FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:05 Page 1 Volume 2, Number 31 16 September 1985 +----------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | - FidoNews - /|oo \ | | (_| /_) | | Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | | Users Group | | \ \\ | | Newsletter | (*) | \ )) | | ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +----------------------------------------------------------+ Publisher: Fido 107/7 Chief Procrastinator: Thom Henderson Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 107/7. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the file FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 107/7. Disclaimer or don't-blame-us: The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them; everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING received. Curious Products A friend of mine called me up the other day. He was quite irate about an ad he had just read, and he wanted to vent his feelings. It seems a company has come out with a "black book" program, for organizing telephone numbers and addresses. You enter in all your data, and it will pull out selected names and print them on standard printer paper. Cut along the lines, fold, and viola! A little black book. A cute idea. Neat, handy, convenient. In fact, so handy that I have one in my wallet right now. You see, what made him irate is that he and I have had our own programs to do exactly that for about eight years now. My earliest version was written in BASIC on a Honeywell mainframe running DTSS operating system. His originally ran on a SWTPC micro in his bedroom and printed using his Decwriter terminal. I'm not sure about the exact history of his version, but mine has been adapted to run on a New England Digital minicomputer (in XPL), and finally on an FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:08 Page 2 IBM-PC (in C). He heats up on this topic fairly regularly, and for good reason, I guess. I remember a few years back we had brainstormed an idea we thought rather highly of. We'd been in the group that got real-time conferences going on the Dartmouth College mainframe, and it took off like a house afire. When the college computer was linked into Telenet, we hit on the idea of renting mainframe time and selling it to people accross the country so they could join the conferences. We finally scrapped the whole idea because we figured that nobody in their right mind would pay the six bucks an hour it would cost us for Telenet charges and mainframe time, much less enough extra to give us a profit. After all, we only did it because we got the time for free. It was only a year or two later that Compuserve went into business. How could we have known that so many people are not in their right minds? I guess the moral (if there is any) is that it's not enough to have a good idea, you also have to market it. I tend to look down a bit on salesmen -- probably as a result of having worked for a company that was run by a soi disant "super salesman" -- but give the devil his due. My father always used to say, "If you want something done right, hire an expert." Nobody can be good at everything, and I don't kid myself that I'm good at marketing. The problem, of course, is to find a marketeer that will handle your product. Most people don't want to talk to you until you've proven yourself. You do this by bringing out a successful product. This is known as a classic "Chicken and egg dilemma". Someone once suggested to me that a possible answer might be to form some sort of marketing co-op. I confess that I have no idea how such a thing would work, or even how to go about setting one up. My own pet idea is to convince some large company -- probably a publishing house -- to try publishing software the same way they now publish books. Basically, you would send your program off to a publisher, who then takes a look at it. Possibly you get some editorial feedback, and change it a bit. Then, if they like it, they give you an advance against royalties and start publishing it. If the royalties ever exceed the advance, you start getting income. The current situation is in flux. Everybody seems to do it differently, and it's not yet clear what will constitute "normal channels" a few years from now. The only trend I can make out is towards the "big company" approach, which I find personally distasteful. It may be all well and good for Lotus and Aston Tate, but it leaves no room for the little guy. FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:10 Page 3 ============================================================ NEWS ============================================================ ================================= ZAXXON: A TALE OF TROJAN FREEWARE Tom Neff [76566,2536] ================================= 1. INTRODUCTION Most Sysops I know are careful to avoid carrying pirated commercial software in their download data libraries, and many post loud warnings about it to all concerned. It's usually obvious to the casual user when a program is not intended for free distribution, because commercial programs customarily display a copyright page on startup. Even "silent" programs (like some utilities) often carry embedded copyright information in the program code itself, so that an inquisitive Sysop can identify the program's origin and status by "dumping" it. However, an unwelcome phenomenon has arisen recently: copies of commercial programs are "hacked" to remove all copyright and/or authorship notices, then passed around as public domain. One example of this is the late, unlamented PSHIFT, which was apparently a pre-production beta version of Northeastern Systems' MEMORY SHIFT package -- the legend as passed down to me is that a disgruntled ex-employee took a copy with him, patched it to read "Public Domain" and handed it out. Others seem to include the games STARGATE and ZAXXON. I want to show you what I am talking about, using ZAXXON as an example. 2. ZAXXON IS AN EXAMPLE Now ZAXXON is the arcade game where you have a little warplane that you fly over a brick wall and thru a gauntlet of missiles, blimps, guns, lasers, and what have you. The full-scale coin-op version is owned and copyrighted by Sega, a big video games company. The IBM PC version is a 20K file called ZAXXON.COM, which surfaced a year or more ago. When you fire it up, it clears the screen and displays the legend: Z A X X O N Public Domain by: Sega I have Chatted or exchanged messages with several Sysops who tell me that no matter what others may say, I must be mistaken when I warn them about ZAXXON, because it's clearly marked Public Domain -- end of discussion! There are three good reasons why they're wrong: * Sega is not in the freeware business. This ought to be self evident. It's like seeing an entire shipment of Epson printers with "FREE SAMPLE" stickers on them, and FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:12 Page 4 believing it. * Ever seen a REAL freeware game? There are enough of them out there: FLIGHTMARE, QIX, BERTSNAK, CASTLE, etcetera. They do NOT simply say "Public Domain" once on the title page. Instead, they typically display the author's name and address, together with distribution policy, "hope you enjoy it," and sometimes a request for a contribution. Again, at the bare minimum, the program code itself will contain embedded text with the author's name. Compared to this standard, ZAXXON is like a .38 Special with the serial numbers filed off -- real suspicious. * This file has been hacked, crudely and obviously. A commercial copyright message, for Sega or whomever, was blanked out in at least two places, and innocuous messages were substituted in their place. 3. HACKER'S TOUR OF WHAT WAS DONE TO ZAXXON Let me bore you with a page of hex dump for a moment by way of illustration. This excerpt from ZAXXON.COM includes some of the text of the games's user messages, including the strings used on the title and GAME OVER pages: 80 26 00 00 DF 80 0E 00 00 40 E9 71 FA 3C 6A 74 &.._...@iqz>>> Ported from The Meta Network via UNISON by Lisa Carlson Senator Leahy to propose Electronic Communications Privacy Act This afternoon, at the first annual meeting of the Electronic MAIL Association, Senator Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat-Vermont) announced his intention to introduce the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1985. When the Senate reconvenes, similar legislation will be introduced in the House. In his address, Senator Leahy focused on the complex public policy problems which have emerged with the increase of computer-based communications. Policy is now needed to protect the privacy and security of communication exchanged via new technologies, so that citizens may feel as secure using newer communications media as they do in using the mail services or the telephone. At present, the Federal legislation enacted in 1968 on the illegality of wire-tapping is the only act which might apply to privacy of communication issues. That legislation designed to protect voice communication via common carrier is no longer adequate, as protection is extended only to communication "capable of being heard." According to the Senator, current federal policy needs to protect "WHAT is being transmitted, not the WAY it is transmitted." The Senator, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Policy, is committed to the protection of private communication from any source, be it government itself or a private, undetected perhaps, intruder in a database. The to-be-proposed Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1985 will make five important changes to the "wire tap laws." As outlined, these changes will: - extend coverage from "voice" to all electronic transmission - recognize private carriers, so that all communications systems will be covered, not just common carriers as at present. - institute civil and criminal penalties for illegal access. - institute civil penalties for disclosure of private information stored on any system. - for law enforcement, require that a court order be obtained before accessing information stored on private communications systems. ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:22 Page 10 Note on overseas FIDO operation. After reading the article on international FIDO net operations, I am reminded of an article in an ICCA newsletter. I do not remember all of the details but.. There is a lot of concern these days about export of technology. Some laws are quite clear, such as: NO EXPORT OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE WITHOUT A PERMIT! The article said that this included a Lotus 1-2-3 disk in your breifcase on the plane. I would assume that file transfers overseas would also be included. The permit would be obtained from the US Dept of Commerce, the details of which I have no idea. If anyone knows the whole story, please let us know. Andrew Foray, 107/7 ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:23 Page 11 This was excerpted from DIGITAL REVIEW, August 1985 issue. OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE by Vin McLellan FidoNet, a grass roots telecommunications network, has finally come into its own. Among PC users with all brands of machines, "FidoNet" is probably perceived as the Rainbow's biggest contribution to the telecommunications subculture. Ironically, only in the last few months, as FidoNet caught the attention and imagination of others, have DEC and Digital Equipment Computer Users Society (DECUS) begun to acknowledge and take advantage of this extraordinary creation, a global network of intercommunicating bulletin boards that is in large part the creation of the Rainbow user community. FidoNet evolved in 1984, duting a period when DEC's interest in the Rainbow began to fade. One can almost taste this "despite them" attitude among the FidoNet volunteer managers. The administrative node of FidoNet in St. Louis is called DECUS CENTRAL, and the key regional network managers and about one third of the 250 PC-based nodes that feed into the network are Rainbow installations, but FidoNet developed with an insurgent mentality. What FidoNet got from DEC was largely given by individuals: Key engineers in the Rainbow group made available design data that corporate spokesmen had refused to reveal, DEC regional sales offices in four or five cities gave Rainbows to their DECUS PC local user groups (LUGs) so they could put up Fido boards, and individual DEC employees called up to offer services, software, advice, and applause -- but cautioned that they weren't to be mentioned. Perhaps it is only fitting now, as DEC moves to reinvigorate its microcomputer line, do both DEC and DECUS seem on the verge of openly acknowledging the contribution of FidoNet to the spirit of the DEC community. Last year, FidoNet couldn't get a slot on the DECUS conference calendar in Anaheim -- despite the fact that half the DECUS PC LUGs run Fidos; FidoNet's spokesmen were tossed into a "birds of a feather" session that was mobbed by an overflow crowd. This year -- just as Fido version 10l was being distributed to the estimated 900-odd Fido bulletin board system operators (SysOps) -- Fido had a scheduled symposium at the New Orleans DECUS convention at which it was announced that the new version of the free Fido software will break the software barrier that had previously put a ceiling of 250 nodes on mail-exchanging FidoNets. As the Fido bulletin boards convert to version 10l over the summer, hundreds of new nodes will be added. What is Fido? Fido is, first of all, a public domain, micro-based bulletin board system that runs on the Rainbow, IBM PC and compatibles, the Sanyo 555, the Victor 9000, FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:25 Page 12 Otrona Attaches, and Tandy 2000s. Fido was written by Tom Jennings of San Francisco, a systems programmer for Phoenix Software in Boston, the craftsman hired by Microsoft to rewrite MS-DOS for the Rainbow (a project originally undertaken against the wishes of DEC). Although its user interface is somewhat more awkward than those of other bulletin boards, the Fido bulletin board's ingenious networking capability has made it the most widely used bulletin board system in the country. For one hour every night, the Fido bulletin boards automatically close down and switch into FidoNet mode: Mail that has been submitted for transmission is packaged with proper headers (according to FidoNet's U.S. region or overseas district and the receiving bulletin board) and transmitted via very brief long distance phone calls. Fido's cost per message (which obviously drops precipitously as the number of messages packed into a single transmission increases) is largely dictated by AT&T's minimum one minute charge. Most of the 250 Fidos active in the public Fido network use Fido's internal accounting system to maintain user credit files and bill about 25 cents for a cross- country message of some 45 lines. Although the feature is used primarily by sysops, FidoNet also allows files to be attached to a message -- for transmitting spreadsheets, software or whatever. This is enormous functionality from free software, and both the product and its price have found widespread favor in both the hobbiest world and the corporate universe. DEC employee Dave Rene, sysop of both Fido 27 in Gardner and a restricted Fido (310) at DEC's Rainbow graphics dvelopment group in Westminster, Massachusetts, says that Fido 27 distributes four complete Fido software packages *daily*. "What they're all doing with them is beyond me," laughs Fido 44 sysop Dave Mitton, secretary of the New England Computer Society and a project leader in DEC's NetWork and Communications Group. According to Ken Kaplan, chairman of the St. Louis DECUS PC group, perhaps half the 250 networked nodes are based in commercial stores, radio stations or corporations. He guesses there are roughly 600 to 700 nodes in private company networks. Kaplan is one of the key figures behind Fido's spread among DECUS Rainbow LUGs; he's a VP of Digital Research Associates, an authorized dealer of VAX and Rainbow systems for libraries, and one of the leading DECUS CENTRAL volunteer admnistrators that manage FidoNet. "It was a hobby that just went wild," he explains sheepishly. "As the head of U.S. Robotics told me yesterday," says Kaplan, "there ain't anybody out there who has anything that can match it right now." For micro-based electronic mail, he says Fido is "obviously the standard bearer" -- but more to the point, he says, FidoNet's cost-effectiveness puts to shame much larger, more expensive, better publicized E-mail systems. FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:28 Page 13 Still, free software has a price. Jennings says that the current version (10l) will be his last. Although Jennings has never made the source code public, he says he is actively encouraging others to write Fido clones. "I can't be the only author of public domain electronic mail," protests the 29-year old programmer. "It's crazy! When there are 250 or 300 nodes, and I'm the only person maintaining them...I can't continue forever and ever!" Jennings describes himself as a "burn-out" victim -- but he and others associated with FidoNet administration have also been talking about foundation support that might allow them to continue without carrying a full workload in addition to their career jobs. Volunteerism has its limits; the limits are often a matter of time rather than energy or interest. ------------------------ Ian Schirado, Thieve's World SysOp 616-343-0996 24 hours except when in use (like when I'm playing HACK or DND!) Non-Net Fido 11/-1 ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:29 Page 14 Interesting Things From the World of USENET by Bob Hartman Sysop Fido 101/101 The UN*X Gateway and Home of ROVER Since my board is the UN*X Gateway node for Fido, I thought that I would share some of the wonderful things that have been posted as USENET articles recently. Anyone who thinks that my USENET link is not terribly useful, may change their minds after reading further. All of these little tidbits are taken directly as they were posted to USENET. I only reformatted the paragraphs to make them conform to FIDONEWS standards. Note that the first item seems to exist *ONLY* in MS-DOS V3.x. I tried it on my PC with PC-DOS 3.0, and it did not work. ---------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: net.micro.pc Subject: /e switch in MS-DOS V3 I don't recall if this has made the rounds on the net, but MS-DOS V3.x has an undocumented switch to expand the default size of the environment. The switch is in config.sys. The syntax is: SHELL = drive/pathname_of_command_processor drive/path_to_command_process /p /e:number_of_16_byte_paragraphs The drive/pathname of the command processor and the drive/pathname to the command processor must be specified. Also note that omitting the /p switch will cause DOS to discard the command processor after startup and send your machine for a trip west. Here is the line I use in my config.sys file SHELL = c:\command.com c:\ /p/e:30 Obviously, command.com is located in the root directory of my hard disk. This sets up a 480 byte space for the environment. The number of paragraphs should be 10 < paragraphs < 63. If less than 11 is specified, it is bumped to 11. If more than 62 is specified, DOS prints a message and sets the environment space to the default of 128 bytes. As this feature is undocumented, the caveat about any undocumented feature applies. It's here in DOS V3.0 & V3.1 (and not in previous versions). It may or may not be in FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:31 Page 15 future versions. Don't go crying to Microsoft if it doesn't show up in the next release. :-( -- Chris DeVoney voice: 317/842-7162 Que Corporation uucp: ihnp4!inuxc!que!chris Indianapolis, IN ---------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: net.micro.pc Subject: Change 10MB Hard Disk cluster from 4K to 2K 2K Cluster Size for 10MB Fixed Disks under DOS 3.x Standard 10mb fixed disks formatted under DOS 3.0 & 3.1 utilize 4k clusters (i.e., the minimum space allocated to any file is 4096 bytes), while drives 20mb and larger utilize 2k clusters. At work, I use a PC with twin 10mb drives under DOS 3.1. Since I have a multitude of small files on these disks, the smaller allocation unit's space saving advantage far outweighs any theoretical disadvantage of additional overhead for DOS to handle the added allocation units. With the help of Bob Morse, Jim Gainsley, and the DOS Technical Reference, I was able to make the changes necessary to use 2k clusters on both of my 10mb drives. By following the step-by-step instructions below, you will be able to make the switch to 2k clusters yourself. The need for making a complete backup of all your files prior to attempting this procedure cannot be overephasized. You will need the following tools: (1) IBM PC-DOS version 3.1 (3.0 will work, but because of other bugs, 3.1 is strongly recommended). (2) A disk utility such as Norton's NU.COM, or equivalent. Most critical to the process is the sequence in which this procedure is attempted. Here is the 4k to 2k cluster procedure: (1) Do a complete backup of the drive, using your current version of DOS. (2) Cold boot DOS 3.1, and FDISK the drive to create a DOS partition. (3) Format the drive using the DOS format program. Don't use any parameters (no /s or /v). (4) Using your Norton (or whatever), select the boot sector and view it. See below for an explanation of the pertinent info in this sector. You should see a value of 08 for sectors per cluster. change this to 04. You should see a value of 0800 for sectors per fat. Change this to 1500. All FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:33 Page 16 changes to the fat sectors required for 2k clusters will be accomplished by the subsequent format (6,below). No other manual changes are required. A more detailed explanation of these two changes: The number of sectors per cluster would change from 08 to 04, since that's what this is all about. The sectors per FAT will change, in order to accomodate (1) the increased number of possible FAT entries, and (2) the increased size of each fat entry (new 16 vs. old 12 bits each). The value to use for a 10 meg & 2k clusters would be 21 sectors, or 1500 in hex word format. (5) Exit Norton and do a cold boot. This is critical, since the boot sector is read by DOS only once, at boot time, in order to build the BIOS Parameter Block. Having different info in the boot sector than what's in the memory- resident BPB will cause exceedingly flaky things to happen, as you can imagine. (6) Reformat the drive using the DOS program, using whatever switches that you desire (/s or /v). Format will not affect your changes to the boot sector. (7) Restore your files, remembering to use the new restore switch (/P) which prompts before restoring system files. If you restore an old version of COMMAND.COM, make sure to copy a 3.x version over it afterwards. You should now be operational again, with 2k clusters. ==================== Example of first few bytes in the Boot Sector displayed in hex format, after formatting with DOS 3.1, and prior to 2k cluster size changes: EB299049 424D2020 332E3100 02080100 020002F3 50F80800 ^^ ^^^^ AA BB After the 2k cluster size changes: EB299049 424D2020 332E3100 02040100 020002F3 50F81500 ^^ ^^^^ AA BB Where the data elements directly above AA are sectors per cluster, and above BB are sectors per FAT. Further info on the entries in the boot sector entries used to build the BIOS Parameter Block can be found in the DOS 3.x Technical Reference, Page 3-22. Of course, I cannot warrant that this change will work for all controller/disk combinations, particularly for controllers and drives which are not 'XT clones' though it 'should work' for all drives compatible enough to work under DOS 3.x. FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:35 Page 17 ----------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: net.micro.pc Subject: Re: Changing the dumb '\' to '/'... The reason MS-DOS uses '\' as the directory delimiter is that the slash ('/') is used to indicate SWITCHES in the command line. MS-DOS (PC-DOS) has a call to change the SWITCH character to any character you would like (I use a dash '-' because it is consistant with UNIX conventions). If you change your SWITCH character, the directory delimeter will change to the familiar UNIX convention '/'. The following short program can be entered into DEBUG and saved, all numbers are specified in HEX. MOV AX,3700 ; AH=CharOper, AL=Get it INT 21 ; DOS Command MOV DL,2D ; DL was 2F (slash), change it to 2D (dash) MOV AX,3701 ; AH=CharOper, AL=Set it INT 21 ; DOS Command INT 3 ; Exit from program On PC-DOS or MS-DOS 2.x any time DOS specifies pathnames after this program is run, it will show the slash '/' as the directory delimeter. On PC-DOS 3.x it will still use the backslash '\' to display pathnames. On any version of DOS, one will be able to use the slash character to send a pathname to DOS. Remember to now use dash '-' to pass flags to programs. Also, some programs may not check to see what the current SWITCH character is ( some programmers are really sloppy :-) and may require the user to specify pathnames using backslash. Bob Bruck (hao!allegra!...)|nbires|bob ---------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: net.micro.pc Subject: "Out of Memory" problems with WordStar install Organization: MicroPro Int'l Corp., San Rafael, CA TECH NOTE #42 TO: SALES AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL FROM: TECHNICAL SUPPORT SUBJECT: TOO LITTLE MEMORY ERROR MESSAGE *********************************************************** If you receive the message "Too little memory" when running Micropro software installation programs please follow the steps shown below on a back-up copy of your FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:37 Page 18 program. WINSTALL_RINSTALL_OR_DINSTALL With DEBUG.COM in drive "A" and WINSTALL.COM, RINSTALL.COM, OR DINSTALL,COM in drive "B" enter the characters enclosed in quotes. A>"DEBUG WINSTALL.COM " - "E2D4 " "72 " - "W " - "Q " You will be returned to the operating system and will be ready to run the installation. For CALCSTAR, STARINDEX and FORMSORT, follow the same DEBUG procedure at the following locations. TARINDEX A>"DEBUG STARINDX.COM " -"E375 72 " -"E12A 73 " -"W " -"Q " You will be returned to the operating system and will be ready to run StarIndex. STYLE section of StarIndex A>"DEBUG STYLE.COM " -"F100 L3 E9 7D 03 " -"F480 L4 B8 80 00 A3 " -"F484 L5 03 00 E9 7A FC " -"W " -"Q " You will be returned to the operating system and will be ready to run Style. CALCSTAR A>"DEBUG CS.COM " -"F100 L4 E8 4D 07 90 " -"F850 L4 B8 80 00 A3 " -"F854 L4 03 00 8C C8 " -"F858 L3 8E D0 C3 " -"W " -"Q " CSDUMP FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:38 Page 19 A>"DEBUG CSDUMP.COM " -"F100 L4 E8 3D 06 90 " -"F740 L4 B8 50 00 A3 " -"F744 L4 03 00 8C C8 " -"F748 L3 8E D0 C3 " You will be returned to the operating system and will be ready to run Calcstar. FORMSORT Formsort 1.4X will only run on a DOS machine that has less than 512K of RAM. However, FORMSORT 1.6 will sort files on machines with 512K or more. To update to version 1.6 call the customer update department at (800) 227-5609. ----------------------------------------------------------- Like I said in the intro to these tidbits, this is just a sampling of what has recently come from USENET to my Fido BBS. Hope some of you find the above information useful. Bob Hartman Sysop 101/101 UN*X Gateway FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:39 Page 20 ============================================================ FOR SALE ============================================================ __________________________________________________________ F O R S A L E REAL C H E A P USED IBM COMPUTERS, SUSPECTED OF MINOR MALFUNCTIONS (BUT DON'T TELL ORIGIONAL PURCHASER) IF INTERESTED CONTACT NASA SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, FLORIDA SHUTTLE PROJECT. BE SURE AND DON'T MENTION TO OMB WASHINGTON, DC. ---------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS -- 16 Sep 85 00:02:40 Page 21 ============================================================ NOTICES ============================================================ NOTICE ****** As of September 16, the phone number for node 109/603 the NET_EXCHANGE in Washington DC will be changing to 703 - 689 - 3561. PC PURSUIT users can still access the board through "WASH DC" at 689 - 3561. There will be call forwarding on the old number until most of the users begin using the new - the sooner you do, the sooner you won't have to put up the line noise through the PBX! Dave Purks Sysop 109/603 ------------------------------------------------------------ The Interrupt Stack 28 Sep 1985 SoCal Fido beach party. 27 Nov 1985 Halley's Comet passes closest to Earth before perihelion. 24 Jan 1986 Voyager 2 passes Uranus. 9 Feb 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perihelion. 11 Apr 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perigee. 19 May 1986 Steve Lemke's next birthday. 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to Fido 107/7.