Volume 7, Number 43 22 October 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. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 Happy October to you all ................................. 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2 DVNet for DESQview Users ................................. 2 Put Idol Worship Back In Our Schools! .................... 7 FidoNews: We +should+ print it all ....................... 10 SURVIVOR Echo Available .................................. 12 It's Obvious To Me ....................................... 13 3. COLUMNS .................................................. 15 Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 15 4. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 18 And more! FidoNews 7-43 Page 1 22 Oct 1990 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= As we approach All Hallow's Eve, some funny gremlins seem to have already appeared in this general vicinity. Some of them ate my netmail and a couple of days of files (I don't even know what they were). If you sent something in this week and you don't see it here, please send it again -- I lost it. My faith in humanity is finally proven in this week's issue. Someone actually figured out what the IMPORTANT point of that abortion article happened to be! Folks, it had nothing to do with abortion. It was about extremists in positions of power in this country -- and what they'll stoop to in order to inflict their views on you. Damned important reading in ANY forum. So much for my political views. They only reinforced my basic inclination to publish the article. I had no good reason NOT to. I've published articles that were a hell of a lot more inane and had even LESS to do with FidoNet. That's what you get when you have your very own electronic cork board. You get something damned close to pure entropy. Ah, yes. ENTROPY. Perhaps Congress should form a committee to study ways of keeping it under Governmental control. Perhaps it's too dangerous to be allowed out there in the public domain. Well, I don't think so. If you send me something (and if I don't pull some stupid stunt and lose it) I'll print it, unless it appears to be in violation of some law to do so. Fortunately I haven't had to make that call very often. You all are sensible enough to handle that on your own. I appreciate your discretion. Two of this week's articles make the point that an open editorial policy is the only way to run FidoNews. I couldn't agree more. In a world where one man's trash is another man's treasure, I can't imagine a formal policy that would not result in a net loss for all of us. As long as I have anything to do with it, there will be no such policy. Thanks for listening. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 2 22 Oct 1990 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Peter Stern 1:17/38 DVNet Headquarters DESQview File Support Network DVNet is one of the older specialized file distribution networks in Fidonet. When Quarterdeck Office Systems[QOS] released QEMM the expanded memory manager and DESQview 2.0, alot of Sysops discovered the joy of multitasking their BBS systems. Users began clamoring for programs written to run under the new environment. The popularity of DESQview has continued to grow and DVNet was started to fill a void in getting software spread to as wide as audience as possible and to offer a published listing of where to obtain it. DVNet nodes exist in Zones 1, 2 and 3 thanks to the interest and support of sysops around the world. A complete listing of the member BBS's is published on the 4th of every month in the DESQview echo. A complete listing of the files, or alternatively, files added during the previous 30 days is also published. Unlike SDS or SDN, sysops in DVNet are free to use whatever storage format they prefer. When requesting a file from a DVNet node, a wild card should be used for the extension. DVNet supports the magic file name DVNET for each member node's DVNet file area list. You may also request the listing using the convention net-node.DV ... 124-6101.DV The importance of DVNet to DESQview users was hi-lighted recently in a feature article written for the California based computer newspaper MicroTimes. The article introduced readers to DVNet as an excellent resource for information and software. Sysops interested in joining DVNet should obtain DVN-INF.* from any member node. This archive contains operational policies, set-up information and an application. DVNet is not affiliated with Quarterdeck Office Systems. DESQview & QEMM are registered trademarks of QOS. This is the listing of member nodes as of Oct 17, 1990 FidoNews 7-43 Page 3 22 Oct 1990 Zone 1 ------------------------------ ----------- *65'North, Fairbanks, AK 1:17/38 Opus 386, Davis, CA 1:203/910 Carl's Corner, San Jose, CA 1:10/1 Carl's Corner, San Jose, CA 1:10/2 SeaHunt BBS, Burlingame, CA 1:125/20 Stingray!, Clovis CA 1:205/12 Bertha Board, Mantica CA 1:208/204 SF PCUG BBS, San Francisco CA 1:1/310 Pacific Rim Info, San Diego CA 1:202/701 Bink of an Aye, Portland, OR 1:105/42 P C Support, Portland, OR 1:105/66 Atarian BBS, Portland, OR 1:105/10 Busker's Boneyard, Portland,OR 1:105/14 Busker's Boneyard, Portland,OR 1:105/41 Pacifier BBS, Vancouver, WA 1:105/103 Puget Sound Gtwy., Puyallup, WA 1:138/3 Rampart General,Kansas City,MO 1:280/6 Icarus, Iowa City, IA 1:283/657 Oregon Trail XRoads, Casper WY 1:303/5 World Peace BBS 2, Denver CO 1:104/414 World Peace BBS, Denver CO 1:104/415 EET BBS, Nashville TN 1:116/24 Dickson County, Dickson, TN 1:116/25 Programmers' Attic, Will., MI 1:159/850 The Royal Joke, Royal Oak,MI 1:120/183 NHampton Data,Cuyahoga Falls OH 1:157/533 Corvette BBS,Pickerington OH 1:226/110 Wolfram Research, Champaign IL 1:233/17 Someplace BBS, Indianapolis IN 1:231/120 Ecclesia Place, Monroeville, PA 1:129/75 The Other BBS, Harrisburg PA 1:270/101 Optical Illusion, Allentown PA 1:273/603 The Mountain Top,Cincinnati OH 1:108/107 IBM Tech Fido, Pepperell, MA 1:322/1 Waystar BBS, Marlborough, MA 1:322/14 Pioneer Valley PCUG1,Amherst MA 1:321/109 The Business Card, Lawrence MA 1:324/121 The Toy Room BBS, Hudson NH 1:132/159 SeaCoast Opus, Kittery Pt ME 1:132/225 The Ozone Layer, Williston VT 1:325/118 Andromeda Galaxy, Troy NY 1:267/167 Rivendell * TAP/1,Syracuse NY 1:260/340 Treasure Island, Danbury, CT 1:141/730 Ascii Neighborhood,W Haven CT 1:141/333 Plainfield News, Plainfield CT 1:320/452 Addict's Attic,Germantown MD 1:109/423 AviTechnic ,Lutherville MD 1:261/662 The Night Shift,Hampton VA 1:271/245 Just For Fun, Danville VA 1:264/610 FidoNews 7-43 Page 4 22 Oct 1990 Maple Shade Opus,Maple Shade NJ 1:266/12 Capital City , Burlington NJ 99:9230/1 Capital City , Burlington NJ 8:950/10 Capital City , Burlington NJ 1:266/21 The Switch Room, Plainsboro NJ 1:107/436 The Switch Room, Plainsboro NJ 1:107/437 Atrium Way, Morris Plains NJ 1:269/107 Southern Cross BBS, Miami FL 1:135/69 Island Sun, Caparra Heights PR 1:367/15 Dungeon Quest II, Havelock NC 1:3614/501 Software Designer, Albany, GA 1:3617/1 Software Designer, Albany, GA 8:928/1 Dragon's Lair, Galveston, TX 1:386/451 Conch Opus, Houston, TX 1:106/357 Inns of Court, Dallas, TX 1:124/6101 Dallas Email, Dallas, TX 8:930/101 Spare Parts, Bedford, TX 1:130/38 Southern Crossroads, Dallas TX 1:124/4115 The Gas Company, Arlington TX 8:930/201 QE2, Austin TX 1:382/58 Last Chance TBBS,San Antonio TX 1:387/822 TSTI INFO NET, Waco TX 1:388/1000 Silver Streak RBBS,NewOrleans LA1:396/15 Ascension, Norman OK 1:147/46 AFI Comm, Nepean ON Canada 1:163/115 Ned's Opus HST Ottawa,ON Canada 1:163/211 Ned's Opus, Ottawa ON Canada 1:163/210 Ned's Opus, Ottawa ON Canada 1:163/205 Arcane BBS, Laval PQ Canada 1:167/116 But Seriously Folks,Brlngton ON 1:259/101 Information Corner, Edmonton AB 1:342/20 Zone 2 ------------------------------ --------- The HEKOM Board (Netherlands) 2:286/303 Road Rnner Opus, Manchester UK 2:250/1 BBS_D.C.V.V., Maaseik (Belgium) 2:295/26 QBBS_H.S.P., Miskom (Belgium) 2:295/33 Blumenkistl, Vienna (Austria) 2:310/10 M.U.G. Info Board,Essen FRG 2:245/1 File Fabrik, Werdohl FRG 2:245/2 BitMaster BBS, Bielefeld, FRG 2:245/23 E.I.S.2, Frankfurt FRG 2:247/14 MIDI-Mailbox,Meerbusch FRG 2:247/816 Data City, Moenchengladbach FRG 2:247/801 Median, Berlin FRG 2:242/36 Radio Kaos M-O,Duisburg FRG 2:507/1 AVALON BBS, Roethenbach FRG 2:507/432 Andi's BBS, Haan FRG 2:244/10 MICS Lucerne BBS,Lucerne SUI 2:302/563 Genova 2000, Genova Italy 2:332/201 FidoNews 7-43 Page 5 22 Oct 1990 Capital City BBS,Haninge Sweden 2:201/211 Zone 3 ------------------------------ --------- Marwick's MadHouse (Australia) 3:640/820 Sentry Lane Cove NSW(Australia) 3:711/401 Sentry's Shadow, Lane Cove NSW 3:711/501 FrontDoor Hdqrtrs,Melbourne Aust3:632/308 Central Source ICBS(Australia) 3:632/348 Southern Mail CBCS Vict Aust 3:633/320 COMPUlink, Perth WA 3:690/628 Phone Box,Inglewood S Australia 3:681/854 TAIC Maximus Kowloon(Hong Kong) 3:700/1 ------------------------------ --------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 6 22 Oct 1990 General Elections in Zone 4 Elecciones Generales en la Zona 4 Eleicoes Gerais na Zona 4 List of Candidates for the November 9th Democratic Elections in FidoNet Zone 4, Latin America This list includes the names of the FidoNet members in Zone 4 that have manifested interest in becoming Network, Region or Zone coordinators. All the members of the Zone were entitled to present themselves as candidates, and will now elect before November 9th, the NC for their respective networks, the RC for their respective Regions and the ZC for the Zone. Domain Candidates --------------------------------------------------------------- Net 801 Rodrigo Martinez Net 802 Lauro Henrique Net 806 Otto Brito Net 808 Clovis Lacerda Net 900 Alejandro Hopkins Sunchie Yang Net 901 Gonzalo Borracer Region 80 Charles Miranda Region 90 Billy Coen Gustavo Zacarias Zone 4 Pablo Kleinman --------------------------------------------------------------- This list of candidates is published on the LATIN.SYSOP echo and on FidoNews. The list of the newly elected coordinators will be published on November 11th on LATIN.SYSOP and on November 12th on FidoNews. Elecciones (4:4/444) October 21, 1990 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 7 22 Oct 1990 David Rice, The Astro-Net 1:103/903 Node #9, PDN (Pagan Distribution Network) The Day Idol Worship Became Law Or Totalitarianism For Fun And The Prophets Well, first off we get the excellent article by Steve Watsky in the 7-40 issue of FidoNews. While I was mildly surprised to see an article concerning the reproductive rights issue in this media, I applaud the editor's decision to include it here. After carefully reading the article, I sat back, held my breath (as it were), and waited for the fecal matter to hit the air vent. Mercifully, things didn't turn out that badly. The first chunk of waste matter wasn't as vitriolic as I was expecting. I had expected to see rants by the anti-choice gallery objecting to the comic, acerbic wit the author used to portray the "pro-life" fraction. I had expected the pro-choice gallery to leap to the cause and elaborate zealously the need for legal, SAFE abortion. Instead, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see, in issue 7-42, only (so far?) the question put by Fredric Rice, "Do we need this crap in FidoNews?" My answer is, "Well, uh, yes." First it should be pointed out that ALL communication is political and manipulative to some degree, and to believe that FidoNews should not be, or even CAN be, isn't very realistic. Granted some articles are much more political than others (SEA vs PK, Ecology And Green Politics vs Industry, ARC vs LZH, and now Reproductive Freedom vs Totalitarianism Terrorists), FidoNews still is A Good Thing, and at present I for one see no requirement to change it. Second, what the editor says, goes. Any editor is in some sense a dictator, benign or malevolent, depending on how close the deadline is, and how much vodka is in her or his blood stream--- in simple words: Don't like it? Sorry, don't bother reading FidoNews then. The current editorial policy works. FidoNews 7-43 Page 8 22 Oct 1990 Third is The Exceptions. The last thing we, presumably, wish to see in FidoNews is a dozen PACs (Political Action Committees) hashing out grievances, exchanging rants. Mercifully, that hasn't happened yet. I consider it highly doubtful it will be allowed (let's hope?). If this happens, I won't request or demand a change of policy--- I'll just stop reading FidoNews. That's my opinion. Thank current policy I was allowed to express it here. As to the REAL (?) question involved, was the article under debate appropriate for this media? You bet! (Duck--- here comes that rant I promised.) Watsky's article provided a brief window on the reproductive rights issue that many seldom look into-- the window that shows how the legislative process has been perverted and subverted by special interest groups, (in this case religious extremists, The Faithful, and the Well Intentioned on the anti-choice terrorists side, the Feminist extremists and Well Informed on the pro-choice reproductive freedom side). Pull a string here, throw some mud there, punch a face in now and then. . . all on network news. That's entertainment! It should also make you damn mad. At this very minute there are special interest groups lobbying and raising money for the right to force YOUR kids to pray in school (The Right, Honorable Jesse Helms for one. The god he most prefers happens to be Jehovah). How about if I dictate which idol your child worships in school? Special interest groups are fighting "sex education" (i.e. information on the mechanics of fornication) and birth control. "If you don't talk about it, they won't know anything about it and therefore won't do it." the argument goes. Oh, really? And of course, abortion. The anti-choice demand that every zygote and foetus must be carried to full term, wanted or not, healthy or not. (And after birth, food, clothing, shelter, and loving care are all optional, as far as they are concerned.) "Make it illegal, and it will go away." the argument goes. Oh, really? Consider: FidoNews 7-43 Page 9 22 Oct 1990 "Estimates of the annual number of deaths due to abortion complications range from 155,000 to 204,000 women worldwide. Abortion related deaths are especially common among poor and illiterate women living in countries with strict abortion laws. In Latin American, where legal abortion is generally restricted to cases of rape or endangerment of the woman's life, up to half of material deaths appear to be due to illegal abortions." Quoted from the FemEch, out of context, from "State of the World, 1988", A Worldwatch Institute Report. Cults dictate policy in YOUR legislature. Certainly something worth reading about, and perhaps doing something about. D. Rice, supporter of Orange County Pro-Choice Coalition National Organization of Women ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 10 22 Oct 1990 By Randy Edwards Sysop: Socialism OnLine!, 1:141/552 I read with interest Frederic Rice's article in FidoNews 7-42 about whether we should or should not print everything in the FidoNews. As Frederic pointed out, it's an old debate. It's true, the article in question, one long article about someone's views on abortion, was not remotely related to BBSing, the FidoNet, or even computers in general. Myself, I didn't read it until I read Frederic's article. Personally I am pro-choice, as it seems the majority of the U.S. population is, and therefore I disagreed with most everything the article tried to point out. In my opinion, I don't want to read about abortion in the FidoNews, after all, I get enough of that anti-choice crap from Republican politicians and from far-right religious groups. But that's beside the point. The main point here is whether we should change the time-honored editorial policy of the FidoNews from a "you write it and I'll print it" basis to one of "you write it and I'll think about printing it." I have several concerns about changing the editorial policy. First and foremost, let's face it, the FidoNews editor is not chosen by the network, s/he's chosen by a process where the input by the net at large is limited, if not closed entirely. If the editor was chosen by some democratic means by the entire network we would have some input in case we ever run across a "bad" editor. But as policy now stands, the "ruling clique" of the net choses the editor. With the FidoNews editorial policy now, we could stand a "bad" editor -- there wouldn't be much s/he could do. With an editorial policy change a "bad" editor could spell disaster and endless flaming controversy. With an editorial policy change there will always be the specter of censorship rearing its ugly head. I'm not talking about the censorship of an article that may be libelous, but I'm talking about censoring someone's views because they're not liked, or that they may be considered "too far outside the mainstream" of thought. We see this in our own mass media, where editors "limit" the range of debate on various topics. Would "Mikey" (for those who remember him) or someone who is presenting very controversial or critical views of FidoNet policy be prevented from writing in the FidoNews? With a change of editorial policy that could possibly happen, not matter how well-intentioned the change may be. The policy as it stands now has worked pretty well over the years. Agreed, we sometimes do get some "trash" (depending, of course, on your definition of trash; one person's trash is another person's treasure). But so what. At least we're not distributing an empty newsletter. The argument of distributing a large newsletter because of the size of an occasional "trash" FidoNews 7-43 Page 11 22 Oct 1990 article is weak, in my humble opinion. How long did we transfer extra bytes because we refused to change archive programs? The size in question is small, rarely will the "trash" articles be over a minute's connect time, so the cost argument is a bit weak, I think. I also think it's nice to have those off-topic "trash" articles sometimes. They tend to remind us that there is a life outside of BBSing and sometimes they're pretty neat. Recently I read an article about some experimental language and one person's interest in it. I thought it was interesting enough so I spent a 15-cent postcard to request more information on the language. I doubt I would have heard about the language if it had not been in the FidoNews. There's a trick to dealing with articles that you consider trash. After you read the first couple of sentences -- and realize it's trash -- you can hit the PgDn key a couple of times and you'll never be bothered by that article again. It works like a charm on those rare articles that aren't worth reading, believe me... The bottom line: the editorial policy has worked pretty darn well for years. It ensures a minimum amount of interference (and work) by the editor, and it also ensures that everyone's views can get into the FidoNews. Leave it as it is. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 12 22 Oct 1990 Dallas and Ardith Hinton 1:153/715 Survivors' Forum This echo is now available on the Backbone and is intended for people interested in cancer, leukemia, blood disorders, and related subjects including immune suppression, learning disabilities, and special needs children. The emphasis of the echo is on (but is not restricted to) pediatric oncology and hematology. Topics in the echo include book reviews, notices of special events, information exchange and chit-chat. SURVIVOR originates from a family need to understand more about leukemia and is intended as a support network for those whose lives have been touched by serious or chronic illness, regardless of their location. Those in the helping professions may also find it useful. A basic premise of the echo is that the body and the mind are interdependent. Pseudonyms are permitted, and no-one will be excluded or included on the basis of their chosen therapy. We welcome your participation and hope to see you there. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 13 22 Oct 1990 Al Saveriano FidoNet 1:269/205 The State of the Universe I realized, a long time ago, that the reason I never got my wonton soup at the Chinese restaurant, was because of the way I ordered it, coupled with the little known fact that the Chinese read from right to left. The waiter would say to me "Would like any soup, sir?". And I'd always answer "Wonton". Well, it's obvious to me that since wonton spelled backwards is "not_now", there was no way I was ever going to get my soup. However, this not the only weirdness that encompasses our globe. And speaking of weird, my younger daughter asked me what the little nursery rhyme was about "i before e etc. etc.". I told her it went - "i before e, except after c, when sounding like a, as in neighbor and weigh". So she wrote me this little sentence: "Thanks Daddy. That sure is a WIERD little rhyme!". Hmmm...... So obvious. But enough of these matters. It is time to address the heart of the problem. You know we must. No option here. Sticking our collectives heads in the parabola simply will not cut it. It is so obvious that weird wonton soup can not be blamed for the absence of 8-bit wheat toast. It can not be the cause for my name to appear on the mailing list of "Incurably Strange" magazine. Nay. A plot to be sure. One of the magnitude to rival even that of the great Game_Boy scandal of '88. It's obvious. Just look at the facts. Eight is half of sixteen and sixteen is half of thirty-two. Do you think this is a coincidence? With the infinite number of numbers (number of numbers???) that exist, what were the chances of this occurring due to blind chance? (Blind Faith - Stevie Winwood et al. Circa 1969). Let us calculate so that the skeptics among you may become believers. If one takes the first derivative of the numerator and divides it by the second derivative of the denominator ..umm..well, it is difficult to show it here. I wish I could type out the actual formula. But that is why the Greek civilization could not sustain itself as a world power. They couldn't get those silly little Greek letters onto a keyboard! And that, obviously, lead to the vicious attack on Molly Pitcher and started the entire world oil crisis. But I digress. The real issue remains at hand. Therefore, I expect to hear numerous pros and cons with regard to my brilliant but somewhat unorthodox analysis of the state of the universe. But I assume you've been expecting this for sometime now. You have? To bad, because when you assume you make an ASS out of U and ME. (Odd Couple - Felix Unger - circa 1972). FidoNews 7-43 Page 14 22 Oct 1990 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 15 22 Oct 1990 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Henry Clark 124/6120 The Starshoot Company -- Kevin and I like to stand in the middle of the Marine Drum and Bugle Corp., cause it's real loud, and they can't stop to shoo us away. One of the highlights of the State Fair of Texas. We like to shoot the machine pellet gun and knock the red star out of the paper. This weeks column is sort of like those games. I ordered them June 11, but still no V.42 ROMS. I know, but I'm tired of calling them and hearing the two more weeks story. My personal copier cartridge finally ran out. It's been 3 years and 3 months. Sure, I use Supercalc. I like to enter A1 instead of +A1, and SUM() instead of @SUM(). Supercalc has the /1 command to give you 123 menus ( with the added /S command to get back ). You won't see Lotus suing Computer Associates, though. CA is bigger, for one. One more broken Window : In last weeks section entitled Mini-Blinds I forgot to remind you that without Mini-Blinds, it would be curtains for us all ! I know, it's Pane-ful. CORRECTION : In last weeks column I said our region's policy vote was about echomail. Well, I errored, so SUE ME, OK. The policies were about election methods for RC and REC. It's that same old arguement about the **C structure only vote versus the all sysops vote. My psychiatrist gets richer. Kevin really wants to throw the dart. You know, the dollar for one dart, hit the balloon and win a prize. Well, he hit the balloon and the lady gives him a micro-batting-helmet, a little plastic hat about three inches across. He's got this big grin, like "Ha, I won." Then he tries to get me to carry it, and I start laughing, which he immediately understands as 'Oh, I lost.' Carbon Based Units Infest Enterprise -- In next week's all new episode, Capt. Picard contemplates the use of force. FidoNews 7-43 Page 16 22 Oct 1990 Shoppers Guide Norton 5.0 ................... $ 79.95 Norton 4.5 ................... $ 695.95 (Cheap shot, I know... I still feel cheated.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, heroes in a half-shell, TURTLE POWER ! I've permanently lost 12k of my brain. Comdex Las Vegas Hospitality Room : Liquor in the front, Poker in the rear. Hey,Iwantoneofthosespacesaverkeyboards,too! I like to get the 25-pin ribbon cable and put a male and a female 25-pin connector on each end. Radio Shack has the parts and it was 8:30 at night, so I run over there. I get to the counter and he asks for the last four digits of my phone number. "It's the customer ID for our computer", he says. "0000" says I. He's clearly angry. So I give him the modem's numbers. No sense of humor. Then he asks for my name. I said, "I don't want your catalogs, how much for THIS stuff." Now he's really unhappy. These guys must be paid by the data entry keystroke. Steve Martin in The Jerk ... "Step right up and win some crap." The House of Mirrors -- I bought a 'Learn Danish' set of tapes to listen to in the car. I know a lot of words, but I'm terrible at making sentences. On the tape, they say 'Vaer saa venlig' before everything. That's supposed to be Danish for please. I'd guess the tapes are 50 years old, except that they didn't make cassettes back then. Danes always make a request and end it with thanks. The funniest thing on the tape is the line 'Please carry my bags to the taxi.' These people have never been to Denmark. We're all going for Christmas. So Kevin tries the House of Mirrors, and takes 10 minutes to find his way through and up the stairs to the slide. Yep, its the $1.50 slide ride. After about 5 minutes he comes back through the mirrors, out the entrance and says, "That's the wrong slide." FidoNews 7-43 Page 17 22 Oct 1990 He's right, of course. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 7-43 Page 18 22 Oct 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 2.5g* Fido 12s+ QuickBBS 2.64 TBBS 2.1 Lynx 1.30 RBBS 17.3A TComm/TCommNet 3.4 Kitten 2.16 RBBSmail 17.3B* 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 1.15 Network Node List Other Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version BinkleyTerm 2.40* EditNL 4.00 ARC 7.0* D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.31 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 3.14* 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 HeadEdit 1.15 InterPCB 1.31* LHARC 1.13 MSG 4.1 MSGED 2.00* MSGTOSS 1.3* PK[UN]ZIP 1.10 QM 1.0 QSORT 4.03 Sirius 1.0x SLMAIL 1.36* StarLink 1.01 TagMail 2.40 TCOMMail 2.2 Telemail 1.27* TMail 1.15 TPBNetEd 3.2 TosScan 1.00 UFGATE 1.03 FidoNews 7-43 Page 19 22 Oct 1990 XRS 3.40 XST 2.2 ZmailQ 1.12* OS/2 Systems ------------ Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Maximus-CBCS 1.02* BinkleyTerm 2.40* Parselst 1.31 ConfMail 4.00 VP2 4.07* oMMM 1.52 MsgEd 2.00* LH2 0.50 PK[UN]ZIP 1.02 ARC2 6.00 Xenix/Unix ---------- BBS Software Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version MaximusCBCS 1.02.Unix.B0 BinkleyTerm 2.30b* Unzip 3.10 ARC 5.21 ParseLst 1.30b ConfMail 3.31b Ommm 1.40b Msged 1.99b Zoo 2.01 C-Lharc 1.00 Omail 1.00b 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 FidoNews 7-43 Page 20 22 Oct 1990 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 2.07+ BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23 TrapDoor 1.50* AReceipt 1.5* WelMat 0.42 booz 1.01 ConfMail 1.10 ChameleonEdit 0.10 ElectricHerald1.66* Lharc 1.21 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* FidoNews 7-43 Page 21 22 Oct 1990 Zoo 2.01 Atari ST -------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailer Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version FIDOdoor/ST 1.5c* BinkleyTerm 2.40* 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 FiFo 2.0b* LHARC 0.60 Lharc 1.13 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 7-43 Page 22 22 Oct 1990 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 4 Nov 1990 Area Code 214 fragments. Part will become area code 903. 6 Nov 1990 First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28 13 Nov 1990 Third anniversary of Fidonet in Austria (zone 2, region 31). 14 Nov 1990 Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at 2:332/16.0 16 Nov 1990 100% Democratically elected administration takes over the coordination structure in Zone-4 Latin America 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. 12 May 1991 Fourth anniversary of FidoNet operations in Latin America and second anniversary of the creation of Zone-4. 8 Sep 1991 25th anniversary of first airing of Star Trek on NBC! 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 FidoNews 7-43 Page 23 22 Oct 1990 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. -----------------------------------------------------------------