Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (04/23/91)
Info-IBMPC Digest Tue, 23 Apr 91 Volume 91 : Issue 97
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Today's Topics:
Creating an image of a floppy in a disk file
Downloading files from SIMTEL20
Kermit under Windows or DesqView (V91 #68)
TIFF conversionss (V91 #80)
Sources of Computer Info (V91 #80)
Converting Word Processor Formats (V91 #80)
Kermit in Windows or DesqView (V91 #82)
VT100 Postscript Previewer (V91 #83)
Converting .CGM to .PCX and Back (V91 #89)
Problems with an EPSON LQ-510
Windows 3 & Shareware
Re: 486/AMIGA Quandry
Accelerator Cards
Today's Queries:
Adding reset button to IBM Portable P70-386
experience with accelerator cards
E-Mail Gateway for Novell LANs and BITNET
New Uploads:
BLAST12.ZIP - Sound Blaster utilities. Create your own too!
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Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 19:02:56 CDT
From: Andy Boze <AXXBOZE%UICVMC.BITNET@UICVM.uic.edu>
Subject: Creating an image of a floppy in a disk file
A few numbers ago, someone asked how to transfer the image of a floppy
to a disk file to be able to make multiple copies of a disk or to
transfer it via modem, etc. I thought someone would surely mention
this, but as no one has yet, I will. PC Magazine published just such a
utility about three issues ago. I only have the current issue with me,
but I would guess the issue that the utility appeared in to be Volume
10, number 4 or 5.
Andy Boze.................
AXXBOZE@UICVMC.AISS.UIUC.EDU + University of Illinois
AXXBOZE@UICVMC + Departmental Library Services
BBS: (217) 333-8340 + 1408 W Gregory Dr.
Phone: (217) 244-6979 + Urbana, IL 61801 (USA)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 91 16:16 CET
From: Kenneth Lundkvist <SKOG6@MVS.udac.uu.se>
Subject: Downloading files from SIMTEL20
How can I get access to, download, shareware files that have been
uploaded to SIMTEL20. Is any information available on SIMTEL20?
Kenneth Lundkvist Uppsala SWEDEN
[Send a message to LISTSERV@TREARN that says GET PDGET HELP. This
should provide all the info you require. For those in the US, Send a
note to LISTSERV@RPIECS for the same help file. Another source available
is from the E-Mail server at <rjc@math.princeton.edu>. For more info,
send a note, WITH NO SUBJECT, containing the line HELP to
<rjc@math.princeton.edu>. Besides WSMR-SIMTEL20, another FTP server
is wuarchive. gph]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 12:11:58 -0700
From: tkennedy@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Todd Michael Kennedy)
Subject: Kermit under Windows or DesqView (V91 #68)
To: James O'Donnell <JODONNEL@PENNSAS.UPENN.EDU>
>Sorry to be obtuse, but I'd be glad to hear this in so many words. If I
>run KERMIT under WINDOWS or DesqVIEW, may I leave KERMIT uploading or
>downloading and go cheerfully and multitaskingly off to do my other,
>e.g., word processing chores? I've been unconvincingly advised that
>this is not possible and would be glad to hear otherwise. Any cautions
>or problems?
On a 386 system, running Windows in Enhanced Mode, it is possible. I've
used Kermit to D/L files in the background, as well as using other
communication's programs such as DSZ and Telix downloading in the
background with great success. The only problem that may occur,
however, is if you do any intensive disk opperation, you'll probably
start to loose characters in your transmision, and therefore generate
errors. So, best thing to do is load everything you want to use BEFORE
the transfer, start the transfer, and then just switch to your wp or
anything else. Another thing you'll have to do, tho, is fool with the
number of clock cycles you give Kermit or other DOS programs (via the
PIF editor) so you don't loose characters. A value of 500 works good
for me, but, I'm sure that number can be lowered by a great deal.
The Night Owl
tkennedy@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU
tkennedy@hypnos.CalPoly.EDU
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 15:24:48 EST
From: The Kingdom of Zort <KK4D%MARISTB.BITNET@YALEVM.YCC.Yale.Edu>
Subject: TIFF conversionss (V91 #80)
> Date: 28 Mar 91 04:04:52 GMT
> From: s001160@kowande.bu.oz.au (Papajcsik)
> I too am interested in TIFF formats, but in particular I would like to
> know if it is possible convert TIFF's to BMP's, PCX's or GIF's and back
> again. It would be much appreciated if anyone could forward any
> information regarding this matter to me.
Check out the MSDOS.GRAPHICS subdirecory at SIMTEL
There is also a program on Compuserv in the graphics forum called GWS
(Graphics WorkShop) that does all of that.
-Dan
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Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 15:51:20 EDT
From: Rob Whelan - ETSU <RWHELAN%ETSU.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Sources of Computer Info (V91 #80)
Computer World
P.O. Box 2044
Marion, OH 43305
(800) 669-1002
ieee Computer Society
10662 Los Vaqueros Circle
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
(714) 821-8380
InfoWorld
P.O. Box 5994
Pasadena, CA 91117
(818) 577-7233
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Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 16:10:12 EDT
From: Rob Whelan - ETSU <RWHELAN%ETSU.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Converting Word Processor Formats (V91 #80)
There is also a program called Software Bride availabel commercially,
don't rem ember the company that makes it. It can convert just about
any word Proc. form at to just about anything else.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 18:16 MDT
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@cc.usu.edu>
Subject: Kermit in Windows or DesqView (V91 #82)
> Date: 28 Mar 91 22:16:05 EST
> From: James O'Donnell <JODONNEL@PENNSAS.UPENN.EDU>
> Sorry to be obtuse, but I'd be glad to hear this in so many words. If I
> run KERMIT under WINDOWS or DesqVIEW, may I leave KERMIT uploading or
> downloading and go cheerfully and multitaskingly off to do my other,
> e.g., word processing chores? I've been unconvincingly advised that
> this is not possible and would be glad to hear otherwise. Any cautions
> or problems?
Both are possible. Kermit will run in a window of both Windows and
DESQview, by design, and will happily transfer files while you are off
in other windows doing real work. How do I know this? A reasonable
question. First, I have done so on my Dell 310 386-20; and second, I
designed the program so that it would do the job. The major troubles
are usually setting up configuration files for Windows and DV. The
MS-DOS Kermit v3.10 help file has suggestions which work ok here. Both
Simtel-20 and the main Kermit archive at Columbia
(watsun.cc.columbia.edu) have the interesting files.
Joe D.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 18:24 MDT
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@cc.usu.edu>
Subject: VT100 Postscript Previewer (V91 #83)
> Date: 29 Mar 91 12:57:00 EDT
> From: "SI00::SIGNORINOC" <signorinoc%si00.decnet@v3.hanscom.af.mil>
> I'm currently using Mathematica via a telnet connection. The problem
> I'm having is that I would like to view graphs, but Mathematica only
> outputs graphs in Postscript (the program then displays the Postscript
> graphs on your display device). My PC has a VGA monitor, but my comm
> program only emulates a VT100. Is there a Postscript previewer out
> there for a VT100? Or, am I looking at this problem in the wrong way?
> The host runs IRIX System V.3 (a version of UNIX).
Curt,
The basic problem is a VT100 is not a graphics device. A VT340 is a
nice graphics device, and costs appropriately. There are now several
terminal emulators available which do the essential parts. The parts
are either Sixel or Regis graphics. A no-cost to you terminal emulator
with Sixel support is MS-DOS Kermit v3, available from Columbia Univ
(watsun. cc.columbia.edu) and on the Simtel-20 archives. So far as I
am aware, no terminal emulator bothers with Postscript directly.
Joe D.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 20:49:25 CST
From: Bill Hayes <IANR012%UNLVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Converting .CGM to .PCX and Back (V91 #89)
Joe Cannata asked if there are CGM-to-PCX (and vice versa) utilities
available. Yes. I have one taken from the Lotus Graphics Forum on
Compuserve. I'll attempt to load it to Simtel on the week of the 15th.
Hopefully Data General's CGM follows the ANSI definition. There are
several variations floating around.
By the way, SAS 6.06 for CMS and SAS-PC 6.04 now export SAS/Graph
images to CGM. Both versions may be loaded into Harvard Graphics or
Lotus Freelance Plus (also WordPerfect and DrawPerfect, which are
better than Freelance).
(No, I do not have relatives who work for, or stock in a certain Provo,
Utah company.)
Bill Hayes
Programmer/Analyst
IANR Computing Services
University of Nebraska
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1991 01:55 EST
From: S12207PB@SEMASSU.BITNET
Subject: Problems with an EPSON LQ-510
The problem isn't with your printer - if you dig down into the deep
dark corners of your dBase manuals, the have a small footnote somewhere
that mentions that dBase III+ can't print a NUL character (CHR(0)).
I've heard that there are some very painfull kludges around this -
generally involving calling an assembly language routine that generates
the Nul character. You MIGHT be able to get around it with a batch
file, though.
Paul Bienvenue
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Date: 14 Apr 91 12:38:00 GMT-9:00
From: "HUGH PRESTON" <hpreston@osan-emh.af.mil>
Subject: Windows 3 & Shareware
Since my last note to the digest about Windows 3.0, I have been doing a
lot of experimenting not only the basic Windows program but also with
several of the shareware programs that are presently available at
Simtel.
There are a couple of real gems there for dealing with "home grown"
icons! Check out the wingif.zip and also the tamr11.zip. For a real
custom icon on some software, paste the application screen to the
clipboard with the alt print screen ability of Windows and then paste
it into wingif. There, you can clean it up a bit and also trim off what
you don't want. Next copy it back to the clipboard and then paste it
into tamr11 (icon tamer). Then all that needs to be done is a save with
an ico extension and then you are ready to go back to the program
manager window and run the change properties.
As I said in my previous note, I have about 93 icons. Most of them
"were" canned. Not any more! Imagine the delight of my daughter when
she saw Reader Rabbit, Treasure Mountain, OutNumbered and others there
for her, all taken right out of the programs involved.
Also check out newpaper.zip or scrpeac3.zip. Using the same method of
saving applications screens along with wingif, you can also make custom
"wallpaper" that will change with each running of Windows. The second
one is great as it also gives you several neat screen savers that are
random and are really nice.
Needless to say, I will be contacting the writers of the programs I
mentioned here to license their programs for my use! Great stuff, keep
it coming!
Hugh Preston
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 20:37:11 -0500
From: Phil Howard KA9WGN <phil@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: 486/AMIGA Quandry
Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.mil writes:
>It is getting near the time when I am going to upgrade my current 286
>AT clone/EGA system. I am beginning to seriously consider the
>Commodore Amiga series due to the somewhat subtle propagandizing of a
>fellow worker who owns one. He extolls the virtues of its graphics,
>sound (built-in DSP), 3 copro- cessors, true multi-tasking and
>real-time operation. Not to mention it can read MS-DOS, Apple-DOS and
>Amiga-DOS diskettes (all 3 1/2" though) from the same floppy drive. He
>uses his system largely for rendering graphics using ray-tracing
>methods in a small side-business. Should I Seriously consider going to
>the Amiga? My uses are CAD, word-processing, MathCAD, some database
>and, of course, some games.
All these things can be found in both worlds. For the price a lot of
clones are coming down to, you can build up a system very easily with
add on boards. Also the NeXT machine qualifies under the above.
> Are there any closet Amiga users out there who would be willing to
>speak out? Your help would be truly appreciated.
My A500 is for sale to help me get enough $$$ to get a 33 MHz DX
instead of a 16 MHz SX.
/ Phil Howard -- KA9WGN -- phil@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu | Guns don't aim guns at \
\ Lietuva laisva -- Brivu Latviju -- Eesti vabaks | people; CRIMINALS do!! /
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 14:11:20 EST
From: Ronnie Judd <RNJUDD%SUVM.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: Accelerator Cards
>>Why use an accelerator card when a complete new mother board doesn't
>>cost more.... You will have less trouble with it and you will get a
>>faster machine in the end: system performance is not a question of CPU
>>speed only -- even though Landmark suggests this.
>A good accelerator card and a new motherboard may cost about the same
>amount. But, it is not a fair comparison. Replacing the motherboard
>has a lot of additional costs.
>If you replace the motherboard, you must replace all RAM, the Floppy
>Controller, and the Hard Disk Controller. If your keyboard doesn't have
>an AT switch, you must replace it. And, you will probably also loose
>all of your COM: ports. Don't backup your hard disk with LapLink,
>you'll never get the data back. (Unless, of course, you want to buy new
>COM: ports).
If you replace the mother board you must replace all RAM. This I can
agree with but the rest of this section is not quite right. You do not
have to replace the Floppy controller or Hard Disk Controller. They
fit nicely into the slots provided and hum right along. You don't
loose the COM: ports unless they are on the motherboard. If they are
on plug in cards then these also will work just fine. The keyboard
will probably need to be replaced as mentioned but I think the larger
keyboards are worth it for convenience alone.
>[Isn't LapLink a program to transfer data/programs from one computer to
>another? I don't recall it being a backup program... gph]
The guy in brackets is right about data transfer. Hovever, if you have
a "spare" computer with a hard disk that has nothing on it then Laplink
makes a dandy backup utility, right from one hard disk to another and
back again. I have done this many times here at SU but PLEASE don't let
the rest of the department know about the "spare" computer!
>All of this will run you around $800.
Depends on how good a shopper you are.
>Let's not even talk about your slow hard disk or double density floppy
>drive.
>Sure, the motherboard is a much better option, but at these prices you
>could almost by a new 386 machine.
Well I don't know. A friend and I went to a "Computer Fair" a couple
months back and had a good time of it. He wanted a faster machine (the
old machine was a Leading Edge Model D with a 30MB Seagate Hard Drive),
I wanted to spend someone else's money, and the "Computer Fair" turns
out to be a veritable flea market of clone boards, cheap drives, and
lots of software.
We purchased a 12MHz '286 motherboard with 1MB Zero Wait State RAM, a
1.2MB floppy drive, floppy controller (his was on the old motherboard)
multi I/O card with 2 serial, 1 parallel, and joystick ports (again the
serial and parallel ports were on the old motherboard). Since we did
not want to try and stuff all this in the Model D case we also bought a
mini-tower with a 200W power supply. The video controller is also on
the motherboard of the Model D so this had to be added (CGA, *yuck*,
but only another $25) and of course an AT compatible keyboard.
Here is the clincher, the total price was $360. Yes folks all we had
to do from here out was add the Hard Drive and plug in the monitor
(some assembly required). I hope to go back in a couple of months and
pick up one of the same motherboards and stuff it in my old PC. I
don't need to purchase most of the stuff above because it is comprised
of plug in boards in the PC. This means I can get out of it for $150
and a couple hours of tinkering.
The Seagate 30MB Hard Disk and Western Digital Controller worked just
fine. When setting up the CMOS on the motherboard I just told it it
had no hard drive. The ROMS on the controller kicked right in just
like they do in a PC. Sure it is slow but it was already paid for.
The only reason he wanted to purchase a high density floppy drive was
so he could pick up some game software demo he knew of that was only
available on high density floppies.
Sure you can go all out and replace everything while you are at it but
if you can live with a slow hard disk, double density floppy, and
whatever monitor you have now , you probably can upgrade pretty cheap.
If you are not brave with the screwdriver or don't have a friend that
is then this may not be the route to take. However it all comes down
to how much you want to learn or how much you want to pay someone who
already has.
Oh and by the way, I have invested $500 in accelerator cards. Both of
them quit. They were great while they lasted but they cost no less
now than they used to. The most expensive part in the above mentioned
$360 basic box is $85, yep, the motherboard.
Ronnie N. Judd | _ _ _ / | BITNET: RNJUDD@SUVM
Dept. Civ/Env Engineering | / (o o) _ _ _ / | Phone: (315) 443-5796
220 Hinds Hall | |_/| |_| | | FAX: (315) 443-1243
Syracuse University | (._.)||_ _( / | A failure is a chance
Syracuse, NY 13244-1190 | U _|| _|| | to start again smarter
>>>> The opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer <<<<
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 23:33:59 CET
From: <NSOMMER%DD0RUD81.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Adding reset button to IBM Portable P70-386
I would like to add a reset button to my IBM P70-386. How to manage
it? Well, I can put a wire to the processor itself, but may be it will
be destroyed. Whats about a Microchannel solution with a small MC-card,
which writes on request to a POS register ? I'll summarize for the
list.
Regard Norbert Sommer
NSOMMER @ DD0RUD81.BITNET
NSOMMER @ ZE8.RZ.UNI-DUESSELDORF.DE
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1991 12:19:18 EDT
From: poulin@polar.bowdoin.edu (Jeff Poulin)
Subject: experience with accelerator cards
Has anyone experienced any 386 compatibility problems by installing a
386 accelerator in a 286? Also, I have a 287 installed. Will programs
still use it if I install the 386 card?
Specifically, I want to know about programs like TC++ (or BC++), Win
3.0, and WP 5.1.
Thanks,
Jeff Poulin poulin@polar.bowdoin.edu jpoulin@bowdoin.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 91 04:38:03 CET
From: Cezar Cichocki <CEZAR%PLEARN.BITNET@SEARN.SUNET.SE>
Subject: E-Mail Gateway for Novell LANs and BITNET
Hi netters,
I'v got very big problem. Can somebody help me ? I think about E-mail
gatway between Novell and BITNET. I know that there's one between
INTERNET and BITNET called PEGAZ or CHARON .
Cezar
Warsaw, Poland
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 05:33:22 EST
From: Joel Lucsy <JJLUCSY%MTUS5.BITNET@VM1.NODAK.EDU>
Subject: BLAST12.ZIP - Sound Blaster utilities. Create your own too!
I have uploaded to SIMTEL20:
pd1:<msdos.sound>
BLAST12.ZIP Sound Blaster utilities. Create your own too!
This package, from Shawn Leaf and myself, allows you to write your own
Sound Blaster utilities in Turbo C (v2.0) or Turbo C++. We have also
included some programs that demonstrate the our routines. Some of our
programs are not Sound Blaster specific and will run on any machine.
Check our stuff out! If you like what you see, let us know, we'll make
more!
Joel Lucsy
JJLUCSY@MTUS5.BITNET
JJLUCSY@MTUS5.CTS.MTU.EDU
JJLUCSY@SYMMETRY.CS.MTU.EDU
JJLUCSY@BALANCE.CS.MTU.EDU
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest V91 #97
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