Volume 7, Number 15 9 April 1990 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | FidoNet (r) | | \ \\ | | International BBS Network | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Copyright 1990, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software. FidoNews is published weekly by the System Operators of the FidoNet (r) International BBS Network. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or authorized agents of the authors. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. 1:1/1 is a Continuous Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day. Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are used with permission. Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software. Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every responsible submission received. Table of Contents 1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1 Fidocon '90 Update! ...................................... 1 FIDOCON 1990 REGISTRATION FORM ........................... 12 2. COLUMNS .................................................. 15 A View from the Bridge ................................... 15 Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 17 3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 20 Latest Software Versions ................................. 20 4. NOTICES .................................................. 23 The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 23 FidoNews 7-15 Page 1 9 Apr 1990 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Bill Vanglahn 1:1/90@Fidonet Fidocon '90 Information Update The Fidocon '90 Committee continues to work to make this year's convention one of the best ever. We have already received registrations from as far away as Holland, and as close as our own backyard. One of our main goals in planning the event was to allow Fidocon to be part of a family vacation. New Jersey has a great variety of summertime activities, as well as the proximity of the convention site to New York City. We have gotten many requests for family plans, and we are more than happy to accommodate! Therefore, the following plan is added to the Fidocon '90 schedule (Note: These prices are ONLY in effect until 5/1/90): 1) For a participant and spouse, the cost for BOTH will be $620.00. This includes conference registration for the registrant, and hotel and meals for both you and your spouse. 2) For each child attending the conference (accompanied by either a plan A or the above spouse plan participant), add $75.00 to the cost. This will include hotel and meals. *** Discount Deadline Extended *** Because of some confusion, and problems associated with "tax time", we have extended the deadline for discounted registration. Instead of the deadline being 4/1/90, we are extending it to 5/1/90. Any registrations postmarked by midnight on May 1, 1990 may register at the discounted rate. *** Deposits for Fidocon! *** As I said before, we are (sometimes painfully) aware that it is tax time. If you plan to attend the conference, but your funds are low right now, don't fret! We will accept a $100.00 deposit (nonrefundable) toward your registration. This will lock you into the discounted rate, and give you until July 1, 1990 to pay the balance.This, of course, only applies to plans A through F and the family plans. *** Any ideas? *** FidoNews 7-15 Page 2 9 Apr 1990 If you have any ideas on things you would like to see or do at the convention, drop us a note at 1/90. We WANT to hear from you! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-15 Page 3 9 Apr 1990 __ / \ /|oo \ THE FIRST CONFERENCE (_| /_) _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ OF FIDONET | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / IN AUSTRALIA (________) (_/(_|(____/(jm) llllll ll lllllll llllll llllll llllll lll ll llllll lllll lI l| ll ll ll ll ll ll ll llll ll ll ll ll llll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll l ll ll ll lll l| ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll llll ll ll ll l| ll lllllll llllll llllll llllll ll lll llllll lllll ll llllll llllll llllll lll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll llllll llllll ll ll l1 ll ll ll ll llll llllll llllll llllll proudly sponsored by NETCOMM AUSTRALIA PTY.LTD. FRIDAY 8th - MONDAY 11th JUNE 1990 (Queen's Birthday Weekend) at Australian Institute of Management (Victoria Division) 10 St.Leonard's Avenue St.Kilda, Victoria Australia Speakers, Workshops, Panel Discussions and Social Functions OPEN TO ALL WITH AN INTEREST IN FIDONET! All Netmail Enquires to: FidoNews 7-15 Page 4 9 Apr 1990 FIDOCON OZ! 1990 3/90 WELCOME TO FIDOCON OZ! 1990...... FidoCon Oz! 1990 is the First Conference of Fidonet in Australia, hosted this year in Melbourne. As this is the first such conference, the Fidocon Committee has decided not to have an overall theme to the event, but to cover a reasonably wide range of topics of interest which can hopefully be developed further in future FidoCons. From the conference programme, you will see that we have tried to assemble an array of first-class speakers, each an expert in his own field ranging from software and hardware, through to computer fraud and viruses. With the inclusion of a panel discussion and workshops, we wish to encourage all registrants to participate and have their say on matters which are of concern to them. Our hope is that through this discussion and the workshops, FidoNet as a whole can benefit into the future. We also hope that many of the issues raised during the conference will become the beginnings of positive ideas which can be acted upon and developed - and that future FidoCons in Australia can then take these ideas, review them and then develop them further. We have also included several social functions and a small amount of free-time so that registrants from all over Australia can meet and get to know each other - to put real people to what may only, until now, have been disembodied names in echomail. Finally, this entire conference will be situated in a venue which could not be better. The Victorian headquarters of the Australian Institute of Management is a first-class conference venue with all the necessary facilities within a modern building, located only minutes away from the city centre of Melbourne. The venue and the programme are excellent. As a first, FidoCon Oz! 1990 will be a milestone in the history of FidoNet in Australia. Be part of what promises to be a most memorable event! FidoNews 7-15 Page 5 9 Apr 1990 FidoCon Oz! 1990 Committee: -------------------------- Rob Bates (Sysop 634/381) Gordon Castle (Sysop 632/306) Andrew Newbury (Sysop 634/385) David Nugent (Sysop 632/348) Andrew Rajcher (Sysop 634/388) Simon Walsh (RC Rgn 50/Sysop 632/301) FIDOCON OZ! 1990 PROGRAMME ==================================== FRIDAY 8th JUNE 1990 -------------------- 7.30-9.30 pm COCKTAIL PARTY - official welcome and conference registration. Social get-together. (Casual dress) SATURDAY 9th JUNE 1990 ---------------------- 9.15-10.OO am "486, OS/2 AND BEYOND" Don Fraser Southern Region Manager, Microsoft Pty.Ltd. 10.OO-10.30 am Morning Tea 10.30-11.15 am "COMPUTER CRIME & BULLETIN BOARDS" Sgt.David Costello Computer Crime Section, Australian Federal Police. 11.15-12 noon "MODEMS IN THE 1990'S" Mark Ostryn Product Manager, Netcomm Australia Pty.Ltd. 12 noon-1.30 pm Lunch 1.30-2.15 pm "MAILER SOFTWARE & MAIL-HANDLING UTILITIES" Joaquim Homrighausen FidoNews 7-15 Page 6 9 Apr 1990 Swedish Software Programmer, Author of FrontDoor and TosScan 2.15-3.00 pm "COMPUTER VIRUSES - PROTECTION & REMEDIES" Roger Riordan Former Lecturer, Chisholm Inst.of Technology, Author of VET, Anti-Virus Software 3.OO-3.30 pm Afternoon Tea 3.30-4.30 pm "FIDONET IN AUSTRALIA - NOW & THE FUTURE" Panel Discussion Panel: Bill Bolton (Chairman), Simon Blears, Simon Walsh and Matt Whelan - 4 - FIDOCON OZ! 1990 PROGRAMME ==================================== SATURDAY 9th JUNE 1990 ---------------------- 7.30-8.00 pm PRE-DINNER DRINKS 8.00-Midnight CONFERENCE DINNER (Smart Casual Dress) - three-course dinner (drinks included) featuring "Big Gig"-type entertainment. SUNDAY 10th JUNE 1990 --------------------- 9.30-10.15 am "TELECOM TOWARDS 2000" Frank Smith Manager - Community Relations, Telecom Australia 10.15-10.45 am Morning Tea 10.45-12.30 pm WORKSHOPS - Conference participants will attend a workshop of their choice. Topics will include FidoNews 7-15 Page 7 9 Apr 1990 areas of interest to both Sysops and Users. 12.30-2.00 pm Lunch 2.00-3.00 pm WORKSHOP SESSION REPORTS - Each Chairperson will present a brief report on the proceedings of their Workshop session. 3.OO-3.30 pm Afternoon Tea 3.30-4.30 pm "Challenges for the 1990's" Ian Robinson Editor "PC Week" MONDAY 11th JUNE 1990 --------------------- 10.00 am DAY TRIP TO MITCHELLTON WINERY - includes tour of Winery, wine-tasting and hot-carvery smorgasbord lunch. NOTE: Buses will return via Tullmarine airport (4.30 pm) - 5 - FIDOCON OZ! 1990 WORKSHOP INFORMATION ==================================== All conference attendees will participate in a workshop of their choice on the Sunday morning (10/6/90). In the session after lunch, all workshop Chairmen will present brief resumes of their workshop proceedings to the conference and afterwards will write short reports which will be circulated to the network. These workshops offer all conference attendees a great opportunity to participate in an area of specific interest to them. The workshops, and their respective Chairmen, will be:- FidoNews 7-15 Page 8 9 Apr 1990 (A) DOES AUSTRALIA NEED AN A.F.N.A.? Chairman:- Simon Blears - with the demise of I.F.N.A., is there a need in Australia to create a organization with an awareness of our local situation? (B) HIGH SPEED MODEMS/MULTI-TASKING Chairman:- Gordon Castle - the emphasis is on doing more and doing it faster. Modems and multi-tasking are both getting more sophisticated. (C) MAILER SOFTWARE & MAIL MANAGEMENT Chairman:- Joaquim Homrighausen - a great opportunity for Sysops to meet and discuss items of interest with the author of FrontDoor and Tosscan himself. (D) OPUS VER 1.10 - EVALUATION & FEEDBACK Chairman:- Bill Bolton - the long awaited upgrade has arrived. Express your opinion, ask questions and exchange tips with others. (E) NEW/PROSPECTIVE SYSOPS Chairman:- Simon Walsh - thinking of starting a BBS? Find out exactly what is involved. If you are a new Sysop, this is a great chance to ask questions. (F) BBS UTILITIES - LET'S FANTASIZE! Chairman:- Paul Marwick - ever thought to yourself "I wish someone would write a program that would......"? Talk about it and maybe someone will. (G) BBS USERS Chairman:- David Hellwege - new or seasoned user, learn more about different types of BBS's and how to get the most from them. - 6 - FIDOCON OZ! 1990 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ==================================== SOCIAL FUNCTIONS: ---------------- Attendance at the social functions is NOT limited to people who register for the entire Conference. Additional bookings may be made for the Cocktail Party, Conference Dinner or Winery Trip, but these additional bookings MUST be made AND paid for when you register and pay for the Conference. FidoNews 7-15 Page 9 9 Apr 1990 DRESS: ----- In line with the nature of FIDOCON OZ! 1990, casual dress is acceptable at all times during the Conference. Appropriate smart casual dress is requested for the Cocktail Party and Conference Dinner. ACCOMODATION: ------------ All information regarding hotel/motel accomodation is contained in the file ACCOM.TXT - please read it carefully before stipulating, on the Registration Form, the accomodation you would like us to book for you. The accomodation is NOT included in the registration fee and will remain your responsibility. AIR FARES: --------- Information regarding cheaper air fares to Melbourne is contained in the file AIRLINES.TXT - please contact the airlines or your travel agent to arrange your transport. SOFTWARE COPYING SERVICE: ------------------------ Upon registering at the Conference on Friday evening, you will be given a satchel containing various items of information, included in which will be an order form. Diskettes, containing the latest versions of public domain and shareware software, will be available at the Conference. A small charge will be made to cover the cost of the diskettes. FOR PEOPLE RETURNING HOME ON THE MONDAY EVENING: ----------------------------------------------- If you will be returning home on the evening of Monday 11/6/90, please note that the buses will be returning from the winery trip via Tullamarine Airport. It is anticipated that we will arrive at the airport at 4.30 pm. If you wish to take advantage of this arrangement, please have your bags with you when we meet the buses on the Monday morning. REGISTER EARLY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EARLY-BIRD DISCOUNT! F I D O C O N O Z ! 1 9 9 0 =============================== 8th-11th JUNE 1990, MELBOURNE ============================= FidoNews 7-15 Page 10 9 Apr 1990 ACCOMODATION DETAILS ==================== If you intend arranging your own accomodation for FidoCon OZ!, then you can disregard this file. You will notice that the Registration Form allows you to indicate your preferences for accomodation. If you have indicated that you would like us to arrange a billet for you, please understand that we CANNOT guarantee to find one. So make sure that you have ALSO indicated your preferences for hotel/motel accomodation. Upon receipt of your completed Registration Form and full payment, we will make a booking for you and we will confirm that booking in writing when we acknowledge receipt of your registration. If you have indicated on the Registration Form that you wish us to book TWIN/SHARE accomodation, then:- (a) if you have also indicated the name of the person with whom you wish to share, then the accomodation will NOT be booked until that other person ALSO registers. (b) if you have not indicated a name of anyone with whom you wish to share, then the FidoCon OZ! Committee will "match up" the accomodation as registrations are received. PLEASE NOTE: The organizers of FIDOCON OZ! undertake to make and confirm accomodation ONLY. Your registration fee does NOT include any accomodation costs and will always remain YOUR responsibility. We have checked several medium to lower-priced hotel/motels within a short walking distance of the conference venue and supply the following details:- COSMOPOLITAN MOTOR INN ====================== Cost per night: $76 (single) $85 (double/twin-share) 4-6 Carlisle Street, St.Kilda, Vic., 3182. Telephone: (03) 534-0781 Toll-free (008) 333-073 Fax: (03) 534-8262 The Cosmopolitan is located five minutes walking-distance from the conference venue. All rooms are well-appointed, having en- suite bathroom, tea/coffee making facilities, fridge, radio- alarm telephone and television. FidoNews 7-15 Page 11 9 Apr 1990 DIPLOMAT MOTOR INN ================== Cost per night: $54 (single) $59 (double/twin-share) 12 Acland Street, St.Kilda, Vic., 3182. Telephone: (03) 534-0422 Toll-free (008) 335-166 Telex: 31454 The Diplomat is located two minutes walking-distance from the conference venue. All rooms have en-suite bathroom, tea/coffee making facilities, fridge, telephone and television. Good medium-priced accomodation. SPACELINE MOTEL =============== Cost per night: $45 (single) $50 (double/twin-share) 1-3 Acland Street, St.Kilda, Vic., 3182. Telephone: (03) 534-8074 The Spaceline is located two minutes walking-distance from the conference venue. All rooms have en-suite bathroom, cooking facilites, television and air-conditioning. Good budget-priced accomodation. KINGSCOURT MOTOR INN ==================== Cost per night: $39 (single) $45 (double/twin-share) 15 Acland Street, St.Kilda, Vic., 3182. Telephone: (03) 534-0673 The Kingscourt is located two minutes walking-distance from the conference venue. All rooms have en-suite bathroom, tea/coffe making facilites, radio, television, telephone and air-conditioning. Reasonable budget-priced accomodation. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-15 Page 12 9 Apr 1990 The Secret Sysop Society presents __ *** Conclave '90 *** / \ The SYSOPS Convention /|oo \ Home of FidoCon 1990 (_| /_) Lyndhurst, New Jersey _`@/_ \ _ August 1-5, 1990 | | \ \\ | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / Fido \ _//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm) Rate Plan Schedule: Before 6/1/90: Before 5/1/90: -------------- -------------- A. Single Occupancy.......$595.00 $545.00 $495.00 B. Double Occupancy.......$450.00 $400.00 $350.00 C. Conference w/ meals....$300.00 $250.00 $200.00 D. Conference w/ Banquet..$205.00 $155.00 $105.00 E. Conference only........$175.00 $125.00 $ 75.00 F. Banquet only...........$130.00 $80.00 $ 30.00 G. Registrant & Spouse....$720.00 $670.00 $620.00 (All rate plans except plan F include all conference and hotel fees. Those registering before 5/1/90 get a $100.00 discount, those registering before 6/1/90 get a $50.00 discount.) You must pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be made out to: "Conclave '90" The following registration form must be completed and mailed to: PO Box 12 Lyndhurst, NJ 07071 You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/90 for processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail confirmation is required within 72 hours of electronic filing. If you are paying by credit card, please include the required information. For your own security, do not route any message with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/90. The official Conclave '90 airline is American Airlines. American offers a 5% discount the lowest applicable round-trip fare, including 1st class travel, subject to availability of inventory. All fare rules and restrictions apply. In addition, American offers 40% off their round trip unrestricted day coach fare. International travelers qualify for special benefits, including complimentary admittance to the Admiral's Club Lounge at any American Airlines terminal. Newark is an American Air- lines city with direct flights to most major cities. When making reservations, you must call American's Toll-free reservation number at 800-433-1790, and reference Star number 13704F. FidoNews 7-15 Page 13 9 Apr 1990 C O N C L A V E '90 R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M Name: __________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________ Apt. or Suite: _________ City: _________________________ State or Province: ____________ Postal Code: __________________ Country: ______________________ Voice Phone: ______________________ Data: _____________________ Zone:Net/Node.Point@Domain: ____________________________________ Special requirements: __________________________________________ +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | Option | Full | | Pricing | Line | |(Choose 1: A-G)| Name | Qty | Thru 5/1 | Total | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | PLAN A* | | | $495.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | PLAN B* | | | $350.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | PLAN C* | | | $200.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | PLAN D* | | | $105.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | PLAN E* | | | $ 75.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | PLAN F | | | $ 30.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | PLAN G* | | | $620.00 | | +===============+=====================+=====+==========+=======+ | NJ Beach Trip | | | $ 24.50 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | Eve. NYC Tour | | | $ 37.50 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | Broadway Show | | | $ 75.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | NYC Shop Tour | | | $ 36.50 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ | Costume Ball* | | | $ 50.00 | | +---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+ * includes all conference fees & Hotel | Total $ | | ** includes dinner, show, and costume +==========+=======+ MC _____ Visa _____ Card Number: _____________________________ Expiration: ___________ Signature _____________________________ ( Credit card registrations require valid signature ) FidoNews 7-15 Page 14 9 Apr 1990 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-15 Page 15 9 Apr 1990 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= A View from the Bridge "Captain's Log, Stardate 9003.30" When I was a young boy, I used to like to watch Star Trek (I still do, though I don't have as much time for it as I used to), and I was always impressed with the technological advances they demonstrated on the show. Push a button, and food was instantly prepared. They had little t.v.s that you could carry around your neck on a strap. Other things. I always wished I was born just 100 years into the future to see all these marvelous things and grow up in that technologically advanced civilization. (Of course, I also wished that I'd been born 60 years before I was to witness the 'exciting times' of the early 20th century.) Just the other day, I was using my microwave oven. As I used the touch-sensitive keypad, I reflected on how it wasn't long ago that these machines used dials, just like a kitchen timer. Then I realized that it wasn't long ago that we didn't even have microwave ovens. It came to me in a flash that I was born at just the RIGHT time. In my short lifetime, I've seen men land on the moon (I still have a laquered copy of the NY Daily News issue of that day), a president of the United States resign. I've seen the effects of an oil gluttonous nation, and the development of nuclear power. I've seen the creation of digital watches, now the norm (and driving into Manhatten to buy one for $150.00 that used 24 hour time just before I joined the Air Force). I've witnessed and participated in the birth of the personal (it used to be 'home') computer, and how its changed, and continues to change, our lives. Some things haven't changed too much. Cars are still cars, they don't fly, aren't electric, and still pollute. The phone, though finally starting to show some progress towards its potential as an information processing device, is still a phone. Even with the advancement of cellular technology, we still don't have Dick Tracy "2-way wrist tv's". Some things have gotten worse. The US Space Program is at its worst point since the days of Sputnik. If you have a few minutes, please write your congressman, and ask him to vote some life into NASA. The bottom line, however, is that it appears that I have lived the ancient chinese curse. I truly was born in interesting times! FidoNews 7-15 Page 16 9 Apr 1990 (P.S. See you at FidoCon! The time to put in your deposit is NOW!) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-15 Page 17 9 Apr 1990 Henry Clark 124/6120 It's Alive ( or is it ? ) -- Did you ever see 'Rosemary's Baby' The Exhibit at the state fair. It had that wonderful droning carny voice, on a continuous tape, blaring out of a bullhorn speaker... "Rose..mary's..baby. Half..man, half..devil. And..It's.. A..live, or..is..it?" I never actually paid to see it, too much fun listening to the tape. I used to work on 6800 line controllers attached to PDPs. Tandem still uses them. DEC has the same thing, only they use LSI/11s. Now I have one for my PC. It's got a Hitachi 6309 ( 4 Mhz ) and all the bell and whistle chips like DMAs, VIAs and of course double channel USRTs. It's strappable as to PC port address, IRQ line and PC memory address. It has NO ROMs. Normally a 6309 will RESET through address FFFE, but some fancy circuitry on this baby remaps that address down to 0FFE for 35 milliseconds. 0FFE happens to be the last two bytes of some dual addressable RAM that the PC can see starting at C400:0. This gives the PC the opportunity to write boot strap code in there before resetting the 6309. Norton SI sees the memory and calls it 'extra ram'. Contention ( ie. both processors writing to the same byte ) is handled by the RAM chip itself. I've got a ton of code for various line protocols that will run in the 6309. Lot's of work here now, maybe a FOSSIL is in order. 3270 ? Nah. T1 ? All right! OPUS 2.00 -- Speaking of Opus, you surely have noticed the latest release, version 1.10. I applaud all the development team for a job well done. It would appear that the most noticeable work was performed on the user interfaces. There's a new menu system and expanded privilege checking levels. My sources tell me the next version will have something even better. What's the worst thing about running an Opus system ? Right, those damn message files. I, for one, run 8k clusters and those echo subdirectories get big, fast. I know of several folks working on a MESSAGE FOSSIL, which will allow Opus to make generic message function calls, independent of the storage mechanism. One guy might run a .msg file fossil and get basically what we have today. Another might run a database fossil and have all the message data stored in a single huge file. FidoNews 7-15 Page 18 9 Apr 1990 The message fossil would handle calls like 'read next header', 'change area' and 'read message body'. The functions provided by fossils would be the same, the way they read and write messages might all be different. You might run a Dbase message fossil, and I might run one too, but your's stores the message body as sets of 1K rows, and mine stores them line by line. I think the migration will be somewhat eased by a first release of a basic .msg fossil, such that your message readers and echo mail tosser/scanners will work as before. After that, you would expect to see new fossils released as those utilities began to use the fossil functions. Times are a changin'... Phantom City -- Phantom City, The Double Round Trip, The Back Date : no, these are not new AIDS prevention techniques, they are ways to cheat the airlines and their stupid pricing policies. The Phantom City : Dallas to San Francisco to Dallas. You need 600 bucks. Wait, Dal-SF-Dal-Kansas City is only 500. Why ? SF to Kansas City is cheaper ( builds market share in KC ). Pack light, carry your bags and get off for good in Dallas. It's against the rules, you save 100 bucks. The Double Round Trip : Chicago to Miami to Chicago. You need to fly out Monday and return Friday. Business travel, high traffic, 600 bucks. Wait, Saturday to Friday, and Monday to Sunday total is 550. Use the 2nd ticket first half, and 1st ticket second half. Why ? It's much cheaper to fly off days and stay across a Saturday. It's against the rules, you save 50 bucks. The Back Date : Anywhere to Anywhere next week. Too late for 2 week advance booking. Not really. Hand written tickets have one week delayed computer entry leeway. Most travel agents will do it. If yours won't, another will. It's against the rules, you can save a bunch. These techniques are not recommended. You can be denied boarding if caught ( unless you raise a big stink and make up a plausible excuse ). What they do point out is the idiocy of current pricing tactics by the airlines. Airlines are also aware of these techniques, watch for a new rule limiting carry on bags to ONE and probably not a garment bag. Honey's New Computer -- Hey, that Danish keyboard and print really did work. Honey wants a computer for her desk. I offered her my old ( circa 1985 ) Compaq Portable 286, with the EGA external monitor. I even threw in a laser printer. She didn't byte. FidoNews 7-15 Page 19 9 Apr 1990 Seems she has been reading a little; knows that old 286 is dog meat, VGA is where it's at, etc. ad nauseum. She will take the hand-me-down if I don't replace it. Otherwise, she wants the new one. Oh, and another 95 bucks per month for some kind of travel agent comm line to a reservation system. Thanks a lot. No, wait, maybe two new computers... AH HA HA HA ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-15 Page 20 9 Apr 1990 ================================================================= LATEST VERSIONS ================================================================= Latest Software Versions MS-DOS Systems -------------- Bulletin Board Software Name Version Name Version Name Version Fido 12q+ Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5d1 Lynx 1.30 QuickBBS 2.62 TBBS 2.1 Kitten 2.16 RBBS 17.2B TComm/TCommNet 3.4 Opus 1.11+* RBBSmail 17.2 TPBoard 6.0 PCBoard 14.2* RemoteAccess 0.01 Wildcat! 2.10 Network Node List Other Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version BinkleyTerm 2.30 EditNL 4.00 ARC 6.02 D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.20 ARCAsim 2.30* Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ARCmail 2.0 FrontDoor 1.99c* Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00 PRENM 1.47 SysNL 3.01 Crossnet v1.5* SEAdog 4.51b XlatList 2.90 EMM 2.02 XlaxDiff 2.32 Gmail 2.05 XlaxNode 2.32 GROUP 2.16 GUS 1.30 LHARC 1.13 MSG 4.0 MSGED 1.99 PK[UN]ZIP 1.02 QM 1.0 QSORT 4.03 StarLink 1.01 TagMail 2.20 TCOMMail 2.2 TMail 1.14* TPBNetEd 3.2 TosScan 1.00* UFGATE 1.03 XRS 3.20* ZmailQ 1.10 Macintosh --------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities FidoNews 7-15 Page 21 9 Apr 1990 Name Version Name Version Name Version Red Ryder Host v2.1b4 Tabby 2.1 MacArc 0.04 Mansion 7.15 Copernicus 1.0d* ArcMac 1.3 WWIV (Mac) 3.0 StuffIt 1.51 TImport 1.331 TExport 1.32 Timestamp 1.6 Tset 1.3 Import 2.52 Export 2.54 Sundial 2.1 UNZIP 1.01* Amiga ----- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Paragon 2.00+ BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23 TrapDoor 1.50* AReceipt 1.5* WelMat 0.35 booz 1.01 ConfMail 1.10 ChameleonEdit 0.10 ElectricHerald1.66* Lharc 1.10 MessageFilter 1.52* oMMM 1.43b ParseLst 1.30 PkAX 1.00 PK[UN]ZIP 1.01 RMB 1.30 TrapList 1.12* UNzip 0.86 Yuck! 1.61* Zoo 2.00 Atari ST -------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailer Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version FIDOdoor/ST 1.5c* BinkleyTerm 1.03g3 ConfMail 1.00 Pandora BBS 2.41c The BOX 1.20 ParseList 1.30 QuickBBS/ST 0.40 ARC 6.02* GS Point 0.61 LHARC 0.51 PKUNZIP 1.10 FidoNews 7-15 Page 22 9 Apr 1990 MSGED 1.96S SRENUM 6.2 Trenum 0.10 OMMM 1.40 + Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software) * Recently changed Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-15 Page 23 9 Apr 1990 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 3 Jun 1990 Comdex/Spring, which will run from June 3-6 in Atlanta, will be held at the World Congress Center and other locations. 5 Jun 1990 David Dodell's 33rd Birthday 12 Jun 1990 Fifth anniversary of FidoNet's switch to multiple nets. 13 Jul 1990 Start of Eurocon / Techcon conference in Antwerp, Belgium. Further information will follow. 27 Jul 1990 The beginning of the REGION 17 Convention at Menucha Resort in the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. For details contact Ken Zwaschka, 1:105/54. 1 Aug 1990 Start of FidoCon '90. Contact Bill Vanglahn at 1:1/90 for details. 5 Oct 1990 21st Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" 6 Nov 1990 First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28 14 Nov 1990 Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at 2:332/16.0 1 Jan 1991 Implementation of 7% Goods and Services Tax in Canada. Contact Joe Lindstrom at 1:134/55 for a more colorful description. 16 Feb 1991 Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush. 7 Oct 1991 Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland, Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo, FidoNews 7-15 Page 24 9 Apr 1990 Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay Islands will retain area code 415. 1 Feb 1992 Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport, West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and Montebello) will retain area code 213. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1. -----------------------------------------------------------------