10/20/95 CompuNotes Issue #23 Patrick Grote, Publisher and Editor CompuNotes is a weekly publication available through an email distribution list and many fine on-line networks! We feature reviews, interviews and commentary concerning the PC industry. +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Listserv Finally! | |-----------------------------------------------------------| |WOW! We actually have a listserv site! Many thanks to those| |involved! We will be spilling the beans on the method | |of subscribing and unsubscribing next week. If for some | |reason your name is lost in the conversion, please send me | |a direct email at pg@supportu.com. Thanks for your patience| |in advance! | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Web Site! | |-----------------------------------------------------------| |Thanks to the hard work and effort of Judy Litt of | |Qualitty Designs (jlitt@aol.com) we will have a weekly | |HTML version of CompuNotes! We will publish the address | |next week! We will also be holding weekly contests of | |people who visit the site! | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ This Week's Contents: ===================== NEWS ==== -=> Manzi Walks with 75 Million <=- -=> Encryption Standard <=- REVIEWS ======= -=> Freemail - The Email for the World <=- -=> Norton's Anti-Virus for Windows 95 <=- WEB SITE OF THE WEEK ==================== -=> Microchannel, Obsolete Meets Web, Cutting Edge <=- FTP FILE OF THE WEEK ==================== -=> Integrity Master Data Protection <=- INTERVIEW ========= -=> Is This The Way BBS Are Going <=- To subscribe, send a message to subscribe@supportu.com with subscribe in body. To unsubscribe, send a message to unsubscribe@supportu.com with unsubscribe in body. Comments should be sent to feedback@supportu.com. Voice: (314) 984-9691 BBS : (314) 984-8387 FAX : (314) 984-9981 All old copies available from anonymous FTP at ftp.uu.net:/published/compunotes CD-ROM Online Magazine is another good resource. You can subscribe free by sending an email message to CDRMag@nsimultimedia.com with the word subscribe in the body of the text! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . . All News (C)opyright Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -=> Manzi Walks with 75 Million <=- CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim P. Manzi, chief executive officer of Lotus Development Corp. since April 1986, resigned today. In July, Lotus became a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM Corp. when it was acquired for $3.5 billion. In a memo to employees explaining his decision to resign, Manzi said: "I have concluded over the past couple of weeks that I'm not the right person to be leading Lotus at this juncture in its history. The attributes that I believe made me an effective chief executive of a nearly billion-dollar independent company, aren't necessarily the attributes required of an executive leading a division within a much larger organization. The challenges that excited me previously aren't necessarily the same challenges we face today." Manzi told employees he was proud of what they had accomplished together. He cited the shipment of Lotus 1-2-3 in January 1983, which delivered real value to early users of personal computers; the company's transition to a multi-product strategy; and the company's transformation from being a supplier of single-user desktop applications to a leader in communications-based software "that is helping companies worldwide transform the way they do business." Manzi told employees he was most proud not of what they had accomplished, "but in how we accomplished it." He added that he is confident Lotus and IBM can work together to provide unique value to customers. He also said he's confident that Lotus' communications-based strategy will pay dividends far into the future and that Lotus Notes will be "the defining network application in a networked world." Manzi, who as a consultant with McKinsey & Company helped develop the strategy for bringing Lotus 1-2-3 to market, joined the company as director of marketing in May 1983. He was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing, leading the company's expansion into international markets, and then was named president and chief operating officer in November 1984. In April 1986, he was named chief executive officer and later that year, in July, he was appointed chairman as well. Lotus Development Corp., a subsidiary of IBM Corp.(NYSE: IBM), offers high quality software products and support services that reflect the company's unique understanding of the new ways in which individuals and businesses must work together to achieve success. Lotus' innovative approach is evident in a new class of applications that allows information to be accessed and communicated in ways never before possible, both within and beyond organizational boundaries. The company also provides numerous support services, both from its consulting division and its award-winning 24-hour support center. EDITOR'S NOTE: All Lotus news releases and other SmartSuite collateral are available on the Internet, via the Lotus Development Corp. Home Page at http://www.Lotus.com. The Lotus Home Page is an easy way to find information about Lotus and its business partners' products and services. -=> Encryption Reality <=- SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- PCMCIA has formed a new Working Group dedicated to standardizing and promoting the PC Card as an interface for data encryption and digital signature applications. The Working Group was formed to work within the PCMCIA Technical Committee to help the Association define and standardize the capabilities and requirements for PC Card Security Card devices. The Group's immediate goals are to define the necessary extensions to the PC Card Standard that will allow easy identification of Security Card devices, and to proactively identify other vendors in the market and solicit their support for standardizing PC Cards as a security device. "The formation of this Group represents the formalization of an industry trend. A standardized form factor and interface for security devices is finally an attainable goal thanks to the widespread acceptance of PC Card technology," said Gary Visser, a senior software engineer with Spyrus Communications and Co-Chairperson of the Working Group. "It is this high level of host support that will promote PC Cards as a solution for electronic banking and commerce." PC Cards are seen by many experts as an ideal solution for digital signature and data encryption applications due to the established base of PC Card slots, and because most security applications are math intensive and require the processing power and storage of computers. The proposal to form the Group was presented to PCMCIA by Spyrus, Inc. of San Jose, California. The group will be co-chaired by Edward Tuggle of IBM Corporation and Visser of Spyrus, Inc. PCMCIA is a 500-member non-profit trade association and standards body that promotes the worldwide adoption of PC Card technology by defining technical specifications and proactively marketing the technology. PC Cards are credit-card-size peripheral devices that add memory, mass storage and I/O capabilities to computers and other electronic devices in a rugged, compact form factor. In addition to worldwide acceptance in the mobile computing industry, PC Cards are now being adopted by a wide range of industries such as desktop computing, digital imaging, cable television and transportation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -=> FreeMail "Extended Family Parent" <=- Reviewed by PC Training Corporation PC Training Corporation 804-591-2320 http://www.infi.net/~pctc pctc@infi.net FreeMail is a different kind of e-mail program that allows you to set up your own private network. You install the main program from the 'parent' disk and then make copies called 'child' disks that you hand out to whom ever you want in your network. Each child can send and receive messages and files to the parent. An 'extended family parent' has the added capability of allowing child-to-child messaging. I tried FreeMail's Extended Family Parent and loved it. Installation was a breeze. I popped the 3.5" disk in, double-clicked on the floppy disk icon on my Windows95 desktop, and ran SETUP.EXE from the disk. The setup program created a default folder (subdirectory) called FreeMail then loaded itself in. After filling in some information about myself (name, address, phone number, modem type, and user name), I was up and running. FreeMail is very easy to use. The main screen seemed a bit busy at first. It contains the typical "Windows" menu at the top (with the options 'File', 'Edit', 'View', 'Sites & Groups', 'Techie Stuff', 'Window', and 'Help'); then a row of eight large buttons for quick access to the program's main features (get mail, send mail, compose mail, make child diskette, etc.); and two major viewing areas: one for listing "Received Mail", the other for listing "Mail Waiting To Be Sent". A floating toolbar also hovered upon the screen with six not-so-clear buttons of its own. Not to be intimidated, I clicked immediately on the Help option at the end of the menu. Within seconds, I was able to find good explanations of all the buttons whose functions alluded me. (Note: there are no Tool Tips when you point at a button, like in Word or Excel, nor any explanation at the bottom of the screen.) The first thing I did with FreeMail was make a child disk. You do this by clicking on the large button with a picture of a disk being passed between hands. The only information FreeMail needs to make a child is which drive the disk is in and whether the new child will be local or long distance. I chose local because I was only going to a neighbor's computer next door. I clicked the OK button and in less than thirty seconds I had offspring. At the neighbor's house, the child disk installed itself just as fast and easy as the parent disk at my house. To test my new "network", I returned home and clicked on the "Wait for a Call" button in FreeMail. It's icon is a telephone with arrows pointing toward it; the "Send" button shows a similar telephone with arrows pointing away from it. The "Wait" button sets up FreeMail and your modem to receive mail. It does this by first locating your modem then placing the word "Waiting" at the bottom of its screen. While in the waiting mode, you can go off and run other applications. When a message does come in, FreeMail answers the phone on the first ring. Back at the neighbor's, I proceeded to send myself a message and a WordPerfect file. Once again, no problem. After clicking on the "Compose New Mail" button, a screen appears that's very easy to understand and use. User names are accessed with a drop-down list button and mine was placed in the list during the child-making routine. I clicked on my user name in the list, then wrote a short note, then clicked on the "Choose Files" button to add a WordPerfect file. The button used to actually send my note and attached file says "Mail" on it; I clicked it, and I was done. When I returned to my office, the mail was there. My neighbor's user name was automatically added to my drop-down list of addressees, as well; it apparently came in with the mail. There are many other features found in FreeMail which I will tryout when the need arises like creating custom cabinets. Custom cabinets allow you to organize your mail anyway you want; by category, by client, by project, etc. There's also a feature called Persistent Mail which sets up FreeMail to automatically send mail or files to anyone who calls you. You can also send Certified mail which automatically returns a confirmation when the person reads your message. There are more features than there is space in this review to cover them. FreeMail really is "the application that brings E-mail to everyone." You install the program onto your hard drive from one 3-1/2 inch disk. Then, you make copies onto other disks and give them to your friends, relatives, and clients. They install their child disk on their hard drive and there you have it! Instant e-mail. All you need to use this program is a computer with Windows and a modem. Bottom line: FreeMail is a great program that delivers all that it promises. Creates 200 Child disks to be given away! List price: $595.95 30-day guarantee from time of purchase Norton AntiVirus for Windows 95 Reviewed by Doug Reed Anyone who spends a lot of time on the 'Net knows the importance of having a good antivirus program. If you regularly access the Internet and download files, you are extreme risk of being infected. When Microsoft released their new OS, Windows 95, they did not include an antivirus program, an odd omission considering that an antivirus utility was part of MS-DOS 6. The problem is that the old 16-bit antivirus software won't work under Windows 95 while even old viruses will find that Windows 95 is an even friendlier environment than MS-DOS or Windows 3.1. However, Norton, a long time leader in the field of utility software, has released a new version of their popular antivirus software for Windows 95. Anyone familiar with previous versions of Norton AntiVirus will find nothing new in the installation, appearance, or usage of AntiVirus. AntiVirus comes with the ability to detect 3000+ already known viruses, and can be upgraded with monthly with updates that can be obtained from Symantec either on major BBSes, America Online, or at the Symantec web site (see below for address). In addition, AntiVirus can detect new viruses by monitoring your system for suspicious activity. The Auto-Protect portion of AntiVirus checks programs for viruses when you run, open, or create them. AntiVirus can even scan compressed files before you expand them and infect your system. AntiVirus can also be configured as far as what to scan and monitor, as well as how to respond to a virus once detected. The program can notify you, repair automatically, or even shutdown the computer should such a drastic measure be necessary. A rescue disk created by AntiVirus will restore your system and eliminate the offending virus. When installed, AntiVirus configures itself to your system. An icon is added to the right side of the task bar. Clicking on it will bring up a window allowing you to enable or disable the Auto-Protect portion of AntiVirus. AntiVirus can be further configured by opening the AntiVirus main window and selecting Options. This enables you to set when, where, and how AntiVirus does its stuff. If you have only 8 megs of RAM, running Auto-Protect will slow your system but is worth the tradeoff if you are connected to a network or the Internet. AntiVirus can also be configured to work over a network. Once workstations have AntiVirus installed, they can be configured by the Network Administrator and updated automatically. To protect against virus infection, AntiVirus can also 'inoculate' files (configurable by the user) which saves a fingerprint of the file for later comparison during scans by AntiVirus. This enables easier detection of unknown viruses. AntiVirus can also be configured by the user to exclude from scans programs which act like viruses (such as writing to the boot record of a disk). I found that Norton AntiVirus lives up to its word. It is easy to install and runs undetectably in the background (with 16 megs of RAM). Configuring the program to my needs was easily accomplished and did not require extensive reading of the manual to understand how to do things. I haven't run across a virus (YET!), but I now consider myself to be well protected. By the way, AntiVirus is certified by the National Computer Security Agency, a vendor-independent anti-virus laboratory, as being able to detect and eliminate more viruses than any other antivirus program currently on the market. If you have Windows 95, I have two words for you: Buy AntiVirus. Symantec Corporation 10201 Torre Ave. Cupertino, CA 95014 (800) 441-7234 (503) 334-6054 http://www.symantec.com CompuServe: GO SYMANTEC ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WEBSITE OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to a cool WebSite . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -=> Microchannel - Obsolete Meets the Web! <=- REDDING, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Micro Channel Developers Association (MCDA) announced today a new addition to the list of services currently offered to the Micro Channel community: an Internet web site. The home page can be accessed via http://microchannel.inter.net/microchannel. In MCDA's relentless effort to support the millions of users who have invested in Micro Channel products and who continue to do so, the organization established this new service on the Internet. The web site's primary mission is to assist users who wish to continue to leverage their investment. The site offers users the opportunity to search, locate, and purchase products right from the home page using a credit card or a purchase order. The database is the only comprehensive worldwide source for adapters and upgrades, as well as systems. It contains hundreds of products, most of which are not well publicized. The site also offers Micro Channel developers an avenue to promote their products through interactive advertising, access to development tools and specifications, product registration (POS ID), and technical support. Developers can view MCDA's product sales program as a "no cost" alternative to help sell their Micro Channel products, taking advantage of the association's established experience and credibility. "We will continue to expand our database of products, and we will make arrangements to have links from other sites, such as IBM's, whereby users can quickly access our home page without having to explicitly log on," stated Ramiz Zakhariya, president of the association. The MCDA's BBS service has been discontinued, and all its services have been migrated into the web site. The association has relocated its offices to a new address at 169 Hartnell Avenue, Redding, CA 96002. The telephone and fax numbers have not changed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COOL FTP FILE OF THE WEEK | You may need this file . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Integrity Master provides complete protection for the PC. It is a high performance (100% assembler) program offering virus protection, data integrity, security, CMOS protection, and change management all in one easy to use package. IM is NCSA (National Computer Security Association) as a virus scanner. It detects hardware glitches, software bugs, and even deliberate sabotage to your data. If a virus strikes, IM identifies it by name and (unlike other programs) also identifies any damage caused by the virus. Although it scans for known viruses, it will reliably detect new, unknown viruses so that you won't need to constantly upgrade. Integrity Master provides both a command line interface as well as easy-to-use menus with extensive on-line help. Now, (new with version two) Integrity Master provides complete protection for the PC's CMOS configuration memory. It will detect and diagnose significant changes to the CMOS memory. If needed, it can then restore the CMOS to its correct configuration. By using the quick update mode (/Q) IM provides the fastest scanning available. Integrity Master works smoothly under Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT, and OS/2. We will interview the author next week! You can find this as I_M260B.ZIP on the following FTP sites: WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU:/pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/misc/I_M260B.ZIP FTP.CRL.COM:/users/su/supportu/I_M260B.ZIP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK | Interesting people you should know about . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am a member of the RIME network. RIME is a message based network of BBS that use the Postlink software to transfer messages back and forth. If you all know if USENET Newsgroups, RIME is like that except you can address public message to an *individual*. This makes following conversations much easier. Over the past year I have seen the traffic, message volume, on RIME decrease markedly. Many system have left as well. Ian Evans, sysop of The Baudville BBS, recently posted on RIME that he would be leaving the network and shuttering his BBS. I wondered why. What follows is our interview and a haunting look at where the for profit BBS is moving . . . PG: What is the history of your BBS? When did it start? Why did you want to start it? IE: Baudeville BBS opened its two lines to the public on March 12th, 1992. After being a BBS caller since the early 80's I was bitten by that ol' "Why don't I run the board and let the messages come to _me_" bug. Baudeville started up with a 650 meg drive on a 386-25, with two CD drives. We had one 14.4 line and one 2400. We had quite an initial following. Despite being small, we carried about 1200 Usenet newsgroups using Ed Hopper's uuPCB. This was quite unusual for a small PCBoard, as only the big guns in Toronto like CRS and Rose Media had Usenet back then. We even had an article about us in Computing Canada magazine a week or so after we opened. Things livened up a bit when a local computer dealer struck a contra deal with us. Baudeville replaced its 2400 modem with a second 14.4 and added a third CD. November '93 saw the death of the 386-25 due to stress. A 486-50 replaced it, and Desqview made way for OS/2 2.1. February '94: The 650 megger died, taking the conferences with it. A corrupt backup also meant I had to rebuild, so I added a 1.2 gig drive and a couple of thousand conferences. We now had over 4300 message areas in nine networks, including 2300 Usenet areas imported via PCBuucp. We had moved to two 14.4 lines and two 28.8 lines. Alas, OS/2 and my EISA SCSI card were disagreeing with each other. Unpredictable file corruption brought many crashes. Cash flow was tight. By the time I switched back to an ISA SCSI and OS/2 Warp, our membership had been impacted by two things: our hardware problems and the lure of the Internet. We moved to one line in the Spring of '95 in an effort to stem the cash flow problem. No matter how hard I tried, I realized that 1-2-3 couldn't make the numbers look good. My wallet was its life support and it was getting thin. The painful decision was made October 4th, 1995.ÿ Baudeville BBS would turn off its modems in late November. PG: What do you do to pay the bills? Since your sysoping isn't doing it, what do you do for a living? IE: I work as a front-of-house supervisor for the Toronto "Phantom of the Opera". I also write comedy, though that's not the bread-winner yet. PG: What will be your fondest memory of being a sysop? IE: Meeting online friends. Helping members solve a problem. Reading unsolicited testimonials from members to newcomers. PG: What aspect of sysoping will you miss the least? IE: Staying up until the sun rises to make sure a problem is solved. PG: What equipment did you use to run your BBS? IE: 486-50 with 16 megs. 3 cd drives, 1.2 gig hard drive. PG: What is the key to running a successful BBS? IE: Hard work, determination...and enough capital to make it through the hard times. PG: What are you going to do with all your time now? IE: I'll know when the board closes. Until then I'm still eating and breathing running the system. I'll probably decompress for a few weeks...then look for a hobby. PG: What types of BBS do you enjoy calling? IE: A system run by a sysop who cares. I like it when they tell the members, "Last night was hell, we spent 12 hours repairing..." rather than ignoring a service interruption. PG: Any closing comments? IE: A special farewell to my members past and present, my fellow sysops who offered advice and friendship over the years, and a thank you to my friends and family who often thought I'd gone missing while I worked on the system. It's been crazy, but I'd do it all over again. Maybe if I win the lottery... -=> END OF ISSUE <=-