[comp.sys.ibm.pc.digest] Info-IBMPC Digest V90 #36

Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (03/01/90)

Info-IBMPC Digest           Thu,  1 Mar 90       Volume 90 : Issue  36

Today's Editor:
         Gregory Hicks - Chinhae Korea <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>

Today's Topics:
                       FTP and files from wuarchive
                   Version numbers and SIMTEL20 Archives
                               Menu programs
                               Micro as FAX?
                       PC Magazine and OS/2 (2 msgs)
                             PS/2 BIOS address

Today's Queries:
                         Extended/Expanded Memory
                    DOS INT21, Subfunction 32H question
                     PD Archiver that does Directories
                                RIX <=> GIF

New Uploads:
       SCHED14D.ARC - Daily schedule & notepad pgm - shareware DEMO
          SHOWPCL Hewlett Packard PCL file disassembler uploaded

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 Feb 90 23:13:21 CDT
From: david@wubios.wustl.edu (David J. Camp)
Subject: FTP and files from wuarchive

>>    You do not explain in your letter whether you are using nfs or ftp to
>>access wuarchive.

>I've been using FTP.  Could you give me more info on how to use NFS to
>access your files?  I would be interested in trying this.

I do not know how to do it from a PC, but here is how to do it from a Unix
host.  First mkdir the directories /wuarchive and /wuarchive/archive.  Then
install these scripts in /usr/local/bin:

----- march follows ----
#! /bin/sh
if ( /usr/etc/mount | /usr/bin/grep -v wuarchive > /dev/null) 
    then 
    ( /usr/etc/mount -o ro,soft,intr,bg,timeo=4,retry=2 wuarchive:/archive /wuarchive/archive ; \
    /usr/etc/mount -o ro,soft,intr,bg,timeo=4,retry=2 wuarchive:/archive/mirrors /wuarchive/archive/mirrors ) &
    fi
----- end or march -----

----- umarch follows -----
#! /bin/sh
( /usr/etc/umount /wuarchive/archive/mirrors ; /usr/etc/umount /wuarchive/archive ) &
----- end of umarch -----

I make these scripts setuid root, and you can use that if it does not scare
you.  Some people say it is a security violation to make a script setuid
root, but I have never seen it explained.  Doing so will allow any user to
mount wuarchive at their whim.  We use a crontab job to automatically umount
at 5pm, but users can still remount it therafter.

The Internet address of wuarchive is 128.252.135.4, so you must add that to
your /etc/hosts file.  I also have a symbolic link for /archive pointing to
/wuarchive/archive.  The particular directory organization is arbitrary, and
I am not completely satisfied with the way I have it.

>>	I use this .netrc file:
>>
>>	machine wubios9 login david password password macdef init nmap
>>	\$1.\$2.\$3 \$1.\$2
>>
>>	^^^^ note the blank line
>>
>>	to access my pc.  This causes the extra fields to be removed
>>	automatically, allowing me to use mput.

>This is OK, as far as it goes, but it still doesn't address the issue
>that you need to know (or guess) the version number in order to find the
>file in the first place.  Admittedly, you can guess that over 99% of the
>time the version number will be 1 -- but if you wanted to do an auto-
>mated retrieval (a` la the SIMTEL20 "autoftp"), you'd be out of luck in
>the remaining 1% of cases.
>
>And if you use NFS to get to the files, then you can't use "nmap".
>
>I tried adding "macdef init nmap \$1.\$2.\$3 \$1.\$2", plus a blank
>line, to my "machine wuarchive" entry in my ".netrc", and it made my FTP
>core-dump.  I'll have to investigate this further.

Perhaps I made an error when I told you how to do this.  There is a newline
between init and nmap, as below.

machine wubios9 login david password password macdef init
nmap \$1.\$2.\$3 \$1.\$2

>	If your version of ftp does not support the nmap function, then
>	we will consider adding the symbolic links as you requested.
>
>My FTP does support "nmap" (though apparently not in ".netrc"; see
>above).  That answers my concerns to some extent.  However, I still
>believe (as I originally stated) that your archive would be much more
>user-friendly if you either dispensed with the (largely useless) version
>numbers entirely, or else made symbolic links.

>-- Rich Wales <wales@CS.UCLA.EDU> // UCLA Computer Science Department
>   3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (213) 825-5683
>   "Then they hurl heavy objects. . . .  And claw at you. . . ."

Bitnet:   david@wubios.wustl                ^      Mr. David J. Camp
Internet: david%wubios@wugate.wustl.edu   < * >    Box 8067, Biostatistics
uucp:     uunet!wugate!wubios!david         v      660 South Euclid
Washington University (314) 36-23635               Saint Louis, MO 63110

[Version numbers at wubios have been done away with.]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1990  22:42 MST
From: Keith Petersen <w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Version numbers and SIMTEL20 Archives

The file generation numbers on SIMTEL20 are of NO significance for the
purpose of telling whether they are text or binary EXCEPT in the PC-BLUE,
CPMUG, and SIGM directories.

PLEASE get a copy of SIMIBM.IDX or SIMIBM.ARC, or the individual 00-INDEX.TXT
files from each subdirectory.  They all have information on which files are
text and which are binary.

  We provide a FILES.IDX file in each top-level directory expressly for the
purpose of tracking our archives.  That includes not only tracking what we've
added, but also what we've changed and what we've deleted.  This file is
created daily, sometimes several times per day if a lot of new files are
added.

Keith Petersen
Maintainer of SIMTEL20's CP/M, MSDOS, & MISC archives [IP address 26.2.0.74]
Internet: w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil, w8sdz@brl.arpa  BITNET: w8sdz@NDSUVM1
Uucp: {ames,decwrl,harvard,rutgers,ucbvax,uunet}!wsmr-simtel20.army.mil!w8sdz

------------------------------

Date: 27 February 1990 03:10 CST
From: "Grant Hoover" <U26264@UICVM.uic.edu>
Subject: Menu programs

Dan Wheeler was looking for menu program suggestions.

Three fairly capable menu programs are:

    PowerMenu     by Brown Bag Software
    Menu Blocks   by Bridgeway Publishing
    Perfect Menu  by International Computer Group (301) 670-7007

A more advanced approach that allows more control and better security is
offered by a product called Hot by Xtree (800) 634- 5545.
  ____   _____      ___     __  __   ______
 /      |  _  \    /   \   |  \|  | |__  __|   .   .
|   ___ |     <   /  ^  \  |      |   |  |       .
 \____/ |__|\__| /_/---\_\ |__|\__|   |__|     \___/

Grant Hoover   *   University of Illinois at Chicago
Bitnet  u26264@uicvm     *     CompuServe  76370,314
Internet u26264@uicvm.cc.uic.edu  *  GEnie G.HOOVER6

------------------------------

Date: 27 February 1990 03:41 CST
From: "Grant Hoover" <U26264@UICVM.uic.edu>
Subject: Micro as FAX?

Kalburgi Srivinas asked about the feasability of using a micro as a FAX
machine.

> Of course I realize that no paper can be fed.

Actually, using a scanner, a PC can work pretty much as a normal FAX machine.

> But I like to know if and how messages and letters composed on the screen
> can be transmitted as files to a FAX machine, and whether the PC can be
> used to receive FAX transmissions.

This can be done, too. Reviews of FAX boards can be found in the following PC
Magazine issues:

    January 26, 1988, page 265
    June    28, 1988, page 167
    April   11, 1989, page 94

The last one also contains an overview of the technology.
  ____   _____      ___     __  __   ______
 /      |  _  \    /   \   |  \|  | |__  __|   .   .
|   ___ |     <   /  ^  \  |      |   |  |       .
 \____/ |__|\__| /_/---\_\ |__|\__|   |__|     \___/

Grant Hoover   *   University of Illinois at Chicago
Bitnet  u26264@uicvm     *     CompuServe  76370,314
Internet u26264@uicvm.cc.uic.edu  *  GEnie G.HOOVER6

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 25 Feb 90 15:36:55 EDT
From: <HE891C%GWUVM.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: PC Magazine and OS/2

Does anyone know which issues of PC Magazine have OS/2 articles?  I know they
offered a few when it came out, and then it became a regular column.  Thanx
in advance.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 25 Feb 90 15:32:07 MST
From: Gregory Hicks <GHICKS@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: PC Magazine and OS/2

For about the past 7 months, EVERY issue has had an OS/2 article.  What
specifically are you looking for?

Gregory Hicks

------------------------------

Date: 27 February 1990 03:22 CST
From: "Grant Hoover" <U26264@UICVM.uic.edu>
Subject: PS/2 BIOS address

Erich Neuwirth asked where the ROM BIOS starts in a PS/2.

According to The New Peter Norton Programmer's Guide to the IBM PC and PS/2,
the starting addresses are as follows:

    Machine                         Start       End
    ------------------------------  ----------  ----------
    PC/XT/AT, PS/2 Model 25 and 30  F000:0000H  F000:FFFFH
    Other PS/2 models               E000:0000H  F000:FFFFH
  ____   _____      ___     __  __   ______
 /      |  _  \    /   \   |  \|  | |__  __|   .   .
|   ___ |     <   /  ^  \  |      |   |  |       .
 \____/ |__|\__| /_/---\_\ |__|\__|   |__|     \___/

Grant Hoover   *   University of Illinois at Chicago
Bitnet  u26264@uicvm     *     CompuServe  76370,314
Internet u26264@uicvm.cc.uic.edu  *  GEnie G.HOOVER6

------------------------------
Subject: Toady's Queries:
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 90 17:13:31 EST
From: polygen!tzu!davids@EDDIE.MIT.EDU (David Swindell)
Subject: Extended/Expanded Memory 

I have just purchased an 80386SX-based system with 2MB of RAM and have a two
questions concerning memory utilization.  The first question is about the
difference between extended and expanded memory and MS Windows 286.  My
machine is based in the NEAT chip set from Chips and Technologies, which
(supposedly) contains hardware support for V4.0 of the LIM Expanded Memory
standard (EMS).  The system came with a DOS EMS software driver (EMM.SYS),
which when loaded, provides 1MB of expanded memory.  When I run Quatro Pro
(V1) and Microsoft Word (V5.0a), each application recognizes the presence of
the expanded memory and everything works fine (as well as considerably
faster...).

So far, everything sounds great, however, now enter MS Windows 286 V2.1.
From what I can tell (counting the numbr of applications I can load under MS
Windows before I run out of memory), Windows isn't using any of the expanded
memory.  My Windows distribution disks came complete with several DOS EMS
driver files (EMM.SYS, REMM.SYS, PS2EMM.SYS, etc), however, I am hesitant to
install one of these drivers in place of the one that came with my system.
So, the question is, what do I have to do in order to have Windows recognize
my expanded memory, and how can I tell for sure how much memory Windows is
seeing?

The second question relates to the 360KB block of memory in between the dos
limit of 640KB and 1MB.  According to the (scanty) documentation that came
with my system, if you use expanded memory, then you must use the 360KB block
as shadow RAM.  Since I am using a Hercules Graphics card for video, the only
ROM I have available for shadowing is the BIOS, which is certainly much
smaller than 360KB.  Does anyone know of any ways to utilize this high memory
for device drivers, buffere, or other useful purposes?  I am aware of the
Quarterdeck QEMM product, however, I would like to see if there are any
public domain (a.k.a.  less expensive) programs that help recover high
memory.

Thanks!

	Dave Swindell
	Polygen Corporation
	200 Fifth Avenue
	Waltham, MA 02254
	Voice: (617) 890-2175x291
	Email: dswindell@polygen.com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 Feb 90 13:51:38 est
From: Bruce_Kahn@DGC.MCEO.DG.COM
Subject: DOS INT21, Subfunction 32H question

  I'm looking thru some old code we have here from a previous project (no 
comments here...) and ran across a DOS call that I cant figure out.  Its a 
call to DOS for function 32H.  According to my DOS Tech Ref and PC 
Sourcebook, this is a DOS reserved function.  Can someone please provide 
some light on what this function is attempting to do or tell me where I 
may find some documentation on it??  Thanks. 

                                   Bruce (KAHN@ADAM.DG.COM)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 Feb 90 13:16 N
From: PAAI%KUB.NL@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: PD Archiver that does Directories

First thanx to all the people who are helpful in trying to reach Borland.

Now here is another question:

Does anybody know of a PD archiver or command-line utitity, which archives a
big directory in chunks of 360K (and/or 720 and/or 1,2 meg etc), ready for
copying to a number of diskettes?

Thanx again.

Hans Paijmans
PAAI@KUB.NL
PAAI@HTIKUB5

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 Feb 90 17:07:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Eric David Hornchek <eh1b+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: RIX <=> GIF 

Does anyone know of any utilitys to convert RIX to GIF format and vice versa?
I have several 640x400x256 coloRIX files I want to convert to gif.

                                 Thanks in Advance..
                                 Eric Hornchek
                                 Carnegie Mellon University

------------------------------
Subject: New Uploads:
Date: Wed, 28 Feb 1990  00:51 MST
From: Keith Petersen <w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: SCHED14D.ARC - Daily schedule & notepad pgm - shareware DEMO

[--forwarded message--]
From: cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca

I have uploaded to SIMTEL20:

pd1:<msdos.deskaccess>
SCHED14D.ARC    Daily schedule & notepad pgm - shareware DEMO

SCHEDULE V1.4D is a program to keep track of daily schedules and several
forms of notepads.  It can handle events which occur every week,
automatically inserting them into the appropriate days' schedules.  There are
separate notepads for each day and for each month, plus notepads which can be
given titles by the user.  The files can be shared by more than one user,
both on standalone PCs and on networks; each user's entries are kept
separate.  This is a demonstration copy of a shareware product.  It comes
with a complete documentation file.

Regards,
Steve
--
Stephen M. Dunn                               cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca

[--end forwarded message--]

Thanks, Steve!

--Keith

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1990  14:06 MST
From: Keith Petersen <w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: SHOWPCL Hewlett Packard PCL file disassembler uploaded

[--forwarded message--]
From: Wolfgang Strobl GMD Z1.BN <GRZ010%DBNGMD21.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>

I have uploaded to SIMTEL20:

pd1:<msdos.printer>
SHOWPCL.ARC     Hewlett Packard PCL file disassembler

SHOWPCL disassembles HP Printer Control Language escape sequences: printer
control, graphics, soft fonts. It reads a file, disassembles it and sends its
interpretation to the standard output.

Wolfgang Strobl, GRZ010@DBNGMD21.BITNET

[--end forwarded message--]

Thanks Wolfgang!

--Keith

------------------------------

End of Info-IBMPC Digest
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