go to parties, listen to interesting speakers, read books, write books, design and sell computers, write software, and share our lives. Will you find Mensa to be exactly as much fun or as rewarding? Like all the other aspects of life, that depends on you more than it depends on Mensa. 5. Will American Mensa, Ltd. pay me for running a section of my bulletin board dedicated to Mensans if I join and adjust my area privilege levels so that only Mensans can access the Mensa area? NO! I cannot emphasize strongly enough that I do not speak for American Mensa, Ltd. American Mensa, Ltd. encourages members to join together in pursuit of special interests, and, to this end, acts as the facilitator and clearinghouse for SIG activities. SIGs are voluntary associations of Mensa members which operate independently of Mensa. Mensa does not exercise control over the finances or activities of SIGs and no SIG or SIG coordinator is authorized to bind Mensa or to act in any way on Mensa's behalf. For these reasons, Mensa is not responsible for actions taken by or on behalf of SIGs, nor for their financial liabilities. It is my personal opinion, and not that of Mensa, that if a nonprofit organization were to find FidoNet an economical, practical alternative to a commercial data utility such as Delphi, that it would benefit FidoNet, Tom Jennings, the nonprofit organization, shareware utility authors, sysops, and the computer telecommunications industry in general for the parties concerned to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement. I encourage your comments and constructive criticism. Please feel free to send them to me via CompuServe (76266,500), SourceMail (AAK582), FidoMail or crashmail (109/648), or by calling our system ("The Falcon's Rock") directly at (301) 345-7459. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 9 27 Apr 1987 Bill Crawford OpusNODE 362/1 Chattanooga, Tn. (615)892-7773 IBM Even this newsletter must have a deadline, if it's to reach you on time. It should be in the mail before the highly-touted April 2 IBM announcement date, so let me comment on what we believe is going to happen. The rumor mill seems to be fairly consistent... enough so that a reporter with one major daily was writing his story on the announcement when I spoke to him on March 25! So, remembering that the rumor mill is fallible, here goes. From what we hear, IBM will announce new products in the PC and XT arena, using the 8086 processor. They are reported to be reconfigured into a smaller, lower form factor. So, while they should use present XT- style boards, it's not clear whether they will use only short boards, or short and long ones. Disks are reported to be 3.5-inch, 760Kb units, and the price for a 2- floppy computer is quoted consistently at $1,695. How will this compare with the Tandy 1000 SX? Our engineers tell us that comparing a 6Mhz (apparently a common speed) 8086 to a 7.16Mhz 8088 (as used by the Tandy 1000), the 8086 executes some type of instructions faster, and the 8088 wins the race on other types. Bottom line is there should be little noticeable difference in throughput. I'm looking at a report from a major New York analyst which says that these low-end products won't be proprietary and the price is high. He concludes that "IBM has ceded the low-end market to the clone manufacturers." ... and of course those of us who manufacture "compatibles" rather than "clones." There will also be one or more 80286 machines ranging from a Tandy 3000 HL-class box at $3,500 to an AT-class one at over $6,000. Now comes the "proprietary" aspect of the announcement we've all heard about. These machines will also use 3.5-inch floppy drives, but not the familiar 760Kb... these will be 1.4Mb drives. There's also a rumored new 32-bit bus for '286 and '386 machines. While they will have eight expansion slots, they apparently will not accept any XT or AT expansion cards as we know them today. Some communications functions are expected in ROM. From what we hear, it's going to be things like 3270 and Token Ring. If this is true, we believe the communications features will be of interest only to the very largest corporate customers... maybe 200 companies. IBM appears to be trying to strengthen its position with its largest customers rather than to broaden the market. And it looks like silicon implementation of the communications capabilities is primarily a convenience item, Fidonews Page 10 27 Apr 1987 since almost any type of connectivity you can name is already available through add-in cards and/or software. We're hearing about one to three versions of an 80386-based computer, too, probably ranging from $7,000 to $10,000, also using the 1.4Mb floppy drives and the new format expansion slots. Hard drives from 40 to 100 Mb are predicted. There is some disagreement on clock speeds with reports ranging from 16 to 20 Mhz. Out of a dozen industry watchers, editors and reporters I've spoken to, eleven have agreed on what this all means. If the rumors are fairly accurate, it means IBM is concentrating its effort in the higher-ticket, mainframe-related area, and will not move aggressively in the low-end. This is probably very good news for Tandy, since our major strength is in the low-end. Compatible vendors who have differentiated their products by including additional features, functions, and benefits (not just feature-for-feature clones) should be the least affected. In potentially the worst position are the clone makers who bolt together parts to sell products -- usually by mail -- on price alone. At any rate, that's how it looks to us a week before the announcement. On April 2 the stage will be set. But don't look for any real verdict for 30 days or so after that. There will be those automatic "if it's Big Blue, it must be good" reactions in the press. After the dust settles and potential users have digested the products, we will begin to sense any real impact of IBM's latest move. Until then, I'm happy to say it looks like Tandy will be little affected, and could gain from any IBM de- emphasis on the low-end. ------ CLUB 100 Last month I mentioned what might be the largest Model 100 user group. I asked "can anyone top that?" Rick Hansen of Club 100 asked me to make it clear that the group isn't trying to compete with anyone... in fact their objective is to cooperate with other clubs and user groups to achieve maximum benefit for all Model 100 users. Sorry, Rick... hope I didn't mislead anyone. TANDY 1000 SX WITH HARD DISK There's a new version of the 1000 SX available for those of you who intend to add a hard card, and need only one floppy disk. The catalog number is 25-1052, and suggested retail is $849.00. It's available at our Computer Centers, Plus Centers, and participating dealers. GOOD NEWS FOR COCO 3 OWNERS At long last, OS-9 Level II (Cat. No. 26-3031, $79.95) is shipping. The package comes with BASIC-09 (the original OS-9 package contained an Editor/Assembler rather than BASIC.) Fidonews Page 11 27 Apr 1987 Standard drivers are included, plus we've added drivers for both 40 and 80-track drives. "High level" (or specialty drivers) i.e. hard disk, will be included in the OS-9 Development System, scheduled now for June shipment (Cat. No. 26-3032, $99.95.) TRACKSTAR QUESTIONS A number of questions have come up about the Trackstar board (allows Tandy 1000 and 1000 SX to run Apple II software.) First, let me say that we feel the unit must be installed by our service center. The computer's disk drive(s) must be completely removed, and there is some system "fine tuning" required. Installation charge is $25.00. We've been asked a number of times if Trackstar will operate in the IBM PC and other compatibles. In general, the answer is yes... it is not specific to our compatibles. However, we install, warrant and support the product only in our own computers. Since we don't support (and therefore haven't tried) it in non-Tandy products, we can't comment on whether or not its use in such computers will result in the same software compatibility rate we quote for our computers. ACOUSTIC CUPS FOR PORTABLES The original acoustic cups for telephone connection to our portables, have been discontinued. A new version (Cat. No. 26- 3818) is expected to be available about mid-April. Electrically, the circuit is identical to the older cups. Physical improvements have been made. These include changes to the cable and the way it exits the cups, to improve its ability to withstand heavy daily use by members of the news media. The cup design has also been changed to allow it to work on the "square" handsets found on some phones. DMP-105 PRINTER IMPROVED How do you make a good thing better? One way is to add features without raising the price. The DMP-105, our lowest-cost dot matrix printer, has been replaced by the new DMP-106 (Cat. No. 26-2802). Specifications are exactly the same except we've added IBM PC graphics compatibility. ------ AVAILABILITY OF ADVERTISED PRODUCTS Back in our early days in the PC industry, everything was in a constant state of backorder. The few players in our industry all had the same problems. The waiting list for disk drives was 4 months... "Level II ROMs" were 6 months, and so on. Software was often in short supply, and availability of new software was difficult to predict due to the possibility of last-minute bugs being found. Fidonews Page 12 27 Apr 1987 Radio Shack's now president, Bernie Appel, isn't one to live with advertising product before it's available. He established a hard and fast rule. If on the day we sent an ad to a magazine or newspaper, the product advertised was not in the warehouse and available for shipment, the ad was canceled. That rule remains in effect today. However... there have been cases recently of advertised products not being available when the ad ran. Customers have asked why this happens. The most visible recent case was the December Radio Shack flyer which reached customers in the latter part of November. It advertised a special offer on the Tandy 1000 SX. Yet by the time you received it, there was no chance of ordering and receiving an SX before Christmas. In the case of a flyer, the copy is "locked in stone" a long time before you see it. The artwork is done and sent to the printer. Color separations are done, and plates are made. Our typical flyer print run is 18-24 million copies! So you can imagine the logistics of preparing, printing and mailing. By the time we knew SXs would be in short supply, it was far too late to make a change. There are other cases where we change the product, as in the acoustic cups listed above. We tried be sure we had enough of the older models to cover us until the new ones came. Our merchandising people are expert at handling these transitions, but once in a while a surge in demand or delay in new product shipment will surprise us. I know it's an inconvenience to good customers when this happens, and we'll break our backs to try to see that it doesn't. We don't like having to explain delays on a product to hundreds of customers any more than you like being kept waiting. The very strong Christmas season caught us off guard. The result has been a few more of these instances than have been usual. We apologize for them. I want you to know that at Tandy Center, being out of any product - especially an advertised one - is a very serious issue, and one we make every effort to avoid. TANGENT MEETING "TANGENT", the Tandy Computer Business Users Group, will hold its fifth annual conference April 26-29 at the Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth. As in previous years, they will be addressed by various Tandy/ Radio Shack executives including Tandy Chairman and CEO, John V. Roach. There will be panel discussions and information exchanges with various product managers, and service and support management. This year, guest speakers include William Gates, Microsoft Fidonews Page 13 27 Apr 1987 chairman; William Krause, chairman of 3-Com; Seymour Merrin, vice president of The Gartner Group; Paul Brainerd, president of Aldus Corporation; and Unix World editor David Flack. This is an independent users group, supported but not sponsored by Tandy Corporation/Radio Shack. For more information, contact your nearest Radio Shack Computer Center. See you next month... Material contained herein may be reproduced in whole or in part in user group newsletters. Please quote source as Tandy Corporation/Radio Shack. Send questions/suggestions to: Ed Juge, director of market planning Radio Shack 1700 One Tandy Center ------- For More Information on the "Tandy EchoMail", contact me or Neal Curtin in Seattle WA (206) 527-5618 to view or be added to this SPECIAL conference... Bill Crawford, HOST - The Last Resort Opus Chattanooga, Tennessee (615) 892-7773, 1200/2400 Baud ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 14 27 Apr 1987 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Bob Arnold Random Access BBS - 260/320 Technical Topics - IBM's New Computer Systems The following is the text of one of my recent Random Access Computer Columns appearing in the Syracuse (NY) Herald-American STARS Magazine. I hope this will shed some light on IBM's new models. Please keep in mind that no systems were available to me for close examination when this piece was first written. Systems are available now on a limited basis. As a result, I'm working on a more detailed report for both the newspaper and the readers of the FIDO Newsletter. Special Random Access for April 19, 1987 - IBM's announcement of its new System 2 line of personal computers on April 2nd was decidedly NOT a late April fools joke played on the computer industry. In this special report I'll look at the hardware in some depth, at IBM's past track record with new systems, and just where these new systems leave the clone makers. First, the hardware details. IBM announced 4 new basic computer systems available in several different packages. The common things amoung the new machines are the standardization by IBM on the 3.5 inch ``floppy'' disk format. All of the new systems contain at least one internal 3.5 inch drive. Each system uses a common keyboard design including 12 function keys, a complete numeric keypad, lights for several of the status keys such as caps lock and scroll lock and cursor control keys seperate from the numeric keypad. The System 2 Model 30 uses the 8086 CPU running at 8 Megahertz. The 8086 is the big brother of the 8088 chip used in the PC and XT systems and is capable of much more than the 8088. Space is provided to add an optional 8087 math processor chip. The RAM is now at the 640k limit and may be expanded by the use of extra memory boards as used on the PC/XT systems. Like the PC and XT, additional memory above 640K is not directly useable. It can be used for high speed RAM discs or additional data storage with the proper software. A built-in parallel printer port, serial modem port, and mouse interface provide easy connections for those devices without the need for additional boards. Three internal expansion slots following the now ``standard'' XT style bus are available for use. Fidonews Page 15 27 Apr 1987 The Model 30 has IBM's new ``MultiColor Graphics Array'' video board. The board supports 4 modes of operation in both monochrome and color modes. The color resolution is 640 by 480 pixels (dots) in 2 colors or 320 by 200 in up to 256 colors selected from a possible 256,000 colors. If you use one of the new monochrome displays you'll get 64 shades of ``grey''. The Model 30-002 comes with two of the 3.5 inch floppy drives having a capacity of 720K each. This is the lowest priced of the new systems. The Model 30-021 comes with one 3.5 inch floppy and a 20 megabyte internal hard drive. The Model 30 series will run PC-DOS 3.3 and any (it's claimed) of the older versions of DOS after and including DOS 2.1. It will NOT run the new Operating System 2 (OS2) available for the other new machines. More about this later. The Model 50 series is based on the same 80286 CPU chip used in the AT systems. The CPU runs at 10 Megahertz and space is provided for an optional 80287 math processor chip. Again, the 3.5 inch drive is standard. There's a new wrinkle though. IBM has found a way to pack 1.44 megabytes onto a 3.5 inch floppy. A 20 megabyte fixed disk is standard. Like the AT, memory can be used in large ammounts. Here one megabyte is standard. A parallel port, serial port and mouse port round out the internal equipment. Three slots are available for expansion. The Video Graphics Array used in this and the rest of the new line supports MCGA, CGA, and EGA graphics modes as well as monochrome operation. The Model 60 shares the features of the Model 50 with a few important changes. First, a 44 meg hard drive is standard. The design of the system cabinet has been changed to permit the use of a floor stand. In fact, it must be used in this fashion. The Model 80 is IBM's entry into the 30386 based machine market. Three models are available. The first two models run at a clock speed of 16 Megahertz and have 1 meg of RAM standard. Storage available is a 1.44 meg floppy and a 44 meg (Model 80-041) or 70 meg (Model 80-071) drive. The Model 80-111 sports 2 meg of RAM, a 115 meg hard drive and a CPU speed of 20 megahertz. Prices for these systems start at around $1700 for the Model 30-002 and go up to over $10,000 for the Model 80-111. Just what does all this mean? Well, IBM has finally settled on the 3.5 inch drive as standard. This will mean initial uncertainty as users may be reluctant to convert over from the present 5 1/4 inch standard. With each new major computer release, IBM has come up with another new floppy format. The PC/XT used 5 1/4 inch drives holding 360k each. The AT followed with a 5 1/4 inch drive holding 1.2 Megabytes. The Model 30 now has a 3.5 inch drive of 720K and the 50, 60, and 80 series machines all use 3.5 inch drives holding 1.44 meg. This progression has caused confusion and resulted in problems at Fidonews Page 16 27 Apr 1987 each occurance. The new 3.5 meg drive technology has proven itself on other computer systems most notably the Apple Macintosh and the Atari ST series. The problems may lie in IBM's use of higher densities involved in the new 1.44 meg 3.5 inch floppies. This is indicated by the fact that the 1.2 meg 5 1/4 inch drives now used on the AT are simply not as reliable as the older 360K drives. The real problem will be in the conversion of software now running on 5 1/4 inch discs to the 3.5 inch format. Unprotected software can simply be copied to a new 3.5 inch disc. Protected software will either have to be run from an optional external 5 1/4 inch drive or a new version on the smaller disc must be purchased. IBM introduced two new operating systems for use with the new computers. PC-DOS 3.3 is an upgrade of the present DOS 3.2 package. Several new commands were added to provide additional flexibility. DOS 3.3 will serve as an interim operating system until Operating System 2 (OS2) becomes available for the 50, 60 and 80 computers. OS2 will NOT run on any 8088 or 8086 based computers such as the PC/XT/AT or even the new Model 30. It's intended for use only on 80286 and 80386 based systems. It is not yet clear if it will operate on systems not carrying the IBM brand. OS2 is being called a true multi-tasking system. Multi-tasking is the ability to have the computer run more than one program at a time. OS2 includes built-in support for a wide range of devices and services. PC-DOS 3.3 is being called the operating for single tasking applications. Like previous versions of DOS, it is possible to do multi-tasking with additional utilities. IBM has had a few troubles when it's introduced new systems though. The PCjr, PC Portable (the luggable XT), the laptop and the RT are good examples. The PCjr never was well accepted in the large numbers IBM had hoped for due to an original poor keyboard design and then incompatibilities resulting from the overall design of the system. The Portable was simply a re-packaged XT. The machine had room for only 2 full length expansion boards, a single 2/3 length board and 5 more boards a bit less than half card size. The laptop system didn't get out in time to really capture a good segment of the market in view of the existing competition. The much touted RT computer hasn't sold well because of price (over 10,000 for the basic system) and lack of available software. IBM has not been known for announcing ``vaporware''. However, the Model 80 won't be available until sometime in the last quarter of 1987. They're now taking orders on the models 30, 50 and 60. Local response has been mixed. The stores are excited about the new systems but at this writing (April 8) none were available for immediate sale in the Syracuse, NY market. As for the rest of the computer industry, everyone is taking a Fidonews Page 17 27 Apr 1987 ``wait and see'' attitude. These machines are entirely new inside and out. As a result, the issues of hardware and software compatibility are of prime concern. The overall feeling is that the new machines won't stop the clone makers in their tracks. Many users are predicting that it will just take a bit longer to make a compatible system. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 18 27 Apr 1987 This has been another busy week, sometime "real soon now" I'll have a week that isn't that busy and I'll be able to look over some of the more serious packages I have laying around. By serious package I mean something that can not be mastered in 15 minutes and often, but not always, has a big price tag. In the meantime I'm learning more about the programs that I have been using regularly. I've decided to look into WordPerfect as a new word processor and have been looking over several books on it. This is primarily due to the good things I've heard about the product, both people I've talked to and write-ups in magazines. I doubt it will replace Word as my standard word processor, but that's only because I don't think I'll be able to afford it (I got a special deal on Word, and I'm not holding my breath on a similar deal). Besides that I've learned quite a bit about Word due to my experiences with Ventura Publisher. -- Style sheets and Microsoft Word -- It took Ventura to get me to really understand style sheets and how to use them. It's nice to bring up a word processor, press alt-c and have all the basic information for this column ready to go. Press alt-w and the format for my weekly report comes up instead. Since I have two different types of paragraphs (the "headers" between some paragraphs and the body text paragraphs themselves), I set up two different paragraph styles. Since Word carries over the attributes of the previous paragraph when starting a new one, it greatly simplifies my life. Instead of constantly changing the margins (or forgetting the initial tab at the start of a paragraph), I merely hit two or three keys when changing styles or parts of a document and everything changes (margins, fonts, indents, etc.). It's made my life a lot easier, although it did take me awhile to understand it. I think it's working better than it did with the bunch of SuperKey macros I had originally set up to be used with my columns. Once you get used to the concepts behind style sheets it works out rather well, although the manuals don't explain everything as well as they should. If you are using Word and haven't explored or learned about style sheets yet, spend an afternoon in the near future learning how to use them. It will be time well spent. -- New surge protector -- My weekly visit to my local dealer turned up something new and worthwhile, a new surge protector for my system. While I've had some form of surge protection on the power lines into the computer for as long as I've owned my current system, this one had a new twist. In addition to giving me the 6 outlets, it has a LED indicator that it is working (read protecting) the equipment and an in and out jack for the phone line. This greatly appealed to me because while I've never lost a system, I have lost a modem. It's what caused me to move up to 2400 baud, my 1200 died (during an electrical storm) and I was able to get a great price on the Tecmar Phonegate. The new surge protector was only $20 and was from QVS. My equipment hasn't died suddenly, so I'm assuming Fidonews Page 19 27 Apr 1987 it working reasonably well. While no surge protector out there will protect a machine from a direct lighting strike, it's well worth spending a few extra dollars to protect a thousand dollar plus investment from the more "normal" line surges. Your price on the same unit may be a little higher, I don't know what the list price on it is, as I get discounted prices through my dealer. I've been stopping by his store fairly regularly for the past three years, and usually buy my software and hardware from him. Some of the tips and information he's given me are well worth the higher prices (as compared to mail order). I'd strongly encourage you to find a similar dealer in your area because while mail order prices may be cheaper, the mail order companies usually can't answer too many questions when you run into trouble or need some help. -- Winding down... -- I'm still playing JET (due to an overdose of watching the movie Top Gun), although the effects of the movie are dying off. I haven't even come close to a 12 to 1 kill ratio, and I'm almost ready to give up. One last thing I want to try before shelving the game is take advantage of a bug I've heard about. It seems that in the ground version of the game, you can supposedly enter the flight hanger at any speed and still refuel and re-arm. I've been trying to enter the hanger at speeds greater than mach one. After re-arming I should be exiting the hanger at the same speed I entered it! Let me warn you, it is not easy trying to keep a plane a few feet off the ground at those speeds. I've cracked up quite a few planes trying to do it, and think I've nearly gotten the hang of it. If all goes well I'll let you know if the "bug" exists next week. Since I decided to learn how to use WordPerfect, I've been doing a lot of reading about the program. While I haven't actually used the program, and don't think I'm going to like it to well judging from what I've read, I have book learned quite a bit about it. The best book on beginning WordPerfect I've found is "Using WordPerfect" by Deborah Beacham and Walton Beacham (QUE Corp. $18.95). It seems to cover the basics of the program adequately as well as covering some of the more advanced features. My only complaint is that it centers on version 4.0 with a few additional sections on version 4.1, while the current version is 4.2. Hopefully most of it will apply when I finally get a chance to look it over. Sorry for the short column this week, but I finally took another look at the Sysop echomail conference and became disgusted with certain individuals. These few sysops are unbelievably childish, inconsiderate (read rude), and irresponsible and it has put a damper on the muse for the time being. Hopefully next week will work out better, and I won't even be tempted to look over that echomail conference for a few weeks. In the meantime, I welcome your comments and suggestions on anything I've written about or something you think I should write about. If you're a user of a bulletin board, please mention to your sysop that mail to me must be routed through 157/0, 157/1 or Fidonews Page 20 27 Apr 1987 157/502. FidoNet sysops who are trying to send me netmail just take note of that last sentence. All of those nodes are running SEAdog so you shouldn't have to worry to much about mail schedules, and they will forward a file to me. I'm still looking for a name for this column and if you have ANY ideas, please drop me a line and let me know! Down below you'll find my FidoNet, uucp (usenet) and US mail address. If you decide to use the latter method, please let me know where I can send a reply (either FidoNet net/node number, usenet site name, or US mail address). Dale Lovell 3266 Vezber Drive Seven Hills, OH 44131 FidoNet: 157/504 uucp: ..!ncoast!lovell ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 21 27 Apr 1987 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= ATTENTION PC PROGRAMMERS: $15,000.00 PROGRAMMING CONTEST! COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. is launching a new magazine: COMPUTE!'s PC Magazine for IBM PCs & Compatibles. Each issue will include a disk filled with programs, source code, and other useful information. We're looking for the very best original software for IBM PCs, XTs, and compatibles, and are sponsoring a programming contest: $7,500.00 First Prize, $2,500.00 Second Prize, $1,000.00 Honorable Mention (five to be awarded). Even if your contest entry doesn't win a prize, you can still earn purchase fees if we accept your program for publication. Entries must be totally original, previously unpublished programs and can be written in BASIC or nearly any compiled language. All categories welcome. Enter as often as you like. For rules and entry form, write: PC Programming Contest COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. P.O. Box 5406 Greensboro, NC 27403 Hurry! Contest deadline October 31, 1987. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 22 27 Apr 1987 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= An error was made on the ballot that was at the end of last week's issue of FidoNews. It said that you should vote for ten directors at large. Instead, you should vote for eleven directors at large. If you have already sent in your ballot, please send in another. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Interrupt Stack 24 May 1987 Metro-Fire Fido's Second Birthday BlowOut and Floppy Disk Throwing Tournament! All Fido Sysops and Families Invited! Contact Christopher Baker at 135/14 for more information. SEAdogs may GET more information by requesting FPICMAP.ARC from 135/14. 20 Aug 1987 Start of the Fourth International FidoNet Conference, to be held at the Radisson Mark Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, VA. Contact Brian Hughs at 109/634 for more information. This is FidoNet's big annual get-together, and is your chance to meet all the people you've been talking with all this time. We're hoping to see you there! 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 FidoNet node 1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 23 27 Apr 1987 Bob Morris 141/333 Chairman, Elections and Nominations Committee The next two pages are your Official ballot for the Election of the IFNA Board of Directors. The following are the few rules which must prevail in this election: 1. You must send a legible copy of this ballot to the address listed on the ballot. It must be signed and bear your net/node number. 2. You may vote for any one person in your region for the position of Regional Director. This vote is to be cast in the LEFT column of the ballot. 3. You may vote for any eleven people in any regions for the position of Director at Large. These votes are to be cast in the RIGHT column of the ballot. 4. Voting will continue until the end of registration at the Conference in August. The results will be read during the opening of the business meeting on the first day of the conference. 5. Write-in Votes will be accepted and are requested during this election. Fidonews Page 24 27 Apr 1987 IFNA Board Of Directors Ballot Regional At Large Region 10: Steve Jorden _________ ________ Region 11: Ryugen Fisher _________ ________ Theodore Polczynski _________ ________ Region 12: Region 13: Don Daniels _________ ________ John Penberthy _________ ________ Thom Henderson _________ ________ Gee Wong _________ ________ Brian Hughes _________ ________ Region 14: Ben Baker _________ ________ Ken Kaplan _________ ________ Brad Hicks _________ ________ Region 15: David Dodell _________ ________ Larry Wall _________ ________ Region 16: Bob Hartman _________ ________ Hal Duprie _________ ________ Region 17: Rob Barker _________ ________ Randy Bush _________ ________ Bob Swift _________ ________ Region 18: Ken Shackelford _________ ________ Wes Crowley _________ ________ Fidonews Page 25 27 Apr 1987 Region 19: Mark Grennan _________ ________ Wynn Wagner _________ ________ Region 2: Henk Wevers _________ ________ Write-in candidates: ___________________ _________ ________ ___________________ _________ ________ Name ______________________________ Net/Node ___________ Signature______________________________ Date ___________ Please complete this and mail it to: Robert Morris IFNA Elections Committee 210 Church Street West Haven, Ct. 06516 or bring it with you when you come to the conference in August. These ballots will be counted by myself since with 200 members the charges for a CPA would be very high. Hard copies will be made available to anyone wishing to insure that their vote was included. Thank You Bob Morris Elections and Nominations Committee -----------------------------------------------------------------