========================================================================
The
$ R / O
R E A D O N L Y
-=( May 1987 Issue )=-
The monthly news magazine of the Tampa Bay Kaypro User's Group
and the DataCOM Super Systems(tm)
========================================================================
News and reviews of programs, hardware, and peripherals for users of
microcomputers with CP/M, MP/M, MS-DOS, PC-DOS, or TurboDOS multi-
user operating systems.
========================================================================
Steven L. Sanders - Editor (Sysop)
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The DataCOM Super Systems(tm) is a "state of the art" multi-user remote
database with 150mb of files online. An annual fee of $40.00 is
required for access, an application may be downloaded by calling
(813) 796-5627 at 300/1200/2400 baud, or send a SASE along with your
request to:
DataCOM Super Systems(tm)
2643 Cedar View Court
Clearwater, FL 33519
-==( DISCLAIMER )==-
Articles and reviews of microcomputers, hardware, software, and other
peripherals reflect currently advertised prices as released by the
distributors and are included here for YOUR INFORMATION ONLY. The
TBKUG/DataCOM Super Systems(tm) is NOT being paid to advertise
these products and we cannot be held accountable for the
actual retail price and/or performance of said products.
-={ DISTRIBUTION/COPYRIGHT NOTICE }=-
The Read Only magazine and its contents are (c) copyright 1987 by Steven
L. Sanders. The Read Only magazine may be freely distributed on other
remote systems as long as all copyright notices and this title page
remain intact.
========================================================================
-={ New Systems Are Now Online }=-
It's taken awhile, but we've finally gotten our new SUPER system online.
The PC-AT (clone of course,) system is now sporting 2 ADC Slave 16
cards, and two 85mb hard disk drives! All three of our incoming modem
lines are now on a rotary system - call (813) 796-5627 for BEST service
as it's the "key" line.
Users can interactively CHAT with other users online on the other two
nodes. This works very similarly to Compuserve's CB Simulation(tm), you
type a line and its sent to the other person and he does likewise. You
can even request GROUP CHAT and all three users can CHAT at the same
time (confusing but fun.)
All of our CP/M files are located in their own conference so as not to
get confused with IBM files and vice-versa. CP/M users need only issue
the command J;1 from the main board command prompt to "join" the CP/M
conference and have access to the CP/M file directories. There is also
a separate message system inside the conference that works just like the
one in the main board except it will have only CP/M-related messages.
The PCBoard Premium BBS(tm) software that we are running is very user-
friendly and you can get help for any command letter (A-Z) on the menu
by simply entering H;x ('x' is any letter command on the menu.)
-={ DataCOM User Disk Volumes }=-
DataCOM has hundreds of diskettes for both IBM and CP/M users available
for a low $5.00 each ($7.50 foreign orders). Catalogs are available if
you send us a diskette in a reusable mailer and include sufficient
return postage. Be sure to enclose a note requesting IBM or CP/M
catalogs (or both) and what format the diskette should be.
Most of our disks are PACKED with programs, not one or two files and a
lot of blank space. The programs have been pre-checked to insure that
there are no dangerous ones waiting to "ZAP" your hard disks. These are
the pick of the crop of public domain, freeware, and shareware and are
always updated when newer versions are released.
All disks are mailed 1st-class US Mail - foreign orders go Air Mail.
-={ CP/M Revival ? - New Zilog Processor }=-
[The following was distributed at the BAKUP (Bay Area Kaypro Users &
Programmers) Booth at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco,
March 26-29, 1987.]
THEY BROUGHT YOU HANDYMAN AND THE K-20!
NOW! HIGH-TECH RESEARCH INTRODUCES THE Z280 ULTRABOARD!!
by William Hogan
Every red-blooded personal computer user has had at least a momentary
flirtation with the seductive advances of the 286 chip, and her younger,
even racier sister, Miss 386.
Even those of us who have stubbornly clung to our faithful, durable CP/M
Kaypros, steadfastly resisting the wanton charms of the swelling horde
of camp-following IBM clones, have gone a little weak in the knees at
the potential speed (6 to 16MHz) and potential memory (1 to 16
megabytes) of the latest DOS chips.
But just when the most conservative of the CP/M Kaypro users thought it
might be worth the risk to take a little fling with DOS, comes the news
of a revolutionary CP/M enhancement which can give our faded, reliable
old Kaypro's not only a face-lift but a complete make-over.
Suppose that you could have the CP/M equivalent of a turbo-charged AT
under the hood of your Kaypro...
Suppose that by replacing a single chip in your Kaypro 10, Kaypro 1, 2-
84, 4-84, or 2X you could have the processing speed, the memory, and the
advanced multi-user capabilities of the most advanced personal computer
in the IBM compatible line...
Suppose that your current Kaypro software would run perfectly on this
up-graded old machine, but run ten times faster...
Suppose that you could increase the size of your Kaypro's RAM from 64k
to 1 megabyte...(or even to 16 megabytes...)
Suppose that the cost of this make-over was not $1500, not $1000, but
less than $500...
Would you think you had died and gone to CP/M heaven?
Well, you don't have to die. You just have to get in touch with High
Tech Research, in Redding, CA. CP/M is alive and doing very well, thank
you, at High Tech Research.
The company that brought the innovative HANDYMAN Desktop Utility board
to Kaypro owners in 1985, and the K-20 CP/M computer in 1986, is about
to unveil the CP/M product of the year for 1987. The Z280 ULTRABOARD is
High Tech Research's ultimate add-on board for all '84 Series CP/M
Kaypros (including the 10-83.) ULTRABOARD will turn your present
machine into a revolutionary new CP/M computer, with twice the
processing speed and with 16 times the RAM capacity of an IBM-AT.
With the ULTRABOARD installed, you can immediately
- turn your Kaypro loose with a processing speed of 12MHz, up from its'
current 4MHz!
- address up to 16 megabytes of RAM!
- choose your own foreground and background hues on an external RGB
color monitor!
The High Tech Research ULTRABOARD is now in beta-testing for a Summer
release. CP/M is back, with a vengeance!
You take the cover off your CP/M Kaypro, unplug the Z80 chip, plug the
ULTRABOARD into the Z80 chip socket, attach the Kaypro monitor cable to
the ULTRABOARD, and your CP/M Kaypro is instantly faster and more
powerful than a new AT. And at a fraction of the cost. Your current
Kaypro CP/M software will run on the new board, except it will now run
at 12MHz instead of 4MHz, with no memory wait states.
For even greater processing speed, the ULTRABOARD supports Virtual
Memory, Cache Memory, and a user designated RAM Disk partition. In
operation, the combination of these features makes the ULTRABOARD-
equipped CP/M Kaypro the fastest, most powerful personal computer
available today. And at an add-on price!
At the heart of the ULTRABOARD is Zilog's new Z280 microprocessor, the
release of which has just been announced. High Tech Research has been a
Z280 Beta Tester for Zilog. The Z280 is the downwardly-compatible
latest generation of the Z80 series chip, the processor that drives the
CP/M Kaypros. Zilog spent more than 4 years developing the Z280.
Among its' features the Z280 chip
- is designed for CMOS low power operations.
- contains an enhanced Z80 CPU instruction set that maintains
object code compatibility with the Z80 microprocessor.
- adds 45 additional instructions to the Z80 CPU instruction set.
- includes a 3 stage pipe-lined 16-bit CPU architecture, with
both user and system modes.
- contains direct co-processor and multi-processor interface support.
- includes an on-chip paged memory management unit (MMU) that
addresses up to 16 megabytes.
- includes an on-chip 256 byte instruction and/or data
associative cache memory with burst load.
- contains 3 on-chip 16-bit counter/timers.
- contains 4 on-chip direct memory access (DMA) channels.
- includes an on-chip full duplex UART (serial I/O.)
- includes a built-in refresh controller for dynamic RAMS.
- contains an on-chip oscillator with a 20-50MHz oscillator
clock frequency.
The ULTRABOARD's Z280 on-chip Cache Memory automatically stores all
recently used instructions and/or data, so the processor has instant
access to them for memory fetches, and subsequent disk and memory
accesses are eliminated. On chip Cache Memory can reduce bus
transactions by as much as 75%. The ULTRABOARD's Z280 Instruction
Pipeline functions like three co-processors built into a single chip,
internally processing multiple instructions. While the first processor
is handling one instruction, processors two and three are simultaneously
working on the next two instructions. Pipelining contributes
dramatically to the ULTRABOARD's improved processing speed.
The wizards at High Tech Research even had to replace the Kaypro screen
driver so the screen could keep up with the Z280's phenomenal processing
speed. The ULTRABOARD includes a new 18MHz no-wait-state graphics
screen driver, with its' own 256 byte Cache Memory for virtually
instantaneous screen updates. 25 TIMES FASTER THAN YOUR CURRENT SCREEN.
No more waiting for the screen to catch up with your programs. The new
screen driver comes with an RGB connector so you can attach an external
color monitor to your Kaypro and select your own display colors. You
can even design your own character sets, and switch between them and the
standard Kaypro character set. The Graphics chip set GKS on the
ULTRABOARD contains a subset of the new GKS Standard (whatever that
means).
The ULTRABOARD comes populated with 1 megabyte of RAM, expandable to a
maximum of 16 megabytes. That's the memory equivalent of 48 double-
sided, double-density floppy disks. In RAM! Gone forever are the 64k
CP/M memory limitations for spreadsheets and databases. The ULTRABOARD
has a 1 megabyte ROM capacity, making a number of resident applications
possible. Imagine WordStar, for example, as a ROM resident program,
able to be accessed from within any other program. A modified version
of Advent Products TurboROM is included in the ULTRABOARD.
The ULTRABOARD supports multi-tasking and networking. But like the 286
and 386 processors, full realization of these ULTRABOARD capabilities
awaits the completion of an operating system, already under development,
specific to the new processor.
An optional ULTRABOARD power kit supplies continuous backup battery
power to the ULTRABOARD RAM, to keep the memory capacity of the machine
always active, during a cold boot, a power failure, or even when the
computer is turned off.
The ULTRABOARD provides pin-outs for an SCSI bus, enabling the processor
to support up to 300 megabytes of hard disk storage.
And of course, at no additional cost, ULTRABOARD includes the full
implementation of HANDYMAN, High Tech Research's built-in Desk Top
Utility. Of course, there is no longer any reasonable limitation to
HANDYMAN's file size.
High Tech Research has in development a high speed interface between the
ULTRABOARD and the PC. This will eventually permit the connection of
the CP/M Kaypro to a cheap PC clone for hard disk storage, and for use
as a network file server.
Last year at the HANDYMAN "B.A.K.U.P." meeting, I said that Bill Nesting
of High Tech Research and people like him were the future of CP/M,
people who were finding ways to improve a basically excellent personal
computer. ULTRABOARD validates that claim. There have always been
reasons to stick with CP/M. Thanks to High Tech Research and the
ULTRABOARD, we have now been given the best reason of them all: the
lowly Kaypro CP/M computer just jumped ahead of the best of the DOS
machines, in a single bound.
For additional information, or to place an advance order, contact:
High Tech Research
1135 Pine Street, #107
Redding, CA 96001
(800)446-3220
(800)446-3223 (in CA)
-={ Wendin-DOS, Multi-user/MultiTasking }=-
Wendin, Inc. introduced Wendin-DOS, a $99.00 multitasking, multiuser DOS
look-alike PC operating system.
The system is fully compatible with all DOS applications software, is
self-bootable, and has the same command structure and performance
capabilities as Microsoft DOS. The difference is that Wendin-DOS is a
true multitasking and multiuser system. Wendin-DOS is written in 'C'
and includes a transparent swapper routine to support expanded memory.
Interested parties can contact: Wendin Inc., Box 3888, Spokane,
Washington 99220, (509) 624-8088.
-={ Users Prefer Shareware }=-
(Taken from Info World March 30, 1987)
by Priscilla M. Chabal
Washington - Many corporate users are finding that shareware offers more
efficient, productive solutions than commercial products, according to a
bulletin board operator here who distributed a collection of shareware
utility programs at a recent trade show.
There are bulletin boards nationwide offering free or minimally priced
software with capabilities equal or superior to commercial programs
costing hundreds of dollars, according to Robert Blacher, an attorney
who runs a bulletin board as a hobby. "Some offer capabilities not
commercially available at all," he said.
Blacher's two-line bulletin board called Computer Connections PC Board,
is one of many that cater to serious PC users interested in exchanging
software and information that helps them be more productive, he said.
"Most of the users are from government agencies or corporations,"
Blacher said.
To demonstrate the quality of these programs, Blacher downloaded 16 of
the best utility programs he found onto a single diskette and
distributed it free of charge to attendees at the Federal Office Systems
Exposition (FOSE) here earlier this month. All of the programs can be
found on any serious bulletin board, according to Blacher.
"While there are many excellent word processing, spreadsheet, and
database programs available, many use 360k of RAM or more, and I was
restricted by the 360k size of the disk," Blacher said. "Of the 16
programs I included, only one requested a financial contribution. And
one author asked users to send a postcard to say thanks," he said.
Blacher distributed the following shareware programs at FOSE:
ANYWHERE, ARCA122, ARCE211, ARCV117, CED10D, LIST61A, NEW-MOVE, RDIR,
RDISK2, SORTS15, STACKEY2, TSRCOM21, ZANSI, and FASTSCRN.
-={ Finding the Files You Want }=-
(Personal Computing August 1986 by Miriam Liskin)
To help you find the needles you want in the haystack of files you
have accumulated, there are fundamentally two types of tools - utilities
that can search any existing text files for a given string of
characters, and programs that index a specified set of files in advance
in preparation for rapid retrieval later on. The latter usually cost
money, from a few dollars for a decent public domain program to quite a
few dollars for a commercial utility.
With any computer that runs DOS 2.0 or later, you already own a
program of the first type -- the FIND.EXE utility supplied with the
operating system, and it's already paid for. In its simplest
invocation, this program searches an existing text file for a specified
character string and displays on the screen the lines containing the
search string.
FIND has three parameters that provide additional flexibility. The
/V option displays all the files that do not contain a specified string.
The /C parameter causes FIND to simply count the lines that contain the
desired string, without displaying each one. These options are
primarily intended for programmers. The final option, /N, is more
valuable for ordinary text search requirements. With this parameter
included in the FIND command, line numbers are included in the screen
display, to show you the context of the search string. To display all
the lines with numbers, in a file called AB860815.BRF that contain the
word "liability," you could use the command:
FIND /N "liability" AB860815.BRF
Given its origin as a utility for programmers, it is not unusual
that FIND is more line-oriented that most word processors. You can,
however, use it to search files created by any word processor or text
editor, or in fact any files on your disk, including (although you would
rarely want to do so) .COM or .EXE files.
If your word processor places a carriage return at the end of each
screen line, the single lines of text displayed on the screen may not
fully reveal the context of the search string. With word processors
that use a return only to mark the end of a paragraph, FIND will
consider the entire paragraph to be one line. In this case, or with
word processors that do not number the lines in a file sequentially
(most do not), the actual line numbers displayed by FIND may be of use
only insofar as they indicate the approximate position of the search
string in the file.
Used this way, FIND enables you to determine whether a given file
is the one you want by telling you whether or not it contains the text
you have specified. This is only marginally better than using TYPE to
display the files yourself, but there are a few tricks you can use that
greatly increase the usefulness of this simple program.
You can instruct FIND to search multiple files by including more
than one file name in the command line. The program does not permit the
use of the standard DOS wildcard characters (* and ?), so you must type
all of the file names explicitly, separated by a single space, for
example:
FIND /N "liability" AB860815.BRF AB860820.MOT AB860901.MOT AB860901.LTR
The output of this command consists of the first file name,
followed by all the lines from that file that contain the text
"liability" (with line numbers), then the next file name, and so on.
You can further automate the search process by creating a batch file
containing one or more FIND commands, and optionally, by redirecting the
output of the command to a disk file so that you do not have to sit at
the computer watching the screen. The following batch file searches six
files for the text "liability" and stores the output in a file called
LIABIL.TXT:
FIND /N "liability" AB860815.BRF AB860820.MOT AB860901.MOT > LIABIL.TXT
FIND /N "liability" AB860901.LTR AB860910.LTR AB860912.LTR >> LIABIL.TXT
The output file, LIABIL.TXT, is created by the first FIND command;
using ">>" rather than ">" in the second and subsequent commands causes
the specified output to be appended to this file instead of recreating
it from scratch and thus destroying the prior contents. Using this
approach, you can carry out a lengthy search unattended and examine the
resulting file at your leisure.
Note also that although the two FIND commands in this example
search for the same text, this need not be the case, since they are
separate and independent uses of the FIND program. Also, because FIND
differentiates between upper- and lower-case, you may want to omit the
first letter of a word from the search string -- "iability" instead of
"liability" -- if the word might occur at the beginning of a sentence.
Using these techniques, you can construct a fairly complex search with a
series of FIND commands employing different search strings.
If you have a large number of files to search, you can use another
property of DOS batch files to overcome the limitation on the use of
wild cards in file names supplied as input to the FIND program. The FOR
command, a DOS subcommand permitted only in batch files, permits the use
of variables, written as two "%" signs followed by a letter; for
example, %%F. You can specify a set of values to be substituted in turn
for the variable name, and if the variable represents a file name, you
may use wild cards. The basic form of the FOR command is:
FOR <condition> DO <command>
To repeat the same FIND command for each file that matches the
pattern AB*.*, and save the output in a file called LIABIL.TXT, you
could use the following in a batch file:
FOR %%F IN (AB*.*) DO FIND /N "liability" %%F >> LIABIL.TXT
This command searches for all of the file names that match AB*.*.
Each is substituted in turn for the variable name %%f, and the resulting
FIND command is carried out. If you need to search more than one group
of files, you can include lines of this form in one batch file.
FIND.EXE, which is readily available on your DOS disk and will cost
you nothing, is adequate for the infrequent searches occasioned by
forgetting which of a set of files contains the material you want. If
you need to carry out this kind of search and retrieval more often --
for example, to gather material from previous documents for reports or
research projects -- there are programs that give you far more power and
flexibility.
-={ WHATSNEW: IBM Shareware }=-
PCO324.ARC PC-Outline v3.24 Copyright 1986,7 Brown Bag Software
PC-OUTLINE is an outlining and planning program. It allows you to
randomly enter information of almost any type (thoughts, plans, ideas,
etc.) and then organize it into a hierarchial structure. Once in the
hierarchial structure, you can view the information in many powerful
ways. For example, using the hide/unhide feature, you can view just
down to any level of detail in the outline that you want. With a single
keystroke, you can go from viewing the lowest level of detail to a view
that shows you only the highest, most important topics. With another few
keystrokes, you can print the outline, send it to a file compatible with
your word processor, copy it into another outline, or paste it directly
into your word processor. PC-OUTLINE is particularly appropriate for
list making. Tasks like making to-do lists or planning a project are
ideally suited for PC-OUTLINE.
K9X510.ARC Canine Express (K9X) v5.10 (C) 1985/86/87 Crater Rim
Software. This version represents a major change from any previous
versions of K9X. Incorporated are many of Philip Burns' PibTerm
routines and the author has tried to emulate PibTerm and the other
popular Comm packages so that most users will feel comfortable in
making the switch. As with earlier versions of K9X, it will
accept the full ANSI color graphics and music escape codes. It does not
however, afford any other type of terminal emulation. I
Many options were specifically omitted in order to create a small (as
small as possible), efficient, "no-nonsense" communications link. This
version constitutes a total clean up of the K9X code! File sizes were
dropped about 20K with the code clean up and the other modifications
initiated this trip! First off, all of the File Manipulation Code,
other than the change drive, change directory options, has been
eliminated and replaced with a transparent DOS shell command to FETCH
(see FETCH210.ARC).
FE382-1.ARC, FE382-2.ARC, and FE382-3.ARC F I L E E X P R E S S by
David M. Berdan (C) Copyright Expressware 1986. File Express is an
information management program written for the IBM Personal Computer and
other compatible computers using PC-DOS. This allows easy manipulation
of small and medium sized databases using menu driven commands. File
Express allows you to create and maintain files of facts, figures,
names, mailing lists, patient records or what have you.
WITH FILE EXPRESS YOU CAN:
* Define new databases, specifying the length and type of
information allowed into each field.
* Easily Add, Delete, Edit and Display information
* Generate Reports from your files
* Sort records on up to ten fields
* Search or Sort for specific information within a record
* Search for certain records on a global basis and replace any
or all of the information contained in them.
* Search for certain records on a global basis and delete them
* Search for duplicate fields within the records of a file.
* Search for duplicate field information within two files.
* Merge up to ten different files into one new file.
* Designate certain fields for automatic entry of time and
date in several different formats when inputting data.
* Define fields within a record to be self-calculating.
* Print Mailing Labels, up to five across in condensed or
regular mode. This will be the easiest label printer
that you will have ever used.
* Create new databases from existing ones, adding new fields
within the record and discarding unneeded ones, changing
the field lengths and rearranging the order.
* Create Mailmerge type files from your databases.
QEDIT135.ARC QEDIT 1.35D Memory-based text editor, configurable
commands, can look like any editor you want (Wordstar definition file
included). Very fast editing, full DOS path recognition, color or mono
monitors. Completely new configuration program. Usage of this program
should be much easier than the previous configuration program. Users of
color adapters are now given a choice of fast "flickering" screen
updating or slow "flickerless" screen updating. EOF file handling is
now configurable. Users can choose to have the file terminated by: 1)
control z only, 2) newline, control z, 3) newline, 4) nothing. In split
screen mode, the same file can now be viewed in both windows. Critical
error handler re-written. Readfile module re-written. Several routines
rewritten in assembler to conserve code space. Option to run file with
Turbo Pascal compiler after editing and many new experimental features.
Word-wrap and many printer options as well.
TDRAW210.ARC TheDraw Version 2.10 Color Screen Image Text Editor
COPYRIGHT (C) 1986,87 TheSoft Programming Services and Ian E. Davis
TheDraw was written as an improvement to AnsiDraw by Amrich
Enterprises. Both programs provide similar operation, with TheDraw
giving a much enhanced user interface. In addition, TheDraw does
not utilize hardware blanking as AnsiDraw does. TheDraw is
designed to create, store, and retrieve screens of ASCII text, ANSI
compatible color images, and ANSI compatible ANIMATION sequences.
WSSI312.ARC WSSINDEX creates and maintains a database with all the
information about your disks available from the DIR command, plus
optional descriptive comments and categories. You can search the
database interactively, or you can print it with various sorting and
selection options. How many disks can I index? There is a
hard limit of approximately 16K files (or disks, or
subdirectories), and a practical limit of 10-12K files if you have
640K of memory.
PROCMD.ARC ProCMD: The ProComm CMD Editor ver. 1.0 by Craig Crutcher
(C) 1987 Illusion Software. ProComm offers a very powerful facility
for automated Computer Telecommunications called `Command (CMD)
Files', which allows users to write automatic, decision making
"programs" that can use virtually all of ProComm's user mode functions.
ProCMD was developed in order to allow users with minimal
programming experience to write ProComm CMD files without having to
be concerned with CMD syntax.
IMPRT140.ARC IMAGEPRINT Print Quality Enhancer Version 1.3 for the IBM
PC and IBM Graphics Printer/Epson (C) Copyright Image Computer Systems
1985, 1986. IMAGEPRINT is a program which allows you to produce high
quality characters on your dot matrix printer. With IMAGEPRINT you can
print important letters, resumes, and documentation on your standard
IBM Graphics Printer or Epson printer or compatible printer. There
is no need to buy a daisy wheel printer, another parallel port,
another cable. IMAGEPRINT runs as a standard applications program.
Text input to IMAGEPRINT can come either directly from the keyboard
(typewriter mode) or from a disk file. The text input can contain
embedded backslash ("\") commands, which select bold, underlining,
double width, italics, etc. Text can be formatted (left and right
justification, margins, etc) with a word processor or by using
IMAGEPRINT's built-in formatting capabilities.
POWRMENU.ARC POWERMENU Copyright 1987 by Brown Bag Software. PowerMenu
is an operating environment for your IBM PC or compatible which acts as
a "super highway," providing easy access to any application on your PC.
Word processing, spreadsheets, and all of your PC programs are just a
keystroke away. PowerMenu is particularly suited for end-users who
would rather not worry about subdirectories, command line
parameters, and command names. For instance, you can set up your
PowerMenu to run a word processor when the W key is hit. Users exit
from word processing, are back in the main PowerMenu, and need
never interact with the Disk Operating System (DOS)! User-Friendliness.
PowerMenu uses the familiar Sidekick like menu structure, and
includes context-sensitive on-line help at the touch of a key. USER-
DEFINABLE COLORS - Customize PowerMenu to your individual color tastes.
PASSWORD PROTECTION - Each application or submenu can request a password
before allowing the user to continue. SUBMENUS - Up to 4 menus may
appear on the screen at the same time, allowing for more than 10,000
selections. SCREEN SAVE FEATURE - PowerMenu will clear the computer
screen automatically when not in use. INSTANT DOS ACCESS - Pop up a DOS
window and compose commands directly. dBase III COMPATIBILITY
PowerMenu's data and index files can be accessed through dBase III.
PCP-PAL1.ARC Revised 1-24-87, ProComm 2.4 Command file to dial PC
Pursuit numbers. Demonstrates menu building, branching on user input,
etc. The concept for this and previous files (PCPSCRIP.ARC) was
inspired by a person that, to this day remains unknown. It is his/her
groundwork that has made this program possible. The original concept
was downloaded from the NET EXCHANGE and has been re-written by: Al
Kalian, Sysop, PALLADIN BBS 415-332-1655. My special thanks to Richard
Crimi for his suggestions. Command files included for all 25 PC Pursuit
cities available today.
HARDCOPY.ARC Hardcopy (HC) will print any ASCII file, including dBASE
command files, to the LST device (LPT:1) in a convenient format. It is
useful for producing hardcopy of your programming. Requires Epson or
compatible printer. Prints 80 LINES of code per page in Elite (12 cpi)
format. Type HC ? for help. Includes Turbo Pascal source and executable
file.
XEQ103.ARC XEQ - COM File Library and Command Executor. This
program allows COM files to be stored inside XEQ's code and executed by
the command: XEQ command For example, if BEEP.COM has been added to
XEQ then: XEQ BEEP will execute the BEEP program stored inside XEQ.
The original BEEP.COM can be removed from the hard disk (onto a backup
floppy!!!). If the specified command is not in XEQ it is passed to the
DOS for execution as if directly typed at the DOS prompt. The purpose
is to prevent wasted hard-disk space by those pesky little COM files we
don't seem to be able to do without. When hard disks are formatted they
are given an allocation size (called a cluster size) and this is
typically 2048 or 4096 bytes. So when you save a 7 byte COM file like
BEEP.COM, it takes up a full cluster. By combining these COM files into
this program or LIBRARY, several COM files can be stored in one file
(the XEQ program itself) and still accessed without this waste in hard
disk space.
PRODIA44.ARC DIAGS gives detailed info on your serial and parallel
ports, your video adapters, and even on the disks attached to your
system. It can also perform very sophisticated tests on the ports and
adapters. An excellent program, whether the original or this modified
version.
QHELP135.ARC TSR (terminate and stay resident) pop-up help for QEDIT
1.35 w/A86 ASM. Qedit lacks an easy way to get on-line help and this
little TSR (a mod to Kurt Schelin's original by another author who has
translated it to A86 assembler) makes up the deficiency. Source
provided and can, in fact, easily be modified to make a pop-up helper
for almost any program.
RS232V23.ARC Memory-resident utility that puts modem status lights on
screen v2.03. Particularly useful for those of you with internal
modems, this simply puts on your screen what you would see on the status
lights of most external modems (e.g. TR, CD, etc.).
121-V22.ARC One-to-One is a specialized communications program for
when you are calling someone else running the same package and want to
exchange information with that person. As such, it is not for BBS
calling, but can be extremely useful for private telecommunications.
Unique features include: 1) Type messages to each other while a file
transfer is in progress! 2) Never worry about garbled text caused by
two people typing at the same time. Incoming and Outgoing text appear
in separate windows on screen. 3) "Share" a text file. You and a
friend can be looking at the same text file at the same time." This is
version 2.2 of the program with many refinements and much faster screen
writing routines. The new features are detailed in "WHATSNEW.121" and
the excellent documentation is also up-to-date. A very professionally
done shareware package that is worth a look if you do one-to-one (ahah!)
communications.
-={ New IBM DOS 3.30 }=-
IBM announces three licensed programs:
o Disk Operating System (DOS) Version 3.30
o Disk Operating System Version 3.30 Technical Reference
o TopView (TM) Version 1.12
IBM Disk Operating System (DOS) Version 3.30 is the latest single-
tasking DOS for IBM Personal Computers and supports the new IBM Personal
System/2 (TM) Model 30, IBM Personal System/2 Model 50, IBM Personal
System/2 Model 60, and IBM Personal System/2 Model 80 processors.
National language support has been extended to 11 languages. An upgrade
from any previous version of DOS to DOS Version 3.30 is available.
(TM) Trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
A new DOS Version 3.30 Technical Reference Manual is available
separately to support the new DOS 3.30. The Update Information Service
(UIS) for DOS Technical References is being canceled. All UIS
registered users of DOS Technical Reference (6024213) will receive the
DOS Version 3.30 Technical Reference, which will be the last automatic
update, at no additional cost.
A maintenance update of TopView Version 1.12 provides the necessary
support for the new IBM Personal System/2 Models 30, 50, 60, and 80.
In addition, IBM announces revised Quantity Discount Agreement (QDA) IBM
Personal Computer Licensed Programs Exhibits with new terms and
conditions for Additional Licenses (AL) for these programs. Refer to
Programming Announcement 287-137, dated April 2, 1987, for additional
details.
Effective July 10, 1987, IBM is withdrawing from marketing the following
programs licensed under the IBM Program License Agreement:
o DOS Version 3.10 (6024211)
o DOS Version 3.20 (5.25-inch) (6280057)
o DOS Version 3.20 (3.5-inch) (6280058)
o DOS Technical Reference (6024213)
Planned Availability Date: April 2, 1987
PROGNO 6280060 Disk Operating System
Version 3.30
6280059 Disk Operating System
Version 3.30 Technical Reference
6024475 TopView Version 1.12
OVERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
o DOS 3.30 supports IBM Personal Computers, including the new IBM
Personal System/2 Model 30, IBM Personal System/2 Model 50, IBM
Personal System/2 Model 60, and IBM Personal System/2 Model 80
processors.
o DOS 3.30 is compatible with DOS 3.20
o Three new commands (FASTOPEN, CALL, APPEND) have been added.
o BACKUP/RESTORE, DATE/TIME, ATTRIB, and SYS commands are enhanced to
provide improvements in performance and usability
o Other enhancements have been made to increase the number of open
files, to speed up disk drive I/O, and to provide a faster and more
secure method of writing to a disk file in multi-user environments
such as networks.
o The number of asynchronous ports supported is increased to four,
1.44MB diskettes are supported, and fixed disks greater than 32MB
are supported in partitioned mode.
o DOS 3.30 supports 11 national languages.
o The new DOS 3.30 Technical Reference supports the DOS 3.30 product.
o TopView 1.12 provides necessary support for IBM Personal System/2
Models 30, 50, 60, and 80 hardware.
DESCRIPTION
DOS Version 3.30 is compatible with DOS 3.20 and supports IBM Personal
Computers. Effective July 10, 1987, DOS 3.10 and 3.20 will be
withdrawn. An upgrade to DOS 3.30 from all prior levels of DOS is being
offered at a reduced cost.
DOS 3.30 provides required support for an application program to
interface with the IBM Personal Computer hardware. It allows a user to
manage files on a disk or diskette and to start an application
consisting of one or more programs linked together into a single load
module.
The DOS 3.30 product includes the BASIC Interpreter Program Version
3.30. The existing BASIC Reference Manual Version 3.20 (6280075)
describes BASIC 3.30 and is available separately.
A new DOS Version 3.30 Technical Reference contains the LINKER, EXE2BIN,
and VDISK.ASM, which were previously shipped with DOS. DEBUG is now
shipped with both DOS and the Technical Reference.
A new program, LIB, has been added to allow programmers to maintain a
library of assembled routines. The current DOS Technical Reference
(6024213) is being withdrawn effective July 10, 1987.
MEMORY REQUIREMENTS: 128KB is the minimum memory requirement for DOS
3.30 systems.
DISKETTE DRIVE REQUIREMENTS:
o 360KB (5.25-inch) diskette drive
o 720KB (3.5-inch) diskette drive
o 1.44MB (3.5-inch) diskette drive
o 1.2MB (5.25-inch) diskette drive
PROGRAM UPGRADE: A program upgrade option is offered that allows
currently licensed users of all previous versions of IBM DOS to obtain
the new function of DOS Version 3.30 for an upgrade charge. The program
upgrade to IBM DOS Version 3.30 is available through December 31, 1987.
-={ New Microsoft OS/2 - Design Goals }=-
by Gordon Letwin
Microsoft has designed OS/2 with the future of the office automation
environment in mind--where microcomputers on every desktop handle the
routine information-manipulation tasks of a modern office and the rapid
flow of information via networks replaces the slow flow via paper.
"We built OS/2 so that it achieves the following goals:
* It provides device-independent graphics drivers, but it does not
introduce any significant overhead in doing so.
* It gives applications direct access to high-bandwidth peripherals, but
it virtualizes the use of those peripherals to prevent cross talk.
* It provides a fully customized environment for each program and its
descendants, yet it also provides a standard environment that is
unaffected by other programs in the system.
* It provides a protected environment to ensure system stability, yet
not only does it still provide applications with all the capabilities
they had under non-protected systems, but it doesn't limit the
capabilities they can add in the future."
OS/2 is similar to traditional multitasking operating systems in many
ways: It provides multitasking, scheduling, disk management, memory
management, and so on. But it is as different from them as an office
desktop environment is different from a multi-user mainframe
environment. Traditional multitasking systems were designed at a time
when computers were very costly; maximizing the machine's throughput and
utilization was important.
Powerful microcomputers are now relatively inexpensive. In designing
OS/2, we attempted to maximize the machine's response and utility to its
user.
OS/2's emphasis on a graphical user interface is a departure from
traditional operating systems. [Editor's note: The first release of OS/2
will not provide graphics support in its video I/O package; programs
will have to do their graphics work through direct device control.] A
powerful graphics capability is essential to an office-automation
operating system. Such facilities were rare in earlier minicomputer
operating systems because they required a lot of memory and compute
power to drive high-resolution displays. Today's microcomputers have the
necessary memory and CPU power.
OS/2 also differs from traditional minicomputer operating systems in its
management of devices. The classic device driver interface is too slow
and one dimensional for effective use of the graphics-display screen and
the mouse, yet some system interface is needed to provide display-device
independence. Instead of screen device drivers, OS/2 uses a set of
three dynamic-link packages to provide high performance yet device-
independent interface to the screen, mouse, and keyboard. Packages such
as Microsoft Windows can partially replace these dynamic-link routines,
letting Windows or similar packages seamlessly support non-Windows
programs.
Most minicomputer systems virtualize--or share--all devices among the
running applications. Since users are physically remote from the CPU,
their only personal system is their terminal and a low-bandwidth OS-
based interface. OS/2 virtualizes some system resources such as system
RAM and disks, but allows applications direct access to private devices
such as special display hardware, light pens, digitizer tablets, and so
on. Such direct access is critical for good performance from high-
bandwidth devices.
OS/2's environment is protected so that applications cannot help
themselves to what they need by manipulating system memory or devices,
but this also restricts an application's ability to effectively add new
features to the system. This means that OS/2 must provide functions to
support anything that a current or future application might need. Since
Microsoft cannot possibly anticipate all conceivable programs, the OS/2
design includes a variety of adaptable, expandable interfaces that can
accommodate future requirements. With dynamic linking, for example, you
can access services from DOS, from library routines, and from other
processes in a flexible yet controlled way. You can upgrade the system,
add packages and services, and process and distribute data across the
network, yet the clients of those services will continue to see an
unchanged interface to those services.
A multitasking system runs many programs in one computer. Ten programs
at once means that the chances of a program bug cropping up are ten
times as great. Worse, the errant program may damage another, thereby
hiding the true cause of the problem, or perhaps just producing an
incorrect result. OS/2 is designed so that errors on the part of a
program are isolated to that program and the normal operation of a
program--memory consumption, keyboard usage, and so on--does not affect
other programs. It also restricts a program's ability to interfere with
others by the manipulation of global resources, such as the screen or
keyboard. A protected mode application can control the screen and
keyboard within its own screen group, but it cannot prevent the user
from switching to another screen group and interacting normally with the
application running there.
It is commonly thought that applications programmers are at the mercy
of the systems designers because applications have to use the facilities
provided by the system. Actually, the opposite is true; systems
designers must ensure that existing applications continue to run on any
new release.
An operating system can only succeed when there is a good selection of
popular applications that will run on it. Those applications, in turn,
are only written for already successful systems. This catch-22 means
that downward compatibility with earlier DOSs is critical in order to
bootstrap OS/2 into the marketplace. OS/2 provides this compatibility by
dedicating one of the screen groups as the 3.X box. A great deal of
effort went into providing DOS 3 compatibility, but there was no
question that it had to be there.
In designing OS/2, we had to strike a balance between many sometimes
contradictory goals: We had to provide a flexible operating system
environment, yet that environment had to be fast. We wanted to provide
application programmers with a rich API that would form a stable
application base for years to come, yet we couldn't do this at the
expense of people who have a large investment in applications running
under earlier versions of DOS. We saw the fundamental incompatibility
between protected mode and real mode as our now-or-never chance to break
compatibility with elements of earlier versions of DOS that are
unsuitable for a multitasking, networked, protected environment. Since
programmers will have to modify their programs slightly to run in
protected mode anyway, we took this opportunity to have them modify the
programs a bit further and stop undesireable features from being passed
on to future versions of the system. Having to make unalterable
decisions about what would go and what would stay put us under a lot of
pressure, but we believe OS/2 is an operating system that we will be
able to support for a great many years and releases to come.
-={ Until Next Month ... }=-
Well that's it for yet another month. I think we have a little
something for everyone this month, especially the news for Kaypro owners
of the upcoming release of the ULTRABOARD.
All DataCOM users in the local Tampa Bay area are reminded of the
Computer Faire which will be held on Sunday June 7, 1987. The location
is the Airport Holiday Inn on Ulmerton Road in Largo next to the
Showboat Dinner Theater. The Holiday Inn is easily accessible to both
Pinellas and Hillsborough county residents as the interstate just about
runs through their parking lot! The fair will be going all afternoon so
be sure to come on out and see it ! I will have a booth there myself
and will be doing online demos of the remote systems and also will have
most of the software library on hand to make disk copies.
Cheers !! Steve Sanders, Editor
{eof}
the software library on hand to make disk copie