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┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ │
│ C A R R I E R D E T E C T │
│ │
│ The PC Communications Journal For Every Modem User! │
│ │
│ Issue #7, August 1992 │
│ │
│ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Table of Contents:
Welcome ............................................ 2
Product Evaluations ................................ 3
Crosstalk Communicator v2.00 ................... 3
Laplink Professional v4.00 ..................... 6
Writer's Roundup ................................... 9
Reflections 5 .................................. 9
Reflections 6 .................................. 11
ByteLine ........................................... 13
Feedback ........................................... 19
Distribution Sites ................................. 19
Product Information .............................. 19
Advertisements ..................................... 20
Carrier Detect is published by Michael W. Crosson.
Contents may not be reproduced without written permission
from the publisher. All brand and product names mentioned
in this publication are trademarks and registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
(c) 1992 Michael W. Crosson. All rights reserved.
W E L C O M E
Hello Friends, and welcome to another issue of Carrier
Detect! The big news is that I am easier to reach again
with a new BBS online. The BBS has been renamed to
Prospector BBS and the new phone number is (916) 921-9949.
Those of you in FidoNet can find me at 1:203/49. The BBS
is available twenty-four hours a day and baud rates up to
14.4K are supported (v.32bis). I have added a new logon
matrix that will allow you to download the latest issue
without registering on my BBS. This works out well for
those of you that just want to grab the latest issue and
run! Of course, everyone is still welcome to call the BBS
and sign up as a regular user too. Carrier Detect files
are always available on the first call without download
limits.
In other Journal news, I've decided to rename the
archives in a consecutive number sequence. That is, the
archives will be known as CD001.ZIP, CD002.ZIP, etc rather
than CD01NOV.ZIP, CD02JAN.ZIP etc. The content of the
archives has not changed except to update my BBS and
address.
CD01MAY.ZIP => CD001.ZIP
CD01JULY.ZIP => CD002.ZIP
CD01SEPT.ZIP => CD003.ZIP
CD01NOV.ZIP => CD004.ZIP
CD02JAN.ZIP => CD005.ZIP
CD02MAY.ZIP => CD006.ZIP
As described in the last issue, I have moved to
Sacramento, California and will be starting law school
soon. I will not have much time for Carrier Detect when
school is in session so reader submissions are more
desirable than ever. If you have an idea for an article
or want to review something, don't hesitate to contact me!
I will work on the Journal as I have time, but can't
promise a dependable release schedule. Of course, if a
flood of articles come my way, the Journal's will continue
to be published as frequently as possible.
I hope your remainder of your summer will be a good to
you. Try to enjoy the outdoors as often as possible, but
don't forget the sun screen!
Until next time,
Michael Crosson
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 2
P R O D U C T E V A L U A T I O N S
Each month Carrier Detect contains several product
evaluations. Most of these will be software reviews but
from time to time hardware will be discussed as well. The
opinions expressed in Carrier Detect are solely my own or
the respective author of the article. Carrier Detect
strives to be as objective as possible when evaluating
software. Judgments to suitability are made with the
typical modem enthusiast in mind and are not geared toward
the complete novice nor the power user. Exceptions to
this are noted as such in the article.
* Crosstalk Communicator, Version 2.00
Reviewed by Michael Crosson
Pros: Small size makes it good for laptops
Easy, well designed install process
Custom settings possible for all systems
Cons: Seemed prone to lock ups
Uses unconventional terminology throughout
Uses strange, awkward interface
Very basic scripting capabilities
Late last year I purchased an Intel 14.4EX modem and
like most modems, it came bundled with communications
software. Typically the software that comes bundled with
your modem is not very good. In the past I've gotten
archaic copies of Bitcom, PC-Talk and a few oddball titles
I've never seen again. The Intel though was by far the
best modem I've ever purchased and in fact, was their top
of the line at that time. Intel ships the 14.4EX with
Crosstalk Communicator, a commercial program published by
DCA. I expected a lot from Communicator but as it turns
out, I was very disappointed.
Things started out well enough but little did I know
the installation of the program would prove to be on its
highlights! Crosstalk Communicator is shipped on one 360K
floppy and to install the program, one only needs to
insert the diskette and type 'install.' The rest of the
process is nearly automatic and a nice bar graph tracks
your progress. At one point the program asks what type of
modem you have and you are shown a picklist with a choice
of 66 modems. This takes the guesswork out of using the
program with your particular modem. The only other
information you really need to know is what COM port your
modem is hooked up to. Once The Communicator knows this
information you are ready to begin. More programs should
install as easily as this one! Once installed, the
program took up about 700K of disk space, making it
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 3
suitable for laptop use.
From here on it was all downhill. The first screen
you are presented with in Crosstalk Communicator is the
dialing directory. The look is rather basic, and not
particularly informative or well layed out. The top
two-thirds of the screen consists of custom named systems
to call and a verbose description. You also can see the
last time you called the system and the number of times
you have called there. Interesting, you cannot see the
phone number and area code. If you call a mix of local
and long distance systems, this might pose a problem. The
bottom third displays a few menu choices including:
ENTER (dial current system), ALT-E (edit text files),
ALT-M (enter utilities), ALT-Y (system and port setup),
ALT-Q (quit to DOS), ESCAPE (offline options), INSERT
(manually add system), and DELETE (Delete system).
Communicator comes preconfigured to dial a number of
popular commercial systems. These include Compuserve, Dow
Jones, and Online Air Guide. DCA also includes some other
interesting choices: Direct (for connect computer
connections), PC Board (the only BBS software supported
directly however), the Crosstalk Support BBS, and
something called Easycall. As it is, EasyCall isn't a
system at all, but an abbreviated way of entering new
systems in the directory.
I didn't feel this area of the program was well
designed either. New entries can be entered by pressing
the Insert Key or by the above mentioned 'EasyCall'
method. If you take the manual entry route, you are
bombarded with items to configure several layers deep.
Crosstalk allows custom settings for every system in your
dialing directory, an important feature for some who have
very diverse calling needs. Unfortunately, the correct
settings are not immediately obvious even to experienced
users. A user could easily get lost here. The problem is
compounded in Communicator because throughout the program,
DCA uses strange terminology such as 'patience', 'check
entry setup', and 'word format.'
If you choose Easycall, the process is simpler but
still awkward. For example, the first screen after
choosing Easycall asks what type of system you wish to
configure and you are presented with all those predefined
systems described above (Compuserve, OAG etc.). I'm not
sure how you use your communications software, but I
usually just have one entry for each system I call. If
you choose to add a BBS type system, you then are asked
whether you want to add the 'Crosstalk BBS' or other
system. Again, why would someone want to keep adding the
Crosstalk Support BBS to their dialing directory?
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 4
Let's move ahead to actually getting online with
Crosstalk Communicator. After a system is selected,
Communicator displays some attractive, overlapping dialing
progress screens. If you wish, you can view a modem
dialogue box that displays the host and remote dialogue in
different colors (sort of like a BBS chat function for
modems). Watching these screens was the single most
interesting thing about Communicator for me. They
contrast dramatically with the drab dialing directory
itself. On the downside dialing is relatively slow,
partly because the software initializes the modem before
every single call. Most of the time Communicator dialed
and connected to systems without trouble. Note that the
dialing directory lacks a major feature, the multiple
system dialing queue. The ability to flag many systems to
dial is essential if you frequently call busy BBS systems.
Once connected, the user sees a blank screen or one
with a status bar on the bottom. My testing was limited
to local BBS systems for this program so I was using ANSI
emulation (Avatar is not supported in case you are
wondering). Right away I noticed some problems with
higher ASCII characters. Lines were displayed as numbers
instead of lines. Since the BBS I was on made use of pull
down style menus, this was a major distraction. It also
made games doors rather hard to use. To its credit, the
arrow keys did work, so the program was compatible with
full screen message editors. Another harmless but
unprofessional quirk had to do with the status bar.
Sometimes hitting an Alt-Command while online would write
characters right through the status line. More serious,
the program seemed prone to lock ups while online. More
than once I was forced to do a warm boot while online
ending my connection and possible losing important data in
the process.
Several of these random lock ups occurred during file
transfers. Communicator comes with several useful
protocols including Xmodem, Ymodem, Kermit, Compuserve B
and Zmodem. For my tests, I concentrated on Zmodem, the
fastest and most reliable choice overall. During the
transfer of a file, a graph along with relevant statistics
is displayed. By this time I was beginning to notice a
pattern. Although I didn't like the 'look and feel' of
Crosstalk Communicator the majority of the time, at least
it looked prettier during progress and status displays.
Like most of the action oriented status displays, this one
was also easy to understand. The only missing information
was elapsed time (only time remaining is shown). Speed
was acceptable, but not outstanding. I obtained an
average speed of 1615cps downloading a 250K file at 14.4K.
One serious caveat to watch for. Error handling proved
less than graceful when an invalid path or filename was
entered. At best the transfer is immediately canceled
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 5
with no explanation. At worst, the software locked and I
had to drop carrier and reset my system.
There are other features of Crosstalk, but by this
point the program frustrated me enough I only gave them a
cursory glance. These include a DOS services menu, Host
Mode, Learn function, and the robust CASL script writing
language. As you might expect by now, there were problems
with these features too. The DOS services menu is a
feature I normally like and make extensive use of.
Unfortunately, the one included here was weak in terms of
power and buried in an inconvenient location for online
use. Advanced users are not going to be pleased with the
script writing tools at hand either. CASL is a powerful
tool for creating your own login scripts, but the manual
in Communicator only describes 13 of it's functions! If
you want to write more complex scripts, the manual
suggests you purchase their Mk.4 product at four to six
times the cost!
To wrap this up, let's just say that I think you could
do better than purchase Crosstalk Communicator. It
suffers from a poorly designed interface, lacks important
features and worst of all, locks up randomly. As far as
bundled software goes, it isn't bad, but don't think it is
adding much value to your modem package. This program is
an excellent example of shareware far surpassing a more
well known commercial product. The best use I can think
of for Communicator is to call a local BBS system and use
it to download one of its shareware competitors.
* Laplink Professional, Version 4.00
Reviewed by Peter S. Ireland
Pros: Ease of use
Intuitive pull-down menus
Can be used as a inexpensive network
Comes with necessary cable hardware
Cons: Steep price if you don't need the cables
Might require some modem 'tweaking'
I am biased. I liked Laplink before it was upgraded
to "PRO". It is one of those wonderful and uncommon
software programs that can be used without reading the
manual. The instruction manual itself is excellent but
you only need it to discover additional features.
What Does It Do?
In its most simple form, Laplink Pro connects a laptop
to a desktop PC with a supplied cable, and transfer files
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 6
from one to the other. Usually this is done manually with
floppies, but this becomes almost impossible when the
number of files get large.
There are numerous other tasks that Laplink Pro can
perform for you that make computing easier. Have you ever
tried to load up a new hard drive by installing programs
one at a time? If so, you know that it can be a good
day's work. With Laplink Pro you can transfer an exact
image of an existing machine to a newly purchased machine
in minutes. Then it is much easier to just delete the
files you do not want and modify the programs you need.
Remember that most installation routines now decompress
the program files which can take forever. With Laplink
Pro you eliminate that reinstallation.
Laplink Pro will also allow you to call a remote
computer and access all the files and programs on most
machines. This will appeal to anyone that does computing
in two places such as an office and home. Of course it
will take some tweaking of the modem settings at both ends
of Laplink Pro must be running on both machines. The
instructions warn that using a password to log into a
remote machine is prudent.
What is Included?
When you open the Laplink Pro software box you find
not only the Laplink Pro software and documentation but
two high quality and colorful computer cables.
One cable is an eight foot serial cable with twin
heads for nine pin and twenty-five pin ports. The other
cable is a standard twenty-five pin parallel cable.
Laplink Pro also provides a small traveling pouch to
transport your cables. These cables contribute to the
Laplink purchase price of about $89.00 which is a good
value.
Unique Features
Connecting a computer to a network usually requires
expensive hardware for each machine. With Laplink Pro you
can gain access to a network without extra hardware.
If you are at home and have a modem available, you can
tie into your office network. This is what you might call
a no-cost gateway.
Remote Install
I thought it would be difficult to perform a remote
install. Somewhere I had read that it was complicated.
It was not, although it does take a lot longer to read
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 7
about it than to do it. Using the pull-down menus was
much faster than reading about it in the manual.
It took about fifteen seconds to understand and start
a connection. Older computer hackers will be surprised to
see their old friend,
"TYPE CON > COM1 ATZ"
This is what Laplink tells the remote user to type in
order to reset and then setup the modem. It makes sense
to use this DOS tool since it is common to all versions.
I wonder if anyone still uses the console redirect
commands in creating batch files?
Highlights
Of special interest to those interested in speed is
Laplink Pro's technical specification of three megabytes
per minute through the cables.
One feature that I enjoy the heck out of is that it
automatically senses which of your ports have been
connected. This is one area which shows off Laplink Pro's
intelligent design.
A surprise occurred when my phone rang and Laplink Pro
tried to transfer data from my best friend's voice.
Instead of reading the manual, I discovered what had
happened by accessing the pull-down menus. What I
discovered was that the program defaults to a setting of
auto-answer if a modem is on a serial port. As you would
expect, the pull-down menus are very clear and easy to
manipulate either with a mouse or by the keyboard.
Recommendations
I like horses with proven track records and Laplink
Pro is a program that has been around a long time. I give
it a big A+, because of its intuitive feel and ease of
use. The programmers of Laplink Pro have been very
supportive to the needs of the computer user. It is a
superb product which anyone in the computing world will
thank themselves for having.
---
Editor's Note:
This article was originally printed in the June 1992 issue
of The Journal of the Tucson Computer Society. (c) 1992.
Reprinted with permission.
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 8
W R I T E R 'S R O U N D U P
Writer's Roundup is a department that features
creative writing submissions from readers. Essays,
fictional stories, and poems are examples of the kind of
reading that you might find here. However, each will
share a common theme of computers and communications.
REFLECTIONS 5 (C) 1986-87 by Steve Schneider
(reprinted with permission)
Dateline : The RainForest BBS Time : Saturday evening
Do bells and whistles on a BBS program make sounds if
few, or no, users uses them? I run the RainForest BBS on
a highly modified version of GBBS Pro and I have added so
darned many bells and whistles that I even amaze myself
when I log on ('course my threshold of amazement is
low... maybe... nah).
You can forward scan, reverse scan, go by number,
browse for a 'string', quickscan (either all or configured
just for the subboards that interest the user), backscan
by title when you read a message reply that is short and
doesn't make sense, ooopps scan which is go back one
message if you hit the next message command too quickly,
auto reply either instantly which sets all defaults to
the norm or auto reply and change the title and to whom
it's addressed and whether it's anonymous or not.
And then there's the Editor where you can insert,
delete, edit, do line changes piecemeal or full and so
forth. Many, many mods for the user to use when writing
messages. The BBS averages 75-100 new messages a day.
And the main system segment where you have many options
from changing one's name and password to changing the
number of new messages when there are too many to read and
even several rather unique options that range from being
able to lockout messages from up to three different users
to scanning a subboard for messages only from a certain
user.
And guess what? Few people ever use the bells and
whistles... very few. So my question is why bother
putting in stuff that no one will ever use? And whatever
=IS= put in is rarely appreciated by users in general as
few have the slightest inkling of the contortions a sysop
must sometimes go through to enable a requested
modification to work and also coexist with the program
already running.
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 9
Me? With the exception of one mod (searching back for
previous messages with same title) which a few users
'busted my chops' about for months until I finally put it
in. all the modifications on the system have been to
please me, more or less. I =LIKE= technological
improvements and I use them all the time. It makes me
happy to log on to a BBS such as mine and see all the
options I have available to do what I need to do. And by
putting in the modifications I gained some satisfaction in
feeling that I must not be such a stupid programmer after
all if I can do these neat little things (even though some
took days and weeks to finally get them working right).
I try not to model my BBS after any other BBS (or it's
mods) but there are certainly times where another sysop
has had the bright idea of doing something either totally
unique and new or jazzing up something old that when I see
it I try to figure out a way to add something similar to
my BBS. User lockout (it skip messages from users that
are locked out by the reading user) and Backscan (by
title) are two of those. I also pass along some of my
mods on the national support BBS and I download some to be
modified to my liking or to be used as a shell for
something else I might have in mind. There used to be a
lot of give and take among sysops but now there is
little... new day coming, I guess.
The biggest disappointment to me is not the fact that
the not-so-bright or not-so-literate don't use the mods.
It's the intelligent users that are too lazy to drop back
and edit a message or take the time to change a title or
do any of the hundreds of things available to them. I
mean, a person has to know that a word is misspelled
before they are liable for correcting it, (hmmm... that
was a =GOOD= one... I think I'll make that Schneider's Law
# 492 or so.... have to know to be liable... yeah, that's
the ticket!).
Maybe a few of you are even wondering who the heck
this 'Steve Schneider' guy is who keeps writing all this
junk and why does he do it. I'm trying to give a future
sysop an idea of what to really expect if, and when, he
(or she) takes the plunge and put up a BBS. And I also
write for some of the older sysops that can't put their
feelings into written word and for some sysops that never
considered that a user might be interested in the other
side of the monitor.
Well, to answer the question I asked earlier... Ain't
no fun running a 'stock' program...there's a lack of
'personality' to the BBS. So by all means write and
install mods that please you or your users whether anyone
ever uses the darned thing or not. Anything you do (be it
good or bad) will add to the 'individuality' of your BBS
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 10
and (don't hold your breath, mind you) =SOMEDAY= a user
might even leave you Feedback (or even a public Thank
you).
REFLECTIONS 6 (C) 1986-87 by Steve Schneider
(reprinted with permission)
Dateline : The RainForest BBS Time : High Noon on a Sunday
Hey you! Yeah =YOU=!!! Interested in building that
body up ehh? Looking for something easier than running or
jogging or weights or whatever else the fad is this month?
Want to get that cardiovascular action going without all
the physical strain and pain?
Heheheheh. have I got a deal for you? It's called
being a sysop of something called a Bulletin Board
System... involves computers, people (of whom most you
would not allow to physically set foot in your house; much
less date your daughter or say hello to your wife) who
will visit you electronically at all hours of the day and
night and run =YOUR= computer to their heart's content
and probably never ever say 'Thank You' for the privilege.
These same people will download public domain files
you keep on your system, (I've heard in a galaxy far away
that some users actually <gasp> =UPLOAD= new files to a
BBS but I believe that may be an unsubstantiated rumor
started by a school teacher in Wyoming), write messages
(sometimes) to you or others on your system that will
range from bordering on the edge of genius to those that
border on the edge of stupidity and ignorance, but will
mostly run to mediocrity and even mental drivel, send
E-mail to you called feedback that ask questions of you
whose answers are oft found in your help files or in a
menu or in common sense and some may even attack you and
your generosity with vile retorts and language that you
haven't heard since that night you got trapped by Sarah's
father while you had your hand under her sweater in the
11th grade in the VW behind the gym....
So?? 'Sounds interesting', you say, but where's the
exercise?? Ahh, the exercise, you ask? Well, I guarantee
your heart will feel pangs as you have never felt before
when for some odd reason you wake up at 3:48 in the AM and
see your hard drive spinning madly in a never ending loop
while your bbs is sitting there in a state of disarray due
to a programming error... or perhaps another kind(?) soul
has just uploaded 5 megabytes of trash to your hard drive
trying to crash the system.... or then again, you will
scan your new user logon file and find the likes of hell
unabashed when you read some of the information left by
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 11
soon to be users of your system... some will even ask you
to do things that are either physically impossible or
socially unacceptable with either members of your family
or various classes of animals or fowl...
Price a new hard drive for your system or an
uninterruptible power supply (for those moments when your
power company could care less about you staying on-line
24 hours a day) or even the second (you'll never see a
voice call again much less hear one if you plan on running
a bbs on your current phone line) phone line cost that is
inevitable for a first class bbs... then think of the
time you have to spend maintaining your files and reading
the messages (and replying) on your system, (a sysop
should always know all that is happening on his or her
system), as well as finding new uploads and general files
for your users and answering the never ending stream of
electronic mail from those that love or hate you or just
want to know where they can find 'other K00l dudes or the
newest in warezzzzzzzzzzz'... if your heart is not now
pounding near it's maximum rate then lets try to run a few
of the programs that some user has kindly uploaded to
your system... <huh?>. That new file just took over your
hard drive and wiped out all the files and directories?
Imagine that!? Or perhaps you receive a summons from the
lawyer of a user that you finally had to kick off your
system due to his constant abuse of this or that and who
now wants damages, for his lack of access as guaranteed in
the Constitution..
Spend sleepless nights programming, refining and
debugging the code that the bbs runs on to make it even
easier for the unappreciative to enjoy... see what type
of heart palpitations come your way after three weeks of
no sleep. And then when you get a good night's sleep and
wake up to see that your modem died about ten minutes
after you dropped off to sleep and the bbs has been down
for ten hours... then answer hundreds of pieces of mail
later wanting to know why the phone just rang and ran all
night long even though you have posted an explanation on
the General subboard or perhaps in the system news of your
bbs that, of course, no one ever has the time to read but
those same folk just know that you aren't doing anything
and have all the time in the world to make personal
replies to their questions.
'Sure', you say, there's the heart work but what about
the rest? Well, trying carrying cases of printer paper
to your computer location and then shlepping all of your
computer program printouts to and fro as well as bending
down, looking in and around, searching for the piece of
paper with invaluable information on it that you
misplaced, carting the boxes of floppies to and from a
safe area that contain the backups of your current bbs as
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 12
well as files and other information. And then there's the
garbage; you didn't think your wife was going to let you
forget that too, did ya?
Too tough you say? Nawh... we older sysops just make
it seem that way so as to prevent others from having all
the fun and pleasure of running a public bbs. We want it
all to ourselves... that way only we can get rich from all
the money that's to be made... yeah... 'wanna buy some
Florida swampland?'
---
Steve Schneider is the System Operator of RainForest BBS
in Cooper City, Florida. He can be reached at his BBS,
(305)-434-4927.
B Y T E L I N E
Fast facts, tips, comments and rumors on all kinds of
computer related topics.
* BYTELINE
By Michael Crosson and Tom Garcia
IT TAKES 2:12 for my computer to boot, set up three
CAROUSEL work areas, load TEXTRA (2 seconds!), load
QUATTRO PRO, and go back to work area #1 and the DOS
prompt (below NORTON COMMANDER). I had been using
386CACHE (64K UMB) because I liked its neat pop-up
"measures" window via <L-Shift> <R-Shift>. As an
experiment I checked loading all my stuff without the
cache program. The new time was 2:20. Well, 8 seconds is
eight seconds. Then I tried the PC-Tools cache. Time to
load dropped to 1:37. Both caches use 10K conventional
memory plus 64K somewhere up above the 640k boundary. I
found out about another problem was 386CACHE: Every time I
booted STACKER had to update the allocation table, which
takes some time. Don't know why. Only happens with
386CACHE and not with the PC-Tools cache.
ANN ARBOR SOFTWARE tells me TEXTRA 7.0 will be out
"hopefully, by the end of the summer." In Ann Arbor talk
that means by the end of 1993. Ver. 7 will have CUI
menus, mouse support, utilization of expanded and extended
memory, table of contents & indexing, to name
the major improvements.
FOR SOME people changing word processors is almost as
traumatic as changing religions. Not for me. I change at
the drop of a hat. Yes, I really did try to learn to love
WordPerfect so I could be "one of the guys" using what
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 13
most of my friends use. Used it for about a year, through
two versions and many "interim upgrade" (bug fix) disks
purchased from the company. The spell checker finally did
me in. It just crashed (hung) once too often on me.
Microsoft WORD? I just got tired of it. It hung my laptop
but not on my desktop. How strange. So, I went back to
TEXTRA. When I first received TEXTRA's latest (files are
dated 1 AUG 1990) I tried it for not much more than 24
hours and dumped it. Can't remember what it was that I
didn't like. Now that I have gone back to it the
sensation is like trading in a 16 MHz computer for a 33
MHz model 'cause TEXTRA is so fast. And, it reads/writes
(a bit slower) WordPerfect and WORD files on demand so
none of my pre-existing files had to be changed/converted.
DID YOU GET the offer from TigerSoft to "upgrade" to the
latest PFS WRITE word processor? Cost is $49.95 plus
$6.95 shipping. The latest PFS WRITE is a WYSIWYG
program. Putting a GUI face on a DOS program. I'll report
on it next month. A problem [for you] would probably be
its lack of file conversion capability. Unlike TEXTRA,
SIGNATURE, etc., there is no way to import/export files
from/to other popular word processors except for PFS FIRST
CHOICE.
From Gottfried Lopez: Tom, you mentioned seeing a TI-99
computer for sale for $8 at a thrift shop. You didn't say
which version it was. You might be interested in this
info, for old times sake... The TI-99/4 came out quite a
few years ago priced at $950. It was one of the first
ready to go out of the box home computers aimed at
non-hacker "Mr. & Mrs. Public" users. And, it came from a
company people had heard of, Texas Instruments, not some
unknown company that was just a bunch of initials or a
techno-speak acronym. Later the TI-99/4A was introduced
at $649.94. It had a "real" keyboard. Of course, to
really do much with it you had to buy accessories which
pushed the price up, way up. At a minimum you needed a
cassette recorder which cost $74.95 if you bought it from
TI. The competition at the time consisted of the Atari
400 (16k) at $630, the Sinclair 4K at $99.95 but it was a
kit. Also, the VIC-20 (5K) at $299.95 and it had a real
keyboard too. Later the Color Computer came along. It had
a "Chiclet" keyboard. I worked for TI back then and they
cleaned out the TI-99/4 inventory by selling them to the
employees for $299 which was below the cost of
manufacturing them.
CRASH CITY (continued). . I wonder how I would be spending
my spare time if I didn't have computers to fix, upgrade,
reorganize, etc. Oh, here is a way to save 256 bytes of
low RAM. If I fool around with it for 5 or 6 hours I can
get it installed in the proper place in CONFIG.SYS (or is
it AUTOEXEC.BAT?). If it takes me 6 hours that's 42 bytes
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 14
an hour saved. So I work on it, rebooting 144 times.
Success! But, I'm beginning to wonder if there is a
mental illness involved here? Maybe I need a vacation.
While putting CAROUSEL on my laptop I accidentally
rebooted at a very bad time (reboot during a reboot).
STACKER died. My entire hard drive was now READ ONLY. I
did what I had done before when that happened. What the
manual sez to do. No dice. Tried some other stuff.
STACKER told me to delete CAROSEL.TMP as it was "bad."
But, it couldn't be deleted from a READ ONLY drive, even
with my Norton & PC-Tools utility kits. While working
with PCTOOLS I ended up with a zero data hard drive. Not
even a valid boot sector. If I can't fix the problem,
thinks I, I'll reformat and reinstall just the things I
really need. QUATTRO, QUICKEN and a word processor. One
more fix to try: UNDELETE which will look for MIRROR or
IMAGE data on the hard drive's last track. I boot from a
floppy and run UNDELETE. Viola! It works! (Be patient.
It takes about 45 minutes. A year ago I ran UNDELETE and
thought, in error, it was hung up. Actually, it was
working or maybe just "thinking" and I rebooted, losing
everything permanently. This time everything came back
but still write protected. At least I could copy to
floppy any vital (un-backed-up) files. I played with the
STACKER utilities plus NORTON and PCTOOLS and suddenly all
was totally well. No more write protection on the hard
drive. I don't know what I did.... Moral: Use a shutdown
batch file to run MIRROR or IMAGE on all your hard
drives every day. The manuals suggest putting it in
AUTOEXEC.BAT and maybe that's a good idea too. But I like
to do it at shutdown so that all my day's work is in the
IMAGE.
SOFTWARE CAROUSEL from SoftLogic, Ver 5.0 ($35 upgrade).
Well worth it to me as it's the best way to use my two
megs of LIM 4.0 expanded memory.... I have always
wondered how SoftLogic manages to copy protect a 3.5 inch
disk. Every time I buy (or upgrade) their products I
experiment with trying to make a working copy of the
master disk and give up after 20 minutes 'cause I'm
anxious to try out the new version of whatever program it
is. This time I tried COPY2PC which appeared to read the
720K master disk and create a 720K 5 1/4 disk in my 1.2
meg drive. Looked good. INSTALL worked from the new 5 1/4
disk. The installed program crashed when run though. I
copied the master files directly from the 3.5 inch disk to
the hard drive. No dice. Then I ran DISKCOPY from DR-DOS
which copies to the hard drive from the 3.5 inch drive
then the "image" from the HD to a new 3.5 inch disk.
Success.... Does MS-DOS DISKCOPY work that way? I have
never once in my life used MS-DOS DISKCOPY and I know I
could look it up in the manual but as I'll probably never
use it why bother?
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 15
AFTER MY hardware print buffer died I started using a
software buffer. It has worked very well, using a small
amount of conventional memory and 196K (that's how much I
allotted it) of expanded memory. I tried the SOFTWARE
CAROUSEL print buffer, called PRINT 'N RUN and found that
it works well 'though I miss the instant popup control and
status menu that I had with the previous software. An
advantage with PRINT 'N RUN is that it uses NO memory
above and beyond what CAROUSEL is already using. This is
because it is a built-in feature, always available whether
you elect to use it or not use it. Files printing are
saved to disk or pulled off the DOC file itself a piece at
a time or something. I haven't figured it out.
SPEAKING OF memory: CAROUSEL Ver. 5.0 needs about 3K less
memory overhead than Ver. 4.0 although it's possible that
I set 5.0 up with a better group of install options than I
assigned to the previous version.
I TRIED CAROUSEL on my laptop using disk storage. It
works just like the expanded memory setup but quite a bit
slower when you hot-key from partition to partition
(CAROUSEL calls them "work areas.") It worked but was too
slow.
SoftLogic ships a virtual memory manager with CAROUSEL
called Memory Miser 386. I haven't tried it yet but will
let you know next month how well it works or IF it works.
I get the impression (from the manual) that it has a
sophisticated install program that leads you step by step
thru the various options for management of memory
"holes", upper memory blocks, etc.
NO MOUSE will ever touch the pristine surface of my mouse
pad. It's worth too much money! People who work at Disney
Studios are the recipients of some nice goodies. This
often is in connection with seminars and training
meetings. They get stuff that isn't available
to the legions of Disney collectors. Special stuff for
"insiders" only. That's where my mouse pad came from.
The Disney logo and a special "Micky" in multi-color. The
only place my Disney mousepad is going to go is into a
custom frame for display.
TEXTRA 7, beta 1 is being tested. Came on six 360K disks.
A complete installation takes 2.5 megs. Not everything
that will be in the final version is included. For
example, there is no tutorial for Ver. 7 yet...
TEXTRA finally has pull down-menus instead of its old
"looks like it's left over from CPM" system with a 40,
count 'em, 40, function key command menu system. But,
just incase you WANT the old menu system it's an install
option. Undelete now lets you undelete your last 9
deletions instead of just the most recent one. Fonts: 31
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 16
per document instead of 15. Hot links to spreadsheets are
available should you insert all or part of a spreadsheet
into your document. (Probably just WK1 format thought I
haven't tried it yet.) (I tried it - That's true)... The
main TEXTRA .EXE has grown from 190K to 450K in length. I
don't think there are THAT MANY new features??? !!!
PsL NEWS arrived. It's more fun than CompuServe and costs
less. They, ie., Nelson Ford & Company, are getting into
CD-ROM software in a big way. Sure to be the wave of the
future, or maybe even the present... Also WINDOWS
software with plenty of it being offered... Feature
article on Backup Software. Interesting stuff and varied
design ideas. Ford comments (concerning Backup Software
that compresses as it backs up, "A mixed blessing since it
makes backups go slower and disks are cheaper than time
for most computer users." Right on... An interesting
program described is BkBat. It's freeware. You can get
it from PsL or maybe find it on a BBS somewhere. BkBat is
a batch file that uses PKZip to do compressed incremental
backups. Gee, that's what I do but I don't have a snazzy
batch file to help me out. Ford knows of only one
shareware program that is written for WINDOWS. PsL has
it. It's called SECOND COPY and sounds like a really nice
program. It backs up files in the background while you
work. Somehow it watches what you are doing by monitoring
hard drive activity and then periodically backs up to
another drive or to a network... You can get a free copy
of PsL NEWS by calling 1-800-2424-PSL. Highly recommended.
FREE STUFF: CA [Computer Associates] TEXTOR, a Windows
word processor. Demo disk, 1-800-CALL CAI.
Lotus cc:Mail Demo Disk (Windows or DOS available) Call
1-800-448-2500.
Act Plus Ver. 8.2 (accounting software) from Cougar
Mountain Software - Demo Disk- Call 1-800-388-3038.
CalScan calendar scheduling program from RBC, Inc., demo
disk. Call 1-703-243-9550.
The Memory Optimization software that came with Software
Carousel Ver. 6.0... I tried for an hour or so and never
got it to work. Maybe that's why it's free? At least I
can recycle the disk.
When buying a laptop or notebook computer check on the
availability (a reasonable prices) of add-on memory. I
found out the hard way that Tandon laptop memory is
available ONLY from Tandon, at outrageous prices. Now my
battery is dead. So, add that accessory to your list of
items to check out in advance.
LOTUS jumps ahead. Got my upgrade notice for AMI PRO 3.0
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 17
in late July. WORD is only up to Ver. 2.0 and WordPerfect
is even further behind if numbers mean anything to people
browsing the shelves of software emporiums. List $495,
owner's special price is $79 plus shipping. Improvements
are promised in mail merge, envelope printing, stylesheet
viewing, grammar checking, etc. My favorite option, a
"clean screen," is there too.
COMING TO A computer near you in 1993 - [code name]
"Cairo" from MicroSoft. Mix 'n match your favorite word
processor kernel, spell checker, thesaurus, graphics
program kernel, display screen, etc.
Authorware Professional (DTP) demo for Windows from
Macromedia. Call 1-800-288-0568, ext. TRY.
Harvard Graphics for Windows demo disk. Call
1-800-336-8360, Operator 840.
SYMANTEC's Timeline for Windows (Project Management
Software) demo, call 1-800-228-4122, Ext. 328-O.
Milestones for Windows (Project Scheduling) free trial
version. call 1-800-765-0167.
THIS IS MY last NOTES for a while. You have no doubt
heard people say, "If you don't like it here you can
always move to Russia. "Well, I do like it here but I'm
going to move to Russia anyhow.
CLEANING OUT some old disks when I ran across PC-TOOLS Ver
1. Nice program. Just one .EXE file, 83K in length.
Still works great, too. It will go on my single 360K disk
that I'm taking to Russia, in case I find any working
computers in the school where I will be teaching. That
and NORTON COMMANDER should do me.
---
Editor's Note:
Since its first appearance here nearly a year ago, Tom
Garcia has been the principle author of Byteline.
Although I have scattered my own thoughts throughout, he
was responsible the majority of this popular area of
Carrier Detect. In a few weeks, Tom is leaving the states
to take a teaching position in the former Soviet Union.
Because of this, he will no longer be able to contribute
material to this Journal. If anyone is interested in
taking over this 'off the cuff' area of Carrier Detect,
please contact me.
Tom - Thanks for all the great material you have provided
us here. Best of luck in your new teaching job!
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 18
F E E D B A C K
I am interested in getting as much feedback as
possible regarding Carrier Detect and welcome suggestions
or any other comments you may have. If you are a software
publisher or shareware author and want to submit your
program for possible inclusion in future issues you are
welcome to do so. Finally, if you are interested in
writing an article or review, please let me know!
Prospector BBS - The Home of Carrier Detect
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P R O D U C T I N F O R M A T I O N
Following is product information for the products
reviewed in this issue of Carrier Detect. If you are
interested in purchasing or evaluating any of the products
please note the publisher's address listed below. In
addition, all current shareware programs featured in
Carrier Detect will be made available to first time
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CROSSTALK COMMUNICATOR
distributed as a commercial product
version 2.00
Carrier Detect - Issue 7 - page 19
street price - $29-$49
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Customer Service - (404)442-4095
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