旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Special BBS Edition TAKE A BYTE NEWSLETTER � 팠袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴孤 � June 1, 1993 Issue 35 Volume 3 Bi-Monthly FREE � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 In this month's issue we are changing our style a little bit so that the newsletter will be easier to follow. Also, in this issue we are adding two new columns. The first addition is a Windows column that will explore the Windows enviroment. The second addition is a hardware column that might help you with some of those hardware questions. Here are the column name changes: Old Name New Name 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � News Bits News Bits � � Dos My DOS Prompt � � Windows (New) Breaking Windows � � Bbs BBSing Around � � Programming Compile This � � Hardware (New) The Expansion Slot � � Games Gonzo's Games � � Contests ROM Teasers � � Sales Buy, Spend, Sell � � Advertising Shameless Plugs � � Staff The Slave Drive � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Thank you for bearing with us... ************* �췕ews Bits�� ************* - The WordPerfect Corporation has funded a bicycle team to do cross country and tour riding. The team hopes to compete in the Tour De France. - The Pentium chips comes out from Intel. Price $900 - $1,000 Our next issue will carry a special editorial on the Pentium Microprocessor. - IBM's Green Machine will be hitting the PC stores. It is an enviromently aware PC. - NEC releases technical documents for hi-tech RAM chips. The chips will have a storage capacity of 32MB of data each. These wont be seen until the end of the decade. ***************** �췔y DOS Prompt�� ***************** Have you ever had a boot problem with your hard disk? Ever had a virus that tampered with your boot sector? Has your 12 year old kid played with Norton Utilities and opened Sector 0 for a little alphabet practice? Well these things happen, and we have uncovered a little DOS secret to help you that is NOT in any DOS manual you'll find. When you turn on your computer, it looks to the hard disk for a program. That program is called the master boot record. The master boot record tells DOS what and where everthing is. Well this little boot record on your hard disk can be screwed up real easy by either a virus or a co-worker that wants to tamper with it a bit. Well some utilites can repair it, but they never seem to do a great job do they? Well we figured out how to restore a original master boot record. It seems like the people who made DOS didnt trust us very much did they? That makes me wonder, but thats another topic for another issue. Here's what you do to restore your master boot record (egaads, should something actually go wrong. At your DOS prompt, type: FDISK /MBR. /MBR is a switch in the FixedDisk program (included in DOS) will make a new copy of a master boot record for sector 0 on your hard disk. *DOS Tips* Want to customize your prompt? Getting awful tired of "C:\>"? Well here, we will showl you how to change it! Here is the syntax... PROMPT $[switches] [message] $[switches] Example: prompt TBN Newsletter $p$g TBN Newsletter C:\> 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿓ere are the valid switches: � � $e = Escape character for ANSI � � $_ = Carriage return and line feed � � $d = Date � � $t = Time � � $g = Greater than sign � � $l = Less than sign � � $h = Backspace � � $n = Current drive � � $p = Current path � � $q = Equal sign � � $v = Dos version � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 ******************** �췇reaking Windows�� ******************** You may not use windows on your PC at home, but in the workplace most CIS and MIS teams are throwing Windows and Windows applications onto the standalone PC's. Later this year a new type of Windows will hit the workplace. It's called Windows NT for networks. Hopefully, this small column will help you to unserstand the windows enviroment a little better. Now is a good time to go over some basic features of windows. Windows is run by a program called "Program Manager". The program manager has control over "groups" inside it. The groups inside are: Applications, Startup, Accessories, Games, and Main. As you install more software you may have more groups. Inside each of these groups are programs. These programs can be as popular as Lotus to a simple draw program. Windows was first designed to give DOS users a simple way to multitask. If you're used to DOS, multitasking can be a mind-blowing experience. In DOS you have to exit out of one program to go to the next. For example: you want to do a document in WordPerfect and then a spreadsheet in Lotus. In DOS, you have to start Lotus, do your spreadsheet, exit, and then start WordPerfect. If you are in windows than you can run Lotus and WordPerfect on the same screen! The only problem with multasking is that its very slow. You need at least a 386/16 Mhz machine with at least 4 megabytes of RAM. I can already see some of the more experienced windows people scoffing at me. Most industry experts recommend a 486/50 Mhz machine with 16 megabytes of RAM. Either way windows will never be fast enough for us, will it? *Windows Tips* Get all your windows on your screen, open all of your groups and then tile your group windows so you can see all your icons at one glance. ***************** �췇BSing Around�� ***************** This issue TBN went out in search of Zola. Zola has a BBS and you may have seen her famous ANSI (American National Standards Institute) creations on many BBS's around the Southern California area. Many people look at her ANSI and wonder who this woman is? Well we bring to you... Zola! We asked her some questions that we thought you would like to know. So here goes Zola.... TBN: When did you first learn how to do ansi? Zola: Well I picked it up about two years ago when I first started BBSing and was pretty frustrated with a program I was using and the documents that came with it, BUT I understand it now! TBM: What drawing program do you use? Zola: I use the REGISTERED version on THEDRAW. TBN: What motivates you? Zola: Just about anything... Since I moderate so many pubs in the Los Angeles area and have taught a lot of people how to "Do ANSI" themselves, I try and keep the pubs current with new ansi. On a good day I can put together about 2-5 ansi posts. I always try to have something for each holiday or special event. The best oness, I post on my opening screen of my BBS for a special occasion. TBN: How long has your BBS been running? Zola: Officially, August 1st, 1991. TBN: Has your ansi caused you any problems or has it helped you in a situtation? Zola: Never caused me any problems excpet on one board where a young 16 year old user accused me of stealing some one else's ansi to do my drawings. Nintey-nine percent of the time I hear nothing but GREAT things. TBN: Where do you see ansi going into the future? Zola: Well Ansi is pretty limited..... You can do a lot of motion in ansi and I have a very nice collection of them myself, but as far as uploading them to BBS's, I get complaints that they take too long to display so I do not post them often. If we could get curves out of ansi It would open up a whole new realm of possiblites for me. I owe most of it to Crunchie (a fellow BBSer), he helped me learn. *BBS Tips * Look for a BBS with a big library, a big library is a sign for a good BBS. Many BBS's have CD's full of shareware and other goodies that make the BBS a little more interesting. Try to get on a BBS with a library of over 100 megabytes of files. **************** �췈ompile This�� **************** Snoops. I hate people who snoop into my PC, they look for memos, love notes or anythings they can get their greedy little hands on! Well look out, we are going to give you the power to add a little security to your PC! Our little program is in Qbasic and will trick your snoop hard core. Just run the program and you can walk away from the PC without any problems. You also can run this program from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, too. To run the program, type this from your DOS prompt: QBASIC /RUN PROTECT.BAS. To end the program and return to your work, press the "~" (tilde) key. As long as your snoop isn't a computer whiz, then you'll be well protected. Listing for PROTECT.BAS 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � CLS � 1) Copy the text to the left into � 1 � a text file using DOS's EDIT � INPUT "C:\>", violate$ � command. � IF violate$ = "~" THEN SYSTEM � � BEEP � 2) Run the program from the DOS � PRINT � prompt as shown above. � PRINT "Virus Catcher ver 2.2 WARNING!" � � PRINT "System infected with Snoop virus" � 3) You are all done! � PRINT "Consult users guide" � � PRINT � � GOTO 1 � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 (programmers note: The program above mentions the word virus, it is NOT a virus in ANY sense. We are never going to show you how to make a virus, so get that idea out of your head!) *Programming Tips* Give the most detail to your variables in your programs. Like instead of using variables like "x$" for input calls try to be more descriptive. Use words like "Amount$" or "Total$" if your doing accounting programming. ********************** �췛he Expansion Slot�� ********************** Welcome to the expansion slot, in this column we hope to take some of the mystery out of hardware. Most people these days are concerned with how Lotus does this, or WordPerfect does that but no one gives a hoot about what whats happening on the inside of the computer. Hopefully this column will help make you aware of the hardware. I think now would be a good time to go over some basics of whats inside and outside of your computer. CPU - Central Processing Unit, is in fact the body of your computer and all its components. The CPU is also sometimes referred to as the processor chips. Monitor - What your staring at. Monitors come in different sizes and different types. The most common types are: Monochrome (which looks like amber or green on black), CGA (Color Graphics Adapter), EGA (Enhanced Graphics Adapter), and VGA (Video Graphics Adapter). Keyboard - What your typing on. Most common keyboards today are called the 101-Enhanced Keyboards. The 101 means the number of keys. This Keyboard was introduced with the IBM AT. Mouse - The mouse is a device that moves on the surface of your workspace and causes the computer to correlate the movemnt to the display. The mouse has either one, two, or three buttons. (To be continued in the next issue) *Hardware Tips* You should clean the inside of your computer at least once every six months. Use a can of compressed air to blow dust of the memory chips and processors. Remove all the cards and clean connectors with a Q-tip and some dentured alchol and let them dry. Also clean the floppy drives with a disk cleaner to remove the oxide deposits. ***************** �췍onzo's Games�� ***************** This month I tried out Epic's Solar Winds. You are Jake Stone, interstellar bounty hunter, and you fly about in your spaceship righting wrongs and occasionally blowing things away. This is basically a shareware knockoff of Wing Commander, so if you have that game, don't bother with this one. If you haven't played Wing Commander, however, Solar Winds is definitely worth a look-see. The Good: The graphics are excellent, some of the of the best I've seen in a shareware game. The controls are simple and easy to learn, and the plot offers a fair amount of challenge. This is a game for joysticks, however, so don't bother with the mouse controls, if you don't have a joystick, just use the keyboard. The Bad: Like most graphics-intensive games, Solar Winds requires a lot of RAM -- at least 553K. It also conflicts with some TSR's, and I had to disable my entire AUTOEXEC and CONFIG files to get it to work right. You may have to experiment a bit when first starting out. On top of that, the plot is a bit thin -- it has none of the extended character interactions of Wing Commander. The Ugly: As with all Epic games, the shareware version only gives you half the story. If you want the whole game, you have to send them $30, which is a bit stiff for shareware in my opinion. GONZO'S RATING: 7.5 *Gonzo's Tips* When playing Solar Winds, pick your fights with care. While you get some points for destroying away other ships, until you get very good, you'll probably take more damage than its worth. Don't be afraid to communicate, either -- much of the game involves exchanging things with other spacefarers. *************** �췙OM Teasers�� *************** **Scrambled Words** Unscramble the word, if you can. (Last issues word: OPERATING SYSTEM) This issues scrambled word: SWOWDIN FOOTRICMS Clue - Its slow and Bill Gates thought of it. **Answer & Question** We give you the answer, you think of the question. (Last issues question: What is a RAM disk.) This issues answer: Makers of the most popular floppy drives. Clue - A party in boston right before the revolution. ******************** �췇uy, Spend, Sell�� ******************** Top 5 Selling Software Top 5 Shareware 1) DOS 6.0 Upgrade Kit 1) Pkware 2.04G 2) Windows 3.1 2) Wolfenstien 3D 1.0 3) Lotus Improv for Windows 3) McAffee Scan 4) QEMM 6.0 4) Icon-Do-It 5) PC Tools for Windows 5) Tempest Shell ******************* �췚hameless Plugs�� ******************* � ** MODEM BUTTERFLY'S BBS Spread your electronic wings! Instant Access! Outrageous intelligent fun, 32 chat lines, 1200/2400/9600, 1 gig lib., PC Pursuitable, writers workshop, trivia contests, spec. int. grps: SEX, trekkies, MarriedButNotDead, singles, MENSA, and mo' (818)842-6900 � ** The Bell Business Report is a nationally distributed newsletter. 4th year of publication. For anyone interested in biz. Available in DTP or electronic format. $50 a year - upload to sysops. Laura Bell 365 W. Doran, #212, Glendale, CA 91203, 818-547-1192. Ad's will be free for the first 4 issues then will cost fifty cents a line ($0.50) for each issue after. Just drop us a note. ******************* �췛he Slave Drive�� ******************* 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� **EDITORIAL** **MARKETING** 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Editor: The DLF Group Coordinator: Tim (Dark Shadow) Publisher: The DLF Group Circulation: Report Dist. Inc. Game Consultant: Tom (CENSORED) BBS Coordinator: Chris L. DOS Consultant: Chris L. (CyberChrist) Advertising Exec: Chris L. Hardware Consultant: Position Open Windows Consultant: Chris L. (CyberChrist) Editor in Chief: Chris L. (CyberChrist) 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� ** Postion open - Wanted: hardware consultant, you must know how a computer works and know about all hardware areas. Must like to work for free. Equal Opportunity Employer. All trademaks & right reserved to the respective companies. Copyright (C) 1993 Byte Productions ID#TNB35