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FidoNews · Vol 2, No 46 · 30 December 1985

       Volume 2, Number 46                         30 December 1985
       +----------------------------------------------------------+
       |                                             _            |
       |                                            /  \          |
       |    - Fidonews -                           /|oo \         |
       |                                          (_|  /_)        |
       |  Fido and Fidonet                         _`@/_ \    _   |
       |    Users  Group                          |     | \   \\  |
       |     Newsletter                           | (*) |  \   )) |
       |                             ______       |__U__| /  \//  |
       |                            / FIDO \       _//|| _\   /   |
       |                           (________)     (_/(_|(____/    |
       |                                                (jm)      |
       +----------------------------------------------------------+

       Publisher:                                          Fido 1/1
       Editor in Chief:                              Thom Henderson
       Review Editor:                                  Allen Miller
       Chief Procrastinator Emeritus:                  Tom Jennings

       Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 1/1.  You are
       encouraged  to  submit articles for publication in Fidonews.
       Article submission  standards  are  contained  in  the  file
       FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 1/1.

       Disclaimer or don't-blame-us:

       The contents of the articles  contained  here  are  not  our
       responsibility,  nor  do  we  necessarily  agree  with them;
       everything here is subject to debate.  We publish EVERYTHING
       received.


                              HAPPY NEW YEAR


                            Table of Contents

       1. EDITORIAL
          110 Baud and Teletypes
       2. NEWS
          FidoGram Ramblings
          More Fido rewrite ideas
          MEDNet - Medical FIDO Network
          Sanyo Questions, Answers, & Comments
       3. COLUMNS
          Avoiding Snow on the Color Graphics Adapter
          FIDO Sysop's Utilities
          Rainbow Corner
       4. NOTICES
          The Interrupt Stack

       Fidonews                   Page  2               30 Dec 1985





       ============================================================
                                EDITORIAL
       ============================================================

                          110 Baud and Teletypes

       Does anybody remember 110 baud?  I just checked, so I know I
       can set my serial port for it, but I don't think I've seen a
       comm program that'll do it.  Maybe I'll write my  own,  just
       to see what it's like.

       I remember when I first started with computers,  we had four
       teletypes  connected  to  a mainframe computer three hundred
       miles away.  (You've heard of mainframes -- big things  that
       filled a whole room?  They still make 'em.) It was two years
       before I saw the machine I was using.

       Those teletypes (ASR 33's they were) ran at 110 baud, or ten
       characters  a  second,  and  made the most incredible noise;
       especially when confined in a small cinder block  room.  You
       think  the  fan  on  a PC is loud?  You ain't heard nothin'!
       When we REALLY wanted to make noise, we'd start up the paper
       tape punch (which only one of them had).  At the  time,  and
       for  a  few  years  after,  paper  tape  was really the only
       standard method of moving files  from  machine  to  machine.
       They  made expensive high-speed paper tape readers,  and the
       first micros were usually booted from paper tape.  We mainly
       used it to make "dots" (the parts that were punched  out  to
       make  the  holes),  which were great for "snowing" someone's
       room.

       110 baud was the industry standard at that  time.  We  could
       take  down  three  of  the teletypes and hook up a Tektronix
       terminal for graphics at 300 baud,  but it was frowned  upon
       unless  we  had  a really good reason.  I was once told that
       300 baud is like sex;  once you've had it, it's hard to give
       up.  I feel that way now about 1200 baud.

       Those  teletypes  had  all  of  their  guts in what would be
       called the powerhead on an  outboard  motor.  The  mechanism
       was all in the top.  The stand was mainly empty space.  When
       I   saw  my  first  microcomputer  (an  Imsai  8080)  I  was
       immediatly struck by two things:  (1) it was hooked up to  a
       teletype, at 110 baud, and (2) the entire computer would fit
       into the empty space inside the teletype stand.

       You  couldn't really have put it there,  though.  You needed
       access to the front panel switches so you could toggle in  a
       bootstrap  loader,  which  then  loaded  the system from the
       paper tape reader on the teletype.

       But do you want to know the most incredible part?  This  was
       only about ten years ago.

       ------------------------------------------------------------

       Fidonews                   Page  3              30 Dec 1985





       ============================================================
                                   NEWS
       ============================================================

                     ????????????????????????????????
                     ?  ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT THIS  ?
                     ????????????????????????????????


                            By Rives Mc Ginley
                             Fido 105 Net 101


            I guess you are not!

            Heck of a way to start a discourse, to make a statement
       that  is so decisive.   But history is a real teacher,   and
       this Sysop is a quick study, after a number of months.

            We have been trying over the last few months to provide
       you  the  Sysop of Fidos across the country,   with  a  free
       communications service.  You've read about it,  FIDOGRAMS.

            At  our expense,  we have been responding  to  requests
       from around the country,  and even Europe, to send along the
       files  that  explain  the system.   We have had  a  fabulous
       response.  Actual  numbers  of Fidograms are  being  counted
       right now.  At Christmas time as you'd expect, the system is
       humming with cheery messages.

            We love doing this.  We are Amateur Radio operators who
       have been looking for years to be able to interface Computer
       users and Amateur Radio.   At the moment,  we are angered by
       some  Fido's who have requested this material.   We  believe
       some of you are not serious about this whole  FIDO thing.

            We have experienced a great number of Fidos perhaps ten
       out  of 35 requests,   who are not prepared to  receive  our
       messages  and  files when we send them during  the  national
       mail time. Either there is no connection,  or we connect and
       the  system  is not on line,  or we connect and the  FidoNet
       programming is not running.

            It may seem unimportant,   but your wrong.   Here's  an
       example:  an  attempt to send a message and file  from  Cape
       Cod to Texas was made eight days in a row.   Fido,  as he is
       supposed,  tried  each  night,  thirty times,  to  dial  and
       connect.   Fido  reported  each morning,  with a  gasp,  "No
       Connection".  Had there been a connection,  the message  and
       file would have been transfered as expected ,  or Fido would
       have given up after two connections (both of the later would
       have cost 22 cents each, and no message delivered).

            Eight times thirty equals 240.   That's a lot of calls.
       Surely sometime during that period, eight days, Texas should
       have answered.  Eight days worth of trying,  no answer,  and
       the  call  was requested by the Fido in Texas,  we  did  not
       decide to send it there for the heck of it.

       Fidonews                   Page  4              30 Dec 1985





            Here is the ultimate irony of the whole  episode.....Ma
       Bell believes with all her motherly heart, that we connected
       each of those times. 240 times 22 cents.  Even without Lotus
       123  you can see that's a lot of public service....  Poor Ma
       Bell,   she is totally convinced that we  made those  calls,
       connecting  each time.   The lady said,  "See,  that's  what
       happens when you use a computer to automatically make calls.
       It  can go haywire".  We were kind,  and did not remind  her
       that she was using a computer to talk to us.  We didn't even
       remind  her  that  haywire  was the reason  that  2400  baud
       doesn't  work  on each call.   If good wire  were  provided,
       ....Oh well.

            So how about it.   Read your documentation.  If you ask
       someone  to send you a file,  remember,   Fido by-passes all
       Host  and  Region-host routing.   The message and  file  are
       directed  right to you.   If you choose to not be on  during
       National Mail time, and instead pick up your messages during
       your regional time,  then ..........

       --------->  DON'T ASK ANYONE TO SEND YOU A FILE. <----------

            We  will continue to respond,  as requested,  with  the
       file  and  appropiate  message  to help  you  get  into  the
       FidoGram  habit.  If  we  don't connect after  a  reasonable
       number of calls, made throughout the National Mail time, and
       within a couple of days of receiving your message,   we will
       not  try again.   You can call us.   Go to File area  Number
       four,  Fidfile,  and download a file called FidoGram.ARC. It
       has what you need,  and your most welcome.

            More  importantly  however,  a lot of you should  start
       getting  serious about Fido.   You are not living up to  the
       deal.   Fido's are to be on line,  available, and willing to
       accept  mail and files during NATIONAL MAIL  TIME.   If  the
       people who make up the Nodelist each week want a list of the
       offending Fidos,  send us a message,  we will tell you.

            A shorter nodelist saves disk space.



       ------------------------------------------------------------

       Fidonews                   Page  5              30 Dec 1985





       John Plocher
       Fido 121/90
                          More Fido rewrite ideas


         As long as everyone is talking of rewriting Fido,  I might
       as well toss in my 2 bits worth...

       Problems with current BBS's

         The learning curve of a new BBS is long and slow.  (That's
       what  makes FIdo so nice;  you know one,  and you know  them
       all.   When  using  a remote system through a  modem  (slow)
       things like help menus,  long prompts, etc are a pain.  Even
       more so if you don't know the system.   The sequence I  seem
       to go through learning a new system is

            HELP   DIR   HELP   UPLOAD   HELP   DOWNLOAD ...

         It  would  be  nice  to have the  help  screens  available
       localy (capturing/printing works, but is not always possible
       if you don't have a printer)

         Another  problem  is  that  in order to  get  things  done
       quickly  people set the prompting level to expert to  bypass
       the long (slow) novice prompt.   Why should I have to choose
       between understanding and boredom?

         Still another problem is that file transfers are all  done
       HALF DUPLEX!   WHY?  Cuz XMODEM does it that way, and no one
       has bothered to update things to FULL DUPLEX.

       Suggestions/solutions:

         The  December BYTE issue on conferencing said a  lot.   In
       fact,  it said much of what I had been thinking, but thought
       no one would be interested.   (anyone out there have a black
       book  program?)   One of the ideas I've been working  on  is
       that  of  taking  advantage of the fact that  many  (?most?)
       users  of a BBS are using computers with  telecom  programs.
       Why not set up a "Fido" designed with the Kermit server idea
       where it responds to requests like:

         READ MESSAGE n
         REPLY TO MESSAGE n
         ENTER A MESSAGE
         LIST DIRECTORIES
         LIST FILENAMES IN directory
         UPLOAD FILE name WITH protocol
         DOWNLOAD FILE name WITH protocol

       and have the telecom program provide all the user interface!
       Help  menus  in windows at local  processor  speeds,  screen
       scrolling  to  see  the  last n pages,  the  ability  to  be
       retrieving  the next message while the user is  reading  the
       current one, integrated LOCAL full screen editors to compose
       messages...

       Fidonews                   Page  6              30 Dec 1985





         The great part of this would be that the "Fido" server can
       change  without  affecting the interface,  and the user  can
       hack up his interface program as much as s/he wants to.  The
       worst  that  can  happen  if the  user  hacks  up  the  user
       interface too much is that that user gets screwed.

         If  the interface is done at a PACKET LEVEL,  (rather than
       at  a  character level) the systems  could  provide  virtual
       circuits  to  allow such things as simultaneous uploads  and
       downloads, downloads while reading messages, etc.

         If the FULL DUPLEX protocol was implemented for  FidoMail,
       the sending node could say to the receiver something like "I
       have  3 minutes of stuff to send you,  you may send me up to
       that time limit of stuff to me for free"  (sort of like  the
       LISTGEN POLL command).

         With the advent of Wendin's Operating System Toolbox,  and
       their  multi-tasking PCUNIX/PCVMS systems for the PC  world,
       these  protocols can be *easily* implemented.   Right now  I
       have  the  basic code (in C) which allows a  single  virtual
       circuit  between machines (NO BBS,  just some rickety  stand
       alone code), and as soon as I figure out the system calls to
       the  Wendin OS's,  it will become a multiple virtual circuit
       system.  (a virtual circuit allows you to treat the com line
       as  an  ERROR FREE link to another program;  more  than  one
       virtual  circuit  may  be  mapped  onto  a  single  physical
       comunications  link).   I'd  like to hear from  Bob  Hartman
       about  what  he  has been doing with  the  Rover  networking
       implementation...

         Right  now these are nebulous ideas waiting for some  free
       time to get implemented.   It would be a shame to miss  this
       opportunity  to  upgrade  FidoNet into an  even  lower  cost
       messaging system!

         I  will  follow this up with a more coherent note after  I
       get  a  working  system (small,  no frills...)  up  and  can
       benchmark its performance -vs- Fido and other systems.  Send
       NetMail messages to me at

                          121/90 (John Plocher)

       if you want to participate in this brainstorming...

       ------------------------------------------------------------

       Fidonews                   Page  7              30 Dec 1985





       David Dodell, D.M.D.
       FIDO 114/15


       Several FIDO systems around the United  States  have  linked
       together  to form MEDNet.  MEDNet is a alternate FIDONet for
       FIDO's that have an interest in the  medical  sciences.  One
       of   the   prime   purposes  of  MEDNet  is  to  allow  easy
       distribution of medically related files  to  all  interested
       FIDOs  by using a HOST system and POLLING.  This allows each
       system to share interesting  files  with  all  other  MEDNet
       members without having to go through the expense of multiple
       long distance telephone calls.

       We  invite  other  FIDO systems to join MEDNet - all that is
       required is an interest in  the  medical  sciences  and  the
       williness  to  POLL  a HOST board once a week to pick up new
       files.  If interested, please send Netmail to FIDO 114/15.


       ------------------------------------------------------------

       Fidonews                   Page  8              30 Dec 1985





       Sanyo Questions, Answers, & Comments

       EJ McKernan, Sysop
       The Bit Bucket BBS
       Node ------ 14/386
       (316)343-8028 24hr
       300/1200/2400 Baud

       In  this  column we will attempt to answer  users  questions
       concerning sanyo computer hardware and software. If you have
       any  questions  you'd like answered,  please send  them  via
       FIDONET  mail  to  the BIT BUCKET (node 14/386,) Or  if  you
       don't have an account for fidomail call the board and  leave
       your question in a message area.

       Let's  get  right down to business by answering one  of  the
       questions  most  often asked by sanyo owners wanting to  use
       the machine for telecomunications.

       Q.  When  using  some communications programs on  the  sanyo
       (minitel  and  fido included) why does my  modem  disconnect
       when I try to access my disk? How do I fix it?

       A.  The problem is that when sanyo wrote the drivers for the
       disk  controller they decided to disable all other  hardware
       interupts when they were expecting an interupt from the disk
       controller.  What they did was command the 1851  UART,  used
       for  serial I/O,  to drop the data terminal ready (DTR) line
       going  to the modem.The problem with this is that  when  the
       DTR  goes low the modem disconnects the phone line unless we
       have set up the modem to ignore DTR. That's not exactly what
       we want to happen when we're accessing the disk drive. There
       eat my shorts yis another way to disable interupts from  the
       UART,  use the interupt controller mask register. Sanyo does
       this  as well as drop the DTR line.  They didn't need to  do
       both.  You may state,  "Why all this technical jargon.  Just
       Tell me how to fix the problem! OK OK, I just wanted to give
       you techy types something to read.

       FIX: There are available patch programs that will remove the
       code  from the BIOS that switches OFF/ON the DTR  line.  Tom
       Jennings original patch for MSDOS 2.11 (sanyos' original) is
       named SYOPATCH.COM.  There are others for all the  different
       version  of MSDOS available for the sanyo.  Problem is  that
       they have different names. Look around different sanyo BBS's
       and download them all (they are very small,  about 386 or so
       bytes) and find one that works with your dos version. My dos
       is   DSDOS  2.11+  from  michtron.   The  patch  I  use   is
       SYDSPTCH.COM.  It  and a few others are available on the BIT
       BUCKET BBS.  If you can't find something that will fix  your
       dos leave me a message spelling out exactly what dos version
       your using (all the version numbers you see when you boot up
       your machine,) and I'll see what I can come up with.

       Well  that's  all  I've  got for this  week.  Send  me  your
       questions and I'll see what I can do in the way of answers.

       Until next time...happy fidoing!

       Fidonews                   Page  9              30 Dec 1985





       ============================================================
                                 COLUMNS
       ============================================================

                Avoiding Snow on the Color Graphics Adapter


       The  snow on a color graphics adapter occurs when you change
       the values in screen memory during a raster scan, i.e. while
       the electron gun is updating the screen from screen  memory.
       I'm  not  sure  of the exact mechanism,  but this definitely
       causes interference with the  screen  update,  and  the  end
       result is that ugly snow.

       One  way  to  avoid  this is to wait for "vertical retrace",
       that time period during which the electron  gun  shifts  its
       beam  from  the lower right-hand corner of the screen to the
       upper left.  During vertical retrace,  bit  3  of  port  3DA
       (hex) is set on, and the test in TURBO can thus be made:

              Repeat until ((port[$3DA] and $08) = $08);
              {*** perform screen update ***}
              {*** note: port $3DA is a read-only register ***}

       This  is  how  the  IBM  ROM-BIOS  writes a character to the
       screen,  does  scrolling,  etc.  But  the  problem  is  that
       vertical  retrace  lasts a mere 1.25 miliseconds or so,  not
       enough time to perform complicated and/or large updates.

       The other way, the way Sidekick does it,  is to turn off the
       display,  do the update, and turn the display back on.  This
       is why,  when you bring up a  Sidekick  window,  you  see  a
       momentary "flash" on the screen.  The display enable/disable
       function  is  controlled  by  port  3D8 (hex),  a write-only
       register.

       One thing you should know about  this  is  that  this  whole
       concept  applies  only  to  the  IBM color graphics adapter.
       Monochrome displays  do  not  get  snow,  and  the  Enhanced
       graphics  adapter  will  crap out on you if you turn off the
       display in  this  way.  This  is  why  earlier  versions  of
       Sidekick  bombed  on the Enhanced graphics adapter.  Current
       versions of Sidekick work just fine on the EGA.

       Use the following, or a similar routine to test what kind of
       display you are running on, and then to update the screen:

       type
        Registertype = Record
         case boolean of
          true : (AX,BX,CX,DX,BP,SI,DI,DS,ES,flags : integer);
          false : (AL,AH,BL,BH,CL,CH,DL,DH : byte)
         end;
        video_mode_ptr = ^video_mode_type;
        video_mode_type = (cga,ega,mono);

       function get_video_mode : video_mode_ptr;
        var

       Fidonews                   Page 10               30 Dec 1985





         regs : registertype;
         equipment : integer;
         ega_info1,
         ega_info2 : byte;
         temp_return : video_mode_ptr;
        begin
         intr($11,regs);
         equipment := regs.AX;
         regs.AH := $12;
         regs.BL := $10;
         intr($10,regs);
         ega_info1 := regs.CL;
         ega_info2 := regs.BH;
         new(temp_return);
         if ((equipment and 52) in [0,16,32]) and (ega_info2=0)
          then
           temp_return^ := ega
          else
           if ((equipment and 48) in [16,32])
           or (((equipment and 52) = 4) and (ega_info1 in [4,5,10,11]))
            then
             temp_return^ := cga
            else
             temp_return^ := mono;
         get_video_mode := temp_return
        end;

        begin {* screen update *}
         video_mode := get_video_mode;
         if video_mode^<>mono
          then
           if video_mode^=cga
            then
             begin
              port[$3D8] := $21;
               {*** perform screen updates ***}
              port[$3D8] := $29
             end
            else
             saved_screen := cscr
          else
           saved_screen := mscr
        end; {* screen update*}

       There seems to be a bit of controversy  as  to  whether  the
       "snow" or the "flash" is more ascetically displeasing, but I
       prefer the "flash".

       ------------------------------------------------------------

       Fidonews                   Page 11               30 Dec 1985





       Allen Miller
       Fido 108/10
       513/579-2587

            I have finally attempted to organize all of those great Fido
       sysop-type utilities that I have collected over time, and put
       them in some fashion that may benefit others of you.  I have
       used the ARChive utility to 'rename' some of them to avoid
       conflicts.  I also have, for each file, another file named
       filename.ZZZ.  This file lists members of Archive, author, and
       brief description of the program.

            Below is the current list of the files I have available.
       If you know of others, or later versions, I would appreciate
       your sending them to me for addition.  Thanks.

       ---Fido Sysop Utilities
       -*-                 version  author             location
       CRUSH.ARC      33272 3.0.....Harold.Barker......11/493
       DATEFILE.ARC   23936 ........Wes.Cowley.........18/19
       DAYNBR.ARC     15572 1.0.....Ben.Baker..........
       EDIFIDO.ARC    37987 1.12....Bob.Klahn..........107/50
       EVENT.ARC      22110 2.0.....Ben.Baker..........
       FIDOMLNK.ARC    5790 ........Allen.Miller.......108/10
       FIDOMSG.EXE     2560 ........Don.Daniels........13/210
       FIDODISP.EXE    6096 1.1.....Robert.Briggs......15/464
       FIDOREAD.ARC   29287 1.25....Richard.Polunsky....106/2
       FIDOREMO.BAT     520 1.0.....Allen.Miller.......108/10
       FIDOUSER.EXE   25776 1.0.....Allen.Miller.......108/10
       FIDOUTIL.ARC    9716 1.1.....Bob.Briggs.........15/464
       FILER.ARC      21544 2.1.....Vincent.Perriello..110/491
       FILESBBS.ARC   23168 3.4........................101/45
       FILEXREF.COM   12672 ...........................16/209
       FILIST14.ARC   57617 1.4.....John.Wulff.........109/602
       FIXUSER.EXE     5632 ...........................
       FSTAT.COM      18560 1.1.....Alfred.Anderson....16/41
       LISTGEN.ARC    47872 2.0.....John.Warren........102/401
       MEF.COM        20352 1.0.....Wes.Cowley.........18/19
       MSGMOD.ARC     17624 1.03....Mike.Elkins........102/201
       PHILTER.COM    12800 ...........................107/16
       PRGUSERS.ARC   10240 1.1.....David.Horowitz.....107/2
       QSCAN.EXE      12224 ...........................
       READQUES.COM   17855 1.1f....Robert.Lederman....16/42
       RENUM.ARC      10764 1.5.....Bob.Hartman........132/101
       ROBOT.ARC      22802 3.3.....System.Enhancements
       ROVERMSG.ARC   49378 ???.....Bob.Hartman........132/101
       SCHED.COM      21396 1.0.....Wes.Cowley.........18/19
       SENDLIST.COM   13922 1.......Ben.Baker..........
       SETUSER.COM     9984 1..........................16/209
       SHIPUSER.COM   13872 2.2.....David.Horowitz.....107/2
       SHUFFLE.ARC    41418 2.0.....Robert.Lederman....16/42
       SQLOG.COM      11008 1.0.....Jack.Liebsch.......110/468
       SYSEDIT.COM    22588 1.0.....Eric.Ewanco........19/920
       SYSLOG.COM     28324 4.4.....David.Strickler....101/45
       SYSOP.ARC      26181 1.62....Dave.Purks.........110/456
       SYSREPT.ARC    40248 1.43....Alfred.Anderson....14/61
       SYSRTA.EXE      6400 ...........................
       TESTLIST.COM   16678 1.0.....Ben.Baker..........

       Fidonews                   Page 12               30 Dec 1985





       TIMELOG.EXE     9216 8d......Tom.Jennings.......125/1
       TIMEMAP.EXE    33368 ........Thom.Henderson.....107/7
       TWIX.EXE       16384 12/1/84.Tom.Jennings.......125/1
       UPLOG.ARC       6983 1.1.....Robert.Briggs......15/464
       USERLIST.COM   13054 1.0.....Ben.Baker..........
       USERLSTA.ARC   19820 ........Allen.Miller.......108/10
       USERLSTR.EXE   11706 ........Ryan...............
       USERS.ARC      30248 ........Thom.Henderson.....107/7
       USERSRTC.COM     606 1.0........................101/4602
       USERSRTE.EXE   13588 2.01.......................
       UTIL_IBM.COM   12288 2.0.....Michael.Wyrick.....109/449
       WATCHDOG.ARC    1198 1.1.....James.Reinders.....
       WEEKDAY.COM    12014 1.0.....Ben.Baker..........
       WRITEMSG.COM   16893 1.3........................115/396

       ------------------------------------------------------------

       Fidonews                   Page 13               30 Dec 1985





                              Rainbow Corner
                           by Theodore Needleman

       This week's column starts off with a few thank you's.  While
       many of you have the impression that  churning  out  columns
       and articles is a solitary task,  in reality, this is simply
       not the case.  Sure,  I put the  words  together,  but  many
       other  people  are  also  involved.   Without  these  people
       participating,  the  writing  process  would  be  much  more
       difficult,  if not impossible.,  I appreciate the assistance
       and encouragement,  and would  like  to  give  credit  where
       credit is due.  The FIRST BIG THANK YOU goes out to you, our
       readers.  Because of the publishing time lag,  this is being
       written several weeks after the first  Corner  appeared.  In
       those  few  weeks,  your response has been very encouraging.
       So thank you,  dear reader,  for your kind words,  comments,
       and  questions.  Let  me  again  take  this  opportunity  to
       encourage you to write.  Paper mail goes to  P.O.  Box  668,
       New City, NY 10956;  Source Mail to TCA920;  and MCI Mail to
       "THEODORE NEEDLEMAN".

       The next bunch of thanks go out to some people  at  DEC  who
       have  been  extraordinarily  helpful.   Gary  Mikkola,   Pam
       Hamilton,  Eileen Stokes,  and Jim Alosi have all been  very
       helpful in sharing their time and resources.

       And,  of course, much thanks to my friends and associates on
       the Hardcopy editorial staff.

       Enough of this maudlin stuff,  the next bit of  business  is
       reader mail.

       This  week's  mail has several questions on word processing.
       Phil Pistone asks how  I  rate  SAMNA  III,  and  Hans  Brey
       inquires  about  a  word  processor  able to do mathematical
       symbols as well as compose simple diagrams and charts.

       Having never used SAMNA,  I can't comment on it.  I've heard
       nice things said about it,  but I remain stubbornly loyal to
       WordStar.  Actually,  I remain loyal to WordStar for several
       very  good  reasons.  It  was  the  first  micro-based  word
       processor I learned,  it runs on most of the varied  systems
       we've got here in the "SWAMP", and it still meets our needs.
       Like  most  people,  I tend to stay with the first product I
       learn to use,  as long as it continues  to  provide  a  good
       measure  of  use.  Sorry Phil,  but if I get any feedback on
       SAMNA III from other "Corner" readers,  I'll be sure to pass
       it on.

       The specs on SAMNA III sure look impressive, and one of them
       will be of interest to Hans.  Both SAMNA III,  and DEC's new
       WPS+ for the Rainbow,  list the ability to use math symbols.
       Neither of these packages seems to be able to do the kind of
       graphics Hans is interested in,  but the IMAGE word/graphics
       processor from MicroArt Corp.  (200 Market Bldg.,  Portland,
       OR  97201,  phone  1-800-MICROART)  offers  the  ability  to
       manipulate not only text,  but any of the  built-in  Rainbow
       graphics  characters.  IMAGE  offers  an impressive array of

       Fidonews                   Page 14               30 Dec 1985





       word  processing  functions.   The  graphics  creation   and
       manipulation features work well,  and can be used to produce
       some  very  interesting  images.   These  graphics  can   be
       integrated  within  the  text,  and  the  package  is  quite
       reasonably price $295).

       Other questions from  Phil  and  from  Del  Merritt  concern
       hardware.   Phil   is   interested   in   the  8087  numeric
       coprocessor and discusses the slot  contention  between  the
       hard  disk  controller  and  extended  communications  board
       option.  Del, on the other hand,  is interested in expanding
       his 100A at the least cost.

       Well  guys,  to give myself a bit of a plug,  in either this
       issue,  or next week's you'll find an article by yours truly
       addressing  just  these  concerns  and containing reviews of
       hard disks,  memory expansion  boards,  and  some  software.
       While I wasn't able to obtain an 8087 board to review, there
       are   two   things   to  keep  in  mind  about  the  numeric
       coprocessor.  The first  is  that  unless  your  application
       involves  a  lot  of  number  crunching,  you  will see very
       little,  if  any,  improvement  in  speed.   Secondly,   the
       software you're using must look for, and be able to use, the
       8087.  Much  of  the  software  out  there doesn't bother to
       check if the 8087 board has been  installed.  If  you  write
       your  own,  make  sure  that  the particular language you're
       using can take advantage of the numeric  coprocessor  before
       you rush out to buy it.

       I  had  a  bit  more  success  researching the issue of slot
       contention.  I wasn't  able  to  find  anyone  who  makes  a
       combination  hard  disk  controller/extended  communications
       card.  I did, however, as part of the above article,  find a
       company that offers some interesting combinations.

       Univation,  Inc.  (1037 N.  Fair Oaks Avenue,  Sunnyvale, CA
       94089,  phone 408-745-0180) offers a variety of products for
       the  Rainbow including RAM memory,  fixed and removable hard
       disks,  and an Ethernet LAN controller.  Not only are  their
       prices  very  reasonable,  but  their  Ethernet board can be
       piggybacked over the hard disk controller.

       Their hard disk controllers,  whether for the fixed  or  the
       removable   hard  drives,   all  contain  at  least  64K  of
       additional RAM,  and can be obtained with up to 448K of RAM.
       While   this   doesn't   solve   the   problem   of  the  HD
       controller/Comm Board slot contention that Phil asked about,
       it does show that Univation is concerned about providing the
       most expansion capability  for  a  machine  with  a  limited
       amount  of  expansion  slots,  and  I commend them for their
       efforts.

       I'm running out of space  here,  but  before  I  close  this
       week's  "Corner"  let  me  ask that if you haven't yet "cast
       your vote"  about  "Project  Transport"  discussed  in  last
       week's  column,  please  do.  My addresses are listed above,
       and if you're a new reader, drop me a line and I'll send you
       a copy of last week's "Corner" so that you'll see what  I've

       Fidonews                   Page 15               30 Dec 1985





       proposed.  Your questions and comments are also very welcome
       at these addresses.

       That's it for now, see you next week.


       (c)opyright 1985 by Ted Needleman-all rights reserved

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       Fidonews                   Page 16               30 Dec 1985





       ============================================================
                                 NOTICES
       ============================================================

                            The Interrupt Stack


       24 Jan 1986
          Voyager 2 passes Uranus.

        9 Feb 1986
          Halley's Comet reaches perihelion.

        9 Feb 1986
          Diana Overholt (109/74) has another birthday.

       11 Apr 1986
          Halley's Comet reaches perigee.

       19 May 1986
          Steve Lemke's next birthday.

       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 Fido 1/1.

       ------------------------------------------------------------


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