Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (06/20/91)
Info-IBMPC Digest Wed, 19 Jun 91 Volume 91 : Issue 154
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Today's Topics:
3270 simulator for msdos and tcp/ip
Changing CapsLock state
Directory reorganization at SIMTEL20
FTP-Mail servers
hiding batch file contents and echoing blank lines
SOUNDBLASTER BBS Info
info on net-addresses wanted
Multi-tasking in DOS
Postscript emulators
Re: Hard disk Partition table? (V91 #136)
Variant of Stoned virus
Today's Queries:
A20 query
EGA Graphics Problems
Hercules Graphic Station & TIGA information wanted
Page Counter in LaserJet IIP
SLIP/PPP for PC & NN for PC
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Date: Sat, 08 Jun 91 02:13:49 MEZ
From: "Gisbert W.Selke" <S00100%DBNRHRZ1.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: 3270 simulator for msdos and tcp/ip
F.J. Bosscha <bosscha@f2.nhl.nl> recently asked for a 3270 terminal
emulator running over TCP/IP.
It seems that the NCSA Telnet package contains such a module. I have
never used it myself, though. You can find it in Simtel's
<msdos.ncsatelnet> directory (source, executables, and docs). A newer
version is maybe available directly from uiuc.edu.
\Gisbert <s00100@dbnrhrz1.bitnet> WIdO, Bonn, Germany
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 08 Jun 91 02:07:44 MEZ
From: "Gisbert W.Selke" <S00100%DBNRHRZ1.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Changing CapsLock state
Jim Schenk <jims@servax.bitnet> recently asked for a utility to change
the state of CapsLock via software, e.g., from within a batch file.
Scanning (grepping, if you please) the Simtel directory file for 'caps'
in the 'description' field reveals: (descriptions omitted here)
<msdos.handicap>capstate.zip
<msdos.keyboard>kbreset.arc
<msdos.keyboard>lock-off.arc
<msdos.keyboard>locks.zip
<msdos.keyboard>toggle.arc
In addition, <msdos.pcmag>vol7n10.arc contains toggle.asm, .com and .doc;
and it seems to do exactly what Jim wants.
\Gisbert <s00100@dbnrhrz1.bitnet> Bonn, WIdO, Germany
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 1991 23:52 MDT
From: Keith Petersen <w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Directory reorganization at SIMTEL20
Effective immediately, SIMTEL20 directories PD1:<MISC*> and PD1:<HZ100>
have been moved to PD8:.
This is part of a directory reoganization to make use of several new
disk drives which were recently installed. Additional changes will be
announced later as they occur.
Keith Petersen
Maintainer of the MSDOS, MISC and CP/M archives at SIMTEL20 [192.88.110.20]
Internet: w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil or w8sdz@vela.acs.oakland.edu
Uucp: uunet!wsmr-simtel20.army.mil!w8sdz BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND
------------------------------
Date: 7 Jun 91 13:39 +0200
From: Andrej Vitek <Andrej.Vitek@uni-lj.ac.mail.yu>
Subject: FTP-Mail servers
Trying to access wuarchive.wustl.edu through bitftp@pucc.bitnet lately
I found out that the the use of this server is now restricted to bitnet
users. Since I am not directly on bitnet but still would like to access
archives like wustl, I would like to know if there are other ftp-mail
servers open to wider public.
[Take a look at Info-IBMPC Digest V91 #150. That issue SHOULD answer your
questions. gph]
Andrej Vitek,
Computer consultant
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Yugoslavia
Dept. of Civil Engineering
Fax: +38 61 268 572
Voice: +38 61 268 741/2404
------------------------------
Date: Fri Jun 7 11:15:29 BST 1991
From: Mike O'Carroll <mike@elec-eng.leeds.ac.uk>
Subject: hiding batch file contents and echoing blank lines
On my Dos and OS/2,
echo.
echoes a blank line (note no space between "echo" and ".").
--
Mike O'Carroll, Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering,
The University, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
E-mail: @ukc.ac.uk:mike@ee.leeds[.ac.uk]
uucp: ...!mcsun!ukc!lena!mike OR mike@lena.uucp
earn: mike%ee.leeds@earn-relay.ac.uk
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 91 23:25:14 IDT
From: oded@genius.tau.ac.il (Oded Sharon)
Subject: SOUNDBLASTER BBS Info
if you want a bbs that have MANY files for SB call to :
972-3-417720 [I think this number is Isreal. gph]
in hours 18-04 GMT
it support MOST of SB's files.
tnx
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 91 09:24:48 MDT
From: Gregory Hicks <GHICKS@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: info on net-addresses wanted
Communications of the ACM, October 1986 gives a GREAT overview of
networks and some nitty-gritty details.
For what you want on addressing, send a HELP (subject line) to
service@NIC.DDN.MIL. DO NOT include a BODY for this help message
You want RFC-822 ... Addresses addressing of mail messages.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Gregory Hicks
Editor, Info-IBMPC Digest
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 91 01:39:31 -0400
From: pshuang@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Multi-tasking in DOS
Microsoft Windows does not do true multitasking (strictly speaking no
single-CPU machine can do *TRUE* multitasking, but only rapid task
switching, but we won't quibble about terms, will we?) on 8088 and
80286 processor machines, but rather only provides task-switching
between DOS applications. Unless your DOS application is actually in
the foreground, it gets no CPU cycles at all. If you have several
Windows programs running, and they are properly written, multitasking
will occur because the programs will periodically voluntarily yield
control back to Windows which can then go on to the next program and
give it a chance to do some processing.
On 80386 machines, Windows can provide with you with more robust and
more general multitasking. You can have several DOS applications
actually running in the background while in the foreground you can have
several Windows programs also multitasking. Windows in 386 enhanced
mode is capable of doing time-sliced multitasking, which means that it
uses the hardware in your computer to take over control N times every
second, even if the program running at that time didn't want to give up
the CPU. This ensures that every process gets at least some CPU time,
even if other programs are trying to hog it.
If you run Desqview, you can have the more general kind of multitasking
(the kind that you need a 80386 chip for if you're running Windows)
with any of the 8088, 80286, or 80386-class CPU's provided that you
have the correct kind of memory. For the 8088 and 80286, the correct
kind of memory is EEMS/EMS4.0 compliant memory, which permit Desqview
to take advantage of hardware memory expansion to switch applications
in and out of the execution space of the CPU on a timer-driven basis,
i.e. no program can easily try to hog all CPU time. On the 80386,
EEMS/EMS4.0 memory will also work, but Desqview will also be able to do
true multitasking with extended memory as well.
Your search for something equivalent to Windows/Desqview which will do
true multitasking but is PD/shareware is likely to be quite futile,
although there is at least one excellent task switcher available.
[Note: the term "80386" used in the above paragraphs apply to any of
the following chips: 386SX, 386SL, i386DX, 486SX, i486DX, i487, and any
other Intel 80x86 chips which post-date the 80286 processor.]
Singing off,
UNIX:/etc/ping instantiated (Ping Huang).
------------------------------
Date: 7 Jun 91 15:05 +0200
From: "Markus F. Boie" <boie@dkrz-hamburg.dbp.de>
Subject: Postscript emulators
Scott,
in c't 6/91 (german magazin fuer computer technik) there was a test of
three emulators. I will try to give you a summary of *their* results.
GoScript Plus Freedom of Press UltraScript PC+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cost (DM) 570.- 690.- 800.-
mouse no no no
CPU 8088 and up 80286 & up 80286 & up
RAM (KByte) 550 min 550 min 640 min
min space on HD 3 MByte 4 MByte 4 MByte
CoProcessor yes yes yes
outp 2 screen yes no no
outp 2 file yes no yes
color separation no no yes
orig. Adobe fonts no no yes
if you use a laser printer you'll need a minimum of printer RAM:
1 MByte 1.5 MByte 1.5 MByte
performance was tested with 5 different documents. All times in
seconds, machines were 80286 without math proc and 80486 (in par).
1 2124 (185,4) 660 (105) 194,8 (25,8)
2 4158 (480) 720 (85) 125 (20)
3 9360 (423) 138 (75) 78 (15)
4 852 (550) 129 (89) 81 (15)
5 1590 (390) 159 (69) 95 (19)
GoScript had enormous difficulties with large graphics images (wrong
positioning, wrong line thickness, ...). UltraScript comes with a
capture utility (TSR) which grabs your print data and stores it in a
spool directory for processing after you finished your application.
There is also a version which works under Windows.
The only problem free and fast (though using MUCH memory) program seems
to be UltraScript, but it isn't cheap. PostScript add-on cards for
laser printers are getting cheaper and if you need performance you will
have to buy your computer some memory and a math chip when using one of
the emulators.
For private use only an emulator and a good matrix printer probably
will do. I have printouts of some PS documents done with GoScript and
a Panasonic KXP-1123 printer and they look ok to me. But for larger
documents I sure wouldn't want to wait hours (!) for my print job to be
completed (imagine the noise!).
I hope this helps,
Markus
PS: I do not own any of the programs tested and have no connections to any
of the manufacturers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Markus Boie | German Climate Computing Center, Hamburg, F.R.Germany |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Yellnet: (+49) 40 / 41173-288 | Fax: -270 | Standard disclaimer: |
| X.400: Boie@dkrz-hamburg.dbp.de | |
| Internet: Boie@dkrz-hamburg.de | No claim intended! |
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 91 09:20:59 PDT
From: "David C. Barber" <dbarber%pnet01.cts.com@RELAY.CS.NET>
Subject: Re: Hard disk Partition table? (V91 #136)
>Date: Mon, 27 May 91 16:14:36 EXP
>From: Kim Young Jae <88272031@KRSNUCC1.bitnet>
>SCAN found some virus_infected files in my hard disk, and reported it
>as 1591,1575 virus.
>My HD is 80M and devided into 3 driver(C:,D:,E:) I re-formatted C:
>driver with write-protected floppy DOS, and new system files(.SYS &
>COMMAND.COM) are ok. I deleted all infected files on D:,E:.
>... Where can I get Hard DIsk PArtition Info?
Steve Gibson wrote about this virus several weeks ago in his InfoWorld
column. You are correct that it has infected your boot track, and
utilities that access it. It also normally infects any utility that
reports memory available. The parititon table has been relocated to an
unused sector higher in track zero, and all references to it are
intercepted and redirected to the translated address.
I don't remember how he got rid of it, but you might either research
back through InfoWorld to find his article, or contact Gibson Research
and see if he'll talk to you about it.
As for myself, I'd probably castrate the person who wrote this virus,
if I could catch him. We really don't need this kind of grief in the
world.
*David Barber*
@}-->----
UUCP: {hplabs!hp-sdd ucsd nosc}!crash!pnet01!dbarber
ARPA: crash!pnet01!dbarber@nosc.mil
INET: dbarber@pnet01.cts.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 91 10:31:37 PDT
From: mcafee@netcom.com (McAfee Associates)
Subject: Variant of Stoned virus
Summary: Reposted by Keith Petersen
A new Stoned variant is becoming widespread in the US and Canada
which is not detected by version 77 of SCAN. The /EXT external virus
data option in SCAN and CLEAN can be used to identify and disinfect the
virus. The external virus data file should read:
"A1 13 04 48 48 A3 13 04 B1 06 D3" PS-Stoned Variant [Stoned]
To scan a system for the virus, type in:
SCAN x: /EXT filename
Where "x:" is the drive to be scanned, and "filename" is the name of
the external virus data file.
To remove the virus, type in:
CLEAN x: /EXT filename [STONED]
Where "x:" is the drive to be scanned, and "filename" is the name of
the external virus data file.
The symptoms for thia variant are similar to the Stoned virus,
however, no message is displayed.
Aryeh Goretsky
McAfee Associates Technical Support
mcafee@netcom.com
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 8 Jun 91 15:44:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ihor Andrew Lys <il01+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: A20 query
I need some detailed information about how the keyboard controller is
programmed on 386/286 type machines with regards to the A20 line, and
the reset line. Ideally I'd like an explanation of the functions
provided through the i/o port which controls the keyboard processor...
I'm not running in real mode, and I can't even see the BIOS, let alone use
it. -Ihor
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 1991 19:49:46 PDT
From: DUCHOW@UCRAC1.UCR.EDU (John K. Duchowski)
Subject: EGA Graphics Problems
Recently, I have observed some unusual behavior of my EGA monitor,
though I am not sure whether it is the EGA card, EGA monitor or some
other source (virus ?) that is causing all this. The symptoms are as
follows: in certain cases, usually where drawing a circle filled with
white color is involved, the process gets out of control and paints the
ENTIRE screen with white color. In certain cases, I need to reboot the
system, but in others, hitting a key which would normally allow
continuation of the program, let's me keep going, though the white
background remains. This happens for example with planets.c (Borland
demo program) and Graftool (graphics package). In the first case, I do
need to reboot, but in the second, I can keep going (though it
difficult as some of the key labels get painted over).
This bizzare behavior happens in only few select instances, and
running AT diagnostics, for example, does not spot the problem. The
very first oc- curance of this was with Word Gallery (educational
program from simtel20) about a year or so ago. Since everything else
worked fine, I paid no at- tention to it until now. Has nybody else
experienced anything similar ? Is there some way which would help me
to diagnose or pinpoint the problem ? (Why is this happening to ME ?
:), etc). My system is:
true blue IBM AT, with EGA Card (256 K) and EGA monitor Phoenix BIOS
(AT-specific, 3.10, I think) ** 640 K RAM, 1024 Extended, 512 Expanded
** the Word Gallery problem occured even with the true blue IBM BIOS.
Thank you for any hints and/or comments,
- John Duchowski
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 1991 15:11 +0200
From: "Boris HERMAN" <UEL024R1B%RCUM%yubgef51.bitnet@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject: Hercules Graphic Station & TIGA information wanted
We have bought the Hercules Graphics Station card in order to
use its resolutions and especially colours. Until now, we couldn't even
activate 512x480x24bit screen. Is there anybody that has some
experience in this direction ? We mainly write programs in Turbo
Pascal, so that some unit or BGI driver will be the best.
Is there any information about programming it? The manual we got with
the board is awful.
Any help would be welcome!
Boris HERMAN
BHERMAN@UNI-MB.AC.MAIL.YU
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jun 91 11:55:19 ARG
From: Luis MAGNI <atina!fmcba.sld.edu.ar!luis@uunet.UU.NET>
Subject: Page Counter in LaserJet IIP.
Are there any method to know the number of page counter in LaserJet
IIP, I have tried with a self test, but not work.
Thanks in Advance.
| Luis Magni | Phone :(+54-51) 690442 |
| Centro de Microscopia Electronica | FAX : (+54-51) 691610 |
| Universidad Nacional de Cordoba | CC 362 - 5000 CORDOBA |
| RAN: luis@fmcba.sld.edu.ar | ARGENTINA _ |
| UUCP: ...uunet!atina!fmcba!luis | __________---------> |_| <----|
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 91 09:27:48 PDT
From: Steve Chanin <schanin@us.oracle.com>
Subject: SLIP/PPP for PC & NN for PC
I'm looking for info & software to enable SLIP or PPP connections with
PCs. Does anyone out there know if this is possible? Is there
PD/Shareware software to do it? Where can I get it? If not, are there
commercial companies.
Also, I'm looking for a port of NN (a fast newsreader) for the pc.
Does anyone know of one? Does it require the clarkson drivers or does
it work some other way?
Thanks,
Steve
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest V91 #154
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