2283 lines
105 KiB
Plaintext
2283 lines
105 KiB
Plaintext
ÞÛÛÝ° ÜÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÜÛÛÛÛÛÜ
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ÛÛ° ÛÛ°°°°° ÛÛÜÜÜÜ° ÛÛÛÜ ÛÛ° ÛÛÜÜÜÜ° ÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÛÛ°°°°°
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ÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÛÛßßßß° ÛÛßÛÛÛÛ° ÛÛßßßß° ÛÛ° Ü ÛÛ° ßÛÛÛÛÛÜ
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ÞÛÛÝ° ßÛÛÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛ° ÛÛ° ßÛÛ° ßÛÛÛÛÛÛ° ÛÛÜÛÛÛÜÛÛ° °°°°ÛÛ°
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ÛÛ° ÛÛ°°° ÛÛ°ÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÛÛ° ÛÛ°ÛÛ°° ßÛÛß ßÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛß
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ÞÝ° ÞÝ° ÞÝ°ÞÝ° ÞÝ° Þ° ÞÝ°ÞÝ° ÞÝ° Þ° ÞÝ°Þ°
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Ý° Þ° Ý° Þ° Ý° Þ° Þ°
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The Journal of IceNET June 1995
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³The Editor's Desk ³
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³ The Upper Registers Will 1@6754 ³
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³ ³
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³IceNEWS Op-Ed Forum ³
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³ Computer Illiteracy Deacon Blues 2@7653 ³
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||
³ The Future of Computing Will 1@6754 ³
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||
³ ³
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³Features ³
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³ Let's Get Together: Starting BBS Events Louie ³
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³ WWIV Goes to School Chris 1@7668 ³ ³
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³ ³
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³Software/Programming ³
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³ Artificial Intelligence Louie x@xxxx ³
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³ Archivers: Which One is Best? Papa Bear 1@5079 ³
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³ Tips on Soundblaster Programming Odieman 949@2132 WWIVnet ³
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³ ³
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³Light Bytes ³
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||
³ SysGods: Sysops With an Attitude Deacon Blues 2@7653 ³
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³ ³
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³Special Feature ³
|
||
³ The WWIVnet Technical ³
|
||
³ Documentation (4/4) Midnight Tree Bandit 1@8411 ³
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ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
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³ IceNEWS Staff For June 1995 ³
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³ ³
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³ "...Winners of the 1994 WWIVcon Award for Electronic News" ³
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³ ³
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³ IceNEWS Publisher - Jim 1@1 ³
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||
³ IceNEWS Editor-In-Chief - Will 1@6754 ³
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³ ³
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ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
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³ IceNEWS is always seeking submissions from the electronic ³
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³ community. If you have an idea for a story, contact one ³
|
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³ of the addresses above, or see the end of this file ³
|
||
³ to find out more ways to get in contact with IceNEWS. ³
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
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|
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|
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|
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ E D I T O R ' S D E S K ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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|
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ The Upper Registers ³ by Will 1@6754
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
Hello all, and welcome back to IceNEWS! We return this month
|
||
our hiatus with something a little different. Things are changing, and
|
||
we're changing with them. With any luck, you'll like the changes.
|
||
|
||
IceNEWS is a group effort, and it's an entirely volunteer
|
||
operation. Almost every story is a freelance submission from people in
|
||
the telecommunications world, BBS sysops and users. For those just
|
||
joining us, a little history; IceNEWS was founded several years ago as
|
||
the newsletter of IceNET, a network of computer bulletin boards running
|
||
the WWIV software. Most of our readers still get IceNEWS over IceNET,
|
||
and obviously the name reflects our origin.
|
||
|
||
Starting this issue, we're breaking new ground, and expanding
|
||
outwards. IceNEWS is still, and always will be, available over IceNET.
|
||
But now we're also available via the Internet - on newsgroups such as
|
||
comp.bbs.misc, from our mailing list (see the end of the issue), and
|
||
over the WorldWide Web, at http://www.tiac.net/users/wcrawfor/icenews/
|
||
where you'll find a full hypertext version.
|
||
|
||
Despite this expansion (and it does mean that we go from
|
||
thousands of potential readers to millions), we're keeping content the
|
||
same. IceNEWS will continue to feature articles on the technical,
|
||
personal, and humorous sides of the BBS world. To kick off our
|
||
expansion, we're looking back at a year's worth of IceNEWS, starting
|
||
when IceNEWS was reorganized in December 1993.
|
||
|
||
Enjoy!
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
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³ The IceNEWS Op/Ed Forum - "Computer Literacy" ³ by Deacon Blues 2@7653
|
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
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|
||
"Now repeat after me... Random Access Memory... ROM... BIOS..."
|
||
-- commercial for Compaq computers --
|
||
|
||
How computer literate are we? Well, if you had enough knowledge to set up
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||
a BBS, join a network and maintain a connect, and look in your data files for
|
||
this publication, you're more computer literate than the average person. Trust
|
||
me on this. Over the course of this past winter, I found out first hand for
|
||
myself just how computer literate (or illiterate, as this case may be) some of
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||
today's high school grads really are.
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||
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||
I'm a student at a local business institute and part of my curriculum
|
||
included a requisite class on introductory computer concepts. What the school
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||
considered "introductory" was learning how to use DOS and an integrated
|
||
software package that included spreadsheet, database, word processing, and
|
||
graphing programs. Now I'm no computer whiz myself, but even I was not
|
||
intimidated by the course outline for the class.
|
||
|
||
At the start of the semester, there were a total of 28 students in the
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||
class representing curricula such as Secretarial, Medical Secretarial,
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||
Business Management, Computer Systems Management, Travel & Tourism Management
|
||
(my field), and Electronic Technology. The machines in our lab were old 8088s
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||
that were not networked and had no hard drives; they all booted off of the
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||
5.25 low density floppy a: drive. This is where the fun began.
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||
|
||
Out of the 28 class students, 5 (including myself _and_ the teacher) had
|
||
previous computer experience and 2 (excluding myself and the teacher) owned a
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||
computer at home. When these 2 were asked how much they knew about the
|
||
operations of their machines both replied that they knew little. They had
|
||
bought "package deals" which had come complete with pre-loaded software. All
|
||
they knew was that they turned the power switch on and the thing worked.
|
||
|
||
Neither knew how to actually install a program or what a directory
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||
listing looked like (in fact, they didn't even know what a directory was). In
|
||
short, these people did not know a game port from an airport.
|
||
|
||
The teacher was ready to slap himself in the head as neither him nor I
|
||
had ever seen a room full of so many people who knew so little about
|
||
computers. Being a cosysop and having experience with computer illiterate
|
||
newbies from my BBS dealings, I immediately identified with the plight the
|
||
teacher was facing and offered any help I could give him. No matter what this
|
||
guy said to the other students and how he simplified things he might as well
|
||
have been speaking Greek to 90% of the class.
|
||
|
||
At the end of the very first class nearly everyone's heads were visibly
|
||
spinning (I swear, some students actually appeared to stagger out of the class
|
||
disoriented and glassy-eyed) and about all the teacher did was to go over
|
||
simple components (like disk drives, CPUs, peripherals, etc.) and try to
|
||
explain what an operating system (DOS) was and touch on some simple commands
|
||
(like DIR). The next time the class met, 4 people had dropped the course and
|
||
the teacher decided to put off teaching DOS for the moment and try to teach
|
||
the integrated software instead as at least some of the people had some
|
||
experience or base knowledge of one of the integrated programs.
|
||
|
||
The next time the class met, the teacher gave everyone a DOS disk and had
|
||
everyone load it up. He then had everyone type the directory listing command
|
||
to show them what one looked like. Then he had us load in the integrated
|
||
software. He told everyone that in order to use the programs they would need
|
||
to load DOS first, then load the integrated software.
|
||
|
||
For about 9 of the next 12 weeks, about half of the students continued to
|
||
take the teacher literally, thinking that they must not only load DOS but do a
|
||
DIR as well before they could insert and load the integrated software. About a
|
||
quarter of the remainder failed to grasp the concept of loading DOS before
|
||
attempting to load their other software and cries of "Mr. Sparks, what's wrong
|
||
with my machine?" were a regular event. By mid-term, the size of the class had
|
||
dwindled to 14 students.
|
||
|
||
As the weeks rolled by and I alternated between burning through my class
|
||
exercises and running around helping the teacher deal with the remaining
|
||
dunderheads who couldn't understand why you can't insert letters in a numeric
|
||
data field, I came to the dawning realization that the more the world turns
|
||
toward computer technology, the deeper of a hole this country's work force is
|
||
going to be in. These students were all high school graduates and all from
|
||
fields of study that rely heavily on the daily use of computers in some way,
|
||
shape, or form and they were wallowing miserably in about the most basic and
|
||
simple computer class you could get. It was time for my head to spin now.
|
||
|
||
Oh, by the way, we never did learn about DOS. It had taken everyone the
|
||
entire 12 weeks of the class (which met twice a week for sessions lasting one
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||
hour and fifty minutes) to get through their assignments on the four basic
|
||
integrated software programs and the teacher ran out of time. Two people were
|
||
even still working on old assignments the class before the final exam while
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||
the teacher was giving a final review. For the last class, 9 people (myself
|
||
included) showed up to take the final exam. Nine out of an original 28
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||
students.
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||
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||
In case you're wondering, everyone who took the final passed (it was joke
|
||
simple, a rehash of 4 previous assignments). Those who dropped the class
|
||
avoided nothing as it's a requisite, so they only delayed the inevitable and
|
||
passed up on having a class with an incredibly easy-going and undemanding
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||
teacher. I hope they all get into a class taught by a real stiffy.
|
||
|
||
My whole point to this rambling is that it is very clear (at least, to
|
||
me) that computer training must become a requisite course at the high school
|
||
level, if not earlier. Otherwise, I feel that the fiasco that I witnessed at
|
||
the collegiate level will become a more common and unfortunate occurrence.As I
|
||
alluded to before, I'm no computer genius and I got through the class alive
|
||
and passed the final. To think that there are people who are fresh out of high
|
||
school (I've been out for nearly 15 years now) and couldn't cope with a
|
||
simpleton class is scary. Real scary.
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ The Future of Computing ³ Will (1@6754)
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
Every few months, people get together and try to figure out what the
|
||
computing scene will look like five, ten, or fifteen years down the line.
|
||
Often these are wild guesses, flagrantly optimistic or too narrow-sighted and
|
||
pessimistic. A committee under President Johnson was told to come up with an
|
||
idea of what computing would be like in the year 2000. Everything they
|
||
predicted had occured by the mid 1970s. Arthur C. Clarke, a science visionary
|
||
if there ever was one, overshot the direction of AI (in 2001) and understated
|
||
it as well (in some of his novels, he predicted that punch cards would still
|
||
prevail in 100 years).
|
||
|
||
The mid 1990s is certainly a turbulent time, with platforms, chips, and
|
||
operating systems all jostling for a top position, and nobody is really quite
|
||
sure what will come out on top in the end. However, computer technology is
|
||
begining to settle into a pattern and trends appear which make long range
|
||
predictions easier. While things are still murky, many technological
|
||
developments of the next five to ten years can be seen through the haze.
|
||
|
||
Hard disk capacities will double, triple, and finally increase up to
|
||
50 times over the next five years, with no real change in cost. Two new
|
||
technologies will make this possible. The first involves using DAC chips
|
||
(Digital Audio Converter, more on them later) to filter data "noise" from the
|
||
hard disk. This will allow information to be packed much more tightly on the
|
||
disk platter without additional miniaturization costs. The second scheme,
|
||
which may bear even more potential, involves changing the orientation of the
|
||
recording medium on the disk platter to allow a much tighter density of
|
||
information.
|
||
|
||
Crystal Lattice memory may also come into its own for storage, pehaps by
|
||
the year 2000, perhaps later. This involves using a laser to store data in
|
||
"cells" a few dozen atoms across in pieces of special crystal. While current
|
||
working models only store a few dozen bits of memory, this technology has the
|
||
potential to cram terrabytes of memory into a recording media not much larger
|
||
than a marble.
|
||
|
||
The chip wars will continue for a few more years, the eventual winner
|
||
still indeterminite. IBM, and Apple especially, are betting the farm on the
|
||
success of the PowerPC RISC chip. Intel has a lot to lose if PowerPC catches
|
||
on, so they'll continue to step up R&D and solve the cooling problems of the
|
||
latest generations of Pentiums and above (Intel recently demoed a Pentium DX4.
|
||
While capable of hundreds of MIPS, the machine needed liquid cooling).
|
||
Machines using liquid nitrogen cooling might become popular if the chips can't
|
||
be made to run at a lower temperature.
|
||
|
||
If IBM and Motorolla can release the PowerPC 620 chip on schedule, and
|
||
announce even more advanced versions, they have a good chance of prevailing.
|
||
Rumors are that IBM plans to incorporate some 486 compatible circuits onto the
|
||
next generation of PowerPC, helping end the copmatibilty problems. The other
|
||
RISC manufactures, such as MIPS (makers of the R4000 chip used in Silicon
|
||
Graphics workstations, among other strong RISC machines) aren't going to toss
|
||
in the towel, so there's still the possibility of a "Dark Horse" canidate.
|
||
|
||
Who wins the chip war really depends on who wins the Operating System
|
||
War. Which chip is "in" use might become quite irrelevant if Microsoft and/or
|
||
IBM get the multi-platform versions of Windows NT and OS/2 out the door on
|
||
time. Part of Microsoft's master plan includes versions of Windows NT, which
|
||
should be able -- with minimal effort -- to run all Windows NT apps, period,
|
||
making proccessor type irrelevant. If they can improve the emulation of 80x86
|
||
programs, they might manage to do just that. If IBM wins big with OS/2, then
|
||
the PowerPC will have a definite advantage. Of course, the product under
|
||
development by the IBM/Apple join venture Talligent may change all of that.
|
||
|
||
Audio subsystems will become standard equipment on almost all new
|
||
machines, perhaps to the level of common motherboard interfaces. The DAC chips
|
||
that are becoming very popular allow customized data proccessing that allows
|
||
the sound elements to be turned to various uses. Soft modems, such as those
|
||
found on the AV Macintoshes and available from a few PC vendors, will become
|
||
increasingly popular because they can easily be upgraded with software and
|
||
double as an audio system. They'll gradually replace conventional modems. With
|
||
the advent of enhanced telecommunications environments (the so-called
|
||
Information Superhighway), the picture might change again, with direct ISDN
|
||
links replacing modems in many applications.
|
||
|
||
There's a lot going on in the PC world, and the next few years and months
|
||
are going to be very interesting.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
In May, 1994, ex-IceNEWS Contributing Editor Louie gave us a piece
|
||
on organizing BBS get-togethers, which spawned dozens across the country:
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ Let's Get Together: Starting BBS Events ³ Louie (6@1)
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
Summer time is just around the corner. That means nice weather is almost
|
||
upon us. Time to start thinking of the summer's BBS Events. What's that? Your
|
||
area doesn't have BBS gatherings? Well, that is a shame. BBSers should all get
|
||
together every now and again just so we remember we are all real people at the
|
||
other end of the modem and not just some weird Artificial Intelligence
|
||
Projects (or lack thereof).
|
||
|
||
GETTING TOGETHER
|
||
|
||
In the 716 area code where I am from, BBS Events are a long-held
|
||
tradition. I have been BBSing for five and one-half years now and within the
|
||
first few months of my being involved, I had gone to a Kingdom of Renjevyick
|
||
Picnic. The Kingdom was a great board from WNY BBS history that now is a dead
|
||
phone line in the sky. But I remember all the folks I met at that picnic. It
|
||
was a great time for everybody.
|
||
|
||
Other picnics were held that year. I went to them all. I met lots of fun
|
||
people that year. Rebo, Perseus, Pillsbury Dough Boy, The Piper, Jammin' Joe,
|
||
Pirate, Eh ???/Zenith, IBM Monk, Far Side, etc. etc. I met a lot of fun people
|
||
that summer. Some of them have become close friends, others became friends for
|
||
a while until we drifted apart. Others I haven't seen since, but I remember
|
||
then with fondness.
|
||
|
||
In 716 the picnics evolved away from one board events into Western New
|
||
York All BBS Events. We try to involve all boards in the area in the Picnics,
|
||
Wing Dings, and other events.
|
||
|
||
WHAT TO GET TOGETHER FOR
|
||
|
||
Many types of events have occurred in Western New York. We have had our
|
||
Picnics, Pizza-Movie Events, Winterfests, THITs, Splatball, house parties, and
|
||
"Wing Dings" (our Crown Jewel of BBS events).
|
||
|
||
WING DINGS
|
||
|
||
Wing Dings came about the year after I first got involved in BBSing.
|
||
Buffalo is famous for Chicken Wings around the nation. Well, on the Kingdom of
|
||
Renjevyick and The Far Side (two boards both defunct now), a small band of us
|
||
got to talking about who could eat the most HOT Chicken Wings. All of us,
|
||
being the great HE-MEN we liked to think we were, started to brag about eating
|
||
hot wings. (I know, we seem to have been rather stupid. I don't deny it.)
|
||
|
||
Well, Perseus got to telling us all about some really really HOT wings
|
||
you could get at some local bar in Depew (a small village just outside of
|
||
Buffalo). We all claimed we could eat 20 wings at this place Perseus told us
|
||
about. It was a small hole-in-the wall bar called "Sal's." Naturally, Perseus
|
||
- being the intelligent one among us (and having tried to eat a Sal's Wing in
|
||
the past) - dared us all to show up at Sal's and try eating one, let alone 20.
|
||
|
||
Seven brave putzoids took the "Sal's Suicide Challenge," as it has since
|
||
been called. The brave adventures were : Perseus, Rebo, David C. (who has
|
||
since changed his handle to The Wizard), Gordon Sumner (who has since wandered
|
||
away from WNY BBSing), John Hardball, The Pillsbury Dough Boy, and myself.
|
||
|
||
Due to a mix-up, only one of us got the "Suicidal" wings. That person was
|
||
myself (oh, lucky me). I managed to eat 8 of those Hellish things. I have
|
||
never tried to eat another one since. I know when I have met my limits.
|
||
|
||
It was a fun time for the seven of us. We went back to PDB's and
|
||
goofed-off there for a couple of hours and then we all broke up again. We
|
||
talked about the "event from hell" on KOR and Far Side and others took an
|
||
interest in what we were talking about. They, like we had originally, thought
|
||
there wasn't a hot chicken wing they could not master. Little did they know...
|
||
|
||
We decided to hold a Second Wing Ding at Sal's. About 20-odd folks showed
|
||
up for Part Two. Among those that turned out for the second hellish experience
|
||
were Kilometers, The Piper, Jammin' Joe, Zot, Swashbuckler, Eh ???, Pirate,
|
||
etc. etc., as well as the original seven of us.
|
||
|
||
At this second Wing Ding Rebo managed to eat 20 of the hellish wings.
|
||
And, as Rebo later put it, he had trouble in the bathroom for a week. Rebo is
|
||
the only idiot to manage to eat 20 of the evil wings. (He can be reached at
|
||
1@7660 in WWIVnet and 1@17660 in WWIVlink).
|
||
|
||
At Wing Ding Three (the first Wing Ding to be called a Wing Ding), Csev
|
||
The Wanderer managed to eat 11. The top three folks at eating wings are Rebo,
|
||
Csev, and myself. I titled the Wing Dings that myself. I said something like
|
||
"See you all at the Wing Ding later tonight," and the name of the event was
|
||
born.
|
||
|
||
Perseus was the Wing Ding Czar for about three years. Perseus was in
|
||
charge of organization because it was his original idea. I, however, have
|
||
since inherited the Czarship. I am about to hold my 5th Wing Ding myself. It
|
||
will be the 22nd Wing Ding in a long glorious history of WNY BBSing.
|
||
|
||
Wing Dings are something we are very proud of, as you probably already
|
||
guessed. These are sometimes other gatherings at local restaurant/bars. People
|
||
come out to eat dinner and spend the evening talking and meeting other BBSers.
|
||
For dinner we hype the Chicken Wings, but it is not a requirement.
|
||
|
||
PICNICS
|
||
|
||
Picnics are nice events for summer weather. We normally get together at
|
||
Beaver Island State Park three or four times over the course of the summer. We
|
||
then regularly have one End of Summer Picnic at Chestnut Ridge Park.
|
||
|
||
To hold a picnic you need a large park. Someplace everybody pretty much
|
||
knows exists and knows how to get to. Don't choose some small, out-of-the-way
|
||
park that very few people know about. The park should have picnic tables,
|
||
shelters, big open spaces, parking areas and bathrooms. Other secondary things
|
||
to look for are things like baseball/softball diamonds, basketball courts,
|
||
volleyball nets, and playground equipment for the tykes. Also, try to pick a
|
||
place in the park that is easy for people to find where everybody can meet
|
||
when they first get to the picnic.
|
||
|
||
Remember the Bring-Your-Own-Stuff mentality. Make it plain to everybody
|
||
that food and drink is not being provided by you when you advertise the
|
||
picnic. Sure, you are a nice person, but I am sure you can't provide hot dogs
|
||
for 100+ folks. Remember to bring a grill to cook on, too, since some parks
|
||
don't provide them.
|
||
|
||
In Western New York, we have gotten turnout for picnics to push 175-200
|
||
folks at times. We advertise the heck out our picnics.
|
||
|
||
MOVIE-PIZZA NIGHTS
|
||
|
||
Movie-Pizza events are another thing we like to do around 716. In this we
|
||
pick a movie to see and a time to see it. Then we choose a time about two
|
||
hours before the movie starts to meet a local pizza Joint, normally a Pizza
|
||
Hut. We meet, eat, and chat at the restaurant, then go see the film of choice.
|
||
Sometimes, we even keep things going afterward by maybe either heading off to
|
||
a bar or to somebody's house afterwards.
|
||
|
||
These are good to do with a funny movie, sometime like "Wayne's World" or
|
||
"Naked Gun" type films. Don't try this with "Schindler's List." This is
|
||
supposed to be a fun event and a serious or weighty movie can really put a
|
||
damper on the fun.
|
||
|
||
THITS
|
||
|
||
A THIT (standing for "Thank Heavens It's Thursday) was an adult-type Wing
|
||
Ding before there were Wing Dings. We have not had one in a long time around
|
||
here. Adult themes may be something to stay away from anyway. BBSing already
|
||
gets a bad enough rap in the press with the "We're all Pirates and X-rated GIF
|
||
Makers" guff you see. Besides, there are usually many BBSers in an area that
|
||
are minors and would be unable to attend. One of the reasons that Wing Dings
|
||
and Picnics have been so popular is that they are open to all-ages.
|
||
|
||
WINTERFESTS
|
||
|
||
Ok, I'm a dude from Buffalo, and in Buffalo some of the more insane among
|
||
us Picnic in the snow. Every year, Chestnut Ridge Park is home to a
|
||
county-sponsored Winter Festival near the end of January. It's always very fun
|
||
to get together at Chestnut Ridge and have snowball fights, go sledding, and
|
||
play football on a snow covered field... and not just touch football either.
|
||
We play a full-scale tackle/kill-the-enemy-brand of football. These are great
|
||
fun, but it's impractical to try to organize one of these in Southern
|
||
California or Florida or anywhere else that snow doesn't fare well.
|
||
|
||
HOUSE PARTIES
|
||
|
||
House Parties can be pretty good fun. Around 716, the house party expert
|
||
is The Piper (16@7686). House parties do call for the host in question to
|
||
provide some supplies; like chips, pop, maybe a pizza or two. It isn't
|
||
uncalled to ask the quests to each put in a few bucks to pay the pizza
|
||
delivery person, though. You will probably want to keep these semi-private
|
||
affairs, though. Don't advertise on every BBS in your area "House Party at
|
||
Louie's". You don't want 100+ idiots showing up and burning the house to the
|
||
ground. A house party should be for the BBS Event "regulars" and others that
|
||
you are fairly-well acquainted with. Don't let just anybody into your house
|
||
for a party that you don't know or haven't met before. Use simple common sense
|
||
on who you invite and don't tolerate "crashers" who may have found out about
|
||
your gathering through third-party word-of-mouth.
|
||
|
||
SPLATBALL (PAINTBALL)
|
||
|
||
Splatball was tried in WNY a few times. Rebo organized this three times.
|
||
It did involve collecting money up front, though. Also, one must pay for the
|
||
paintballs that they shoot over the course of a session. Fees paid to the
|
||
facility usually only cover the field fee and the rental of a gun (more
|
||
generous field owners may include one or two free tubes of paintballs with gun
|
||
rental). With prices ranging between $2.00 to $4.00 per tube of paintballs (a
|
||
tube contains 10 paintballs), trigger-happy players can wind-up spending a
|
||
fair sum of money over the course of one session (a session usually consists
|
||
of about 5 or 6 complete games, depending on the field). A session usually
|
||
lasts about three hours (depending on how quickly individual games are
|
||
completed).
|
||
|
||
Splatball is also dangerous (at least potentially) and you don't want to
|
||
be held liable by some insurance company because you let some real idiot play
|
||
that shouldn't have been allowed in. Deacon Blues used to play on a regular
|
||
basis for a couple of years and can tell several "war stories" about players
|
||
being injured on the field while involved in a game (including one incident in
|
||
which he was involved). Many paintball fields also have a minimum age
|
||
restriction for players, so minors may or may not be allowed.
|
||
|
||
Also, Splatball is a "dirty" game in that you are always either being hit
|
||
by paint or otherwise rubbing up against walls (when played indoors) that are
|
||
splattered with paint from stray shots. Splatball is also a game that usually
|
||
requires a fair amount of running. By the time that an evening's play is over,
|
||
participants are usually too sweaty and dirty and tired to do anything
|
||
afterward but go home and count the bruises.
|
||
|
||
WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE GETTING TOGETHER
|
||
|
||
There are a few other things to consider about BBS Events before actually
|
||
getting one together.
|
||
|
||
Advertising was something I brought up a few times in passing. You
|
||
advertise a BBS Event by posting messages about it. In 716 we have the 716
|
||
General Chat Subs in IceNET and WWIVnet as well as a few Event Planning Subs.
|
||
We post the messages about Wing Dings and picnics on these subs. I also
|
||
normally e-mail a copy of an add to each 716 IceNET, WWIVnet and WWIVLink
|
||
Sysop and ask him to tell his/her users about the event.
|
||
|
||
You also should consider how many people you want to attend a BBS event
|
||
before you start an advertising blitz. If you want over 100+ people to attend
|
||
(which a picnic could easily support) then it pretty much does not matter how
|
||
much you advertise it. You may not want more than 50 people for a Wing Ding
|
||
(or other restaurant or bar-dependent activity) though. In that case, I
|
||
normally only advertise on IceNET and WWIVnet. We have other various small
|
||
networks around (QuadNet, DragonNET, MicroNet, etc.) and you will reach more
|
||
people by advertising on such nets. But that means you will get largest
|
||
attendance as well.
|
||
|
||
Sometimes you don't wish for a huge attendance. If you think that this
|
||
sounds contradictory to the very idea of getting together, let me relate to
|
||
you some of the problems that we have had with our Wing Dings.
|
||
|
||
Two problems we ran into with Wing Dings had to do with money and the
|
||
place we hold the event. We started out holding Wing Dings at Sal's, a very
|
||
small mom-and-pop-type bar with a capacity of about 25 people. After word
|
||
spread around town about the Wing Dings, attendance skyrocketed. We quickly
|
||
outgrew that small place. Sal's was good for an event that would get 25 folks
|
||
at the most. We have since gotten 125 at some Wing Dings recently. In the end,
|
||
Sal kicked us out because we simply over-ran his small establishment (and put
|
||
a serious hurt on his very limited staff).
|
||
|
||
We had to locate another place to hold the event. We did... but they only
|
||
let us stay for two gatherings. Some folks got a little rowdy and tossed some
|
||
birthday cake around and made a general nuisance of themselves. So, we were
|
||
tossed out of our second home.
|
||
|
||
Since then we have been asked to leave about five places. We have
|
||
Hemingway's, a nice bar in downtown Buffalo that likes us now... but we will
|
||
probably only be there one or two times more. Trying to find a new how right
|
||
now.
|
||
|
||
The main problems we have had with restaurants are folks being rowdy and
|
||
the restaurant wanting us to have up-front money. Restaurants want up front
|
||
money for some good reasons though. 1.) People sometimes stiff on bills from a
|
||
group of folks (another reason we were asked to leave one establishment). 2.)
|
||
People from a group sometimes cause damage (as evidenced by the cake-throwing
|
||
incident). 3.) It is easier to get 300 bucks from the group and then put out a
|
||
buffet of 300 bucks worth of food.
|
||
|
||
Up-front money is a bad idea normally. Why? Because it can cause
|
||
problems. If you have to ask people to put in $4 before hand some complain "I
|
||
only ate $3 worth of food while he ate $7 worth of food" and similar
|
||
complaints. It is also easier for people to manage their own bills. If you eat
|
||
$5 bucks worth of wings, then you pay for $5 bucks worth.
|
||
|
||
Another aspect of concern to the owners of the establishments we've held
|
||
Wing Dings at is the issue of under-age drinking. You can't have kids showing
|
||
up a Wing Ding (or picnic, or anything else, for that matter) and illegally
|
||
drinking. This issue also cost the Wing Dings a home when someone of legal age
|
||
bought a minor a drink from a bar. Due to this (and even prior to the
|
||
instance) we (those of legal age) watch for this like hawks around 716 BBS
|
||
Events. Some of us take a look every now and again at what folks are drinking
|
||
if they are young. It might not be something you want to do but it is
|
||
something you have to look out for. If some kid gets arrested for DWI on the
|
||
way home from a BBS Event... the police and the parents might have some
|
||
questions to ask the Organizers and the Sysops.
|
||
|
||
WHAT TO DO AT AN EVENT
|
||
|
||
Other little things we do... We have a sign in sheet where people sign
|
||
their handles to a sheet so we know how many showed up. That is how we know we
|
||
had 175+ for some picnics and a 125+ for some Wing Dings.
|
||
|
||
I normally go around trying to meet everybody as well. Some people just
|
||
want to talk to a few people they already know. Others, like me, try to get to
|
||
know and exchange a few words with everybody. Remember, the idea is to meet
|
||
people. The saying we have for our events is "Come out and meet the faces
|
||
behind the handles," and that's what everyone should try to do.
|
||
|
||
CONCLUSION
|
||
|
||
Well, that is all I can think of to say about Western New York's BBS
|
||
events. We are going to have a lot of them this summer. I hope some other
|
||
parts of the country also have BBS Events. One of the ideas of BBSing is to
|
||
meet more people. Local, regional, and national BBS Events can go a long way
|
||
in helping to do that. They are great fun. Who knows, WWIVCon '94 may just end
|
||
up being one huge BBS Event from Hell. Lets hope so.
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
In June, we had a story about operating a BBS in a school environment:
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ WWIV Goes To School ³ Chris (1@7668)
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
WWIV, the great creation of Wayne Bell and WWIV Software Services, has
|
||
been one of the most popular bulletin board software platforms around and its
|
||
popularity is increasing every day. Bulletin boards are mostly used for fun,
|
||
but now the vast array of applications that are available are becoming more
|
||
practical. Local computer stores have created bulletin boards for support of
|
||
their existing customers as well as a means of public relations in gaining new
|
||
ones. Just recently, however, WWIV has been used for educational purposes.
|
||
|
||
The Hamburg Central School District of Western New York is one of the
|
||
leaders in our area regarding the integration of telecommunications and
|
||
bulletin boards in the classroom curriculum. The Hamburg Junior High School
|
||
started a WWIV bulletin board (The Pinnacle, IceNET @7668) in November of 1993
|
||
and have had tremendous student, staff, and community involvement in the
|
||
project. We have used the bulletin board for many classroom activities.
|
||
|
||
Recently a ninth grade home and careers class used the bulletin board to
|
||
gather information on states they would like to live in as part of a group
|
||
project. Bulletin board users from various states responded to a form that the
|
||
students posted which included several questions pertaining to that state.
|
||
Students found various statistics in each state. They found that the divorce
|
||
rate in California was much higher than that of New York. They also found out
|
||
about some local news in each community as well as collage and education
|
||
information.
|
||
|
||
Another project that we are working on now is simply dubbed "I'm
|
||
Sailing!" One of the technology teachers in the Junior High School will be
|
||
taking his sail boat from Lake Erie to the Caribbean and will be taking all of
|
||
Hamburg with him. Yup, that's right! Armed with a Macintosh Powerbook and a
|
||
modem, he will be updating The Pinnacle weekly as to his progress. Because
|
||
students learn best in "hands on" situations, this project has the ability to
|
||
prove to students the relevancy of the subject matter at hand.
|
||
|
||
Science classes will be able to gather information on tides, currents,
|
||
winds and ecology, etc. which may be used directly in the classroom. Social
|
||
studies and English teachers can collaborate to have students retrieve
|
||
geographical and historical information on the areas visited and compare them
|
||
with encounters by the crew. Math classes might chart the courses on maps from
|
||
information gathered from the bulletin board. This can be directly applied to
|
||
such problems as time/speed/distance relationships by using real-life places,
|
||
people and situations. This is a tangible experience to move students beyond
|
||
the constraints of a text book and the traditional classroom environment.
|
||
|
||
The hard part about using a bulletin board for a class is that a bulletin
|
||
board, traditionally, allows only someone with a modem to access the bulletin
|
||
board. Thanks to Wayne Bell, that is no longer true. As I'm writing this, I'm
|
||
awaiting the arrival of Novell DOS for the bulletin board so that students can
|
||
access it on any of the three local instances we've registered on our
|
||
50-workstation local area network. We are also awaiting the arrival of Filo
|
||
Software Productions Front Door Installer so that we may add FidoNnet to the
|
||
cornucopia of networks that The Pinnacle subscribes to.
|
||
|
||
Well, that's about all we are doing at the moment. We are still
|
||
relatively new and we only have about 200 users, but that is changing quick. I
|
||
already have plans to help two other local school districts in creating WWIV
|
||
bulletin boards for themselves and linking them together with a special
|
||
WWIV-based network. I'm also giving presentations at the University of Buffalo
|
||
on the educational implications of bulletin boards in the classrooms. So, as
|
||
you can see, I'm a busy kid. If you have any suggestions, comments or
|
||
questions feel free to e-mail me. Oh, I almost forgot, one more thing!
|
||
Remember: "An hour spent on The Pinnacle is an hour spent reading and
|
||
writing!" so check it out at (716) 649-3530!
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
Also from May, 1994, Louie gave us the beginning of a four part
|
||
series on Artificial Intelligence:
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ Artificial Intelligence - Part 1 ³ Louie (6@1)
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
Artificial Intelligence is a growing field within the computer sciences.
|
||
It encompasses many hopes and dreams of what computer technology has to offer
|
||
the world. It also encompasses many fears of what computers and robotics will
|
||
do to the world.
|
||
|
||
But what is AI? That is a very difficult question to answer. It involves
|
||
answering some other questions that we really cannot answer yet. Questions
|
||
like:
|
||
|
||
1) What is Intelligence?
|
||
|
||
2) Can a machine think?
|
||
|
||
3) If so, can it think like a human being or will the thinking process
|
||
involved be fundamentally different.
|
||
|
||
4) What will it do for, or maybe to, human beings.
|
||
|
||
Lots of other questions I could think up as well if I wanted to sit here
|
||
and think about it for a little while. Most of these questions are
|
||
unanswerable in any definitive way. First, nobody is sure what intelligence
|
||
is. Does a machine that looks like it is intelligent really qualify as being
|
||
intelligent, or is it just obeying simple commands and doing a good imitation
|
||
of intelligence? See what I mean?
|
||
|
||
The father of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence was Alan
|
||
Turing. He was a brilliant and innovative mathematician. He helped in
|
||
designing one of the first computers ever to be built. He wrote many papers
|
||
that are still used for the ideas he expressed in them. Turing said "A machine
|
||
has artificial intelligence when there is no discernible difference between
|
||
the conversation generated by the machine and that of an intelligent person."
|
||
|
||
This has been used as the practical definition of AI by many since the
|
||
time Turing first expressed this thought in 1950. Why? Couldn't it just be a
|
||
good imitation? Yes, it could be just an imitation of true intelligence; but
|
||
how do you know that the people around you that you consider intelligent are
|
||
not just real good imitations? There is probably no final word on whether
|
||
something or somebody is intelligent or not. So, you've a practical definition
|
||
in absence of an absolute.
|
||
|
||
The test that is implicit in Turing's definition is called the "Turing
|
||
Test" in his honor. So far, no computer or electronic machine has ever passed
|
||
the Turing Test. There have been some very good imitations so far, but all
|
||
have had limits on them that make it apparent. After some observation of the
|
||
output for some time, it becomes a rather simple task to figure out that it is
|
||
a computer. Some take longer than others, but all have failed in the end.
|
||
|
||
Mankind has always dreamed of Artificial Intelligence, even before the
|
||
term to express the dream had been invented. Greek mythos had Hephaestus who
|
||
fashioned human-like figures regularly in his forge. Aphrodite brought
|
||
Galactea - a man-made woman, to life.
|
||
|
||
Medieval Christians had the legend of Pope Sylvester II, who was credited
|
||
with building a talking head that answered questions about the future.
|
||
Medieval European Jews had Rabbi Judah ben Loew who created the Golem out of
|
||
clay. The Jewish legend ends, however, with the Golem having to be dismantled
|
||
because it got out of control. This may be the first instance of "Technology
|
||
is bad" or "Man was not meant to know certain things" ideas. Author Mary
|
||
Shelley took large parts of the Rabbi ben Loew myth for her novel
|
||
"Frankenstein," first published in 1818.
|
||
|
||
The 20th Century saw the rise of science fiction as a legitimate form of
|
||
literature. With it, came Isaac Asimov and his "Three Laws of Robotics". This
|
||
was a practical approach to robots (Which are just computers that can walk
|
||
around, aren't they? C3PO from "Star Wars" and Data from "Star Trek: The Next
|
||
Generation" are examples of robots as I am thinking of them here. I am not
|
||
thinking of those industrial machines that move around a little.)
|
||
|
||
The three laws of robotics are:
|
||
|
||
First Law: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction allow
|
||
a human being to come to harm.
|
||
|
||
Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given to it by a human being except
|
||
where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
|
||
|
||
Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection
|
||
does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
|
||
|
||
(Note: Isaac Asimov always gave credit for the Three Laws to John W. Campbell,
|
||
Jr. But Campbell always said they were Asimov's. Asimov ended up with
|
||
the copyright so he gets the credit. Besides, the laws were used in
|
||
stories written by Isaac Asimov.
|
||
|
||
Asimov's approach to computers and robotics involved built-in safeguards
|
||
to protect human beings from their own creations accidentally causing them
|
||
harm. This is the opposite of the basic moral of Frankenstein or the Rabbi ben
|
||
Loew legend. Intelligent computers won't be able to harm humans because they
|
||
will be sophisticated enough to allow for built-in safeguards. This does not
|
||
mean one couldn't build them without built-in safeguards, but why would any
|
||
person take a chance like that? Only terrorists and madmen would even attempt
|
||
it, in my opinion. Militaries might narrow down the basic definition, but even
|
||
they will leave safeguards in for most practical matters. Nobody wants their
|
||
own machine turning on them when it can be avoided.
|
||
|
||
So, I am against the Doomsday Sayers as to what Artificial Intelligence
|
||
will bring. Computers will not be turning on their masters. Not without the
|
||
masters screwing up big time first, anyway.
|
||
|
||
Probably the two most important names in AI other than Turing are those
|
||
of John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky. McCarthy is the inventor of the LISP
|
||
programming language. Minsky has done much work on organization and
|
||
representation of knowledge.
|
||
|
||
LISP is the big-name programming language in the AI field. Of the 100
|
||
most important artificial intelligence research programs ever written,
|
||
probably 95 of them were written in LISP. The others were probably either
|
||
written before LISP came around in 1958, or were written in Prolog, a recent
|
||
language to come around and still not widely used in the United States.
|
||
|
||
LISP stands for LISt Processing. It is an interpreted language, which
|
||
means each program statement isn't looked at seriously until run-time. To use
|
||
LISP you have to think recursively. A recursive function includes itself as
|
||
part of its own definition. A LISP sees no difference between the program and
|
||
the data being acted upon.
|
||
|
||
Prolog, though, (a recent newcomer to the field of AI relative to LISP),
|
||
has gained a small following now. Prolog stands for PROgramming in LOGic. It
|
||
uses predicate calculus techniques in attempting to prove the truth of
|
||
propositions from a set of axioms.
|
||
|
||
Neither LISP or Prolog is much like the normal programming languages
|
||
BBSers would know - like C, Pascal, Basic, Fortran, COBOL, etc. Neither LISP
|
||
nor Prolog is a structured programming language.
|
||
|
||
The most famous program Artificial Intelligence has given the world is
|
||
ELIZA. ELIZA was developed by Joseph Weizebaum in the mid-1960's at MIT. ELIZA
|
||
simulates a Rogerian therapist; you can conduct a conversation with ELIZA just
|
||
as you might with a psychiatrist. ELIZA was a first attempt to see if a
|
||
computer could pass the Turing Test. ELIZA used basic trickery in an attempt
|
||
to appear human. It would look for key words in the conversation and turn
|
||
around statements made by you into questions.
|
||
|
||
Here is an example of a conversation of an ELIZA with a person. (CAPS is
|
||
ELIZA)
|
||
|
||
HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
|
||
|
||
Fine. Men are all alike.
|
||
|
||
IN WHAT WAY?
|
||
|
||
They're always bugging us about something or other.
|
||
|
||
CAN YOU THINK OF A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE?
|
||
|
||
Well, my boyfriend made me come here.
|
||
|
||
YOUR BOYFRIEND MADE YOU COME HERE?
|
||
|
||
He says I'm depressed most of the time.
|
||
|
||
I'M SORRY TO HEAR YOU ARE DEPRESSED.
|
||
|
||
It's true. I am unhappy.
|
||
|
||
DO YOU THINK COMING HERE WILL HELP YOU NOT TO BE UNHAPPY?
|
||
|
||
I need some help, that much seems certain.
|
||
|
||
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU IF YOU GOT SOME HELP?
|
||
|
||
See how impressive that ELIZA program can be. It looks almost intelligent
|
||
at first glance. But when you look at it you can see it just latched on to
|
||
what the person interfacing with it said and turned the input around into
|
||
questions most of the time. ELIZA would also look for keywords like
|
||
"boyfriend," "mother," "father," and "death," etc. etc. If the program would
|
||
be giving intelligent responses it couldn't really turn input around. It would
|
||
understand what the person typing with it meant when she said it was her
|
||
boyfriend who made her talk to ELIZA and wouldn't ask a generic question like
|
||
"YOUR BOYFRIEND MADE YOU COME HERE?"
|
||
|
||
ELIZA did not demonstrate real understanding or intelligence. It was a
|
||
very good first attempt to try and pass the Turing Test and is still studied
|
||
today because it is easy to draw up a simple ELIZA program and play with it.
|
||
When I was in my second year College LISP class, it was the first programming
|
||
project assigned to us. We had to design an ELIZA of our own. Now, what I
|
||
wrote was functionally stupid but it was a fun project and many of the basic
|
||
concepts of AI (if not all of them) are part of it.
|
||
|
||
The major areas Artificial Intelligence research has divided itself into
|
||
are: Expert Systems, Natural Language Processing, Symbolic Processing, Problem
|
||
Solving (Mathematical proof solving), Pattern Recognition, Robotics, Machine
|
||
Learning, and Appearing Human.
|
||
|
||
In the second installment of this series, I will try to provide a rough
|
||
overview of each of these areas.
|
||
|
||
|
||
BIBLIOGRAPHY
|
||
|
||
Understanding Artificial Intelligence; 1988; by Henry C. Mishkoff;
|
||
Howard W Sams.
|
||
|
||
Artificial Intelligence... Using C; 1987; by Herbert Schildt;
|
||
Osborne McGraw-Hill.
|
||
|
||
The Computer Glossary: The Complete Desk Reference; 1991; by Alan
|
||
Freedman; AmaCom.
|
||
|
||
Using Turbo Prolog; 1988; by Kelly M. Rich & Phillip R. Robinson;
|
||
Borland-Osborne McGraw-Hill.
|
||
|
||
I, Robot; 1950; by Isaac Asimov; Del Rey.
|
||
|
||
Asimov On Science; 1989; by Isaac Asimov; Pinnacle. Essays entitled
|
||
"Thinking About Thinking" and "More Thinking About Thinking".
|
||
|
||
AI: The Tumultuous History of the Search for Artificial Intelligence;
|
||
1993; by Daniel Crevier; BasicBooks.
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
IceNEWS has always provided usefull techinical articles and comparisons.
|
||
In addition to software reviews and tutorials, we've run pieces like Papa
|
||
Bear's August 1994 comparison of Archival software. The results may surprise
|
||
you:
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ Archivers... Which One Is Best? ³ Papa Bear (1@5079)
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
Archivers... They're an essential part of BBSing today. No BBS I've ever
|
||
visited can get along without archives. Mostly, they're used for the file
|
||
transfer section. But they can also be used for many other applications such
|
||
as backing-up the BBS's files, preserving disk space for seldom used programs,
|
||
and more.
|
||
|
||
Every so often, a heated debate will flare up in BBS-land about which one
|
||
is *BEST*. Well, I'm here to help you decide for yourself which would be best
|
||
suited for you. I have done some tests -- and the results will most likely
|
||
surprise you. I'll also offer some opinions that reflect some of the
|
||
intangible aspects of these programs.
|
||
|
||
I tested using the newest version of each program that I could find. I
|
||
also used maximum compression on all of the programs that had such a setting.
|
||
(Speed is hardly a consideration anymore, except in one case, and we'll get to
|
||
that later)
|
||
|
||
Lets get to it. I tested 9 programs, and here they are, using the format:
|
||
{(Chart identifier)} {Arc. name} {Version} {(Extension)} {Developer}
|
||
|
||
(!) ARC 6.00 (.ARC) System Enhancement Associates
|
||
(@) ARJ 2.41a (.ARJ) Robert K Jung
|
||
(#) HAP&PAH 3.00 (.HAP) Hamarsoft - Harald Feldmann
|
||
($) LHA 2.55b (.LZH) Haruyasu Yoshizaki
|
||
(%) PAK 2.10 (.PAK) NoGate Consulting
|
||
(^) Squeeze It 1.08.3 (.SQZ) J I Hammarberg
|
||
(&) UltraCompressor II 1.0{?} (.UC2) Ad Infinitum Programs
|
||
(*) PKZIP 2.04g (.ZIP) PKWARE, Inc.
|
||
(-) Zoo 2.1 (.ZOO) Rahul Dhesi
|
||
|
||
[The ? for the version number for UC2 is because I couldn't find one]
|
||
|
||
The testing took place on 5 different kinds of archives, as follows:
|
||
{[Chart identifier]} {No. files in arc.} - {total uncompresses size}
|
||
|
||
[1] 97 text files - 1,500,562 bytes
|
||
[2] 26 data files - 1,427,548 bytes
|
||
[3] 1 BIG text file - 1,678,337 bytes
|
||
[4] 1 BIG data file - 1,410,992 bytes
|
||
[5] Mixed data and text, various sizes - 1,637,404 bytes
|
||
|
||
Here is the chart of how the testing went. Each entry has two numbers.
|
||
The first number is the size of the final archive for each type of data. In
|
||
this case, smaller is better.
|
||
|
||
The second number is the percentage of compression, if it says 25% and
|
||
the original file size was 100,000 bytes, then the final file size would be
|
||
75,000 bytes. So here, the larger the number, the better.
|
||
|
||
³ [1] ³ [2] ³ [3] ³ [4] ³ [5] ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(!)³764269 ³ 1221626 ³ 633295 ³ 870588 ³ 1350310 ³
|
||
³ 49.0% ³ 14.4% ³ 60.4% ³ 38.2% ³ 17.5% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(@)³624257 ³ 1018320 ³ 425697 ³ 588143 ³ 1113209 ³
|
||
³ 58.4% ³ 28.6% ³ 74.6% ³ 58.3% ³ 32.0% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(#)³521363 ³ 1036803 ³ 371865 ³ 590311 ³ 1125593 ³
|
||
³ 65.2% ³ 27.3% ³ 77.8% ³ 58.1% ³ 31.2% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
($)³630642 ³ 1029630 ³ 444987 ³ 604625 ³ 1125312 ³
|
||
³ 57.9% ³ 57.8% ³ 73.4% ³ 57.1% ³ 31.2% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(%)³653009 ³ 1060599 ³ 477287 ³ 636336 ³ 1164962 ³
|
||
³ 56.4% ³ 25.7% ³ 71.5% ³ 54.9% ³ 28.8% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(^)³619371 ³ 1016825 ³ 425373 ³ 585386 ³ 1110656 ³
|
||
³ 58.7% ³ 28.7% ³ 74.6% ³ 58.5% ³ 32.1% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(&)³546616 ³ 1006922 ³ 419000 ³ 577086 ³ 1077628 ³
|
||
³ 63.5% ³ 29.4% ³ 75.0% ³ 59.1% ³ 34.1% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(*)³623741 ³ 1017266 ³ 418665 ³ 583832 ³ 1113326 ³
|
||
³ 58.4% ³ 28.7% ³ 75.0% ³ 58.6% ³ 32.0% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
|
||
(-)³631148 ³ 1030693 ³ 445118 ³ 604762 ³ 1127622 ³
|
||
³ 57.9% ³ 27.7% ³ 73.4% ³ 57.1% ³ 31.1% ³
|
||
ÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;
|
||
|
||
Now, in order to keep you from having to bang your head over these
|
||
numbers, I have come up with a way to determine a clear "winner". I assigned 8
|
||
points to the program that compressed the most, 7 for the one that was next,
|
||
and so on until the program that compressed the least -- which got 0 points.
|
||
Since there are 5 categories, a perfect score would be 8*5 or 40 points. Here
|
||
are those results. Hold on to your hats! Chances are your program didn't win!
|
||
|
||
1st - 37 points: UltraCompressor II 1.0 6th - 17 points: LHA 2.55b
|
||
2nd - 31 points: Squeeze It 1.08.3 7th - 11 points: Zoo 2.1
|
||
3rd - 30 points: PKZIP 2.04g 8th - 5 points : Pak 2.10
|
||
4th - 25 points: HAP&PAH 3.00 9th - 0 points : ARC 6.00
|
||
5th - 24 points: ARJ 2.41a
|
||
|
||
Yep, you got it, the UC2 format is clearly the best in terms of overall
|
||
compression. But normal archives normally do not include just data or text
|
||
files, but a mixture of files. So the last column in the chart is actually the
|
||
most telling for a BBS sysop. If you were to consider that only, the ranking
|
||
falls slightly differently, as follows:
|
||
|
||
1st - UltraCompressor II 1.0 6th - HAP&PAH 3.00
|
||
2nd - Squeeze It 1.08.3 7th - Zoo 2.1
|
||
3rd - ARJ 2.41a 8th - Pak 2.10
|
||
4th - PKZIP 2.04g 9th - ARC 6.00
|
||
5th - LHA 2.55b
|
||
|
||
Like I said, surprising, no?
|
||
|
||
Now for some personal "awards" -- these are based on things that the
|
||
archiver does, or has to offer, that do not affect its compression:
|
||
|
||
Most configurable - ARJ 2.41a
|
||
Fastest - UltraCompressor II 1.00 [by far!]
|
||
Easiest to configure - UltraCompressor II 1.00
|
||
"Prettiest" - UltraCompressor II 1.00
|
||
Slowest - HAP&PAH 3.00 [I almost fell asleep waiting on this]
|
||
Least configurable - Zoo 2.1
|
||
Least Flexible - Zoo 2.1
|
||
Most confusing - ARJ 2.41a [can be overwhelming in its configurability]
|
||
Most online help - UltraCompressor II 1.00
|
||
Most popular - PKZIP 2.04g [shame, too, there are better...]
|
||
|
||
As an aside... I just got UC2 *last night*. I had heard of it via SHEZ,
|
||
but didn't know what it was. If that program is any indication of where
|
||
archivers are headed, then the future looks especially bright. It truly is a
|
||
great little program. Too bad no one really uses it...
|
||
|
||
I used SHEZ 10.0 to handle all of these conversions. I think SHEZ is one
|
||
of the best compression shells around. For the record, I had to do ARC
|
||
manually because it kept bombing out under SHEZ.
|
||
|
||
UC2, HAP&PAH, and Squeeze It all did things okay, until they reached the
|
||
archives with large numbers of files in the archive. At that point they all
|
||
caused SHEZ to simply quit. I simply reloaded SHEZ and picked up where I left
|
||
off.
|
||
|
||
Well that is it. I hope you got something from this. All of these
|
||
programs (and more!) are available here *shameless plug time* at 510-522-3583
|
||
(ASV). I appreciate any comments that you may have on this matter.
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
In October, we ran a more technical article on programming the
|
||
Sound Blaster card, as well as several reviews of newly released software:
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ Tips on Sound Blaster Programming ³ Odieman 949@2132 WWIVnet
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
Introduction
|
||
|
||
Two of the most popular sound cards for the IBM-PC, the AdLib and the
|
||
Sound Blaster, suffer from a real dearth of clear documentation for programmers.
|
||
AdLib Inc. and Creative Labs, Inc. both sell developers kits for their sound
|
||
cards, but these are expensive, and (in the case of the Sound Blaster
|
||
developers' kit) can be extremely cryptic. This article is intended to provide
|
||
programmers with a source of information about the programming of these sound
|
||
cards. The information contained in this article is a combination of
|
||
information found in the Sound Blaster Software Developer's Kit, and that
|
||
learned by painful experience. Some of the information may not be valid for
|
||
AdLib cards; if this is so, I apologize in advance.
|
||
|
||
Please note that numbers will be given in hexadecimal, unless otherwise
|
||
indicated. If a number is written out longhand (sixteen instead of 16)
|
||
it is in decimal.
|
||
|
||
Sound Card I/O
|
||
|
||
The sound card is programmed by sending data to its internal registers
|
||
via its two I/O ports:
|
||
|
||
0388 (hex) - Address/Status port (R/W)
|
||
0389 (hex) - Data port (W/O)
|
||
|
||
The Sound Blaster Pro is capable of stereo FM music, which is accessed
|
||
in exactly the same manner. Ports 0220 and 0221 (hex) are the address/data
|
||
ports for the left speaker, and ports 0222 and 0223 (hex) are the ports for
|
||
the right speaker. Ports 0388 and 0389 (hex) will cause both speakers to
|
||
output sound.
|
||
|
||
The sound card possesses an array of two hundred forty-four registers;
|
||
to write to a particular register, send the register number (01-F5) to the
|
||
address port, and the desired value to the data port. After writing to the
|
||
register port, you must wait twelve cycles before sending the data; after
|
||
writing the data, eighty-four cycles must elapse before any other sound card
|
||
operation may be performed.
|
||
|
||
The AdLib manual gives the wait times in microseconds: three point three
|
||
(3.3) microseconds for the address, and twenty-three (23) microseconds for the
|
||
data.
|
||
|
||
The most accurate method of producing the delay is to read the register
|
||
port six times after writing to the register port, and read the register
|
||
port thirty-five times after writing to the data port.
|
||
|
||
The sound card registers are write-only.
|
||
|
||
The address port also functions as a sound card status byte. To
|
||
retrieve the sound card's status, simply read port 388. The status
|
||
byte has the following structure:
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
|
||
| both | tmr | tmr | unused |
|
||
| tmrs | 1 | 2 | |
|
||
+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
|
||
|
||
Bit 7 - set if either timer has expired.
|
||
6 - set if timer 1 has expired.
|
||
5 - set if timer 2 has expired.
|
||
|
||
The Registers
|
||
|
||
The following table shows the function of each register in the sound
|
||
card. Registers will be explained in detail after the table. Registers
|
||
not listed are unused.
|
||
|
||
Address Function
|
||
------- ----------------------------------------------------
|
||
01 Test LSI / Enable waveform control
|
||
02 Timer 1 data
|
||
03 Timer 2 data
|
||
04 Timer control flags
|
||
08 Speech synthesis mode / Keyboard split note select
|
||
20..35 Amp Mod / Vibrato / EG type / Key Scaling / Multiple
|
||
40..55 Key scaling level / Operator output level
|
||
60..75 Attack Rate / Decay Rate
|
||
80..95 Sustain Level / Release Rate
|
||
A0..A8 Frequency (low 8 bits)
|
||
B0..B8 Key On / Octave / Frequency (high 2 bits)
|
||
BD AM depth / Vibrato depth / Rhythm control
|
||
C0..C8 Feedback strength / Connection type
|
||
E0..F5 Wave Select
|
||
|
||
The groupings of twenty-two registers (20-35, 40-55, etc.) have an odd
|
||
order due to the use of two operators for each FM voice. The following
|
||
table shows the offsets within each group of registers for each operator.
|
||
|
||
Channel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
|
||
Operator 1 00 01 02 08 09 0A 10 11 12
|
||
Operator 2 03 04 05 0B 0C 0D 13 14 15
|
||
|
||
Thus, the addresses of the attack/decay bytes for channel 3 are 62 for
|
||
the first operator, and 65 for the second. (The address of the second
|
||
operator is always the address of the first operator plus three).
|
||
|
||
Explanations of Registers
|
||
|
||
Byte 01 - This byte is normally used to test the LSI device. All bits
|
||
should normally be zero. Bit 5, if enabled, allows the FM
|
||
chips to control the waveform of each operator.
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| unused | WS | unused |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
Byte 02 - Timer 1 Data. If Timer 1 is enabled, the value in this
|
||
register will be incremented until it overflows. Upon
|
||
overflow, the sound card will signal a TIMER interrupt
|
||
(INT 08) and set bits 7 and 6 in its status byte. The
|
||
value for this timer is incremented every eighty (80)
|
||
microseconds.
|
||
|
||
Byte 03 - Timer 2 Data. If Timer 2 is enabled, the value in this
|
||
register will be incremented until it overflows. Upon
|
||
overflow, the sound card will signal a TIMER interrupt
|
||
(INT 08) and set bits 7 and 5 in its status byte. The
|
||
value for this timer is incremented every three hundred
|
||
twenty (320) microseconds.
|
||
|
||
Byte 04 - Timer Control Byte
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| IRQ | T1 | T2 | unused | T2 | T1 |
|
||
| RST | MSK | MSK | | CTL | CTL |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bit 7 - Resets the flags for timers 1 & 2. If set,
|
||
all other bits are ignored.
|
||
bit 6 - Masks Timer 1. If set, bit 0 is ignored.
|
||
bit 5 - Masks Timer 2. If set, bit 1 is ignored.
|
||
bit 1 - When clear, Timer 2 does not operate.
|
||
When set, the value from byte 03 is loaded into
|
||
Timer 2, and incrementation begins.
|
||
bit 0 - When clear, Timer 1 does not operate.
|
||
When set, the value from byte 02 is loaded into
|
||
Timer 1, and incrementation begins.
|
||
|
||
Bytes 40-55 - Level Key Scaling / Total Level
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| Scaling | Total Level |
|
||
| Level | 24 12 6 3 1.5 .75 | <-- dB
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bits 7-6 - causes output levels to decrease as the frequency
|
||
rises:
|
||
|
||
00 - no change
|
||
10 - 1.5 dB/8ve
|
||
01 - 3 dB/8ve
|
||
11 - 6 dB/8ve
|
||
|
||
bits 5-0 - controls the total output level of the operator.
|
||
all bits CLEAR is loudest; all bits SET is the
|
||
softest. Don't ask me why.
|
||
|
||
Bytes 60-75 - Attack Rate / Decay Rate
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| Attack | Decay |
|
||
| Rate | Rate |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bits 7-4 - Attack rate. 0 is the slowest, F is the fastest.
|
||
bits 3-0 - Decay rate. 0 is the slowest, F is the fastest.
|
||
|
||
Bytes 80-95 - Sustain Level / Release Rate
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| Sustain Level | Release |
|
||
| 24 12 6 3 | Rate |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bits 7-4 - Sustain Level. 0 is the loudest, F is the softest.
|
||
bits 3-0 - Release Rate. 0 is the slowest, F is the fastest.
|
||
|
||
Bytes A0-B8 - Octave / F-Number / Key-On
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| F-Number (least significant byte) | (A0-A8)
|
||
| |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| Unused | Key | Octave | F-Number | (B0-B8)
|
||
| | On | | most sig. |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bit 5 - Channel is voiced when set, silent when clear.
|
||
bits 4-2 - Octave (0-7). 0 is lowest, 7 is highest.
|
||
bits 1-0 - Most significant bits of F-number.
|
||
|
||
In octave 4, the F-number values for the chromatic scale and their
|
||
corresponding frequencies would be:
|
||
|
||
F Number Frequency Note
|
||
16B 277.2 C#
|
||
181 293.7 D
|
||
198 311.1 D#
|
||
1B0 329.6 E
|
||
1CA 349.2 F
|
||
1E5 370.0 F#
|
||
202 392.0 G
|
||
220 415.3 G#
|
||
241 440.0 A
|
||
263 466.2 A#
|
||
287 493.9 B
|
||
2AE 523.3 C
|
||
|
||
Bytes C0-C8 - Feedback / Algorithm
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| unused | Feedback | Alg |
|
||
| | | |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bits 3-1 - Feedback strength. If all three bits are set to
|
||
zero, no feedback is present. With values 1-7,
|
||
operator 1 will send a portion of its output back
|
||
into itself. 1 is the least amount of feedback,
|
||
7 is the most.
|
||
bit 0 - If set to 0, operator 1 modulates operator 2. In this
|
||
case, operator 2 is the only one producing sound.
|
||
If set to 1, both operators produce sound directly.
|
||
Complex sounds are more easily created if the algorithm
|
||
is set to 0.
|
||
|
||
Byte BD - Amplitude Modulation Depth / Vibrato Depth / Rhythm
|
||
|
||
To further illustrate the relationship, the addresses needed to control
|
||
channel 5 are:
|
||
|
||
29 - Operator 1 AM/VIB/EG/KSR/Multiplier
|
||
2C - Operator 2 AM/VIB/EG/KSR/Multiplier
|
||
49 - Operator 1 KSL/Output Level
|
||
4C - Operator 2 KSL/Output Level
|
||
69 - Operator 1 Attack/Decay
|
||
6C - Operator 2 Attack/Decay
|
||
89 - Operator 1 Sustain/Release
|
||
8C - Operator 2 Sustain/Release
|
||
A4 - Frequency (low 8 bits)
|
||
B4 - Key On/Octave/Frequency (high 2 bits)
|
||
C4 - Feedback/Connection Type
|
||
E9 - Operator 1 Waveform
|
||
EC - Operator 2 Waveform
|
||
|
||
Byte 08 - CSM Mode / Keyboard Split.
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| CSM | Key | unused |
|
||
| sel | Spl | |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bit 7 - When set, selects composite sine-wave speech synthesis
|
||
mode (all KEY-ON bits must be clear). When clear,
|
||
selects FM music mode.
|
||
|
||
bit 6 - Selects the keyboard split point (in conjunction with
|
||
the F-Number data). The documentation in the Sound
|
||
Blaster manual is utterly incomprehensible on this;
|
||
I can't reproduce it without violating their copyright.
|
||
|
||
Bytes 20-35 - Amplitude Modulation / Vibrato / Envelope Generator Type /
|
||
Keyboard Scaling Rate / Modulator Frequency Multiple
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| Amp | Vib | EG | KSR | Modulator Frequency |
|
||
| Mod | | Typ | | Multiple |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bit 7 - Apply amplitude modulation when set; AM depth is
|
||
controlled by the AM-Depth flag in address BD.
|
||
|
||
bit 6 - Apply vibrato when set; vibrato depth is controlled
|
||
by the Vib-Depth flag in address BD.
|
||
|
||
bit 5 - When set, the sustain level of the voice is maintained
|
||
until released; when clear, the sound begins to decay
|
||
immediately after hitting the SUSTAIN phase.
|
||
|
||
bit 4 - Keyboard scaling rate. This is another incomprehensible
|
||
bit in the Sound Blaster manual. From experience, if
|
||
this bit is set, the sound's envelope is foreshortened as
|
||
it rises in pitch.
|
||
|
||
bits 3-0 - These bits indicate which harmonic the operator will
|
||
produce sound (or modulation) in relation to the voice's
|
||
specified frequency:
|
||
|
||
0 - one octave below
|
||
1 - at the voice's specified frequency
|
||
2 - one octave above
|
||
3 - an octave and a fifth above
|
||
4 - two octaves above
|
||
5 - two octaves and a major third above
|
||
6 - two octaves and a fifth above
|
||
7 - two octaves and a minor seventh above
|
||
8 - three octaves above
|
||
9 - three octaves and a major second above
|
||
A - three octaves and a major third above
|
||
B - " " " " " " "
|
||
C - three octaves and a fifth above
|
||
D - " " " " " "
|
||
E - three octaves and a major seventh above
|
||
F - " " " " " " "
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| AM | Vib | Rhy | BD | SD | TOM | Top | HH |
|
||
| Dep | Dep | Ena | | | | Cym | |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bit 7 - Set: AM depth is 4.8dB
|
||
Clear: AM depth is 1 dB
|
||
bit 6 - Set: Vibrato depth is 14 cent
|
||
Clear: Vibrato depth is 7 cent
|
||
bit 5 - Set: Rhythm enabled (6 melodic voices)
|
||
Clear: Rhythm disabled (9 melodic voices)
|
||
bit 4 - Bass drum on/off
|
||
bit 3 - Snare drum on/off
|
||
bit 2 - Tom tom on/off
|
||
bit 1 - Cymbal on/off
|
||
bit 0 - Hi Hat on/off
|
||
|
||
Note: KEY-ON registers for channels 06, 07, and 08 must be OFF
|
||
in order to use the rhythm section. Other parameters
|
||
such as attack/decay/sustain/release must also be set
|
||
appropriately.
|
||
|
||
Bytes E0-F5 - Waveform Select
|
||
|
||
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
| unused | Waveform |
|
||
| | Select |
|
||
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|
||
|
||
bits 1-0 - When bit 5 of address 01 is set, the output waveform
|
||
will be distorted according to the waveform indicated
|
||
by these two bits. I'll try to diagram them here,
|
||
but this medium is fairly restrictive.
|
||
|
||
___ ___ ___ ___ _ _
|
||
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / | / |
|
||
/_____\_______ /_____\_____ /_____\/_____\ /__|___/__|___
|
||
\ /
|
||
\___/
|
||
|
||
00 01 10 11
|
||
|
||
Detecting a Sound Card
|
||
|
||
According to the AdLib manual, the 'official' method of checking for a
|
||
sound card is as follows:
|
||
|
||
1) Reset both timers by writing 60h to register 4.
|
||
2) Enable the interrupts by writing 80h to register 4. NOTE: this
|
||
must be a separate step from number 1.
|
||
3) Read the status register (port 388h). Store the result.
|
||
4) Write FFh to register 2 (Timer 1).
|
||
5) Start timer 1 by writing 21h to register 4.
|
||
6) Delay for at least 80 microseconds.
|
||
7) Read the status register (port 388h). Store the result.
|
||
8) Reset both timers and interrupts (see steps 1 and 2).
|
||
9) Test the stored results of steps 3 and 7 by ANDing them
|
||
with E0h. The result of step 3 should be 00h, and the
|
||
result of step 7 should be C0h. If both are correct, an
|
||
AdLib-compatible board is installed in the computer.
|
||
|
||
Making a Sound
|
||
|
||
Many people have asked me, what the proper register values should be
|
||
to make a simple sound. Well, here they are.
|
||
|
||
First, clear out all of the registers by setting all of them to zero.
|
||
This is the quick-and-dirty method of resetting the sound card, but it
|
||
works. Note that if you wish to use different waveforms, you must then
|
||
turn on bit 5 of register 1. (This reset need be done only once, at the
|
||
start of the program, and optionally when the program exits, just to
|
||
make sure that your program doesn't leave any notes on when it exits.)
|
||
|
||
Now, set the following registers to the indicated value:
|
||
|
||
REGISTER VALUE DESCRIPTION
|
||
20 01 Set the modulator's multiple to 1
|
||
40 10 Set the modulator's level to about 40 dB
|
||
60 F0 Modulator attack: quick; decay: long
|
||
80 77 Modulator sustain: medium; release: medium
|
||
A0 98 Set voice frequency's LSB (it'll be a D#)
|
||
23 01 Set the carrier's multiple to 1
|
||
43 00 Set the carrier to maximum volume (about 47 dB)
|
||
63 F0 Carrier attack: quick; decay: long
|
||
83 77 Carrier sustain: medium; release: medium
|
||
B0 31 Turn the voice on; set the octave and freq MSB
|
||
|
||
To turn the voice off, set register B0h to 11h (or, in fact, any value
|
||
which leaves bit 5 clear). It's generally preferable, of course, to
|
||
induce a delay before doing so.
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
From our first issue under "new" management, back in December 1993,
|
||
here's IceNEWS Editor-In-Chief Emeritus Deacon Blues on some of those sysops
|
||
you just don't want to deal with...
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ SysGods: Sysops with an attitude ³ Deacon Blues 2@7653
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
or "I Did It MY Way"
|
||
|
||
"You ask me if I have a God complex. I AM God."
|
||
- Alec Baldwin in commercials for the film "Malice" -
|
||
|
||
We've all heard the horror stories. Accounts deleted for "no reason."
|
||
Mail from users being routinely ignored or just plain "zapped" without reply.
|
||
New user accounts remaining unvalidated for weeks, sometimes months. Sudden
|
||
loss of carrier from the BBS, then a busy signal when redialing is attempted.
|
||
Seventy-five line posts from the #1 account on a daily basis explaining in
|
||
excruciatingly exact detail just why he/she holds the #1 account and what
|
||
he/she can do to those who dare to oppose. I am, of course, talking about the
|
||
sysop. More precisely, the sysop with an attitude. If you continually
|
||
experience any or all of the potential symptoms I've outlined above, you may
|
||
have found yourself a sysop with a "SysGod" complex.
|
||
|
||
The SysGod complex can best be described as a habitual misuse of the
|
||
powers vested in being a sysop for reasons of pleasure or personal gain. The
|
||
complex causes the sysop to act in a manner that would suggest delusions of
|
||
godhood and a semi-divine detachment, thus alienating his/her users to the
|
||
point of them no longer calling the BBS. The complex can be broken down into
|
||
two categories: "Demi-SysGod Syndrome" [DSS] and "Holy SysGod Syndrome" [HSS].
|
||
|
||
Believe it or not, in most cases of DSS, the afflicted sysops usually
|
||
started their BBS with all the best of intentions, and in most cases used to
|
||
be a "regular" user prior to becoming a sysop. But, apparently, somewhere
|
||
along the way something happens to them. Maybe it's the fact that running a
|
||
BBS is more of a task than they thought it was. Maybe they're experiencing
|
||
personal problems. Maybe their pet goldfish died. Somewhere down the line,
|
||
they experience a "break" in their attitude as a sysop. A kind of a digital
|
||
"Falling Down," if you will, where they start to vent their anger and
|
||
frustrations out onto their users. When detected early, most of these cases
|
||
manage to correct themselves in a relatively short time and with little
|
||
lasting repercussions to their users. Once a sense of normalcy returns to the
|
||
sysop's life, so too does it to the BBS in most cases.
|
||
|
||
HSS sufferers, on the other hand, while also usually being users prior to
|
||
becoming sysops, also generally suffer from other outside, pre-existing
|
||
personality disorders. As regular users (and I use the term "regular"
|
||
loosely), they often acted in "irregular" manners that most would describe as
|
||
being combative, disrespectful, disagreeable, belligerent, and/or offensive
|
||
toward others. Typically, they are the type of user who feels that they are
|
||
"God's gift to BBSs" or a form of "Modem Messiah" and anyone else who has
|
||
differing ideas or ideals is irrelevant and only there for his/her personal
|
||
amusement. They are usually shallow, close-minded individuals who quite
|
||
probably used to be (or still are) either the school, neighborhood or work
|
||
bully. Mostly, their motivation to start their own BBS is based on their
|
||
feelings that "All of the other 35 BBSs I call suck, so I'll make one in my
|
||
own image with my own rules and forget everyone else." While HSS sufferers
|
||
make up only a small minority of those who suffer from the SysGod complex,
|
||
they are the one's who draw all the scrutiny from others as their affliction
|
||
is usually chronic in nature and long in duration.
|
||
|
||
One of the saddest things about this affliction is that everyone, not
|
||
just the sysop, suffers because of the effects of the SysGod complex. This
|
||
includes the BBS itself. Many times, in fits of rage and delirium, they will
|
||
make changes to the BBS itself to reflect their newfound divine philosophy in
|
||
the way of allowing certain policies, adding particular subs that normally
|
||
wouldn't be carried, deleting files or users, regularly interrupting or
|
||
kicking users offline in order to allow the SysGod to access the computer for
|
||
things like playing games, viewing adult .GIFs, calling other BBSs and leaving
|
||
posts saying how much that system sucks and how great his system is, etc. As a
|
||
result, the users will slowly start to disappear as they either stop calling
|
||
back or are deleted by the sysop. Eventually, the BBS will receive sufficient
|
||
bad word-of-mouth publicity as to discourage new callers from logging on.
|
||
|
||
In order to better understand the psyche of those who suffer from HSS, I
|
||
decided to look for a local BBS that is run by an afflicted sysop and give it
|
||
a call. After searching the advertisement subs of several local systems, I
|
||
found the following ad:
|
||
|
||
CALL HERE!!!!!!
|
||
|
||
MY DAMN BBS (Sysop: The All-Powerful 1)
|
||
|
||
If you don't call "My Damn BBS," you're a chump.
|
||
|
||
716-555-1001
|
||
|
||
Nine months old and going strong.
|
||
|
||
As this looked like a good potential candidate for a HSS sufferer, I
|
||
called. Here is the capture file I ran while online at My Damn BBS. My
|
||
personal notes written later appear in [brackets].
|
||
|
||
|
||
Connected at 14400
|
||
|
||
Welcome to:
|
||
|
||
___ ___
|
||
/\ /\ | \ | \
|
||
/ \/ \ | |\ \ | o /
|
||
/ /\ /\ \ | |/ / | o \
|
||
/_/ \/ \_\ Y |_ _/ AMN |___/ BS
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sysop: The All-Powerful 1
|
||
|
||
24 Hours (but not in a row)
|
||
|
||
2400-14.4 (if I like you) - 1200 (if I don't)
|
||
|
||
|
||
Enter your number or name or `NEW'
|
||
NM: NEW
|
||
|
||
Would you like to use our Guest User account to look around first? Y/N Y
|
||
Too damn bad, we don't have one here.
|
||
|
||
[At this point, I was somewhat certain that I'd reached a HSS sufferer,
|
||
but some doubts still remained. Those, however, were washed away by what
|
||
followed next. At this juncture, one would expect to see a system rules file
|
||
and/or a legal disclaimer. Here's what I got:]
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>Welcome To My Damn BBS<<
|
||
|
||
My Damn BBS was started because I felt that all the other sysops in the area
|
||
are [CENSORED]. So I leeched a copy of WWIV from somebody and started by own
|
||
BBS. My motto here is: If you don't like it, too damn bad. Since this
|
||
BBS is run on by damn computer, I'm gonna run this place the way I want to and
|
||
nobody better tell me any different.
|
||
|
||
Here's my damn rules for My Damn BBS:
|
||
|
||
Don't bother trying to chat with me about any of your problems as I got enough
|
||
of my own to deal with and shouldn't have to deal with yours too. If you leave
|
||
me mail, I might get around to answering it someday if I find it interesting
|
||
and relevant, but don't hold your breath. If you don't like it, too damn bad.
|
||
|
||
If you have problems with using the BBS software, don't bug me for help. I had
|
||
to learn once too, you know, and nobody showed me how to do it. If you can't
|
||
figure it out for yourself, that's your problem. If you don't like it, too
|
||
damn bad.
|
||
|
||
If you want to swear here, that's fine with me. I'm sure it's nothing I
|
||
haven't heard or said already anyway. Cuss all you want. If you've got virgin
|
||
ears and don't like it, too damn bad.
|
||
|
||
Don't bother asking me for files that I have backed-up offline in the transfer
|
||
section. I've got "Castle Commando II," "Rocket Jockey IV," and "The Further
|
||
Adventures of Happy Henry Hedonist in the Land of the Sexually Explicit Women
|
||
Who'll Never Sleep With Him" taking up 85 megs on my BBS HD, so I don't have
|
||
the room for them. And I'm not going to clear-up any HD space just for YOU.
|
||
This is >>My<< Damn BBS, and if you don't like it, too damn bad.
|
||
|
||
Don't pester me for more time to download files. If you've got a 14.4 modem,
|
||
you should be able to get whatever you want in the 20 minutes I give you
|
||
online. If the file is too big and you don't like it, too damn bad. If you
|
||
call at any speed less than 14.4 and you want more D/L time, too damn bad,
|
||
get a 14.4 modem and I'll start to think about it. Maybe.
|
||
|
||
Don't post anything contradictory to whatever I post. I'll either delete it or
|
||
flame you, probably both. If you get me riled-up enough, I'll delete your
|
||
account and throw your name into my trashcan.txt file. Remember, since I've
|
||
got the #1 account here, whatever I say is law and whatever I want to do, I'll
|
||
do. If you don't like it, too damn bad.
|
||
|
||
These are the rules for MY Damn BBS. If you don't like them, too damn bad,
|
||
press ALT-H to hang up now since you obviously disagree with me and users here
|
||
aren't allowed to disagree with me.
|
||
|
||
Continue to logon? Y/N Y
|
||
|
||
[At this point, I was fully convinced I had encountered a sysop with a
|
||
particularly advanced case of HSS, one which looked terminal for this
|
||
sufferer. Sadly, my initial diagnosis for this patient is that he suffers from
|
||
a not-so-rare form of HSS in the manifestation of a "Ptolemy complex" in
|
||
which, as the name suggests, he sincerely believes that the universe (and his
|
||
BBS in particular) does indeed revolve around him, and not vice-versa. On the
|
||
average, about 70-75% of HSS sufferers also are afflicted with a Ptolemy
|
||
complex. Medical science is currently at a loss to explain the cause for such
|
||
conditions and attempts at treatment are usually unsuccessful.]
|
||
|
||
[I decided that, in the interest of getting better insight into this
|
||
ailment, I needed to logon to this system to further see just how far the HSS
|
||
had manifested itself. I also decided that, given the nature of this
|
||
particular case, it would be best for me to logon under an assumed name with
|
||
bogus user info. While considered unethical from a journalistic and a BBSing
|
||
point of view, I felt safer personally, since I don't want this loop to ever
|
||
know who I really am. I feel that, to paraphrase his own inspired words, if he
|
||
don't like that, too damn bad. Following my logon info, I sent the obligatory
|
||
new user feedback to The All-Powerful 1 to reflect my bogus statistics and
|
||
stated that I'm just a general user looking to check out his BBS. Upon
|
||
completion of that, I glean my next view of the effects of HSS on the sysop
|
||
and his particular BBS as the logon continues.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Good Evening, Mr. Blahblahblah.
|
||
You are the 3rd caller for today.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Last Callers:
|
||
=======================================================================
|
||
Call # User Name Time Baud #
|
||
=======================================================================
|
||
278 Blow Hard #3 2:53 am 2400 1
|
||
279 The All-Powerful's Babe #2 3:21 pm KB 1
|
||
280 Redneck #4 4:14 pm 9600 1
|
||
281 Blow Hard #3 6:00 am 2400 1
|
||
=======================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
[Things don't look too good so far. Considering that his BBS has been up
|
||
(supposedly) for 9 months, 281 calls is pretty sparse business. Also, since I
|
||
called at around 10 pm and I'm only the third caller for the day, it looks
|
||
like there's not too much activity in these parts. I can't imagine why. I also
|
||
don't see a user number higher than 4. Strange. Let us continue on:]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Auto Message by: The All-Powerful 1 #1
|
||
|
||
Welcome to My Damn BBS
|
||
Anyone who changes this automessage dies.
|
||
If you don' like it, too damn bad.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
User Name Mr. Blahblahblah #9
|
||
Member since 10/26/93
|
||
Member status Inconsequential Unvalidated New Peon
|
||
Time allowed on 10 minutes
|
||
Mail waiting 0
|
||
Times on today 1
|
||
Sysop is NOT going to answer you even if he's here
|
||
System is WWIV v4.22 (Reg #[DELETED])
|
||
|
||
|
||
[User #9, eh? After 9 months of operation? Either there have been alot of
|
||
deletions, or people have just stayed away in droves. I think it's probably a
|
||
combination of both. I also like the automessage. It shows just how possessive
|
||
that this person has become. This is common in advanced cases. Also note the
|
||
member status and sysop availability lines, as well as time allowed online. At
|
||
least you know where you stand with this guy. Let's move on further, shall we.
|
||
Now we've made it to the main message prompt, let's take a look around and see
|
||
what's online for subs before time expires:]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Time Remaining = 9 minutes, 7 seconds
|
||
[1] [The All-Powerful 1's Decrees]:*
|
||
|
||
|
||
Available message bases:
|
||
|
||
Sub Network/ New
|
||
# Scan? Local Sub Name Msgs
|
||
======================================================================
|
||
1 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1's Decrees 1
|
||
2 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Everything 50
|
||
3 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Politics 50
|
||
4 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Sports 50
|
||
5 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on News 50
|
||
6 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Television 50
|
||
7 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Movies 50
|
||
8 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Women 50
|
||
9 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Programming 50
|
||
10 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Games 50
|
||
11 Yes Local The All-Powerful 1 on Music 50
|
||
======================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
Time Remaining = 8 minutes, 59 seconds
|
||
[1] [The All-Powerful 1's Decrees]:
|
||
|
||
|
||
[I'm sensing a distinct pattern here. Obviously, this particular patient
|
||
is definitely in the most advanced latter stages of the disease. The
|
||
aforementioned Ptolemy complex is well represented by this sampling.
|
||
Mercifully, I believe that this patient will succumb to the effects of HSS
|
||
very soon and his suffering (as well as everyone else's) will then end. While
|
||
there still appears to be some life left in the body, let us further sample so
|
||
of this person's delusions of Godhood by viewing some messages. We'll start
|
||
with The All-Powerful 1's Decrees. Since there's only one message on there,
|
||
this shouldn't take long:]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Time Remaining = 8 minutes, 59 seconds
|
||
[1] [The All-Powerful 1's Decrees]: Q
|
||
|
||
< Q-scan The All-Powerful 1's Decrees 1 - 1 msgs >
|
||
|
||
|
||
Message 1 of 1
|
||
Title/Subject: If you don't like it, too damn bad. [Random Title]
|
||
Name: the All-Powerful 1 #1
|
||
Date: Sun Feb 24 11:41:17 1993
|
||
|
||
Well, I finally got this piece of [CENSORED] up and running. I hope you're all
|
||
happy now. I know I am. I've finally got my own little stomping ground and I
|
||
plan on stomping anyone who gets in my way here. If you don't like it, tough
|
||
[CENSORED].
|
||
|
||
BTW = The board will be down for the entire month of April because that's when
|
||
Star Shooter XXIII comes out and I won't have enough room on my HD for both
|
||
the game and the BBS. Whenever I get thru with the game, I'll put the board
|
||
back up. Maybe. If you're lucky. If you don't like it, too damn bad.
|
||
|
||
#1
|
||
|
||
< The All-Powerful 1's Decrees 1 - 1 Q-scan Done >
|
||
Time Remaining = 8 minutes, 53 seconds
|
||
[1] [The All-Powerful 1's Decrees]:
|
||
|
||
[Again, the Ptolemy complex shows here. Deciding to take down a system
|
||
that has only recently gone online for the purpose of playing a newly-released
|
||
game shows where this particular sysop's priorities lie.]
|
||
|
||
[Just as I was going to begin to delve into the message bases to see
|
||
further preachings of higher thinking from The All-Powerful 1, the following
|
||
occurred:]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Time Remaining = 8 minutes, 53 seconds
|
||
[1] [The All-Powerful 1's Decrees]:ɵ^áœ/!PIy£ö½Õµ!ú(>Ž="L¢UÑňcÀ⪂ÄÊlk8ÃŽõV<C3B5>
|
||
ïXè-ŠøëÉuˆ)Ç–äƒÜ™HÌ€j„nÜïu«( 0è~+#X/SrÊ,ð‹ö;#°’ž¯=Krï~4¦ÃË),Åíl>ÐC¿þ‡œ<E280A1>öé<C3B6>59è†
|
||
|
||
NO CARRIER
|
||
|
||
[Man! That's a pretty generous helping of line noise there! My computer
|
||
was beeping out the pc speaker big-time on that dosage of dumping. It's quite
|
||
possible that this sufferer has installed a combination line noise generating
|
||
nuke mod built into his system. As if it's not simple enough to just hit F5 to
|
||
dump a user off the system, this guy needs special line noise key to give the
|
||
act a true meaning of personal satisfaction. Looks like this sufferer has got
|
||
something better to do with his system than to allow me (or others, for that
|
||
matter) to use it. Upon redialing, the line was busy. Why am I not surprised?]
|
||
|
||
[After three hours of solid war-dialing, I finally managed to get back on
|
||
the system. After going through my logon, I see the following:]
|
||
|
||
Last Callers:
|
||
=======================================================================
|
||
Call # User Name Time Baud #
|
||
=======================================================================
|
||
279 The All-Powerful's Babe #2 3:21 pm KB 1
|
||
280 Redneck #4 4:14 pm 9600 1
|
||
281 Blow Hard #3 6:00 am 2400 1
|
||
282 Mr. Blahblahblah #9 10:04 pm 14400 1
|
||
=======================================================================
|
||
|
||
[Uh-huh. Just as I suspected. Notice who the last caller was. Me.
|
||
Obviously, our HSS sufferer is lurking near the keyboard somewhere. Let's see
|
||
if I can call him out.]
|
||
|
||
Time Remaining = 9 minutes, 45 seconds
|
||
[1] [The All-Powerful 1's Decrees]: C
|
||
|
||
|
||
The All-Powerful 1 can't be bothered by your trivial problems. Leave feedback
|
||
instead.
|
||
|
||
Leave feedback to The All-Powerful 1 #1 ? (Y/N) Y
|
||
|
||
[Since our sufferer seems to be above speaking with me, I decided that I
|
||
will leave him feedback instead. I chose to make a fairly neutral statement
|
||
regarding what had happened to me earlier. This should manage to get some
|
||
response from our esteemed SysGod.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Enter Title or Press [Return] for a Random Title.
|
||
(---=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----)
|
||
Title: Hello...
|
||
|
||
Enter message now, max lines are 20
|
||
Type /COLORS to change your default colors.
|
||
Type /MACROS to change your default macros.
|
||
Type /HELP for help. Type /Q to quote from message.
|
||
/S Save /ABT Abort /LI List /CLR Clear CTRL-P # Change color
|
||
[...|....1....|....2....|....3....|....4....|....5....|....6....|....7....|....]
|
||
|
||
Hi there. Sorry to trouble you, but I am a new user here and recently
|
||
experienced a problem when I was on your system earlier tonight. I was just
|
||
looking around when I suddenly lost carrier. I was wondering if this was due
|
||
to a problem on your end, or if it was a problem with my terminal program. I
|
||
don't have call-waiting or an extension phone on this line that I call out
|
||
with, so I'm kind of puzzled by the dropped carrier problem. Can you enlighten
|
||
me?
|
||
|
||
Thank for any help.
|
||
|
||
Mr. Blahblahblah
|
||
/es
|
||
Saving... message sent to The All-Powerful 1 #1.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Time Remaining = 9 minutes, 45 seconds
|
||
[1] [The All-Powerful 1's Decrees]:
|
||
|
||
|
||
[What happened next was totally unexpected:]
|
||
|
||
|
||
The All-Powerful 1 is Here:
|
||
|
||
Hey! What's your problem, buddy?
|
||
|
||
|
||
[Well, I expected a response to my letter, but not THIS fast! Let's see
|
||
what he has to say:]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Hello. I'm not sure what the problem is, if it's with my software or if it's
|
||
on your end. I was on earlier this evening and
|
||
|
||
I know, dammit. don't you think I saw the mail you sent me? So, what's your
|
||
point?
|
||
|
||
Well, I was wondering if you were around when I lost carrier here earlier and
|
||
saw what happened. Did your board hang? I saw by the daily log that nobody
|
||
else been on the system since I lost carrier.
|
||
|
||
|
||
[I deliberately gave him an "out" in my question by suggesting that the
|
||
board might have locked-up. This was my way to finally determine once and for
|
||
all if he was indeed suffering from HSS. If he was, he wouldn't take the
|
||
escape that I gave him, instead opting to blather something to the effect that
|
||
it was "his" system and if I didn't like it, then that was too damn bad.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Hey! I had to do something on the computer. You got a problem with that? What
|
||
are you, some kind of [CENSORED] troublemaker?
|
||
|
||
No, I'm not trying to cause a problem, I just asked a question. If you needed
|
||
to use the computer, you could have just popped in on me in chat mode like you
|
||
are now and ask me to logoff. I would've done it. There was no need to hang up
|
||
on me.
|
||
|
||
[CENSORED] off, buddy. You're outta here!
|
||
˜Žç3Ï<EFBFBD>’"íµçþÌé3þfè<66>Öñ&iòûßE¯‹áî[EtòÜÍÉyé˜éóœïê§ÖÂ*åIUïP‰Ù(—æ»hSpãZV8’ù‹‹rÅ„(¤´
|
||
?ÝůE>*<2A>H"éÉŒ¸Âï<C382>½+0'•©—wƒ3¶¡`Ÿ†Éw¥©Õæg#NWóc&÷<>Öl¶±¾Êl5kaÓÜép™(oL»×“xe¨ŒÁã‘\R
|
||
ÇIì›d“Dj¹ŠT’Râ[ý`}ºÓÝü€<C3BC>kBnʵíöwÍxgñŸ3Žß¶…«#ÜcXçBÇ*eÊ¢ÆÞƒàS¾OÖÛ°f$úa‚¿ì¯B•ãÚ
|
||
§crD<EFBFBD>]Èi[ƒ6ù—SQ…Ûl(ÕŸð>8E!©ß #@ãõÎbV°²@Ÿiß,š”BÑ·[Ãàg3o)ëEÃU™ÞK ¶e•ºGŽHo q¦Z¦fê
|
||
;îæÌüIÆšÞWÛ¹„ÁåmiÇ.fOûô<œá͆uFÕÎlÀ;W/„ŠÔæ¯ç<C2AF>£Éœ¯ªí’½ïËéûúN0_ð-ª¤qðÇ?G|Ú¨ÜuV½
|
||
Þ¾äx?Wsiyš…sû÷¡":1&ª¼`Ç®e½ü¹?ž¦‹3ýÑÄ0#,b°Óq’ÎZ²ìù¼‘3Ÿí7Ìh„€kW,Ão¹“Q<E2809C>°²#Ãp p
|
||
:K/0qþR7$2A5%s¡;QJB§yù1Q¬k:!Ú`Ê˯ÐÀÆ<C380><C386> †ºÐÎãž#ÛÔ¿#Ê•réÍ´µ3[uU‹û½%5”RmÅøðZ3í}:æ
|
||
«Jwš‹vÈÚÀªïrAÀ¸€Sé=tÐWWÖgsý‡ûךj*çÙN‰¿bgâœêi¢‚~‘8óíLÀc›”u¸šgàÜ‘sAçèÜ/y×ùK¿*,ù
|
||
›U©>Õ’äc³I‹êÞÍxjkdB`)Ìc„øò6s<36>t…¥P±E3BîlÓ‹·:·˜À¤·†‰2VûŒ<C3BB>é¢K4IÇï€Ä¡MžÄªM‹•î<E280A2>Ö‹xx
|
||
ØIp˜›Ñw1d½x6p|ðÅç¶Ô}QäãpNÃ@s"32Üþ;M(ûÂëž´@<40>KfÛÍÚƸ-Ù–b¡‚~¿a2_V6#Í@ŽÎÖNüˆ<C3BC>U"pX
|
||
ïXè-ŠøëÉuˆ)Ç–äƒÜ™HÌ€j„nÜïu«( 0è~+#X/SrÊ,ð‹ö;#°’ž¯=Krï~4¦ÃË),Åíl>ÐC¿þ‡œ<E280A1>öé<C3B6>59è†
|
||
|
||
NO CARRIER
|
||
|
||
[Well, I think that settles it. I decided to try one more time calling
|
||
back to see just how badly my little comment had affected this guy.]
|
||
|
||
Connected at 14400
|
||
|
||
|
||
Welcome to:
|
||
|
||
___ ___
|
||
/\ /\ | \ | \
|
||
/ \/ \ | |\ \ | o /
|
||
/ /\ /\ \ | |/ / | o \
|
||
/_/ \/ \_\ Y |_ _/ AMN |___/ BS
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sysop: The All-Powerful 1
|
||
|
||
24 Hours (but not in a row)
|
||
|
||
2400-14.4 (if I like you) - 1200 (if I don't)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Enter your number or name or `NEW'
|
||
NM: Mr. Blahblahblah
|
||
Sorry, I don't know that user
|
||
|
||
|
||
Enter your number or name or `NEW'
|
||
NM: Mr. Blahblahblah
|
||
Sorry, I don't know that user
|
||
|
||
|
||
Enter your number or name or `NEW'
|
||
NM: 9
|
||
Sorry, I don't know that user
|
||
|
||
NO CARRIER
|
||
|
||
|
||
I think it's safe to say that My Damn BBS isn't going to be long for this
|
||
world, so long as The All-Powerful 1 is the sysop. What you've seen here is a
|
||
rare glimpse of a sysop who suffers from an extreme case of SysGod Complex. As
|
||
I stated earlier, cases such as the one documented above are relatively few in
|
||
numbers but I think you can see that while they are few, they also have the
|
||
potential to be very acute.
|
||
|
||
Medical science has thus far been unable to find a cause for this
|
||
ailment, let alone a cure. Unless the disease is caught in its earliest
|
||
stages, it is ultimately fatal to a sysop and his/her BBS. Like rubber-neckers
|
||
gawking at a car wreck while passing it on the highway, there's little anyone
|
||
can do or say except "What a shame. I wonder what happened."
|
||
|
||
The best way to protect yourself from the ravages of the SysGod Complex
|
||
is to know the tell-tale warning signs:
|
||
|
||
-=- Repeatedly hanging-up on your users
|
||
-=- Repeatedly taking the board down for your own uses
|
||
-=- Chronically ignoring e-mail from your users
|
||
-=- Deleting users who question or disagree with you
|
||
-=- Continually telling your users that the board is "mine"
|
||
|
||
If you notice any of these potential warning signs in yourself, you may
|
||
be at risk of having one of the two complexes. The best way to tell is to put
|
||
up a public post on the board asking the opinion of your users on how you're
|
||
running the system. If you see a noticeable number of negative posts, you may
|
||
have a problem. If you then begin to delete these posts and the users who made
|
||
them, then you DEFINITELY are suffering from either DSS or HSS.
|
||
|
||
Once you are diagnosed with having a SysGod complex, the only treatment
|
||
can come from within. YOU must be the one who treats the disease by changing
|
||
your habits and starting to act more responsibly toward your users, your BBS,
|
||
and yourself.
|
||
|
||
Hopefully, this article will help to illuminate others to the effects of
|
||
SysGod Syndrome and, perhaps, may save others from succumbing to this most
|
||
dreaded of afflictions. For only through effective education and communication
|
||
can this monstrous malady ever be eradicated.
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
This last is the conclusion of a four part technical series, not a
|
||
reprint:
|
||
|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ WWIVnet Technical Docs ³ by Midnight Tree Bandit 1@8411
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
||
|
||
|
||
[IceNEWS Serialization Note - This is part four of four. Internal page numbers
|
||
have been retained for ease of reference. Page breaks, however, have been
|
||
removed.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
COMPRESSION SOURCE CODE
|
||
|
||
The following code is provided to help simplify the process of writing
|
||
code for complete compatibility with the WWIVnet software. It is the
|
||
same as what is used by NETWORK1.EXE in NET34. It covers both the
|
||
compression and decompression of netmail packets. Comments have been
|
||
added by WH in order to clarify what's happening. Some lines are
|
||
split due to space.
|
||
|
||
/* Description of global variables used here:
|
||
* (long) nbw -- number of bytes written
|
||
* (long) nbr -- number of bytes read
|
||
* (long) nbl -- number of bytes left (to read/write)
|
||
* (int) fi -- input file handle (set to "S[sysnum].NET")
|
||
* (int) fo -- output file handle (set to "Z[sysnum].NET" for
|
||
compression, "TEMP.NET" for decompression)
|
||
* (char) net_data -- path to system's network data directory
|
||
* The rest should be obvious from their use.
|
||
*/
|
||
|
||
|
||
unsigned far pascal net_read(char far *buff,
|
||
unsigned short int far *size)
|
||
/* used
|
||
{
|
||
unsigned br=0,sz;
|
||
unsigned pct,i;
|
||
|
||
sz=*size;
|
||
|
||
39
|
||
|
||
|
||
if ((long)sz>nbl)
|
||
sz=(unsigned)nbl;
|
||
|
||
br=read(fi,buff,sz);
|
||
|
||
if (br<0)
|
||
br=0;
|
||
|
||
nbr += br;
|
||
nbl -= br;
|
||
nc_sf += br;
|
||
|
||
return(br);
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
|
||
void far pascal net_write(char far *buff,
|
||
unsigned short int far *size)
|
||
{
|
||
write(fo,buff,*size);
|
||
nbw += *size;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
|
||
void net_compress(unsigned int sn)
|
||
{
|
||
char s[81], s1[81], fl;
|
||
long l,l1;
|
||
char *buf;
|
||
unsigned short int type, dsize, xx;
|
||
|
||
/* set up the input (Sxxxx.NET) and output (Zxxxx.NET) filenames */
|
||
sprintf(s,"%sS%u.net",net_data, sn);
|
||
sprintf(s1,"%sZ%u.net",net_data, sn);
|
||
|
||
/* open the input file, if possible */
|
||
fi=open(s,O_RDWR | O_BINARY);
|
||
if (fi<0) {
|
||
return;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
buf=malloc(35256);
|
||
if (!buf) {
|
||
printf("\r Not enough mem to compress \r");
|
||
return;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
/* open the output file, if there is one */
|
||
fo=open(s1,O_RDWR | O_BINARY | O_CREAT, S_IREAD | S_IWRITE);
|
||
if (fo<0) {
|
||
|
||
40
|
||
|
||
close(fi);
|
||
free(buf);
|
||
return;
|
||
}
|
||
/* write file header if file is new */
|
||
if (filelength(fo)==0) {
|
||
/* compression identifier */
|
||
l=0xfffefffe;
|
||
write(fo,&l,4);
|
||
/* extra bytes in header */
|
||
xx=4;
|
||
write(fo,&xx,2);
|
||
/* uncompressed bytes (initalized to 0) */
|
||
l=0L;
|
||
write(fo,&l,4);
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
/* prepare for new segment */
|
||
nbw=nbr=0;
|
||
l=filelength(fo);
|
||
lseek(fo,l,SEEK_SET);
|
||
l1=filelength(fi);
|
||
nbl=l1;
|
||
fl=1; /* compresssion flag (compressed) */
|
||
/* write compression flag and segment length to segment header */
|
||
write(fo,&fl,1);
|
||
write(fo,&nbw,4);
|
||
type=CMP_ASCII;
|
||
if (l1<1024)
|
||
dsize=1024;
|
||
else if (l1<2048)
|
||
dsize=2048;
|
||
else
|
||
dsize=4096;
|
||
|
||
/* compress the file */
|
||
implode(net_read, net_write, buf, &type, &dsize);
|
||
|
||
if (nbw>=nbr) {
|
||
/* if it didn't compress */
|
||
lseek(fo,l,SEEK_SET);
|
||
lseek(fi,0L,SEEK_SET);
|
||
fl=0;
|
||
/* change segment header (flag off, seg length is input length */
|
||
write(fo,&fl,1);
|
||
write(fo,&nbr,4);
|
||
/* then write input file to output file (overwrite compressed) */
|
||
xx=read(fi,buf,32768);
|
||
while (xx>0) {
|
||
write(fo,buf,xx);
|
||
|
||
xx=read(fi,buf,32768);
|
||
}
|
||
chsize(fo,l+5+nbr);
|
||
} else {
|
||
/* if compressed, write compressed seg length to segment header */
|
||
lseek(fo,l+1,SEEK_SET);
|
||
write(fo,&nbw,4);
|
||
}
|
||
41
|
||
|
||
/* update output file header (change uncompresssed bytes) */
|
||
lseek(fo,6,SEEK_SET);
|
||
read(fo,&l,4);
|
||
l += nbr;
|
||
lseek(fo,6,SEEK_SET);
|
||
write(fo,&l,4);
|
||
|
||
bytes_comp=filelength(fo);
|
||
bytes_uncomp=l;
|
||
/* compute percentage of compression */
|
||
if (bytes_comp<bytes_uncomp)
|
||
xx=(unsigned) ((bytes_uncomp-bytes_comp)*100/bytes_uncomp);
|
||
else
|
||
xx=0;
|
||
|
||
/* clean up */
|
||
close(fi);
|
||
close(fo);
|
||
unlink(s);
|
||
free(buf);
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
|
||
void net_uncompress(char *fn)
|
||
/* 'fn' is the name (with path) of the P*.NET file being processed */
|
||
{
|
||
char s[81],fl;
|
||
long l,l1;
|
||
unsigned xx;
|
||
char *buf;
|
||
|
||
/* set up output filename (temporary netmail file) */
|
||
sprintf(s,"%sTEMP.NET",net_data);
|
||
|
||
buf=malloc(16384);
|
||
if (!buf) {
|
||
printf("\r Not enough mem to uncompress \r");
|
||
return;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
/* Zxxxx.NET, if possible */
|
||
|
||
42
|
||
|
||
|
||
fi=open(fn,O_RDWR | O_BINARY);
|
||
if (fi<0) {
|
||
free(buf);
|
||
return;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
/* open output file */
|
||
fo=open(s,O_RDWR | O_BINARY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC, S_IREAD |
|
||
S_IWRITE);
|
||
if (fo<0) {
|
||
close(fi);
|
||
free(buf);
|
||
return;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
/* get file header */
|
||
lseek(fi,4,SEEK_SET); /* compression identifier */
|
||
read(fi,&xx,2); /* extra bytes */
|
||
read(fi,&bytes_uncomp,4); /* uncompressed bytes */
|
||
bytes_comp=filelength(fi);
|
||
lseek(fi,6+xx,SEEK_SET);
|
||
l=bytes_comp-(6+xx); /* compute compressed bytes */
|
||
|
||
/* decompression pass */
|
||
while (l>0) {
|
||
/* get segment header */
|
||
read(fi,&fl,1); /* compression flag */
|
||
read(fi,&l1,4); /* segment length (in bytes) */
|
||
nbr=nbw=0;
|
||
nbl=l1;
|
||
if (fl==0) {
|
||
/* if segment not compressed, write directly to temporary
|
||
* netmail file */
|
||
if (nbl>16384)
|
||
xx=read(fi,buf,16384);
|
||
else
|
||
xx=read(fi,buf,(unsigned)nbl);
|
||
while (nbl>0) {
|
||
write(fo,buf,xx);
|
||
nbl -= (long)xx;
|
||
if (nbl>16384)
|
||
xx=read(fi,buf,16384);
|
||
else
|
||
xx=read(fi,buf,(unsigned)nbl);
|
||
}
|
||
} else {
|
||
/* if segment compressed, decompress to temp netmail file */
|
||
explode(net_read, net_write, buf);
|
||
}
|
||
l -= (l1+5);
|
||
|
||
43
|
||
|
||
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
/* clean up */
|
||
close(fi);
|
||
close(fo);
|
||
unlink(fn);
|
||
rename(s,fn); /* rename temp filename to P*.NET */
|
||
free(buf);
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
|
||
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
|
||
|
||
Getting IceNEWS:
|
||
|
||
There are several ways to get your copy of IceNEWS each month. If you have
|
||
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|
||
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|
||
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|
||
There is also an IceNEWS Internet Mailing List:
|
||
|
||
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|
||
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|
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|
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||
|
||
The full name may be ommitted. You must provide the email address.
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Thanks to Nicholas Riley for providing this service.
|
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|
||
To contact the IceNEWS Editor-In-Chief, email any of these addresses:
|
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|
||
- 1@6754 IceNET
|
||
- wcrawfor@express.tiac.net Internet
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||
- Subtype ICENEWS, host @1 IceNET
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|
||
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
||
³ IceNEWS is an independent journal published monthly as a service to ³
|
||
³ IceNET, its Sysops and users. The opinions & reviews expressed herein ³
|
||
³ are the expressed views of the respective writers. All Rights Reserved.³
|
||
³ Many product names used herein are the property of their respective ³
|
||
³ manufacturers/authors. Copyright (C) 1995 Jim Nunn. ³
|
||
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|