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