1682 lines
81 KiB
Plaintext
1682 lines
81 KiB
Plaintext
BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News
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COPYRIGHT 1989
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December 1989 Volume 2, Issue 12
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Table Of Contents
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-----------------
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Article Title Author
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Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Mark Maisel
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Editorial Column...............................Mark Maisel
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An Early Christmas Present.....................Dean Costello
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2nd Annual Unofficial Birmingham BBS Poll......Tyros
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ProDoor 3.1: An Overview......................Ricky Morgan
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Insights.......................................Ron Albright
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Multitasking In Brief..........................Kelly Rosato
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Profile: Dean Costello........................Chris Mohney
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The Windows Column: Command Post ver 6.2K.....Eric Hunt
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Backup Heaven..................................Dr. Ebcdic
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Book Review With...............................Karsten Propper
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Message Board..................................Barry Bowden
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Known BBS Numbers..............................Mark Maisel
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EzNet Multiple Echo List.......................Randy Hilliard
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Disclaimer and Statement of Policy for BTN
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We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
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information in our publication. We assume no responsibility for
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damage due to errors, omissions, etc. The liability,if any for BTN, its
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editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
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etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
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even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
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of such damages occurring.
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With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
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policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles. We publish
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monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
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publication. If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any
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time but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear
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in a particular issue. It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise
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harm a person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the
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content of the articles prepared by our writers. Our writers own their
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work and it is protected by copyright. We allow reprinting of articles
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from BTN with only a few restrictions. The author may object to a
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reprint, in which case he will specify in the content of his article.
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Otherwise, please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as
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the source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
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article's original title are retained. If you use one of our articles,
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please forward a copy of your publication to:
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Mark Maisel
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Editor, BTN
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221 Chestnut St.
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BHM, AL 35210-3219
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We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
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you like it. We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
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all of this and not get too serious about it.
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N E W S F L A S H!
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The Matrix
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Since the system is on a rotary dial, when you dial the main 323-2016
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number, it rolls to the first node that is available. If for some
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reason, one of the nodes locks up or does not answer the phone, the
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rotary will not continue on to the other numbers. Though this happens
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seldom, it can be very frustrating if it happens the one time that YOU
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really need to get on and get a program.
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Therefore, just in case it does happen or for some reason, you want to
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get on a specific node, here are the direct dial numbers for each node;
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Node 1 - 323-2016 (Rotarys to Node 2-4 if 1 is busy)
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Node 2 - 323-1828 (Nodes 1-4 300-2400 baud)
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Node 3 - 323-2031
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Node 4 - 323-2032
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Node 5 - 251-2344 (not on rotary 300-9600 USR HST)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Editorial
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by Mark Maisel
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What a year it has been! Things have really been stirring on boards
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and in BTN. We have had, with this one, 12 successful issues of BTN out
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MOSTLY on time, several very enjoyable parties, and a whole lot of
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communicating in general. America Online became The Matrix and a whole
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lot more bulletin board, all in one fell swoop. Several boards have
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come and gone with at least one notable return. Scott Ferguson's Penny
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Arcade came back with a new look after being absent for far too long. A
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bizarre thing called Crunchy Frog came into being early this year and
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its effects are still being enjoyed by the more bizarre among us. Many
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more events, persons, and what we will call "others" have entertained,
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angered, amused, and enlightened us over the year than there is room or
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inclination to mention here.
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With this in mind, lets have a look at the what awaits us in this
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"special, super-duper, wowee-zowee, Christmasy?" issue of BTN. I have,
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much to the disappointment of certain parties who shall identify
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themselves later, taken over, at least for this month, the editor's much
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coveted spot. According to the poll, more of you were able to agree on
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this person as your favorite user. After you have read his special
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present to each and every one of you, we shall see if your opinion
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remains the same. The big star of this issue is, of course, the 2nd
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poll. I have deliberately understated it here since I know you will be
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or will have already jumped ahead to it to see what it might say about
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you. Using my typical charm; regular contributors can tell you all
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about it; I have convinced Ricky Morgan of the merits of a series of
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articles describing and critiquing ProDoor 3.1. If you use ProDoor and
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or have been intimidated by it, please follow Ricky as he guides you
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through it as he intends to cover it all by the time he is through. Ron
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Albright is amazingly enough, still with us and has this month got some
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information on a book that looks like it is a "must have" for anyone who
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is an avid user of bulletin boards and/or information services via
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modem. Kelly Rosato faces off two of the most popular multitasking
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options available for IBM & compatible computers, Desqview 386 and
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Windows 386. If you have need or desire of multitasking on your
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machine, don't make a move until you have read this article. When we
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zing it to someone here at BTN HQ, we don't fool around. This being the
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case, it just so happened that Dean Costello's name was chosen for this
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month's ProFile. It really was a random drawing from the famous hat,
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honest! All will become clear as you read on so get to it. In the event
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that you don't know of a Dean Costello, he is also known as Elvis, Lord
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Dean, Cardinal Dean, and sometimes God (his own personal sort of joke).
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Speaking of jokes, I must wonder if this person, whoever he really is,
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is sane? Eric Hunt takes a look at Command Post for MicroSoft Windows in
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his Windows column. This shareware makes Windows a much easier to use
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environment. If you have ever had backup trouble with your hard disk or
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have been inhibited by the costs of same, then Doc might just have some
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help. Doc has had these problems and has solved them with VIDEOTRAX. We
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finally, thank God, are closing the issue with our usual, Barry Bowden's
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Message Board, the Known BBS List, and the EzNet Echo List.
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I hope that you enjoy this king-sized issue and have the best of
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holidays! If you have any comments or articles of your own, please leave
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me messages on EzNet. In closing, I would like to thank the many, who
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shall remain nameless (read their names in BTN), who over the last two
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years have turned a small idea into a big reality for all of us.
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Keep up the good work!
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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An Early Christmas Present
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by Dean "Bubba" Costello
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Preface
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Before you guys read this, let me explain something to you first.
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This was first written when I was bumming pretty hard about a year ago
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after I first got to Birmingham, and was experiencing serious culture
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shock. I thought that Mark would be amused by it so I brought it over
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for him to read. In the meantime, he was bugging me to write something
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for BTN. You figure out the rest. Remember, this was not meant for human
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consumption. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy the following article.
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Here We Go
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Similar to The Apology by Plato I have decided to put down some
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things that bother me about Alabama, and the South, in general. I think
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for lack of a better name, I will call this:
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A MARYLAND YANKEE IN KING GEORGE'S STATE
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I. STOP CALLING ME HONEY.
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All right, so I am from the impersonal North. I am a standoffish
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kind of guy, I suppose, as a result of growing up there. I don't
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mind being friendly, and have made a few pretty close friends since
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I have been down here. In fact, I am in great debt to the people
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in the Student Affairs office at my school for their help over the
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past year or so. But come on now, too much of anything is not a
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good thing. And this leads to:
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II. FRIENDLY, OR WHAT?
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If you guys are so damn friendly all the time (or at least you
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are on the surface), how do I know whether or not you are being
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just personable or genuinely friendly? Do something out of the
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ordinary if you wish, but don't call me "Honey" unless you mean it.
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III. GET A LIFE!
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Who gives a damn who wins between the fighting Hoover Gophers and
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the bad-ass Vestavia Hills Muskrats? Football is not the end-all
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be-all of existence, people. I am sorry to point this out. What
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do you do during the spring and summer, just dream about football?
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I have come to believe that this insatiable mania about football
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must have been a reason the South got beaten in a little tiff 130
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years ago.
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IV. TALK NORMAL.
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Either have the accent, or don't have the accent. Don't get me
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wrong, it is nice in and of itself, and when females speak to me
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with it, I have the strange compulsion to do whatever they ask of
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me (ie. open doors for them, give them flowers and such, make large
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deposits in their checking account, etc.). But some of you have
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it, and some don't, and I am taking into account the "Damn
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Yankees": The people such as myself who have come down here from
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the North. Make up your minds and stick to it.
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V. LET'S TALK ABOUT GOD FOR A MOMENT.
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Yes, I couldn't let this get by. Who's kidding who here, folks?
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This is an unusual topic, in that usually normal people all of the
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sudden lose all semblance of critical thought and any analytical
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skills. Take a research biologist, for example. If he were to do
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some research, and tell everyone that they should take his results
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on faith, he would be laughed out of the lab. Any body of
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knowledge, that has only one supposedly infallible source of data,
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and you have to take everything on faith, is not very consistent
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with the scientific process of proving/disproving hypothesis. As I
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think of this, CNN just had a thing today on the data of the Shroud
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of Turin being from about 1260 AD (thus destroying the credibility
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of a number of 'religious scientists' who felt that the Shroud
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would prove that something curious happened to a carpenter 2000
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years ago). By now, you have probably labeled me a heretic or
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something, but before you think I am God-bashing for lack of
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anything better to do, I have actually put some critical thought
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behind these ideas of mine. The Roman historian Josephus recorded
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that at about 40 A.D., a Zealot (Palestinian Liberation terrorist
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group) was put to death for starting a riot (I believe it was the
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business in the Temple); and that is pretty much the only direct
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historical evidence of the existence of Jesus that I have come
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across. And without further evidence (more than the p and q
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documents, for instance) I quite honestly cannot see how anybody
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with a critical mind can accept this at face value. I made the
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mistake once of telling someone from this region that I was, please
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prepare yourself, an atheist (My definition being one who doesn't
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believe in a higher intelligence that created the universe, eg.
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God). Lets just say I won't be making that same mistake twice. I
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am sure that many of the practitioners of this are sincere, but the
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actions of the televangelists make me doubt the validity of at
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least the evangelical branch. And I know from personal experience
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that some religious branches do good (many of the people in my
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School have gone overseas with a church group to do stuff). But it
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seems to me that it is unhealthy that so many people devote
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themselves to religion without giving it the same critical thoughts
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that they give buying a new Buick. Then again, what do I know,
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being a goddamn, secular humanistic, socialistic, gay, democratic,
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gun-control favoring Yankee carpetbagger?
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VI. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HOTDOG STANDS?
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Do you people really eat that many of them? Or is it all a tourist
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trap of sorts.
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VII. THE GALLERIA.
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The flowers in the median strip of 20th St. downtown are a nice
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touch. The Galleria is kind of nice, also, but there should be an
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easier means of access, especially as we enter the cold and flu
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season.
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IIX. STREET NAMES.
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Which reminds me, who's clever idea was it that the streets here
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should change names all of the time? Example, the street I live on
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starts life as 24th, changes to 26th, Niazuma, Pawnee, Country
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Club, and then Montclair. That took a lot of sense.
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IX. BLACKS ARE PEOPLE TOO.
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After wandering around town for a while, I understand now why most
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of the Civil Rights protest marches occurred down in this part of
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the U.S. You people are big-time prejudiced. I was talking with
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an acquaintance of mine who moved here from the West. She cannot
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believe the way people react to her at work (customers, not
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employees); they don't think that she knows what she is doing, they
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don't treat her like the other employees there, etc. Kids, the
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Emancipation Proclamation was made in 1862 (plus or minus 2 years).
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Chill out a little, people. You shouldn't carry a grudge quite
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this long.
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X. TAKE A LUDE, WHY DON'T YOU?
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In relationship to the epistle on football, there are sporting
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events outside of the South. I don't give a frog's fat ass about
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college football, well maybe how bad Maryland got beat on a given
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week, but I do like college basketball. But only Big East and ACC
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divisions. But my point is I enjoy them, but I don't get carried
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away about it. Have you ever watched the crowd at the Alabama and
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Auburn games (which is all that one ever sees down here)? These
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people are jerks. What's this bovine feces "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR EAGLE!" that prefaces Auburn
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kickoffs? Jesus Christ, that is ignorant. Watch a Penn State game.
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Now that is a relatively class act. Joe Paterno is an incredible
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coach, and they have some ungodly rate of player graduation there.
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The fans are enthusiastic, and generally not penises, unless the
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frat boys are there. But as I said before, IT'S JUST NOT THAT
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IMPORTANT, DAMMIT!
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XI. TAKE SOME SPEED, WHY DON'T YOU?
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A person from the Midwest of my acquaintance says it best, "These
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people talk so slow I lose their train of thought in the middle of
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what they're trying to say," or words to that effect. Dammit, pick
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up the pace a little, at least to a slow crawl. Well, at least
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there cannot be that many ulcers here. But when I need some speed
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from you people, I can't get it, especially at Financial Aid and
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the Registrar's Office.
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XII. DRIVING ABILITY.
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Uh. I am not going to get into this too much. I just want to
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comment quickly on the people that when their car dies, they just
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abandon it in the middle of the road; wherever that may be. I
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almost died one fine day on the Red Mountain Expressway. And
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another thing, why do people like to go through red lights, for no
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apparent reason? And I would like to point out for the record,
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that the little stick on the side of your steering wheel controls
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not only the high beam switch, but also the turn signals.
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XIII.REGIONALISTIC THINKING.
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I don't know if you guys realize it or not, but there is life
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outside of the South. Face it people, the South ain't going to
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rise again. I am sorry to point this little fact out. Also, as a
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general group, the average Southern person is a very intolerant
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sort. Case in point: The Last Temptation of Christ. Why was
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there such a outcry to ban the film from being shown in this
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state? God help you if you have the audacity to think, believe,
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act, talk, walk, or look different from anyone else down here. No
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drinking on Sundays? The idea to put pants on Vulcan? Sweet tea,
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anyone?
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Well, that's about it for the time being. I figure I have upset
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enough people by this stage of the article. Don't blame the nice people
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at BTN too much for this, since I did this of my own volition, and it
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was in essence serialized by someone who will remain unnamed on the BTN
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staff, (but he is someone who was very instrumental in its creation, and
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it is for the most part composed at his house). Nice enough people,
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they allow me to parasitize their food a lot, but I don't think that
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they realized how far I would go when I vented my spleen. I think I may
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have gone to far when Mark refused to allow me to introduce the articles
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in this issue of BTN, which is what every other guest editor was allowed
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to do. I swear, even Mark is pissing me off.
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Editor's Note: Dean did want to wish you all "Happy Holidays" but
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considering his content, I did not think it was appropriate. MM
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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=======================================================================
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THE 2nd ANNUAL UNOFFICIAL BIRMINGHAM BBS POLL
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=======================================================================
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Results modestly compiled by -* TYROS *-
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***** "Why do we yearly go through this inane survey?" *****
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- Fred Hambrecht -
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Here it is! The article everyone's been waiting for! Especially me!
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Before we begin, a brief aside:
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====================
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THE NAME OF THE GAME
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====================
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For those of you wondering about the name, yes, we called it a
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"survey" last year. The reason it says "poll" is because a while
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back someone told me that from a technical statistical sense what
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we're doing isn't really a survey. (For all I know he may have
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been wrong. Don't ask me.) Hence the name. This hasn't stopped
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ANYONE from calling it "the survey", though, not even me, so it
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doesn't really matter. Go ahead, call it a survey. Live a little.
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Oh, the "unofficial" part... Well, a lot of the criticism we got
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last year was due to the fact that the survey was presented with
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some kind of air of authority. In an effort to avoid that I'm
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trying to smother the whole thing with a sort of informal modesty.
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Maybe it will work.
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***** "I don't care to hear it all over again." *****
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- Bill Moxim -
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===============================
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HOPEFULLY MEANINGFUL DISCLAIMER
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===============================
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I dunno how much good this will do but I want to stress one final
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time to NOT take these results seriously. This is just a little
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fun undertaking that's been done for no other reason than
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entertainment value. If you're offended by anything here you see,
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don't blame me.
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***** "C'mon, admit it - you love the abuse, don't you?" *****
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- John Hayes -
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=====================
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METHOD TO THE MADNESS
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=====================
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Here's how we did it. I took last year's questions and posted them
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publicly, asking for comments on what should be changed. For the
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next few months, there was a virtual torrent of messages, and we
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went round and around on the whole subject... You know, the whole
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debate bit. Big controversy. Anyhow, when all that died down, I
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made a list of all the viable suggestions and tried to integrate
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the best ones into this year's questionnaire.
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The following BBS's hosted the survey this year:
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PC Boards: CHANNEL 8250 WWIV Boards: BYTE ME!
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CRUNCHY FROG LANDS OF BRITTANIA
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JOKER'S CASTLE TOP BBS
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MAGNOLIA
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RADIO FREE TROAD
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THE CONNECTION
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Due to the whiz-bang programming of Omega Ohm, boards that are run
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on WWIV software were also allowed to carry the survey. Truly a
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first...but then having the survey on more than one board is a
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first as well.
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The survey ran...mmm..about a month. A couple of boards got to
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carry it late because of assorted problems... And over the past
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weeks, we've been compiling our little hearts out. The whole thing
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was done ethically, if not professionally. Trust me.
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***** "Face it, Tyros, you just aren't any good at this!" *****
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- Joseph McDonald -
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==========================
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AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO...
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==========================
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The results themselves! Hooray!
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***** "Do it again and make us proud!" *****
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- Omega Ohm -
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===========
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AGES OF YOU
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===========
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The first thing on the agenda is AGES. What you're about to see is
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a table that details statistics about the ages of the various BBS's
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users.
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An explanation, first, for the statistical neophyte:
|
|
|
|
The MEAN is an average. This is, of course, adding all
|
|
the ages together and dividing the total by the number
|
|
of ages.
|
|
The MEDIAN is the number you get when you put all the
|
|
numbers in order from smallest to largest and take the one
|
|
in the very middle of the list. When you have an even
|
|
number of them listed, you get the average of the middle
|
|
two.
|
|
The MODE is the number that's most often repeated in the
|
|
list.
|
|
|
|
This table is made out in 80 columns. People who don't have 80
|
|
columns, sorry, but that's the way it goes. Print it out, or give
|
|
me a call, and I'll tell you what it says.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Board Name Mean Median Hi / Lo Mode(s)
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Channel 8250 34.6 35 18 / 56 27,30,34,37
|
|
Byte Me! 23.3 21 15 / 33 21
|
|
Radio Free Troad 24.2 18.5 13 / 50 13
|
|
Magnolia 31 31 14 / 48 -
|
|
Joker's Castle 19.2 17 14 / 30 17
|
|
Lands Of Brittania 15 16 13 / 16 16
|
|
Crunchy Frog 24.2 22 13 / 52 14
|
|
The Connection 30.2 28 15 / 51 20,37
|
|
Top BBS 22.5 23 11 / 39 19,28
|
|
|
|
ALL OF THEM
|
|
PUT TOGETHER! 25.9 23 11 / 56 16,17,18,19
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
=========
|
|
HOW FAST?
|
|
=========
|
|
|
|
People were asked to put their maximum baud rate. Here's how that
|
|
turned out:
|
|
|
|
MAXIMUM BAUD RATE: ==> 1. 2400 BAUD (65 participants) <==
|
|
2. 1200 baud (21 participants)
|
|
3. 9600 baud (7 participants)
|
|
4. 300 baud (6 participants)
|
|
|
|
There were a few who could do 19,200 baud...And one guy put down
|
|
38,400! Whew!
|
|
|
|
|
|
The rest of the results are going to be done in "list" fashion,
|
|
like the baud thing above. The first few categories are afforded a
|
|
"top 10", so to speak, and the rest, the less important ones, have
|
|
a top 5.
|
|
|
|
|
|
=============
|
|
THE GOOD PART
|
|
=============
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE BBS: ==> 1. THE MATRIX <==
|
|
2. Crunchy Frog
|
|
3. Channel 8250
|
|
4. The Connection
|
|
5. Top BBS
|
|
6. ST BBS
|
|
7. Willie's Dial-Your-Match
|
|
8. Club Phoenix
|
|
9. Outer Limits
|
|
10. Joker's Castle
|
|
|
|
In case you've been sitting under a rock or hiding from the law,
|
|
The Matrix is the new name for America Online. It came in 2nd
|
|
place last year, so this is something of a small triumph. Crunchy
|
|
Frog, which wasn't even up when last year's survey ran, made a very
|
|
impressive showing as well.
|
|
|
|
As for the why, the most frequent reason given was "messages".
|
|
Other interesting reasons were "Not a PC-Board", "Great taste" and
|
|
"Crazy people."
|
|
|
|
|
|
LEAST FAVORITE BBS: ==> 1. THE CONNECTION <==
|
|
2. Byte Me!
|
|
3. The Sphere
|
|
4. Eazy's Playhouse
|
|
5. LZ Birmingham
|
|
6. Professional's Board
|
|
7. Radio Free Troad
|
|
8. TeleTech
|
|
9. Ziggy
|
|
|
|
I suppose the argument could be made that by listing out so many in
|
|
categories like this, we are potentially offending more people. Oh
|
|
well, anyone who was offended, please take note that the last few
|
|
boards in this list only got a few votes. That's why there's only
|
|
nine listed; the rest all just got one vote apiece. One user voted
|
|
CompuServe.
|
|
|
|
Most of the "why"s in this category were pointed personally at the
|
|
sysops. "Sysop is jerk" was the most popular response; another BBS
|
|
"presumes too much". One user disdainfully stated that his vote
|
|
was "obvious".
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE SYSOP: ==> 1. MONTY <==
|
|
2. Rocky Rawlins
|
|
3. Alice
|
|
4. Bill Freeman
|
|
5. Kelly Rosato
|
|
6. Steve Turner
|
|
7. Randy Hilliard
|
|
8. Joe Kearley
|
|
9. Landy Manderson
|
|
10. Lord British
|
|
|
|
Monty and Rocky fought this one out till the bitter bitter end - it
|
|
was VERY close. Some surprises here - two sysops made the list
|
|
here but their boards got in "least favorite"! Alas.
|
|
|
|
Sysops were most cited as being "helpful". That's nice to know.
|
|
Other people said their choices were "non-pretending" (whatever
|
|
THAT means), "crazy", "non-irritating" and "Coooooollllll...."
|
|
|
|
LEAST FAVORITE SYSOP: ==> 1. OMEGA OHM <==
|
|
2. Bill Freeman
|
|
3. Joe Hardwick
|
|
4. Willie Moore
|
|
5. Eazy E
|
|
6. Joseph McDonald
|
|
7. Tim Straughn
|
|
|
|
This was a pretty slack vote. Anyone who got voted here, it
|
|
probably wasn't with a whole lot of votes. In fact, this one lists
|
|
EVERY sysop who got more than one vote.
|
|
|
|
Lots of fun adjectives on this one: "Immature", "obnoxious",
|
|
"arrogant", "insane", "evangelist-like" and "unfriendly". Some
|
|
other responses were "troublemaker", "endless sermons", "refuses to
|
|
mind his own business" and "takes things too personal". Plenty of
|
|
amusing but unfortunately unprintable epithets, too.
|
|
|
|
HARDEST BBS TO GET THROUGH TO: ==> 1. MAGNOLIA <==
|
|
2. Top BBS
|
|
3. Sperry
|
|
4. Crunchy Frog
|
|
5. Willie's Dial-Your Match
|
|
|
|
Magnolia wins this one for the second year in a row! Rah rah!
|
|
|
|
EASIEST BBS TO GET THROUGH TO: ==> 1. THE MATRIX <==
|
|
2. The Connection
|
|
3. Channel 8250
|
|
4. Ziggy
|
|
5. Outer Limits
|
|
|
|
Naturally, Rocky's board pulls this one in again. It happens to
|
|
have five telephone nodes.
|
|
|
|
BBS DOWN THE MOST: ==> 1. RADIO FREE TROAD <==
|
|
2. The Sphere
|
|
3. Top BBS
|
|
4. The Connection
|
|
5. Modem Mission
|
|
|
|
Last year's winner, The Connection, shoots down to #4. Sorry,
|
|
Bill. I guess you'll have to leave it down more often.
|
|
|
|
BBS HARDEST TO GET MEMBERSHIP ON: ==> 1. BYTE ME! <==
|
|
2. The Connection
|
|
3. The Matrix
|
|
4. Club Phoenix
|
|
5. The Sphere
|
|
|
|
This question kind of falls into the category of 'I Left It In
|
|
Because No One Said To Leave It Out.' It's not really a biggie, but
|
|
it is kind of revealing. Omega's board, called Misty Mountain when
|
|
the last survey was run, jumped from second place to first,
|
|
knocking last year's winner down to second. Fight it out, guys.
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE BBS SOFTWARE: ==> 1. PC-BOARD <==
|
|
2. WWIV
|
|
3. New Image (tie)
|
|
3. Teleguard (tie)
|
|
5. Genesis
|
|
|
|
Last year's winner pulled it off again - so well, in fact, that
|
|
this question might be kind of useless in the future. WWIV,
|
|
unheard of in last year's survey, assumed the second place slot.
|
|
An amazing number of people misunderstood this question (and the
|
|
next two). They thought it meant like just any kind of software
|
|
and happily voted stuff like games and utilities. I won't name
|
|
any names to save a few folks from embarrassment.
|
|
|
|
LEAST FAVORITE BBS SOFTWARE: ==> 1. WWIV <==
|
|
2. PC-Board
|
|
3. RBBS-PC
|
|
4. Minihost
|
|
5. Phoenix (tie)
|
|
5. Wildcat (tie)
|
|
|
|
Predictably, the two most prominent picks in the Best category
|
|
switch places in the Worst category.
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE TERMINAL SOFTWARE: ==> 1. PROCOMM PLUS <==
|
|
2. Telix
|
|
3. ProTerm
|
|
4. QModem
|
|
5. CommTerm
|
|
|
|
Procomm Plus was FAR AND AWAY the winner here. Another question we
|
|
might have to do away with next year.
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE USER: ==> 1. DEAN COSTELLO <== (tie)
|
|
1. Tyros (tie)
|
|
3. Mark Maisel
|
|
4. Brett Thorn
|
|
5. Melanie
|
|
|
|
I don't want to hear about it. I swear up and down that this is
|
|
how the people voted. If it's any consolation, the people who got
|
|
voted only got a few votes apiece.
|
|
|
|
This was a fun one, in ways.... People praised their fellow users
|
|
as "knowledgeable", "intelligent", "chatty", "weird", "nutty",
|
|
"helpful" and - my favorite - "He has a good computer."
|
|
|
|
LEAST FAVORITE USER: ==> 1. OMEGA OHM <==
|
|
2. The Lover
|
|
3. Joe Hardwick (tie)
|
|
3. Joel (tie)
|
|
|
|
These guys attracted even less votes. A lot of people just
|
|
couldn't answer the question.
|
|
|
|
The ones who did, though, were plenty amusing. "Complete jerk"
|
|
was the most popular reason, and "immature" was a frequent one too.
|
|
One user "has no redeeming qualities", and two different people
|
|
voted someone "leech of the universe". Boy, word gets around.
|
|
Someone voted for Omega Ohm, noting "I hate it when he says 'byte
|
|
me'."
|
|
|
|
BEST TRANSFER LIBRARIES: ==> 1. THE MATRIX <==
|
|
2. The Connection
|
|
3. Top BBS
|
|
4. Sperry
|
|
5. Magnolia
|
|
|
|
Rocky's board flew away with the number-one spot, just like last
|
|
year. Everyone else was WAY behind.
|
|
|
|
WORST TRANSFER LIBRARIES: ==> 1. RADIO FREE TROAD <== (tie)
|
|
1. Channel 8250 (tie)
|
|
3. Islands
|
|
4. Role-Player's Paradise
|
|
|
|
Here's another question that didn't get many votes...A lot of
|
|
people just don't pay a lot of attention, I guess. I'm one of
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
MOST INTERESTING MESSAGES: ==> 1. CRUNCHY FROG <==
|
|
2. Top BBS
|
|
3. Channel 8250
|
|
4. The Connection
|
|
5. Club Phoenix
|
|
|
|
The good ol' Frog exercised a sizable margin over its competition
|
|
here. One person said "all of them". Hee hee.
|
|
|
|
LEAST INTERESTING MESSAGES: ==> 1. SPERRY <==
|
|
2. The Matrix
|
|
3. Byte Me! (4-way tie)
|
|
3. Crunchy Frog (4-way tie)
|
|
3. Magnolia (4-way tie)
|
|
3. Outer Limits (4-way tie)
|
|
|
|
The funny part of this one is Crunchy Frog. Nearly everyone who
|
|
voted it for this category had some little snide comment to make
|
|
about how loony the users were. Yeah, they know, they know.
|
|
|
|
BEST BBS FEATURE: ==> 1. MESSAGES <==
|
|
2. Files
|
|
3. On-Line Chat
|
|
4. On-Line Games
|
|
|
|
The ONLY multiple-choice question in the entire survey. A few
|
|
people insisted on putting "conferences". That wasn't one of the
|
|
options, darnit!
|
|
|
|
SUGGESTED CONFERENCES: ==> 1. X-RATED/SEX <==
|
|
2. Discussion
|
|
3. IBM (tie)
|
|
3. Music (tie)
|
|
5. Apple
|
|
|
|
And now for a public service message. I kind of hoped that this
|
|
question might be a LITTLE helpful to local sysops in deciding
|
|
what kind of conferences to put in. All it told me is that
|
|
Birmingham's BBS users are nothing but a bunch of sex-crazed people
|
|
who occasionally use computers, talk politics and listen to music.
|
|
|
|
FAIREST TRANSFER RATIO: ==> 1. 10:1 <==
|
|
2. 5:1
|
|
3. unlimited
|
|
4. 1:1
|
|
5. 3:1
|
|
|
|
Okay, I goofed this one up personally. In the question, I
|
|
specified that the answer be Uploads to Downloads. Fortunately,
|
|
most people ignored that and went with the more typical order. A
|
|
couple of people voted for a point system, and a few crackpots
|
|
typed in some outrageous ratio like 4.9 quintillion to 1. why, I
|
|
oughta...
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE ONLINE GAME: ==> 1. TRADEWARS <==
|
|
2. Masters of the Universe (3 way tie)
|
|
2. Top Gun Trivia (3 way tie)
|
|
2. Planet Busters (3 way tie)
|
|
5. Backgammon
|
|
|
|
I wouldn't know anything about this category, so don't ask me.
|
|
Yawn...
|
|
|
|
WHAT WOULD YOU PAY FOR 9600 BAUD?:
|
|
|
|
One suggestion that I thought had merit was to find out what was
|
|
the highest price is that people would pay for 9600 baud if they
|
|
didn't already have it. The average price we got was: $311.81
|
|
although they ranged from $1000 to one cent. Hmph.
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE TV SHOW: ==> 1. STAR TREK <==
|
|
2. Star Trek: The Next Generation
|
|
3. Night Court
|
|
4. The Cosby Show
|
|
5. News
|
|
|
|
I think,a lot of people put Star Trek down when they meant Star
|
|
Trek: The Next Generation. Nonetheless, there you have it. Other
|
|
shows that also got votes were Doctor Who, Married...With Children
|
|
and Quantum Leap.
|
|
|
|
FAVORITE MUSICAL ARTIST: ==> 1. PINK FLOYD <==
|
|
2. Billy Joel
|
|
3. Beatles
|
|
4. Willie Nelson
|
|
|
|
Pretty diverse, eh? Personally, I wanted to hunt down anyone who
|
|
voted for Willie Nelson, but this is a democracy, after all.
|
|
|
|
THE #1 PROBLEM IN AMERICA: ==> 1. DRUGS <==
|
|
2. AIDS/sexually transmitted diseases (tie)
|
|
2. Apathy (tie)
|
|
4. Crime
|
|
5. Education (3 way tie)
|
|
5. Homelessness (3 way tie)
|
|
5. Nuclear weapons (3 way tie)
|
|
|
|
I'm afraid that the evil scourge DRUGS ran away with the number one
|
|
spot by a huge margin. I was surprised that no one put Satanism.
|
|
|
|
POLITICAL BELIEFS: ==> 1. CONSERVATIVE <==
|
|
2. Republican
|
|
3. Liberal
|
|
4. Democrat
|
|
5. Moderate
|
|
|
|
It's a one-word question. Answer it with one word, next time,
|
|
please. Some other amusing ones were "mine, okay, loose, stinks,
|
|
silly, what?, confused, skewed, and cogent."
|
|
|
|
DO YOU WANT A SURVEY NEXT YEAR?: ==> 1. YES 90.52 % <==
|
|
2. NO 7.85 %
|
|
|
|
There you have it. I guess I have to go through this again next
|
|
year, then? Thanks a lot.
|
|
|
|
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT SURVEY: ==> 1. MORE QUESTIONS <==
|
|
2. Less questions (tie)
|
|
2. More space for answers (tie)
|
|
2. More sex-related questions (tie)
|
|
2. More personal questions (tie)
|
|
|
|
Just for the record, I assumed that everyone who didn't answer this
|
|
question like the survey the way it is. "More questions"? Yeah,
|
|
RIGHT!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, looks like that's it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
=====================
|
|
CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE
|
|
=====================
|
|
|
|
My thanks first and foremost to Mark Maisel and Dean Costello, who sat
|
|
around me offering moral support while I scribbled survey results down.
|
|
Mark also contributed a huge part of the technical support, and Dean,
|
|
after all, did write down some of the stuff for me when I went away for
|
|
a soft drink.
|
|
|
|
Also, thanks to all the sysops who put up with this craziness on their
|
|
board. This includes Omega Ohm, Randy Hilliard, Kelly Rosato, Vikki
|
|
Highfield, Joe Kearley, Lord British, Monty, Bill Freeman and Alice. A
|
|
tip of the hat to these people's subordinates as well.
|
|
|
|
Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions: Richard Foshee, Ralph Bolen,
|
|
Bill Moxim, Fred Hambrecht, James Parson, Maggie Harden, Sliver Streak,
|
|
John Hayes, Geoff Taylor, Jet Thomas, Chris Mohney, Brett Thorn, Ace
|
|
Cannon, Tim Straughn, and many others.
|
|
|
|
Plus, a big final thanks to all the users who supported this survey and
|
|
those who support BTN. It's been a lot of fun, and this whole mess has
|
|
probably distracted me from things that otherwise just would have
|
|
depressed me. I hesitate saying this on the record, but it looks like
|
|
there'll be a Third Annual Unofficial Birmingham BBS Poll as well.
|
|
Just give me some time to rest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
***** "I, for one, have better ways of getting my kicks." *****
|
|
- Joe McDonald -
|
|
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
ProDoor 3.1 of 10-08-89;
|
|
Copyright (C) 1987, 1989 Samuel H. Smith
|
|
by Ricky Morgan
|
|
|
|
Overview
|
|
|
|
As I sit here, trying to get this review started, I keep thinking
|
|
about my first experience with ProDoor. It was about eight months ago
|
|
when I began getting on-line with the BBS community and while I
|
|
understood the basic operations of a computer, I was totally ignorant as
|
|
to exactly what a BBS was and what it was all about.
|
|
|
|
I sat there at the computer and diligently read all the new user
|
|
messages, rules and regulations of the system, as well as the infamous
|
|
FCC warning that most boards hide in their bulletins somewhere. By the
|
|
time I had digested all this I was so scared of doing something wrong
|
|
that I rarely tried anything new; fearful of bringing down the wraith of
|
|
the dreaded SySop, or even worse, awakened in the middle of the night by
|
|
a knock on the door, being cuffed and drug off into the dark night by
|
|
agents of the FCC, never to be seen again, for violating some arcane
|
|
rule.
|
|
|
|
Well, curiosity, as well as help from several of those SySops, who
|
|
turned out not to be so dreaded after all, soon had me trying just about
|
|
every choice on the main menu; except for the Operator page, which is
|
|
still delicate territory.
|
|
|
|
The most enticing of those commands was of course OPEN. Open what?
|
|
A door. A door into what? There are game doors which obviously allow you
|
|
to play games, but there was also the enigmatic "ProDoor". It espoused
|
|
extended file transfer and a full screen text editor. To be quite
|
|
honest, until I was asked to write this review I knew little more than
|
|
that about it. Oh, sure I could use it to download and upload files
|
|
faster as well as compose messages off-line then upload them through the
|
|
full screen text editor; leaving that cute little tag line at the bottom
|
|
that reminds everyone that your message was left "Via ProDoor 3.1" but
|
|
aside from that, I just didn't see many other uses for ProDoor.
|
|
|
|
It appears that my curiosity waned a bit too soon. At first glance,
|
|
ProDoor is nothing more than an enhancement of the Main menu commands
|
|
that are available under the regular BBS software. It is. It is also a
|
|
whole lot more. Let's find out just what ProDoor is.
|
|
|
|
According to the documentation that Samuel H. Smith, the creator of
|
|
ProDoor, includes with the program it is a "Multi-Protocol Batch file
|
|
Transfer DOOR with Extended Archive Manipulation and Message Base
|
|
Access." Gosh, that clears things up for me is there anything else you
|
|
want to know?
|
|
|
|
Seriously, there have been a lot of questions about just what
|
|
ProDoor is, what it does and what is it good for. I hope in the
|
|
following months that I can put into layman terms, (translation of
|
|
layman terms: someone who doesn't have a P.H.D. in Computer Programming)
|
|
just how useful ProDoor can be to the average user. With that in mind,
|
|
let's look at Rick's simplified definition of ProDoor.
|
|
|
|
ProDoor is, put simply, a utility that runs outside of PCBoard
|
|
software and provides enhancements to the commands offered under
|
|
PCBoard. So what you are doing when you enter ProDoor, is basically
|
|
leaving PCBoard and entering ProDoor. Once inside ProDoor you will find
|
|
that most of the commands that are available under PCBoard are offered
|
|
under ProDoor, but where, under PCBoard the commands are generally
|
|
listed in alphabetical order, with apparent disregard as to which
|
|
commands are related to what. ProDoor divides the commands into groups
|
|
that are directly related, i.e, File Transfer, Conferences, Messages,
|
|
Zip or Archive functions, Elsewhere or PCBoard commands and Utilities
|
|
commands. Virtually anything that can be done under the PCBoard Main
|
|
Menu can be accomplished with ProDoor faster and, with a little
|
|
practice, easier.
|
|
|
|
Because of the sheer number of commands and functions available
|
|
under both PCBoard and ProDoor; and to keep from boring everyone silly
|
|
with a long list of command comparisons, I am going to break this up
|
|
into several monthly articles. Each month I will attempt to review a
|
|
specific section dealing with each sub-menu separately; this will also
|
|
give me a little extra time to learn about all these great features that
|
|
I'm supposed to be telling you about.
|
|
|
|
So with that in mind, next month I will attempt to review the
|
|
commands so near and dear to most everyone out there...File Transfer!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ProDoor 3.1 Copyright (C) 1987,1989 Samuel H. Smith.
|
|
|
|
PCBoard is a registered trademark of Clark Development Company.
|
|
---
|
|
* Via ProDoor 3.1R
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Insights
|
|
by Ron Albright
|
|
|
|
By the time you read this, an incredible achievement in the world
|
|
of computer books should be on the shelves of your local Waldenbooks and
|
|
Dalton's. It is a tribute to our world of computer communications that
|
|
such a book was written at all. Because of its nature, it is a tribute
|
|
to us all that it went from a "pipe dream" to being a monumental
|
|
reality. Let me tell you a little about it.
|
|
|
|
About 10 months ago, Nick Anis (a computer consultant in
|
|
California) and John Dvorak (the controversial columnist for PC Magazine
|
|
and elsewhere) came up with an idea for a book. They posted a notice on
|
|
BBS's around the country about their proposed work, soliciting
|
|
contributions for its pages. The book was visualized as the "be all, end
|
|
all" of books on computer communications. Knowing that so single author,
|
|
or even two authors, could handle such a Herculean task, Anis and Dvorak
|
|
recruited 30 or so experts in various aspects of bits, bytes, and
|
|
BBS'ing. What came to pass was so typical of our modem community. Anis
|
|
and Dvorak's BBS (714-396-0014) was inundated - 10,000 or so calls -
|
|
with offers to help, ideas, and suggestions. The resulting book is a
|
|
unique collection of essays by some of the real experts in computers and
|
|
modems. The list of acknowledgements, alone, runs 12 pages and lists 350
|
|
people that contributed in large and small ways. It took a special team
|
|
of 25 people at the publishing house just to put together and an
|
|
initial run of 35,000 copies - unheard of for a first-run computer book.
|
|
Obviously, someone there is convinced it will be the all-time smash in
|
|
the genre of computer books.
|
|
|
|
I have to agree. "Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications"
|
|
is something to behold. Counting out at 1200 pages, costing $49.95, and
|
|
weighing in at almost 4 pounds (let me see here, that's $12 per pound - not
|
|
bad!), "The Guide" will quickly become the authoritative encyclopedia of
|
|
modem communications. It is divided into three sections. There is a
|
|
"Layman's Side" to get the uninitiated up to speed quickly. It starts
|
|
at square one and paces the prospective modem jockey through the technology
|
|
- what is a modem, why is it needed, how does it work and what it does.
|
|
The next section, "The Technical Side," carries you forward into the
|
|
intricate world of bits, bytes, parity, RS232's, terminal emulators,
|
|
and cables. As you would expect from a book this large, no stone is
|
|
left unturned - sending a fax by modem, international connections,
|
|
telecomputing, ISDN, modem modulation techniques, and laptops are all
|
|
covered. There is even a section on Macintosh communications that
|
|
was partially written by the author of the popular "Red Rhyder" emulator
|
|
for the Mac, Scott Watkins. There are chapters dealing with each of the
|
|
large commercial systems (CompuServe, GEnie, Delphi, Prodigy, BRS/After
|
|
Dark) as well as the entire spectrum of public BBS systems. Over 300
|
|
screen images and illustrations are provided in the text.
|
|
|
|
The final chapter deals with the "User's Guides" for the array of
|
|
software included with the book. That's right - software. The book is
|
|
bound with two 360K IBM-compatible disks. On these two disks, Anis and
|
|
Dvorak have managed to ZIP nearly 1.4 megabytes of software. Included is
|
|
the "Telix SE" that will get your computer online quickly and easily.
|
|
Once connected, you will use other programs (like Vern Buerg's famous
|
|
"List" utility to view text files, QEdit by Sammy Mitchell for word
|
|
processing, and PKZIP/PKUNZIP from Phil Katz for file
|
|
compacting/unpacking) for immediate productivity. A set of diagnostic
|
|
programs is included should you run into trouble with your COM ports or
|
|
modem. You even get a "point and shoot" menu program to facilitate your
|
|
access to these new packages.
|
|
|
|
There is also "The Modem Tutor," a menu-driven disk tutorial of
|
|
telecommunications. This software, by itself, would be worth the $49.95
|
|
price tag. It offers text files explaining modems and how to chose one.
|
|
A section on how to deal with an illness most of our readers are
|
|
afflicted by called "modem addiction," and BBS's and their users from a
|
|
sysop's perspective. There are hundreds of screens captured from some of
|
|
the most popular BBS's in the country to give you a feel for their
|
|
offerings. Finally, there are actual sessions for seeing what it is
|
|
really like when you connect with these hosts. Once you have stepped
|
|
through the tutorial, there will be few surprises when you connect to
|
|
the PC Board, Wildcat, Opus, or other BBS's for real.
|
|
|
|
The appendices finalize the coverage. There are lists of
|
|
manufacturers, every Telenet, Tymnet, and CompuServe node in the world,
|
|
and more. There are also coupons for over $1500 worth of merchandise
|
|
with some serious discounts and freebies.
|
|
|
|
The dedication for the book, I think, says it all. It is dedicated
|
|
to "All Mankind." It sort of tells the story of the book right there.
|
|
The book is a collection from a group of unselfish, knowledgeable modem
|
|
junkies that reflect the basic nature of the people you will meet
|
|
online. I don't think one can find a singularly more friendly, giving,
|
|
and helpful group anywhere than the world of modem users. If the United
|
|
Nations and their delegates were a fraction as unassuming and willing to
|
|
help others as are the people I have run into on BBS's and other
|
|
electronic systems across the country, I think wars and rumors of war
|
|
would become a forgotten fabrication.
|
|
|
|
I heartily recommend "The Guide" to anyone - novice of expert. Once
|
|
you have gone through its pages and (even partially) assimilated the
|
|
book's wealth of information, you will become yet another disciple of
|
|
the technology. Check it over and I am sure you will agree.
|
|
|
|
"Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications"
|
|
Osborne McGraw-Hill
|
|
800-227-0900 <<<======= is this the ISBN number? ******************
|
|
$49.95
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Multitasking in Brief
|
|
Windows vs. DesqView
|
|
|
|
by Kelly Rosato
|
|
|
|
In my last article I discussed OS/2 and its pros and cons. Now we
|
|
will look at the multitasking alternatives that are here today and use
|
|
existing software. To clarify what I mean when I say multitasking, I
|
|
will first take a quick overview of what it means and how it is
|
|
accomplished.
|
|
|
|
Multitasking means to be able to have your computer doing more than
|
|
one task at a time, such as working on this article while in another
|
|
task (often referred to as a "window") I am downloading a file.
|
|
Accomplishing this is fairly easy as there are several ways of doing it
|
|
for computer users. For the IBM, there are several different programs
|
|
that support multitasking, such as DoubleDos, TaskSwitch, DesqView 286
|
|
and 386, Windows 386, Concurrent DOS, and OS/2. I have reviewed OS/2
|
|
already, and was unable to obtain a copy of Concurrent DOS to evaluate.
|
|
|
|
So I will give you overview of the systems available. To clear a
|
|
point up, there are several different methods of multitasking, some are
|
|
programs that are used to keep several programs in a memory segment, not
|
|
shutting them down, but not letting them continue to run in the
|
|
background either, this is called 'carouseling' and is not 'true'
|
|
multitasking. Then there are operating systems that support
|
|
multitasking such as Amiga Dos, Unix, and OS/2. While it is true that
|
|
these are multitasking remember that they are either expensive or are
|
|
hardware specific. Finally, there are programs that give a 'normal'
|
|
single tasking system the capability of running several programs at
|
|
once. This review will cover the two most common ones, Windows 386 and
|
|
DesqView 386. (Note although these are configured for the 386, they
|
|
remain fairly the same for the 8088, 8086, and 80286 versions.)
|
|
|
|
First I will look at Windows 386, from MicroSoft, developers of
|
|
MS-DOS. Some of the features of this program are very notable, first
|
|
being that it is developed for graphics applications like desktop
|
|
publishing, painting and to a limited extent games, providing a good
|
|
atmosphere for programs that rely heavily on graphics. Windows provides
|
|
a somewhat consistent user interface via pull down menus available by
|
|
pressing hot keys or using a mouse. (I would not recommend running this
|
|
without a mouse.) One thing that I particularly liked was the fact
|
|
programs running in the background can be represented by little icons
|
|
that can be accessed with a simple click of the mouse, a drawback to
|
|
this being if you want to watch two windows at once you have to manually
|
|
resize it with the mouse. This is not a major drawback, but annoying
|
|
all the same. The best feature for Windows is that by switching
|
|
directories and clicking on the program you want, Windows will try to
|
|
run it, not always succeeding and having special trouble with batch
|
|
files. With a little tinkering, most things can be made to run. The
|
|
drawbacks are many. You MUST have 2 megabytes of Expanded RAM available
|
|
for Windows 386, otherwise you'll be stuck with only what little
|
|
programs you can fit. Windows will take about 400 K for it's own use
|
|
with it's memory manager taking another 60 K. It also uses a system of
|
|
16K memory segments for forcing programs to mirror themselves into,
|
|
instead of utilizing the full capabilities of the 386 to make virtual
|
|
8086 machines with each having its own 640 K environment. Windows will
|
|
not run in in the 32 bit protected mode unless the program being run
|
|
forces it to operate in the 32 bit protected mode. Because of the
|
|
graphics interface it uses it is slow as Christmas. Finally, for
|
|
$240.00, it was one of the most expensive Multitasking programs I have
|
|
worked with.
|
|
|
|
The other one I tested and continue to use is DesqView 386 by
|
|
QuarterDeck Software. DesqView uses what is called a "text-based"
|
|
interface meaning that it's best performance is with text or ANSI based
|
|
programs. Although graphics programs used to lock DesqView up, and send
|
|
it into all sorts of fits, the new BIOS management for graphics are much
|
|
improved. DesqView does not provide as much mouse interfacing as does
|
|
Windows 386 and can often cause problems with programs that don't
|
|
support a mouse interface. However, with a single hot key or cursor
|
|
selection this does not cause much of a problem. One thing that stands
|
|
out about DesqView is speed, and with but two keys I can switch between
|
|
tasks as fast as I can push buttons. Desqview needs little special
|
|
hardware and half as much memory as Windows. Desqview also comes with 75
|
|
program selections already configured to run under it. In order to run
|
|
any of these 75 preconfigured selections, all you need to do is add the
|
|
most frequently used ones to your permanent menu. If you wish to use
|
|
software not among the 75 already set up for Desqview, then you must
|
|
configure a new menu selection so that your program will run under
|
|
Desqview although you can get around this by running a program and then
|
|
exiting from it to DOS and running another program in that memory
|
|
segment. Also a good point with having to insert each program manually,
|
|
you can specify the window size when it opens, doing away with resizing
|
|
(you can change it quickly though) and also specify the color palette as
|
|
well, a nice change from plain black and white text all the time. The
|
|
drawbacks in DesqView are minor and more irritating than bad. The first
|
|
problem I had is little mouse support as mice seem to cause conflicts
|
|
between DesqView and programs that don't even support a mouse, even with
|
|
them in separate segments. Second, the graphics are still a problem for
|
|
DesqView as graphics intensive games often lock up other windows. This
|
|
is due to DesqView being unable to control direct screen writes, and
|
|
leaving programs open to conflict. In all though with the speed, ease of
|
|
use, and price of $138.00, Desqview makes a fine environment for
|
|
multitasking.
|
|
|
|
In summary, the program that is best for you depends on your
|
|
application. If you intend to do desktop publishing or some other
|
|
graphics intensive work, then Windows 386 is a good, reliable program.
|
|
Its user friendly point and shoot interface makes it easy to use. On the
|
|
other hand if you intend to do work that requires more processing
|
|
devoted to the application, such as spreadsheets, data entry or word
|
|
processing, the text based DesqView 386 is a good choice.
|
|
|
|
DesqView by Quarterdeck Software
|
|
$138.00
|
|
|
|
Windows 386 by Microsoft
|
|
$240.00
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
PRO FILE
|
|
by Chris Mohney
|
|
|
|
The Pro File is a short, half-serious biographical sketch given to
|
|
various computer telecommunications personalities around Birmingham.
|
|
Victims are selected randomly from a group of names put into the
|
|
notorious Hat. Anyone who thinks himself brave or witty enough may
|
|
petition for admittance to the Hat by leaving E-Mail to me (Chris
|
|
Mohney, most boards around town) to that effect. Anyone who wishes to
|
|
suggest more questions or sneakily nominate someone without their
|
|
knowledge may take the same route ....
|
|
|
|
---------
|
|
|
|
Pro File on DEAN COSTELLO
|
|
|
|
---------
|
|
|
|
Age: 24
|
|
|
|
Birthplace: Cambridge, Maryland
|
|
|
|
Occupation: Economic Parasite on my Parents, until I get out of
|
|
Graduate School
|
|
|
|
My hobbies include: Buying CDs, trying to get rid of a Fiero, keeping
|
|
my fish alive, busting on Southern people, beating
|
|
on my computer, and biting the heads off of
|
|
whippets.
|
|
|
|
Years telecomputing: Well, it all started about 8 years ago, when I
|
|
first connected with CompuServe on my TI 99. I
|
|
started in Birmingham I think in about November
|
|
(check with Bill Freeman, and to give you an
|
|
idea, I was registered on Point of No Return). I
|
|
started getting into local boards in a big way in
|
|
April or May, and it has become a kind of
|
|
obsession with me ever since. Which may explain
|
|
why I am doing this accursed survey at 3am, and I
|
|
have an 8 a.m. class.
|
|
|
|
My oddest habit is: Hmm. Where to start. Probably the curious
|
|
compulsion to be God, and then make people play
|
|
along with me.
|
|
|
|
My greatest unfulfilled ambition is: See Oddest Habit. Well, that and
|
|
I haven't won a Nobel Prize yet.
|
|
I noticed I got passed over again
|
|
this year. Alas ...
|
|
|
|
The single accomplishment of which I am most proud is:
|
|
This will sound stupid, but probably getting into graduate school.
|
|
Judging by my less-than-stellar undergraduate record, that says
|
|
something about how desperate southern schools were for real
|
|
academic talent.
|
|
|
|
My favorite performers are: A couple in Highland Park a couple of
|
|
nights ago. No, probably Tony Banks, Frank
|
|
Zappa, Keith Emerson, and my Brother,
|
|
Scott, a bass player in a band in
|
|
Baltimore.
|
|
|
|
The last good movie I saw was: I never see movies, since as my friends
|
|
here say, I live in a cave, therefore I
|
|
don't do anything, let alone see a
|
|
movie.
|
|
|
|
The last good book I read was: This may sound more stupid than my
|
|
single accomplishment, but my
|
|
Toxicology Book. Ask Mark's wife Kathy
|
|
some- time ...
|
|
|
|
If they were making a movie of my life, I'd like to see my part played
|
|
by:
|
|
If there were to be a movie made about my life, it would surely be
|
|
a sign of the apocalypse, and therefore it is a moot point, since
|
|
it would never get out of pre-production.
|
|
|
|
My pet peeves are: All the drivers in the South. I have driven all up
|
|
and down the east coast, and I have never seen such a population like
|
|
Birmingham that is so consistently piss-poor in their driving habits.
|
|
|
|
When nobody's looking, I like to: Show on my face what I really think
|
|
of people I am talking to, or mock
|
|
them (which more times than not is
|
|
the same thing anyway).
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
The Windows Column: Command Post ver 6.2K
|
|
by Eric Hunt
|
|
|
|
Whenever the subject of Windows comes up, the conversation always
|
|
turns to the barren MS-DOS Executive screen that appears when Windows is
|
|
loaded. Critics argue that the Executive screen defeats the purpose of
|
|
having an intuitive graphical interface, and that new computer users
|
|
have no idea what to do or how to do anything. I have a friend who has
|
|
an Apple IIGS and has used Macintoshes (considered THE intuitive
|
|
graphical interface by some) extensively and wondered aloud the first
|
|
time he ran Windows: "What is THIS garbage?" Command Post was written to
|
|
solve this. A shareware program, Command Post eliminates the searching
|
|
and then double-clicking of favorite programs by placing them in main
|
|
menu selections. Command Post also solves the problem of file
|
|
maintenance by allowing two concurrent CmdPost windows to be open
|
|
simultaneously with the ability to move or transfer files between them.
|
|
|
|
Command Post's main strength lies in its ability to add a second
|
|
menu line below the original Windows menu bar. In this menu line, you
|
|
can define any menu selection and add programs or actions within it. You
|
|
also have the ability to use dialogue boxes with prompts. For instance,
|
|
you can have the main menu selection of Letters with Mom and Dad under
|
|
it. When you select Mom, Command Post asks you for a filename and then
|
|
passes that filename to whatever word processor you have installed in
|
|
the user-defined menu selection. This ease of use comes at a price,
|
|
however. You must have considerable patience in order to read through
|
|
the sample Command Post Menu file and learn the syntax for creating your
|
|
own menu file. Most users will find that modifying the existing one will
|
|
be much simpler than creating a new one from scratch. This allows for a
|
|
menu system allowing the user to totally bypass and ignore the MS-DOS
|
|
Executive screen and focus on the menu selections that he has defined.
|
|
In addition to adding the second menu line, Command Post expands the
|
|
existing menus by adding the Windows and CmdPost selections. Windows
|
|
allows structured stacking of the programs and their windows and CmdPost
|
|
contains all of the information selections (such as entering your
|
|
license number, information about Command Post, and system information)
|
|
in addition to hotselect items that take you straight to the Control
|
|
Panel, Dos C:> prompt, the Clipboard and to load another Command Post
|
|
for file handling.
|
|
|
|
There are also a few other little goodies that come with Command
|
|
Post -- the visual directory tree (which works on Windows without
|
|
Command Post, also) that allows you to double-click on a desired
|
|
directory and the Executive display will be changed to reflect that.
|
|
Also, a movable status bar that can display the time and date or the
|
|
title "Command Post Ver 6.2K" is constantly on the screen and will
|
|
always rise to the top layer of windows to be visible. I find this to be
|
|
a neat trick. While playing Taipei!, the status bar disappears while the
|
|
program is loading and Windows is swapping to disk, but it reappears in
|
|
the exact same spot as soon as the program runs, often obscuring
|
|
important features below it. It can, however, be moved to any location
|
|
that suits you. I did find that it presented problems for the display
|
|
algorithms in Balance of Power: 1990 and slowed that program down
|
|
considerably. The last little goodie is the ability (upon registration)
|
|
to change the Command Post title bar from "Command Post" to whatever you
|
|
choose -- "Ed's Waxworks", "Hewitt High Lab computer", etc, etc.
|
|
|
|
Command Post ver 6.2K is a useful piece of Windows software, and it
|
|
is shareware to boot! At $20 to register, it also has a very appealing
|
|
price. The small disadvantage of having to learn how to write your own
|
|
menu bar is far outweighed by the advantages in file handling and
|
|
ease-of-use offered by the custom menu bars.
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Backup Heaven
|
|
By Dr. Ebcdic
|
|
|
|
The DOC's back, only this time he isn't talking about Cybernetics.
|
|
I can hear you now saying, "Hey it's that DOC fellow, you know the one
|
|
that always starts his articles with a question?". Even if you didn't
|
|
say that I will still ask you a question. Do you dread backing up your
|
|
hard drive? I know I do, as all that disk swapping gets boring. It's
|
|
VIDEOTRAX to the rescue. Let's step backward through time into
|
|
1982. In 1982 most people could back up their entire hard disk on 25 or
|
|
30 floppies or even fewer disks using programs like Fifth Generation's
|
|
FastBack Plus that provide backup Automation and file Compression
|
|
simultaneously.
|
|
|
|
What was feasible with a 10 or 20MB Hard Disk may not be all that
|
|
great an idea these days when some Computers come with 70 or 120MB Hard
|
|
Disks as standard and offer 300 + MB Hard Disk options. It takes about
|
|
195 360K floppy disks to make an uncompressed backup of a 70MB Hard Disk.
|
|
It would take 2 hours of Formating and several more hours of BORING Disk
|
|
swapping to perform the backup. One option would be to purchase a tape
|
|
drive that cost more than $1000.00 and only stores 60MB or so per tape at
|
|
a cost of around $25.00 each tape.
|
|
|
|
Why 1982 you may be wondering? Well, in 1982 Alpha Micro Corporation
|
|
started marketing the VIDEOTRAX Hardware and Software in a PC version.
|
|
Imagine walking into your local drug store and purchasing a VCR tape
|
|
costing about $5.00 or $6.00, and putting it in your own VCR, pushing a few
|
|
buttons, and backing up nearly 200MB on that VHS or Beta tape. Sure it will
|
|
take a few (up to six) hours to fill that tape, but, so what, you don't
|
|
have to stick around, and think of all that money you will save!
|
|
You can store vast amounts of data on your standard VCR tape for a fraction
|
|
of the cost of a floppy disk backup, and even make duplicates of your files
|
|
using two VCR's.
|
|
|
|
What about other possibilities you may be asking? Well, actually
|
|
VIDEOTRAX is a "VIDEO" modem, converting any computer data into standard
|
|
video broadcast signals. The BBC was the first to recognize the potential
|
|
of VIDEOTRAX when they broadcast the text of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, in May
|
|
of 1985, at a rate of about 40,000 Characters per second. A maximum
|
|
transmission rate of 80Kbps is possible with VIDEOTRAX (by way of
|
|
comparison, a fast audio modem is 2.4Kbps or 9.6Kbps) which makes it very
|
|
attractive to companies wishing to send data via expensive satellite
|
|
transponders.
|
|
|
|
NASA's Science Fiction Science Fact program (showing on many PBS
|
|
stations) included a test of VIDEOTRAX data transmission, and programs
|
|
from NASA's Lewis Research Center having VIDEOTRAX encoded data are
|
|
broadcast through the Southern Educational Communication Association
|
|
(SECA) every Sunday at 12 noon Eastern time using the Westar 4 Satellite
|
|
transmitter 11 direct (Channel 21) with audio on 6.8MHz. Home Satellite
|
|
dish owners can pick up the transmission, and it is carried by a number
|
|
of cable companies.
|
|
|
|
Although you can use your own VCR (or any other type of Video
|
|
Recorder, even a reel-to-reel machine) with the VIDEOTRAX board, Alpha
|
|
Micro also sells specially modified VHS VCRs (the current one is a
|
|
Zenith) that can be connected to the board for totally automatic pre-set
|
|
backup, verify, and restore operations. The VCR will serve its original
|
|
function of recording the Super Bowl for Dad as well. It can take about
|
|
an hour to store and verify about 20MB of data completely. It will take
|
|
about 24 minutes to backup 20MB of data without verification.
|
|
|
|
You can greatly speed backups choosing to copy only certain
|
|
directories, or just files modified since the last backup. Both options
|
|
are simple menu driven choices. Image mode backups are even faster, but
|
|
you must store the entire logical disk partition and can't restore individual files when using the image mode as you can with the file mode
|
|
backup. For file mode restore you set the directories or files (using
|
|
wild cards * and ?) then just start the tape playing and walk away for
|
|
lunch and the files will be automatically restored, no matter where they
|
|
are located on the tape.
|
|
|
|
Installation is as simple as copying the driver from the supplied
|
|
disk to the IBM configuration disk, plugging in the board, and running
|
|
the auto-configuration program. Hooking up to a VCR is also simple,
|
|
with just two (video in/out) RCA jacks that you connect to your VCR
|
|
using standard dubbing cables. Just think if you had one of those
|
|
streamer tape backup units and it broke down, it could take a few days
|
|
or weeks to get the unit repaired. With VIDEOTRAX if your VCR breaks
|
|
down you could borrow one from you friend or in the worst instance buy
|
|
or rent another at your local VCR store.
|
|
|
|
Nice features include the preset backup where you can set a specified
|
|
backup (and optional verify) to take place at a later time. When the pre-set time comes and the computer next returns to a DOS prompt, VIDEOTRAX
|
|
takes over and completes the backup procedure without any interference
|
|
by the operator who may be a data entry clerk and know little or nothing
|
|
about computers. Enough talk you say! How about some prices?
|
|
|
|
Alpha Micro, 3501 Sunflower,
|
|
Santa Ana, CA 92799.
|
|
800-253-3434 or 714-957-8500
|
|
VCR with controller board and software $1299
|
|
Controller and software for use with other VCR $499.
|
|
The specially modified VCR alone is $800.
|
|
|
|
CIAO. ========== THE DOC ==========
|
|
A.K.A. Ferlin H. Scarborough.
|
|
|
|
References:
|
|
Computer Shopper Vol. 9 No. 1 Isuue 108.
|
|
Videotrax article Jan 1989 by. John McCormick.
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Message Board
|
|
by Barry Bowden
|
|
|
|
|
|
DECEMBER 1989
|
|
|
|
S M T W T F S
|
|
1 2
|
|
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
|
|
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
|
|
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
|
|
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
|
|
31
|
|
|
|
December 2 FAOUG
|
|
December 3 BIPUG
|
|
December 7 Pearl Harbor Day, 1941
|
|
December 10 BCCC
|
|
BAC
|
|
December 11 BACE
|
|
December 12 CCS (C64/C128)
|
|
December 15 BEPCUG
|
|
December 18 CCS (Amiga)
|
|
December 19 CADUB
|
|
December 21 Winter Begins
|
|
December 24 BCCC
|
|
December 25 Christmas
|
|
December 26 CCS (C64/C128)
|
|
December 31 New Years Eve
|
|
|
|
BEPCUG CCS
|
|
Birmingham East PC Users Group Commodore Club South
|
|
Jefferson Sate Jr. College Springville Road Library
|
|
Ruby Carson Hall, Rm 114 2nd & 4th Tuesday (C64/C128)
|
|
3rd Friday, 7-9 PM 3rd Monday (Amiga)
|
|
Paula Ballard 251-6058 (after 5PM) 7:30-10 PM
|
|
Maurice Lovelady 684-6843
|
|
|
|
BCCC BIPUG
|
|
Birmingham Commodore Computer Club Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group
|
|
POB 59564 UAB Nutrition Science Blg
|
|
Birmingham, Al 35259 RM 535/541
|
|
UAB School of Education, Rm 153 1st Sunday (delayed one week
|
|
2nd and 4th Sundays, 2 PM if meeting is a holiday)
|
|
Rusty Hargett 854-5172 Marty Schulman 967-5883
|
|
|
|
BACE FAOUG
|
|
Birmingham Atari Computer First Alabama Osborne Users
|
|
Enthusiast Group
|
|
Vestavia Library, downstairs Homewood Library
|
|
2nd Monday, 7 PM 1st Saturday, 1PM
|
|
Benny Brown 822-5059 Ed Purquez 669-5200
|
|
|
|
CADUB BAC
|
|
CAD Users of Birmingham Birmingham Apple Corps
|
|
3rd Tuesday, 6:30PM-8:30PM Homewood Library
|
|
Bobby Benson 791-0426 10 Office Park
|
|
Mountain Brook
|
|
2nd Saturday, 10:30 AM
|
|
Informal get together every
|
|
Saturday, Kopper Kettle,
|
|
Brookwood Village at 9 AM
|
|
J. Jenkins 823-1968
|
|
|
|
If you belong to or know of a user group that is not listed, please let
|
|
me know by sending E-Mail to me thru EzNet. Please leave the group name
|
|
and a contact person/phone number.
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Book Review with
|
|
Karsten Propper
|
|
|
|
Usually, I pick out a book using the following steps given to me
|
|
from various friends who are also reading fanatics. I look at the
|
|
cover, read the back summary, and then take a look at the story's
|
|
structure. I usually look for mindless sidetracks that the author has
|
|
taken. That step has allowed me to bypass the series Douglas Adams wrote
|
|
starting with the book "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
|
|
|
|
Many people say that you can't judge a book by its cover. I've
|
|
found that cliche to be both true and false. I looked at the cover of
|
|
"Nul's Quest", by Brad Strickland. It has a very good cover. Incredible
|
|
art work. I read half the book and totally lost interest. "The Third
|
|
Book of Lost Swords" by Fred Saberhagan has a fairly dull cover, but was
|
|
a very good book.
|
|
|
|
Well, anyway, without further ado, my book ...
|
|
|
|
The book I'll be reviewing is "The Incorporated Knight" by L.
|
|
Sprague and Catherine Crook de Camp. The cover is quite interesting,
|
|
with a picture of an ogre facing a knight. The back summary was very
|
|
simple, but also very catching, and here's what it said:
|
|
|
|
"It's never easy being a knight, especially for practical Eudoric
|
|
Dambertson, whose mind and temperament are better suited to trade than
|
|
to the highly impractical demands of chivalry. Take the simple matter of
|
|
courting a wife. To please his potential father-in-law, the enchanter
|
|
Baldonious, the young man must bring back two square yards of dragon
|
|
hide. Only then can he earn his knightly spurs and the hand of the
|
|
beauteous Lusina. But battles with dragons always seem to go better in
|
|
the ballads ....."
|
|
|
|
The book was very well written. No jokes or wisecracks by the
|
|
characters, it was just a good book. It did have a few amusing parts
|
|
that were very well handled by the author. For example, a task that was
|
|
assigned to the knight, Eudoric, was to get a unicorn. It is known that
|
|
a unicorn will only sit next to a virgin, and finding one proved no easy
|
|
task. The one that they had found turned out to be the dirtiest woman in
|
|
the city. A curse had been placed on her father that provided for his
|
|
death, should he bathe. As a result of this, he forbade his family from
|
|
bathing. Therefore, his daughter was a virgin, and a filthy one at that.
|
|
|
|
Eudoric and his companion, Emmerhard, set the trap for the unicorn.
|
|
But first, the virgin had to take a bath. After bathing her, they set
|
|
her down next to a tree and placed a net above her and to the left. The
|
|
unicorn was to sit down and then Eudoric was to let the net go and trap
|
|
the unicorn.
|
|
|
|
All went to plan except at the last moment, before the unicorn sat
|
|
down, it looked at the "virgin" and ran off. It later turned out that
|
|
she was very beautiful when clean, and the young Emmerhard had made her
|
|
a virgin no longer.
|
|
|
|
The book is broken up into adventures. A chapter is dedicated to an
|
|
adventure that Eudoric had taken.
|
|
|
|
And now, my recommendation. It is science fiction/fantasy. I would
|
|
recommend the book to most avid fans. If you like a book that has fairly
|
|
little humor, and a semi-fair plot, this book is certainly for you.
|
|
|
|
The authors, L. Sprague and Catherine Crook de Camp, both write
|
|
novels about Eudoric Dambertson and also a character named Esquire:
|
|
slayer of dragons, killer of majestic spiders, pursuer of unicorns.
|
|
|
|
And that is it for this segment of my review. The next review will
|
|
be "Prison Ship"
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Known BBS Numbers For The Birmingham Area
|
|
|
|
NAME NUMBER BAUD RATES SUPPORTED MODEM TYPE
|
|
|
|
*American BBS 674-1851 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
*Bus System BBS 595-1627 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
*Byte Me 979-2983 1200, 2400
|
|
Cat House 854-5907 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
*Channel 8250 744-8546 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 HST, V.32
|
|
Club Phoenix 942-0252 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
*Crunchy Frog 956-1755 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
D3 Systems BBS 663-2759 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 HST, V.32
|
|
+Duck Pond BBS 822-0956 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 HST, V.32
|
|
Elite Fleet 853-1257 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Gizmo's Atari BBS 854-0698 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
+I.S.A. BBS 995-6590 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
*Joker's Castle 744-6120 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
*Little Kingdom 823-9175 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
LZ Birmingham 870-7770 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
*Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 HST
|
|
Penny Arcade 226-1841 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Posys BBS 854-5131 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
ProSoft Systems BBS 853-8718 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Role Player's Paradise 631-7654 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Shadetree BBS 787-6723 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 Hayes
|
|
*ST BBS 836-9311 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
The Connection Node 1 854-9074 1200, 2400
|
|
The Connection Node 2 854-2308 1200, 2400
|
|
The Islands BBS 870-7776 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
The Matrix Nodes 1-4 323-2016 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
The Matrix Node 5 251-2344 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 HST
|
|
The Outer Limits 969-3262 1200, 2400, 9600 HST
|
|
*The Professional's Board 856-0679 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Twilight Zone 856-3783 300, 1200
|
|
Willie's DYM Node 1 979-1629 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Willie's DYM Node 2 979-7739 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Willie's RBBS 979-7743 300, 1200, 2400
|
|
Ziggy Unaxess 991-5696 300, 1200
|
|
|
|
Boards with a "*" before their name are members of our local network,
|
|
EzNet, and public messages left in the EzNet Conferences of any of these
|
|
boards will be echoed to all members.
|
|
|
|
Boards with a "+" before their name are members of FidoNet, an
|
|
international network that provides a variety of public forums as well
|
|
as private mail services all over the world.
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
EzNet Multiple Echo List
|
|
|
|
EzNet now supports multiple conference echoing but there are a few
|
|
things you should be aware of regarding private mail.
|
|
|
|
A. You have one 'address' for private mail. If you are registered for
|
|
private mail on Channel 8250 and someone sends you a private
|
|
message in the Writers conference from Crunchy Frog it will wind
|
|
up in the Writers conference on Channel 8250 as it should.
|
|
|
|
However, if you were registered for private mail on Magnolia and
|
|
someone sends you a private message in a conference that Magnolia
|
|
does not support (echo) then the message will wind up in the
|
|
twilight zone.
|
|
|
|
B. If you go by a handle on one BBS and your real name on another even
|
|
if the private message goes where it is supposed to, you will not
|
|
be able to read it because it is addressed to someone else as far
|
|
as PC Board is concerned. PC Board has no way of knowing that Red
|
|
Foxx and John Doe are the same person. No tickee, no washee.
|
|
|
|
Advice on sending private mail: If you don't know if the person you
|
|
are sending private mail to is registered for private mail then keep a
|
|
copy of the message in case you have to find an alternate route. EzNet
|
|
Central will delete your private, undelivered message and inform you
|
|
that the user you attempted to reach is not registered for private mail
|
|
on any EzNet Node.
|
|
|
|
This is a list of the current echoes that I am aware of. More are
|
|
in the making and will be posted in future issues. If you are a sysop
|
|
and are running an echo not listed for your board, please make us aware
|
|
of it so we may correct it next issue.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eznet Program IBM Adult Scitech BTNWA
|
|
|
|
American BBS ........ * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
|
|
Bus System BBS ...... * ..... * ..... * ..... ..... * ..... * ..
|
|
Byte Me ............. * ..... * ..... * ..... * ..... ..... ..
|
|
Channel 8250 ........ * ..... * ..... * ..... ..... * ..... ..
|
|
Crunchy Frog ........ * ..... ..... * ..... * ..... ..... * ..
|
|
Joker's Castle ...... * ..... ..... ..... * ..... ..... ..
|
|
Little Kingdom ...... * ..... * ..... * ..... * ..... * ..... ..
|
|
Magnolia BBS ........ * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
|
|
Professional's Board * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
|
|
ST BBS .............. * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
|
|
|
|
|