925 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
925 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:25 Page 1
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Volume 2, Number 25 5 August 1985
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+----------------------------------------------------------+
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| / \ |
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| - FidoNews - /|oo \ |
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| Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ |
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| Users Group | | \ \\ |
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| Newsletter | (*) | \ )) |
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| ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+----------------------------------------------------------+
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Publisher: Fido 107/7
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Chief Procrastinator: Thom Henderson
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Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 107/7. You
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are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the
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file FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 107/7.
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Disclaimer or don't-blame-us:
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The contents of the articles contained here are not our
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responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them;
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everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
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received.
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Backwards vs. Upwards Compatible
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There's a bit of a battle that starts up whenever people get
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together and start discussing upgrading a piece of software.
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The question being, how should the new package be compatible
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with the existing package? (Or even, should it be
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compatible?)
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The two main ways to make a new package compatible with its
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older cousins are "upward compatibility" and "backward
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compatibility".
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A package is upward compatible if the new version will still
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work wherever the old version worked. An example of this
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might be a new compiler that can still compile programs
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written for an earlier version of the language. Upwards
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compatibility means that the newest version will always
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work.
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A package is backward compatible if the old version will
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still work wherever the new version worked. An example of
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this would be a squeeze utility whose output is acceptible
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to older versions of the unsqueezer. Backwards
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:27 Page 2
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compatibility means that the older versions will always
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work.
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In the micro community, where program updates sometimes
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percolate slowly through the user base, backwards
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compatibility is clearly desireable. But is it always
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acheivable?
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Upward compatibility is usually not hard to implement. If
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necessary, older format data files can be converted to the
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newer format as they are needed. The price (everything has
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a price) is in added program complexity and in larger
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program size, since the program may have to deal with a
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large number of data formats, commands, and so forth that
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are no longer needed in the new version.
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Backward compatibility is usually much harder to achieve.
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It often calls for fancy tricks (ie. kludges) to fit in new
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data, commands, structures, and so forth in a way that won't
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choke the older programs. An ingenious example of this is a
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method someone came up with for tucking date and time data
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into a squeezed file by putting it AFTER the squeezed data
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(where a normal USQ doesn't even look). In a great many
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cases this sort of trick is not possible.
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There also comes a time in every program's life where you
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just have to chuck the whole compatibility issue and start
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fresh. Versions and variations proliferate -- especially in
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the micro community -- to the point where it becomes nearly
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impossible to accomodate them all. Sooner or later the
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price to pay for compatibility (of ANY sort) grows too high.
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As an absurd example, imagine if you will a far-future
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program (call it ZUSQ1e3) which can unsqueeze any squeezed
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file ever created by any of several hundred different
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variations (present and past) of SQ. Who in their right
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mind is going to want to save, load, and use a 300k program
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to perform a basic task that a 16k .COM file can handle?
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We'd all like to think that our programs are immortal, but
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the sad fact is that everything eventually fades away. The
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machine you use today will be obsolete in five years (if it
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isn't already!) The true answer to the question of
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compatibility is to give it an honest try, but don't go nuts
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about it.
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:29 Page 3
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============================================================
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NEWS
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============================================================
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A CRY FOR HELP - FOUR UNRELATED QUESTIONS
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By Steve Lemke, Sysop, Fido 102/378
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Voice Phone: (805) 968-7360
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=====================
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IBM PC-AT SPEEDUP CRYSTAL SET:
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Recently, although I can't remember exactly where or
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when, I read an article or letter from someone in some
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magazine about speedup crystals for the IBM PC-AT. They
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mentioned that they had tried a Radio Shack crystal and had
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nothing but problems. Then they said that there was a place
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in the Los Angeles area somewhere that sold a set of three
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(3) crystals for the IBM PC-AT. Included in the set was a 8
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Mhz. crystal, a 9 Mhz. crystal, and a 10 Mhz crystal. The
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idea is, try the 10 Mhz. first, and if for some reason you
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have problems, you can drop down to the 9 Mhz. or even the 8
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Mhz. Any one of these three crystals is easy to plug in
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after removing the existing (socketed!) 6 Mhz. crystal from
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the system board of the PC-AT. This is all fine and dandy,
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except that I can't for the life of me remember where I saw
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this article, letter, or whatever it was. If anyone knows
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where I can get this set of crystals, or a similar set,
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please let me know A.S.A.P.!! Thanks.
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ANYONE WRITING A BBS FOR MS-DOS PLEASE READ THIS:
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I am in need of a BBS for a PC-Compatible. It must be
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written in either Turbo Pascal (preferably) or "C", with the
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source code available. Hopefully this BBS will be able to
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both send and receive FidoNet Mail. I don't want this
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system for a BBS, but to modify it into an electronic
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ordering system for a mail-order company. The system would
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then be installed on a toll-free phone number where people
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could call and get listings of products available. Then, by
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hitting a few keys, they could call up a more extensive
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product description, and by hitting a few more they could
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place an order for the product. If the program were
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compatible with FidoNet, then orders could also be placed
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via FidoNet Mail. If you are writing or have written a
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program that might work for me, please contact me A.S.A.P.!!
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I also have a friend who is in the process of
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converting the CP/M "Citadel BBS" program (written in "C")
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to MS-DOS. He is in need of a communications driver that
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will work with MS-DOS and "C" for use in this Citadel BBS.
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Please contact me if you can be of assistance to him.
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SHOULD USERS BE ALLOWED TO DOWNLOAD FIDOLIST & FIDONEWS?
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I realize that many systems offer FidoNet software,
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documentation, newsletters, and nodelists in their download
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areas, but if I'm running a board that does not have Fido
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available for downloading, should I let my users download
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FidoNews and FidoLists? There are often some sensitive
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articles in FidoNews (like things Sysops should be aware of
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that users don't need to know about) that lead me to believe
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:31 Page 4
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that users shouldn't be allowed to read it. Other times,
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there are general articles that seem like the users might
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benefit from. I never really liked the idea of having to
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'censor' the FidoNews just to make it available for
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downloading, but there are times when they don't need to see
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everything. I recently decided to make the FidoList avail-
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able to users so they could download the whole list of Fido
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systems (minus the private ones) and see where they can send
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mail to. I think with the recent articles about Anti-BBS
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laws, I'm going to allow users to download FidoNews also.
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I'm not really asking for a "YES" or "NO" answer to this
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question, but just trying to open this up for discussion.
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LASTLY, WHAT IS THIS HALLEY'S COMET STUFF??
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What is the purpose of the Halley's Comet and Voyager
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event listings in "The Interrupt Stack"? Perhaps just
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something to fill up what would otherwise be an empty
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calendar? Well, if we're that desperate for events, you
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could always list my next birthday - May 19, 1986.
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:32 Page 5
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:33 Page 6
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BBS PRESS SERVICE OFFERS FREE ISSUE OF
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INFO-MAT MAGAZINE TO FIDO-NET SYSOPS
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FIDO-NET sysops run one of the finest BBS packages ever
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written and they know it. Now, thanks to THE BBS PRESS
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SERVICE, they can make their systems TRULY unique --
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attracting REGULAR callers who can count on their local
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FIDO-NET for the very latest news, information, and
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features. It's easy with INFO-MAT Magazine, from The BBS
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Press Service (BPS). INFO-MAT is an exciting new weekly
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electronic publication that FIDO-NET sysops can post on
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their own BBS's. Each issue of INFO-MAT serves up a
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generous helping of text (50 - 70K). The topics covered
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include computer and software news, video and consumer
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electronics news, movie, software and hardware reviews,
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informative features about ANYTHING electronic, and
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editorials to get your users thinking. The best news,
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however, is that a FIDO-NET sysop can put EVERY issue of
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INFO-MAT on his or her BBS for as little as $3.12 per week!
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INFO-MAT can be downloaded directly from The BPS BBS, a 24-
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hour bulletin board system, or delivered on disk, in formats
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compatible with most popular computers. According to BPS'
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publisher, Alan R. Bechtold, their affiliates regularly
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report increases of 20% to 25% in the number of callers
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accessing their systems once INFO-MAT is put online. This
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makes it the perfect addition to a board, and it doesn't
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matter to BPS whether an affiliate charges an initial access
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fee or runs it wide open and free. Businesses and computer
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clubs easily draw regular callers by running INFO-MAT, too.
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Many BPS affiliates pay the entire cost of carrying INFO-
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MAT, including the monthly fee and all telephone or postage
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charges -- often with a profit -- by charging their users a
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small yearly access fee of $5 - $15. Others have found
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local merchants more than willing to pay the entire cost, in
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return for mention as an INFO-MAT Sponsor. Since BPS
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doesn't force their affiliates to charge for access or tell
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them how much to charge if they do, INFO-MAT can be put
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online any way the affiliate sysop wants to -- reaping the
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benefits he or she wants most from it.
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Each issue of INFO-MAT is a series of ten or more separate
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ASCII text files, including a separate file for each week's
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headlines and table of contents. Affiliate sysops place the
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headlines for the week in a Bulletin file, let their users
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know where they can go to find INFO-MAT, then watch them
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call in regularly to get their favorite "printless
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magazine." FIDO-NET users can use FIDO-NET'S "Type" option
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to read the magazine online or download it to read at their
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leisure.
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For a limited time, the BBS PRESS SERVICE has posted a
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special FREE sample issue on their BBS, just for FIDO-NET
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sysops. Give it a call. FIDO-NET Sysops are invited to
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look the magazine over, then download it and put it on their
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systems, to see for themselves how much their users would
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like to have each weekly issue available on their local
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:35 Page 7
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FIDO-NET BBS. Affiliate subscriptions can even be ordered
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online with Visa or MasterCard. Complete pricing and disk
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format information is alsso always online, and names and
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addresses can be left in a message to the sysop, to be
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placed on the BPS mailing list, to receive the latest
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information about other exciting new BPS text features that
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you can purchase on a regular basis, or one at a time.
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Call the BPS bulletin board NOW, by dialing:
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==============
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(913) 478-9239
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==============
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-- To see the free sample issue and order online. Or, for
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more information via first class mail, send your name,
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address and BBS information to:
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INFO-MAT Magazine
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The BBS Press Service
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8125 S.W. 21st
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Street Top
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:36 Page 8
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PUBLIC vs. PRIVATE BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS
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By Steve Lemke, Sysop, Fido 102/378
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=============================
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One thing that's really bugged me lately is the number
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of FidoNet systems that are either private or semi-private.
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Recently, I wanted to get the latest NODELIST and FIDONEWS
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files without waiting for my host to get them for me. I
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called all over Southern California (and even out of state)
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and all I could find were private systems! I could see that
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some systems had it, but the download command was not
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available to me until I had been "verified" or sent in some
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written agreement, or something like that. It was rather
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annoying to have to "identify" myself and then call back
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later. Other systems that were public didn't have the file.
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I used to run a system where people would have limited
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access until they answered the system questionnaire and I
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had a chance to check it. I found it to be a real pain to
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have to go through the answers file and then upgrade
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everyone manually to a higher status. Recently, I changed
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the system to a _COMPLETELY_PUBLIC_ system, where all new
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users can do anything (upload, download, enter messages,
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kill messages, etc.). I added the QNEWUSER.BBS file so they
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have to answer the questionnaire before they get into the
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system, and if I ever find a set of answers that are not
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acceptable, I can delete the person.
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My system has been *PUBLIC* for about two months now,
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and I've had *NO* problems related to this change. I trust
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FIDO, and I believe that it is pretty-much crash-proof. The
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only problem I had occurred when someone broke into another
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local system (RBBS) and the password of my other Sysop was
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discovered. (Now he uses different passwords on each
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system!) That enabled our crook to drop into DOS (I've
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since made that harder!) and find out my password and cause
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all kinds of problems. But, _THAT_WOULD_HAVE_HAPPENED_EVEN_
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_IF_MY_SYSTEM_WERE_PRIVATE!_ I enjoy having a public system,
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and I like being able to trust the users of my system.
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Incidentally, my system is running on a 30MB Compaq
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DeskPro 286 (a PC-AT Compatible, but 30% faster: 8 Mhz).
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_THIS_SYSTEM_REALLY_FLIES!!_ Our specialty here is IBM PC
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files of all kinds, and we also have some Macintosh stuff.
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The system is up 24 hours/day (except when the machine is
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being used locally), so give it a call if you want to see
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"THE FASTEST FIDO IN THE WEST" (& WORLD?) The number is
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(805) 569-2459. (That number again is (805) 569-2459!).
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:38 Page 9
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:39 Page 10
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From: David Horowitz Fido 107/2
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Subject: Shipuser.com
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Date: July 30, 1985
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To all SysOps,
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In the last fidonews there was an article about shipuser.
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The article made comments about how I did not use Hex number
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to represent the file name (Like TJ does in Mail). Well,
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all I can say is I messed up...
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When I wrote the program I put alot of thought and time into
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designing a name that would be unique for all systems, yet
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still have the same extension, for easy processing. I came
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up with NodeNet.USR. It seemed like a good idea, and I did
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not remember that TJ does similar things with mail. I
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figured under the new scheme that my name would leave enough
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room for 1000 squared nodes, and if we even can close to
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1000 nodes the Master User List would become too big anyway.
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I figured that Nets would renumber starting with one. It
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made sense at the time, but noooooo....
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Anyway, the program really has to stay this way. It would
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mean changing the way we process the incoming userlists if
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we changed the name of the files, so the way it is - is the
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way it stays.
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However. I am in the process of making some changes to
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SHIPUSER:
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1) Removed the question are you running 10i or
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greater, so the whole program is controlled from the command
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line,
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2) Added a feature to allow you to select users
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greater than or less than a given privilege level.
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3) Added a feature to allow you to select users who
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have called more than a given number of times.
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The new program will be making its way around soon, please
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use it! We are getting a fair response, but it could be
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better. If you would like to make a suggestion to other
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features for SHIPUSER contact me at:
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Fido 107/2 : (201) 750-3748 300/1200
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------------------------------------------------------------
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:40 Page 11
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From Spiv's Fido #346 in Region #10 (408) 972-8164:
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(The ONLY FIDO devoted to the IBM PC AT)
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********************************************************
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IBM ADMITS HARDWARE FLAW IN PC-AT!
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IBM finally admits that approx 10% of the PC-ATs shipped
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may have a defective hard disk controller card. (IBM is
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rumored to have shipped about 300,000 PC-ATs so far.)
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IBM will replace FREE OF CHARGE any controller that is
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defective.
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Suspected units are in the following serial number range:
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5019001 to 5141250 and 0054001 to 0146900
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You can check if your system needs a new board by running
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a new IBM diagnostic program. Every IBM PC dealer is
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supposed to send this program to every customer that might
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have a PC-AT in the suspect serial number range.
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THIS FILE IS ON-LINE HERE IN THE UPLOAD SECTION. SO GRAB
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AND IT QUICKLY PUT YOUR MIND AT EASE OR GET IN LINE AT YOUR
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DEALER TO GET A REPLACEMENT BOARD.
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[Note: "Here" means on Fido #346 at 408-972-8164]
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It is also possible to identify defective controller boards
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by visual inspection. If the Texas Instruments IC in position
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U-19 has a suffix code of "-10" then the board should be
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replaced.
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------------------------------------------------------------
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:41 Page 12
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Fido Utilities
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by Ben Baker - Fido 100/10
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I am aware of a number of home-grown programs designed to
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perform utilitarian functions for Fido sysops. I'm sure
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there are twice as many that I haven't heard about. I
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usually find out about them by stumbling across them on
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someone else's board. Sometimes they drop in from the blue
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via FidoNet mail.
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It struck me that there is no mechanism for disseminating
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information about these utilities. I have therefore appoin-
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ted myself a committee of one to rectify the situation! I
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am beginning a directory of Fido utility software which I
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will publish in this newsletter from time to time. And with
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this article, I begin a semi-regular series of reviews of
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this software.
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Now, to make this work I am going to need help from all of
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you. If you have a favorite Fido utility program you want
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to share, send it to me at 100/10 for inclusion in the
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directory and possibly for review here. For the directory I
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need the program name, author, hardware and/or software
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constraints, language, where it can be obtained, whether or
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not source is available and a brief abstract. Please limit
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it to Fido specific utilities. There are so many good
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general utilities that without this limitation, we could
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quickly saturate.
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Now, on to my first review:
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Program Name: SYSREPT, V1.30
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Author: Alfred Anderson
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Constraints: none
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Language: Generic TURBO Pascal
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Download From: 14/61, 100/10 or 100/51
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Source Available? NO
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Abstract:
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Produces up to five reports based on an analysis
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of the SYSOP.LOG file. The reports include a
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condensed system log, a download report, an upload
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report, an export data file and a utilization
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|
summary.
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This is without doubt the best Fido reporting utility I have
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seen. It produces several useful reports in a clear, concise
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well designed format. It has been successfully tested on
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the IBM and the DEC Rainbow, and I expect it will run OK on
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any machine.
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The only minor annoyance is that TURBO insists on initial-
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izing the screen. Compiled with IBM TURBO, any program is
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machine-specific. Compiled with Generic TURBO, the program
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slows significantly, but is machine-independant.
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The reports may be directed to any device, or to files in
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:43 Page 13
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any directory. Page headings contain a user-defined "board
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name" for a personal touch. Defaults are established in a
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control file, but all may be overridden by command line
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switches.
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The input log data may span several days (I run mine on a
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weekly basis), but the program assumes that it begins with
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the first call after midnight of the first day and ends with
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the last call before midnight of the last day. I force this
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to happen with an external event at 23:59 each Saturday
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night.
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The condensed system log is, as its name suggests, a conden-
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sation of SYSOP.LOG in the form of a very readable daily
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|
log. Each call is numbered and usually receives a one line
|
|
entry containing user name, time on, call duration, number
|
|
of files downloaded and comments. It is the comments field
|
|
which causes some entries to occupy more than one line.
|
|
Here such things as invalid password entries and uploaded
|
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files are noted.
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The "export" file is essentially the same data as the con-
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|
densed log, but without page formatting or comments. It may
|
|
be produced in comma-delimited form with ASCII string data
|
|
enclosed in quotes suitable for input to 1-2-3 or dBASE, or
|
|
in a fixed field format for sorting or processing by other
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|
programs.
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|
The download report is a sorted list of all files downloaded
|
|
during the period, and the number of times it was down-
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|
loaded. It is produced two columns to a page, making it
|
|
compact but quite readable.
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|
The upload report is a sorted list of uploaded files with
|
|
the name of the user who uploaded it and the date and time
|
|
of upload.
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|
|
The one page utilization report is perhaps the most impress-
|
|
ive of the lot. Most Sysops have only a vague notion of how
|
|
much activity they get on their boards. Here's the report
|
|
that will give them precise information. It begins with a
|
|
histogram of percent utilization vs. hour of the day. It
|
|
then lists several useful statistics such as number of calls
|
|
at each baud rate, total number of calls, total total avail-
|
|
able time, total logged time overall percent of utilization,
|
|
average call duration, etc.. For one page, it is chock full
|
|
of useful information.
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|
|
In summary, Anderson has put a lot of careful thought into
|
|
this one, and I don't think any Fido Sysop should be without
|
|
it.
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FIDONEWS -- 05 Aug 85 16:04:45 Page 14
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|
|
============================================================
|
|
NOTICES
|
|
============================================================
|
|
The first edition of the National Fido User List is now
|
|
available! Download your copy now from 107/1, 107/2, or
|
|
107/7.
|
|
|
|
It is called FIDOUSER.LST in the 300k expanded form, or
|
|
FIDOUSER.ARC in the 80k compressed form.
|
|
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
The Interrupt Stack
|
|
|
|
|
|
27 Nov 1985
|
|
Halley's Comet passes closest to Earth before perihelion.
|
|
|
|
24 Jan 1986
|
|
Voyager 2 passes Uranus.
|
|
|
|
9 Feb 1986
|
|
Halley's Comet reaches perihelion.
|
|
|
|
11 Apr 1986
|
|
Halley's Comet reaches perigee.
|
|
|
|
19 May 1986
|
|
Steve Lemke's next birthday.
|
|
|
|
24 Aug 1989
|
|
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
|
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|
|
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
|
calendar, please send a message to Fido 107/7.
|
|
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