880 lines
39 KiB
Plaintext
880 lines
39 KiB
Plaintext
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Volume 7, Number 11 12 March 1990
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| / \ |
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| /|oo \ |
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| FidoNet (r) | | \ \\ |
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| International BBS Network | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello
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Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Copyright 1990, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
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and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
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For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software.
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FidoNews is published weekly by the System Operators of the
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FidoNet (r) International BBS Network. It is a compilation of
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individual articles contributed by their authors or authorized
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agents of the authors. The contribution of articles to this
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compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors.
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You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
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ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. 1:1/1 is a Continuous
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Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day.
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Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
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Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are
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used with permission.
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Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors
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and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software.
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Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
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responsible submission received.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
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FIDOCON 1990 REGISTRATION FORM ........................... 1
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The new BASIC Echo ....................................... 5
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Announcing DIGITRON echo ................................. 8
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New Echo for Those Interested in Florida_USA! ............ 9
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Rumors, Rumors, Rumors.. jeez! ........................... 10
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2. COLUMNS .................................................. 15
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Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 15
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3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 17
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Latest Software Versions ................................. 17
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4. NOTICES .................................................. 20
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And more!
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 1 12 Mar 1990
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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The Secret Sysop Society presents __
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*** Conclave '90 *** / \
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The SYSOPS Convention /|oo \
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Home of FidoCon 1990 (_| /_)
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Lyndhurst, New Jersey _`@/_ \ _
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August 1-5, 1990 | | \ \\
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| (*) | \ ))
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______ |__U__| / \//
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/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
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(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
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Rate Plan Schedule: Before 6/1/90: Before 4/1/90:
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-------------- --------------
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A. Single Occupancy.......$595.00 $545.00 $495.00
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B. Double Occupancy.......$450.00 $400.00 $350.00
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C. Conference w/ meals....$300.00 $250.00 $200.00
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D. Conference w/ Banquet..$205.00 $155.00 $105.00
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E. Conference only........$175.00 $125.00 $ 75.00
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F. Banquet only...........$130.00 $80.00 $ 30.00
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(All rate plans except plan F include all conference and hotel
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fees. Those registering before 4/1/90 get a $100.00 discount,
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those registering before 6/1/90 get a $50.00 discount.)
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You must pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send
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no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be
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made out to: "Conclave '90"
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The following registration form must be completed and mailed to:
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PO Box 12
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Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
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You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/90 for
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processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone
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number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail
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confirmation is required within 72 hours of electronic filing.
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If you are paying by credit card, please include the required
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information. For your own security, do not route any message
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with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/90.
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The official Conclave '90 airline is American Airlines.
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American offers a 5% discount the lowest applicable round-trip
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fare, including 1st class travel, subject to availability of
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inventory. All fare rules and restrictions apply. In addition,
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American offers 40% off their round trip unrestricted day coach
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fare. International travelers qualify for special benefits,
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including complimentary admittance to the Admiral's Club Lounge
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at any American Airlines terminal. Newark is an American Air-
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lines city with direct flights to most major cities. When making
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reservations, you must call American's Toll-free reservation
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 2 12 Mar 1990
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number at 800-433-1790, and reference Star number 13704F.
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 3 12 Mar 1990
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C O N C L A V E '90 R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
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Name: __________________________________________________________
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Address: _____________________________ Apt. or Suite: _________
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City: _________________________ State or Province: ____________
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Postal Code: __________________ Country: ______________________
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Voice Phone: ______________________ Data: _____________________
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Zone:Net/Node.Point@Domain: ____________________________________
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Special requirements: __________________________________________
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| Option | Full | | Pricing | Line |
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|(Choose 1: A-F)| Name | Qty | Thru 4/1 | Total |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| PLAN A* | | | $495.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| PLAN B* | | | $350.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| PLAN C* | | | $200.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| PLAN D* | | | $105.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| PLAN E* | | | $ 75.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| PLAN F | | | $ 30.00 | |
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+===============+=====================+=====+==========+=======+
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| NJ Beach Trip | | | $ 24.50 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| AC Casino trip| | | $ 22.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| Eve. NYC Tour | | | $ 37.50 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| Broadway Show | | | $ 75.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| NYC Shop Tour | | | $ 36.50 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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| Costume Ball* | | | $ 50.00 | |
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+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
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* includes all conference fees & Hotel | Total $ | |
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** includes dinner, show, and costume +==========+=======+
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MC _____ Visa _____ Card Number: _____________________________
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Expiration: ___________ Signature _____________________________
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( Credit card registrations require valid signature )
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 4 12 Mar 1990
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 5 12 Mar 1990
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Brice Fleckenstein
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Sysop, 1:231/190
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And now, by popular demand, we introduce:
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AREA: BASIC - the BASIC Echomail Conference
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(My cat is with me as I type this....)
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The Purpose of the BASIC Echo
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-----------------------------
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This conference was created in responce to the constant
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fustration expressed in the QUIK_BAS echo that there was no
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viable place to discuss all of the various OTHER BASIC variants
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out there, from the original Dartmouth to the current crop of
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non-MicroSoft Compiled BASICs. I saw a need, so I set out to
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fill it.
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Valid postings in the BASIC Echo
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--------------------------------
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Valid messages for this conference should deal with programming
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tricks, features, "how to", problem reports, interesting
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applications, interaction with other products, and other such
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related topics.
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Product reviews and comparisons are also appropriate topics of
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discussion, but "This BASIC is better than this other BASIC"
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flames will NOT be permitted.
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Who should be reading the BASIC Echo
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------------------------------------
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Anyone who programs in BASIC, or any potential BASIC programmer,
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should access the BASIC echo.
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Addressing the question: Who died and left YOU boss?
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----------------------------------------------------
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Someone had to be Moderator. I elected myself, as nobody else
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seemed more willing to start an echo like this.
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My qualifications
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-----------------
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 6 12 Mar 1990
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I first learned to program on a DEC PDP-11/70, in BASIC+ under
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RSTS/E. I have since programmed in BASIC+2 on various other
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PDP-11's, MBASIC on several CP/M machines, Level I and II BASICs
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on the TRS-80 models 1/3/4, Commodore's BASIC 2.0 and the BLITZ!
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Compiled BASIC on Commodore C64's, Commodore BASIC 7.0 and the
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Abacus Basic-128 compiler on C128's, BASICA/GWBASIC and Turbo
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BASIC and Quick BASIC on various IBM XT/AT Clones. I've also
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"played" with about 10 other BASIC dialects not listed here over
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the years.
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Just to keep things balanced, I've also programmed in a few
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FORTRAN dialects, COBOL, 6502/6510/8502 assembler, MACRO-11,
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TECO, MASM, JRT Pascal, Z80 assemblers, and played around in
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another 5 - 10 other languages.
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Getting a feed
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--------------
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Send Net Mail to "Sysop" at 1:231/190, and I'll put you in the
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distribution list. I'm going to be HOLDing for all of you for
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now, as I can't afford the outgoing calls. Once the message
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traffic builds up, I plan to link BASIC into the Backbone.
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The Rules
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---------
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Here, I blatantly cribbed from Vince's BinkleyTerm Code of
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Conduct - basically, the rules are simple. Stay on the subject,
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leave the politics and the flamethrowers at home, and have an
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enjoyable and (hopefully) informative time.
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What about the QUIK_BAS echo?
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-----------------------------
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QUIK_BAS is a usefull and informative echo - it does what it's
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intended to do, which is to discuss MicroSoft's QuickBASIC and
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it's close relatives BASICA/GWBASIC and BASCOM. (I'm not sure
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where Basmark's UNIX ports of QuickBASIC fall, as the question
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hasn't come up yet.) I intend to continue to be a participant
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and carry QUIK_BAS. I just wanted a forem where I could talk
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about the OTHER dialects of BASIC I use or have used in the
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past - and several other folks expressed the same desire.
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BASIC is not intended to supplant QUIK_BAS - it's intended to
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reduce the off-base traffic there by providing a PROPER forem
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for some of the valid but off-topic QUIK_BAS traffic.
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If any of you have ANY other questions about the BASIC echo,
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feel free to send me mail.
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 7 12 Mar 1990
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 8 12 Mar 1990
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George Adam Stanislav
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1:129/39
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Digital Electronics Circuit Echo
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I love getting at the root of things. By the same token, I love
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getting as much out of my computer as possible. That is probably
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why I program mostly in assembly language.
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Lately I came to the realization that assembly language is still
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pretty high level for my personal preference. :-) At any rate, I
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started playing with my old love, electronics, more specifically
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digital electronics. I will probably not be satisfied until I
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design my own microchips.
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At this point I have more questions than answers, so I started
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looking for an echo where I could ask them without being
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considered weird. I could not find it, so I decided to start
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one.
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By the time you are reading this, DIGITRON should be readily
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available at the backbone. The echo will deal with all aspects
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of digital electronics. By that I do not mean "How do I put a
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hard disk controller in my computer", but more something along
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the line of "How do I design a hard disk controller".
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The echo is not restricted but should attract those who like
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keeping thier computer without a cover and close to their
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soldering pencil. If you subscribe to Circuit Cellar Ink or to
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Micro Cornucopia, you are the kind of person this echo has been
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designed for.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 9 12 Mar 1990
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Christopher Baker
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MetroFire, 1:135/14, Miami_FL_USA
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Barbara O'Keefe
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Ramblin' Roots, 1:135/54, Miami_FL_USA
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FL_LIVING Echo
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We have a local Echo [FLA_CUISINE] that has changed names
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and content and become Extralocal that you and your Users
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may be interested in.
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FL_LIVING is Hosted and Moderated by Barbara O'Keefe at
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1:135/54 and is dedicated to the discussion of all aspects
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of Florida Living including but not limited to: dining;
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recipes; weather; housing; regional specialties; tourist
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information; entertainment; fishing forecasts; real estate
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info; or anything else you can think of in the State of
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Florida!
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This Echo is not restricted to Florida systems and ALL
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Region 18 AND FidoNet systems EVERYWHERE are invited to
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participate. This Echo may be of interest to anyone
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considering moving or retiring to Florida or those just
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interested in the Sunshine State. [grin]
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If participation picks up, it may become available on the
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Backbone. It should be available at REC18 by the time you
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read this.
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In the meantime, contact Barbara O'Keefe at 1:135/54 or me
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at 1:135/14 for a link. We hope that more Florida systems
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will join in so we can get the perspective of the middle
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and northern parts as well as the southern viewpoint.
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That's the general idea. [grin]
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The Echo label is FL_LIVING. In addition, Florida systems
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should have their Florida city in their origin line so
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everyone knows what part of Florida you are talking about
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and if you mention a specific place or area, you should
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define it as if people outside your immediate area are
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reading it [as they will be]. This ain't a 'local' Echo
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anymore! [grin]
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TTFN.
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Chris
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 10 12 Mar 1990
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Joaquim Homrighausen
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1:135/20
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Aaaarrrgh!
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All environments where people don't stay in personal contact
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have the same disease, misinformation. Unfortunately, some
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people in FidoNet and OtherNet(probably tm) has always taken
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it upon themselves to uphold the BIRS (Bullshit Information
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Retrieval System). I usually don't give a damn about rumors,
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but enuf is enuf.
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I didn't really feel like writing this article until I spoke
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to a local SysOp over the phone. He had read in the Wildcat!
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conference that "Yes, Joaquim is in Australia" and this was
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supposed to be on "good authority". Someone else claims that
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I'm going to Australia to work on RemoteAccess full-time, that
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I stole source code from Adam Hudson's QuickBBS, and that I
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put it in RemoteAccess. I don't know who's spreading these
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rumors, and I don't really care - unfortunately, other people
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seem to believe them.
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|||
|
I'm moving to Australia on the 12th of March. I've always
|
|||
|
wanted to see Australia and I was (am) getting bored down
|
|||
|
here in Miami. Whether or not my Australian Adventure(tm)
|
|||
|
:-) will be a permanent thing, I don't know. This does have
|
|||
|
some impact on things I'm involved in at the moment.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1) I have No, Nada, Zip, Zilch, Njet, Inga, Nix intention of
|
|||
|
quitting the development of FrontDoor, TosScan and/or AirMail,
|
|||
|
my pet project. I know this is hard for some people (no names)
|
|||
|
to swallow, but: while(!believe_me), read_fact(1);
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
2) FrontDoor 1.99c has been released by the time you read this.
|
|||
|
And is hopefully working like it should. My main concern is (of
|
|||
|
course) whether or not it talks properly to SEAdogs so Phil
|
|||
|
Buonomo doesn't have to start his FDECHO polution again.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
2a) There will ALWAYS (read it again to make sure you get it),
|
|||
|
be a free for noncommercial use version of FrontDoor.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
3) TosScan 1.10 will go into beta testing two or so weeks after
|
|||
|
I've arrived in Australia and found all the bars in town (hmm,
|
|||
|
that could take three weeks I guess..). Whether or not I'll be
|
|||
|
able to add TBBS/PCBoard support for 1.10 is something I don't
|
|||
|
know at the moment. But they're included in my plans at least.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
4) Both FrontDoor and TosScan (and most likely AirMail) will be
|
|||
|
available for OS/2 and Xenix towards the end of 1990 hopefully.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 11 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
5) I will be polling 1:260/340 once or twice per day as well as
|
|||
|
picking up some echomail (FDECHO, etc.) from his system. I also
|
|||
|
have a private system listed in Net-260 (1:260/20) which will
|
|||
|
be routed via 1:260/340 (which is the host system). So mail
|
|||
|
will always reach me in or less than a day.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
6) People who have ordered the commercial version of FrontDoor
|
|||
|
will be receiving it in the near future. That's my top priority
|
|||
|
when I get down under.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
7) Before spreading rumors, read 1-6.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
8) See 7.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Too all FrontDoor and TosScan users, and the KoolDudes(tm),
|
|||
|
hang in there.. it only gets better. To all the others, have
|
|||
|
no illusions, I'm not even getting close to a burn-out. It's
|
|||
|
party time!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Thanks for your attention,
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Joaquim Homrighausen
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 12 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
MSGID / REPLY
|
|||
|
A proposal for unique message identifiers
|
|||
|
and reply chain linkage
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
INITIAL DRAFT
|
|||
|
06 March 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
jim nutt
|
|||
|
1:114/30@fidonet
|
|||
|
From a message originally posted in the NET_DEV conference
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The following is a brief description of the proposed standard for
|
|||
|
generating msgid/reply 'kludge' lines in a message. Msgids have
|
|||
|
a number of uses besides simply being a unique message
|
|||
|
identifier. They can be used for dupe killing and reply linkage
|
|||
|
as well.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
MSGID
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A MSGID line consists of the string ^AMSGID: followed by a
|
|||
|
space, the address of the originating system and a serial number
|
|||
|
unique to that message on the originating system. i.e:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
^MSGID: zone:net/node.point@domain serialno
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
It is not the intent to limit the address field of the msgid to
|
|||
|
fidonet style addresses, they are used here simply for
|
|||
|
illustration, messages originating from other types of systems
|
|||
|
should use an address appropriate to the originating system. The
|
|||
|
serial number may be anything the developer's little heart
|
|||
|
desires, AS LONG AS IT IS UNIQUE, NO TWO MESSAGES ON A SYSTEM MAY
|
|||
|
SHARE A SERIAL NUMBER!! The serial number is formatted as an 8
|
|||
|
character hexadecimal integer, i.e. a 32 bit word. since this
|
|||
|
yields in the neighborhood of 4 billion unique numbers, I don't
|
|||
|
think it will be a limit for most systems. A common choice for
|
|||
|
the serial number is the number of seconds since 1 jan 1970
|
|||
|
00:00:00 gmt, this is unique on a single user system and
|
|||
|
relatively easy to generate. A more elaborate system will
|
|||
|
doubtless be necessary in the case of a multi-user system.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
REPLY
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A REPLY line looks similiar to a MSGID line, and is in fact, very
|
|||
|
close. REPLY lines are generated using the MSGID line of the
|
|||
|
message being replied to. The ^AMSGID: string in the MSGID line
|
|||
|
is replaced with ^AREPLY: and then written to the text of the
|
|||
|
new message. i.e.:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
^AREPLY: msgid of original message
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Again, this is very simple and as non-compute intense as possible
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 13 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
GENERAL
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
For best results, MSGID and REPLY lines should be the first two
|
|||
|
lines of the message after extended addressing lines (FMPT, TOPT,
|
|||
|
INTL, DOMAIN), with MSGID appearing above REPLY. This makes it
|
|||
|
unlikely that a MSGID will be damaged by something that doesn't
|
|||
|
destroy the binary message header as well. As mentioned above,
|
|||
|
it doesn't really matter what method is used in generating the
|
|||
|
serial number, as long as it produces an eight digit hexadecimal
|
|||
|
number UNIQUE TO THE ORIGINATING SYSTEM. Finally, a MSGID SHOULD
|
|||
|
BE GENERATED ONLY AT MESSAGE CREATION, IT SHOULD NEVER, EVER BE
|
|||
|
STRIPPED FROM A MESSAGE NOR SHOULD ONE BE ADDED TO A MESSAGE
|
|||
|
PASSING THROUGH A SYSTEM (whew, all those caps wore me out!).
|
|||
|
This is essential for a msgid to be useful, without this
|
|||
|
restriction, msgids are useless or worse.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
RATIONALE
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Finally, what you've all been waiting for (I'm entering this in
|
|||
|
sixty line mode and the top has scrolled off...) WHY you should
|
|||
|
use msgid and reply kludge lines. Good question and one that has
|
|||
|
several answers, which I will cover one by one...
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1) They eliminate the need for origin lines. A msgid contains
|
|||
|
all the information an origin line is technically there for.
|
|||
|
It is in a safer place than an origin line and much less
|
|||
|
likely to be truncated or destroyed while leaving the rest of
|
|||
|
the message intact.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
2) Is related to 1) above, a msgid makes private replies to
|
|||
|
echomail via netmail a trivial process, you know exactly what
|
|||
|
system originated the message without worrying about parsing
|
|||
|
out the origin line (and we all know how much fun THAT is..)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
3) True reply linkage is possible in echomail because you know
|
|||
|
exactly which message the reply is to. You just look for a
|
|||
|
message whose msgid matches the reply in the current message.
|
|||
|
And you already have a database of msgids for dupe killing
|
|||
|
(more later). This also lets you track replies ACROSS
|
|||
|
echomail conferences.... some fascinating possibilities
|
|||
|
there, eh?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
4) Annoying messages can be tracked more accurately. Because
|
|||
|
msgids are a 'hidden' line and therefore not normally visible
|
|||
|
or creatable by your average user, they are considerably more
|
|||
|
difficult to forge than an origin line (forging which is a
|
|||
|
trivial task). Admittedly this isn't going to stop a twit
|
|||
|
sysop, but that 8 digit serial number is going to be a problem
|
|||
|
for him... If he copies one that already exists, the message
|
|||
|
will be killed as a dupe, if he makes one up, chances are
|
|||
|
fairly good that that will be a dupe as well, so it does make
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 14 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
forgery a bit more difficult.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
5) Accurate dupe killing is possible. By maintaining a database
|
|||
|
of msgids one can easily check to see if a message is a
|
|||
|
duplicate of one already entered. If it is stipulated that
|
|||
|
msgids must be sequential, it becomes, once again, trivial...
|
|||
|
simply store the highest serial number that has come from a
|
|||
|
particular address, any messages that come in with a serial
|
|||
|
number lower than that can be assumed dupes and killed.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
6) Tracking of dupe generators is possible. Since msgids are
|
|||
|
never stripped and never added, the only msgid on a message
|
|||
|
should be the one of the originating system...
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
7) Simplicity. MSGID and REPLY kludgelines are very simple to
|
|||
|
generate, they require no complex calculations and are easy to
|
|||
|
parse. And they give you all the benefits above. So why NOT
|
|||
|
use them?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FINALLY
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Your questions and comments are welcome and will be responded to
|
|||
|
as time permits. This is only the initial draft, there are a
|
|||
|
number of proposed extensions to this specification already.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 15 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
COLUMNS
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Henry Clark
|
|||
|
124/6120
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In CASE You Wondered --
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"CASE enters mid-life crises." No I didn't read it, I just
|
|||
|
wanted some continuity. Hopefully, Computer Aided Software
|
|||
|
Engineering has been sufficiently exposed for the HOAX it
|
|||
|
really is. It's one of those "You haven't come a long way
|
|||
|
enough yet baby" industries.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The trouble with CASE programs is that you could spend as much
|
|||
|
time learning the tool and using it as you could spend just
|
|||
|
writing the required programs. The unfortunate thing about
|
|||
|
software generation tools is that they are so terribly
|
|||
|
imperfect. You spend too much time fixing at the source level.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The 'life cycle' documenter style tools are generally worthless.
|
|||
|
You really think your executives look at that stuff ?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The worst part is that even when they work, CASE tools are
|
|||
|
bereft of learning potential. The methodologies are lost in
|
|||
|
the tool implementation. CASE is a waste of time.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
BBS For Sale --
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A way back, ( Mr. Wizard ), I wrote a line protocol drivers for
|
|||
|
banks and airlines that ran in a Motorola 6800. My pride and
|
|||
|
joy was a 600 line front-end to a Big Blue bookkeeping system.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Due to line tariffs imposed by the Danish government run Data
|
|||
|
Network, a minimum 5 second line charge was the driving factor
|
|||
|
in network operation. Now bank transactions tend to be pretty
|
|||
|
short and sweet, so the connect rates peaked in the 100 per
|
|||
|
second range. The system had 1500 users.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Well, now after 8 years the system has been replaced by Big
|
|||
|
Blue's own hardware and 2 man years worth of custom software.
|
|||
|
My little mail system handled well over 3 BILLION CALLS; now
|
|||
|
it's gone.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The hardware was sold to Air Canada, to add to their existing
|
|||
|
reservation system. Ah, Winnipeg in the spring...
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 16 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Salesmanship Club --
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"Just don't say NO". Have you noticed the layered approach to
|
|||
|
Big Blue's sales force? I have proof of TECHNICAL SALES,
|
|||
|
Management Sales and Executive Sales. There are probably more.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In my profession, I see a lot of Technical Salespersons. If
|
|||
|
they think they are losing you, they call up Management Sales
|
|||
|
who talks to your boss. If you have explained to your boss why
|
|||
|
Big Blue's latest box won't help, and he passes this on to
|
|||
|
Management Sales, then here comes Executive Sales.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The most efficient method to employ is to keep Technical Sales
|
|||
|
happy by never, repeat NEVER, mentioning that you are not 100%
|
|||
|
for their proposal. Some good leader lines include : We are
|
|||
|
analyzing our software to determine the best method for
|
|||
|
porting; We are discussing a merger with Department B and need
|
|||
|
a better definition of storage requirements; We are awaiting
|
|||
|
your announcement on <insert appropriate vaporware here>. You
|
|||
|
get the picture.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Danish for Honey --
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Honey wants to write momma a letter on WHOSE machine ?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Let's see now, KEYBDA for the keyboard : oh no, where's the
|
|||
|
slash key ? OK now how do I set the screen fonts ? Darn. Well
|
|||
|
let's print it, anyway. Oops, let's try this character set.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"Look, real Danish characters!" <whew>
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"I want a typewriter."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 17 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
LATEST VERSIONS
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Latest Software Versions
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
MS-DOS Systems
|
|||
|
--------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Bulletin Board Software
|
|||
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Fido 12q+ QuickBBS 2.62 TBBS 2.1
|
|||
|
Lynx 1.30 RBBS 17.2B TComm/TCommNet 3.4
|
|||
|
Kitten 2.16 RBBSmail 17.2 TPBoard 6.0
|
|||
|
Opus 1.03c+ RemoteAccess 0.01 Wildcat! 2.10
|
|||
|
Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5d1
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
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 EMM 2.02
|
|||
|
SEAdog 4.51b XlatList 2.90 Gmail 2.05
|
|||
|
XlaxDiff 2.32 GROUP 2.16
|
|||
|
XlaxNode 2.32 GUS 1.30
|
|||
|
LHARC 1.13
|
|||
|
MSG 4.0
|
|||
|
MSGED 1.99
|
|||
|
PK[UN]ZIP 1.02
|
|||
|
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 3.10
|
|||
|
ZmailQ 1.10
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Macintosh
|
|||
|
---------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 18 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Red Ryder Host v2.1b4 Tabby 2.1 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 2.52
|
|||
|
Export 2.54
|
|||
|
Sundial 2.1
|
|||
|
UNZIP 1.01*
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Amiga
|
|||
|
-----
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Paragon 2.00+* BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23
|
|||
|
TrapDoor 1.11 booz 1.01
|
|||
|
WelMat 0.35* ConfMail 1.10
|
|||
|
ChameleonEdit 0.10
|
|||
|
Lharc 1.10*
|
|||
|
oMMM 1.43b*
|
|||
|
ParseLst 1.30
|
|||
|
PkAX 1.00
|
|||
|
PK[UN]ZIP 1.01*
|
|||
|
RMB 1.30
|
|||
|
UNzip 0.86
|
|||
|
Zoo 2.00
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Atari ST
|
|||
|
--------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailer Other Utilities
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
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
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 7-11 Page 19 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+ 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 7-11 Page 20 12 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
NOTICES
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Interrupt Stack
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
17 Mar 1990
|
|||
|
Release date for Opus v1.10
|
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3 Jun 1990
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Comdex/Spring, which will run from June 3-6 in Atlanta, will be
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held at the World Congress Center and other locations.
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5 Jun 1990
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David Dodell's 33rd Birthday
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12 Jun 1990
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Fifth anniversary of FidoNet's switch to multiple nets.
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13 Jul 1990
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Start of Eurocon / Techcon conference in Antwerp, Belgium.
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Further information will follow.
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27 Jul 1990
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The beginning of the REGION 17 Convention at Menucha Resort in
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the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. For details contact Ken Zwaschka,
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1:105/54.
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1 Aug 1990
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Start of FidoCon '90. Contact Bill Vanglahn at 1:1/90 for
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details.
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5 Oct 1990
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21st Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
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6 Nov 1990
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First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28
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14 Nov 1990
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Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at
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2:332/16.0
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1 Jan 1991
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Implementation of 7% Goods and Services Tax in Canada. Contact
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Joe Lindstrom at 1:134/55 for a more colorful description.
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16 Feb 1991
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Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush.
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If you have something which you would like to see on this
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calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
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FidoNews 7-11 Page 21 12 Mar 1990
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