еЭЭбЭЭИ * еЭ еЭ Г еЭЭИ е ЦЭЭЭИ ЦЭЭЭИ еЭЭЭИ Г Г Г Г Г Г Г Г Г Г дЭЭЭИ ПФПкФПП ккФГкФПиЭикФППФП Я Я Я дЭЭЭО дЭЭЭО дЭЭЭО й йРФФРСйФйСРФФС СРФФй ЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭ VOL X Nr.XX ** The Unofficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭЭ Message from the Editor: Well, the Newsletter is back, and under a New Editor. For those of you who don't know me (and that can't be many of you) I'm Steve Sears and I run Imagine BBS in Ft Myers Fl. I've been running a BBS for about a year now and really enjoy the ease of TriBBS. I hope to make this newsletter something everyone can enjoy, and benefit from. In the future months, I'll be adding more specialty articles as I gather information. For this month, I can't promise too much. But I hope to at least get a setup for the format the Target will follow. ======================================================================== *** C O N T E N T S *** Message from the Editor.........................................Cover Contents........................................................Cover TriBBS v 4.0 Released By Mark Goodwin...........................page 1 Shareware Review - List 7.7 ..................................page 3 Archivers, 1st in a several part story By Steve Sears...........page 5 Door Review, Imperium ..........................................page 7 TriBBS Third Party Programers, What's safe to use with 4.0......page 9 By Clay Fugitte TriBBS Optimization, by Joe DeCarlo ............................page 13 Hardware Help, DESQview & Colorado Jumbo Tape Drives............page 16 by Steve Strope Eric Ratcliffe Editorilizes....................................page 16 Final Notes from the Editor.....................................page 19 ============================================================================ Page 1 ** The Unofficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ============================================================================ ** TRIBBS 4.0 RELEASED ** On 28 Feb 1993, Mark Goodwin released the his latest and greatest creation, TriBBS 4.0. Once again, Mark has suprised us all and gotten out a superior product in less time than anyone thought he would. For those of you still using 3.3, Please take a look at the included TriBBS history file and see what your missing. TriBBS 4.0 ---------- Most of TriBBS's configuration is now handled by a program called TriMan. TriBBS now supports aliases. TriBBS now swaps out of memory to XMS, EMS, or hard disk when it needs to spawn a program. Simplified TriBBS's file flagging method. TriBBS now lets you index file areas. You can now upload messages to both editors. Questionnaires can now nest yes/no questions up to 10 levels and now allows comments in the questionnaire files. TriBBS now offers a split screen chat mode for callers with ANSI terminal emulation. TriBBS will now optionally clear the screen before display its on the fly menus. TriBBS can now be configured to search for exact matches during upload dupe checking. TriBBS now creates a 0 byte file called POSTED when a caller posts a message. When packing the user file, any locked out callers are now automatically added to JOKER.DAT. ============================================================================ Page 2 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter Of TriBBS ** March 1993 ============================================================================ You can now set a minimum security level for posting messages in each conference. You can now disable the birthdate question at new user logins. TriBBS's fullscreen editor now accepts the key locally and the key now works correctly remotely. The control key has been switched to . Added the following new @-variables: @kuploaded@ @kdownloaded@ @messagestoday@ @alias@ @uploadstoday@ @downloadstoday@ You can now pack the user file and the message base from the Waiting for Caller screen. Added ASCII as an internal protocol. TriBBS will now take the phone off the hook during BETWEEN.BAT if the node is configured to take the phone off the hook during events. You can now optionally assign security levels to bulletins. BULLETIN.MNU and DOORBULL.MNU are now required even if you have custom bulletin menus. Revised TCHAT.BBS and FSCREEN.BBS. TriBBS will now display the following optional display screens: COMMENT.ANS/BBS NOTTHERE.ANS/BBS PASSWORD.ANS/BBS ALIAS.ANS/BBS Added a second user status window. Corrected a wordwrapping bug in group chat. Corrected a bug that would cause TriBBS to ask for a file description for a file that failed the archive test. ============================================================================ Page 3 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ============================================================================ Corrected a bug that would prevent the system stats from occasionally not to be reset on multinode systems. Corrected a bug that would prevent message conferences and file areas to still be unavailable to a caller even after his security level has been raised. Fixed a number of minor bugs and speeded up a lot of existing features. ** SHAREWARE REVIEW ** Program: LIST v. 7.7 dtd 10-7-92 Author: Vernon D. Buerg 139 White Oak Circle Petaluma, CA 94952 Price: $39 LIST is easily the file most used by a non-Windows user. It is so much a part of a BBS sysops everyday workings, in fact, that it rarely is mentioned when excellent shareware or commercial programs are discussed. Why would that be, you ask? The answer lies in its simplicity, its usefulness and its non-frills approach. It has no fancy graphic wrappings or displays, nor any of the extraneous trappings of commercialism. What it has is usefulness. It performs a function that DOS simply is unable to do at present, it gives you a directory list of files in an easily read manner, with the ability to manipulate the files without extensive typing and retyping of commands. Not only can it view the files individually, but it can move it, erase it, copy it and do a myriad of other manipulations all with a single keystroke. It can view a list of files within an archive and it can extract portions of a text file or set a bookmark for quick scanning of the file. It has made the DOS dir, copy and del commands obsolete. Sure, there are other =========================================================================== Page 4 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== programs that will do this, but they either can only accomplish one or two of the commands or else they are complete shell programs that take up a lot of hardrive space. List is a single .com program that can be put into your DOS directory taking up just 25251 bytes of space and run from anywhere within your system, with a quick list , and you don't have to manually change directories to view files in another. Just toggle up to the top of the list, press enter and you're in the parent directory where you can toggle quickly to another. Another reason for its usefulness is that requires no long-winded setup procedures. Simply put the .com program in the directory and voila, it works. Of course, you can add a mouse capability or, now, new to LIST, an editor can be invoked from within its shell or you can change the colors, but none of these are necessary for the program to be quickly useful. I have used the program so often now that I type "LIST" automatically at the DOS prompt. One might say that "LIST" is like sleeping, you don't think much about it but without it you'd never be able to accomplish a thing. List comes in more than one flavour, depending on how much you want it to do. The most common one found in BBS's is the LIST Plus version. There is also LISTS (Small), LISTR (Regular, and even a commercial version. Among other functions of LIST are a telephone dialer, support for various screen sizes, ability to scan for text and extract text lines to another file, display multiple files at one time, sort file lists, rename files, and so on. So, as you can see, while LIST is a small, overlooked, but much worked program for quickly listing files, it is so much more than simply a file lister. If you don't have the program then get it because you'll soon find that you can't work without it. And please, register it once you've determined that it is worth the price. This is the type of programming we need more of and paying for it will ensure that this type of programming continues. ========================================================================== Page 5 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ========================================================================== ** Archivers ** With the recent release of the New ZIP, there has been allot of talk about which Archive is really better. While we all have our favorite, I am hoping to shed a little light on some of the more popular ones. This will be a several part story. This month, I will be giving a few stats on what they can do. I have archived two sets of files, one all text, and one all .EXE files. I recorded the times it took, as well as the final size. Next month, I'm planing on doing one more test, with a mixture of text and .EXE's as well as one with only Database files (if someone would be helpful enough to pass along to me a large group of them) In the months ahead, I would like to do a story on what each Archive has to offer in the way of switches, as well as the prices of each. Also in the works is a story on one of the latest crazes, compressing .EXE files. I hope this information will be helpful to all. Now, on the results. Text files Type of compression Original size Compressed size Time PKZ204g with -ex 2,796,962k 1,097,359k 1.01 max compression switch PKZ204g Default 2,796,962k 1,101,702k .49 ARJ 2.39D (beta) 2,796,962k 1,104,233k 1.15 Squeze 2,796,962k 1,097,202k 1.40 ARC v 6.02 2,796,962k 1,424,665k .49 PAK v 2.51 2,796,962k 1,173,673k 1.32 LHA v 2.13 2,796,962k 1,138,181k 1.33 ========================================================================= Page 6 ** The Unofficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ========================================================================= It was interesting to note that while ARC did not compress as well as the rest, its time was as good as the New ZIP. Now on the EXE files. I looked over each file to insure it was not compressed with PKLite, but it did appear that some of the files had already been compressed somehow as the compression was less than 5 % on some. But for the sake of the test, I left them in as these file could be in any archive. So here are the results of the .EXE test Type Of Compression Original Size Compressed Size Time PKZ204g with -ex Max compression switch 2,840,178k 1,532,012k 1.10 PKZ204g Default 2,840,178k 1,535,701k .52 ARJ 2.39D (beta) 2,840,178k 1,537,995k 1.13 Squeeze 2,840,178k 1,532,247k 1.29 ARC v 6.02 2,840,178k 2,134,127k 1.03 PAK v 2.51 2,840,178k 1,665,380k 1.29 LHA v 2.13 2,840,178k 1,561,892k 1.27 So now the summery, In the Text file test, Squeeze won by only a few K over PKZ204g's max compression switch as far as size goes. While PKZ204g's default and ARC v 6.02 tied for speed. I did not use any special switches to improve speed on these, just the defaults As far as the .EXE files go, it appears that PKZ024g's max compression just eased out Squeeze in compression, and that PKZ204g's default won on the speed as well. All these test were run on a 386 DX 40MHZ system with 4 meg of ram and QEMM. While your results might very some, I don't believe that there would be much difference. So, which should you use?? Well, thats up to you. People look for different things in compression programs and this first story just touches on a few. In the future, I hope to give you more to chew on, and we can both learn at the same time ========================================================================= Page 7 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ========================================================================= ** Door Review ** - - - IMPERIUM - - - THE WARGAME OF THE MILLENNIA Copyright (C) 1988, 1992, Multi-Player Version 3.52 Search IV. All rights Reserved The Castle of the Four Winds BBS. (714) 860-3213 Anyone who's been around P.C.'s a while has probably seen the game Empire and if you've been around BBS's a while you've probably seen Imperium since the door has been out for a number of years. So, why the review? Simply stated, flexibility. With all the new options, rewritten code and sysop utilities this door deserves one. For those who have never seen it, Imperium is like one of those big war maps in the movies where generals pushed around tanks and battle ships to form their front lines. A clear explanation of play is difficult since so many things are determined by the sysop (or game master). Usually, you start out with one city and a hand full of pieces. As you expand outward you try to capture more cites. Each city will build you more units. The map is totally blank to start and you only see what is within your range. The map is only updated by your current position. ie. if you saw an enemy piece a few turns ago it has probably moved but you won't know till you can go back and check. The map can be any number of terrain types. The following are the ASCII terrain characters. [.] - Deep Water [~] - Low Hills [+] - Land [?] - Forests [^] - Mountains [)] - Desert [=] - Swamps [#] - Tundra [:] - Ice [&] - Jungles [@] - Sand Dunes [V] - Volcano [,] - Rivers/Coastal Water [-] - Lava Flows Of course the door can ( and I highly recommend) be played in ANSI where the terrain is more easily identified and you get a nice splash of color. Naturally the terrain affects unit movement. For example ground units might be damaged crossing swamps while air units fly right over. The unit types are land, sea, air and space. Another nice option is Warhead types for =========================================================================== Page 8 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== those that prefer chemical or nuclear destruction. The map can be almost any size up to 650 x 650 depending on available RAM and hard disk space. Perhaps the best description of the doors flexibility is by example. My board currently runs three Imperium doors. One is your standard Empire type computer generated map, the pieces are armies, tanks, fighters, several different types of ships, Cruise missiles, satellites ect. The second is a D&D game where the map consists of tunnels, underground rivers and lakes with lava flows making up the dungeon walls. The pieces are Elves, Dwarfs, Trolls, Wizards (which can teleport and carry spells), Dragons (which fly and breath fire), Clerics (which heal) Ect.. The third (and private door) is a World War II recreation for Five players. Each Player starts with eight cites. The Axis players start with many more units while the Allies, though weaker are more spread out and find it easier to expand to unowned areas rapidly. I'm sure you can see the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. The door comes with two utilities. IMPINIT.EXE starts the game and randomly generates a basic map, or by using switches you can specify how much of certain terrain ( /V10 would be ten percent Volcanos, perhaps your pieces should be dinosaurs), load an already existing map, define city names and load optional pieces. Once the door is initialized IMPUTIL.EXE allows full sysop control for customizing the game. Starting forces, Unit and terrain stats, predetermined players if desired, distance between starting players, Kill probability and a complete map editor for those finishing touches. On to the sysop type stuff. I found the door easy to install and it works locally without a separate "local access door". My BBS is run on an old 286 with 1 meg RAM and Imperium has never made it lock up, crash, beep ect.. In fact it's been one of the best behaved doors I run. The docs are complete and easily understood. I have called the support board and my questions were quickly and cheerfully answered. Registration for the door is $20 U.S. and an additional $10 receives one year full support & beta test privileges: ============================================================================ Page 9 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ============================================================================ ** TRIBBS THIRD PARTY PROGRAMS ** Normally this area would have a review of a one of the many TriBBS Third party program, but this month I thought it would be more helpful to have this list by Clay Fugitte. Clay has gone through allot to bring us this list of Utilities that will work with TriBBS 4.0 and we owe him allot for it If it save just one sysop from disaster, then it was worth it. Thank you Clay Okay everyone here is a list of files that I *know* will work 100% with TriBBS 4.0: ==> NOTE: These programs do not support with the new ALIAS option! <== UPDATED LIST: March 4, 1993 BLIST400.ZIP -- BBS List Maker CHANGE24.ZIP -- Change your LOGOFF/LOGON or MENUES daily CHNGPAGE.ZIP -- Toggle your PAGE BELL On/OFF COLORALM.ZIP -- Modifed ALMANAC program, the original ALMANAC will also --------------- work. DELFS10.ZIP --- Delete files from your FILES.LST FIXCALL11.ZIP - Shrink your CALLERS.LOG FLASH30.ZIP -- Creates newsletter/newspaper/banner etc. --------------- Logon or Bulletin screen with info you supply. FLST20.ZIP ---- Add files to your FILES.LST MCHECK2.ZIP --- Asks users if they wish to check for mail. TBDNLD21.ZIP -- Track files downloaded from your TriBBS File Directories TBDROP01.ZIP --- Checks for User Carrier Drop and sends Nastygram. TBSN23.ZIP ---- Send Note to another user (up to 10 users). TBSYSOP1.ZIP -- Registered TriBBS SysOp Upgrade (Use TRISEC41.ZIP) TBDNLD20.ZIP -- TriBBS/TriTel Download Tracker (Use TBDNLD21.ZIP) TMAST22.ZIP --- TriBBS Master File List Maker. TNTBRD10.ZIP -- BBS List Maker TRIBUL10.ZIP -- Track Number of times Bulletins are read. TRIJOKE.ZIP --- Make a Joke a day TRISTA14.ZIP -- Statistics of use of your system. TRIWCR10.ZIP -- Who Called your system recently? TRIWNU10.ZIP -- Welcome New Users to your system TTFXLG20.ZIP -- Shorten your callers.log file. =========================================================================== Page 10 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== TTLIST1.ZIP --- This contains 3 files: FILE.COM - Ok, USER.COM - Ok --------------- CONF.COM * WARNING: DO NOT USE * TTOP3012.ZIP -- Generates a TOP 30 Files Downloaded List. Requires the --------------- use of TDNLD20.ZIP or TBDNLD21.ZIP and TMAST22.ZIP. --------------- TTTP1020.ZIP -- Top Ten Users list generator TNTFND10.ZIP -- Locate User on your system. Will NOT check or find any --------------- users aliases. TNTUSR11.ZIP -- Gives multiple info on users of your system. TNTHAPPY.ZIP -- Create a birthdaygram for your users, makes logon screen --------------- for 4th of July, Valentines Day or Christmas. TBANK31.ZIP --- TriBBS Time Bank TBCBV201.ZIP -- Call Back Verifier MAKEHELP.ZIP -- Create help menues for users of TriBBS. ================== NEW FILES TESTED as of 02/23/93: ================== DRWY221.ZIP --- Allows you to add normal programs to your BBS as a door FILECNT8.ZIP -- Create headers and other options for TriBBS File Lists LASTCL10.ZIP -- Last Callers Bulletin Generator (Use LASTCL12.ZIP) LASTCL12.ZIP -- Updated version of above. SYSUSE10.ZIP -- System Usage Report. Creates ANSI and ASCII Bulletins TBDACC30.ZIP -- Lets you add security to your on-line doors. TBDELU20.ZIP -- TriBBS DELETE USER utility. Set # days and Sec. level FIXCAL12.ZIP -- Another CALLERS.LOG shrinking utility NEWUSR12.ZIP -- New Users Bulletin Generator TOPDOR11.ZIP -- On-Line Door ranking utility FILDAT10.ZIP -- FILES.LST utility to add actual dates to FILES.LST 11 files tested and verified to work with TriBBS 4.0 =================== NEW FILES TESTED as of 03/04/93: ================= LAST1530.ZIP -- Display last 15 callers on your TriBBS board. NEWSEC.ZIP ---- Allows you to use PCBoard CBV's with TriBBS. RNDMZR.ZIP ---- Randomize your logon or logoff screens. QUESTAIR.ZIP -- Sample questionaire files for TriBBS. TBSN25.ZIP ---- Newest version of SendNote. BBSLIS10.ZIP -- BBS Lister for creating a BBS list bulletin. DIR_CVT1.ZIP -- Converts Non-TriBBS file lists to TriBBS file lists. FBRAINXX.ZIP -- File Brain Upload Virus / File Checker. MAKLST10.ZIP -- Another MASTER File list maker. =========================================================================== Page 11 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== SHMPG310.ZIP -- Artificial Intelligence SysOp Chat program. TRIMENU1.ZIP -- Allows you to view, print or delete your CALLERS.LOG TRISEC41.ZIP -- TriBBS SysOp Upgrade. (TriBBS 3.3 and 4.0) TSCN402.ZIP --- File Upload Virus scanner/checker. ZLPGEN11.ZIP -- Zip Lab File Upload Virus scanner/checker. 14 files tested and verified to work with TriBBS 4.0 ======================== END OF UPDATED LISTING ===================== I have found ALL of the above files will work extremely well and very reliably with TriBBS 4.0. And believe me a lot of time, research and unzipping of files went in to verifying these files. Not to mention locating/downloading those I could still find. :) Please note: The above files may come under different archive formats, such as .ARJ, .ZOO, .LZH, .PAK, etc. I convert all files to ZIP format on Dracula's Tomb and is why they are so listed. However I recommend you *avoid* any programs that were written for TriBBS 3.3 or earlier that deal with the message bases of TriBBS. These files will either LOCK UP your computer, give an error code or trash your message files! Well I sure hope this helps everyone. If you don't see a file listed you've been using it's probably because I either A. Didn't have it. or B. Couldn't get it to test. Please note that there are several files listed above by FC Software and note that FC Software NO LONGER SUPPORTS these files or accepts registrations for them. They were files I was using and had stopped using until I could verify that they would work with TriBBS 4.0, of which the ones above do. Here are some files to *AVOID* as they may corrupt or damage your TriBBS 4.0 message files or some other aspect of TriBBS 4.0: --====>>> Files to AVOID: <<<====-- TBCHLP40.ZIP -- Lets you make conference descriptions for your message --------------- areas for TriBBS 3.3 TTCONFS1.ZIP -- Allows you to print your conferences for TriBBS 3.3 CONF.COM ------ Makes a list of your TriBBS 3.3 conferences. Found in --------------- the file: TTLIST1.ZIP TTPURGE1.ZIP -- Allows you to set # of days to purge messages in one --------------- sweep for TriBBS 3.3 ============================================================================ Page 12 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ============================================================================ ====>>> TRIDOG / TRINET WARNING!!! <<<==== WARNING: When converting to TriBBS 4.0 MAKE SURE you OVERWRITE your TRIDOG 4.0 and RESET with the TRIDOG 5.0 files! If you run your old TriDog with TriBBS 4.0 your messages will NOT be exported! All you will EXPORT is the TriDog tagline and your boards origin line! The rest of the message will be BLANK! Also do the same with TRINET if you are using TriNet. Otherwise you CAN and WILL corrupt your *.CRC files , *.HGH files and your TriBBS MESSAGE Conferences! If you do not overwrite your old *.EXE files with the new ones! Believe me this has already happened to two SysOps! Any messages imported will also be corrupted! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! ===============>>> END OF WARNING MESSAGE <<<============== Well I hope this helps a lot of SysOps out that were having as many doubts as what would run with TriBBS 4.0 and some of the message conversion problems encountered along the way. So there you have it. Clay Fugitte - Dracula's Tomb #137 - A TriBBS Support Board Note: The above information may be FREQ'd or Downloaded from my Board: Dracula's Tomb from 8pm - 8am Eastern Standard Time Phone: (407) 282-3173 Filename: TB4CKLST.ZIP Watch for future updates if and when they occur. =========================================================================== Page 13 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== ** TriBBS Optimization ** By Joseph DeCarlo SysOp of THE FLASH EXPRESS BBS 703-491-7720 This is the first article I have ever written for a news letter so if there are confusing areas please understand. I've been running TriBBS since November 9, 1991. In that time I have learned quite a bit in improving the performance of TriBBS. My goal was to reduce the amount of time it would take for a caller to logon and still see the information I had to put out. I believe I have accomplished this and hope to help others thru this article. I'll try to be as clear as possible, but if a point or method is vague, please feel free to leave me mail and I'll try to clarify. Though I have not tried these methods on an XT, some of them may be helpful in running TriBBS on that type of computer. First and probably most important is organization of your hard drive. If you have a 40 meg or bigger drive, partitioning is very important. I use a 20 meg partition for the BBS, but it would fit in as little as a 10 meg partition with no problem. I'm not sure of the upper limit, but with a 16 meg or greater partition, the sector size is 2048 bytes. Anything less and it is 4096 bytes. This helps in reducing the amount of space the files takes up. Now you ask why partition. Well though I found it by accident it significantly improved the performance of the BBS. The DOS search process is very slow and the less files it has to search thru speeds up the process. Any utilities that can run in a directory in your path should be kept out of the BBS partition (i.e., Tripack, Fileman, Fileslst, etc.). If you have the hard drive space it is also beneficial to partition for files, uploads and doors. Once you have your partitions set the next step is to decide what programs you need to run in your config.sys and autoexec.bat. I've found that the fewer number of TSRs used improves overall performance. If you have the memory, use a memory manager. On the =========================================================================== Page 14 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== 286 I used QRAM. This program supported UMBs so that I could load my TSRs high. On a 386 and above, QEMM is about the best, but there are others out there. I'll give examples of my config.sys and autoexec.bat, but one thing I've found out is no two machines are alike. Here they are: AUTOEXEC.BAT SET PCTOOLS=C:\PCTOOLS\DATA @ECHO OFF VERIFY OFF PROMPT $p$g SET COMSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM SET ZIPLAB=K:\WORKDIR SET GSZWINDOW=23 SET DSZLOG=G:\TEMP\DSZ.LOG PATH=C:\;C:\QEMM;C:\DV;C:\DOS;e:\TRIBBS;G:\UTIL;C:\DV\DVTREE;e:\tribbs\zlab C:\DV\DVTREE\DVTXDI.COM C: CALL DV CONFIG.SYS DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS R:1 RAM I=0C00-0FFF X=C800-CBFF NW3 ST:M DMA=64 device=c:\pctools\ramboost.exe load DOS=HIGH buffers=48 files=50 INSTALL=C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE /f:512 /l:30 DEVICE=C:\DOS\RAMDRIVE.SYS 2048 /e DEVICE=C:\DOS\MOUSE.SYS BUS STACKS=0,0 FCBS=1 LASTDRIVE=K SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM /E:384 /P One thing that helps is to experiment with QEMM to see what works best with the way you load TSRs and how you load them. For example Install can be loaded in either the Autoexec.bat or the Config.sys. I've found that loading it this way saves memory (as much as 2K) loaded in the Config.sys vice the Autoexec.bat. Next you'll notice that no cache program is used. I've tried just about everyone imaginable and each had it's own little quirks. For overall ========================================================================== Page 15 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ========================================================================== performance and reliability "buffers=48" works best if you have the memory available. Next is a ramdrive. I use the ramdrive for ZIPLAB. If you use the set statement for ZIPLAB this will significantly improve the speed of it and reduce hard drive use. The Stacks command is important because it saves the amount of memory used and improves performance. The commands for QEMM are machine and BIOS dependent. As I said before each computer is different and what works on one won't necessarily work on another. The FCBS statement only saves about 500 bytes, but each little bit helps in overall performance and helps use programs like ARJ. Last of all you'll notice there are no QEMM Loadhi statements. The reason is I use PCTOOLS Ramboost program. This is an auto memory manager and takes into account any changes made to the Autoexec.bat or Config.sys. Also it increased memory availabilty by 2K. As I've said every little bit helps improve speed and performance. Now that you have everything setup, routine maintenance can help with performance. Running Tripack helps reduce the amount of time for message searching regardless of the size of your message base. I use "TRIPACK /P" to delete received private messages and dated messages. One thing you need to do is logon locally to make sure all private messages were marked received. You can delete them and help speed up performance. After doing this you should unfragment your hard drive. I do all partitions daily and do a full optimization on the BBS drive daily. The rest of the partitions I do a full optimization once a week. It may not be necessary to do this, but every little bit helps. The last area I'd like to go into is hardware. TriBBS will run on any IBM compatible computer and run very well thanks to our author, Mark Goodwin. The hardware I use here is rather unique, but if you get the chance to logon here you'll see what I mean. I have four IDE hard drives running on one computer. The reason this is possible is an additional IDE controller. It has it's own BIOS to read the hard drives and if the drives are DMA (Direct Memory Access) capable the drive performance increases SIGNIFICANTLY. I have two ST-3283A's on the controller that are DMA capable. Though the drives are rated at 12 MS with DMA speed has increased to 4-6 MS. I'm not saying you need to get hardware like this, but if you can afford it you can really improve how fast a caller can logon to your BBS. Again if you have any questions or need help, feel free to leave mail or call my BBS. =========================================================================== Page 16 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== ** Hardware Help ** Desqview and Colorado Jumbo Tape drive users: By Steve Strope I don't know how many folks here use DesqView along with the Jumbo tape drive system, but I'll throw this out anyway. It may help someone out allot. In the past there has been a BIG problem with backing up data with the Jumbo tape drive under Desqview. Their tape software wouldn't multi-task. Sure, you _could_ backup under DesqView with the drive (I could anyway), but only as long as that was ALL I was doing. You couldn't have another task active while the backup was taking place. Quarterdeck has now said that if you start DesqView with the parameter: /HW:0E:L then you should be able to use the drive WHILE doing other tasks. I have NOT done it personally, but the messages I've been reading about this parameter have been really good (one sysop reported that he successfully backed up his drives while he had a caller downloading files and he was using a text editor at the same time). Others are getting the same success. So if you need it - try it. I'll give it a shot soon and report success/failure. (grin). p.s. This works only with the tape backup running off the Floppy controller. Not the dedicated card. p.p.s. I can show ya the original message from Quarterdeck if you don't believe me. . Eric Ratcliffe Editorializes "...Hey, have you tried the WordSpooger word processor for Windows yet? Man, the graphics are in*TENSE*! And the cookbook database and earthquake predictor features are truly innovative! Also, you can calculate your biorhythms, log favorite TV shows, and sound alarms whenever your baby needs a diaper change... You have GOT to have this!" Yeah, but how is it with word processing? =========================================================================== Page 17 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== "...Uh, well... It's WordSPOOGER! It can do that stuff too... But have you seen its gas mileage tracking feature yet? Definitely an 'A' ticket!..." Right. I think I'll stick with VDE, thank you very much. It seems that in a day and age when we are at least *trying* to convince ourselves that our software is moving in a forward direction, we are actually regressing to the dime store mentality of combining 100 features into a single unit. A lot of today's software reminds me of the cheap Woolworths all-in-one stereo systems that have a cassette deck, record player, 8 track tape player, and TV in one "conveniently priced unit", sure to please all... The problem is, these stereos were designed to make a lot of different people happy by incorporating more features than the average person would even want, much less actually USE, and sometimes quality was sacrificed to make these wonderful items a reality. Perhaps software for DOS systems has reached its azimuth and is now at a point where everything that can be done *has* been done, so it's time for worthless extras to be thrown in for good measure... When did quality cease to be top priority? Why is it that flashy screens and obscure features are what people are going for in today's software? I wish I knew... With the popularity of Windows on the rise, it seems to me that a new WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) feature is enough to convince the average person that he or she needs to upgrade to the latest and greatest of whatever it is that they have; whether they really *need* the upgrade is sometimes debatable. For some reason I'm only seeing this in the commercial market; shareware, it seems, is usually upgraded for bug fixes, whereas commercial software seems to be upgraded for questionable features that quite possibly will create a slew of all-new-and-improved bugs (for your computing pleasure, of course... But boy, doesn't that screen look just DANDY? So what if my computer is locked up; I have something pretty to look at while I call tech support for $2 a minute...). With the volume of horror stories of this ilk that I've been hearing lately, I'm glad that there is an active shareware industry to take up the slack. The majority of the programs I run on a daily basis are shareware or freeware, reason being that I generally trust these programs more, they are nicely sized, and (for the most part) they are not clogged up with inane features; they are focused in their scope, and thus prove to be more useful to me than a large all-in-one commercial package. Quality and functionality should be the name of the game, not esthetics. ============================================================================ Page 18 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 ============================================================================ After having toyed with a *NIX variant, I am now privy to the excesses that some commercial DOS softwares hide under to make them more appealing to the general public. Graphics don't cut it with me. *POWER* does. *NIX and its variants generally are not graphics oriented, which leaves you with pure text and binaries that provide the rawest of raw functionality; piecing these elements together with a shell language or a C program can provide unparalleled power to your every day computing needs, and it's all part of the world of *NIX. I would like to think that the average user (like myself) could have some options to choose from that provide true, specialized power when using *DOS*, but I am not seeing very much of this in today's commercial DOS software market. If I had to single out one type of commercial software as being bloated, it would have to be word processors. Take them in their true perspective; word processors are really nothing more than printer control programs. They can't do anything that your printer is not already set up to do, so basically there isn't anything that the average person is going to get from MS Word that they won't get from Boxer or VDE. If your printer does not support downloadable fonts, you will be stuck with the same fonts in Word as with the latter two. The same goes for printing graphics, incorporating high ASCII characters, and basic underlining and multiple striking. In my opinion, these are all that the average person will need for his/her word processing needs. So why is it that today's commercial word processors are so bloated? With the exception of businesses, who is *really* going to use a mail merge, or incorporate graphic files into their documents? Sure, it can be nice to have these features, but the cost of the software does not justify the purchase when you think of how many times these obscure features will *actually* be used. If one wants to use graphics in their documents, they should be able to get add-on modules for their word processors; it should be an option, not a mandatory feature. The bottom line is what should be important; a word processor should excel in *word*processing*, and anything beyond that should be left to the add- on's. (Lotus 123 and AutoCad are the only two programs that I know of that incorporate this modular approach. They may be a bit pricey, but at least you don't have to buy what you don't want.) So much for the software companies; now a small blurb about the end users... I know of quite a few people who have purchased high end 486 PC's (no, I'm not talking about you Joe...) supposedly for the power and speed of the computers, and in the end they only use them for balancing checkbooks =========================================================================== Page 19 ** The UnOfficial Newsletter of TriBBS ** March 1993 =========================================================================== and playing video games with their kids. For some reason this does not register as being logical to me. If you are not going to use or require the power of a high end PC, why spend the extra coin to get it? I can accomplish more with a 286 than a lot of these people can with their 486's, and I am by no means an expert at computing. If one wants to play video games, he/she can get a Nintendo system. If one wants to do financial management, he/she can get a 286. I personally would be embarrassed to fork out the dough for something that I wasn't going to use (I have done this in the past, and yes, I have been embarrassed over it). Why buy a Maserati to drive to and from a grocery store? If you don't want to keep that money, believe me, I'll take it off of your hands... Basically, the gist of this whole tirade is that if you are in the market for something new computer-wise, you need to consider what you will actually use; whether it's a word processor or an actual computer, if you are not going to use it for what it's meant to be used for, either now or in the future, then skip it. I have tried out high tech word processors, and for my needs VDE is more than adequate. Also, I have worked on 486 computers, and I must say that for what I do with a computer a 386 is just fine. I guess what I'm trying to address is more "bloat-mentality" than "bloat-ware", as it seems that the whole environment surrounding today's DOS based PC market is of a "bloat" nature. Bigger, faster, and more expensive isn't necessarily better in all cases. I am more ready to respect the 286 user who creates a mind blowing assembler program than I am a 486 user who can only show me how much in checking account service charges he racked up last month. Somehow, it just doesn't add up... Even if it was added up on a 486 using WordSpooger... Since I am the editor now, I get to get the last word in. Doing this newsletter has been a learning experience for me. I've never done any- thing like it and have enjoyed it imensly. In the future, I hope to be able to add more regular articles. I would like to add an area where TriBBS sysops could tell everyone about important events in their life, like weddings, New children, BBS milestones and such. Please, if you have any news like this, send me a message on TTN in the Newsletter conf. I am also always looking for articles about TriBBS or programs of interest to TriBBS sysops. By all means, send them this way. Your contributions are the only way this Newsletter will keep going. Thankyou for taking the time to read this over, and I hope you have enjoyed it, or at the very least, learned something from it Steve Sears