iav1917@ritcv.UUCP (alan i. vymetalik) (11/09/86)
[Inscribed in small etchings along the groove of the CD, "Eat me!"]
Hello fellow Rainbow users:
Since net.micro/comp.sys.micro generally receives little
traffic, I was quite surprised to see the response to the
posting of DESK.ARC. I have had nearly 30+ readers request
info. So, I feel that there is a small, but sizable population
out there who want to be informed on happenings within the
DEC Rainbow world. Of those 30 + people, at least 10 are
from companies/universities that support from dozens to
two-hundred Rainbow systems.
Two common themes in many of the letters were technical
documentation and public domain or shareware software.
Now, many people know of the tremendous volume of
books and magazines devoted to the Rainbow. So, we have
always been able to keep up on the latest happenings. (sarcasm)
In any event, there do exist books and documentation for the
Rainbow system. Just recently DEC announced it was releasing
the PC100A/B Field Maintenance Print Set (MP-017220-01 for the A,
MP-01491 for the B) and the Rainbow User's Service Guide (pn#
EK-P100E-SV). DEC also provides full documentation and technical
manuals (also, of course, for a fee). Also, the following DEC
publications may be of use to Rainbow programmers out there in
net land. By the way, these items are FREE! -
"BIOS Listing for MS-DOS V2.11"
"Programmer's Guide for MS-DOS V2.11"
"BIOS Listing for CP/M-86/80 V2.1"
"Programmer's Guide for CP/M-86/80 V2.1"
Please contact directly:
Katrina Holman
Digital Equipment Corporation
LJ02/I3
30 Porter Street
Littleton, MA, 01460
While there is a lot of ShareWare software out there floating
around, many people have trouble knowing what the stuff is like
before they spend money downloading from BBSs.
Well, someone has finally written THE definitive standard
book on DEC Rainbow and generic MS-DOS public domain software.
Bruce Jackson has created "Rainbow Freeware - Freeware, Shareware,
and Public Domain Software for the DEC Rainbow". It's a 176 page,
wire-bound book containing reviews and commentary on over 160
MS-DOS programs. The book is broken down into categories such
as communications, disk utilities, file managers, archival programs,
text editors, games, and graphics.
In addition, there are a variety of chapters dealing with
using FIDO, modems, trojan horse programs, batch programs and
other useful topics.
This is an extremely useful book for first time BBS users as
well as those looking for software. Most of the software is the
"cream of the crop" from the pd software world. At this time,
I have heard that a second release is being planned.
Since most people on the net tend to frown on commercialism,
I will not post any of the prices or ordering information. Any
net reader who wishes to order "Rainbow Freeware" can contact the
publisher: New South Moulton Press, 96 Rumsey Road, Buffalo, NY,
14209 or they can e-mail me for the info.
Enjoy,
Alan
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alan i. vymetalik
uucp: {allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!iav1917
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