Volume 3, Number 33 1 September 1986 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings FidoNews is the official newsletter of the International FidoNet Association, and is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file FNEWSART.DOC, available from node 1/1. Copyright (C) 1986, by the International FidoNet Association. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact IFNA. The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them. Everything here is subject to debate. Table of Contents 1. ARTICLES The Condemned (A Poem) Cincinnati Area Bulletin Board 2. COLUMNS Are You Being Ripped Off When You Buy Diskettes? Computer Industry Spotlight 3. WANTED Wanted: IBM PC programs for publication! Looking for a Few Good CADs 4. FOR SALE DataCare Hard Disk Utility Entertainment Software for your PC! Public Domain Software Library Sale!! 5. NOTICES The Interrupt Stack Fidonews Page 2 1 Sep 1986 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Neal Curtin 138/14 Model 1000 Echo Due to the differences between the Model 1000 from Tandy and the normal IBM type of machine, I have asked several nodes if they were interested in the establishment of a Model 1000 echo area. So far of the six nodes that I thought might be interested, two answered yes right away. One is here in net 138, the other is on the East coast. What we have in mind is a free area where all can enter the questions and whoever can answer, answers. We will be using arcmail for the message transfers and will try to keep the traffic out the normal outbound/inbound channels. If interested, set up an echo mail area for MOD1000 and send me a message from it to 138/14. SMART Echo A second echo that we have here is for users of the SMART Package from Inovative Software. Right now it is a local echo but will add others if they will send echomail to me under the name of SMART also at 138/14 * Via Fido 138/38 12 Aug 86 01:20:41 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 3 1 Sep 1986 The Condemned When the earth was created, the powers above, Gave each man a job to work at and love. He made Doctors and lawyers and plumbers and then, He made carpenters, singers, and confidence men. And when each had a job to work as he should, He looked them all over and saw it was good. He then sat down to rest for a day, When a horrible groan chanced to come his way. The Lord then looked down and his eyes opened wide, For a motley collection of bums stood outside. "Oh what can they want?" the creator asked them, "Help us," they cried out, "A job for us men". "We have no profession," they cried in dismay, "And even the jails have turned us away". Said the Lord, "I've seen many things without worth, But here I find gathered the scum of the earth!" The Lord was perplexed then he was mad, For all the jobs, there was none to be had. Then he spoke aloud in a deep angry tone, "Forever and ever ye mongrels shall roam, Ye shall freeze in the summer and sweat when it's cold, Ye shall work on equipment that's dirty and old, Ye shall crawl under raised floors, and there cables lay, Ye shall be called out at midnight and work through the day, Ye shall work on all holidays, and not make your worth, Ye shall be blamed for all downtime that occurs on the earth, Ye shall watch all the glory go to software and sales, Ye shall be blamed by them both if the system then fails. Ye shall be paid nothing out of sorrow and tears, Ye shall be forever cursed, and called FIELD ENGINEERS!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 4 1 Sep 1986 Letter to Editor Infoworld 1060 Marsh Road Suite C-200 Menlo Park, California 94025 CIS 73267,1537 Dear Editor, I read Scott Mace's 8/18/86 'Software Makers Force Pirate BBS to Shut Down' regarding a Cincinnati area electronic bulletin board carrying 'pirate' software. It was mentioned in the story that this was a 'Fidonet-based board'. Having just returned from an International Fido Sysop Conference with about 100 Fido Sysop's from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Holland held in Colorado Springs; and being the Cincinnati area Fidonet administrator, I was a bit disturbed to hear this news. I thought I would take this opportunity to try and put the Fido name back in its more respectable light, since I now have made a few phone calls to check out this story. Fido is the name of an electronic bulletin board system written by Tom Jennings. Fido Net is the informal cooperation by which over 1,000 Fido systems on 4 continents exchange electronic mail with each other every day. These systems are run entirely independently by people that have no business relation with each other. Since we take this activity rather seriously, we do our best to maintain the highest possible standards for the systems and people that participate in our network. 'Pirate' boards that participate in the spreading of commercial software against the copyright restrictions are a definite NO-NO in the Fido Net world. Of course there can always be the one bad apple (no pun intended) and it is unfortunate that in this case it blemished the Fido Net name. Coincidentally, in researching your story further, I found that the particular Cincinnati area offender that you wrote of was not at all a Fido Net based system. However, he might have been, so I really can't take credit for the fact that he actually was running some bbs software other than the Fido software. Anyway, as I said, there are over 1,000 Fido Net systems and they are spread all over the WORLD. I can assure you that these sysops, that generally go unmentioned, collectively outweigh this one joker's bad news with their own good news to the order of a giga times better. Thank you for letting me use this forum to hopefully help the Fido Net image. If there is any further information that I can provide, please feel free to call on me. Allen Miller Fidonews Page 5 1 Sep 1986 Fido 108/10 Cincinnati Fido Net Administrator CIS 70140,442 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 6 1 Sep 1986 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Are You Being Ripped Off When You Buy Diskettes? Mike Guffey Almost everyone shops for the best buys in 5.25" floppy disks. Prices range from under $1 to over $5 per disk, depending on the brand and type (SSDD, DSDD, DSQD). It is possible to get around one of the big-gest "fictions" in computing by buying Single Sided Disks for most applications. Crucial to this method is acquistion of a magnetic bulk eraser which is used to totally blank the disks before formatting. Few computer store people or mail order houses will tell you that the main (but not necessarily the =only=) difference between single and double sided disks is that DS disks are certified on both sides. All "name-brand" manufacturers' disks have magnetic particles on both sides. Single-sided disks have only been tested on one side. And 99% of single sided disks can be formatted for DS Double Density and, in most cases, will work for DS QUAD density formats. The "trick" is to first use the magnetic bulk eraser on each disk, format it, then run a commercial or public domain program to look for and lock out bad sectors. Single sided disks will not always work for "OCT" Density applications (i.e. IBM AT), but if they have never been used in any lesser format, many premium brands are likely to work. Off-brand disks? Yes, they may be a bargain, but they may also fail to retain data in storage. Stay with "name-brands" for this trick. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 7 1 Sep 1986 William/Eunhee Hunter Fido 109/626 Computer Industry Spotlight on: COMPUTER AUTOMATION, INC. -- This is a multi-divisional, multinational manufacturer of a full range of micro- and mini- computers, high performance test systems, and distributed data processing systems. The company's three operating divisions are: Naked Mini Division, the firm's first and largest activity, dedicated to producing the micro- and mini-computers for sale in large volume; Industrial Products Division, which develops, manufactures, and markets high-performance computer-based automatic test equipment; and Commercial Systems Division, which produces and markets network processing systems designed for transaction-oriented applications requiring interactive communications from and between remote locations to large scale central computer facilities. The company has "abundant" career opportunities for electrical engineers and sales associates. The Sales Associate Training Program prepares employees by developing a sound technical knowledge of the corporation's products and providing training in professional selling skills or advanced technical support techniques. The Engineering Rotational Program is designed to give engineers experience in several areas before they choose an ultimate assignment. Contact: Charles Pierce, College Relations Representative, Computer Automation, Inc., 2181 Dupont Drive, Irvine, CA 92713. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 8 1 Sep 1986 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= Daniel Tobias, Soft Fido, 19/216 WANTED: IBM PC PROGRAMS FOR PUBLICATION! SOFTDISK, INC., the already-successful publisher of magazines on diskette for Apple II and Commodore 64 computers, will produce a monthly disk-based publication for the IBM PC. The first issue of this publication, to be named BIG BLUE DISK, and which will be contained entirely on a floppy disk, will be shipped to thousands of retail outlets in October, including B. Dalton Booksellers and Waldenbooks. - - OFF-BROADWAY - - If you have written a program for the IBM PC, please consider publishing it on BIG BLUE DISK; it's your chance to make some money, and get your name in print. Programs of all categories are being accepted. - - YOUR REWARD - - We will select the best programs submitted, and publish them on issues of BIG BLUE DISK. If we choose to publish your program, we will pay you a minimum of $50, and possibly more-- as much as $500, depending on the nature and quality of the program. This money is for the privilege of publishing your program. You retain full rights to it. - - HOW TO SUBMIT IT - - Submissions can be sent by FIDONET to node 19/216, or uploaded directly to our BBS at (318) 636-4402. Alternatively, you can send them on a floppy disk to: BIG BLUE DISK, PO BOX 30008, SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-0008. BIG BLUE DISK is a widely-distributed, carefully-prepared publication, so make sure your programs are well-tested and debugged, and include adequate instructions within the program. Include a note (on paper, in a text file, or in a message to the sysop of our BBS) describing what your program does, what files are necessary to run it, and what system configuration (hardware and software) is required. Please include the source code to all compiled or assembled programs so we can make revisions if necessary. If you have marketed your software as "shareware", please remove all requests for money or other advertisements from the version you submit for publication; alternatively you can contact us for information on other terms for such programs. - - NOTE TO SYSOPS - - There is a finder's fee of 10% for you if you submit a program on behalf of one of your users and it is published. Thus, you may wish to publicize BIG BLUE DISK and our search for programs. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 9 1 Sep 1986 Christopher Baker Metro-Fire Fido, 135/14 Searching for CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) Systems Within the Fire Services We are looking for Fire Departments currently using Computer Aided Dispatch programs on any type of computer system. If your Department is using a CAD system, we would like to hear from you about the screen design, the types of data stored and retrieved, access times, user interface, computer utilized, program language, portability and ease of program alteration, and maintenance and reliability factors. We would also like to obtain screen print-outs and any other documentation you are willing to share. This Department is in the process of purchasing a VAX system and attendant peripherals and is thinking of developing a CAD system in "C". We don't want to reinvent anything, if it can be avoided. If you have or have access to any of the above material, send a FidoNet message to: Christopher Baker Metro-Fire Fido 135/14, 135/0. OR by U.S. Mail to: Christopher Baker Metro-Dade Fire Communications DPCC Rm 151 5680 S.W. 87 Avenue Miami, FL 33173. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. Anything we develop will be available to other Departments. Thanks. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 10 1 Sep 1986 ================================================================= FOR SALE ================================================================= Ellicott Software Fido 109/628 DataCare, a PC Magazine choice in its recent review of hard disk products, is available at a new low price - $49.95, down from $129.95. This is the same product that has been favorably reviewed. The price is for a limited time only. This product is used by a number of Fido BBS's in net 109, and has found favor with many people that are not SYSOPS in the Baltimore - DC - Virginia area. Three-week trials are available from any user of the product. The review can be read in the PC magazine issue that had as its emphasis EGA boards. A review has been submitted to FidoNews for publication, but it is uncertain when it will appear. DataCare is published by: Ellicott Software, Inc. 3777 Plum Hill Court Ellicott City, MD 21043 (301) 465-2790 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 11 1 Sep 1986 ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE FOR YOUR PC! SUPERDOTS! KALAH! Professional quality games include PASCAL source! From the author of KALAH Version 1.6, SuperDots, a variation of the popular pencil/paper DOTS game, has MAGIC and HIDDEN DOT options. KALAH 1.7 is an African strategy game requiring skill to manipulate pegs around a playing board. Both games use the ANSI Escape sequences provided with the ANSI.SYS device driver for the IBM-PC, or built into the firmware on the DEC Rainbow. Only $19.95 each or $39.95 for both exciting games! Please specify version and disk format. These games have been written in standard TURBO-PASCAL and run on the IBM-PC, DEC Rainbow 100 (MSDOS and CPM), CPM/80, CPM/86, and PDP-11. Other disk formats are available, but minor customization may be required. BSS Software P.O. Box 3827 Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 For every order placed, a donation will be made to the Fido coordinators! Also, if you have a previous version of KALAH and send me a donation, a portion of that donation will also be sent to the coordinators. When you place an order, BE CERTAIN TO MENTION WHERE YOU SAW THE AD since it also appears in PC Magazine and Digital Review. Questions and comments can be sent to: Brian Sietz at Fido 107/17 (609) 429-6630 300/1200/2400 baud ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 12 1 Sep 1986 Now available from Micro Consulting Associates!! Public Domain collection - 550+ "ARC" archives - 20+ megs of software and other goodies, and that's "archived" size! When unpacked, you get approximately 28 megabytes worth of all kinds of software, from text editors to games to unprotection schemes to communications programs, compilers, interpreters, etc... Over 55 DS/DD diskettes!! This collection is the result of more than 15 months of intensive downloads from just about 150 or more BBS's and other sources, all of which have been examined, indexed and archived for your convenience. Starting a Bulletin Board System? Want to add on to your software base without spending thousands of dollars? This is the answer!!! To order the library, send $100 (personal or company check, postal money order or company purchase order) to: Micro Consulting Associates, Fido 103/511 Post Office Box 4296 200-1/2 E. Balboa Boulevard Balboa, Ca. 92661-4296 Please allow 3 weeks for delivery of your order. Note: No profit is made from the sale of the Public Domain software in this collection. The price is applied entirely to the cost of downloading the software over the phone lines, running a BBS to receive file submissions, and inspecting, cataloguing, archiving and maintaining the files. Obtaining this software yourself through the use of a computer with a modem using commercial phone access would cost you much more than what we charge for the service... Please specify what type of format you would like the disks to be prepared on. The following choices are available: - IBM PC-DOS Backup utility - Zenith MS-DOS 2.11 Backup Utility - DSBackup - Fastback - ACS INTRCPT 720k format - Plain ol' files (add $50) Add $30 if you want the library on 1.2 meg AT disks (more expensive disks). There are no shipping or handling charges. California residents add 6% tax. For each sale, $10 will go to the FidoNet Administrators. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 13 1 Sep 1986 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= Announcing the return of the "HIP Shack" to Fidonet, now in Colorado Springs, CO. The files and message areas are in the process of being reorganized, but Amateur Radio and SWL are still the primary themes. I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone I've been out of touch with for the last 9 weeks... Bdale Garbee, sysop 128/18, 303/593-0766, 1200 baud, 24hrs ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Interrupt Stack 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1/1. -----------------------------------------------------------------