Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/extras/textfile/steves03/text/reviews/review04.txt

Text File | 1995-04-27 | 18KB | 280 lines

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                            FILES On SOARing STar
                            """""""""""""""""""""
Public Accessible Utility Software
by G. Richard Yamagata
Copyright 1993, 1994  All Rights Reserved

This month we will look at utility programs that are available for downloading
from SOARing STar BBS at [phone].  If you do not own a 14.4K or 16.8K
baud modem and cannot afford the long distance rates, then look for these on
your local Atari BBS or information service (GEnie, Delphi, CIS).  All of
these programs can be found in the utility area [files area 4] of the files
section on SOARing STar BBS, except where noted for the ULTIMATE VIRUS KILLER
demos and SPIRITED.  These programs can also be collectively acquired for $2
from the Yolo Atari Club on a single disk.  Just ask for DOTM 303.  If you
enjoy any shareware programs or accessories, please support the authors by
sending in your registration fees.  Without your support, this important
source of home grown programs may vanish.

BOOT DISK UTILITIES

These programs are loaded from the auto-folder or directory of the boot disk
or boot partition upon power-up or reset.

PINHEAD.PRG, when placed in the AUTO folder, makes loading of programs much
faster for programs that take up large amounts of RAM.  These are programs
like SHADOW or PAGESTREAM, and/or for systems with RAM upgrades.  When used
with a DAT file, PINHEAD even helps TOS 1.4 systems.  Documentation and a
sample DAT file are included in the PINHEAD21.ZIP [file #14].  This is
SHAREWARE from Charles F. Johnson, Little Green Footballs.  If you use and
like this program, please send $15 to Charles F. Johnson, whose address can be
found in the documentation.  WARP 9 users need not use this program as WARP 9
has PINHEAD "rolled" into it.

CHAMELEON lets you access more than 6 file accessories.  It occupies an
accessory slot and allows you to load into that slot any accessory you choose.
This can be done from desktop or from within any GEM application that lets you
access the desk menu bar.  You can unload and load accessories to your heart's
content and have 6 CHAMELEONs active at once.  Just make sure each CHAMELEON
accessory program is named differently so as not to conflict with TOS.
Documentation is included with CHMELEON.ACC in the CHAM119.ZIP [file #4].
This is FREEWARE and commercial distribution is not permitted.  FREEWARE means
this program can be freely used and distributed without having to register it
and send money to the author.

FOLDRXXX.PRG is needed in the AUTO folder of TOS 1.0 and TOS 1.2 systems,
especially if they include the use of hard drives.  Early versions of TOS only
set aside memory for 40 folders in disk directories.  If more than 40 folders
are accessed in a single sitting at the computer, the system cannot keep track
of directories or disk file allocations.  This can lead to corrupted disk
directories, disks, and/or partitions.  TOS 1.4 and above are still limited in
the number of folders they can access at one sitting, but they now have an
error trap that will prevent any data or directory corruption, or crashes.
FOLDERXXX allows the user to set the number of folders that can be accessed by
the system during a sitting.  The number of extra folders that can be accessed
by its use is set by changing XXX in its file name to a number.  On our BBS
the program is set to 260 extra folders and is named FOLDR260.PRG, found in
FOLDRXXX.ZIP [file 226].  This is FREEWARE.

BUTLER JAMES is a powerful alternative control panel accessory.  Its most
important feature to me is the ability to recognize virus infected boot
sectors and to kill them.  It also gives complete control over the serial and
printer ports.  With the VT52.ACC, that is included with the documentation and
instructions in the JAMES12.ZIP [file #11], it can be used for terminal
communications.  Other features include the ability to access and set the ST
clock, and to test and verify disks.  JAMES.ACC has a built in screen saver, a
screen grabber, a free RAM indicator, a mouse accelerator, plus all the
control features of the Atari Control Panel.  There is much, much more to
BUTLER JAMES, and all features are listed in the accompanying text files.
This is FREEWARE.

JCLOCK8D.PRG is a clock and caps indicator.  The advantage of using this
program is that it allows you to place a clock that is always displayed on the
desktop or in your GEM application.  It does not occupy an accessory slot.  It
displays time in AM/PM, instead of the military, 24 hour time frame.  The
AM/PM become lower case when the capslock is off and upper case when it is
active.  Documentation is included in the JCLOCK.ZIP [file #12].  This is
CARDWARE.  All the author, John L. Stanley, asks is that you send a nice
picture postcard to him if you like and use this program.

LITTLE GREEN ITEM SELECTOR is an alternate file selector program.  This is
more powerful and user friendly than even the TOS 1.4 file selector.  It has
buttons that let you switch from drive to drive, or partition to partition.
It will allow you to format disks from within any program.  It even has hooks
to let you call up MULTI DESK, the file accessory access program.
LGSELECT.PRG comes with documentation in the LGSEL18D.ZIP [file #24].  This is
SHAREWARE from Charles F. Johnson, Little Green Footballs.  If you use and
like this program, please send $15 to Charles F. Johnson, whose address can be
found in the documentation.

AUTOSORT.PRG is needed to keep the files in the AUTO folder in their proper
order.  PINHEAD likes to reside as the first auto-load program and POOLFIX4
likes to be second.  Other files when loaded earlier or later in the loading
sequence may cause system crashes and bombs to appear upon your screen.
AUTOSORT allows you to place PINHEAD ahead of all other programs and gives you
complete control over the loading sequence.  This important utility can be
found in the AUTOSRT4.ZIP [file #1] and is FREEWARE.

SEBRA is ZEBRA in Swedish.  That should tell you this is a monochrome emulator
for use on systems with color monitors.  It is not crippleware, unlike other
monochrome emulators out there.  It is powerful, with 3 different monochrome
emulation modes.  SEBRA is STe compatible and is faster than all other
emulators.  Its features include using the 4 colors for enhancement of the
'monochrome' screen.  With its flexibility, it should have one of its 3 modes
compatible with that monochrome application you need to run.  SEBRA.PRG must
be run from the AUTO folder.  Documentation is included in the SEBRA.ZIP [file
#16].  This is FREEWARE.

RDE is a powerful reset-proof RAM disk program.  This means, as long as you do
not lose power to the computer, the files you have saved to the RAM disk will
be there after a system crash or an accidental systems reset.  An added
feature is that you can save the RAM disk with its contents as an application
to disk.  To really understand the power and the utility of RDE, examples are
in order.  I have started to use SPELLING SENTRY, the touted replacement for
THUNDER!  I found that using SPELLING SENTRY with the largest memory
allocation it allows for maximum efficiency in operation, it was still
exceedingly slow.  The delay was caused by the program continually accessing
the dictionary files that were on floppy.  I now have SPELLING SENTRY run from
the RDE program file in the AUTO folder on the floppy boot drive of my system.
RDE does not work from the AUTO folder of the hard drive boot partition,
unlike all the previously described AUTO folder utilities.  Not only does RDE
set up the RAM disk, it automatically copies all the files stored in the RDE
file on floppy to the RAM disk.  SPELLING SENTRY now screams through my text
files without a pause.  I would recommend using RDE for running all programs
that heavily depend upon disk access for their execution on floppy based
systems.  If yours is a system with a hard drive boot partition, I suggest
using FDCOPIER.PRG [FDCOPIER.ZIP; file #108] and CODECOPY.PRG.  The former is
freeware and can be found on SOARing STar BBS.  The latter is commercialware
and part of the CODEHEAD UTILITIES collection.  RDE, this piece of software
magic was first authored by Mark Williams of Clanguage fame and is FREEWARE.
This is contained in RDE.ZIP [file #15].

DISK UTILITIES

Please note this disclaimer:  WARNING, always use disk utilities on back-up
copies of your floppies and always back-up your hard drive partitions before
use.  The misuse of disk utilities can lead to irreparable damage to your
floppy and hard drive files and files structure.  The author, YAC, and STeve's
Atari Sales are not responsible for loss of time and productivity from the use
or abuse of disk utilities.

DIAMOND FIND will locate those files that you have misplaced.  It searches all
the partitions on a hard drive and all floppy drives accessed by the computer.
It can even, after finding the file, re-copy the files to a partition that is
user designated.  DFIND can be used as an accessory or as an executable
program from the desktop.  Just rename it DFIND.PRG or DFIND.ACC.  The
wildcards, * and ?, can be used along with all UNIX wildcard designations.
Documentation is included in the DFIND.ZIP file [file #29].  This program is
LUREWARE.  If you find this program useful, you are asked to send a fishing
fly to Bob Luneski of Oregon Research Associates.

DIAMOND FORMAT gives the user complete control over the number of sectors per
track (9. 10, 18 or 20) and tracks per disk (80 or 82).  The 18 or 20 sector
per track mode is for those with a 1.4 MEG floppy drive.  For machines with
TOS 1.4 or higher, it will TWIST format on command for faster access of files.
It has its own 9 sector fast access format that is even faster than TWISTER
formatted disks.  It will also create MS-DOS compatible disks and disks
compatible with the Apple Exchange Utility on MAC II's and MAC SE's.  It has
the ability to zero a pre-formatted disk, a much faster operation than
formatting.  Another great feature is that with a two floppy drive system, it
will automatically switch from drive to drive in formatting activities,
meaning faster formatting of large numbers of disks.  DFORMAT can be used as
an accessory or as an executable program from desktop; just rename it
DFORMAT.PRG or DFORMAT.ACC.  Documentation is included in the DFORMAT.ZIP file
[file #5].  This amazing software is another LUREWARE product from Bob Luneski
of Oregon Research Associates.

MEGA-TWISTER, co-authored by David Small and Dan Moore, is the formatter that
I regularly use.  It will format large capacity disks in a fast access format.
This program will work with any ST TOS, from 1.0 to 1.6.  The TWIST format
puts 10 sectors on each track, as opposed to the 9 sectors per track used by
the built in TOS format routine or Diamond Format's FaST format.  This is a
more reliable way to put more space on a disk than adding tracks.  The 82
tracks per disk format sometimes will give trouble if the disk is used in a
disk drive other than the one in which it was formatted.  DIAMOND FORMAT will
TWIST-format disks, but only if you have TOS 1.4 or above.  If you want to
TWIST a disk with TOS 1.0 or 1.2, you need to use MEGA-TWISTER.  TWISTER.PRG
can be found in the MEGTWIST.ZIP file.  This program is FREEWARE.

SALVAGE.PRG is a file recovery program.  If there is an important file that
needs to be recovered from a crashed disk, this program can help.  SALVAGE
goes through and prints the first 70 ascii characters of each sector.  From
this information, the user designates which sectors the file probably starts
and ends with.  The program then collects all the consecutive sectors from
start to finish and places them in a file on another drive or partition.  The
file then can be cleaned-up and edited with a wordprocessor or text-editor
program.  The program comes with accompanying text and instructions and can be
found in the SALVAGE.ZIP file [file #17].  This program is FREEWARE.

UNDELETE.PRG will recover those files that are accidently undeleted.  There is
a high probability for success that the entire file will be undeleted intact
if there has been no additional files saved to the disk or hard drive
partition.  The program works best in medium resolution, but can be used on
monochrome systems.  First the program lists all the files that are on the
disk.  When the undelete function is selected, it will undelete the file that
you click and highlight with the mouse pointer.  This program is FREEWARE and
no additional documentation is included in the UNDELETE.ZIP file [file #17].
I have to admit that the undelete utility program that comes with HISOFT's
sector editing program, KNIFE, is easier to use from within KNIFE ST.

DISK DOCTOR is a powerful disk editing program that can be used to repair
disks.  It can modify sectors of the disk, including the directory sectors
11-15 and the FAT sectors 3-9 of floppy disks.  What is a powerful feature,
that I have not found in any other disk editor, is the ability to scan and
repair files and disks.  If there are bad or unreadable sectors on a disk, the
program will mark them, collect them, and hide them away in a hidden file.  In
the hidden file they will not trouble you again.  If any file's integrity is
destroyed, DISK DOCTOR will inform you which file's integrity was compromised
by the bad sector.  What is so special about this feature is that I have 30
disks in my floppy collection that have hard sector crashes on them.  At
current retail prices, using the disk repair option, I have $20 worth of
floppy disk storage that otherwise would have gone into the trash.  Help in
using the program and understanding Atari ST disk structure is included in the
DDHELP folder.  This help folder is accessible from within the program as long
as its name is unchanged and it is in the root directory of the partition or
disk from which you are running DISK DOCTOR.  DISKDOC.PRG and the DDHELP
folder can be found in the DISKDOC.ZIP file [file #9].  This program is
FREEWARE.

DISK EDIT is another sector editor program.  It is included because DISK
DOCTOR has one weakness:  it does not directly give you information on the
FAT.  DISK EDIT gives you enough information for the user to go in and
intelligently modify the FAT sectors.  DISK EDIT and DISK DOCTOR may not give
you all the features of KNIFE ST, a commercial program by HISOFT, but it will
come close.  DISKEDIT.PRG can be found in the DISKEDIT.ZIP file [file #10].
It is FREEWARE.

ULTIMATE VIRUS KILLER is included in this listing and on DOTM303, for it was
deemed necessary that ST users be able to have a virus killing program at
their finger tips.  BUTLER JAMES will recognize over 28 viruses and 48
boot-sectors, but UVK is a product that is unsurpassed.  This DEMO of UVK will
recognize the most common ST viruses that are out there and at the same time,
demonstrate to you its power.  If you are serious about virus protection, UVK
is the program for you.  This DEMO, found in UVK5_7D.ZIP [file #4 in the
commercial demos files area] will identify and kill, well over 58 known
viruses.  Because it is a demo, it will kill only 1 virus per boot-up.  You
can scan your system for 5 different link viruses and peruse the long list of
boot sectors that the commercial version can repair.  This CRIPPLEWARE was
chosen over VKILLER to be highlighted, because of better reporting facilities
concerning your ST memory and pointers, and this UVK demo will detect link
viruses.  VKILLER is SHAREWARE, while UVK50D.ZIP is FREEWARE.  There is
another DEMO versions of UVK that can be found on SOARing STar BBS,
UVK_6_0.ZIP [file #25 in the commercial demos file area].  The UVK60D can kill
1 virus per boot-up and will detect a number of link viruses.  In each of
these a text file can be found that explains the use and features of ULTIMATE
VIRUS KILLER.

WORD PROCESSING UTILITIES

SPIRITED.ACC is an excellent GEM-based, text editing accessory.  It is the
only free text editing accessory that has complete block commands that can
cut, copy, and move blocks of text around in a document.  The program has
extensive search routines, for it was originally created to help prepare
lesson plans from a Bible concordance.  This program is FREEWARE, but if you
so desire, you can donate money to the Fifteenth Avenue Bible Church.  The
Church's address and the programs's instructions and documentation can be
found in the SPIRITED.ZIP file in the Productivity files area.

WPTOOLS.ACC is designed to work with 1st Word, to give that word processing
program, features that were lacking in terms of disk operations.  It is now
useful for the latest version of PAGESTREAM, which no longer has disk
operations.  WPTOOLS.ACC lets you format disks, undelete files, and re-label
disks.  It has a clock and alarm feature that can be set to ring at an
appointed time, and the accessory will pop open to insure getting your
attention.  The accessory also lets you count the number of words in any text
file or document, can tell you the amount of free RAM left in your system and
has a screen saver function to invert the screen when you step away from your
work.  This packed accessory is FREEWARE and can be found as WPTOOLS.ZIP [file
#67].

I had promised to describe some of the many 100s of game programs available on
SOARing STar this month.  I thought that this collection of file descriptions
were much more useful and more fitting for the 3rd issue of STeve's
AtariNOTES!  Next month, I firmly promise descriptions of some of the public
domain games that can be found on SOARing STar BBS and available on disk from
YAC/1129 Fordham Drive/Davis, CA  95616.  Until then, HAPPY DOWNLOADING!