1147 lines
51 KiB
Plaintext
1147 lines
51 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 7, Number 35 27 August 1990
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| FidoNet (r) | | \ \\ |
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| International BBS Network | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello
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Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Copyright 1990, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
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and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
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For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software.
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FidoNews is published weekly by the System Operators of the
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FidoNet (r) International BBS Network. It is a compilation of
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individual articles contributed by their authors or authorized
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agents of the authors. The contribution of articles to this
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compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors.
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You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
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ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. 1:1/1 is a Continuous
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Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day.
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Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
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Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are
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used with permission.
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Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors
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and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software.
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Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
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responsible submission received.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
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Recycling - What can YOU do? ............................. 1
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Recycling ................................................ 4
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Hazards in the Home ...................................... 6
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Find HEIDI Situation Sheet ............................... 9
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Another IFNA? ............................................ 10
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TechCon-I, the Report (part 2) ........................... 12
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2. COLUMNS .................................................. 17
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Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 17
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3. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 19
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Response to Kwityer Bychin ............................... 19
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And more!
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 1 27 Aug 1990
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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Mike Robeson
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Fido 1:350/21.0
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WHAT CAN YOU DO?
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"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because
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he could only do a little" Edmund Burke.
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Everyone agrees that the state of the Earth's environment is
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in sad shape and is rapidly deteriorating. Many organizations
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are trying to make changes enough to make a difference. With-
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out joining an organization there are some simple things you
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can do to make a difference.
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Reduce the amount of garbage you generate by purchasing and
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using products wisely.
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"Precycle" by purchasing products in recyclable containers,
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such as aluminum, steel, glass, paper and cardboard.
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Purchase foods in bulk or concentrate.
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Avoid plastic and polystyrene (styrofoam) products that are
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neither reusable nor easily recyclable, such as disposable
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diapers, lighters razors and plastic utensils. (Plastics make
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up 25% of our garbage by volume.)
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Make two-sided photocopies.
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Borrow items rather than buy them, for short-term or one-time
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use.
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Share magazine and newspaper subscriptions with friends.
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Keep a cloth towel next to the sink to be used instead of
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paper towels.
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Reduce the amount of junk mail you receive by contacting
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Direct Market Association, 6 E. 43rd St, New York, NY 10017,
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(202) 689-4977.
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Reuse products whenever possible.
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Use products that are made to be used many times, such as
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cloth diapers, cloth napkins, towels and rags, sponges,
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dishes, silver-ware, rechargeable batteries, etc.
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 2 27 Aug 1990
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Carry a coffee mug with you to use in place of polystyrene cups.
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Bring your grocery and produce bags back to the supermarket
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and reuse them.
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Use the blank back sides of paper to take notes and do scratch
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work.
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Mend clothes and repair broken appliances.
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Take care of belongings to help them last longer.
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Look into purchasing used goods at second hand store and Junk
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yards.
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Recycle all materials possible. Many communities have
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established programs to recycle aluminum, steel, glass,
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newspaper and cardboard. It is also possible to recycle
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magazines, colored paper, wood, oil and some plastics.
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Support a bottle bill that establishes a deposit on beverage
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containers. Bottle bills that call for rewashing and reusing
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bottles are superior to traditional bottle bills.
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Help establish and promote a curbside recycling program if one
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does not already exist in your community.
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Organize a recycling program at your school, office, apartment
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building, church or local government office.
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Make a compost pile to recycle food scraps and yard
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trimmings. Kitchen and yard wastes make up one quarter of our
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waste stream.
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Recycle your used motor oil and car batteries at a local
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service station.
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Join grassroots organizations that have led the way in
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increased recycling. (list of some of the organizations are
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at the end of this article)
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Encourage the use of Recycled products:
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When shopping, look for the recycling symbol (three arrows
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forming a circle), indicating that the packaging was made from
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recycled materials.
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Use recycled paper at home and in your office. For every 23
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reams of recycled paper you use in place of virgin paper, one
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pulp tree is saved.
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Encourage your local newspaper to use recycled newsprint.
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 3 27 Aug 1990
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Encourage companies you do business with to use recycled
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products.
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For More Information
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Institute for Local Self-Reliance Californians against Waste
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2425 18th St.,NW 909 12 St., Suite 201
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Washington, D.C. 20009 Sacramento, CA 95814
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(202) 232-4108 (916) 443-8317
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 4 27 Aug 1990
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Mike Robeson
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Fido 1:350/21.0
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WHY RECYCLE?
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Recycling saves energy, natural resources and landfill space.
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In 1990, it is projected that Americans will throw away over 1
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million tons of aluminum cans and foil, more than 11 million
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tons of glass bottles and jars, over 4 and a half million tons
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of office paper, and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper.
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Almost all of this material could be recycled, cutting down on
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the environmental damage caused by mining, logging, and manufac-
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turing raw materials, while decreasing the amount of garbage
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being dumped. The average American generates 3.5 pounds of
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garbage every day for a national total of over 160 million tons
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per year. Over 80 percent of this waste could be recycled
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using existing technologies.
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Global warming, acid rain, and oil spills are problems directly
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related to our extravagant use of energy. Three percent of our
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nation's energy is used to produce packaging materials, such as
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bottles and cans. By recycling aluminum it is possible to save
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95 percent of the energy that it would take to manufacture new
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products from raw materials. In other words, throwing away an
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aluminum can wastes as much energy as if the can were half full
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of gasoline. Americans throw away about 35 million aluminum cans
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every year. If all these cans were recycled, we would save an
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amount of energy equivalent to 150 Exxon Valdez oil spills
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annually. In 1988, Americans set an all time high by recycling
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42.5 billion cans. This alone saved enough energy to supply
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power for the city of Boston for one full year.
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For every ton of paper that is manufactured from recycled pulp,
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17 trees are saved and 3 cubic yards of waste paper avoids being
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landfilled. Since paper comprises over 40 percent of our
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municipal waste stream, recycling could extend the lives of our
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existing dumps considerably. For recycling to work, however, it
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is important that there is a market for the new product. The
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U.S. uses about 40 percent of the world's newsprint supply, yet
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only 14 percent of this paper is made from recycled fiber.
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Recycled paper uses up to 64 percent less energy to manufacture
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than virgin paper and produces only one-quarter the air
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pollution.
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As you can see, there are many good reasons to recycle. The
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first step is to acquire more information. Consider the
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following Subjects: Precycle, Reuse, Recycle, and Encourage the
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purchase and use of products that are made with recycled
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material and are recyclable.
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The Master Recyclers, a program of the Washington State
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University Extension Office of Kitsap County is engaged in
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an effort to encourage and promote recycling. We need your
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help in gathering information for inclusion in our data base.
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Specific information we need is sources of information
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concerning the following subjects: Recycling manufacturers,
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 5 27 Aug 1990
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Manufacturers of products containing recycled material, manufac-
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turers of packaging containing recycled material, and any
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sources of recycled material or information on products made
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from recycled material.
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Information may be addressed to the originator of this article,
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or postal mailed to: Mike Robeson, 1610 Kitsap Lake Rd. NW,
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Bremerton, WA 98312.
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Remember, If you're not recycling, you're throwing it away!
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 6 27 Aug 1990
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Mike Robeson
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1:250/21.0
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THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, For Hazardous Waste.
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Household drains and garbage cans usually aren't
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considered conduits for hazardous waste. But products as
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toxic as arsenic and as persistent as DDT are often poured
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down the kitchen sink or thrown out in the trash. This
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carelessness can cause serious problems.
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Powerful chemical products for home use include drain
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cleaners, disinfectants, degreasers, pesticides, paints, ect.
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These products also are potentially hazardous wastes.
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Hazardous Waste is any material discarded from the home
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that may, due to its chemical nature, pose a threat to human
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or environmental health if handled improperly. It may be
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ignitable, corrosive, explosive, poisonous, or have other or
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a combination of dangerous properties. And its difficult to
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control because it comes from diverse sources.
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Industrial waste disposal is strictly regulated. Disposal
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of household hazardous waste is not, even though it may
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contain the same toxic substances.
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The problem of household hazardous waste almost defys
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discription. The scope of the problem is gigantic. Example,
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Washington State citizens tossed an extimated 14,700,000
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pounds of household hazardous waste into local sanitary
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landfills in 1987.
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Improper use and disposal of hazardous household products
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has caused poisoning, chemical burns, exposure to toxic
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fumes, contamination of ground water, fish kills, and
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explosions in sewers, garbage trucks, landfills and homes.
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Small amounts of hazardous chemicals are widespread
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throughout our homes, garages, and storage sheds - often
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unsafely stored.
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The solution starts at home. Each person can help control
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household toxics. Purchasing power can be used to give
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industry the incentive to produce safer household products.
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Local governments can help provide hazardous waste
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management plans and provide public education. State
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government has grant and technical assistance programs for
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household hazardous waste projects and planning.
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HOW TO IDENTIFY A HAZARDOUS PRODUCT
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 7 27 Aug 1990
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Federal law requires that hazardous products be labled:
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"DANGER" or "CAUTION". Each word indicates the degree of a
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product's toxicity, "DANGER" being the most toxic,
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"CAUTION" being the least. Toxicity is capacity of a
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substance to cause damage to an organism. Other words on a
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lable like poison, corrosive, flammable, volatice, or
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caustic, help to determine the principal hazard of the
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product. Lables rarely warn of long-term health hazards, and
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labeling requirements do not apply to most hobby products.
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Inadequate as they are, lables do contain helpful information
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for many hazardous products. Knowing the meaning of signal
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words can help users make informed product and disposal
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choices.
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COMMON EXAMPLES OF HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTES:
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Paints and Solvents; Oil-based paints, paint thinners, paint
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strippers, boat bottom paints, varnishes, furnisher refinishers,
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metal polishes.
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Auto Care Products; Engine cleaner, used motor oil, tar remover,
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antifreeze, gasoline.
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Cleaners; Bleach, degreasers, spot removers, rug cleaners,
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disinfectants, toilet cleaners, oven cleaners, drain
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cleaners, septic tank cleaners.
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Pesticides; Pest stips, insect repellant, flea powder, ant and
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roach powder, rat poison, slug bait, moth balls, weed killers,
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wood preservatives.
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Miscellaneous Items; Dyes, lighter fluids, pool chemicals, photo
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chemicals, chemistry sets, old fire extinguishers, old medicines.
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SAFETY TIPS FOR HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS
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1. Read product labels, follow directions and warnings.
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2. Keep unused material in the original containers, lables
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intact, securely stored.
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3. Do not overuse products. Twice as much won't work twice as
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well.
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4. Never mix Products - dangerous reactions could occur.
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5. Never mix wastes - it could create a difficult disposal
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problem.
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6. Don't use old hazardous products: they may contain
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dangerous chemicals that have been banned.
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7. Wear protective equipment such as goggles, cloves, or
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respirators with proper cartridges when using hazardous
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material. Conuslt your telephone directory under
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"safety equipment" for stores that carry safety gear.
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8. Avoid breathing mists or vapors. If possible, work out-
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 8 27 Aug 1990
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doors, if you must work indors, use plenty of ventilation.
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9. If pregnant? avoid exposure to all toxic chemicals. Many
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household products are untested for their effects on the
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unborn.
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For further information on the subject of Hazardous waste or
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any other environmental subjects contact your county health
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department, local University Extension Agent, your state's
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Department of Ecology or your library system.
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 9 27 Aug 1990
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FIND HEIDI SITUATION SHEET
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August 16, 1990
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On August 4, 1990, 11-year old Heidi Seeman was abducted not far
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from her home in northeast San Antonio. Volunteers from
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Randolph Air Force Base, where Heidi's father is stationed,
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helped community volunteers organize a search which, by week's
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end involved more than 6,000 San Antonio civilian and military
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residents. Searches were conducted on foot, horseback, and in
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off-road vehicles. Additionally, a thorough search was conducted
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by air using helicopters, ultra light and private aircraft.
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Searchers also used dog teams when following up on specific leads.
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The Mayor of San Antonio proclaimed Saturday August 11, 1990 as
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"Find Heidi Day" and asked everyone to spend at least one hour
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searching areas around their neighborhoods. Officials believe
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that as many as 300,000 residents joined in the search. Sunday,
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San Antonio observed a day to "Take Heidi to Church" in their
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hearts and their prayers.
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Despite the diligent efforts of the volunteers to find Heidi,
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no trace of her has been found. Yet volunteers continue to come
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forward to help search, distribute flyers, and transmit computer
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images to other locations. The massive search for Heidi stems
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from an overwhelming concern by San Antonio people for the safety
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of their own children. They are saying that all children are at
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risk unless we do something to prevent such crimes.
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The search has now expanded nationwide, with a reward in excess
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of $50,000. This weekend, Heidi's disappearance will be covered on
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the Fox network program, "America's Most Wanted". We ask for your
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help to copy and distribute material in an attempt to find her.
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Won't you help?
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Heidi is 11 years old, 4' 10" tall and weighs 70 pounds. She has
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light brown hair and green eyes. At the time of her disappearance
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she was wearing a white, collarless shirt, purple shorts,
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black and white polka dot tennis shoes, and white socks.
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[Photo enclosed in FN073501.GIF]
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Notify your local FBI, or call 512-651-LOOK.
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 10 27 Aug 1990
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Another IFNA??
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--------------
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By Kwityer Bychin
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Hey, I'm back. Being that I ran off at the mouth a little
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about IFNA last week, I decided that I'd take that subject a
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little further and address the concerns of those PEOPLE that
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think we need an IFNA replacement.
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Since IFNA bought the farm, there've been quite a few
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twisted people moaning and whining about starting up a *NEW*
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Politburo to run Fidonet.
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Hey guess what sister? We don't NEED a new IFNA. We've been
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doing just FINE without an IFNA for almost two years now,
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because when it WAS around, it didn't do SQUAT.
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Look at good 'ol Fight-O-Net this way... You got a mailer
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that can send stuff to other mailers. You got a list of a
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WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE that you can send your stuff to. So SEND
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your stuff and KWITYER BYCHIN. You don't need no
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"organization" to run your system for you. You know the rules,
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you got the policy document, now PLAY THE GAME or GET LOST.
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Even though the network will do just FINE without any kinda
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politburo, SOMEBODY is gonna try to whip one up and take over
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the network. AGAIN. Yep, BANK ON IT. Some group of
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bureaucratic control freaks will undoubtedly make a pitch to
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conquer Fidonet sooner or later. And maybe they'll even do a
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NETWORK WIDE REFERENDUM! Yeah! They'll put out a question like
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"We are taking over Fidonet. Vote NO if you don't want that to
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happen". And the same 30% of the network will vote like they
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did last time, and WHAM! Instant takeover. Pretty neat huh??!
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Try this at home.
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Or maybe we'll see some Presnellian democratic takeover of
|
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Fidonet! Hey, that would be fun! Adjustable Democracy! Or
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maybe The Freddies will take over, and require you to be a
|
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certified senior citizen in order to send a netmail. YEAH! The
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FREDDIES! The FREDDIES will all gang up on Vince Perrier and
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Lighthorse Harry Lee and tie them to the RACK for LHarc'ing
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the SNOOZE (the most heinous crime since the Holocaust). Let's
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hear it for the FREDDIES folks, <clap clap clap>, come on! A
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big hand! <clap clap>.
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Oh yeah. By special request, I've been asked to plug a new
|
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network. Here's the intro from the ApiNet nodelist:
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;A Have you ever been in a network and got tired of all the
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flames?
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FidoNews 7-35 Page 11 27 Aug 1990
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;A Have you ever been in a network and got tired of all the
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bullcrap?
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;A Have you ever been in a network and hear people say to
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others
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;A "HEY, IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT HERE THEN GO JOIN ANOTHER
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!UCKING NET"?
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;A Or better yet, have you ever been kicked out of a
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network?
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;A Well folks, It looks like you're in luck because right
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here,
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;A right now, right in front of your p**cking face is (drum
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roll please)
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;A
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;A "ANOTHER P**CKYN NETWORK"! ;A (Sheesh... Just what we
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p**ckyn need)
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I censored the thing with the asterisks just in case we have
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some crybabies out there that can't take it.
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I've been told, that since this network took on some
|
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Canadian members, they renamed it to Another P**ckin'
|
|
International Network. You send a netmail to ROB ECKERT for
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more info.
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Well that's it for this week. Next week, we'll find
|
|
some(thing)one else to beat on. And look for the Nitwit of the
|
|
Week award, coming soon!
|
|
|
|
KB
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 12 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan Ceuleers
|
|
2:295/53@fidonet
|
|
27:1332/853@signet
|
|
|
|
|
|
TechCon-I, The Report (part 2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is the second and last part of the TechCon-I report. The
|
|
first part appeared in FidoNews 734.
|
|
|
|
First, an apology. I noticed in the logfile of 2:295/27 that
|
|
someone had tried to request some of the technical documents
|
|
that were distributed at TechCon. He only got one, because of a
|
|
ridiculously low MaxReq setting (the person in question was a
|
|
point). This limit has since been increased to 5, with a
|
|
maximum of 250Kbytes for unlisted nodes and 550Kbytes for
|
|
listed-ones. That should do it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
IFF (Interchange File Format) -- Maximilian Hantsch
|
|
---------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Maximilian Hantsch (2:310/6) told us that Electronic Arts, a
|
|
US based software company, had come up with a file format
|
|
which was sufficiently general for it to be used to store
|
|
data of any kind. The initial purpose was to allow different
|
|
programs, running on the same platform (i.e. the Commodore
|
|
Amiga) to interchange data consistently. It could, however,
|
|
be used to interchange data between different platforms as
|
|
well, and that is one of the reasons IFF was on the agenda at
|
|
TechCon.
|
|
|
|
Max briefly talked about the efforts in NET_DEV to come to a
|
|
"Type-III Packet". One of the possibilities is the RFC822
|
|
document, which actually looks a lot like the kludges we
|
|
currently use in FidoNet Type-II Packets, except that there's
|
|
no fixed binary header. RFC822 is being widely used in
|
|
professional, as well as in amateur networks.
|
|
|
|
Another notable proposition for a future format is the
|
|
'binary chunks' proposal. Max likes this proposal a lot, and
|
|
this is no coincidence, because its structure is very similar
|
|
to IFF. Both structures consist of chunks, which have a 4-
|
|
byte ASCII identifier, a length field, and the specified
|
|
number of data bytes. The length field is only one byte in
|
|
length in the binary chunks proposal, while it is a 32-bit
|
|
unsigned integer in IFF.
|
|
|
|
A second-level definition of IFF (the above structure
|
|
definition being the first level) would be that chunks can
|
|
contain 1 or more chunks themselves. Another step up the
|
|
hierarchical ladder, we find that a number of predefined
|
|
forms (specific configurations of nested chunks) can be used
|
|
as building blocks in IFF files as well.
|
|
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 13 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since IFF was initially designed specifically to be used on
|
|
the Commodore Amiga, all 16- and 32-bit numbers need to be
|
|
stored in the Motorola-order. They need to be stored at word-
|
|
boundaries as well, which means that pad bytes need to be
|
|
inserted if a chunk has an odd length.
|
|
|
|
We need to make sure that the chunk types (the 4-char
|
|
identifiers) are allocated centrally, so that no two
|
|
programmers use the same identifier for an entirely different
|
|
chunk type. Commodore-Amiga has set up an approval body,
|
|
which is part of CATS (Commodore-Amiga Technical Support),
|
|
with which chunk type identifiers can be registered. (Why not
|
|
use different smileys for identifiers in FidoNet?, JC).
|
|
|
|
Max went on to discuss a number of IFF-standard chunk types
|
|
(FORM, LIST, CAT and PROP) which provide for the orderly
|
|
arrangement of data, as well as providing a means to define
|
|
the scope for common properties. He explained how to parse
|
|
these standard chunk types as well.
|
|
|
|
A remark was made that it might be better to stop talking
|
|
about a type-III PACKET, and instead call it a new type of
|
|
BUNDLE. Otherwise, people might think that we're trying to
|
|
change the basic FidoNet protocol. This is entirely
|
|
unnecessary, since we would still transmit a type-II packet
|
|
during FTS-0001 sessions, which can be followed by any kind
|
|
of file. Actually, this is the way in which echomail is
|
|
currently being moved, albeit that the archives contain type-
|
|
II packets...
|
|
|
|
Finally, this standard uses other standards. The FTXT FORM
|
|
type makes use of the same ISO character set as does
|
|
Microsoft Windows, for example. The standard was placed in
|
|
the public domain, and example code has been placed in the
|
|
public domain as well. It is available from 2:295/27 as
|
|
IFF_88.ZOO (515K). Max may have it up for file request as
|
|
well, but I'm not sure. Many attendants took this file home
|
|
with them as well, so you may find it near you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Message FOSSILs - Panel discussion with Henk, Bob, Vince,
|
|
Alexander and Max
|
|
---------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
What this is really all about is a database interface layer.
|
|
We want to define a high-level interface, while the
|
|
implementation is platform dependent.
|
|
|
|
Vince remarks that Wynn Wagner has been studying a way of
|
|
handling messages that was similar to IFF (a binary-style
|
|
message structure); Alexander feels that IFF would not be a
|
|
proper way of storing messages on disk.
|
|
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 14 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another issue is platform independence. Henk mentions the
|
|
fact that Novell's B-Trieve is available on lots of
|
|
platforms, but this doesn't allow for compatibility with
|
|
existing message base formats. Existing programs that make
|
|
use of specific message base formats, without accessing the
|
|
message base through the message FOSSIL, are a problem:
|
|
integrity cannot be maintained in a multitasking situation
|
|
where one of the tasks accesses the message base without
|
|
making use of the message FOSSIL.
|
|
|
|
Bob feels that whatever we do, we mustn't slow things down,
|
|
however nice the features we add may be.
|
|
|
|
One part of the panel feels that too many people have been
|
|
involved in the NET_DEV-version of this discussion for
|
|
anything to really happen, while the others think that this
|
|
is too big a project for a single person. A limited number of
|
|
developers should sit together and "just do it". The key
|
|
people would probably be the major BBS authors, as they could
|
|
lead the way in this. Lots of utility developers would soon
|
|
follow.
|
|
|
|
Maximilian Hantsch (2:310/6) has volunteered to coordinate
|
|
the efforts. If anyone has already written message FOSSIL
|
|
specs, or is even busy writing code that uses a message
|
|
FOSSIL, you are requested to contact Max and to share ideas
|
|
with him. Please take into account that Max's system is not CM.
|
|
|
|
A brain storming on what the actual interface should look
|
|
like yields the following: perhaps we should use a SQL
|
|
subset, in order to support multi tasking, programs should be
|
|
written to take error messages into account (cannot perform
|
|
this or that function because this or that resource is
|
|
locked,...). Henk briefly sums up what type of functions a
|
|
message FOSSIL should incorporate: initialize message base,
|
|
initialize area, open+close area, open+close message,
|
|
read+write message, (we'd probably need to be able to access
|
|
the header and the body separately).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The-Box -- Arjen Lentz
|
|
----------------------
|
|
|
|
Arjen talked about his mailer, which is available both for
|
|
the PC and for the Atari ST. Sadly, Arjen's talk was not
|
|
recorded on tape and I wouldn't dare publish something on it
|
|
from memory. I have informed him of the problem, and he will no
|
|
doubt publish an article when his mailer's documentation
|
|
becomes available.
|
|
|
|
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 15 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
Global Configuration File -- Maximilian Hantsch
|
|
-----------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Programs requiring configuration can either extract this
|
|
information from other programs' configuration files, or have
|
|
the user construct configuration files of their own. In the
|
|
latter case, a lot of information is bound to be duplicated,
|
|
thereby increasing the chance of introducing inconsistencies
|
|
by forgetting to change all the occurrences of a particular
|
|
piece of information in all the configuration files.
|
|
|
|
This could be solved by introducing a format for a global
|
|
configuration file, i.e. a configuration file which contains
|
|
configuration information for use by more than one program
|
|
(preferably all).
|
|
|
|
Max based his talk on a document written by Martin Laubach,
|
|
who based the format he proposes on the Microsoft Windows
|
|
configuration file (WIN.INI), with the addition of a global
|
|
section.
|
|
|
|
Here's the format:
|
|
|
|
global_config_verb_1 options_1
|
|
global_config_verb_2 options_2
|
|
...
|
|
[program_name_1]
|
|
config_verb_local_to_program_1 local_options_1
|
|
config_verb_local_to_program_2 local_options_2
|
|
...
|
|
[program_name_2]
|
|
...
|
|
|
|
If a particular config verb is specified both in a local and
|
|
in the global section, the local options will take precedence
|
|
over the global options for the program the local config verb
|
|
is local to. In other words: global specifications are valid
|
|
for all programs, unless they are overridden in local
|
|
sections.
|
|
|
|
A file containing Martin Laubach's document is available from
|
|
2:295/27 as NEWCFG.LZH (2860 bytes).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Character Sets -- Maximilian Hantsch
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Maximilian described a number of 8-bit character sets. A
|
|
kludge line specifying which character set a message was
|
|
written in does not solve the problem where people's names
|
|
(in the From and To fields of the header) contain non-ASCII
|
|
characters.
|
|
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 16 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
Part of the audience (myself included, JC) feels that a
|
|
change of character sets requires sweeping enough changes to
|
|
software for the changes to be done thoroughly the first time
|
|
around. Why stick to 8 bits if people like the Chinese have
|
|
been asking us (in the Meadow conference for example) for a
|
|
way to support their multibyte characters.
|
|
|
|
An argument against this is the fact that many of the
|
|
languages requiring multibyte characters aren't written left-
|
|
to-right, and one line under the other. It would therefore be
|
|
difficult to write software that is sufficiently general to
|
|
handle all of this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That's about it. As you all can see, we've had fun. The
|
|
discussions were very informative (we've all learned a lot) and
|
|
were completely free of the kind of bitching that continuously
|
|
goes on in NET_DEV. BTW: I hope that's not one of the reasons
|
|
why the previous moderator of NET_DEV has become the *previous*
|
|
moderator of NET_DEV.
|
|
|
|
Another point. What you've read in this report only reflects
|
|
(or tries to reflect) what happened at TechCon during the more
|
|
or less planned sessions. There have been 'fringe meetings' in
|
|
several of Antwerp's world famous "staminees" (from the French
|
|
word 'estaminet').
|
|
|
|
As a matter of fact, Henk Wevers turned up a bottle of Bink
|
|
beer during one of those fringe meetings, which he presented
|
|
(empty, of course) to Bob and Vince the following morning. A
|
|
local sysop, Erik De Schrijver, found out about the brewery,
|
|
and arranged a guided tour for them. You should have seen their
|
|
proud faces when they came back home that evening, each
|
|
carrying 24 bottles of a beer named after their brain child.
|
|
Touching...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan Ceuleers
|
|
TechCon-I coordinator
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 17 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
=================================================================
|
|
COLUMNS
|
|
=================================================================
|
|
|
|
Henry Clark
|
|
124/6120
|
|
|
|
|
|
I Told You Homeboy --
|
|
|
|
U Can't Touch This.
|
|
|
|
Missed me ? I thought not. I've been on the campaign trail,
|
|
running for RC in our Region 19 elections. Campaigning is
|
|
probably not the right word, more like passive participation.
|
|
Our current RC decided to hold an REC election at the same
|
|
time, which has caused flames like a Kuwaiti well blowout. We
|
|
also get to try and vote on a Regional Policy, one of which
|
|
would make these elections a permanent arrangement. Watch your
|
|
nodelist for the results, maybe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Is there a Disk Doctor in the House ? --
|
|
|
|
Norton Utilities 5.0 was there, so I bought it. I owed them
|
|
one, now I don't. I remember back in Summer of '87, I had been
|
|
running DOS 3.2 and switched to Compaq DOS 3.31. BIG
|
|
PARTITIONS. I was so happy. But then, disaster. I am always
|
|
sorting my directories, and I had always used Norton's DS,
|
|
circa version 3 or something like that. Anyway, I actually
|
|
was forced back to multiple 32 meg partitions on that disk
|
|
until Norton 4 arrived. Late '87, I think, and of course, it
|
|
supported the BIGDOS partition, and DS worked and I was a happy
|
|
camper. Damn the sector size, full speed ahead.
|
|
Can't touch this.
|
|
|
|
As a side note on DS, I seem to want mostly DATE order, so that
|
|
the end of a DIR shows me the latest files. I PATCH the dates
|
|
on the directory entries themselves so that a full disk date
|
|
sort puts the directories in least to most used order ! On the
|
|
BBS file directories, I use ALPHA order, except the new uploads
|
|
area, which is DATE order. This matches the order of my FILES
|
|
LISTs, and seems to be faster for BBS user display.
|
|
|
|
So anyway, I dutifully archived Norton 4.5 and loaded up 5.0.
|
|
What a DISASTER. The interactive apps are OK, a little gaudy
|
|
with all the latest pretty menu, mousey type, pull downs, etc.
|
|
I think it looks alot like what PCTOOLS advertises ( I never
|
|
bought it for that reason. )
|
|
|
|
BUT the batchable commands are a horror(sp). The docs say that
|
|
DS is replaced with SpeedDisk, but I couldn't find it. Then I
|
|
noticed the docs telling me to keep DS, and quite a few other
|
|
4.5 commands around. Interesting, in a sardonic kind of way.
|
|
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 18 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
I don't know what to say, something like : Buy Norton 4.5 before
|
|
your retailer runs out ? This is like the New Coke/Classic
|
|
Coke thing, hopefully Symantec will lose their butt and return
|
|
to the UNIX style utilities we have known and loved.
|
|
|
|
Oh woe, oh woe, o we o, we-o-oh...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stop, Honeytime --
|
|
|
|
After three long weeks of one meal a day, and far too much
|
|
work, Darling returned with The Kid. She's decided to get into
|
|
drugs ! Fertility drugs, that is. I keep hearing something
|
|
about twins...
|
|
|
|
The Kid took some lessons from sister-in-law, he now knows :
|
|
|
|
alt-X, cd \games, comic, ctrl-alt-del
|
|
|
|
I can't believe I have to buy another computer for a 4 year old.
|
|
The airlines wrecked his bicycle, so he got a new one of
|
|
those. He's a happy boy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Miscellaneous Ramblings --
|
|
|
|
Get well soon, David. Quick to jump on the FIDO-GUI bandwagon,
|
|
I have enclosed a wee graphic to help cheer up a fellow sysop.
|
|
Later Dude, Oh... U Can't Touch This.
|
|
|
|
[Photo enclosed in file FN073502.GIF]
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 19 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
=================================================================
|
|
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
|
|
=================================================================
|
|
|
|
Bob Morris 1:141/333
|
|
|
|
Dear Editor;
|
|
|
|
I have just gotten up off the floor after reading the column by
|
|
Kwityer. Must admit that I haven't had this much fun since
|
|
drinking Anchor Steam Beer in the WOC in in Sin-City.
|
|
|
|
I honestly don't know where people come from to create batch
|
|
files that "break" when someone changes the extension. I have
|
|
the old batch files from 16/0 (circa pre-Harry Lee and pre-Pete
|
|
White having just returned from a couple of years doing testing
|
|
on OSIRIUS and ISIS) and darned if the batch files (created in
|
|
1987 don't say "If exist fnews*.* copy fnews*.*
|
|
e:\fido\fidonews". I guess my point here is that if you hard
|
|
code something that may change, you are definitely going to
|
|
"Break" it when you are not around to change it, but "Big Deal"
|
|
this is a "HOBBY" and we are not running Computer Centers for
|
|
large corporations out of our homes (at least I hope not).
|
|
|
|
To Vince and Harry, it was time that someone took the bull (no
|
|
pun intended) by the horns and made a decision. IFNA, the
|
|
democratic entity, is dead, we have come full circle again and
|
|
are once again a "Dictatorship" (if you don't understand that one
|
|
you have not been around long enough).
|
|
|
|
The gar... er stuff that has appeared in EchoMail and in this
|
|
publication is pure hogwash! Lharc is a Public Domain Package,
|
|
it has source code available, if some of the people who have
|
|
complained the loudest would have spent 50% of the time they did
|
|
complaining in converting LHARC to their individual machine
|
|
requirements we all would have had five or six more versions of
|
|
the product converted by now.
|
|
|
|
To those who want to know, I know the "REAL" identity of Kwityer,
|
|
and for some heavy duty bucks will fill you in, after all I have
|
|
to split it with Kwityer <grin>.
|
|
|
|
Bob Morris
|
|
1:141/333
|
|
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 20 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
=================================================================
|
|
LATEST VERSIONS
|
|
=================================================================
|
|
|
|
Latest Software Versions
|
|
|
|
MS-DOS Systems
|
|
--------------
|
|
|
|
Bulletin Board Software
|
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|
|
|
DMG 2.93 Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5f*
|
|
Fido 12s+ QuickBBS 2.64 TBBS 2.1
|
|
Lynx 1.30 RBBS 17.3A TComm/TCommNet 3.4
|
|
Kitten 2.16 RBBSmail 17.3A Telegard 2.5
|
|
Maximus 1.00 RemoteAccess 0.04a* TPBoard 6.1
|
|
Opus 1.13+* SLBBS 1.77* Wildcat! 2.15
|
|
PCBoard 14.2 Socrates 1.00 XBBS 1.13
|
|
|
|
Network Node List Other
|
|
Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
|
|
|
BinkleyTerm 2.40* EditNL 4.00 ARC 7.0*
|
|
D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.20 ARCAsim 2.30
|
|
Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ARCmail 2.07
|
|
FrontDoor 1.99c* Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00
|
|
PRENM 1.47 SysNL 3.11 Crossnet v1.5
|
|
SEAdog 4.51b XlatList 2.90 EMM 2.02
|
|
TIMS 1.0(Mod8)* XlaxDiff 2.35* Gmail 2.05
|
|
XlaxNode 2.35* GROUP 2.16
|
|
GUS 1.30
|
|
InterPCB 1.30*
|
|
LHARC 1.13
|
|
MSG 4.1
|
|
MSGED 2.00*
|
|
PK[UN]ZIP 1.10
|
|
QM 1.0
|
|
QSORT 4.03
|
|
Sirius 1.0w
|
|
SLMAIL 1.35
|
|
StarLink 1.01
|
|
TagMail 2.20
|
|
TCOMMail 2.2
|
|
Telemail 1.20
|
|
TMail 1.15
|
|
TPBNetEd 3.2
|
|
TosScan 1.00
|
|
UFGATE 1.03
|
|
XRS 3.40
|
|
ZmailQ 1.12*
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 21 27 Aug 1990
|
|
|
|
|
|
Macintosh
|
|
---------
|
|
|
|
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
|
|
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|
|
|
Red Ryder Host v2.1b10 Tabby 2.2 MacArc 0.04
|
|
Mansion 7.15 Copernicus 1.0d* ArcMac 1.3
|
|
WWIV (Mac) 3.0 StuffIt 1.6b1*
|
|
FBBS 0.91* TImport 1.331
|
|
Hermes 0.88* TExport 1.32
|
|
Timestamp 1.6
|
|
Tset 1.3
|
|
Import 3.2
|
|
Export 3.21
|
|
Sundial 3.2
|
|
PreStamp 3.2
|
|
OriginatorII 2.0
|
|
AreaFix 1.6
|
|
Mantissa 3.21
|
|
Zenith 1.5
|
|
UNZIP 1.02b
|
|
|
|
Amiga
|
|
-----
|
|
|
|
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
|
|
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|
|
|
Paragon 2.06+ BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23
|
|
TrapDoor 1.50* AReceipt 1.5*
|
|
WelMat 0.35 booz 1.01
|
|
ConfMail 1.10
|
|
ChameleonEdit 0.10
|
|
ElectricHerald1.66*
|
|
Lharc 1.10
|
|
MessageFilter 1.52*
|
|
oMMM 1.49b
|
|
ParseLst 1.30
|
|
PkAX 1.00
|
|
PK[UN]ZIP 1.01
|
|
PolyxAmy 2.02*
|
|
RMB 1.30
|
|
TrapList 1.12*
|
|
UNzip 0.86
|
|
Yuck! 1.61*
|
|
Zoo 2.00
|
|
|
|
Atari ST
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 22 27 Aug 1990
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--------
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Bulletin Board Software Network Mailer Other Utilities
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|
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|
|
|
FIDOdoor/ST 1.5c* BinkleyTerm 1.03g3 ConfMail 1.00
|
|
Pandora BBS 2.41c The BOX 1.20 ParseList 1.30
|
|
QuickBBS/ST 0.40 ARC 6.02*
|
|
GS Point 0.61 LHARC 0.51
|
|
LED ST 0.10*
|
|
BYE 0.25*
|
|
PKUNZIP 1.10
|
|
MSGED 1.96S
|
|
SRENUM 6.2
|
|
Trenum 0.10
|
|
OMMM 1.40
|
|
|
|
|
|
Archimedes
|
|
----------
|
|
|
|
BBS Software Mailers Utilities
|
|
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
|
|
|
ARCbbs 1.44* BinkleyTerm 2.03* Unzip 2.1TH
|
|
ARC 1.03
|
|
!Spark 2.00d*
|
|
|
|
ParseLst 1.30
|
|
BatchPacker 1.00*
|
|
|
|
|
|
+ Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software)
|
|
* Recently changed
|
|
|
|
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
|
|
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
|
|
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 23 27 Aug 1990
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|
|
=================================================================
|
|
NOTICES
|
|
=================================================================
|
|
|
|
The Interrupt Stack
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Sep 1990
|
|
George Peace announces the winner of the "Best Looking FidoNet
|
|
SysOp" award. Send netmail to 1:13/13 to cast your ballot.
|
|
|
|
5 Oct 1990
|
|
21st Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
|
|
|
|
6 Nov 1990
|
|
First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28
|
|
|
|
14 Nov 1990
|
|
Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at
|
|
2:332/16.0
|
|
|
|
1 Jan 1991
|
|
Implementation of 7% Goods and Services Tax in Canada. Contact
|
|
Joe Lindstrom at 1:134/55 for a more colorful description.
|
|
|
|
16 Feb 1991
|
|
Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush.
|
|
|
|
7 Oct 1991
|
|
Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
|
|
will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland,
|
|
Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo,
|
|
Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay
|
|
Islands will retain area code 415.
|
|
|
|
1 Feb 1992
|
|
Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and
|
|
eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area
|
|
code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport,
|
|
West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los
|
|
Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and
|
|
Montebello) will retain area code 213.
|
|
|
|
1 Dec 1993
|
|
Tenth anniversary of Fido Version 1 release.
|
|
|
|
5 Jun 1997
|
|
David Dodell's 40th Birthday
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
|
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
|
|
|
|
FidoNews 7-35 Page 24 27 Aug 1990
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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