2012 lines
104 KiB
Plaintext
2012 lines
104 KiB
Plaintext
BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News
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COPYRIGHT 1991 ISSN 1055-4548
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August 1991 Volume 4, Issue 8
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Table Of Contents
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-----------------
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Article Title Author
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Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Staff
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Publisher's Corner.............................Mark Maisel
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Editorial......................................Chris Mohney
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DOS 5.0 and Product Launch.....................Eric Rintell
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Spring COMDEX 1991.............................Raymond Hugh
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Is "New" Really Better?........................Dr. Strangelove
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Introducing ADANet.............................Bill Freeman
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BBS Reviews....................................Bryan Taylor
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The Adventures of R.G. Strangemind & Herbert...Jeremy Lewis
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Review: Ultra BBS v2.03.......................Doogie Houser
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Windows Review: Notebook v1.6.................Eric Hunt
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Why Do We Need Standardization?................Lurch Henson
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Notes From The Trenches........................Dean Costello
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ProFile: Robert Broome........................Chris Mohney
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Colby's Summer Excitement......................Colby Gibson
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Special Interest Groups (SIGs).................Barry Bowden
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Known BBS Numbers..............................Staff
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Disclaimer and Statement of Policy for BTN
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We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
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information in our publication. We assume no responsibility for damage
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due to errors, omissions, etc. The liability, if any for BTN, its
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editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
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etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
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even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
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of such damages occurring.
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With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
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policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles. We publish
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monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
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publication. If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any
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time but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear
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in a particular issue. It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise
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harm a person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the
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content of the articles prepared by our writers. Our writers own their
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work and it is protected by copyright. We allow reprinting of articles
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from BTN with only a few restrictions. The author may object to a
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reprint, in which case he will specify in the content of his article.
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Otherwise, please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as
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the source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
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article's original title are retained. If you use one of our articles,
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please forward a copy of your publication to:
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Mark Maisel
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Editor, BTN
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221 Chestnut St.
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BHM, AL 35210-3219
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(205)-956-0176
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We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
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you like it. We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
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all of this and not get too serious about it.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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F R E E B I E : G E T I T W H I L E I T S H O T !
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The following boards allow BTN to be downloaded freely, that is with no
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charge to any existing upload/download ratios.
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The Connection LZ Birmingham Alter-Ego
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Channel 8250 Little Kingdom Joker's Castle
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Crunchy Frog Myth Drannor Posys BBS
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The Matrix Abject Poverty The Bus
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The Outer Limits Bloom County The Round Table
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DC Info Exchange Radio Free Troad Programmers Shack
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Amiga Alliance ][ DataLynx Martyrdom Again?!
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Arkham Asylum
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If you are a sysop and you allow BTN to be downloaded freely, please let
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me know via EZNet so that I can post your board as a free BTN
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distributor. Thanks. MM
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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N E W S F L A S H
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It is that time again! I am having another lapse of sensibility and
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inviting you all into my home. Please try to leave it in some
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semblence of the state in which you found it. Be aware of the rules
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below and observe them.
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Anyway, back to the invitation: the party will be:
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Where: Mark Maisel's House a map will follow this
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221 Chestnut Street invitation
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205-956-0176
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When: August 17, 1991
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6:00 p.m. until it ends
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Rules: Don't bring anything that will get you or me arrested.
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If you wish to imbibe legal substances, then BYOS*.
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Use discretion and intelligence when parking. The police may
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not be so nice next time. The front yard is not for parking.
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We have gone to great expense to shape it into its present form.
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The side yards in front of the hedge, to the left of the drive,
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is fair game though.
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No weapons of any kind are desired or will be tolerated. If
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you feel the need for them near you, leave them in the vehicle
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in which you came. That is as close as they need come to my
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home.
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*Bring Your Own Substances
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
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M o n t c l a i r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
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Bruno's<>O<EFBFBD> Texaco : McDonalds<64> <20> apartments<74> <20> dead<61> THERE WILL BE
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Super <20>p<EFBFBD> : <20> <20> & <20> <20> end <20> A SIGN IN FRONT
|
||
Market <20>o<EFBFBD><6F><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> houses <20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ĵ OF THE HOUSE SO
|
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<20>r<EFBFBD><72><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20> YOU CAN FIND IT
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<20>t<EFBFBD>Express : office <20> <20> <20> <20> EASIER!!!
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||
<20>o<EFBFBD>Oil Change: bldgs <20> <20> <20> <20>
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||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
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M o n t e v a l l o - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *TO INTERSTATE*
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||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
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<20>R<EFBFBD> <20>R<EFBFBD> INSTRUCTIONS!!! <20>A<EFBFBD> <20>B<EFBFBD>Wes-<2D>C<EFBFBD> <20>D<EFBFBD> <20>E<EFBFBD>
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<20>o<EFBFBD> <20>e<EFBFBD> <20>l<EFBFBD> <20>u<EFBFBD>lyan<61>h<EFBFBD> <20>a<EFBFBD> <20>l<EFBFBD>
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<20>s<EFBFBD> <20>d<EFBFBD> Look on Chestnut <20>p<EFBFBD> <20>s<EFBFBD>Chu-<2D>e<EFBFBD> <20>l<EFBFBD> <20>d<EFBFBD>
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<20>e<EFBFBD> <20>w<EFBFBD> after Shades and <20>i<EFBFBD> <20>h<EFBFBD>rch <20>s<EFBFBD> <20>y<EFBFBD> <20>e<EFBFBD>
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<20>w<EFBFBD> <20>o<EFBFBD> my home is 221, <20>n<EFBFBD><6E><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>t<EFBFBD><74><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>r<EFBFBD><72><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
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<20>o<EFBFBD> <20>o<EFBFBD> the 3rd house <20>e n S h a d e s
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<20>o<EFBFBD> <20>d<EFBFBD> on the left. Call <20> <20><>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀu <20><><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD>Ŀ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
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<20>d<EFBFBD> <20> <20> 956-0176 if you <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>t <20>3rd<72> <20> <20> <20>
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<20> <20> <20> <20> need further <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>one<6E> <20> <20> <20>
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<20> <20> <20> <20> direction. <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
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<20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
|
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Publisher's Corner
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by Mark Maisel
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I've got nothing to say, really. I've been especially busy with
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the PTA, the Birmingham Board of Education, and working to get the
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property tax renewals passed. It hasn't left me with much time for
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anything else. Look for some excitement to come though since I don't
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plan to maintain this pace for much longer. Fun is what I live for and
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I am not getting as much as I'd like right now. I'm sure that the party
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will do wonders to change this situation. I had a grand time keeping
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RayHugh from molesting Tiffany Griffin. I'm just sorry that couldn't
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have gone on longer. Oh well, such is life. I'll see ya'll at the
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party. Enjoy the issue!
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Editorial
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by Chris Mohney
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Well, it's about fiteen minutes to three AM. Rambling personal pieces
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seem to be all the rage lately, so I think I'll pop one in. Kind of an
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inauspicous debut for my first "serious" article contribution. After
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all the half-baked ideas I've gotten but never written for BTN, it's
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amazing I'm bothering to follow up on this one.
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First, I wonder if I should stick to paragraph form. I just started a
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new one, but I wonder if I'll bother to indent .... it would look
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better, and probably have more effect. Yeah, guess I better do that.
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Interesting how I'm reverting to my colloquial BBS form of speech here.
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In other circumstances my writing is usually pretty formal. More on
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that later.
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OK, Margins On. Now, before I really get into this, should I
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attempt a Style? It would be nice to have one but I don't know if I can
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maintain an artificial one throughout this piece. I mean, I can
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bullshit my way through a term paper on any subject, but I might get
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into some personal material here and I imagine any facade I erected
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would evaporate. There's the kind of general Zippy the Pinhead happy-
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go-luck BBS persona that a lot of folks adopt in these articles.
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There's Mark's smugness, or Dean's self-congratulatory idiom pieces.
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Neither of those really appeal. I suppose I'll just work it out.
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Well, I should probably stop muttering about all of this
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incidental crap and get on with it. The basic Meat of the Issue is that
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I've been having these depression spells, usually late Sunday nights.
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Most entail wandering about the house, occasionally looking at what
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passes for television late Sunday, and listening to melancholy music
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while looking out at the dark sky. Melancholy is really a better word
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for these events; depression conjures up images of wrist-slitting and
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causal events. I really can't put a finger on a lot of this, but I
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would wager that the main reason for this experience is loneliness.
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Now, by that I don't mean physical companionship; more like a confluence
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of personality. I know people who could fill this apparent need.
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However, circumstances have conspired to keep me closeted away.
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Tonight, something especially bizarre happened. I was out on my
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back porch, petting our cat. I had a pen-flashlight with me; earlier I
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had been examining some ant trails in the yard. Anyway, I had the
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flashlight pointed up at the sky while petting the cat, and I was idly
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clicking it on and off. I realized I was flashing it "S.O.S" in Morse
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code ... sort of a plea for celestial help, I suppose. Regardless, this
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had only been going on a minute or two when I heard a loud thud and
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crash behind me. After rocketing across the porch (in the wake of the
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cat), I stumbled to a stop and looked behind me.
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There was a bat on the roof. Apparently it had crashed into
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the shingles and rolled down the incline into the gutter. I could just
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barely see it, fluttering around and banging against the metal. I suppose
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had been attracted to the light, and had now stunned itself. Was this the
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answer to my plea for celestial help? Disappointing.
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I sincerely hope this isn't beginning to sound whiny. All of
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the above is more a symptom than a disease. Factors which have bearing
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on this situation are my economic dependence on my parents, and the fact
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that I'm twenty years old. Not yet of drinking age, there are places I
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am not allowed to go, a whole subculture that I cannot legally partake
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of. It's frustrating. Even on the occasions when I have gone into
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such places incognito, there was always an underlying annoyance with the
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fact that I was not Supposed To Be There. That's certainly one avenue
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for potential human contact that is closed to me, at least for a few
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more months.
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Another thing is that I'm a frustrated writer. I would rather
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be frustrated at anything else than writing if at all possible.
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Unfortunately, I have the disease. I will continue to scribble even if
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I never get published, even if I'm scrawling prose on the back of bar
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napkins (when I can finally enter such Nirvanas, as my current fixation
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apparently runs). I've been circulating three pieces now for a couple
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years, all three have received praise from many associates and even a
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couple published (read: godlike) writers. I've sent them to magazines
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that publish far inferior tripe, and I say that without the slightest
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bit of hubris. And to show for it, I have an impressive collection of
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every species of rejection slip. I think I've got most of this game
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figured out, though. Persistence is a big part of it; everyone knows
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the story of the great writer who is published only after years of
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anonymity, or posthumously. Another thing, especially in the
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speculative fiction trade, is Newness. Your idea doesn't have to be
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sound, or particularly interesting, as long as it's New. Cliche is the
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only dirty word in fiction these days, unless you have an audience for
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a particular cliche.
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I fervently wish it was possible to make many at poetry. I can
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grind out poetry, and I'm beginning to suspect I'm a better poet than
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fiction writer. That would be annoying, because I'd much rather succeed
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at the latter; of course, I can't be choosy, presently succeeding at
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neither. I've never submitted much if any poetry, though. One poem of
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mine was going to be published by a Birmingham literary magazine, but
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apparently the magazine went under as the first issue never came out and
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the office isn't returning our (meaning a few of the contributors)
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calls.
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For example, let me pop in one of my poems, submitted for your
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approval as Mr. Serling would say:
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Claymation Cow in a Cartoon Slaughterhouse
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Invisible Hands mold me onward, down
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I moo and grunt as the frame advances
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Mashed against my brethren kine
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My cardboard hooves clop nervous dances
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The railing dents my doughy hide
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An errant horn plucks out my eye
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The Animator restores my form
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I cannot live so cannot die
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Another frame, another step
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We near the point of the gilded funnel
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There is no mercy in the shearing blade
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No light in the end of the endless tunnel
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The rails make us trudge in single file
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Under a blackened rat, ax raised in glee
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While his 2-D friends rejoice his name
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"Emm-eye-see, kay-ee-why, bee-ell-oh-oh-dee!"
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Now admittedly, this one is a little silly and/or nonsensical. Still,
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it holds some affection for me. Perhaps a more traditional offering,
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this being my Letting Go poem:
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Leavetaking
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I walked in the meadows yesterday
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Wandering for a time in the tall grasses
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Reeds whipping my legs, I ran
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azure and emerald fields embraced at the horizon
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I stopped, laughed
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and from the concealment of splendid solitude
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a memory-serpent of you struck at my vulnerable heel
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I stumbled, turned
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limping as I searched, cautiously parting the rough stalks
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Until I saw the serpent, and caught it up unawares
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Held helpless, my hand about its neck, it struggled
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I looked closely - sunlight played over its mottled back
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each tiny scale shadow-casting
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My numbing leg twitched, convulsed, grew still
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a brief agony, followed by a peculiar warmth
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as that imperfect, wonderful poison faded away
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I breathed deeply, grasped the serpent more firmly, and wondered
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how much of pleasure is merely the cessation of pain
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At last, a pine-scented wind blew the grassy tides
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I stared into the serpent's glassy eyes, slitted against the sun
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and chuckling, kissed it on snaky lips, to taste again that sweet
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venom
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Casting the creature away, bidding fond farewell to its vanishing
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tail
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I ran off once more into the shimmering fields
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in search of other serpents
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This one I liked too, especially the line
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each tiny scale shadow-casting
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Plus, the image of kissing the snake was something that did it for me.
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I've seen it translate well to some people; other people are mystified,
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and still others are just repulsed at the thought of kissing a snake.
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Incidentally, if anyone plagarizes my above poems and gets money or
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becomes famous as a result, my vengeful spirit will haunt you forever.
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Now see, this stuff could be publishable, I don't know. It
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couldn't hurt to try. I suppose I need to look into poetry markets and
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see which would be most appropriate.
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I definitely need to write more fiction, though. My last
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attempt I left stillborn, mostly because I realized it would require a
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novel-length treatment. Writing a novel intimidates me; for some
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reason, it seems presumptous on my part to write a novel when I haven't
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even published a short story. Again though, what have I to lose?
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I'm transferring to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa this
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fall, from UAB. Believe it or not, they have an excellent English
|
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program down there. I'm a lapsed Auburn fan, but I imagine I will not
|
||
pay much attention to football while there. Originally, I was planning
|
||
to get a computer science degree from UAB, but that ended quickly if
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painfully as I rediscovered I have no interest and less talent for all
|
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things mathematical. It will be nice to be out of my parents' house, if
|
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for nothing else that my comings and goings will not be monitored; I can
|
||
do as I please now, but still there is that lurking cloud of disapproval
|
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back there. It will be refreshing to not have that around. Also, I
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||
intend to start refreshing accquantainces and establishing new contacts
|
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with some more people with temperaments similair to myself.
|
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Well, writing this seems to have been slightly therapeutic,
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||
anyway. This Sunday's melancholy is largely exorcised. The question
|
||
remains, though; do I give this to Mark or not? Reading back, it
|
||
doesn't appear to be very interesting or comedic. But then, there's a
|
||
een a lot of off-center stuff published lately in BTN. Still
|
||
different .... not one of Dean's cynical letters from home, nor Colby's
|
||
inexplicable Day in the Life; mostly disjointed introspection, with a
|
||
little of the real world thrown in to ground it. As much as it can be
|
||
grounded.
|
||
|
||
After looking back at it again, I think I'll send it to Mark.
|
||
Who knows, he might not even accept it. If it does go in, perhaps it
|
||
will inspire some comment. It be really annoying if I went and spilled
|
||
my guts and everyone just yawned and went to that C article or whatever
|
||
else is in this issue.
|
||
|
||
Perhaps more later. (next Sunday?)
|
||
|
||
Editor's Note: The squid finally got published. Shortly after
|
||
he submitted this article, he found some dupe, I
|
||
mean editor, who actually paid the incredible sum
|
||
of one-half cent per word. YAY. MM
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
DOS 5.0 and Product Launch
|
||
by Eric M. Rintell
|
||
|
||
On 11 June 1991, Microsoft launched the most significant upgrade to
|
||
its MS-DOS operating system since MS-DOS 2.0. The product is MS-DOS
|
||
version 5.0, available now in upgrade form from retailers and Microsoft
|
||
itself. The cost to upgrade from any previous version of DOS is $99.95
|
||
retail, although it is available for less through dealers and mail order
|
||
houses. If your machine does not boot with a previous version of DOS,
|
||
do not purchase the MS-DOS upgrade as you will not be able to install it
|
||
(since it is not bootable).
|
||
|
||
DOS 5.0 includes many new features, including better memory
|
||
management for 286 and higher CPUs, enhanced support for hard disks
|
||
greater than 32 megabytes, a task switcher, an undelete utility, a
|
||
redesigned DOS shell and on-line help. In order to make sure that all
|
||
of the new features work, Microsoft had outside testers working with the
|
||
product for over a year. It was the largest beta test in the history of
|
||
microcomputer software, with over 7,000 test sites around the world.
|
||
Each test site was required to use DOS 5.0 for daily work, and to test
|
||
it with thousands of different PCs, hard disk managers and controllers,
|
||
memory managers, video cards and software applications. In addition to
|
||
the new features, Microsoft wanted to insure that older software would
|
||
continue to work with DOS 5.0. If a software driver did not work with
|
||
DOS 5.0 (for example: Novell's NET3.COM), Microsoft would include a new
|
||
version of the software driver in the DOS 5 upgrade package (NET5.COM
|
||
for DOS 5).
|
||
|
||
One of the nice benefits of this upgrade will be a uniform DOS on
|
||
machines of different makes. This will be a great advantage for Novell
|
||
network administrators, as they will no longer be required to store a
|
||
version of DOS for each vendor's machine on the network. Because
|
||
Microsoft is selling MS-DOS 5.0 directly to end users, it will be the
|
||
first version of DOS to receive free support directly from Microsoft.
|
||
Although Microsoft sells an upgrade package, it will not sell an end
|
||
user (bootable) version directly to end users. As in the past, complete
|
||
DOS packages will be available only when purchasing a new machine from
|
||
OEMs. If you have an OEM version of DOS that exploits specific hardware
|
||
features (ie, Toshiba DOS, Compaq DOS, etc.) you have the option of
|
||
using Microsoft's generic DOS upgrade or waiting for your vendor to
|
||
release its own DOS 5 upgrade.
|
||
|
||
As a beta tester of DOS 5 since August 1990, I have spent countless
|
||
hours with the operating system. One of the goals of Microsoft DOS 5.0
|
||
was to use less memory then its predecessor, introducing memory
|
||
management for owners of PCs with a '286 chip or higher. Under PC-DOS
|
||
4.0, I had 550K of memory available for my applications. With DOS 5.0,
|
||
I have over 610K available in conventional memory. DOS 5.0 accomplishes
|
||
this by actually moving most of the DOS operating system kernel into the
|
||
High Memory Area(HMA) on 286/386/486 machines with at least a megabyte
|
||
of RAM. HMA is the area of memory "discovered" as a fluke of the Intel
|
||
80286 address lines: it is the 64K memory block beginning at 1024K. By
|
||
loading HIMEM.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file, HMA is available for DOS and
|
||
your device drivers. To place DOS in the HMA, add the line "DOS=High"
|
||
in your CONFIG.SYS (after the "Device=HIMEM.SYS" line). You can place
|
||
your buffers, ANSI.SYS, RAMDRIVE.SYS and other drivers in the HMA to
|
||
free up more conventional memory. If you should need more then the 64K
|
||
available in HMA on a 386/486 machine, you can load DOS 5's new
|
||
EMM386.EXE memory manager. EMM386.EXE lets you place DOS programs in
|
||
the region from 640K to 1024K on your PC (which is called Upper Memory
|
||
Blocks, since it is used by video cards, BASIC, had disk controllers,
|
||
etc.). By using the new memory management techniques included with DOS
|
||
5, it is possible to achieve 620K of conventional memory without the use
|
||
of a third party memory manager like QEMM or 386MAX (you can even load
|
||
programs into UMBs with the LOADHIGH command). The only drawback is
|
||
that DOS 5 will not optimize the memory on your system; you will have to
|
||
do it manually by experimenting with your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT
|
||
files. If you own a memory management program like QEMM or 386MAX, you
|
||
should upgrade to the DOS 5 compatible versions so they can optimize DOS
|
||
5 for your computer.
|
||
|
||
For those who hate the infamous "C:>" prompt, DOS 5 introduces a
|
||
redesigned DOS shell. The shell includes file management, and the
|
||
ability to run other programs. When another program is launched from the
|
||
DOS shell, most of the shell vacates conventional memory. When the user
|
||
exits the application, the DOS shell is automatically reloaded.
|
||
Microsoft took the task switcher from their Windows product and put it
|
||
into the DOS shell. The task switcher lets users load several
|
||
applications at once, although only one application is active. Windows
|
||
and the DOS shell share the same keystrokes to switch between
|
||
applications. In order to utilize the task switcher, you must check off
|
||
the "Enable Task Switcher" item in the Options dropdown menu. The task
|
||
switcher should be used with a 286 (or better) with a fast hard disk
|
||
since the applications are saved on hard disk while they are "asleep"
|
||
(inactive). The file management section of DOS shell lets you copy and
|
||
move files/subdirectories across hard disks and floppies with a mouse.
|
||
In summation, the DOS shell combines Windows 3.0's Program Manager and
|
||
File Manager in one easy to use shell.
|
||
|
||
While on the subject of file management, DOS 5 includes the
|
||
abilities to unerase deleted files. Under a cross-licensing agreement
|
||
with Central Point Software, DOS 5 includes PC Tools' Mirror, Unerase
|
||
and Unformat utilities. The Mirror program is a RAM-resident program
|
||
that automatically loads itself in HMA (if space is available) and will
|
||
keep track of deleted files. Unerase and Unformat will use Mirror's
|
||
tracking information to respectively recover lost files and accidentally
|
||
formatted diskettes. DOS 5 also includes support for hard disk
|
||
partitions up to 2 gigabytes. Unlike DOS 4.0, SHARE does not have to be
|
||
loaded for hard disk partitions greater then 32 megabytes. Be careful
|
||
when installing the upgrade on hard disk partitions that use a third
|
||
party disk manager like DMDVR.BIN; the DOS 5 upgrade includes upgraded
|
||
drivers for some of the more popular third party disk managers.
|
||
Although DOS 5 will support large hard disk partitions, it will not work
|
||
with hard disks with more than 1024 cylinders. The 1024 restriction is
|
||
due to the AT BIOS, not DOS; however, many hard disk vendors manufacture
|
||
hard disk controllers that re-map the hard disk cylinders so they will
|
||
work with DOS.
|
||
|
||
A quick overview of other DOS 5 enhancements: an on-line help
|
||
system is available for every DOS command. To use the help system, type
|
||
either "HELP <command>" or "<command>/?". In place of BASICA and
|
||
GW-BASIC, Microsoft includes a QuickBASIC interpreter with DOS 5. The
|
||
QBASIC interpreter brings structured BASIC to all DOS PCs. For users
|
||
who have hated DOS's EDLIN character based editor, will be happy to see
|
||
the full screen MS-DOS Editor included. The MS-DOS Editor is based on
|
||
the "Quick" editor included in Microsoft's series of Quick languages.
|
||
(In fact, the MS-DOS Editor is QBASIC in edit mode!) The DIRectory
|
||
command has been enhanced with several new options, including the
|
||
ability to search for files through different levels of subdirectories
|
||
(like a file find utility). DIRectory can sort files by size, date and
|
||
time, alphabetically and type of file. You can specify a default
|
||
DIRectory setting by setting an environment variable (DIRCMD) in your
|
||
AUTOEXEC.BAT. DOS 5 includes a new program called DOSKEY which allows
|
||
you to recall and edit commands you have already used. DOSKEY also
|
||
includes a macro facility so you can perform a series of tasks with one
|
||
command. For example, I like to sort my directories and list them; I
|
||
placed this series of commands in a DOSKEY macro called "sdir".
|
||
Whenever I need to sort my directories, I just type "sdir". If you
|
||
should have a problem running a program that is DOS-version specific
|
||
(ie, it will only run under DOS 3.3), DOS 5 includes the SETVER utility
|
||
so you can fool that program into thinking it is running under DOS 3.3.
|
||
Finally, DOS 5 includes support for the new 2.88 megabyte 3<> floppies
|
||
and a setup program to guide users through the installation of DOS 5.
|
||
|
||
Joe Rosenman and I were lucky enough to be invited by Microsoft to
|
||
the DOS 5 product launch in New York City. Microsoft rented a yacht for
|
||
the product launch, which was attended by the media, analysts, and
|
||
corporate users. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and Vice-President Steve
|
||
Ballmer gave a presentation that was broadcast to over 8,000 sites
|
||
around the world. The product announcement began with a parody of the
|
||
television show "The Streets of San Francisco" called "The Streets of
|
||
Microsoft". The video was followed by a live hour long presentation by
|
||
Gates and Ballmer on DOS 5. Another video called "Take Five" featuring
|
||
jazz great Dave Brubeck was shown. It featured Brubeck talking about
|
||
the creation of his classic "Take Five" song, interposed with industry
|
||
executives speaking about the creation of DOS 5. After the video, Gates
|
||
and Ballmer answered questions from the New York audience. A humorous
|
||
moment occurred when an analyst asked Ballmer about Microsoft's "rocky"
|
||
relationship with IBM. Before Ballmer could answer, another boat pulled
|
||
in besides the yacht the DOS 5 presentation was on, and the yacht
|
||
"rocked". Those of us on the yacht began to laugh, but we were the only
|
||
ones who got the joke!
|
||
|
||
After the presentation, Microsoft treated all attendees to a cruise
|
||
around Manhattan and dinner. At the end of dinner, a live concert was
|
||
given by the Dave Brubeck quartet. As attendees left the boat, we were
|
||
all given a MS-DOS 5 tote bag which included a free copy of the DOS 5
|
||
Upgrade. Also included were a press kit, advance copies of PC MAGAZINE
|
||
and PC WORLD on DOS 5, and a commemorative compact disc of Dave
|
||
Brubeck's quartet performing "Take Five".
|
||
|
||
I hope this mini-review has whet your appetite for DOS 5. I agree
|
||
with Microsoft that no PC should be without it.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Spring COMDEX 1991
|
||
by Raymond Hugh
|
||
|
||
This is not going to be an extensive listing of all the exhibits I
|
||
went to during Comdex. I sent that one to my supervisor, who, after
|
||
all, was the one who let me go on the trip. Besides, you would probably
|
||
be bored with some of the stuff I found, since they were work-related.
|
||
What I'm writing about is another impression-type thingie, kinda like
|
||
the one I wrote about Birmingham.
|
||
|
||
I was staying with Valeria Palmer (the Hostest with the Mostest),
|
||
and Mark and Kathy Maisel were there as well. We started on Tuesday,
|
||
since I arrived on Monday night. We met Harris Minter (of BBig'uns
|
||
fame), after waiting for about 20 minutes in a MARTA station for him.
|
||
|
||
Getting our badges was a breeze.....well, compared to the lines in
|
||
New York, it was a breeze. Actually, the line looked more like a cattle
|
||
line going to slaughter. By the time we're done, it's about 11:00. I'm
|
||
itching to go, and Harris' smug remark about there being no line at
|
||
WindowsWorld didn't help. In any case, we're finally ready to start!
|
||
|
||
We go through some pretty interesting exhibits. The Electrohome
|
||
exhibit was by far the most impressive one in the whole show: a video
|
||
camera, a VCR, a laser disc, and a PC, were hooked up to a projection
|
||
TV. The vendor gave us a demo of the setup. Tom Cruise (off the VCR)
|
||
in the upper left hand corner fighting it out with the fighter pilot
|
||
(off the laser disc) in the upper right hand corner. At one point he
|
||
had 16 tasks going on at the same time! He claimed he could run the
|
||
setup using a 286 class machine. All this for only $35,000. What a
|
||
bargain! When we finally cleaned up Mark's slobber, we left..
|
||
|
||
Lemme tell ya, the people at the show are so greedy!! You
|
||
should've seen these people grab for all this stuff the last day..but
|
||
I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, I don't think we saw anything else
|
||
the first day that was particularly striking like the Electrohome was.
|
||
We did stop at the USR booth, and Mark tried to schmooze the guy into
|
||
giving him a screwdriver. Kathy found out she couldn't get a discounted
|
||
modem for the second node until she has the node up.
|
||
|
||
One other event of note: we stopped at a disk manufacturer. There
|
||
was a display of 5<>" disks, 3<>" disks, and the little 2" disks, the same
|
||
kind that was in the Canon Xapshot digital camera Mark borrowed from
|
||
Kelly. Mark was pretty excited (as he always is) about the 2" disks,
|
||
and asked one of the guys behind the desk about it. The conversation
|
||
went something like:
|
||
|
||
Mark: "Oh, Ah didn't know these little diskettes are
|
||
available. How much are they?"
|
||
Dealer: "They're not available in the US yet."
|
||
Me: "Then why are you displaying them? Are you using
|
||
them as a conversation piece."
|
||
Dealer: "Yeah, something like that."
|
||
|
||
What can I say? Apparently, the strategy worked..
|
||
|
||
After a long night with the ByteBrethren (which is another story),
|
||
we get up a teensy bit late the next day, and could only spend about
|
||
half a day at Comdex. We met up with Harris and Valeria.
|
||
|
||
Of course we visited the Electrohome booth again. There were three
|
||
set-ups in the booth. Two of them were the ones with the video camera,
|
||
VCR, etc. The last one had a connectionless mouse. It looked liked the
|
||
kind of pointer you would see in school, i.e., long and pointed. We
|
||
lost Valeria once she saw it and the Solitaire game that was displayed..
|
||
|
||
We also stopped at a keyboard booth. It wasn't Omnikey. I think
|
||
it was Keytronics. In any case, we found all sorts of keyboards. There
|
||
were ones with a VT100 setup, ones with number pads on the right AND the
|
||
left, ones with no detachable keys, i.e., there were no openings in the
|
||
keyboard. There was even one with a phone connection! The one Mark
|
||
liked the most was the hot pink one, but we told him we were going to
|
||
get it for Richard.
|
||
|
||
The Ad Lib booth was interesting. I'm not that interested in
|
||
computer music, but Harris and Mark were completely taken by it. I must
|
||
say, though, the music WAS good. If I remember correctly, it was music
|
||
from a concert. I was glad to take a breather when Harris and Mark
|
||
decided to talk the salesman's ear off.
|
||
|
||
There was a booth that did thermal transfers onto T-shirts. I
|
||
wasn't there, but the way I heard it, the guy running the machine
|
||
couldn't get it to work, so Harris showed him how to do it. He also got
|
||
Valeria a free T-shirt.
|
||
|
||
We also stopped off at the Canon booth to look at the digital
|
||
cameras. There were a couple of Xapshots on display, one connected to a
|
||
PC, and one connected to a Macintosh. Since the guys at the booth were
|
||
busy with something else, we played around with the equipment. It looked
|
||
real nice. Mark also did some more drooling, this time over the higher
|
||
end model of the camera, which had better resolution, and which also
|
||
cost about 2<> times as much as the Xapshot. The vendor demonstrated the
|
||
resolution on the higher end model by zooming in on the lettering on
|
||
Mark's ByteBrothers hat (sorry, no jacket!). Then he compared it with
|
||
the same kind of shot done with the Xapshot, which couldn't display the
|
||
lettering.
|
||
|
||
The only other thing of note that happened was our running into
|
||
Eric Hunt. No, we didn't hurt him; we just roughed him up a bit. He did
|
||
promise to send me his sister, though.
|
||
|
||
That night we decided to use the guidebook and the map to plot out
|
||
the booths we want to visit, since it was the last day of the show. I'm
|
||
still not sure if it worked or not. There was another night of partying
|
||
and debauchery that can only be imagined.
|
||
|
||
The final day of Comdex was a long one. We actually got to the
|
||
center before it opened, and had to wait a few minutes. Since I had to
|
||
make believe I actually did some work on the trip (to justify the cost
|
||
of the company flying me down there), we decided to concentrate on
|
||
Windows applications (down, Mark!), and stayed the whole time at
|
||
WindowsWorld checking out all the goodies to be had.
|
||
|
||
We looked at WInvoice, which is a software program to track time
|
||
spent on a project. It also has a module to print out invoices, based
|
||
on time spent. I found an organization chart program (I forget what
|
||
derogatory name Mark had for it) that was perfect for something I was
|
||
doing at work. Then I found out it wasn't due to ship until the end of
|
||
NEXT (June) month! Sheesh, the nerve of some people!
|
||
|
||
Now comes the part where I tell you guys about the greediness of
|
||
some of these people. Kathy wanted a bit of a rest, and I wanted to
|
||
take a look at the laser printer, so we stopped at the LaserMaster
|
||
booth. They were having a demo where they wanted people to jump up and
|
||
shout "Win Printer!" (the name of the printer) every time they mentioned
|
||
the name. Then they would throw out a T-shirt to the audience. You
|
||
should have seen the way people jumped, and the way they ran over each
|
||
other trying to catch the shirts.
|
||
|
||
All I had to do (and Kathy can attest to this) was to sit in the
|
||
back, wave my hands every time everyone else was jumping up and down,
|
||
and mumble "Win Printer" under my breath. Lo and behold! One of the
|
||
T-shirts fell right into my lap. It was the most amazing thing. The
|
||
durn shirt just went right over all these people's outstretched hands
|
||
and FELL INTO MY LAP. I mean, how easy could this be? Oh yeah, I even
|
||
caught another one for Kathy.
|
||
|
||
Not only that, but at the end of the day, when I was walking around
|
||
waiting for Kathy and Mark to pick up the three Omnikey keyboards they
|
||
bought (and they got a real good deal on them, too), I was walking by
|
||
the same booth, and people were again running all over the place trying
|
||
to catch hardhats. What the heck are you going to do with a hardhat,
|
||
ferchrissake?
|
||
|
||
They also had these little thingamajigs that looked like little
|
||
magnifying glasses. I'm not sure what good they are, but I saw, and
|
||
this is not an exaggeration, either, one guy on HIS HANDS AND KNEES,
|
||
picking them up from where the vendor dropped them.
|
||
|
||
I shouldn't make too much fun of these people, though. I mean,
|
||
after all, I did go around trying to gather up as many 5<>" diskettes as
|
||
I could, since Valeria asked us to pick some up for her. Hey, Val, was
|
||
the final count again? I have forgotten.
|
||
|
||
In any case, that is more or less what happened at Comdex in
|
||
Hotlanta in 1991. Since I am writing this about 3 or 4 weeks after it
|
||
has taken place, I have forgotten some of the booths we visited, but I
|
||
have mentioned most of the interesting tuff that happened along the way.
|
||
I could also talk about PC Expo, but that is yet another story. I can't
|
||
wait until this fall for Las Vegas...
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Is "New" Really Better?
|
||
or, Opinions Are Like ..., never mind.
|
||
by Dr. Strangelove
|
||
|
||
|
||
How many times have you heard an advertisement touting something as
|
||
"new or improved"? Doesn't it make you wonder since these same people
|
||
have been bombarding you for so long with claims that their product was
|
||
the best, the cream of the crop? Obviously, since there was room for
|
||
improvement, there must have been a flaw somewhere. Or was there?
|
||
|
||
Take for example, my new car. The old one had served me well and
|
||
reliably for quite sometime but then it became apparent that it just
|
||
didn't have enough seating room for an instant family. You can only
|
||
pack so many sardines in a can, right? So we venture forth into the
|
||
dreaded world of the new car market. After much travel, looking,
|
||
comparing and haggling with obnoxious salesmen in the same K-Mart suits
|
||
(do they clone these suckers somewhere?), we finally found the car we
|
||
wanted. Nothing fancy, just good dependable transportation with all the
|
||
safety features and a few creature comforts thrown in for good measure.
|
||
But now I realize that if I could drop this baby from 5000 feet into a
|
||
swimming pool with a truckload of sugar I could have one hell of a
|
||
lemonade party. So as to keep from having auto dealers placing a bounty
|
||
on my head, I won't mention the make of the car. Just let me say
|
||
though, that I would like to shove Mr. Iacocca's head into a backed-up
|
||
toilet in Grand Central Station.
|
||
|
||
But let's move on. Another example might be SLMR. Version 1.0 was
|
||
nice and did most anything one could want. Then along came version
|
||
1.05. Great! This version added a few features, including the option
|
||
of configuring for personal upload directories. Now that's something I
|
||
can live with since I have been known to use an alias or two in my time
|
||
and it sure is a pain having to rename reply packets to keep from
|
||
overwriting them. But we're not through yet. Next, version 2.0 bursts
|
||
on the scene. This version has some good features too, like being able
|
||
to enter messages to boards without first downloading a .qwk packet.
|
||
Nice if you just thought of something you wanted to post and don't want
|
||
to forget it before you can log on to the board in question. But what
|
||
happened to the personal directories? There is no option for them in
|
||
the configuration utility and I'm still waiting for a reply from the
|
||
author. Oh well, I'm sure glad I didn't discard the previous version.
|
||
|
||
This brings us to our next item, MarkMail 2.0. Maybe I shouldn't
|
||
have said that so loud? It seemed that everything was cranking away
|
||
just fine with version 1.** and then, WHAM!, somebody comes along with
|
||
2.0 and everybody's got to have it. Many things missing in this version
|
||
that I liked in previous ones. And muddling through the configuration
|
||
is like playing football barefooted in a pasture. Don't step in
|
||
anything but keep your eye on the ball. Right. And maybe I shouldn't
|
||
even mention the numerous lock-ups it has caused on a few of our finer
|
||
boards. Or should I ... Monty, Randy?
|
||
|
||
And now, what you've all been waiting for ... drumroll, please ...
|
||
|
||
DOS 5.0!!!
|
||
|
||
Yeah, right, thrill me to death. And kill those drums, will ya.
|
||
|
||
The July issue of 'PC Computing' magazine proclaims this to be, and
|
||
I quote, "the DOS you've been waiting for". The DOS I'm waiting for, or
|
||
"on" would be more exact, is the one that takes forever and a damned day
|
||
to do something on my system. I know, stuck in XT purgatory. But what
|
||
can I say? Except maybe, "spare change"?
|
||
|
||
I'm going to take some of this article out of context in order to
|
||
weigh the pros and cons of DOS 5.0, so don't fly off the handle at me.
|
||
I really don't care anyway, so it won't do any good.
|
||
|
||
'PC Computing' lists 10 of the best and 10 of the worst things
|
||
about this new messiah of computing. Bear with me while I do a quick
|
||
summary.
|
||
|
||
The "BEST":
|
||
|
||
1. More memory. Okay, I'll buy that. But if you're running 8 meg
|
||
of RAM like some folks I know, does a few K mean that much?
|
||
|
||
2. Hot new command - DOSKEY. According to them it's a command
|
||
stacker and macro generator. So what's wrong with batch files?
|
||
|
||
3. Goof protection - undelete and unformat. Now where have I seen
|
||
these? Norton, maybe?
|
||
|
||
4. Online assistance. Oh yeah. Read more about this and you'll
|
||
find it's very easy to uninstall the whole shebang while trying
|
||
to get help.
|
||
|
||
5. Directory magic. Sort directories, etc., etc. Norton again.
|
||
|
||
6. Supposedly standardizes versions. I guess so. If everybody
|
||
drove a VW it would be a breeze to find parts.
|
||
|
||
7. Support for large hard disks. No more 32 MB limits. Come on,
|
||
give me a break folks.
|
||
|
||
8. New EDIT utility beats EDLIN hands down. When is the last time
|
||
you used EDLIN? Can you remember into "NEVER"?
|
||
|
||
9. Documentation and setup. Even they admit these are better than
|
||
before but could still be a whole lot better.
|
||
|
||
10. Versatility. Runs on everything from a 4.77 MHz PC to the
|
||
fastest 486. Well patch my drawers.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The "WORST":
|
||
|
||
1. Trial-and-error configuration. If you can configure this puppy
|
||
in one try and still have more hair than me, I'll buy you a shot
|
||
of tequila ... and six valiums. You'll need it.
|
||
|
||
2. Batch-file clumsiness. It hasn't done diddly toward enhancing
|
||
batch file processing.
|
||
|
||
3. Cryptic filenames. You're still stuck with those eleven-character
|
||
filenames.
|
||
|
||
4. Lack of security. ATTRIB can now hide and unhide files, but
|
||
that's all folks.
|
||
|
||
5. Inflexible bootup. You can't park several AUTOEXEC.BAT and
|
||
CONFIG.SYS files in this garage.
|
||
|
||
6. File management sucks. Unless in the Shell, it will copy an
|
||
older file over a newer one without warning, won't move files
|
||
(still copy and delete), won't rename directories and doesn't
|
||
know a mouse from a hole in the ground.
|
||
|
||
7. The file-browsing powers leave much to be desired.
|
||
LIST, anyone?
|
||
|
||
8. Space limitations. Small default environment (160 bytes), that
|
||
has to be adjusted with a SHELL command, and a 128 byte command
|
||
limit.
|
||
|
||
9. Aesthetics <guffaw> Still black and white unless you use ANSI,
|
||
and you have to use PROMPT for that.
|
||
|
||
10. Grammar 101, please. That's right, it still says "One file(s)
|
||
copied". And after having ten years to learn.
|
||
|
||
Well I guess I've driven DOS into the ground long enough. I think
|
||
I hear MicroSoft calling to see if I would like to be a Beta tester.
|
||
Dream on. I'll close this before our editor-in-chief decides it is far
|
||
too long and drops it in file 13.
|
||
|
||
And remember folks ... A nurse a day keeps the Dr. ... well, never
|
||
mind.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Introducing ADANet
|
||
by Bill Freeman
|
||
|
||
With the advent of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992, it
|
||
has become even more important that the disabled have access to
|
||
information and thus become independent through the use of high- tech
|
||
solutions. ADAnet is a network formed to educate, protect and serve the
|
||
disabled community, helping them gather the information that they need
|
||
to compete in a technological world.
|
||
|
||
One of the many problems that the disability community must face is
|
||
a lack of a common repository for disability information. This is no
|
||
longer the case, as ADAnet can bring together doctors, lawyers, the
|
||
disabled and those that work with the disabled to share information in a
|
||
cooperative effort to assist everyone in being as productive as
|
||
possible.
|
||
|
||
We are presently looking for moderators for most of our
|
||
conferences. Persons wishing to moderate a conference should have direct
|
||
experience within the area they desire to moderate. Often they may be
|
||
asked questions not readily answered, so that the ability to network in
|
||
the area with other professionals and research personnel is very
|
||
important. At the same time, we realize that sometimes a parent or
|
||
interested third person can sometimes be of great help, and we do not
|
||
want to discourage their taking on a conference to help our efforts
|
||
succeed.
|
||
|
||
Finally, I would ask that this article be made available to all
|
||
rehabilitation and research facilities. The goal of ADAnet is to provide
|
||
fast, efficient communications within the disabled community. Please
|
||
help us let these people know that this resource is now available to
|
||
them.
|
||
|
||
Bill Freeman, ADAnet Network Coordinator.
|
||
The Disability Law Foundation
|
||
Post Office Box 374
|
||
Pinson, Alabama 35126
|
||
(205) 856-0738 (Voice)
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
BBS Reviews
|
||
by Bryan Taylor
|
||
|
||
Too many times have I looked at BTN's BBS list and wondered which
|
||
boards would be worth calling. I'm too lazy to call every single one,
|
||
but I shouldn't judge a BBS merely by looking at it's name in print.
|
||
Somehow, though, that's usually what I find myself doing in the end
|
||
anyway. Finally I decided that I couldn't be the only one with this
|
||
problem, so here comes the plot.
|
||
|
||
In each issue of BTN (supposedly), a review of a BBS or two, or
|
||
maybe three will be written. By doing this, not only will I actually
|
||
end up calling every Birmingham board, but I also hope to provide you
|
||
other BTN readers with the information that will help you in selecting a
|
||
BBS that suits your needs. Each review will be divided up into sections
|
||
in order to allow those who are not interested in message areas, for
|
||
instance, find a board that has decent file directories. Below are some
|
||
questions I'll ask myself when writing each section of the reviews.
|
||
|
||
------------------
|
||
AVAILABILITY
|
||
What are the board's hours of operation?
|
||
Is the board's availability sufficient for its number
|
||
of users? (Does it need more or have enough NODES?)
|
||
Is the board often down without notice to users?
|
||
|
||
ORGANIZATION
|
||
Are new user log-on messages clear and to the point?
|
||
Are menus and menu commands displayed in a logic order?
|
||
Is it easy for a user to find his/her way around?
|
||
Are the board rules and regulations resonable?
|
||
Are instructions and help menus easily available to users?
|
||
Are there any noticable "bugs" within the regular system
|
||
operation?
|
||
|
||
MAINTENANCE
|
||
Are system bulletins kept up-to-date?
|
||
Are users notified about any changes made on the board?
|
||
Are users kept informed of events and system news?
|
||
Are "bugs" quickly repaired as not to inconvenience the
|
||
users?
|
||
|
||
FILE DIRECTORIES
|
||
Are many files available for download?
|
||
Is the upload/download ratio reasonable?
|
||
Is there a wide variety of files?
|
||
|
||
MESSAGE CONFERENCES
|
||
Is there a wide variety of conferences sufficient to
|
||
suit the users' interests?
|
||
Are conferences active with conversation?
|
||
|
||
SYSOP
|
||
Is the board's SysOp helpful and courteous to the users?
|
||
Does the SysOp care at all about his/her board's appearance
|
||
and convenience to users?
|
||
Does the SysOp interact enough or too much with the users?
|
||
|
||
------------------
|
||
In an actual BBS review, each section heading will be accompanied
|
||
by "stars" that will be used to rate that particular section of the
|
||
board's operation. The rating scale is as follows: * = very poor, ** =
|
||
poor, *** = good, **** = very good, ***** = excellent! The board will
|
||
also be given an overall rating which is based on the average of all
|
||
section ratings put together.
|
||
|
||
In closing, please keep in mind that all reviews I submit are based
|
||
entirely on my personal experience with a board and its SysOp. I do not
|
||
intend to ridicule nor deface any BBS but rather inform users and help
|
||
SysOps in improving their board. And now, with all the explanations out
|
||
of the way, let the reviews begin!
|
||
|
||
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
BBS Review: Programmer's Shack
|
||
by Bryan Taylor
|
||
|
||
|
||
BASIC INFORMATION
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board System: Programmer's Shack
|
||
System Operator: Doogie Howser
|
||
Phone Number: 871-3356
|
||
Computer: 12 mhz 286 AT compatible
|
||
Modem Type: USRobotics Courier HST
|
||
Baud Rates Supported: 300 - 9600
|
||
BBS Software: Telegard 2.5i
|
||
Echo Mail Network(s): FidoNet
|
||
|
||
|
||
REVIEW
|
||
|
||
|
||
AVAILABILITY: ****
|
||
Programmer's Shack has been up and working most every call I've
|
||
made. It recently went through a mess of BBS software exchanges: from
|
||
Telegard to Ultra and back to Telegard. It has recovered well, however,
|
||
and is up and running just as before, if not better. On very few
|
||
occasions is the line busy when I call, but then again, I'm one of those
|
||
late-night BBSers. Don't get me wrong... although the line isn't often
|
||
busy, the board is far from dead! So if your looking for a good board
|
||
that's not too busy yet not too boring, Programmer's Shack should be a
|
||
consideration.
|
||
|
||
|
||
ORGANIZATION: *****
|
||
This board is beautiful by appearance. Nothing bugs me more (well,
|
||
almost nothing) than a sloppy BBS with bad margins, frequent
|
||
misspellings, stray marks, and a SysOp who could care less. On the
|
||
contrary, Programmer's Shack is kept up very nicely! What's supposed to
|
||
be centered is centered, what's supposed to be left justified is left
|
||
justified, and the the board's layout is next to perfect. I don't mean
|
||
to sound like some sort of picky English teacher, but the neatness just
|
||
makes everything so much easier to read, especially on the monochrome
|
||
monitor I use.
|
||
|
||
A plus for experienced BBS users who log on new to Programmer's
|
||
Shack is the short and to-the-point new user screens. There's no long
|
||
explanation about how to use a BBS (which can often be annoying to a
|
||
computer programmer who's been BBSing for twelve years), and you won't
|
||
even have to read any of those rules which are common to most every
|
||
board in Birmingham; if I've heard them once, I've heard them a thousand
|
||
times! Instead, the rules are neatly located in the bulletin listings
|
||
available for reading at any other time. When logging on as a new user,
|
||
you read a welcome paragraph or so, enter your personal information, and
|
||
you're ready to go!
|
||
|
||
Although I've heard rumors of Telegard sucking bad, Programmer's
|
||
Shack seems to be doing very well with it. There are no apparent
|
||
"bugs," and everything runs rather smoothly. The board can be helpful
|
||
to those new in telecommunications or quick for those who are
|
||
experienced. Finding your way around is simple, and commands are
|
||
logical. Telegard, at the moment, seems to be causing no problems.
|
||
|
||
|
||
MAINTENANCE: *****
|
||
I was surprised to see how well the users at Programmer's Shack
|
||
were kept informed. I usually find that "younger" boards don't usually
|
||
do such a good job of presenting system news, but Programmer's Shack
|
||
defies my theory. Users were notified about the changes in the BBS
|
||
software and were still kept updated on the subject even after
|
||
everything had returned to normal. Other system news is presented
|
||
clearly and updated quite frequently.
|
||
|
||
Another aspect of maintenance is daily handling of mail and files.
|
||
At Programmer's Shack, my comments to the SysOp are replied to within
|
||
tewnty-four hours if not earlier than twelve. On some boards, I usually
|
||
wait on a reply from three days to a week after I make a comment or ask
|
||
a question! (I won't mention any BBS names... okay, a hint: it's one of
|
||
the boards with six NODES! Just kidding Tom and Rocky; I know you all
|
||
have a LOT to handle over there!)
|
||
|
||
System bulletins are also maintained nicely. Included in the
|
||
bulletin listings are some user rankings, such as "Top Twenty Callers,"
|
||
and file information, such as the "Most Popular Files List." The boards
|
||
which are not usually maintained well never have such up-to-date
|
||
information like that which the Programmer's Shack provides. Even
|
||
on-line game players' rankings can be found in the bulletins, rankings
|
||
which tend to change every day. Programmer's Shack is for you if you
|
||
like a BBS where you'll know what's going on with other users and the
|
||
board.
|
||
|
||
|
||
FILE DIRECTORIES: ****
|
||
Unfortunately, there was no way for me to check out every file
|
||
available for download at Programmer's Shack, obviously. Considering
|
||
the number of files on disk, however, and the wide variety of
|
||
directories, I would say that the board has a pretty decent file
|
||
library. I give it four stars because of this large number and wide
|
||
variety of files. The information below should help you in deciding for
|
||
yourself the rating of the board's files.
|
||
|
||
File Area Statistics
|
||
--------------------
|
||
|
||
< New Uploads > .................... 1,569,920 bytes, in 10 files.
|
||
Free Downloads <No Ratio> .......... 554,368 bytes, in 8 files.
|
||
Information Center <No Ratio> ...... 1,043,328 bytes, in 29 files.
|
||
Hardware Utilities ................. 164,992 bytes, in 7 files.
|
||
Multitasking Support ............... 2,307,456 bytes, in 24 files.
|
||
File Utilities ..................... 1,113,600 bytes, in 14 files.
|
||
Editors ............................ 495,872 bytes, in 5 files.
|
||
Assembler Language ................. 683,264 bytes, in 4 files.
|
||
BASIC Language ..................... 1,124,992 bytes, in 13 files.
|
||
Pascal Language .................... 1,266,304 bytes, in 30 files.
|
||
C Language ......................... 2,489,344 bytes, in 27 files.
|
||
Other Languages .................... 482,688 bytes, in 3 files.
|
||
Archive Utilities .................. 682,880 bytes, in 10 files.
|
||
Miscellaneous ...................... 2,201,856 bytes, in 17 files.
|
||
Graphical Support .................. 856,064 bytes, in 5 files.
|
||
Communications ..................... 351,616 bytes, in 9 files.
|
||
PC-Games ........................... 452,480 bytes, in 7 files.
|
||
BBS Software and Utils ............. 2,722,816 bytes, in 37 files.
|
||
Fidonet Utilities .................. 1,361,024 bytes, in 10 files.
|
||
Telegard Systems <No Ratio> ........ 840,576 bytes, in 5 files.
|
||
Telegard Utilities <No Ratio> ...... 1,801,472 bytes, in 39 files.
|
||
-----------------------------------
|
||
Totals: 24,566,912 bytes, in 313 files.
|
||
|
||
|
||
MESSAGE CONFERENCES: ***
|
||
Many users I interviewed said they were very pleased with the
|
||
message areas on Programmer's Shack. When asked what their main
|
||
interests were with the board, most replied in some way or another about
|
||
how they use the message conferences. I can only give the conferences a
|
||
three-star rating, however, because if you're not interested in computer
|
||
programming, you won't have much use for the conversations going on. On
|
||
the other hand, if you are indeed a programmer, or even tinker with
|
||
programming, you may find a great deal of interest in the conversation.
|
||
But then, I guess that's why they call it Programmer's Shack!
|
||
|
||
Programmer's Shack is a member of FidoNet, an international IBM
|
||
compatible network. Many of its message areas are also echoed locally
|
||
here in Birmingham.
|
||
|
||
|
||
SYSOP: *****
|
||
Honestly, I have never been more impressed with a SysOp. Not only
|
||
is it my opinion that "Doogie Howser" is one of the best System
|
||
Operators in Birmingham, but most of his users feel the same way, too.
|
||
I was pleased most with his quickness in replying to my questions and
|
||
with his interest in the other users. He is well dedicated to the board
|
||
and is the kind of SysOp that all SysOps should aim to be. He is
|
||
willing to help out any time, always patient, and very courteous: a
|
||
definite five-star SysOp.
|
||
|
||
|
||
CONCLUSION
|
||
|
||
Programmer's Shack has some extras that allow non-programmers to
|
||
enjoy the board also. Looking at the list of message conferences, there
|
||
are a few areas in which non-programmers may be interested. The most
|
||
attractive extra on the board, however, would be the online games,
|
||
giving ANYONE who can think and type a variety of gaming adventure.
|
||
|
||
In conclusion of my review, I asked Doogie to give me some
|
||
background info on his board, and again, he was glad to help. He says:
|
||
|
||
"I am a senior at UAB with only 3 classes left before finishing a
|
||
Bachelor's degree in computer science. I have been into computing
|
||
for about 10 years. I have been into BBSing about the last three
|
||
years. I have been running my own BBS since January 9, 1991.
|
||
|
||
I had been thinking about setting up a BBS about three months
|
||
before I even got to the point of doing it. During that time, I
|
||
noticed that there just weren't any boards in town that were
|
||
really dedicated to one theme. Most boards are pretty general in
|
||
nature. After several talks with a few of the other SysOps, I
|
||
decided to start a board that was dedicated to people who program
|
||
computers. I figured I could set up something that would allow
|
||
programmer's to freely exchange their ideas and code fragments.
|
||
So far it has worked. However, we do allow people that don't
|
||
program computers. With the games that we have online, and some
|
||
of the message bases, we have enough for anyone to be interested
|
||
in this BBS.
|
||
|
||
I need to thank Mark Maisel for coming up with the name for this
|
||
board. He is one of the people that turned me in the direction of
|
||
really getting it going with a real theme. However, like I said
|
||
earlier, there have been several of the other SysOps who have
|
||
helped me. If it hadn't been for people like Lee Harden and Kelly
|
||
Rosato, I wouldn't even have a machine to run this board on.
|
||
|
||
I really like all of the users on my board. They are all nice
|
||
people. That is another reason that I like running a BBS.
|
||
Meeting people through the various message conferences is nice. I
|
||
just never thought I would be learning programming ideas from
|
||
people half way around the world. That is the fantastic thing
|
||
about Fidonet, the international message network of which we
|
||
are a member.
|
||
|
||
That reminds me. I forgot someone. If it hadn't been for the
|
||
help of James Minton, I wouldn't be in Fidonet. He helped me get
|
||
started with it."
|
||
|
||
After hearing, or I should say reading what Doogie had to say, I
|
||
wondered if he was possibly being polite just to get a good review. So
|
||
like any good... uh, great reporter would do, I checked him out by
|
||
questioning some of his users. Fortunately, I found that Doogie was
|
||
indeed the SysOp he seemed to be - an excellent one! His users had
|
||
plenty compliments for him and his board:
|
||
|
||
"The SysOp is extremely helpful and courteous. He is quick to
|
||
answer messages and look into any problems the users might
|
||
encounter."
|
||
|
||
"It's a very nice board that I will continue to call as long as
|
||
it remains here, which I hope is a long time."
|
||
|
||
"This [the SysOp] is the main reason I call this board. ...when I
|
||
had problems connecting to his board at 2400 BPS, he tried
|
||
everything he knew how to get the problem fixed."
|
||
|
||
"Damn, I just cleared my scrollback buffer by mistake."
|
||
(Yeah, sure... and he thought I believed him!)
|
||
|
||
"[The SysOp] is responsive to user input."
|
||
(What the hell does THAT mean?)
|
||
|
||
"It [a bug] only happened a very few times and the SysOp was
|
||
right on the problem and did not rest until it had been solved."
|
||
|
||
|
||
OVERALL RATINGS
|
||
Availability...........**** 4 stars
|
||
Organization...........***** 5 stars!
|
||
Maintenance............***** 5 stars!
|
||
File Directories.......**** 4 stars
|
||
Message Conferences....*** 3 stars
|
||
SysOp..................***** 5 stars!
|
||
--------------------------------------
|
||
Overall Score..........**** 4 stars
|
||
|
||
On behalf of "Birmingham Telecommunications News," Programmer's
|
||
Shack and its System Operator, Doogie Howser, are hereby presented with
|
||
an award of excellence for achieving a four-star rating!
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
The Adventures of R.G. Strangemind and Herbert
|
||
by Jeremy Lewis
|
||
Copyright 1991 by Jeremy Lewis
|
||
no reprints without the permission of the author
|
||
|
||
Chapter VI
|
||
|
||
Herbert opened his' yes and couldn't seem anything, in fact he
|
||
could hear anything either. He must dead! He began to yell when he
|
||
realized that he was unnaturally cold, but then again, he metal used in
|
||
spaceship walls is very cold. It was about this time that Slob pulled
|
||
Herbert out of the wall and Herbert realized he was alive. Herbert also
|
||
realize that a strange blue alien was running a corridor. Herbert
|
||
decided to follow him and about three hundred yards down that same
|
||
corridor, a now existent purple was walking in herbert and Slob's
|
||
direction. The purple thing with a lot of teeth's name was Ginger and
|
||
Ginger was mad.
|
||
|
||
R.G. "ran" (one doesn't actually run while in astral form, but
|
||
saying that some one floated determinedly down the hall is rather
|
||
anti-climatic) determinedly down the hall looking for his body. He had
|
||
searched the areas he thought the powercore likely to be found in, after
|
||
realizing that entity calling itself the Ship's Computer would no longer
|
||
talk to him. Suddenly R.G. had an idea. He calm down and began to try
|
||
to "feel" the direction of his body. To R,G,'s left he felt an almost
|
||
imperceptible tingle, and off he went while his body stood still before
|
||
a large metal door bearing the alien equivalent of a radiation symbol (A
|
||
piece of toasted garlic bread), that was slowly beginning to open.
|
||
|
||
Back on the planet Slag, Emperor Splort was holding a war council.
|
||
Splort was a tall imposing man with green skin and well defined muscles.
|
||
He looked even more imposing as he stood (towered, actually) over the
|
||
remaining members of the royal council. None of the councilmen knew
|
||
what their late youngest member had said to enrage him, but they weren't
|
||
about to ask and he wasn't going to tell them. The light in the room
|
||
glistened off of his bald skull given him a strange halo as he spoke.
|
||
|
||
"I'm going to have a war gentlemen. I'm going to go out with the
|
||
bounty hunters and kill our beloved friend Slob"
|
||
|
||
"But sir..."began one of the councilmen, but that was as far he got
|
||
before his head was simply no longer present, taking his nervously
|
||
system quite by surprise and causing him to make unsightly jerking
|
||
motions as his body dropped to the floor. Splort surveyed the court room
|
||
with a smoking disintegrator in his hand.
|
||
|
||
"Are there anymore objections", he asked. Oddly enough there were
|
||
none. The disintegrator did have a little to do with the lack of
|
||
objections, but also, the council had decided that if the Emperor wanted
|
||
to go off and get killed, it would be more than fine with them.
|
||
|
||
Splort grinned and contemplated Slob's death at his hands.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Ultra BBS version 2.03
|
||
by Doogie Houser
|
||
|
||
Well, Ultra is an ok piece of software, but it has its problems.
|
||
First, when doing a new scan of files, you don't know what directory
|
||
area a file is in because it doesn't tell you. That is not a major
|
||
problem because you can download from anywhere just like PCBoard, but it
|
||
would be nice to have.
|
||
|
||
Next, Ultra, to me, was just boring. It didn't offer me any way to
|
||
upgrade my board, change its style, etc. like Telegard does. With
|
||
Ultra, every command is static. You can't change anything. However,
|
||
with Telegard, you can change the style of your menus or the commands,
|
||
and make your board look and feel the way that you want it too. I mean,
|
||
in Telegard if you wanted to, you could use "Z" as your download command
|
||
key.
|
||
|
||
Third, Ultra has major problems with PCBoard type online games.
|
||
The problems: It just will not run them. The Convert utility that
|
||
comes with Ultra v2.03, the version I was running doesn't convert all of
|
||
the files needed to run the PCB14 type games. It only creates a
|
||
PCBOARD.SYS file. Yes, there are utilities out there to take care of
|
||
this, but you shouldn't have to use them if the software comes with its
|
||
own utility.
|
||
|
||
Fourth, there aren't that many utilities out there for Ultra.
|
||
Nowhere I looked, could I find even a Ultra BBS users lister. There is
|
||
a command on the main menu to list the users, but there wasn't any
|
||
third-party utilities to produce ascii or ansi bulletin files that could
|
||
be configured the way the SysOp might want.
|
||
|
||
Sometimes, when uploading files on a batch upload, Ultra would come
|
||
back after the upload and tell me that no files were uploaded. Can you
|
||
say "problem"?
|
||
|
||
Another thing that I didn't like is that the user and file manager
|
||
utility is external. You have to completely exit the BBS and run a
|
||
separate utility to do any kind of management of the files or users.
|
||
Telegard has all of this internally.
|
||
|
||
Ok, still another thing I dislike, as well did some of my users.
|
||
You can scan and read messages through the read command. When reading
|
||
messages under PCBoard, you can start reading messages, then use the "q
|
||
s" command to quick-scan the message headers since you last read. You
|
||
could proceed to type in a number of a message to read, and the message
|
||
would be displayed. In Ultra, you would have to get out of the read
|
||
command, use the scan command to quick scan the message headers, and
|
||
then go back into the read command to read the message that you chose to
|
||
read. This is very painful.
|
||
|
||
Another problem with Ultra is that if you allow handles, it doesn't
|
||
ask for their real name also. This poses a real problem for those
|
||
boards that wish to be a member of Fidonet, where aliases are frowned
|
||
upon. Obvious handles would be easily picked out, but those that sounded
|
||
like real names, would not.
|
||
|
||
Setup of the Ultra system is rather easily, but nothing is as easy
|
||
as the setup of Telegard. In Telegard, you issue one command and the
|
||
program does the rest. The Telegard asks you just a few questions and
|
||
then it proceeds to create all of your directories that are needed,
|
||
moves all files to their appropriate locations, and it does all of this
|
||
in a matter of just two or three minutes. It took me over three hours
|
||
to manually setup Ultra v2.03.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Windows 3.0 review: Notebook 1.6
|
||
by Eric Hunt Mark Berlinger
|
||
Shareware, $10
|
||
|
||
When some people sit and think about the abysmal text editors that
|
||
Microsoft provided as a default part of the Windows environment, it's a
|
||
wonder there aren't many suicides. Both Notepad and Write leave numerous
|
||
things to be desired. Fortunately shareware writers have starting
|
||
filling this void in the low end ASCII editing arena. Notebook is one of
|
||
those editors. Sporting a small size with powerful features, this handy
|
||
little text editor has all the features a person dedicated to solely
|
||
entering text (that most likely will never see the printed page) could
|
||
ever want
|
||
|
||
Notebook is an ASCII text editor, pure and simple. Its biggest
|
||
feature, in my book at least, is the ability to edit and/or display
|
||
files of unlimited size! (Well, at least to the limit of real and
|
||
virtual memory in the PC) This was perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks
|
||
with the Microsoft supplied Notepad. Notepad is limited to files 32k in
|
||
length or shorter. Editing capacity is especially important when reading
|
||
large text documents (such as BTN) in the Windows environment. When
|
||
other programs throw in the towel (Notepad, WinSmooth), Notebook stays
|
||
in the race.
|
||
|
||
Another pleasant feature found in Notebook is Word Wrap. I
|
||
particularly despise having to press <enter> after every line of text as
|
||
I enter it, and that's what has to be done with most other ASCII editors
|
||
in Windows, especially the ones geared towards editing source code for
|
||
programs. Margins can be set either from a dialog box with actual
|
||
numbers for the margins, or with the mouse. Stretch the Notepad editing
|
||
screen to a new size, and the word wrap immediately reformats your text
|
||
to display in the new width without having horizontal scroll bars!
|
||
|
||
Other impressive abilities for a program this size are merging of
|
||
external text files, extensive search and replace, a bookmark, undo, and
|
||
a handy run facility. ASCII files can be directly inserted into your
|
||
current document, nice for those of us who keep little ASCII notes
|
||
floating around our hard disk. Search and Replace is also excellent,
|
||
allowing for case independent or dependent operating, and the ability to
|
||
go directly to a given line number. Notebook can even remember your
|
||
current line number when you exit a document and bring you back to that
|
||
place in the text upon reloading. Handy for the intermittent reading of
|
||
a large file. Undoing of the last editing operation is nice, especially
|
||
when that last revision didn't revise too well after a bit of thought.
|
||
Also, a nice run facility is available from the main menu, with a menu
|
||
of executable files to be browsed through presented. Much easier to use
|
||
than dragging up the program manager and using THAT aborted attempt at a
|
||
run command.
|
||
|
||
And yet even more features! Many of these perhaps aren't central to
|
||
the actual input of ASCII, but they make the typists life easier while
|
||
using Notebook. The floating status line is an interesting feature. This
|
||
little dialog box can be activated and placed in a convient position
|
||
onscreen, showing you the current line number and the total size of the
|
||
file in bytes. The current text font and and tab spacing can be
|
||
customized as well. Two fixed and one variable pitch font are available.
|
||
Tabs can be configured to expand into from 2 to 14 spaces, a nice touch
|
||
for the occassional programmer. Notebook can also send your text to the
|
||
printer if need be, with both a custom header and page number printed on
|
||
each page. The ability to place the date and time on the title bar,
|
||
along with the current filename, keeps you hopping a s you strive to
|
||
meet the copy deadlines! Finally, complete online help is available for
|
||
every function and feature that Notebook offers. (Unfortunately, it's
|
||
not case-sensitive, but it is indexed very well)
|
||
|
||
Notebook is not without its problems. I would say the biggest thing
|
||
is has going against it is the nagware that the author has built into
|
||
the program. At startup, and periodically throughout an edit session, a
|
||
"nagware" dialog box (hey, he even put "nagware" in the title of the
|
||
dialog box!) appears soliciting your donation to his programming cause.
|
||
What makes it worse is that the "OK" button is hidden behind three
|
||
buttons, and you have to guess which one sends you back to your
|
||
document. I found it much easier to dispense with the shell game and
|
||
simply press <enter>, achieving the same end result. This nagware is
|
||
almost rectified by the ridiculously low price for the editor - $10. At
|
||
that price, even I could afford to register and put up with the nags. As
|
||
far as features from within the editor go, I have but one complaint. The
|
||
search and replace functions under the "Search" menu are not immediately
|
||
obvious. There are several greyed items pertaining to search/replace
|
||
that I could never get to work, UNTIL.... I finally used the "Go To..."
|
||
dialog, and lo and behold, there was the entry field for search/replace!
|
||
That leap in logic escapes me to this day. My wish list for the program
|
||
includes MDI (Multiple Document Interface) support, so I can open LOTS
|
||
of text files at once, and a button bar somewhere. After using such
|
||
programs as WinQwk, WinEdit, and Word For Windows, pulling down menus is
|
||
a letdown and a drag! [grin] The button bar is certainly the choice for
|
||
the fundamentally lazy.
|
||
|
||
Notebook 1.6 is an excellent little ASCII editor/viewer, and at
|
||
$10, the price/performance ratio cannot be topped by any other editor I
|
||
know of.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Why Do We Need Standardization?
|
||
Or
|
||
Why Do Older Mice Have Bigger Balls?
|
||
by Lurch Henson
|
||
|
||
He did it again. It's all Mark's fault, so you can blame him for
|
||
it. You see, I was over at his house wanting to show him some really
|
||
fantastic Amiga demo programs I use at work, and he told me that his
|
||
mouse had died, so I couldn't show them to him. Not one to be put off
|
||
by a minor setback such as this, I got ahold of a mouse that had been
|
||
neutered (someone stole the ball out of it). The mouse I got was an
|
||
"Official Commodore Amiga Mouse", made to be used on the Amy, and since
|
||
Mark's mouse had it's ball, I expected to just swap it out and then be
|
||
able to show him the Amazing Demos I'd brought him. I took his
|
||
"Official Commodore Mouse", popped the cover on the bottom, took out
|
||
it's ball (OUCH!), and proceeded to try and implant it into the newer,
|
||
lighter (probably because of the missing ball, they ARE quite heavy, you
|
||
know), and slightly cleaner mouse I'd brought. Guess what? It didn't
|
||
fit. Wasn't even close. The ball was too big (swollen from the
|
||
operation? I don't think so). Anyway, what happened next was I spent
|
||
the next two hours dismantling the mice, breaking for dinner, then
|
||
repairing the broken wire in the mouse cable (by splicing them all),
|
||
then putting them back together again, before being able to show him the
|
||
Wonderful Demos I had brought him. During all of this, he suggested
|
||
that I might be able to get an article for BTN out of the experience
|
||
(Ah-HA! That's what you can blame him for!), so here it is........
|
||
|
||
Standardization. It's such a nice word, isn't it? Wouldn't it be
|
||
nice if you could take that disk out of your Amiga, and go over to your
|
||
friend's house and stick it into his IBM and show him the program you'd
|
||
just finished? Or maybe, just maybe, one of you with a C-64 could take
|
||
your disk with your favorite programs on it, and run them on your IBM at
|
||
work (why, you ask? Because there are alot of people out there that
|
||
STILL have C-64 machines, and STILL have their favorite programs that
|
||
they've been using for years, that have features they wish some IBM
|
||
programmer would write into an IBM program, that's why). Well, while all
|
||
of this is getting closer and closer, I don't expect to see it. Some
|
||
things like C, and some Commodore terminals being written to handle ANSI
|
||
and 80 columns are nice, but not what I'd call compatable. Not until I
|
||
can take that C-64 disk and stick it in an IBM or an Amiga and run it
|
||
just fine. And that's not the standardization I'm talking about anyway.
|
||
I'm talking about some good compatability within each machine's range.
|
||
That mouse, for instance. The newer one had alot less mechanical
|
||
"garbage" inside than the older one did. That's called "progress".
|
||
That's fine. BUT, didn't anyone ever stop to think that maybe, just
|
||
maybe, someone might want to use a part out of the older mouse, to help
|
||
keep the newer one running a little longer? One mouse had a plug on the
|
||
inside, instead of just soldering the wires onto the board (that was the
|
||
newer mouse, more progress), the other didn't. If both were like that,
|
||
and I had a problem with my cable, then I could just swap them out. If
|
||
the ball disappears (not a strange occurance once a small child learns
|
||
they can open the bottom of Daddy's mouse and have this cute little ball
|
||
to play with), and you've got an older mouse laying around (maybe the
|
||
dog chewed up the cable, or said child discovered that mice don't bounce
|
||
off the wall too well once little pieces start coming off of them), then
|
||
pop that sucker open and Ta-DAAAA!, you're back up and running in three
|
||
minutes time, tops.
|
||
|
||
And that's just mice. Think about it for a second, this could
|
||
catch on. Imagine if all the modems out there used the SAME CABLE! Wow!
|
||
Wouldn't that be nice? No more going to the store looking for that one
|
||
little six inch cable that works for your modem, and your modem alone,
|
||
just to find out there is one other idiot that bought one of these weird
|
||
type modems, and he bought the ONLY CABLE IN TOWN, not ten minutes
|
||
before you came looking for it... Don't you hate it when that happens?
|
||
Luckily for me, my brother-in-law was the guy that got that cable, but
|
||
the cable was so short that his modem (external, since it needed the
|
||
cable in the first place) had to sit on it's side, behind his computer,
|
||
so he never could hear the noises it made, or read it(s pretty little
|
||
lights to see what it was trying to tell him.
|
||
|
||
Printers! Heh, you could do an entire article on just those (no,
|
||
Mark, I'm not writing that one, grab someone else). Besides my own
|
||
horror stories about trying to get Commodore compatable printers to
|
||
realize they really ARE Commodore compatable, with all the wonderful and
|
||
thoroughly enjoyable cabling that entails, there are the countless tales
|
||
told me by these delightful military wives that keep coming into the PX
|
||
where I work, saying their husbands can't get their printer to print out
|
||
Jr's invitations for all of his friend's to come to his fourth birthday,
|
||
because the printer doesn't work. After admiring their tan for a bit
|
||
(it IS getting warmer down in Lower Alabama, you know), I begin asking
|
||
them questions about which printer they bought, which usually sends them
|
||
to the phone to ask hubby (who was too embarassed to come down himself
|
||
and admit he didn't know what he was doing, which is fine by me, as most
|
||
of the wives are QUITE attractive). Once she finds out what they own,
|
||
we go over to the "Wall of Cables", which remains mostly empty, because
|
||
of the strange stocking policies of military bases, and pick through the
|
||
dozen or so cable types left there. I usually have to send them
|
||
off-base, to some civilian store, since this happens quite alot, and the
|
||
PX only sells four or five different printers. IF we find a cable, she
|
||
thanks me and goes home, if she doesn't, she gets upset and goes home.
|
||
All of this could be avoided if only someone would decide that printers
|
||
should all have THIS plug, and computers should all have THIS one. Then
|
||
we could make millions of the right type of cable, and everyone would be
|
||
happy (except me, of course, since the wives wouldn't have to come into
|
||
the computer section of the PX anymore... <SIGH> ).
|
||
|
||
Anyway, why should there be something like standardization? So
|
||
that setting up your new computer could be as easy as plugging Tab A
|
||
into Slot B. So that when you bought a printer a year later, you could
|
||
buy the right cable for it the first time, instead of trusting the sales
|
||
clerk (who was probably hired yesterday because he's the boss's
|
||
daughter's boyfriend, not because he's smart enough to know what a cable
|
||
is (he thinks it's what he and the boss's daughter watches while waiting
|
||
for the boss to go to bed at night)). So that when you discover the
|
||
wonderful world of telecomputing on your friend's computer, you can rush
|
||
right out and buy yourself a modem, and hook it up right the first time,
|
||
calling out to your first BBS only twenty minutes after you opened the
|
||
box the modem came in, instead of three days later because you can't
|
||
find the right cable anywhere, and when you finally find the one that
|
||
would have worked, it's male, when you needed a female, because the
|
||
modem company changed their design last year without being kind enough
|
||
to tell you about it. That's why we need something like standardization.
|
||
That, and one more very important reason. That, and so that when the
|
||
next person comes over to Mark's house to show him some software, and
|
||
finds out something else has gone wrong with his computer, he doesn't
|
||
have to sit there and spend several hours rebuilding a major component
|
||
before he can show off (the next guy may not be as weird as I am, and
|
||
may not enjoy doing such tedious and normally boring work). That, my
|
||
friends, is why we need standardization.......
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Notes from the Trenches
|
||
by Dean Costello
|
||
|
||
This Month: "Pizza and Coke is a Constitutional Right"
|
||
|
||
I was sitting/lying on my bed, doing some reading, and I got a
|
||
little hungry. That was not in and of itself an unusual event. But when
|
||
I hit the kitchen, I was just thinking about how unusual it was that at
|
||
2am I could just ease into the kitchen and grab something like pizza and
|
||
a coke. Damned good, too.
|
||
|
||
Around these here parts, shopping is kind of unusual. There are
|
||
basically three or four different places to buy food. You can go to a
|
||
7-11 or go take-out, but I don't feel like addressing those points here.
|
||
To shop for food, you go to four places: Giant Food (there are about 5
|
||
within a mile radius of my apartment), Superfresh (the redone Safeway),
|
||
those curious budget joints where you bag your own food, and Magruders.
|
||
I will key on Magruders for the purposes of this discussion.
|
||
|
||
I noted it on one of my drives through the village of Vienna that
|
||
there was a market called Magruders. It struck me as being a local kind
|
||
of joint, and it had the outward signs of looking like one of my
|
||
favorite places in the Western World, Vincents. So, I decided to try it
|
||
out.
|
||
|
||
The parking lot was completely full. After driving around for a
|
||
couple of minutes, a space came open right in front the doors. I
|
||
wandered in to check the place out. I really can't describe the place.
|
||
It was like Bruno's gone terribly awry. Carts all over the place,
|
||
abandoned to their fates by careless operators; aisles so close that two
|
||
cars cannot pass each other, and scads of really angry, surly
|
||
individuals. Very angry glances passed back and forth between
|
||
customers, everyone packing a nasty frown. A very disturbing place, as
|
||
if all of the hackneyed Southern clich<63>s about Northern life have come
|
||
alive in this one place. One example, at the deli counter: The deli
|
||
girl went in the back to get something, like potato salad or artichokes.
|
||
While she was back there, some old bugger started yelling for service. I
|
||
don't mean like Chris Mohney or myself saying, "Hey, is anyone here?"
|
||
kind of thing, but literally bellowing for someone. No one seemed to be
|
||
jumping at an appropriate rate for him, so he walked behind the counter,
|
||
and started yelling into the meat/deli section. A girl came out with a
|
||
bowl of goo, and he started yelling at her, pointing out what a bad
|
||
person she was, she doesn't deserve to work at a supermarket. I mean
|
||
really excoriating the poor girl. She started yelling back. Well, not
|
||
really yelling, but explaining forceably. The old bugger got his tuna
|
||
salad, and shambled off, mumbling something about how the whole
|
||
generation is going to hell in a handbasket. The girl seemed upset by
|
||
the exchange, so I went up to her and said, "If you let maggots like
|
||
that bother you, you'll die. Just think about what his home life must
|
||
be like." She seemed slighty amused, and I wandered off, knowing I had
|
||
done a good deed for a change.
|
||
|
||
It was, on the whole, a very confusing experience. Everyone
|
||
scowling at everyone else, people ramming others' carts, yelling at each
|
||
other, blowing horns at each other in the parking lot (as I left the
|
||
store, there were a couple of people in their cars out front waiting for
|
||
others. For some reason, the second person in line just starting
|
||
blowing her horn, and others joined in. The person in the first car
|
||
flipped the others off, they started blowing their horns more).
|
||
|
||
I can't figure this shit out. While I'm at it, here is a special
|
||
extra summer installment:
|
||
|
||
|
||
Notes from the Trenches
|
||
by me
|
||
|
||
Also This Month: "What's your Beef, Dean?"
|
||
|
||
As you, my more-or-less Faithful Reader, have noticed, I usually
|
||
have some complaint or another. My brother, Scott the Nazi, when he
|
||
sees me after a while, and we get the huggin' and kissin' out of the
|
||
way, steps back and says, "So Dean, what's your beef?". Imagine my shock
|
||
when I discovered a couple of weeks ago that it was merely a Letterman
|
||
sketch with Jay Leno. Anyway...
|
||
|
||
-The cost of burritos at the D.C. area Taco Bell ($.69), assuming
|
||
you can find one.
|
||
-Neighbors that like rap/soul music, and feel it is their duty in
|
||
life to make sure as many people as possible get the opportunity
|
||
to experience it, so that they also can appreciate their music.
|
||
-BBS in D.C. It is a rare bird indeed that you don't have to pay
|
||
money (and a lot of it) to get a reasonable amount of time.
|
||
-The immense quantity of paper necessary for getting things
|
||
accomplished with EPA.
|
||
-The incredible traffic.
|
||
-Lack of good supermarkets. Everything in this region is like a
|
||
cut-rate Bruno's. Things are arranged in a very spastic manner,
|
||
there is a lack of important things, and none of them are open
|
||
after 11pm.
|
||
-Discovery that a teenager that I was counseling has gone beyond
|
||
drug use and suicide, and is now a dealer.
|
||
-The unbelievable traffic.
|
||
-The fact that there is a lot of things to do/see in the D.C.
|
||
area, but because of all the damned cars, one doesn't want to go
|
||
anywhere. For example, traffic here is like the 280 commute back
|
||
to Shelby county at 5:00 EVERY DAY, ALL OF THE TIME.
|
||
-The cable system here costs about $12/month, and it has something
|
||
like 80-90 channels, plus HBO, Cinemax, etc., etc. But damned if
|
||
most of the channels are off the air, advertising "Pay-Per-View"
|
||
events and some such. However, there is a channel that is
|
||
devoted to only flight schedules from Dulles airport.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Hell, I don't care anymore. Don't blame me, I just work here and
|
||
make incredible amounts of money.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
ProFile
|
||
by Chris Mohney
|
||
|
||
The ProFile is a short, half-serious biographical sketch given to
|
||
various computer telecommunications personalities around Birmingham.
|
||
Victims are selected randomly from a group of names put into the
|
||
notorious Hat. Anyone who thinks himself brave or witty enough may
|
||
petition for admittance to the Hat by leaving E-Mail to me (Chris
|
||
Mohney, most boards around town) to that effect. Anyone who wishes to
|
||
suggest more questions or sneakily nominate someone without their
|
||
knowledge may take the same route....
|
||
|
||
---------
|
||
|
||
Pro File on ROBERT BROOME
|
||
|
||
---------
|
||
|
||
|
||
Age: 29
|
||
|
||
Birthplace: Labor Room of some Hospital
|
||
|
||
Occupation: Contractor
|
||
|
||
My hobbies include: Reading, Photography, SCUBA and driving my wife to
|
||
drink.
|
||
|
||
Years telecomputing: 10
|
||
|
||
Sysop, past/present/future of: Bloom County BBS (present is all that
|
||
counts eh?)
|
||
|
||
My oddest habit is: Standing on my head in the shower
|
||
|
||
My greatest unfulfilled ambition is: To move to Florida and become a
|
||
beach bum.
|
||
|
||
The single accomplishment of which I am most proud is:
|
||
My 3 children, Sara, Stephanie and Amanda. (Bloom County is
|
||
probably next in line tho)
|
||
|
||
My favorite performers are: Mel Gibson, Stephen Segal
|
||
|
||
The last good movie I saw was: Jungle Book (Remember the kids??)
|
||
|
||
The last good book I read was: The Hornet's Nest and Under Siege
|
||
|
||
If they were making a movie of my life, I'd like to see my part played
|
||
by: Baloo the Bear (Jungle Book)
|
||
|
||
My pet peeves are: People who bitch about smoking and busy signals
|
||
|
||
When nobody's looking, I like to: Transmogrify myself into a house plant
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Colby's Summer Excitement
|
||
by Colby Gibson
|
||
|
||
As I sit in front of this terminal, I have a hard time realizing
|
||
the inevitable! The summer is going faster than expected, and even
|
||
though I write this article in the week after BTN 38 goes out, I know
|
||
that when publication hits, the summer will be TWO THIRDS over. Now,
|
||
what shall I do with August? I could sit atop a flagpole perhaps..
|
||
|
||
I should go and visit my father. He lives in the fly infested city
|
||
of Gulfport, Miss. I could then spend days dodging flies as big as my
|
||
hand and blowing away raccoons that are bigger than my dog. There would
|
||
be the perks, though. Watching the dude at the lake with the jetski
|
||
crash into another dock. Hehehe, it was pretty funny when he did it the
|
||
first time.... Flew about 50 feet... Good food, too. Shrimp and other
|
||
ocean crustaceans are very cheap on the gulf coast and fish is very
|
||
plentiful. I could meander over to New Orleans in the middle of the
|
||
night and *pray* to sneak into a club. Lot of good that would do me, of
|
||
course. Although legal driving age in that state is 15, drinking age
|
||
isn't and I would probably get carded and with that Alabama permit, get
|
||
THROWN OUT. My dad is an excellent cook. Although food is not the issue
|
||
here, it will be good to round out the first week in August there with a
|
||
good meal.
|
||
|
||
I should stay home for the rest of August. I might leave the house,
|
||
and travel via bicycle through the run down backroads to the river, and
|
||
lounge there for several hours. It's good, fresh breezes, cool water,
|
||
toxic waste such as needles and stuff floating past... I could fish,
|
||
too, provided I have a fishing pole.
|
||
|
||
Spanning the river here in Trussville lies one of the massive train
|
||
trestles that you see in the movies, and yes, such as Stand By Me. I
|
||
could go out into the middle, attach an elastic cord and jump off. It
|
||
wouldn't be very smart, however, because the water under that tressel is
|
||
only a foot deep and full of sharp, pointy rocks. I could court a
|
||
train, and jump onto a maintenance platform at the last minute. Yeah,
|
||
that's it.
|
||
|
||
Some of the backroads in Trussville are also gifted with dirt
|
||
roads. One of which I had the fortune to follow for an hour today. They
|
||
aren't the most pleasant things, rocks and stuff all over the place
|
||
making it hard to ride on a bike. But, I managed it, and I followed it
|
||
approximately half a mile until it forked.
|
||
|
||
I hate this. I have to like draw arrows in the dirt to show passage
|
||
and hope to hell that it doesn't rain. Just kidding. It forked once and
|
||
it was down to the river....
|
||
|
||
I could spend several backbreaking hours picking blackberries along
|
||
that same stretch of track. I would then hand them over to the Granny
|
||
who makes them into jelly, which Maisel has had the opportunity to
|
||
devour a jarful. Of course, getting rid of the flies and mosquitoes that
|
||
fly all over the place isn't one of the best things in the world. I will
|
||
also need to look out for ants. I stepped in a pile the last time I
|
||
picked those dumb things and my foot swelled the size of my power
|
||
supply.
|
||
|
||
The Cahaba Valley Country Club is a wonderful place to retire for
|
||
the afternoon. Within bicycle distance of the house, this golf course
|
||
provides the perfect thing to do in the afternoon. Just bypass the first
|
||
couple of holes and start playing. You can get in an afternoon's worth
|
||
of golf for free. Golf carts are extra, because stealing one isn't easy.
|
||
|
||
Cahaba Valley CC does have a swimming pool and two tennis courts,
|
||
which aren't the grass kind we see in Wimbledon. Although they aren't
|
||
kept up to the biggest degree, if you have a friend you can go down
|
||
there and chase a fuzzy yellow ball with a fumbly racket all afternoon
|
||
if you wish. For free even!
|
||
|
||
The pool, however, is kept up. There is also security to bypass, if
|
||
you could call it that. You should pay to enter it, but If you tell them
|
||
that your parents are members they'll let you right in. Then you can
|
||
spend the afternoon amist cool water or on a deck chair soaking up the
|
||
cancer causing sun.
|
||
|
||
If that doesn't work, I could sneak down to Camp Coleman and snag a
|
||
canoe early one morning. Although the Cahaba isn't the DEEPEST river in
|
||
the world, it does have a calming atmosphere. I could float down it all
|
||
morning and all afternoon, then ditch the canoe. Of course, the Camp
|
||
might get kind of upset, so I'll steer clear of that.
|
||
|
||
There is a nice place down by the river where one might choose to
|
||
camp for the evening. There is also a convenient swimming place right
|
||
down the hill from it. The Cahaba can also yield dinner, provided you
|
||
have the proper equipment. Given several cans of bug repellent and clear
|
||
skies, a campfire sing-a-long might even be in order.
|
||
|
||
Trussville is also in riding distance from out here in the sticks,
|
||
so to speak. One might go into Trussville and retire to the Subway shop
|
||
for a nice lunch. Then you can cruise across the road for a nice day of
|
||
bowling in the 10 lane Cahaba Bowl place. If that doesn't cook your
|
||
bacon, you could go down to the Middle school which has tennis courts
|
||
that are in slightly better condition that CVCC. It also has a track
|
||
that you could run around, and all of it is absolutely free.
|
||
|
||
If you are in need of a coke, don't get it from Subway. There's a
|
||
Food Fair right across the parking lot, and one can obtain a 3 liter
|
||
deal for the same price as a large 30 oz Subway drink, etc.
|
||
|
||
Should I prove brave, I could run the gauntlet down Main Street and
|
||
out under 459. Past that, and Into Roebuck and Centerpoint. Many, many
|
||
wonderful things await one there, especially a K-mart and a Wal-mart
|
||
that aren't offered in Trussville, but since I have no intention of
|
||
getting peeled off the road by a paramedic team, I'll stay in Trussville
|
||
for a while...
|
||
|
||
Since Trussville is also a haven for farmers and their cow
|
||
pastures, provided that one is willing to stay awake to the wee hours of
|
||
the morning, you can go and tip cows. This does tend to piss farmers
|
||
off, and that 12 gauge barrel pointed at your face might attest to it.
|
||
|
||
Obtain a friend and a pair of wire cutters. Approach the pasture
|
||
and with the friend cut a hole big enough for you and the friend to
|
||
enter the pasture. Then, dodging cow plops, make your way toward some
|
||
cows. Some of them may be laying down, but some do fall asleep while
|
||
standing. THEY are your target.
|
||
|
||
Approach the sleeping cow silently, and position yourself at the
|
||
neck and the other at the hind section, for these animals tend to weigh
|
||
a nice poundage. Then, all at once, push forward really hard. The cow
|
||
should not even notice. It will fall over and hit the ground with a
|
||
sickening THUD!!! It will then awake, do something really undescribable,
|
||
such as start convulsing, and run off. Great fun, especially when your
|
||
time is out on The MATRIX.
|
||
|
||
Another thing to do is just sit down in the pasture for a few
|
||
minutes. Not on a plop, however -- watch where you sit. Listen. Some
|
||
very strange "natural" sounds may come to life. I shall leave this to
|
||
you to decide upon, but if you are easily nauseous, don't go.
|
||
|
||
Warning: Farmers tend to be scared and pissed off very easily,
|
||
especially when they think that the invisible "no tresspassing" sign has
|
||
been violated. Be sure to wear thick clothing because when high velocity
|
||
rock salt hits skin, it stings, burns, and just plain hurts. Badly.
|
||
|
||
Although no curfew is in order for Trussville citizens, you MAY
|
||
choose to roll a house or two, but I don't recommend it. The fine is 50
|
||
cents a sheet, I think, and when there are 500 sheets on a roll and you
|
||
use 5 rolls, that comes to $1250. Quite a fine.
|
||
|
||
The nighttime entertainment for Trussville is nil. One must venture
|
||
to ye olde Festival Center for a movie, or to Century for a mall visit,
|
||
for there are not such things in Trussville. Yet, at least. For 20 years
|
||
or so.
|
||
|
||
I will round out this article by saying that there are many
|
||
activities that one might engage in when such "technological"
|
||
entertainment is limited or nil. By the way, did I tell you that my
|
||
drives just broke?
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
SIG's (Special Interest Groups), Computer Related
|
||
-------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
BEPCUG CCS
|
||
Birmingham East PC Users Group Commodore Club South
|
||
Jefferson Sate Jr. College Springville Road Library
|
||
Ruby Carson Hall, Rm 114 2nd & 4th Tuesday (C64/C128)
|
||
3rd Friday, 7-9 PM 3rd Monday (Amiga)
|
||
Paula Ballard 251-6058 (after 5PM) 7:30-10 PM
|
||
|
||
BCCC BIPUG
|
||
Birmingham Commodore Computer Club Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group
|
||
POB 59564 UAB Nutrition Science Blg
|
||
Birmingham, Al 35259 RM 535/541
|
||
UAB School of Education, Rm 153 1st Sunday (delayed one week
|
||
2nd and 4th Sundays, 2 PM if meeting is a holiday)
|
||
Rusty Hargett 854-5172 Marty Schulman 967-5883
|
||
|
||
BACE FAOUG
|
||
Birmingham Atari Computer First Alabama Osborne Users
|
||
Enthusiast Group
|
||
Vestavia Library, downstairs Homewood Library
|
||
2nd Monday, 7 PM 1st Saturday, 1PM
|
||
Benny Brown 822-5059 Ed Purquez 669-5200
|
||
|
||
CADUB
|
||
CAD Users of Birmingham
|
||
Homewood Library
|
||
3rd Tuesday, 6:30PM-8:30PM
|
||
Bobby Benson 791-0426
|
||
|
||
SIG's, Non-Computer Related
|
||
---------------------------
|
||
|
||
BBC Birmingham Astronomy Club
|
||
Blue Box Companions Subject: Astronomy
|
||
Subject: Dr. Who Red Mountain Museum Annex
|
||
Hoover Library 4th Tuesday, 7:30PM
|
||
1st Saturday, 2PM-5PM
|
||
|
||
If you belong to or know of a user group that is not listed,
|
||
please let us know by sending E-Mail to Barry Bowden on
|
||
The Matrix BBS.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Known BBS Numbers For The Birmingham Area
|
||
|
||
NAME NUMBER BAUD RATES MODEM BBS SOFTWARE
|
||
SUPPORTED TYPE
|
||
|
||
* Abject Poverty 680-9680 300-2400 ProLogon/Prodoor
|
||
* Alter-Ego BBS 925-0707 300-2400 MNP4 ProLogon/ProDoor
|
||
* American BBS 674-1851 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
Amiga Alliance ][ 631-0262 300-2400 Ami Express
|
||
^ Arkham Asylum 853-7422 300-2400 WWIV 4.12
|
||
&)* Bloom County 856-0587 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
-* Bus System 595-1627 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2
|
||
*% Byte Me! 979-BYTE! 2400-9600 USR HST WWIV 4.12
|
||
CM(ee) BBS Node 1 655-4059 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
CM(ee) BBS Node 2 655-4065 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
|
||
Camelot BBS 856-0679 300-2400 Telegard 2.5
|
||
-*# Channel 8250 Node 1 744-8546 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
-*# Channel 8250 Node 2 744-5166 300-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.5
|
||
* Crunchy Frog Node 1 956-1755 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
* Crunchy Frog Node 2 956-0073 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
DataLynx 322-3425 300-2400 Oracomm5.L.30
|
||
Disktop Publishing BBS 854-1660 300-2400 MNP4 Wildcat! 2.55s
|
||
FM Station 680-9772 1200-2400 WWIV 4.12
|
||
Graphics Zone Node 1 870-5306 300-9600 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16)
|
||
Graphics Zone Node 2 870-5329 300-9600 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16)
|
||
Hacker's Corner 674-5449 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
Hardeman's BBS 640-6436 1200-2400 Wildcat! 2.55s
|
||
-* Joker's Castle 664-5589 300-2400 MNP4 PC Board 14.5
|
||
@ K-9 Corner 424-8202 300-2400 Image 1.2
|
||
*& Little Kingdom Node 1 969-0007 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
*& Little Kingdom Node 2 969-0008 300-2400 MNP4 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
Long Island 631-0184 300-2400 ???????
|
||
* Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.2
|
||
Martrydom Again?! 491-BURN 1200-2400 WWIV 4.12
|
||
@ Missing Link 853-1257 300-2400 Image1.2
|
||
^ Myth Drannor 699-5811 1200-2400 MNP4 WWIV 4.11
|
||
Outside It's America 951-2473 1200-2400 MNP4 Vortek 1.48
|
||
Owlabama BBS 833-8345 300-2400 WWIV 4.12
|
||
Owl's Nest 680-0851 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
Paradise City 853-1439 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
PC Echange Link 663-2759 300-9600 USR DS QuickBBS 2.04
|
||
+ Programmer's Shack 871-3356 300-9600 USR HST Telegard 2.5i
|
||
* Radio Free Troad 979-6183 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
Safe Harbor 665-4355 300-9600 USR DS GTPower 15.00
|
||
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300-9600 Hayes PCBoard 14.5
|
||
* ST BBS 836-9311 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2
|
||
Strattosphere 833-7612 1200-2400 WWIV 4.12
|
||
The Commodore Zone 856-3783 300-2400 Image1.2
|
||
The Connection Node 1 854-9074 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
The Connection Node 2 854-2308 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
The Connection Node 3 854-0698 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
^ The Dragon's Hoard 833-3790 300-2400 WWIV 4.12
|
||
^ The Edge of Oblivion 520-0230 300-2400 WWIV 4.11
|
||
The Madhouse! 428-3061 300-9600 USR V.32 Telegard 2.5i
|
||
-*!$(The Matrix Nodes 1-4 323-2016 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
-*!$(The Matrix Node 5 251-2344 2400-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
-*!$(The Matrix Node 6 323-0799 2400-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
+ The Outer Limits 985-1725 1200-9600 USR HST Ultra BBS ?.??
|
||
The Quiet Zone 833-2066 300-2400 ExpressNET
|
||
+ The Round Table 938-2145 300-2400 Telegard 2.5i
|
||
The Word 833-2831 300-2400 WWIV 4.12
|
||
Victory Express 425-0821 300-1200 Image 1.2
|
||
Willie's DYM Node 1 979-1629 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
Willie's DYM Node 2 979-7739 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
Willie's DYM Node 3 979-7743 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
|
||
Willie's DYM Node 4 979-8156 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
|
||
Ziggy Unaxess 991-5696 300-1200 Unaxess
|
||
|
||
The many symbols you see prior to the names of many of the bbs' in the
|
||
list signify that they are members of one or more networks that exchange
|
||
or echo mail to each other in some organized fashion.
|
||
|
||
* = EzNet, a local IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
@ = Image network, a national Commodore network
|
||
|
||
+ = FidoNet, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
- = Metrolink, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
^ = WWIV-Net, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
& = Intellec, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
# = Uni'Net, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
% = ThrobNet, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
! = RastaNet, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
$ = ILink, an international IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
( = TheoNet, a national IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
) = USNetMail, a national IBM compatible network
|
||
|
||
If you have any corrections, additions, deletions, etc., please let us
|
||
know via EzNet.
|