°±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²ÛßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßÛ²²ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²Û ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛ» ÛÛ» Û°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²Û ÈÍÍÛÛÉÍͼ ÛÛÉÍÍÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛº Û°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²Û ÛÛº ÛÛÛÛÛÛɼ ÛÛÉÛÛ» ÛÛº Û°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²Û ÛÛº ÛÛÉÍÍÛÛ» ÛÛºÈÛÛ»ÛÛº Û°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²Û ÛÛº ÛÛÛÛÛÛɼ ÛÛº ÈÛÛÛÛº Û°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²Û Èͼ ÈÍÍÍÍͼ Èͼ ÈÍÍͼ Û°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²ÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛ°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛ²²²°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°ÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²±±±°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° °±²Û²±° ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ On-line Edition Take A Byte Newsletter Free ³ ÆÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵ ³ November 1993 Issue 42 Volume 3 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º News Bits º -=ð New Releases and News ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ - NEC releases the Triple-Speed CD-ROM drives. 195ms at 450KB per second! 2 Models (3XE (external) & 3XI (internal) ). [NEC; 3xe $600, 3xi $520] - MS-DOS Version 6.2 is released. The version is for DOS 6 USERS ONLY! It fixes all the problems with DoubleSpace and comes with more utilities! Utilities to cache CD-ROM drives and more! [Microsoft $9.95] - X-Wing Mission Disk. Fly the B-Wing fighter in your X-Wing flight simulator game. This is the third disk in a series of upgrades for the game from LucasArts. [LucasArts $29.95] - CypherScan Business Card Scanner. Scan and keep track of your business card collection with a scanner, specially designed just for business cards and a Windows database. [CypherScan; CypherTech $395] - Number Nine GXE Apex video board. This board cooks! Windows resolution by 2048x2048 and it can handle up to 16.7 million colors at 1, 152x870 pixels. [GXE Apex $895] ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Special Editorial º -=ð Sierra - Games, Fun, Splitting? ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ The sierra corporation, which makes games such as: Kings Quest, Police Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest, and many more; is losing some of its top programmers. A lead programmer decided to start his own company, Tsunami Inc. in order to make CD-ROM games for PC's. This programmer also took some other sierra personnel with him who were not pleased with the company. This has shaken up the higher management of sierra. Ken Williams (founder of Sierra) was unavailable for comment. Sierra however, assures us that the games and game quality will be the same if not higher. All this after sierra plans to move its management offices to Seattle, instead of remaining in the small town of Oakhurst, CA. Oakhurst is where Ken Williams and his team first developed Leisure Suit Larry and Kings Quest I (the first Sierra games). Sierra will leave part of its team in Oakhurst, mainly for its latest venture, Sierra On-Line (a BBS devoted to on-line gaming). Oakhurst will still be a producer for Sierra Games, just not its headquarters. Sierra has always had its share of strange moves. Such as the Dynamix (a sierra sister company) Corp, which also makes games, such as Red Baron and others. Dynamix is based in San Francisco. This company makes games under its own label but issues credit to Sierra. Sierra was big enough to support these games, why the split? Who knows. Now we come to Tsunami Inc, a seven figure established company ready to make games with no help from Sierra. All we know is that the president of Tsunami was "unhappy" at Sierra. As one employee of sierra puts it, "Sierra mistreated a few employees, the labor board would have a field day there." All in all, Sierra is a great company and deserves respect that it has earned. We at TBN wish well to Sierra in there most awesome ventures, business and gaming. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º My DOS Prompt º -=ð DOS Information and Help ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ DOS 6 came out not too long ago, and with it came very few bugs. In fact they weren't really bugs. They were additions Microsoft forgot to add. Many people criticized MS-DOS 6 saying that the Disk Compression tool would send your disk to hell or worse. Not only are these things not true, they may have kept you from getting some great utilities if you didn't already have programs like Fast!, Qemm, Central-Point, Norton, DoubleDisk, and much more. Microsoft bundled some of these great utilities into DOS 6. But that still wasn't enough, people still complained. So Microsoft heard your moaning and groaning and gave you DOS 6.2!! Let's see what's new in DOS 6.2. ù MS-DOS 6.2 includes ScanDisk, a new utility that detects, diagnoses, and repairs disk errors on uncompressed drives and DoubleSpace compressed drives. ScanDisk can repair file system errors (such as crosslinks and lost clusters) and physical disk errors. ScanDisk keeps a log of its repairs and enables you to undo any of the changes it made. DoubleSpace runs ScanDisk to check the reliability of your disk before it begins compression. You can also run ScanDisk yourself by typing SCANDISK at the command prompt. ù DoubleSpace includes DoubleGuard safety checking, which protects against data corruption by verifying data integrity before writing data to your disk. If DoubleGuard detects that the memory DoubleSpace is using has been corrupted by another program, it shuts down your computer immediately to minimize damage to your data. Although DoubleGuard is on by default, you can turn it off to save memory. To do this, use the command, or turn off the DoubleGuard option in the Options dialog (start DoubleSpace, and then choose Options from the Tools menu). ù The MS-DOS extended-memory manager, HIMEM, automatically tests your system's memory when you start your computer. This test can identify memory chips that are no longer reliable. (Unreliable memory can result in system instability or loss of data.) To turn off the memory test, add the /TESTMEM:OFF switch to the command that starts HIMEM. For more information, see . ù Setup now configures SMARTDrive as a read-only cache by default. Even if write-caching is enabled, MS-DOS does not display the command prompt until SMARTDrive has written its cache to your disk. This prevents you from turning off your computer before the data in memory is saved. ù The , , and commands now ask you for confirmation before copying a file over another file that has the same name. (However, when issued from a batch file, these commands do not prompt for confirmation before overwriting a file.) ù With MS-DOS 6.2, you can easily uncompress a DoubleSpace drive or even completely uninstall DoubleSpace from memory. A new switch was added: . ù SMARTDrive now caches CD-ROM drives. (For this support to be enabled, the MSCDEX program must be loaded before SMARTDrive. To find out if SMARTDrive is caching your CD-ROM drive, type SMARTDRV at the command prompt. If SMARTDRV lists the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive, the drive is being cached. ù DoubleSpace automatically mounts compressed floppy disks and other compressed removable media ÄÄ even when Windows is running. Although automounting is enabled by default, you can turn it off to save memory. To do this, use the command, or turn off the Automount option in the Options dialog (start DoubleSpace, and then choose Options from the Tools menu). ù You can now bypass or carry out individual commands in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and other batch programs. (In MS-DOS 6, this capability was limited to your CONFIG.SYS file.) This feature makes it easier to isolate problems when you are troubleshooting problems in your system configuration or in batch programs. To step through the commands in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, press F8 when your computer starts. ù If you need to, you can bypass DoubleSpace when you start your computer. This makes troubleshooting easier and also temporarily frees memory for use by other applications. ù The command now uses your hard disk as an interim storage area, which makes copying from one floppy disk to another faster and easier. ù Microsoft Defragmenter makes better use of your computer's extended memory, so it can now defragment much larger disks and disks containing many more files and directories. ù The output of the DIR, MEM, CHKDSK, and FORMAT commands is much easier to read, since it now includes thousands separators when displaying numbers greater than 999. For example, "1000000 bytes free" now reads "1,000,000 bytes free." *DOS Tips* DOS 6's Memmaker runs pretty good to help you iron out some free high- memory spots. However, the program has much to be desired as it does not always give you the highest amount of memory possible. It's possible to tweak out as much as 10k - 30K extra! Memmaker seems to load some device drivers high with a address in front of it. Delete the address (/L:xxxxx) in front of the driver. Then run the MEM /C/P command to see where your drivers are loaded. Then if possible, move the drivers into high memory manually and reboot. You might get more memory. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Breaking Windows º -=ð Windows Information and Help ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Spreadsheets are important to you if your work depends on them. It seems that the windows structure today has been devoted to the "business applications". Worksheets, Planners, Databases, and Presentation software has overtaken windows, and worksheets is at the top. Who really uses Lotus 1-2-3 4.0 for windows at home to do their expenses? Lotus 1-2-3 4.0 is a $500 program, someone at Lotus is getting greedy! Do you need a spreadsheet for Windows? I don't, i don't even need one for DOS, much less windows. What good are the three top spreadsheet programs; Quattro Pro 5.0, Lotus 1-2-3 4.0, and MS Excel 4.0? Who knows, but I'm here to help you out anyhow. Let's take a look at what scored what. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º <ÄÄÄÄÄÄWorse BetterÄÄÄÄÄÄ> º º ÄÄ Price ÄÄ Ú¿ º º þ Lotus........... ³±±±±±±± ($500)³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Quattro......... ³²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² ($49) ³ º º þ Excel........... ³ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ($500)³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º ÄÄ Saving Files ÄÄ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Lotus........... ³±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Quattro......... ³²²²²²²²²²² ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Excel........... ³ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º ÄÄ Loading Files ÄÄ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Lotus........... ³±±±±±±±±±³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Quattro......... ³²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Excel........... ³ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º ÄÄ Calculations ÄÄ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Lotus........... ³±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Quattro......... ³²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² ³ º º þ Excel........... ³ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º ÄÄ Ease of Use ÄÄ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Lotus........... ³±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Quattro......... ³²²²²²²²²²²² ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º þ Excel........... ³ÛÛ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º º ÀÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÙ º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ The winner looks like Quattro Pro 5.0. It has all sort of really cool features to mention, too many to mention here, besides they didn't give me a copy to review so i'm not going to "toot" their horn. Anyway, its the most bang for the buck. [Borland; Quattro Pro For Windows 5.0] * Windows Tips * You can use switches at startup to help you troubleshoot windows. Where are the switches? At the DOS prompt! You type WIN /? for a list. However, here is the list for those of you too lazy. WIN [/3] [/S] [/B] [/D:[F][S][V][X]] /3 Starts Windows in 386 enhanced mode. /S Starts Windows in standard mode. /B Creates a file, BOOTLOG.TXT, that records system messages generated during system startup (boot). /D Used for troubleshooting when Windows does not start correctly. :F Turns off 32-bit disk access. Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: 32BitDiskAccess=FALSE. :S Specifies that Windows should not use ROM address space between F000:0000 and 1 MB for a break point. Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: SystemROMBreakPoint=FALSE. :V Specifies that the ROM routine will handle interrupts from the hard disk controller. Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: VirtualHDIRQ=FALSE. :X Excludes all of the adapter area from the range of memory that Windows scans to find unused space. Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: EMMExclude=A000-FFFF. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º BBSing Around º -=ð Bulletin Board Information and Help ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ This month we bring you an interview with a Sysop from a board in southern california. He wished that we would not reveal his board, because he makes statements against other boards and doesn't want any trouble. We picked his board because he concerned about the future of bbsing. So we introduce to you....Sysop X. TBN: Its a pleasure to interview another sysop from los angeles. I'm glad you could join us for this interview. Tell me Sysop X, how hard was it to get your BBS up and running? Sysop X: Well, I had some trouble with the phone company for a little while. The relays were hard for me to establish at first, and i had trouble with the software too. TBN: That's a shame. Well, we have seen your BBS grow over the years and now its quite successful. I have logged onto your BBS as well, it's a good BBS with lots of fine qualities. What BBS offers you the stiffest competition? Sysop X: My biggest competitor, well the biggest competitor for all BBS's local to southern california seems to be Westside and KBBS. They get the biggest share of new users. A lot of it had to do when Westside got an interview on KCOP channel 13. Westside was still a "unknown" BBS until that interview. I'm not jealous, i just don't like the way it's run. TBN: What don't you like about the way Westside is run? Sysop X: It's run like a bank. Money this, money that. It's ok to charge for services, i do that too and so do 90% of all BBS's, but they take it a little too far. TBN: Ok. Where do you see BBSing going in the next 10 years? Sysop X: That's a hard one. I think more and more BBS's will start going GUI (graphical user interface), the programs like roboterm, ripterm and others. Users are still unsure about those though. I also think as the high-speed modems become more affordable and become the standard, we will see more graphical VGA type games and picture galleries put onto BBS's. It will be a whole new cyberspace to us all. TBN: We agree, we are excited too about the new frontier of cyberspace with high-speed modems and more revolutionary BBS ideas. Now, a controversial question for you. GIF's (a picture format) are getting into the hands of minors, should GIF's be banned? Sysop X: (laugh) I'd have to say no. Some GIF's also contain material that isn't adult oriented. I think as long as a Sysop is responsible enough to limit access to minors, then the problem should clear up in time. TBN: Well, we thank you for taking the time to do an interview with us. We're sorry that you didn't want us to say your name or BBS, you could have gotten some free advertising. Thank you, Sysop X. I hope we can do another interview soon. Sysop X: You're welcome. I hope we can again too. *BBS Tips* High speed modems will soon become the standard for BBS'ing. Pick one up at a computer meet or at a retail sale. You should be able to find a 14.4k modem for between $100 - 150. The days of the 2400 baud modems are ending. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Compile This º -=ð Programming Information and Help ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ (Part I of II) 3-D Graph II is a QuickBasic (QBASIC compatible) graphing program used to generate 3-dimensional graphs or funtion plots. All of the standard mathematical functions are available as well as a few additional functions for ease of use. Since the mathematical function is generated by an interpreter, and the function is changed by altering the program code itself, I do not recommend running this program in a compiled state. This program was intended to be run under QBASIC or the QuickBasic interpreter. -=[ Program Code for GRAPH.BAS ]=- 'Author: Mike Wang (C) September 15, 1993 DEFSNG A, D-F, H-P, S-Z: DEFINT B-C, G, Q-R: CLS : SCREEN 0, 0, 0: LOCATE 1, 1, 0: COLOR 7, 0: CLS : PI = 3.141593 DEF FNY (X, Z) = SIN(X) - COS(Z) XMIN = -PI 'This is the left edge (minimum X coordinate) of the graph. XMAX = PI 'This is the right edge (maximum X coordinate) of the graph. YMIN = -PI 'This is the bottom (maximum Y coordinate) of the graph. YMAX = PI 'This is the top (minimum Y coordinate) of the graph. ZMIN = -PI 'This is the front (maximum Z coordinate) of the graph. ZMAX = PI 'This is the back (minimum Z coordinate) of the graph. 'The following constant adjusts the quality of the graphical 'output: FREQ = 20 'This value tells the program how defined the graph will 'be. The higher the value, the more defined the graph, 'but the more time it will take to produce the graph. 'The following lines change video defaults: CI = 1 'Set this constant to 1 for color, 0 for black & white. CLIP = 1 'Set this constant to 1 to 'clip' any lines that extend 'beyond the top or bottom of the graph. Set to 0 to allow 'lines to extend to edge of screen. QMODE = 6 'Set this constant to one of the following video modes: ' 6 - 640x480x16 3 - 640x480x2 ' 5 - 320x200x256 2 - 720x348x2 ' 4 - 320X200x4 1 - 640x200x2 ' The best video mode will be downward selected automatically. ' The following line enables or disables error checking. With error- ' checking enabled, the program will report errors and give you the ' option to continue immediately. With error checking disabled, the ' program will pass the error to QuickBASIC or QBASIC. ERCHK = 1 'Set to 1 to enable, 0 to disable. DIM LZX(FREQ), LZY(FREQ) DEF FNADJX (X, Z) = Z * .5 + X DEF FNADJY (Y, Z) = Z * .5 + Y ON ERROR GOTO SCRFIX IF QMODE = 3 THEN GOTO S640480002: CI = 0 IF QMODE = 2 THEN GOTO S720348002: CI = 0 IF QMODE = 1 THEN GOTO S640200002: CI = 0 IF CI = 0 THEN GOTO NOCLR IF QMODE = 6 THEN GOTO S640480016 IF QMODE = 5 THEN GOTO S320200256 IF QMODE = 4 THEN GOTO S320200004 PRINT "ERROR: VIDEO MODE UNKNOWN" PRINT "Sorry, the default video mode must be between 1 and 6 inclusive." GOTO EXT YESCLR: S640480016: QMODE = 6: CMIN = 1: CMAX = 15: SCREEN 12 PALETTE 15, 31 + 256 * 31 + 65536 * 31 PRINT "15 Color Simulation: 640x480x16" PRINT "Generating color array..." GOTO GRAPH S320200256: QMODE = 5: CMIN = 1: CMAX = 192: SCREEN 13 PALETTE 255, 31 + 256 * 31 + 65536 * 31: COLOR 255 PRINT "192 Color Simulation: 320x200x256" PRINT "Generating color array..." F = 2: C = 0: R = 63: G = 0: B = 0 FOR G=1 TO 63 STEP F: C=C+1: PALETTE C, R+G * 256+B * 65536: NEXT G=G-F FOR R=62 TO 0 STEP -F: C=C+1: PALETTE C, R+G * 256+B * 65536: NEXT R=R+F FOR B=1 TO 63 STEP F: C=C+1: PALETTE C, R+G * 256+B * 65536: NEXT B=B-F FOR G=62 TO 0 STEP -F: C=C+1: PALETTE C, R+G * 256+B * 65536: NEXT G=G+F FOR R=1 TO 63 STEP F: C=C+1: PALETTE C, R+G * 256+B * 65536: NEXT R=R-F FOR B=62 TO 0 STEP -F: C=C+1: PALETTE C, R+G * 256+B * 65536: NEXT B=B+F (To be continued - Part II Next Issue) ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º The Expansion Slot º -=ð Hardware Information and Help ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Windows can be very hardware intensive in order to make your applications move like lightning. What would help your PC make Windows run faster? þ A Windows accelerator card. þ A IDE Controller card with a fast hard disk. þ More or faster RAM. þ A faster CPU. The cheapest of those options is the accelerator card. The accelerator cards vary in price depending on the name brand. What to look for in a Windows accelerator card: Resolutions: 1,024x768 or 1,280x1,024 for a 20" Monitor. Accelerator Chip: ATI68800, IIT AGX014, or S3 86C801. RAM: 1MB for 256 colors at 1,024x768 or 2MB for high resolutions. Features: VL BUS (if supported by your PC) Software: Windows 3.1 drivers, and updates via BBS. (A) Regular ISA SVGA Card with 512k RAM (B) Diamond Viper VLB with 2MB RAM <ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄSlower FasterÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ> ÉÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍ» ºA) ÜÜ º ºB) ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Note that a Video Local Bus on your PC, can improve video performance by more than 600%! *Hardware Tips* Be careful when ordering hardware through mail order. Many warehouses sell fixed goods that have been shipped to them from the vendors. Make sure that if you buy hardware from a mail order house, that the product has not been repaired and is being re-sold. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Gonzo's Games º -=ð Games Reviews ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Day of the Tentacle (Maniac Mansion II) from Lucas Arts is a fantastic game! The game has the look and feel of a interactive cartoon. The characters speak with clarity and sport some popular voices; such as "Les Nessman" from WKRP in Cincinnati. The version I reviewed was for the CD-ROM, so the sound quality was beyond compare. The only problems with the game for it's first release was the Installation Program. The color graphics for the installation program are whacked, so installation can be tricky. Hopefully the program has been remedied by now. The game starts off with three characters going back to the Mansion from the first game. The characters are: Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne. Each of the characters are outrageously humorous and well animated. All of the game play is run from a mouse, like the typical "point and click" games that are now sweeping the marketplace. Also, on the CD version you cal play the original Maniac Mansion. But, you do not need to play the original game to enjoy this delightful sequel. I suggest that you pick up this game, its worth the time and money to sit down with a friend and laugh your way through it. The game should last about 28 - 35 hours for a expert player, or 3 if you have the hint book. So, if your looking for a fun, humorous game involving time travel, tentacles, and microwaving hamsters than this game is for you. [Lucas Arts, Day of the Tentacle $54.99] *Gonzo's Tips* If you like games like Maniac Mansion, try games in the Kings Quest series by Sierra. Lucas Arts makes other games like maniac mansion as well, such as Monkey Island, Loom, and soon to be released "The Dig". ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Dr. TBN )-===--- º -=ð PC Virus Help and Information ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Average Number of Known Viruses: 796 Average Number of Total Strains: 1,543 Key: MSAV - Microsoft Anti-Virus (Licensed from Central Point) CPAV - Central Point Anti-Virus NAV - Norton Anti-Virus (Symantec Corp.) COM - A command file (ex: command.COM) EXE - Excutable file (ex: chkdsk.EXE) DLL - Dynamic Link Library (commdlg.DLL) DRV - Device Drivers (mouse.DRV) -=[ARCV.Slim]=- ARCV.Slim is an encrypted, memory-resident, stealth virus that infects COM files as they are run or opened. The virus contains the encrypted strings "I Love You Joanna, Apache.." and "Looking Good Slimline Joanna" followed by author and copyright information. The text strings are not displayed. A file can be infected by ARCV.Slim more than once. Each infection will increase the file size by 900 (911) bytes. -=[Idiot]=- This virus is an encrypting, memory-resident EXE file infector. Idiot targets WIN.COM by overwriting the first 300 bytes. The following string can be found decrypted in WIN.COM, and encrypted in other infected files: "You've been caught, you DWI!". Infected files will grow by approximately 1100 (1051) bytes with the virus located at the end of the file. -=[Swiss Phoenix]=- This virus is a memory-resident COM and EXE infector. It will infect COMMAND.COM. Once in memory, Swiss Phoenix will infect files when they are executed or opened. The virus is 1000 (1041) bytes and is appended to the end of the file. When an infected file is executed on Friday the 13th, tracks zero through fourteen of the hard drive will be overwritten with random data. After the overwrite occurs the string "Ph”nix" will be displayed and the system will hang. The string "Ph”nix" is encrypted within the body of the virus and will not be apparent. Infected files can be repaired by NAV. (Note: File size growth is given in approximate numbers. If a number is enclosed in parentheses, that number would be the growth of one of the more common variants. As it is too easy for a virus writer to alter this number without changing the virus significantly, do not depend on the more precise number. It is provided for your confidence should you encounter it, which we hope never happens.) [Virus information provided with permission by: Symantec Corporation.] ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º ROM Teasers º -=ð Brain Games and Fun ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ **Scrambled Words** Unscramble the word, if you can. (Last issues word: MULTIMEDIA) This issues scrambled word: LOVELN Clue - Networking **Answer & Question** We give you the answer, you think of the question. (Last issues question: What is version 6.1) This issues answer: Is the executable that activtes a CD-ROM. Clue - Made by Microsoft **Quoteables** Employment Ad seen in northern california: "Wanted: A person who knows MS-DOS, Windows, and a few WOOD-Processing programs to do office work." ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Industry Variables º -=ð Marketplace Information ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ *The Top 5* Top 5 Selling Software Top 5 Shareware/Freeware 1) Lotus 123 4.0 Upgrade 1) Pkware 2.04G 2) WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS 2) McAfee Scan 3) DOS 6.0 Upgrade 3) Winzip 4.01c 4) Corel Draw 4.0 4) WinBar 2.2 5) Windows NT 5) Spear of Destiny Top 5 Selling Hardware Top 5 Selling PC Games 1) Intel 486/33DX CPU 1) 7th Guest 2) Colorado 250 Jumbo Backup 2) Xwing B-Wing Disk 3) Robotics 14.4k Fax/Modem 3) Space Quest V 4) SB Multimedia 16 package 4) Day of the Tentacle 5) SoundBlaster 16 Audio Brd. 5) Xwing Flight Simulator Top 5 Leaders TBN's Hot Picks! 1) Microsoft (Software) 1) Windows NT 2) Intel (Microprocessors) 2) Diamond Viper VL Video Board 3) Borland (Software) 3) Scout 14.4 Fax/Modem 4) Motorola (Processors & Memory) 4) West Dig. 200MB Hard Drive 5) IBM (PC's & Software) 5) NEC TripleSpeed CD-ROM. *Averages* Average Prices for Mail Order 1) QEMM Ver.7 $60 +/-10% 6) Space Quest IV CD $25 +/-06% 2) After Dark v2.0 $28 +/-02% 7) WP 5.2 Upgrade $77 +/-10% 3) Corel Draw ver.4 CD $380 +/-25% 8) Winfax Pro 3.0 $82 +/-10% 4) WP60 (Upgrade) $99 +/-10% 9) MS-DOS 6 Upgrade $47 +/-03% 5) Norton Utilities $112 +/-03% 10) Lotus 4 Upgrade $93 +/-12% 1) Average New Software Prices 2) Average Used Software Prices 3) Average Shareware Prices 4) Average price of RAM (1MB Chip) Year Reflects Month of November ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÒÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÒÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÒÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÒÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³Year º 1 º 2 º 3 º 4 ³ ³1982 º $36 º $9 º $2 º $327 ³ ³1984 º $53 º $16 º $13 º $321 ³ ³1987 º $37 º $23 º $17 º $352 ³ ³1989 º $83 º $20 º $12 º $120 ³ ³1990 º $92 º $17 º $23 º $35 ³ ³1993 º $113 º $22 º $33 º $42 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Average Price of a PC's: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÒÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÒÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ Computer º November 1993 º 1994 (Prediction) ³ ÆÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ High Low º High Low ³ ³386DX/33 New: º $1,000 $900 º $850 $700 ³ ³386DX/33 Used: º $650 $500 º $600 $350 ³ ³486DX2/66 New: º $2,800 $1,500 º $2,400 $1,400 ³ ³486DX2/66 Used:º $1,400 $1,100 º $1,200 $1,100 ³ ³Pentium 66 New:º $3,300 $2,500 º $2,500 $2,200 ³ ³Dual Pentium: º $4,400 $3,400 º $2,900 $2,700 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ *TBN Monthly Award* The TBN monthly award goes to Tiger Software mail order for bringing the best new items at mail order prices. Delivery is fast and reliable, and customer service is excellent. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Shameless Plugs º -=ð Advertising ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ù Miller's Party Board offers you the finest and most up to date features at a bargain price. For just $10 a month, or $90 a year, you get the following: ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Û ù 32 High Speed Lines. ù Innovative Pubs to read & Post in. Û Û ù Unlimited time each day. ù Live games most weekday nights. Û Û ù 4 Gigabytes of files. ù Brand New Trade Wars 2002 V2 Û Û ù WorldLink Chat and e-mail ù Your own private channel, global Û Û gives you the ability to chat actions, chat and much, much more. Û Û and exchange mail with users Û Û all over the country. Û ßßÛßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßÛßß Û So, take a minute to log on and give it a try!! Û Û Here is the list of our modem numbers: Û Û Û Û ** Main Number (Culver City)(310)815-0117 ** Û ÛArcadia------(818)446-7371 Montebello---(213)727-0251Û ÛEncino-------(818)996-6215 N. Hollywood-(818)769-2302Û ÛGarden Grove-(714)663-8818 Southgate----(213)569-9191Û ÛGlendale-----(818)240-8296 Whittier-----(818)961-2458Û ÛLakewood-----(310)420-2730 Lomita-------(310)539-3823Û ÛCanoga Park--(818)313-9520 Agoura-------(818)879-1333Û ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß ù The Liberty BBS provides auto-validation for a free week on your very first call! For just $10 per month you get: ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Û ù 74 Lines/29 High Speed ù Dozens of multi-player games. Û Û ù Many many online publications: ù 8 CD-ROMs of files. Û Û news, sports, stocks, weather. ù Movie reviews updated weekly. Û Û ù ChatLink, InterLink & WorldLink ù National networks for e-mail Û Û 6pm to Midnight every evening & posts include Internet, Û Û for lively nationwide chat! MajorNet, WorldNet & NetAccess. Û ßßßÛßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßÛßßß Û We have local numbers throughout Los Angeles, Orange County, Û Û Riverside County, San Francisco Bay Area, Ventura & San Bernadino Û Û ** Call (800) 474-1818 free to find your local number ** Û ÛLos Angeles...213-732-2300 Silverado.....714-649-3283Û ÛSunnyvale.....408-733-7600 Trabuco.......714-858-0759Û ÛSan Mateo.....415-347-9592 Placentia.....714-996-7777Û ÛSan Francisco.415-468-5124 Simi Valley...805-581-6089Û ÛSan Carlos....415-802-0820 N.Hollywood...818-506-5228Û ÛOakland.......510-553-0124 Northridge....818-727-0367Û ÛBerkeley......510-849-1606 Riverside.....909-275-9716Û Û Nationwide via CRIS, SprintNet and PC-Pursuit D/CASAN/24 9967777 Û ßßßßßßßÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛßßßßßßß Û PLEASE!! REMEMBER TO MENTION THAT "HULK" SENT YOU Û Û WHEN ASKED: "WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US" Û ÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛ ************To Place an ad in TBN just contact us!************* ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º The Slave Drive º -=ð Columnists, Editors, and Staff ð=- ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Would you like to reach us fast? We do. You can contact us through an internet address at: [ 4hulk@liberty.com ] ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ Editor: The DLF Group Publisher: Byte Productions ³ ³ Game Consultant: Tom DOS Consultant: Chris L. ³ ³ Hardware Consultant: Jack Nevin Windows Consultant: Chris P. ³ ³ Network Distribution: Alan Wang On-line Format: Sam Delberto ³ ³ ASCII Graphics: Chuck Martin Editor in Chief: Chris L. ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Distribution of this newsletter is allowed as long as it is not edited in whole or by part. Special Thanks to: The Wolti Group, AMS Computers, Dan Loberman, Scott Lorue. All trademarks (R) & rights reserved to the respective companies. Copyright (C) 1993 Byte Productions ID#TBN42