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============================================================ The $ R / O R E A D O N L Y -={ September 1985 }=- The monthly news magazine of the Tampa Bay Kaypro User's Group and the DataCOM Network RCP/M Systems Group ============================================================ Steven L. Sanders - Editor (Sysop) ============================================================ The DataCOM Network consists of three remote CP/M databases with 60 megabyte of files available to members 24 hours at 300/1200/2400 baud. An annual fee of $30.00 is required for access, an application may be downloaded by calling System #1 at (813) 937-3608 or send a SASE along with your request to: TBKUG/DataCOM Network 14 Cypress Drive Palm Harbor, FL 33563 NOTE: Articles and reviews of machines, 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 Network is NOT being paid to advertise these products and we cannot be held responsible for the price and/or performance of said products. ============================================================ --={ Big Changes Coming !! }=-- For all of you out there who have been asking me what the heck is going on with the big #2 system, well it's being replaced by something bigger and better. I will be taking delivery on a CCS 22-slot S-100 system which will be running under the TurboDOS(tm) operating system and configured for multi-user. I'm still not sure just how big of a hard drive will be put into it yet, kinda depends on money available at the time. After this system goes online, both the #1 and #2 telephone lines will connect you to the SAME hard disk system and RBBS module. No more hunting on #1 and then #2 for a specific file and/or message in the RBBS. As more members are added, we will add more slaves, modems, and phone lines. Those of you who would like to support this venture are encouraged to become a VIP member, all these monies go directly to system expansion and expenses. We also accept outright donations of money and/or hardware - I'm looking for a good deal on a 40mb 5-inch hard drive. Anybody got one with a SASI (SCSI) ST-506 interface for sale or donation?? At the very least we need to sell more TBKUG User Disk volumes - great price/great software! Look for the new system(s) to be online around the third week in September or so. --={ Editor Speaks }=-- I have always read with great interest and sincerity the past issues of Z-NEWS as distributed by Echelon, Inc., but a passing comment in Z-NEWS.2Q9 is a bit MUCH. I refer to "US Robotics must make their 2400 modem less error prone or they may be black-balled" statement in a paragraph dealing with the new 1k packet modem protocol. First I'd like to know WHO takes credit for this obviously un-documented claim as no one is ever credited as the EDITOR of these Z-NEWS.* files other then Echelon, Inc. If this is the case, does everyone who works for Echelon stand behind these claims and complaints? How many US Robotic Courier modems do you guys use, and how many transfers have you done, and what programs are you basing your test results on? And just exactly WHO is going to black-ball the US Robotics modems? Is this some elite group we know nothing of? I personally have 2 US Robotics Courier modems online 24 hours a day on 2 very active remote systems. The modems have been working flawlessly here with an MBYE-type remote console program, XMODEM v108 or newer, and MEX114 or YAM on the user's end at 2400 baud! The new 1k packet protocol which is manually selected by the user (if line conditions are good enough and number of hits or spurious 'garbage' characters are low) has proven to be a very efficient means of transferring either ASCII or binary files. I have a great number of other Sysops and users who now call the systems regularly with Courier 2400 modems and not one person has ever complained of any deficiencies in the modem and/or performance. I don't know of any other Sysop in the country who spends as much time in front of the screens as I do and I will personally attest to the quality of the USR modem. As with any product, there is always the chance of getting a lemon, I would suggest you send your Courier back to USR for a replacement as the one you based your tests on was obviously not working right. Please don't take this the wrong way guys, I love ZCPR3 and think you Echelon folk are doing one Helluva job! Please keep up the good work. I just hate to see such negative and un-documented claims hurt the reputation of a good product like the Courier modem. - Steve Sanders, Editor --={ Fight Bad BBS Laws }=-- From Chip Berlet, Public Eye Magazine FEDERAL LEGISLATION RESTRICTING BBS OPERATION DUE SOON! POST THIS MESSAGE ON EVERY BBS IN AMERICA! A new federal law that would outlaw some BBS systems and severely restrict all others could be passed by Congress in 1985. A mobilization of SYSOPS and BBS users is urgently needed to ensure we have a chance to speak out on the new law. Watch BBS's for messages with "BBSLAWXX.MSG" headers or "HELP FIGHT BAD BBS LAWS - XX" titles. An ad-hoc group will be posting these messages on BBS's and the commercial systems. LAWMUG SYSOP Paul Bernstein and I have learned the law could be introduced as soon as MID JULY! Although aspects of the new law have been discussed for months by "experts" in Washington, NOT ONE SYSOP WAS CONSULTED until a June 20 conference in Chicago which Paul and I attended. Vague language in another telecommunications law already introduced in Congress might also restrict BBS activities. We urged the Congressional aide involved in that legislation to exempt BBS systems until we could let SYSOPS and lawyers study the language more carefully. We must also monitor this law. The law restricting BBS operations was prompted by panic over the possibility that children (minors) might read pornographic material, and by the wave of publicity regarding the malicious hackers and illegal credit card and phone information posted on BBS's by electronic graffiti vandals. Among the ideas SERIOUSLY DISCUSSED for the new federal law restricting BBS's are provisions which would require: * Registration of all BBS's as a public utility. * BBS users to log in with, and post their legal names. * SYSOPS to keep a log of all names of users. * SYSOPS to keep a log of all messages & access times. * Criminal penalties for SYSOPS whose BBS's have illegal messages posted on them - even if the SYSOP was not aware of the message and had not been informed the message was there nor given a chance to remove it! While the law is currently only being discussed, there is much pressure to restrict and regulate BBS's. A good BBS law could protect BBS's and SYSOPS. A bad law could destroy BBS's in their infancy as a telecommunications phenomena. BBS's put the individual back into mass society in the age of telecommunications. BBS's encourage information sharing and remove barriers to discussion posed by social status, wealth, class, race, sex, physical size, and many physical handicaps. BBS's encourage the democratic process and are a powerful new communications system which deserves Constitutional protection and First Amendment Rights. NO LEGISLATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! There will be differing views of wording, law, and tactics; all should be given a chance to be heard. Congress should delay passage of any BBS legislation until BBS users and SYSOPS have a chance to discuss the legal issues and make their opinions known in a series of Congressional hearings. Our discussion must start immediately and we must organize to block bad BBS legislation until our voices are heard. We share the responsibility. Time is short. Spread the word. It is the electronic age. We are all Paul Revere.... {Editor's note: Please take the time to read and then send in a copy of the following letter. If you don't - you may be getting all your future $R/O's by mail!} THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE LETTER THAT IS TO BE COPIED AND ADDRESSED TO YOUR TWO SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN. IF YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN PRESERVING YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU SIGN AND MAIL OUT COPIES OF THIS LETTER. To: United States (Senator/Representative) (US Senate/House of Representatives) Washington, DC Dear Senator: As a user of a personal computer for telecommunications, and as a member of the new "electronic community," I wish to strongly protest the current proposals for laws regulating electronic Bulletin Board Systems. Recent negative publicity about a few such systems being used to spread illegal long-distance access codes and stolen credit card numbers has cast public doubt on our hobby. It is time that the record is set straight. Electronic BBS's are the freest form of interpersonal commu- nications ever created. The people who use them do so as a way of sharing their thoughts, ideas, and information on the rapidly changing computer technology. Also shared are thoughts and ideas about the world in general; many systems have ongoing debates about National and world issues. Not since the days of the American Revolution, when thoughts and ideas were first spread around through pamphlets and flyers, has such a system of rapid communication been developed. The vast majority of BBS's and their users are honest people, who use this new technology in their work and as a hobby. We should not be punished for the illegal actions the few misguided people about whom there has been so much publicity. I therefore recommend that before any laws restricting the use of BBS's are passed, input is received from the operators and users of these systems. Representation of our interests in promoting the freedom of speech we exercise on the BBS's is the answer to reactionary laws. I urge you to support our position in this matter. Sincerely, (be sure to sign it!) --={ GTE Offers Flat-Rate Data Service }=-- {Reprinted in whole from the August 19, 1985 InfoWorld magazine.} FLAT-RATE SERVICE OFFERED By Mary Petrosky GTE UNVEILS COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE FOR HOME USERS OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS A new service from GTE Telenet, PC Pursuit, gives home personal computer users in 12 major mteropolitan areas unlimited evening and weekend access to noncommercial databases, bulletin boards, and other personal computer users in those areas for a flat $25 monthly fee. Personal computer users with a 300 or 1200-bit-per-second auto-answer modem and asynchronous communications software can access the PC Pursuit service with a local phone call, saving as much as 75% on long distance charges, GTE Telenet claims. Currently, users access other personal computers and bulletin boards through traditional telephone services at rates up to $10 per hour. According to GTE Telenet, PC Pursuit provides an inexpensive means to send and receive real-time communications, share programs, download computer software, and exchange messages on bulletin boards. The company expects that offerring lower rates will help promote use of home banking, home shopping, and home educational instruction. Kevin Kelly, editor of the Whole Earth Review in Sausalito, Calfornia, says PC Pursuit could have several positive consequences, including giving local bulletin boards -- many of which specialize in one subject, such as music or medicine -- the option of going national. Kelly thinks the flat monthly fee may also cut down on the illegal use of phone lines by heavy users of bulletin boards who try to avoid paying hundreds of dollars monthly in long distance phone charges. Kelly also predicts that acessing bulletin boards, many of which have only a single incomming phone line, could become more difficult as lower phone charges inspire greater usage. Subscribers to PC Pursuit are billed through their Visa or Master Card account, so users must hold one of these cards to subscribe. PC Pursuit is currently available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dalas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. According to a company spokesperson, the number of cities supported will be expanded based on user demand. {Editor's note: Well there it is folks, cheap long distance service for remote database systems. Don't delay - flood GTE with requests to cover the greater Tampa, Florida area and if you live in one of the cities previously mentioned you could call The DataCOM Super Systems!! And it can't hurt if you live in any of the other major metropolitan areas either. The more requests they get, the sooner it will be a reality everywhere... Mail em a letter today!} --={ Hard Disk Repair }=-- A while back I had mentioned an outfit in Oregon that did hard disk repairs for a $250 flat charge. Well I have found another outfit that will do it for only $145 now! I just talked with Ken Fowler who is Sysop for the BAKUP RCP/M in California and he told me he had just had a 10mb Seagate drive re-done for a measley $145 total. Contact: FRS, Inc., 1101 National Drive, Sacramento, Calif., 95834, (916) 920-1107 This price includes any needed parts and two new platters for the hard disk. I would recommend that you call for a quote first and get the necessary shipping instructions. --={ Micro C's BBS is OnLine }=-- My good friends at Micro Cornucopia (a great magazine for hackers and semi-hackers) have just put up a remote bulletin board system. It is accessible at (503) 382-7643, use either 300 or 1200 baud and set for 8 bits/no parity/1 stop bit. The board is up and ready to answer your calls 24 hours a day. Micro Cornucopia is a great source for Kaypro upgrade ROMs and technical information. The magazine covers many different operating systems and hardware configurations with monthly columns and letters to the editor. --={ Micro C's Turbo Pascal Contest }=-- Micro Cornucopia currently has a Turbo Pascal contest going on and is looking for submissions. If you're handy with Borland's super language and have written what you consider to be a "worthwhile" program why not see if you can win one of the following: GRAND PRIZE (1) Microsphere's 1 Megabyte RAM DISK or Trevor Marshall's 32032 Coprocessor Kit NEXT 5 WINNERS Choice of 2 Borland products or $100 worth of Micro C goodies Send your entries on 5-1/4 or 8-inch diskette (clearly marked as to which format is used) and if possible the listing in hardcopy form. Mark "Turbo Pascal Contest" on the outside of whatever you send your disk/listing in. Any version of Turbo Pascal is OK - 2.0, 3.0, CP/M, or MS-DOS. The deadline for entry is November 1, 1985. Micro Cornucopia P.O. Box 223 Bend, Oregon 97709 --={ ZCPR3 - Feedback and Updates }=-- By Michael Broschat [NORTHWEST COMPUTING (July 1985)] More recently, in April and May, I wrote about ZCPR3, a CP/M-80 modification for Z80- and 8085-based micros. When I started writing about it, I knew little more than some general facts. I am happy to report that it has been running on my computer for nearly two months now and it has progressed to being one of those things you wonder how you did without. Jerry Pournelle was nice enough to say recently (in answer to a question about whether CP/M is completely dead), "You can even get ZCPR3, which revamps the operating system into something a heck of a lot nicer than MS-DOS" [BYTE, May 85, pp. 349-350]. Since he mentions this in only one sentence, I am sure that although he knows about ZCPR3, he does not actually use it. Let me give you an example of what it is currently doing for me. When I boot my system (with word processing disks in the drives), the first thing I see (after the initial "loading" messages) is a menu that I have written. This menu allows me to initiate several activities with only one keystroke. Let us assume that I have been working on a file that I now want to check for spelling. After exiting WordStar, I am automatically back at the menu. I push "j" and the following sequence begins automatically: The computer changes over to drive A (so that the spelling program can refer to the dictionaries on that drive); it runs SPELL on the file that I have been working on (it knows it automatically) and automatically gives SPELL certain parameters that I have written into the command; if SPELL finds any words in my text that are not in its dictionaries (it automatically consults a specialty dictionary, the name of which is also part of the command), then REVIEW is called up t about where my text file is; when that last program finishes, control is restored to drive B and I am back in the menu again. All that in one key-stroke after a little work (actually, "fun") to set up the menu. Although ZCPR3 is public domain it is supported and licensed by Echelon, Inc [101 First St., Los Altos, CA 94022]. That is extremely important, in my opinion. First, having a distributor gives you someone to talk to when you have questions (this is what is called "support"). Second, and perhaps more important, Echelon is a focus for other programming activities that revolve around ZCPR3. Many Z80 "hackers" have become excited enough about ZCPR3, the 70 utilities that come with it (with source code), and its possibilities, that there has been much work to both improve and expand what is now called the "Z System." Echelon handles distribution of the "free" stuff and also sells the "commercial" stuff. The Z System has evolved so far that it has now completely replaced CP/M. The former BDOS section of CP/M has been replaced by ZRDOS, a $50 piece of hex code that you just patch over the old BDOS (and get automatic disk reset instead of the manual ^C that we don't always remember to do!). In addition, they have worked up replacements for all the programming aids (assemblers, etc.) that used to be available from Digital Research and Microsoft, but which, in this world of IBM PC domination, are apparently no longer well supported (or even available). Echelon also publishes a twice-monthly newsletter with news of updates and related events, etc. Two of these I will pass on here. Steve Ciarcia has apparently designed a computer around the new Hitachi 64180 chip. What is important about this is that this microprocessor runs the same code as the Z-80 (all your CP/M software stills works!!) but has many advanced features (including greater use of memory, multiply and divide, speed, etc.), at least the equivalent of the 8088 and probably better. Ciarcia's articles (and kit) will be furnished (through MicroMint) with the complete Z-system operating system. A second note from the newsletter is that Digital Research has apparently cut back their operations drastically. Information is too scanty to say for sure, but it seems the the Z system will be taking over more "responsibility" for Z-80/Z-800 based systems that it ever dreamed. Now, is there anything there to "take over?" --={ WHATSNEW in Public Domain }=-- LCAT20.LBR is a CP/M disk cataloging system similar to the MCAT45/XCAT42 series but also catalogs internal library member files as well. The LCAT20 version is now an all-in- one utility that will automatically adjust itself for any size TPA of 30k or better. There is also a cross-refference lister program called XLCAT10 which does the same as XCAT and can create a sorted diskfile or printer output. PRTLST14 and KPRLST14 are two utilities for formatting the MAST.LST created by MCAT/XCAT or the MASTL.LST created by LCAT/XLCAT. It allows you to generate the output to the CRT, printer, or diskfile in a neat 3-across format that really saves paper. The PRTLST14 file is generic and is usable on any CP/M machine. The KPRLST14 file is for video- able Kaypro models only and has a really flashy CRT display. Z8E.LBR contains the most powerful and fully-featured Z80 de-bugging monitor in the public domain today. It allows for on-screen monitoring of a running program and allows you to use several different symbol tables at the same time. There is an extensive doc file (165k) to tell you how to use it properly but this is really a hacker's utility. If you now use DDT for de-bugging, give Z8E a try, you'll love it! PDSE-065.LQT is the squeezed listing of all known publically accessible systems with PD software for download via XMODEM protocol. This list is updated every month and the systems are periodically checked to see if they really are ONLINE! MBROT2.LBR contains a Turbo Pascal program that generates some wild looking print-outs on an Okidata 92 printer by calculating a series of mathematical numbers. This can be altered to be used by other printers if you know all the necessary codes for your printer and it's capable of doing bit graphic printing. PAIRX13.LBR is the latest update to the utility used for finding un-balanced pairs of Wordstar print characters used in document files. Real handy when looking for the un- paired ^PS or ^PB that causes excessive underlining or bold facing. VALIAS2B.LBR is a super full-screen video-oriented ZCPR3 alias editor. It allows you to insert, delete, change, or clear existing alias command lines without re-writing the entire alias every time. VERROR11.LBR is another new ZCPR3 error handler that allows you to edit a commandline error during processing. It uses Wordstar commands like ^S and ^D to move back and forth through the commandline and then you just edit/replace the command in error. SRW141.LBR is Eric Gans' latest update to his Super-RW program which is a real nice file and memory editor similar to PATCH but smaller and faster. MACPRINT.LBR has been updated for the C Itoh printers as well as the Epsons now. This is a hi-res printing enhancement allowing for different types of print characters to be generated by an alphabet file which is loaded into the printer's memory. LUCIDATA.LBR is a nice series of financial management programs written in Turbo Pascal. All files in Turbo source form and a good learning tool. TTUTOR1.LBR is a "learn while doing" teaching system for Turbo Pascal programmers (beginners and others.) --={ OF LIGHTNING SPEED AND PHILOSOPHICAL MYSTERIES }=-- By: Philo S. Opher Have you ever noticed how many peculiar contrasts there are in the computer field? Here is this marvelous appliance - the crown jewel of modern technology - a computing machine of such lightning speed that history's best mathematicians would have sold their souls to own one. Yet, it isn't even capable of balancing a check book unless you spend hours teaching it to do so... Of course, the mathematicians of antiquity wouldn't know about the three foot high stack of manuals written in gibberish which came with our machines. And one might well suspect that they would have had as difficult a time coping with documentation which was out of date and impossible to read as we did. But then no one ever said that making a deal with the devil was easy. Or perhaps you've experienced a phenomena we've come to call "perceived performance inversion". This one manifests itself in the machine running slower and slower in an inverse relationship to the experience of the user. There you sit after barely six months of use chiding your computer for the time it takes to read a 200,000 character file from disk, print a report, compute an answer, etc. Of course, the machine takes the same amount of time to do a given task as it did months ago; but somehow it seems a GREAT DEAL slower! Then again, there's the he-got-what-he-deserved phenomena. This one comes up frequently in conversations and usually involves a local retailer who has finally closed his doors. You know the story... After months of seeing buyers parade thru his store to buy his $50-cheaper computer and watching those same customers wander down the street for a $25- cheaper printer, then on to a third store to buy $1-cheaper ribbons, the retailer has finally given up in frustration and switched his attentions to more profitable endeavors. Discussions about the demise typically involve two or more of his save-a-buck customers and one of them will be saying something like: "He got what he deserved, 'cause he never gave ME any support anyway..." Of course there are two sides to every issue; and we don't mean to suggest that the dealer is the innocent victim in this story. It's just an interesting note on human nature that we've never heard a user say: "Well, I bought my system as cheaply as I could and didn't expect much support from the dealer anyway." And lastly, have you ever puzzled over the strange quirk in ethics involved when individuals -- who'll labor mightily to meet their financial obligations and would not consciously consider stealing anything -- will copy copyrighted software without a second thought and then be surprised when their user group or other individuals prefer not to participate... If you're wondering about the point of this article, we don't really have one. Philosophers, after all, don't specialize in answers -- just questions. The real point is that we're involved in a field and are living through a period which provides a vast array of new issues to consider and a variety of technical, moral, and ethical dilemmas to resolve. Somehow, we suspect that the ways we solve them will tell future generations more about our era than any of the history books written over the next several years. --={ PERFECT CALC - SHARING BETWEEN SPREADSHEETS ]=-- (Reprinted from PeopleTalk's Quarterly) Over the months, we have probably had more inquiries about how to pass data between Perfect Calc Spreadsheets than on any other single subject related to Calc. If you haven't yet experienced this problem, it usually goes something like this.... Dear PeopleTalk: I own a Kaypro computer and am using Perfect Calc. I've run into a problem which my local dealer doesn't know how to solve which involves my year-to-date widgets report. You see, I need to be able to carry the ending totals from each month forward as starting numbers into the next one and Calc won't let me do that unless I associate the two spreadsheets together. This means that I must copy down the 200 ending totals by hand from each month and then manually re-key them into the next month's spreadsheet to carry them forward. It frequently takes me the first 10 days of the month to get these numbers re-keyed and checked and that means I fall farther and farther behind. I just filed my sales report for December '83 but my boss is asking when he'll know about September! My brother-in-law has Big-Bang Calc on his Prune-II computer and it will handle this situation fine. Should I throw my Kaypro away, or can my Kaypro do it too?? Sign me -- Frustrated and Needin' a Prune For months we could only respond to this type of letter with our condolences. But recently we heard about a solution from Mr. Mike Dudley of Arlington, TX and it was so ingenious that we decided to passit along... Dear Mr. Needin: We're pleased to report that Calc can do it too! The solution turns out to be fairly simple. In the spreadsheet which contains the numbers you need to carry forward you'll need to allocate two columns below and to the right of the cells whose results you wish to use. Remember, this below and to the right bit is important if you want the correct results carried forward. You won't necessarily need the whole columns, but you'll need to allot one row for each number to be carried forward. In the left hand column of these two, you'll be entering the cell address where you want the data in the next column to appear in the new spreadsheet. In the right hand column you'll be entering formulas which point to the cells you want carried forward. For example, let's presume you wish to carry forward the results stored in a75, b75, and c75 into cells a1, b1, and c1 in the next month's spreadsheet and let's further presume that you've decided to put the carry-forward fields into d76 thru e78. In this case, the values in column d will look like this: Cell d76:{ }>a1: Cell d77:{ }>b1: Cell d78:{ }>c1: You'll also need to adjust the width of this column to four characters with Calc's [CTRL-x w c 4] command. Now switch over to column e and enter the following formulas in cells e76 thru e78: Cell e76:{ }=a75 Cell e77:{ }=b75 Cell e78:{ }=c75 Your next steps should be to change the justification parameter for column e to be left rather than right: [CTRL-x j c l] and to increase the decimal display and column width for this column to match the accuracy you need in the new spreadsheet. Let's assume that you need 10 character decimal accuracy and you expect 5 digits to the left of the decimal point. That means you'll need to change the column width to 17 characters (15 digits, plus decimal, plus sign): [CTRL-x w c 20<cr>] and increase the decimal display to 10:[CTRL-x d c 10<cr>] Now your display for colums d and e should look something like this: Row 76:{ }>a1:7500.0000000000 Row 77:{ }>b1:9200.0000000000 Row 78:{ }>c1:3000.0000000000 Your last step in the process involves printing this section of your spreadsheet to a disk file by marking a region from d76 thru e78. Put the cursor in d76 and type: [ESC spacebar] then move the cursor to e78 and type: [CTRL-x p TOTALS.PC<cr>] The file named TOTALS.PC now contains the totals you wanted to carry forward and it looks almost exactly like any other Calc spreadsheet file. Note that we said almost! You'll have to take one more step before you read this file into Calc as it contains some space characters which are No-No's so far as Calc is concerned. The simplest solution to this is to use either WordStar (in Non-Document mode) or Perfect Writer and get rid of the space characters with the Global replace command. Then restore the file and you're in business. This TOTALS.PC spreadsheet can be read into Perfect Calc as an Overlay file and it will work just fine. Your numbers will be carried forward and Calc won't know that you've tricked it into doing the impossible... Good Luck and Happy Computing! --={ That's All Folks !! }=-- That does it for another month gang - may all your diskette failures be on backed-up disks...