Volume 7, Number 39 24 September 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 Call New York! ........................................... 1 Garbage in, but no garbage out ........................... 2 LHArc and FidoNet ........................................ 5 A LISTING OF KNOWN OTHERNETS ............................. 7 ANNOUNCING THE "OTHERNET" NODELIST ....................... 10 OTHERNETS: An Echo for Information on OtherNets .......... 12 PDN Distribution ......................................... 13 Popcorn packing? ......................................... 16 2. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 18 Latest Software Versions ................................. 18 And more! FidoNews 7-39 Page 1 24 Sep 1990 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Ronnie Toth FidoNet 1:135/71 September 22, 1990 CALLNY......The Echo Have you been to NY lately? Would you like to go? Are you from NY originally? Would you just like to chat with folks in the Big Apple? There are thousands of transplanted New Yorkers. People, like me, who grew up in the Big Apple and moved away. We left alot of friends behind. And you folks in NY, how about visiting with us transplanted NYers? We're sure you've friends you grew up with but have since lost touch with when they moved away. Perhaps we can help you find each other again. You know it's very true what they say, "You can take the person out of NY but you can't take NY out of the person!" We who left will always have a little of NY in us. Seems there is a whole bunch of us ex-Nyers scattered all over the place and we want to have a nice place to get together. And there are some folks who just want to see what NY is like, the armchair way. Here's the way to do it! CALLNY is the echo for you! We have been chatting away for about a month down in the Southeast and it's time to share with everyone else. Join us and CALLNY. Though working on getting this echo on the backbone, we need to know who you are who want to take this echo and we're PC Pursuitable! Send session and areafix passwords to: Ronnie Toth, Moderator 2400 baud...1:135/71 (PC Pursuit) or Michele Hamilton HST...1:369/21 (direct) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 2 24 Sep 1990 Mike Robeson Fidonet node 1:350/21.1 GARBAGE IN, BUT NO GARBAGE OUT Humans have always had garbage. For most of the past two-and-a- half million years, they left it where it fell and moved on. Garbage first became a crisis as humans became sedentary - when, rather than move themselves, they decided to move their trash. That pivotal decision gave rise to a need for a class of people that could deal with the mountains of rubbish. This solution worked so well it is still in place today. In Cairo, for example, generations of rural immigrant families eke out a living in the municipal dumps, salvaging everything useable. Modern landfills are quite different. Visualize a landfill. Do you imagine it as a monstrous mountain of smoldering food, yard waste, and building materials, mixed with piles of polystyrene foam packaging and plastic junk? How much of a landfill is made up of plastic packaging? Ask the person on the street and the answers may be 20, 30, even 50 percent. Those figures could make a solid waste educator feel smug and self-righteous. If only it were true! Dr. William Rathje is a renowned anthropologist/archaeologist. For decades he has been excavating landfills to see what, exactly, is in them. His conclusions are quite different than what we may imagine. Rathje's "Garbage Project" spent two years exhuming 16,000 pounds of trash, weighing all items and sorting them into 27 basic categories and then into 162 subcategories. * In those eight tons of garbage he found only 16 pounds of fast- food packaging, about a tenth of 1 percent. * The entire category of plastic was less than 5 percent of the landfill's contents by weight and 12 percent by volume. He determined the real culprit in landfills is paper. Paper accounts for 40 percent to 50 percent of everything we throw away. He wrote in The Atlantic Monthly, December, 1989: "If fast-food packaging is the Emperor's New Clothes of garbage, then a number of categories of paper goods collectively deserve the role of Invisible Man. Dig a trench through a landfill and you will see layers of phone books, like geological strata or layers of cake. Just as conspicuous as telephone books are new- FidoNews 7-39 Page 3 24 Sep 1990 papers, which make up 10 percent to 18 percent of the contents of a typical municipal landfill by volume. Even after several years of burial they are usually well preserved. During a recent dig in Phoenix, I found newspapers dating back to 1952 that looked so fresh you might read one over breakfast. Deep within landfills, copies of that New York Times editorial about fast- food containers will remain legible until well into the next century." Another shocking discovery: The concept of biodegradability in a landfill environment is myth. The reality is that the garbage is entombed and mummified. This destroys the credibility of degradable plastics. Rathje's team has found perfectly preserved ears of corn dating from 1971. If the landfill microbes don't eat these, they won't be drawn to the minuscule amount of edible corn starch in a "biodegradable" plastic bag or diaper. What does an eco-warrior say when confronted with such proof? I say RECYCLING is still the answer. That New York Times has no business in the landfill! Newspaper recycling is in place in virtually every city and town. In some areas it is currently worthless to the recycler, but that will change as the demand catches up with the supply. In Washington, legislation is in place to revise freight rates, making it cheaper to transport recycled paper than to transport wood for pulp. U.S. West of Washington State has responded to public pressure and is exploring new markets for recycled phone books, such as animal bedding and insulation. The books could be made recyclable by using a better grade of paper and having only a strip of yellow mark the Yellow Pages. The phone company can help municipalities set up recycling programs for these predictable yearly waves of waste. WHAT CAN YOU DO? * Become part of the pressure and call your telephone company and/or producer of your telephone book. * Purchase recycled paper products at home and at work. These are typically more expensive, but that will only change when more people demand recycled products. Available materials range from computer paper to toilet tissue. * Talk or write to the government. Government agencies use far more paper than any other institutions. They have a responsibility to use recycled paper. FidoNews 7-39 Page 4 24 Sep 1990 * How about your children's schools? In a pilot program at a local Junior High, the students have recycled more than a ton of high-grade paper in six months. The loop will be complete when the paper we recycle is recycled paper. Volunteer to help. * Continue to reject plastic that is not in the form of a durable, reusable item. Know that any "biodegradable" plastic is a scam. * Since landfill garbage just sits around, make sure only things that belong in landfills go there. Support the recycling industry by purchasing recycled products. Choose containers with proven value in the world marketplace; cardboard, glass and metal. When we are truly committed to these actions, we can begin to see ourselves as masters of our garbage not slaves of a "Throw away society". Extracted from article by Molly Pearson, Port Townsend, Washington. Transcribed by Mike Robeson. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 5 24 Sep 1990 On Lharc and FidoNet - my three bits' worth Luke Kolin, 1:250/1@fidonet I must admit that I got quite a surprise when I started re- ceiving my FidoNews in LHARC format. Now I've always been one to advocate the progression of standards, but I'm afraid that this entire lharc FIASCO has shown to FidoNet the pitfalls of political games. Vince Periello wears two hats, that of programmer, and that of network official, namely, Editor of FidoNews. As a pro- grammer, he has the choice to use whichever compression util- ity he chooses for his software. Out of his own beliefs, he chooses LHARC. I choose PKZIP, but again, this is my personal decision. However, as Editor of FidoNews, he is not allowed to make personal decisions. Any technical changes that he wishes to implement MUST be made after lengthy consultations with others. Vince, you're no longer acting according to your own beliefs. It's a much higher calling. More is expected of you. It is up to you to put the network's best interests to heart. And using LHARC is not in the network's best interest. Many people have risen up to complain about the way this switch was done. Vince, listen to them! This discussion isn't closed, not by a long shot. They don't appreciate the fact that LHARC is "portable". If they're not programmers, portability means about as much to them as the cost of green cheese. They don't appreciate the fact that no consultations were made. Three people running DOS systems? Give me a break! Does that constitute an acceptable amount of opinions on the matter? No one could possibly say yes to that. What rationale did you use, Vince? That ARC 7.0 is now commercial software? As far as I can tell, ARC 5.12 is public domain. People I know have been passing it around for years, without mention of cost. So why drop a perfectly good standard, which has already been ported over successfully to almost every environment in sight? I'll say it now: " Using the present commerical status of ARC 7.0 appears to me to be the least logical rationale possible to eliminate the use of ARC 5.12. " We've already got a standard! Why change it? It works! It works real good. It's been ported. So what if further versions are commercial? Vince, you've allowed personal sentiment to come ahead of your responsibilities. Being the Editor of FidoNews does allow a good amount of personal sentiment and ideology to come into the job. It's essential to being a good editor. But you've got to make sure that the network comes out ahead in the end. FidoNews 7-39 Page 6 24 Sep 1990 It is clear to me that you have failed to do so. If you wish to stand permanently beside your views, I would reccomend that you resign. But I hope that rather than that, you will listen to reason (and a host of other sysops) and re-institute ARC 5.12 as the standard compression method for FidoNews. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 7 24 Sep 1990 Ralph Merritt 1:269/111 Here is some info on various networks (that occupy zones) which I've compiled from multiple sources. Hope you find it useful/ informative! The working copy of this textfile can be file- requested as NETSALL.ART. Zone (Zone/0) Fidonet FREQ from Network Name Zone Coordinator Address 1:269/111 ================== ==== ================ ========== ========= FidoNet N. America 1 George Peace 1:13/13 NODELIST Fidonet Europe 2 Ron Dwight 2:515/1 " Fidonet Oceania 3 Bill Bolton 3:711/403 " Fidonet S. America 4 Pablo Kleinman 4:900/107 " Fidonet Africa 5 Henk Wolsink 5:494/2 " MacList 6 Tom Heffernan 1:107/554 MACLIST AlterNet 7 Karl Schinke 1:107/516 ANETLIST RbbsNet 8 Rod Bowman 1:10/8 RBBSLIST The NETWORK 8 Bob Hoffman 1:129/34 NETLIST Paranet 9 Michael Corbin 1:207/109 PARANET PhoenixNet 9 Glen Cranford PHNXLIST OPCN 11 Jim Grubs 1:234/1 OPCNLIST KesherNet 18 Jason Frokin 1:108/185 KNETLIST SIGnet 24 Jamie Penner 1:153/169 SIGNODES " 25 William Mastop 1:153/170 " " 26 Tom Mcgivern 1:103/328 " " 27 Fabiano Fabris 2:310/11.22 " " 28 J. Homerighausen 3:362/308 " " 29 Borlong Lin 3:722/5 " " 34 Andrew Farmer 1:163/115 " USCATCOM 31 EmergencyNet 31 Guy Hokanson 1:212/107 ENLIST " 32 Vacant " " 33 Vacant " " 34 Vacant " " 35 Vacant " " 36 Vacant " " 37 Vacant " IS-Net 40 CandyNet 42 Dr Pepper CANDYNET EchoNet 50 Ed Lawyer 1:261/3000 ENETLIST GhotiNet (USA) 60 John Marlett 1:116/18 GhotiNet (Australia) 61 Graeme Nichols 3:714/404 ADULT_LINKS 69 Jim Deputy 1:103/158 69LIST APINET 69 Robert Eckert 1:269/304 APINET FinancialNet 72 D. Cadwallader 1:363/363 HAMLINK 73 Jim Grubs 1:234/1 LCRNET 77 Tom Sirianni 1:105/301 SpectroNet 77 David Musick 1:363/61 SPECLIST BBSnet 86 Tom Hendricks 1:261/662 TrekNet 87 Rob Lehrman 1:203/57 TREKLIST Alternet CDN 89 John Dunn n/a ANETLIST Eggnet_Asia 96 Bob Germer 1:266/21 n/a Eggnet_Europe 97 Bob Germer 1:266/21 EEGGLIST MIL_NET 98 Kerry Buckingham 1:123/22 FidoNews 7-39 Page 8 24 Sep 1990 EggNet 99 Johnny Pulliam n/a EGGLIST DENVNET 200 MetroNet 200 Jason Steck 1:104/424 METRONET ================================================================= FREQ'able info on OtherNets from my system: 69LIST Adult_Links Nodelist ANETLIST Current Alternet nodelist ANETDIFF Current Alternet nodediff APINET Current APINET nodelist CANDYNET CandyNet nodelist ECHOLIST Current ELIST (by Mike Fuchs) ECHOPOL 4/22/89 Fidonet Echopol1 document ECHOVNET Current Vervan's Gaming Network newsletter EEGGLIST Eggnet Europe Nodelist EGGLIST Current EggNet nodelist EGGNEWS Current EggNet newsletter EGGPOL Current EggNet Policy EN_INFO Info on Emergency Network ENETLIST Current EchoNet nodelist ENETNEWS Current EchoNet newsletter ENETPOL Current EchoNet policy ENLIST EmergencyNet nodelist EN_INFO Info on Emergency Network FIDONEWS Current Fidonet newsletter KNETLIST KesherNet Nodelist LT_INFO Info on The Learning Tree Network MAC_INFO Info on MACLIST MACLIST Current MACLIST nodelist METRONET MetroNet nodelist NETLIST The Network nodelist NODELIST Current Fidonet nodelist NODEDIFF Current Fidonet nodediff OPCNLIST OPCN nodelist OTHERNET Nodelist of many OtherNets combined PARANET Paranet nodelist PHNXLIST PhoenixNet nodelist POLICY4 Current Fidonet Policy RBBSLIST Current RBBS-NET nodelist RBBSECHO Current RBBS-NET echos listing SIGECHO Current SIGnet echos listing SIGNEWS Current SIGnet newsletter SIGNODES Current SIGnet nodelist SIGPOL Curernt SIGnet policy SPECLIST SpectroNet nodelist TREKLIST TrekNet nodelist TREKNEWS TrekNet newsletter Note: If it doesn't say "Current" there's no guarantee it is! FidoNews 7-39 Page 9 24 Sep 1990 ================================================================= If you have some additional info, or corrections, I can be reached at the following addresses: 1:269/111 Fidonet 6:6001/5 MACLIST 7:520/953 AlterNet 8:950/14 RBBS-NET 26:1201/103 SigNet 50:5013/111 EchoNet 69:6969/18 APINET 99:9220/202 EggNet ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 10 24 Sep 1990 Ralph Merritt 1:269/111 I am pleased to say that as of 9/21/90, the OTHERNET nodelist is available (OTHERNET.264). The OtherNet NodeList is a nodelist of selected networks other than Fidonet (Zones 1-5). It is a compilation of individual nodelist segments contributed by the drafters and compilers of those segments. Contribution of these segments to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the contributors. This nodelist has been compiled by myself for my personal use, due to Parselist's limitation that 6 nodelists be compiled. Due to public interest, this nodelist is being made available via the FREQ magic name of OTHERNET. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESULTS OF USING THIS NODELIST. BY COMPILING THIS NODELIST YOU AGREE THAT I CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR IT'S USE BY YOURSELF. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR COSTS THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF THIS NODELIST, INCLUDING THE DIALING OF A WRONG NUMBER DUE TO OVERLAPPING ZONE/NET/NODE ADDRESS USAGE!!! The contents of the OtherNet.264 nodelist are as follows: Nodelist Name Network Zone(s) ------------- -------------------------------------- --------- ANETLIST.264 AlterNet 7 RBBSLIST.259 RBBS-NET 8 NETLIST.236 The Network 8 PARANET.187 ParaNet 9 PHNX.237 PhoenixNet 9 OPCNLIST.243 Official Public Computer Network 11 KNETLIST.091 KesherNet 18 ENLIST.236 EmergencyNet 31-37 CANDYNET.250 CandyNet 42 PHUCKLST.257 Another Phuckyn International Network 69 69LIST.236 Adult_Links 69 LCRNET.243 Least Cost Recovery Network 77 SPECLIST.007 SpectroNet 77 TREKLIST.229 TrekNet 87 EEGGLIST.250 EggNet Europe 97 EGGLIST.264 EggNet 99 METRO.250 MetroNet 200 I don't compile the MACLIST (Zone 6), SIGNODES (Zones 24-29,34), and ENETLIST (Zone 50) nodelists into the OTHERNET nodelist; I compile those three along with the NODELIST (Zones 1-5), the OTHERNET nodelist (this file) and a PRIVATE nodelist, to max out at the six nodelists Parselst allows. FidoNews 7-39 Page 11 24 Sep 1990 I update the OtherNet nodelist as often as I can, please don't flamemail me if it's outta date. Remember, this is something I do for my own personal use, I'm simply sharing it with others. I wish to thank everyone who has contributed to this effort by providing information and nodelists for OtherNets. If you have some additional info, or corrections, I can be reached at the following addresses: Ralph Merritt Compiler of the OtherNet nodelist 1:269/111 Fidonet 6:6001/5 MACLIST 7:520/953 AlterNet 8:950/14 RBBS-NET 26:1201/103 SigNet 50:5013/111 EchoNet 69:6969/18 APINET 99:9220/202 EggNet ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 12 24 Sep 1990 Ralph Merritt 1:269/111 Have you ever wondered about "OtherNets"? You know, all those other networks out there besides Fidonet (yeah, yeah, there are OtherNets!). What are their names? Who runs them? What is their purpose? What can they offer? Many of us have heard of some "well-known" OtherNets, like Alternet, RBBS-NET, SigNet and EggNet. But did you know that there is MACLIST, for Macintosh sysops? How about EchoNet, a network dedicated to quality echos? Or The Network? Have you heard of SpectroNet? Paranet? Candynet? LCRNet? Emergency Net? There's more .... It's questions like this in my mind that led me to begin doing some research into the OtherNets. Two other articles in this issue of Fidonews ("Announcing the OtherNet Nodelist" and "A Listing of Known OtherNets") represent the results of that research. Apparently, judging from the number of file-requests in my fd.log, there is a lot of interest out there in OtherNets. That's why I've decided to establish a new echo, area tag name OTHERNETS, for the disemmination and sharing of information on OtherNets. OTHERNETS will originate from my Fidonet system, 1:269/111. It is my hope that there will be sufficient interest to place it on the distribution systems for Fidonet, RBBS-NET, SigNet and any of the OtherNet "backbone" distribution systems. For more information on OtherNets, or to obtain a link to the OTHERNETS echo, please contact me at one of the addresses below: 1:269/111 Fidonet 6:6001/5 MACLIST 7:520/953 AlterNet 8:950/14 RBBS-NET 26:1201/103 SigNet 50:5013/111 EchoNet 69:6969/18 APINET 99:9220/202 EggNet ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 13 24 Sep 1990 Erik Vanriper Fido 1:260/230 Distribution Sites for the Programmers Distribution Network ----------------------------------------------------------- A couple of months ago, I started a Distribution Network for Programmers. I had no idea that this would take off into what it has today. I get requests three or four times a week asking to locate a link for a node into the PDN. This has become a task in itself! I figured that the best way for me to reach the maximum amount of people would be to publish another article here and list a FEW of the current PDN sites. There are more, but I thought "They will get the point!". If you are interested in picking up the PDN for your Net, or for yourself, please contact one of the below listed nodes. They will be more then happy to help out. Probably, the best way for you to get a good link, (If you are in Zone 1) is to contact one of the Regional Coordinators listed first. For other zones, choose a node listed for your Zone, and they should be able to direct you to the CHEAPEST link. I have tried to set things up so that it is inexpensive as possible to move these files around. If you are an in-state, long distance node to one of these coordinators, then go to another region. Keeps your costs down! If you have any general questions about the PDN, feel free to send me a NetMail message and ask away! I will be more then happy in aiding you to set up. I am truely sorry if the below information is incorrect, and I have mis-guided you, but these things change so fast (Baud rates, etc) that I cannot keep up with all of them! If you are carrying the PDN, and you are not listed below, I am sorry. I listed only those that are 9600 baud and above. This does not mean that you cannot carry the PDN, I am sure that people will be more then happy to support you at 1200/2400 baud. Happy Hacking! Name................|Zone(s):Net/Node(s)....|Max Baud Rate... ============================================================= [Regional Coordinators, Zone 1] (The number in parens represents the Region they cover) David Wurz (10) 1:102/531 99:910/0 9600 HST Ed Almasy (11) 1:121/99 9600 HST Andre Morin (12) 1:240/507 14.4 HST Erik Vanriper (13) 1:260/230 14.4 HST V42 Jim Harre (14) 1:100/555 9600 HST V32 Dave Harris (15) 1:302/5 9600 HST V32 Chris Browne (16) 1:141/735 9600 HST Frank Cox (17) 1:140/53 9600 HST V32 Ed Cavender (18) 1:116/36 9600 HST V32 Michael Skurka (19) 1:397/2 14.4 HST V32 FidoNews 7-39 Page 14 24 Sep 1990 [Net Distribution Points, Zone 1] Tom Hendricks 1:261/662 9600 HST Durk Jones 1:160/40 9600 HST Bob Hamilton 1:140/28 14.4 HST V32 Taine Gilliam 1:372/42 14.4 HST/DS John Souvestre 1:396/1 14.4 HST V32 Floyd Drennon 1:375/12 14.4 HST Richard Lee 1:151/223 26:1919/2 9600 HST/DS James Dick 1:163/118 9600 HST Glenn Caleval 1:140/72 14.4 HST Bob Dufur 1:132/159 9600 HST Bill Thomas 1:132/225 14.4 HST Don Dawson 1:141/730 9600 HST/DS Paul Shoop 1:132/201 9600 HST George Brann 1:387/822 9600 Paul Gartner 1:167/116 9600 HST Jerry Lamphere 1:260/325 9600 HST V32 Greg Shaffer 1:370/500 1:370/510 99:912/18 69:22/18 80:2599/42 14.4 HST V42 Rick Aldrich 1:347/7 14.4 HST Russ Crook 1:348/205 14.4 HST Michael Cody 1:2202/3 9600/450 HST Patrick Curry 1:3621/425 9600 HST/DS Larry James 1:105/72 8:917/1 9600 V32 Chris Davis 1:348/1 14.4 HST David Campbell 1:320/109 9600 HST/DS [Net Distribution Points, Zone 2] Eric Lotgerink 2:283/1 14.4 HST V42 Ralf Pradella 2:249/6 14.4 HST V42 Norbert Versluis 2:283/106 14.4 HST V42 Didi Pabel 2:249/4 14.4 HST V32/V42 Roland Mausolf 2:243/43 9600 HST/DS V32/V42 Kai Heimala 2:515/6 2:2/322 9600 V32 Guenter Reichelt 2:245/3 14.4 HST V32/V42 Kai Kunze 2:247/205 14.4 HST V32/V42 Achim Breuer 2:247/801 14.4 HST V32/V42 Thomas Anyfantis 2:507/645 14.4 HST V32/V42 Thomas Nachtigal 2:509/10 14.4 HST V42 [Net Distribution Points, Zone 3] FidoNews 7-39 Page 15 24 Sep 1990 Joaquim Homrighausen 3:632/308@fidonet 28:28/0@signet 9600 HST/DS Dave Hatch 3:711/808 9600 Name................|Zone(s):Net/Node(s)....|Max Baud Rate... ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 16 24 Sep 1990 Mike Robeson Fidonet 1:350/21.1 Popcorn packing? The popcorn padding: an ecological packaging can replace plastic. Alexander Fruit & Trading Co of Geyserville Calif has come up with an environmentaly correct packaging idea - substituting popped popcorn for plastic foam. Steve Sommer, president of the 5-year-old gourmet wine and food company 75 miles north of San Francisco, began to pack everything from ginger honey sauce to cabernet sauvignon in popcorn after his five kids lobbied for more ecologically sound packaging material. Unlike plastic foam, popcorn "is naturally biodegradable, so you may feed it to birds or use it as mulch in your garden," Sommer said. He does not advise that customers eat the packaging. "We want to avoid any liability problems," he said. "Besides its usually stale by the time it arrives in the mail." Sommer hopes his sales of popcorn for packaging purposes may soon rival his $500,000-a-year food and wine business. Prospective customers are excited by the idea of snubbing plastic foam, but they want to make sure popcorn contains all the right cushioning properties. Janet Churchill, in charge of packaging for Montessori Services in nearby Santa Rosa, said she wonders how much the popcorn breaks down in transit. "We've just started using it and we haven't had any complaints from customers yet." she said. Joan Graham, who with her husband Gary, owns a Sonoma crafts gallery called Good Day Sunshine, said she started looking for a plastic foam substitute a couple of years ago when customers noted that using the ecologically unsound plastic kernels reflected badly on her store. She is now awaiting her shipment of popcorn from Sommer. "I think using this will make me feel a whole lot less guilty about how I send my goods," she said. John Clark, a buyer in charge of packaging materials for Santa Rosa Paper, which currently distributes plastic foam packaging, said his company also is interested in switching to popcorn. FidoNews 7-39 Page 17 24 Sep 1990 However, he is awaiting a ruling from United Parcel Service for approval of popcorn's use in shipping all goods. "I know Sommer's company has recieved UPS approval to ship his goods, and others may independently have received such approvals, but they haven't issued a general ruling to cover all shipped goods yet," he said. "If they do, popcorn may become the packaging material of choice," he added, putting a major dent in the multimillion dollar plastic foam packaging market. Transcribed from NY Times newsservice, by Mike Robeson. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 18 24 Sep 1990 ================================================================= LATEST VERSIONS ================================================================= Latest Software Versions MS-DOS Systems -------------- Bulletin Board Software Name Version Name Version Name Version DMG 2.93 Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5f* Fido 12s+ QuickBBS 2.64 TBBS 2.1 Lynx 1.30 RBBS 17.3A TComm/TCommNet 3.4 Kitten 2.16 RBBSmail 17.3A Telegard 2.5 Maximus 1.02* RemoteAccess 0.04a* TPBoard 6.1 Opus 1.13+ SLBBS 1.77* Wildcat! 2.15 PCBoard 14.5* Socrates 1.00 XBBS 1.13 Network Node List Other Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version BinkleyTerm 2.40* EditNL 4.00 ARC 7.0* D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.20 ARCAsim 2.30 Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ARCmail 2.07 FrontDoor 1.99c* Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00 PRENM 1.47 SysNL 3.11 Crossnet v1.5 SEAdog 4.51b XlatList 2.90 EMM 2.02 TIMS 1.0(Mod8)* XlaxDiff 2.35* Gmail 2.05 XlaxNode 2.35* GROUP 2.16 GUS 1.30 InterPCB 1.31* LHARC 1.13 MSG 4.1 MSGED 2.00* PK[UN]ZIP 1.10 QM 1.0 QSORT 4.03 Sirius 1.0w SLMAIL 1.35 StarLink 1.01 TagMail 2.20 TCOMMail 2.2 Telemail 1.27* TMail 1.15 TPBNetEd 3.2 TosScan 1.00 UFGATE 1.03 XRS 3.40 ZmailQ 1.12* FidoNews 7-39 Page 19 24 Sep 1990 Apple CP/M ---------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Daisy v2j Daisy Mailer 0.38 Nodecomp 0.37 MsgUtil 2.5 PackUser v4 Filer v2-D UNARC.COM 1.20 Macintosh --------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Red Ryder Host v2.1b10 Tabby 2.2 MacArc 0.04 Mansion 7.15 Copernicus 1.0d* ArcMac 1.3 WWIV (Mac) 3.0 StuffIt 1.6b1* FBBS 0.91* TImport 1.331 Hermes 0.88* TExport 1.32 Timestamp 1.6 Tset 1.3 Import 3.2 Export 3.21 Sundial 3.2 PreStamp 3.2 OriginatorII 2.0 AreaFix 1.6 Mantissa 3.21 Zenith 1.5 UNZIP 1.02b Amiga ----- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Paragon 2.06+ 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* FidoNews 7-39 Page 20 24 Sep 1990 Lharc 1.10 MessageFilter 1.52* oMMM 1.49b ParseLst 1.30 PkAX 1.00 PK[UN]ZIP 1.01 PolyxAmy 2.02* 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 LED ST 0.10* BYE 0.25* PKUNZIP 1.10 MSGED 1.96S SRENUM 6.2 Trenum 0.10 OMMM 1.40 Archimedes ---------- BBS Software Mailers Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version ARCbbs 1.44* BinkleyTerm 2.03* Unzip 2.1TH ARC 1.03 !Spark 2.00d* ParseLst 1.30 BatchPacker 1.00* + 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 7-39 Page 21 24 Sep 1990 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-39 Page 22 24 Sep 1990 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 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, 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. 1 Dec 1993 Tenth anniversary of Fido Version 1 release. 5 Jun 1997 David Dodell's 40th Birthday If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1. -----------------------------------------------------------------