1394 lines
38 KiB
Plaintext
1394 lines
38 KiB
Plaintext
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|//SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE ISSUE #99 //|
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|//PUBLISHER/EDITOR| March 28, 1988//|
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|// Ron Kovacs | //|
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|____________________________________|
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|SPC |
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|Post Office Box 74 |
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|Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074 |
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|BBS: Syndicate (201) 968-8148 |
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|____________________________________|
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|Contents |
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|*|FCC Update |
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|*|SPC Newswire |
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|*|Super Database 1-2-3 Review |
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|*|Reader Reply |
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|*|Commentary on Line Noise |
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|*|65XE Errata |
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|*|Ask The GEnie Sysops |
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|*|CompuServe New Command Structure |
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|_|__________________________________|
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______________________________________
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FCC Update
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______________________________________
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From Pg. 6 of the Wall Street Journal
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for 17 March 1988.
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FCC SCRAPS PLAN TO CHARGE FOR
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COMPUTER ACCESS TO PHONE SYSTEMS,
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SOURCES SAY
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WASHINGTON - The Federal
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Communications Commission has quietly
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decided to scrap its plan to sharply
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increase telephone rates for computer
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users, agency and congressional
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sources said.
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Last week, the agency informed
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important lawmakers that it wouldn't
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go ahead with its plan to assess so
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called access charges of as much as
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$5.50 per hour per user to hook up
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computer-communication networks to
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local telephone systems. An FCC
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official described the decision as a
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tactical move to placate opposition
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from Congress and computer users.
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-They got the message loud and clear
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from Congress that this plan was a
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political and policy loser-, said a
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House staffer who was informed of the
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FCC decision.
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The FCC's about-face is a big victory
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for information service companies, who
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have contended that steep access
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charges would have driven them out of
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business by making their services too
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expensive. Currently, computer-
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communications networks are exempt
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from those access charges. Computer
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users around the country deluged the
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FCC with about 10,000 letters opposing
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access fees, the most letters the
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agency has ever gotten on a telephone
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issue.
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The decision to drop the proposal was
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made by FCC Chairman Dennis Patrick
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and the common-carrier bureau of the
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agency, the sources said. Mr. Patrick,
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whose office wouldn't comment on the
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decision formally needs the vote of at
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least one of the agency's other two
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members to terminate a proposal. But
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in practice, he can act unilaterally
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because, as chairman, he controls
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which proposals can come to a vote.
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In any event, FCC Commissioner
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Patricia Diaz Dennis said she
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supported the decision to end the
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access-charge plan. -We've got a lot
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of things on our plate,- she said.
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That's one that would overcrowd it.-
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Several agency officials described the
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FCC's action as a way of patching up
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its tattered relations with Congress
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which is still fuming over the FCC's
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decision to abolish the fairness
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doctrine.
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Last Thursday, [March 10] Rep. Edward
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Markey (D.,Mass.), chairman of the
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House telecommunications subcommittee,
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said he would introduce legislation to
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kill the access charge - even though
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agency officials said they had assured
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the congressman's staff that the FCC
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itself would kill the plan. A Markey
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aide said he was only notified an hour
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before Rep. Markey was to give a
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previously scheduled speech on access
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charges. -We'll closely monitor the
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commission's future actions to insure
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that this onerous charge doesn't
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re-emerge in a new form-, Rep. Markey
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said in a statement yesterday.
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Rep. Markey and other lawmakers also
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still oppose Mr. Patrick's pet plan to
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radically alter regulation of American
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Telephone & Telegraph Co.
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FCC and congressional sources said the
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agency would proceed, but slowly, with
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a separate plan to assess charges of
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about $4.50 per hour per user to hook
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up private telephone networks to local
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telephone systems.
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The FCC believes that both computer-
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communications networks and private
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telephone networks aren't paying their
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fair share of the cost of local
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telephone service. But exempting
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computer-communications networks has
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more appeal politically, because the
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users are often consumers with limited
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ability to pay increased charges.
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(end of article)
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______________________________________
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SPC Newswire
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______________________________________
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Compiled and written by Ron Kovacs
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Online Today on CompuServe reported
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that on March 26, 1988 at BBS,
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(bulletin board system) user filed a
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$112,000 law suit against a local
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system. The suit filed against the
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BBS and the SysOp (system operator)
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could turn out to be a landmark
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decision and the first one handed down
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under the FECPA.
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The FECPA (Federal Electronic
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Communications Privacy Act of 1986),
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mandates privacy protection of
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electronic communications including
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mail found on commercial services and
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bulletin board systems.
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The suit claims the SysOp did not
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properly safeguard private electronic
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mail.
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According to the information from
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Online Today, during December 1987 the
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BBS sysop allowed others to access and
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view the contents of all Email
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messages in a private portion of the
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subscription BBS. Previous deleted
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messages were also restored for others
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to read. It is alleged that some of
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the user complaining's mail was among
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those read.
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Other actions included the user being
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denied access after having paid a
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year's fee for access.
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Online Today's report stated that the
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last two counts of the complaint could
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be the most damaging and state that
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the sysop -intentionally, maliciously
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or with reckless disregard for the
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truth, made statements which on their
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face are damaging to the professional
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and personal reputation of the
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Petiti�ner to humiliation, personal
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anguish and ridicule.-
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The named BBS sysop did not respond to
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calls from Online Today to the
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lawsuit. Callers to the BBS in Indiana
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are greeted with an apology to the
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user.
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More on this story as it develops. We
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have removed the names purposly.
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______________________________________
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Product Review
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... Super Data Base 1-2-3 ...
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______________________________________
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by Dave Brehm
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Super Database 1-2-3
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distributed by:
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IMP Software
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Rt 1, Box 362
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Ozark MO
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Super Database is a three disk set
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consisting of FILE WRITER, the Data
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Entry System, Menu Writer, the Menu
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creation system and Report Writer, the
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Report Creation System, Plus a
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Tutorial side along with some ready
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made screens for your use.
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Filewriter is the first of three
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programs that actually write the
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programs you want created.
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Some examples are Auto maintenance
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records, which I have available, Home
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inventory, Stock Portifolio, Retail
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invoice club memberships, are just a
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very few that already have some screen
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made, that you can use as is or change
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to you liking.
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Auto Maintenence allows me to enter
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all repair work on my two cars, and
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gives me a report anytime I want it of
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how much I have spent in parts, labor,
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taxes, who did the work, what where
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the parts used for etc. It's nice to
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be able to look back at the end of a period and see what you have spent on
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the car. When it starts costing too
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much to maintain it's time to get rid
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of it.
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Upon loading you get a menu to CREATE
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SCREEN LAYOUT, CREATE APPLICATION,
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FORMAT DISK.
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Next you get THE SCREEN WRITER
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GENERATOR which allows you to create
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your own screen layout, or load in a
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pre-made layout from the disk.
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When creating the screen, the
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filewriter is 40 columns across and 22
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rows from top to bottom. This is one
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area that the creators of the program
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need to improve, a scrolling 80 column
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screen would be a lot better. I have
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spoke to them about several ideas and
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some improvements are forth coming.
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Once the screen is the way you want
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it, the program reads the screen when
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you push ESC. Certain PROMPT fields on
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the screen will be highlighted and a
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question will appear. Filewriter will
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skip over any labels, date and
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alpha-numeric fields we've created and
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only ask about fields which contain
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numeric and money information. It
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allows you to make USER INPUTS or have
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Filewriter Calculate by itself, etc.
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You can set the screen up to do all
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the calculation of fields, total the
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fields, and even give you a grand
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total. You can create ERROR messages
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to alert the operator of mistakes.
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Menuwriter creates menus just the way
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you want them, letting you name each
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element and letting you put in options
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like Formatting a Disk, Exit to Dos,
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Exit to basic. The menu autoloads, and
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then you select the program you want
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to run. You can link the program
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together if you choose.
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Report writer, the final of the three,
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creates your output reports just the
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way you want them. The scrolling 80
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column screen allows you to put what
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you want on the final report, total up
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the columns or whatever. It's very
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flexible. You can add additonal
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calculations in the final report. You
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will get a section total and a grand
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total sheet if required.
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All in all I.M.P. software has done a
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fantastic job with the program, it
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requires 48K Minimum, Atari 800, 800XL
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or 1200XL, 810 or 1050 Disk Drive and
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an Atari or Epson compatable printer.
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The authors are very cooperative and
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would like to hear from you. As of
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this writing I am awaiting some
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possible enhancements that I have
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suggested to possibly make the program
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even better.
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They have assured me that if the
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interest is there, they will make
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further enhancements to take advantage
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of the different densities, and memory upgraded machines, which would be a
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nice feature.
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After entering the information, it is
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great to sit back and see the program
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write the program you want and need,
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not even knowing how to program in
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BASIC. I have done some programing,
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but this Super DataBase 1-2-3 really
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saves me time. It's a program worth
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adding to your 8 bit library.
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______________________________________
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Reader Reply
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... Guest Commentary ...
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______________________________________
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by Shawn Connelly
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Dave, I completely agreed with your
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article - about the lack of support
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for the Atari 8-bits. Having worked on
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a LOT of micros (incl. the Altairs,
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BBC's) and moving up to the Model I,
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Apple II, etc.
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I didn't really here much about the
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Atari's until around 1984 (at that
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time I was doing a lot of work with
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IBM's and C64's -sorry!) I then
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bought a Atari 800xl - and from that
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time on.. I have been convinced that
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the Atari 8-bit are the most powerful
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(true� 8-bits on the market!
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For the last 5 yrs I have been writing
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software for most 6502 based and
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8088's on a local scale (ie. for small
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business's etc..) (skipping a lot!)..
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This summer I plan to bring out a
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variety of software for the 8-bit -
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mostly prgs. Writing on other systems
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and including programs dedicated to
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the Atari.
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Also some of these programs involve
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hardware as well. I'll will (also) be
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bringing out several 'sharware'
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packages as well. Also (I think I'm
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using too many also's).
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I'm also looking to hire some
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programmers that can write in Basic,
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Action, C, 6502/68000 asm or Forth -
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any 3 would surfice though.. I'm
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willing to give 'real' money as well.
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But is the 8-bit community willing to
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put some money out for the software (I
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have so far been un-successful in the
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PD/Shareware market - well except for
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the odd few..).
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The programs slated for release are as
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follows: (due Summer 88 -after May)
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- An electronic Cadd (with hires and
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scrolling 50cm*70cm -not sure yet?
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- A digitizing package, storage of
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sound (up to 256K?) - change
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patterns, examine waveform, freq,
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etc..
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- + in the same package a mod, for
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printer to digitize pics. GR.9 is
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easy - I'm tring to figure out how
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to do it with GR.8 (ie. halftones)
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- also I discovered a unique way to
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store pic. files saves a lot of file
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space.
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- (sorry - doing this from memory -I
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don't officially have a list
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- these are all prgs. that I have long
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ago started - pending completion!)
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- also working on a (non-hardware way
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of getting more than 256 cols. on
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the screen in HIRES
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- just theory now-Wish me luck!!!)
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- working on a sterio tester. analizes
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freq. resp. curves, etc + pink
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noise, tape tester etc.. + hardware.
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- a series of (interactive) tutorials
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aimed towards school use. I'll be
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mostly writing physics/math/computer
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tutorial or can't forget electronics
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(none of this is stated yet - but I
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have all summer)
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- I did start a BBS - but I'm putting
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the project away - because I can't
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compete with BBS Express pro.!
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Anyway, I'll be sending some PDs,
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etc.. around May 1st. See you later.
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I can be contacted at:
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GEnie:S.CONNELLY
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C.I.S:73720,1714
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I'll be putting up a BBS in late May..
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I'll let you know!
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Thanks for your time.. AND thank you
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for your continued support of the best
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8-bit around! (I can give LOTs of
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supporting evidence prove that!)
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Whoops - the above prgs. will also be
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available for the ST (at a later
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date!)
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Shawn D. Connelly
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'Just a poor university student'
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______________________________________
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Comments on Line Noise
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______________________________________
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FROM MS-DOS BBS TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.
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Line Noise and the Problems it Can
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Cause with File Transfers
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Many people have left messages on my
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bulletin board asking me why there are
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so many 'garbage' characters on their
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screens and why file transfers are
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riddled with errors. These garbage
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characters are really line noise and
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can be introduced in many different
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places. Pure noise is a decimal 255
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(FF inhex), but most line noise is not
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'pure'. It usually comes in as
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something less than 255, like maybe a
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251 (a character that looks like this
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'{'). Ever see that one before? Yup,
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so have I!
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One of the more common and familiar
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introduction points of line noise is
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in the telephone company's system and
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even here there are several ways noise
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is introduced. A signal is routed
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through multiple stations before it
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eventually makes it to the other end
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and some of these stations aren't
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exactly new. Older areas may have
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older, less sophisticated equipment
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that is more apt to be affected by
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ambient noise. This is one reason some
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people continue to have noise problems
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even after hanging up and calling back
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multiple times. Also, a given
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physical connection at one of these
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junctions may not be up to snuff. If
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your particular bout of line noise is
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solved by hanging up and calling back,
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then it's probable that you were
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previously connected through an
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intermittent or 'dirty' connection.
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Some of these trunk lines (large,
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multi-area that has alot of ambient
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RFI (RadioFrequency Interference)
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present although this is not usually
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the case.
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It is possible that the problem is
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being caused at this end, but not if
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the problem goes away when you call
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back and the line is clean -or- if you
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are one of a very few users
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experiencing noise problems. You may
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say that you are not having problems
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with other boards.....in which case
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the problem is more than likely the
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route that your call takes to get
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here. You may be going over micro-wave
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or through buried cable which for some
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reason are sub-standard. No matter how
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many times you call, you will probably
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be routed over the same path. Micro-
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wave problems are sometimes the
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hardest to track down because they can
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cause intermittent problems. Some
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interference only occurs during
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certain times of the day or week.
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Another common noise introduction
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point is in your home. Most
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residential homes have televisions,
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radios, microwave ovens, VCR's, and if
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you are reading this, a
|
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micro-computer. All these devices
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radiate radio waves that can (and
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often do) get into the phone lines and
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cause noise. Electric motors and
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mechanical dimmer controls can
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introduce noise into the electrical
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wiring in your house and cause
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problems. If your line noise problem
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does not go away after repeated
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hanging up and calling back, then you
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may be suffering from one of these
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household problems. If you are
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suffering from this problem, you can
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take steps to eliminate it. First of
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all, turn off EVERTHING except the
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fridge (If it IS the fridge, then
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you're SOL. Can't live life with your
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ice box unplugged) and see if the
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noise persists. If it goes away, then
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start turning things back on, checking
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the computer each time until you see
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the noise start up again. It may be
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that a single device is not bugging
|
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you but several devices plotting
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together to annoy you. This
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elimination tournament may take
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awhile.
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Another area to check is your wiring
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at the computer. Use noise supressors
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on your power connections to both the
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PC and the modem (if external). Use a
|
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shielded RS-232 cable to connect your
|
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modem to the PC. Ribbon cables
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(especailly long runs of it) are great
|
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antennas and will cause problems.
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Re-route the RS-232 cable so it does
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not run next to the PC power supply or
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any other transformer.
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And now a little discussion about the
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modem itself. First of all, I'd like
|
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to clerify a commonly misused term -
|
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BAUD. The term -Baud- is actually a
|
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man's name - J.M.E. Baudot
|
|
(Pronounced: Baw-doe) a French
|
|
Telegraphy expert. 1,200 and 2,400
|
|
Baud is NOT the same as 1,200 and
|
|
2,400 BPS (Bits Per Second). The usage
|
|
of -Baud- to describe line speed in
|
|
terms of data through-put is
|
|
incorrect. 1,200 and 2,400 BPS modems
|
|
both operate at 600 Baud. Basically,
|
|
without getting to technical, a Baud
|
|
is a -blip- of information. 1,200 BPS
|
|
modems use four states per blip (or
|
|
Baud) and 2,400 BPS modems use sixteen
|
|
states per blip. If you want more
|
|
information on what Baud and BPS mean
|
|
and a full explanation of how data is
|
|
actually represented and transferred
|
|
by the modem, please refer to PC
|
|
Magazine Volume 6, Number 9 (May 12,
|
|
1987).
|
|
|
|
Modems operating at 2,400 BPS are much
|
|
more intolerant of line noise than are
|
|
modems operating at 1,200 BPS.
|
|
Conversely, modems capable of 2,400BPS
|
|
operate better at 1,200 BPS than do
|
|
1,200 BPS only modems. If you are
|
|
being hopelessly attacked by noise at
|
|
2,400 BPS, trying calling back at
|
|
1,200 BPS. It's very possible that
|
|
the noise will be greatly reduced or
|
|
disappear altogether. I know, you
|
|
didn't buy a 2,400 BPS modem just to
|
|
retard it to 1,200 BPS. The brand of
|
|
the modem plays a part in the immunity
|
|
to line noise. Some modems can digest
|
|
more noise (lower signal-to-noise
|
|
radio) than others. PC Magazine (same
|
|
issue mentioned above) ran a test on
|
|
87 different modems. You might check
|
|
the results to see how your modem
|
|
ranks. Most 2,400 BPS modems operating
|
|
at 1,200 BPS have approximately -8 to
|
|
-10 db error threshold while the same
|
|
modem has about -16 to -20 db
|
|
threshold operating at 2,400 BPS. For
|
|
this reason, line quality is much more
|
|
critical at 2,400 BPS operation.
|
|
|
|
Additionally, a friend of mine who
|
|
runs a bulletin board from their
|
|
office has been plagued with line
|
|
noise problems at 2,400 BPS but very
|
|
little noise at 1,200 BPS. The culprit
|
|
is the office's centralized telephone
|
|
system. Many office buildings have a
|
|
given number of trunks that actually
|
|
enter the building while there may be
|
|
many, many more extension within the
|
|
building. These types of telephone
|
|
systems have their own controllers and
|
|
line assignment devices and are
|
|
frequently not as high in quality as a
|
|
hard-wired MaBell (or GTE) line. The
|
|
acceptable signal-to-noise ratio in
|
|
some of these inter-office phone
|
|
controllers are lower than necessary
|
|
for reliable 2,400 BPS operation but
|
|
not too low for 1,200 BPS.
|
|
|
|
If you get transmission errors while
|
|
downloading or uploading a file, don't
|
|
fret it. The Xmodem (or whatever
|
|
protocol) incorporates an error
|
|
checking/correction mechanism that
|
|
automatically detects and corrects any
|
|
errors that may occur during
|
|
transmission. The very fact that
|
|
Xmodem reported the error in the first
|
|
place means that he caught it and
|
|
corrected it. The only errors you have
|
|
to worry about are the ones that
|
|
Xmodem does NOT report. Any reported
|
|
error has already be corrected.
|
|
Xmodem, especially the CRC flavored
|
|
one, is a very reliable file transfer
|
|
protocol. Even if you got 100 errors
|
|
during transmission, chances are still
|
|
pretty slim that the file got
|
|
corrupted. Occasionally, a file will
|
|
be corrupted after transfer, but many
|
|
times this may be due to a bad ARCing
|
|
of the file or perhaps a disk error
|
|
that may have occured sometime during
|
|
the files' past.
|
|
|
|
I hope this text helped explain some
|
|
facts about modems, line noise, and
|
|
file transfers. If you have other,
|
|
more specific questions, concerning
|
|
modems or communications in general,
|
|
leave a C)omment to the SYSOP. I'll
|
|
try to answer them.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
65XE UPGRADE ERRATA
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
The following is a reply to a reader
|
|
who had or has a problem with the 65XE
|
|
upgrade. Here is the reply to the
|
|
problem from Mr. Goodprobe.
|
|
|
|
My first guess on your problem would
|
|
be to check the connections in the
|
|
area where you piggy-backed the rams
|
|
on top of the already present ones.
|
|
|
|
It seems that the vast majority of
|
|
problems folks encounter with this
|
|
upgrade is in this area, especially
|
|
the 2 rams you will note that are
|
|
extremely close to one another. This
|
|
would be the area where you would be
|
|
most likely to have a problem.
|
|
|
|
The self test is trying to tell you,
|
|
from your description, that there is
|
|
indeed a ram problem. There is one
|
|
typo when I wrote up the article that
|
|
I would alert you too... You will
|
|
notice that ground goes to pin 8 of
|
|
the 74LS158 not pin one as I
|
|
errouneously typed in step number 11.
|
|
So just as you had to bend up pins 8
|
|
and 16 on both chips, and actually
|
|
meant the only pins to leave uncut
|
|
were pins 8 and 16, and these should
|
|
be soldered to the same pins of the
|
|
pins below. Not only would it not run
|
|
if pin one is soldered to pin one of
|
|
the chip below, but not even ATTEMPT
|
|
to run as the ground would be open.
|
|
Fortunately no damage could be done.
|
|
helps...
|
|
|
|
The response to this article has been
|
|
down right amazing the last few weeks
|
|
and I would guess there are at least
|
|
50 320k 65xe's out there now, and am
|
|
sure there are more that I don't know
|
|
of. We have a few users out here, like
|
|
my buddy Walt, that have one, and are
|
|
loving every minute of it!
|
|
|
|
Thanks Scott!
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Ask The GEnie Sysops
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
(C) 1987 by Atari Corporation, GEnie,
|
|
and the Atari Roundtables. May be
|
|
reprinted only with this notice
|
|
intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie
|
|
are *official* information services of
|
|
Atari Corporation.
|
|
|
|
To sign up for GEnie service, call
|
|
(with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon
|
|
connection type HHH (RETURN after
|
|
that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type
|
|
XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN. The
|
|
system will prompt you for your
|
|
information.
|
|
|
|
**********
|
|
Topic 18 Sun Jan 11, 1987
|
|
HTCOLONNA
|
|
Sub: ASK THE SYSOPS!!
|
|
|
|
Well, let's see...I had a question to
|
|
ask bob that wouldn't fit anywhere
|
|
else, so, like God created the earth,
|
|
I'm creating a new topic.
|
|
|
|
**********
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 1 Sat Feb 06, 1988
|
|
MAT.RAT
|
|
|
|
Hi you all sysops. I'm lost, but I'm
|
|
sure you hear that a lot from new
|
|
users. The message system here doesn't
|
|
seem to be particularly friendly.
|
|
Maybe I'll become more accustomed to
|
|
it shortly. There is no master message
|
|
number referencing? How do I pick up
|
|
on message thread? How many messages
|
|
does a BBS retain before it is cleaned
|
|
up? Is it my imagination or is the
|
|
topic list here rather brief? What
|
|
I'd like to do is just read messages
|
|
from the first of the year. I tried:
|
|
>880101 but that didn't work at all,
|
|
the system went to the OLDEST message
|
|
on line and began there. I'm little
|
|
lost, but I'll manage I guess. Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Mat.Rat
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 2 Sat Feb 06, 1988
|
|
DARLAH [RT SYSOP]
|
|
|
|
Mat, read the text file in the
|
|
software library called BB.HLP This
|
|
file will explain the Bulletin Board
|
|
commands. Typing HELP at the prompt
|
|
will give you a list of commands and
|
|
*H while in the message editor will
|
|
give you the editor commands.
|
|
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 3 Sat Feb 06, 1988
|
|
MAT.RAT
|
|
|
|
Thanks Darlah (I love that name! I'm
|
|
a long time Little Rascals fan. I had
|
|
a crush on Alfafa's Darla for years!)
|
|
|
|
I muddled about on here for a little
|
|
while, but I'm pretty comfortable with
|
|
system now. The biggest drawback is
|
|
that you can't -type ahead-. If you
|
|
type ahead of GEnie's prompt, all is
|
|
lost. This is frustrating for a fast
|
|
typist (I spend about 60 hours a week
|
|
at a keyboard.)
|
|
|
|
The hardest part now will be
|
|
determining which CATegories and
|
|
TOPics I'll want to visit regularly.
|
|
Marty has put in ASK THE RAT! topic
|
|
under Technical CATegory. Hopefully
|
|
folks will come find me there, and
|
|
draw my attention to the hot CAT/TOPic
|
|
areas of the day.
|
|
|
|
Mat.Rat
|
|
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 4 Sun Feb 07, 1988
|
|
J.FULLER
|
|
|
|
Matt, You mean you actually read and
|
|
respond on line? I do a BRO ALL NOR
|
|
and capture all messages to read off
|
|
line. Now that I have a new toy (Tandy
|
|
1400LT) I have a better selection of
|
|
editors for reading and writing
|
|
messages it is even easier. Right now
|
|
I am using CSE Program Editor which
|
|
allows 5 files in memory at the same
|
|
time. Load your message file and read
|
|
until you find a message you want to
|
|
respond to. Then switch to another
|
|
file area and write your response. (I
|
|
think I'm going to like this MS-DOS
|
|
world). When you log back on just set
|
|
your cat and top for a reply and at
|
|
the first line number type *u and it
|
|
will respond with ready for upload.
|
|
Then upload. When that reply is done
|
|
type in your break character. Mine is
|
|
^C. You will then be presented with a
|
|
line number xx>. Then type *s. It is a
|
|
cost saver no matter how fast you
|
|
type.
|
|
|
|
Jim
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 5 Sun Feb 14, 1988
|
|
ALEXANDRI
|
|
|
|
Marty,
|
|
|
|
I've downloaded the files..CHOPPER.BAS
|
|
and the Breaker/Splitter files. Every
|
|
time I run them to split a file they
|
|
don't work. Breaker/Splitter will take
|
|
a 172 sector file and tell me that the
|
|
file sixe is only 2176 bytes long. It
|
|
will spit it into four 5 sector files.
|
|
or if I input the file size I want as
|
|
the amount it gives me(2176) it will
|
|
give me an 18 sector file. It's not
|
|
even consistent in it mess up.
|
|
(5+5+5+5 do not equal 18) If I use
|
|
Chopper, it doesn't even get to start
|
|
work on the file. I get error 130 and
|
|
17?.
|
|
HHHHEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPP!!!!
|
|
|
|
Juan
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 6 Mon Feb 15, 1988
|
|
MARTY.A [RT*SysOp]
|
|
|
|
Juan:
|
|
|
|
OK, I downloaded the following files:
|
|
|
|
#2673 CHOPPER.BAS
|
|
#1826 Breaker/Stripper.ARC
|
|
|
|
The ARC'd file unARC'd without a
|
|
hitch. No CRC errors or anything.
|
|
|
|
I ran the files under Atari DOS 2.5,
|
|
again, no problems.
|
|
|
|
Chopper seemed much faster than any of
|
|
the others.
|
|
|
|
I was not able to even force error #17
|
|
or #130. The only error I got was an
|
|
#130 when I failed to give a drive
|
|
specifier.
|
|
|
|
I tried with and without the RAMdisk,
|
|
to/from various drives, and then with
|
|
SpartaDOS 3.2d, and all was still
|
|
well.
|
|
|
|
I'm not sure why you're getting the
|
|
errors. The files seem to be fine.
|
|
|
|
...Marty...
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 7 Tue Feb 16, 1988
|
|
ALEXANDRI
|
|
|
|
Marty,
|
|
|
|
I was using a Ramdisk (Axlon comp.) on
|
|
my 800 with Mydos 4.3a. I'll try it
|
|
out with 2.5. Thanks. Juan
|
|
|
|
PS. Do you think it could be that the
|
|
file I'm trying to break/chop is bad?
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 8 Tue Feb 16, 1988
|
|
MARTY.A [RT*SysOp]
|
|
|
|
hmmmm.....Unfortunitly, since I have
|
|
neither MyDOS 4.3 or an Axlon system,
|
|
I can't check that out for you.
|
|
|
|
The source file shouldn't make any
|
|
difference.
|
|
|
|
...Marty...
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 9 Wed Feb 17, 1988
|
|
ALEXANDRI
|
|
|
|
What I was hoping to do was change the
|
|
part of the program that sets the bits
|
|
at PORTB on the XE to $CFFF, which is
|
|
where Axlon/Magna memory expansions
|
|
sets it's bits. The memory window
|
|
opens in the same place ($4000-$7FFF).
|
|
All I'd like is the guy's address.
|
|
|
|
Juan
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 10 Sat Feb 27, 1988
|
|
J.BLOY [Jonathan]
|
|
|
|
I don't know if this is the proper
|
|
place for this question but...
|
|
|
|
Does anyone know of a utility to print
|
|
Z-Mag issues in two columns? In the
|
|
d/l section there are several
|
|
utilities that print in three columns,
|
|
but not two. I'm getting tired of
|
|
wasting the other half of my paper
|
|
when printing Z-mags. Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Jon
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 11 Sat Feb 27, 1988
|
|
JEFFWILLIAMS
|
|
|
|
Jonathan,
|
|
I haven't tried this, but you might be
|
|
able to get the double column printing
|
|
by taking the Zmag file into
|
|
PaperClip, editing it a little, then
|
|
using PaperClip's double column
|
|
support to print it out. I suspect
|
|
the same could be done with
|
|
AtariWriter Plus.
|
|
|
|
Good luck!
|
|
Jeff
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 12 Sat Feb 27, 1988
|
|
W.GROSS2 [SORCEROR]
|
|
|
|
I WAS GOING THROUGH THE DATA LIBRARIES
|
|
AND CAME ACROSS SOME FILES TITLED ZMAG
|
|
WHAT ARE THEY AND DO I USE THEM. IF I
|
|
NEED A WORD PROCESSOR ALL I HAVE IS
|
|
THE ATARIWRITER CARTRIDGE (THE OLD ONE
|
|
|
|
THE TITLES MAKES ME THINK THAT THEY
|
|
ARE MAGAZINES. THANKS WILLIAM
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 13 Sun Feb 28, 1988
|
|
MARTY.A [RT*SysOp]
|
|
|
|
Right you are! Zmag is a privately
|
|
owned/operated electronic magazine for
|
|
and about Atari computers.
|
|
|
|
Note that some of the Zmag issues are
|
|
ARC'd and need to be recovered with
|
|
ARCX12.COM before use. Others are in
|
|
regular text format.
|
|
|
|
There are several readers for the Zmag
|
|
in the library as well, or you can
|
|
just use DOS to copy them to the
|
|
printer or screen, or you can load
|
|
them into your word processor as you
|
|
like.
|
|
|
|
...Marty...SysOp
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 14 Sun Feb 28, 1988
|
|
J.BLOY [Jonathan]
|
|
|
|
Jeff,
|
|
|
|
That's a good idea. I never thought of
|
|
using Paperclip's double column
|
|
printing feature (and it was right
|
|
there under my nose the whole time).
|
|
I'll try that. Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Jon
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 15 Mon Feb 29, 1988
|
|
T.JUSTYAK [T JUSTYAK]
|
|
|
|
LAST WEEK I HAD A LETTER TO ME WHICH
|
|
GOT LOST, I THINK IT WAS FROM MARTY?
|
|
|
|
WHAT HAPPENED TO TOPIC 31 EASTFRON *S
|
|
CART TOPIC? I OPENED IT AGAIN AS TOPIC
|
|
7 AS I AM STILL TRYING TO GET A HOLD
|
|
OF MCALLISTER, PLEASE REPLY IN TOPIC
|
|
7*S
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 16 Tue Mar 01, 1988
|
|
MARTY.A [RT*SysOp]
|
|
|
|
Have you tried to send Dan GE-Mail?
|
|
|
|
That would be much better than putting
|
|
you mail address here in a public
|
|
message.
|
|
|
|
To send him mail, just go to the GEnie
|
|
mail menu <type MAIL from the RT main
|
|
menu> and select item #3 to send mail.
|
|
|
|
At the To: prompt, enter D.MCALLISTER
|
|
|
|
Just follow the prompts from there.
|
|
|
|
...Marty...
|
|
SysOp
|
|
----------
|
|
Category 14, Topic 18
|
|
Message 17 Sun Mar 06, 1988
|
|
SFGOOCH
|
|
|
|
To the person wanting a 2-column Zmag
|
|
printer utility, may I suggest that
|
|
you download file # 2594 & 2595
|
|
(LL.COM & LL.DOC).
|
|
|
|
The program is called Little Lister,
|
|
and will take any text file, and
|
|
convert it to as many columns across
|
|
and wide as you want. I have found
|
|
that by setting it for 132 characters
|
|
across, and 3 column, I can print
|
|
3-column in compressed mode with my
|
|
printer.....works like great stuff!!!
|
|
|
|
Scott Goulding
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
CompuServe's New Command Structure
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ANTIC PUBLISHING INC.,
|
|
COPYRIGHT 1988
|
|
|
|
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
|
|
|
|
by Mike Schoenbach
|
|
|
|
The second generation of CompuServe
|
|
Forum software is now ready and I want
|
|
to introduce you to the new system.
|
|
|
|
When you access a Forum where you're
|
|
not listed as a member, a visitor's
|
|
bulletin from the sysop now appears.
|
|
Then you see the Forum's main function
|
|
menu, which includes a new command --
|
|
JOIN this Forum.
|
|
|
|
hoose that option or type JOIN to add
|
|
your User I.D. to Forum membership and
|
|
activate all privileges. The sysop can
|
|
also disable certain Forum features
|
|
for non-members. If you try to access
|
|
a disabled feature, the software tells
|
|
you that you need to join and asks if
|
|
you want to do so now.
|
|
|
|
MAIN MENU
|
|
|
|
The new main menu looks like this:
|
|
|
|
Atari 8-bit Forum Functions Menu
|
|
1 INSTRUCTIONS
|
|
2 MESSAGES
|
|
3 LIBRARIES (Files)
|
|
4 CONFERENCING (# participating)
|
|
5 ANNOUNCEMENTS from sysop
|
|
6 MEMBER directory
|
|
7 OPTIONS for this forum
|
|
Enter choice !
|
|
|
|
Each department can be accessed by
|
|
typing the appropriate number or the
|
|
first three letters of the area's
|
|
name. The new Forum software lets you
|
|
choose to automatically enter the
|
|
Forum at any menu. Therefore, the main
|
|
Functions menu does not necessarily
|
|
have to be the first menu you see when
|
|
entering the Forum. You set this
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within the OPTIONS category.
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INSTRUCTIONS
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Though the new Forum menus are very
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straightforward and easy to use, you
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really should read the instructions.
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As with all software, you are bound to
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find something that you missed before
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which might end up saving you time and
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money. The online instruction guide
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menu looks as follows:
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Instructions are available for:
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1 Overview
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2 Messages
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3 Libraries
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4 Conferencing
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5 Announcements
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6 Member directory
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7 Options
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8 Miscellaneous
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9 Complete HELP facility
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10 Forum Reference Card
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11 Forum User's Guide
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Enter choice !
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When reading any online instructions,
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be sure to keep your capture buffer
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open so you can read the information
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off-line and cut down on your connect
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charges. (8-Bit users should use the
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-capture to disk- feature of your
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terminal software.) I recommend the
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|
complete Help Facility and Forum
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User's Guide.
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MESSAGES
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The Forum's message center is where
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members can find assistance and meet
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new people (who might live halfway
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around the world). CompuServe's
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redesign effort is most noticeable
|
|
here. Cryptic commands such as RF
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|
have been replaced by more intuitive
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|
commands such as READ FORWARD which,
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like all commands, can be abbreviated.
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Several new menu selections enhance
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message retrieving. You can enter the
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message center by choosing command 2
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(above) or typing MES from the main
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Functions menu. The Messages menu
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looks like this:
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Atari 8-bit Forum Messages Menu
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Message age selection = [New]
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1 SELECT (Read by section and
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subject)
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2 READ or search messages
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3 CHANGE age selection
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4 COMPOSE a message
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Enter choice !
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The first three choices deal with
|
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retrieving messages. Choice 4, or COM,
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|
lets you compose your own message to
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post on the Forum's message board
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using one of the two message editors
|
|
available -- LINEDIT (a line-oriented
|
|
editor, much like those available on
|
|
local bulletin boards) or EDIT (a
|
|
powerful File Generator and Editor,
|
|
formerly called FILGE).
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Forum message boards tend to become
|
|
very large, and message numbers get up
|
|
to five or six digits. Now you can
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specify how far back you want to
|
|
retrieve messages in terms of days
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|
instead of message numbers -- no more
|
|
guessing which message number was the
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|
first one posted three days ago. To
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|
do this, just change your age
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|
selection. The default setting is to
|
|
retrieve new messages since your last
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log-in to the Forum. The age selection
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can be changed by choosing command 3
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(above) or typing CHA at the message
|
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menu command prompt. The change age
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|
selection menu looks this way:
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Atari 8-Bit Forum Change Menu
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1 [*] NEW messages
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2 [ ] ALL messages
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3 [ ] STARTING message number
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4 [ ] Number of DAYS
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Enter choice !
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Your current setting is the one with
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the asterisk (*). If you want to read
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only the last three days of messages,
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choose command 4 and respond to the #
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of days: prompt with 3 -- or type DAYS
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3 at the change menu command prompt.
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The message number and age aren't the
|
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only retrieval criteria you can
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specify. You can also select messages
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by individual message number, message
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subtopics, or message subjects. By
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choosing command 2 or typing SEL from
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the message menu, you can select a
|
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second retrieval criteria.
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Next menu is Forum Sections, which
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|
offers different choices depending on
|
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the specific Forum you're in and your
|
|
retrieval age selection. This menu
|
|
will show a list of subtopics
|
|
containing messages pertinent to your
|
|
age selection. Next to each subtopic
|
|
are the number of subjects (threads)
|
|
and the number of actual messages in
|
|
the subtopic that meet your age
|
|
selection. Here's an example:
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|
|
Atari 8-bit Forum Sections Menu
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|
Section names (#subjs/# msgs)
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|
1 Games/Entertainment (2/5)
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2 Telecommunications (7/19)
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4 Sound & Graphics (1/1)
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|
5 Applications (3/10)
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Enter Choice(s) or ALL !
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|
|
From this menu you can choose to read
|
|
from one, some or all subtopics.
|
|
Multiple subtopics are separated by
|
|
commas, so if you want to select only
|
|
Telecommunications and Applications
|
|
messages, you'd type 2,5 at the Enter
|
|
Choice(s) or ALL ! prompt.
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|
Next, the Forum Subjects menu lists
|
|
all subjects and the number of
|
|
messages displayed. From here you can
|
|
again choose to read one, some or all
|
|
subjects in that subtopic. You'll see
|
|
a Forum Subjects menu for each
|
|
subtopic you specified to read from
|
|
the Forum Subtopics menu. Here's an
|
|
example:
|
|
|
|
Atari 8-bit Forum Subjects Menu
|
|
Subject (# msgs)
|
|
Section 2 - Telecommunications
|
|
1 When MPP EXPRESS 3.0?? (2)
|
|
2 Viewing RLE Pics (3)
|
|
3 New Forum Menu Q's (4)
|
|
4 New term software (2)
|
|
5 Using ATARI8 (5)
|
|
6 New BBS (1)
|
|
7 ANTIC ONLINE (3)
|
|
|
|
Enter choice(s) or ALL !
|
|
|
|
All the submenus resulting from the
|
|
SELECT command aren't nearly as
|
|
complex as they seem. The online
|
|
Instruction Guide give you more in-
|
|
depth information.
|
|
|
|
But how about experienced users who
|
|
want access to the -classic-
|
|
CompuServe reading commands. By
|
|
selecting choice 2 or typing READ from
|
|
the Forum Message menu you'll get the
|
|
following:
|
|
|
|
Read Menu
|
|
Read
|
|
1 [NEW messages]
|
|
2 Message NUMBER
|
|
3 WAITING messages for you (0)
|
|
Search [NEW messages]
|
|
4 FROM (Sender)
|
|
5 SUBJECT
|
|
6 TO (Recipient)
|
|
|
|
Enter choice !
|
|
|
|
The Read menu lets you read an
|
|
individual message selecte by its
|
|
number, read all messages based on
|
|
your age selection, do Read Searches,
|
|
or read any new messages addressed
|
|
specifically to your User I.D. Read
|
|
Search seeks messages by the sender's
|
|
(or receiver's) name or User I.D., or
|
|
the subject.
|
|
|
|
Eventually you'll be able to bypass
|
|
many menus by chaining commands -- for
|
|
example, typing REA DAY 8
|
|
FRO:SCHOENBACH at the main Functions
|
|
menu will search the last eight days'
|
|
worth of messages from anyone named
|
|
Schoenbach.
|
|
|
|
LIBRARIES
|
|
|
|
Data Libraries in a CompuServe Forum
|
|
contain user and sysop-submitted
|
|
programs and text files for you to
|
|
download. CompuServe currently
|
|
supports the following file transfer
|
|
protocols:
|
|
|
|
XMODEM (MODEM7), CompuServe A,
|
|
CompuServe B, DC4/DC2 CAPTURE, Kermit,
|
|
and CompuServe Quick B.
|
|
|
|
For a listing of the Forum's Data
|
|
Libraries, type 3 or LIB at the main
|
|
functions menu. At the next prompt,
|
|
type the number of the library you
|
|
selected. You'll then see the
|
|
following
|
|
|
|
Library Menu:
|
|
Atari 8-bit Forum Library 7
|
|
- News & Reviews -
|
|
|
|
1 BROWSE thru files
|
|
2 DIRECTORY of files
|
|
3 UPLOAD a new file
|
|
4 DOWNLOAD a File
|
|
5 LIBRARIES
|
|
|
|
Enter choice !
|
|
|
|
Command 1 (BRO) puts you in Browse
|
|
mode -- the system goes through the
|
|
Data Library files, from most to least
|
|
recent, showing a complete description
|
|
of the file followed.
|
|
|
|
TWISTER
|
|
|
|
Look for the new version of TWISTER
|
|
in the Summer 1988 issue of START, on
|
|
sale in June.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
ZMAGAZINE 99 March 28, 1988
|
|
(c)1988 SPC/Ron Kovacs
|
|
All Rights Reserved.
|
|
______________________________________
|