**** JULY 1998 *************************************** ISSUE #194 ****
VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY, ST. AUGUSTINE CENTER
MEETING STARTS - 09:30 - JUL 11
NOTE! SECOND SATURDAY!
Following the usual announcements, we'll plan to have our Commodore Q & A, plus problem solving. Our 8-bit using members are very much urged and encouraged to bring their needs to the meeting where more than one mind can be applied to easing one's way. Remember the credo: "there is no such thing as a stupid question" - and that includes YOURS! Ya'll come.....
For our PC users, we'll pick up where we left off last time. That is the process of getting started with one's new computer. On p.4 of this issue is an update of the evergreen account of just where we stand in the process. Review that prior to the meeting - come with your questions to guide us!
MAIN LINE AMIGA USERS - Room 210
Again, like May, due to the low turn out we did not abide by our intended agenda. Instead we focused on a subject that has recently become a primary interest of mine, namely networking my two Amigas and my newly acquired PC clone on my peer-to-peer LAN.
For our July meeting we still plan to continue from where our presentation ended in April. That is, we will continue our review of ImageFX through the use of the Catalyzer video tape. Like April we will watch a section of the tape and then replicate the presentation on the Amiga 1200. Unlike April, we will be using the latest version of ImageFX, version 3.0 instead of version 2.6.
Beginning in June and continuing thru October, our meetings will be scheduled for the SECOND SATURDAY of the month. This change is being made because of the confluence of the Fourth of July and Labor Day holidays, plus end of school year festivities at Villanova. Please mark your calendars and re-check the dates in each newsletter.
****************************** I give to you the following files so you may better understand my
articles and even practice on your own if so inclined. For those not
familiar with my articles on "Perspectives", you will find the text
portion included; so you may view or print it out using this program.
Here are what the enclosed files will do:
ULTRA 8.1 This is an ultra sequential printer/viewer that can be
used to study any "SEQ"ential article on this disk. You are probably
using it now to read this introduction.
SHRINK-IT! A small portion of PCP used to alter graphics. In this
case, we will use it to adjust graphics vertically and/or
horizontally to meet our changing needs.
FILE CONVERTER This is the program used to convert "Doodle!" or
other screens into a format that can be read with "PaperClip
Publisher" or the extraction from PCP that allows you to
reduce/expand any graphic.
FGM SCREEN FIND This is NOT the latest version of "FGM Screen
Finder" but may be necessary to recover graphic screens located in
abnormal locations, (like from PCP!). Graphic screens may be stored
in at least seven locations, but must be relocated to be used in most
programs. This will do the trick! Ron Hackley has authorized this
excerpt from FunGraphics for this article. It is NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN!,
but may be used in conjunction with this article. Purchase of the
pay version of FGM is recommended.
S.DEMO SCREEN Is just a bitmap page of graphics used in this article
and is provided for the sole purpose of seeing how well FGM can
reduce a full screen 20% vertically for use in 24-pin printers.
D.REDUCTION DEMO Do NOT try to view this sequential program with
Ultra 8.1. It is a pre-set demo for those who have FGM V6 or FGM
Demo disk. Go to the DEMO MODE of FGM and load "s.demo screen" or any
other graphic screen you wish. Then just "Play Demo". Watch the
screen go through the pre-recorded steps and reduce the screen by
20%. It will be fast! Rather than an actual demo, it is an
automatic work sequence activity listing. For repetitive steps, the
demo function of FGM just can't be beat. Yet another reason
FunGraphics should be in your Commodore library.
For the foreseeable future, we will continue with our monthly
meetings in the St. Augustine Center at Villanova University. The
8-bit and PC meetings will be in Seminar Room 110 and the AMIGA
meeting in Seminar Room 210.
Please be sure to enter the campus from the ITHAN AVENUE main gate,
then proceed to the 2-level parking building adjacent to the St.
Augustine Center, on the Ithan Avenue side. Note, you may have to
enter the building via the front door, as shown in the following
sketch:
NOTE: maps on our webpage - CONGRATULATIONS! - to long time member, Peter Whinnery, our latest
50/50 RAFFLE WINNER! While the attendance (and pot) was low, our
treasurer will continue raffles at future meetings.
GRAPHICS PERSPECTIVES - last month, we finished the series fo columns
by CUPID on graphics perspectives. Accompanying the columns is a
floppy with all the data files and utilities referred to in them.
See p.2 for a detailed discussion of this disk - which you can order
from Charles Curran for $2 for pickup at a meeting - or $3 to get it
by mail. If you are interested in Commodore graphics, give this a
whirl.
SUPER CPU 128! - in order to share experiences, I urge our SCPU
owners (4-128 and 2-64) to let me know what they learn - good and bad
about their systems and SCPU units. The best way to do that is via a
post on the BBS (saves me typing!). Lord help me to relax about insignificant details - beginning
tomorrow at 7:41:23 am PST
God help me to consider people's feelings, - even if most of them ARE
hypersensitive.
God help me to take responsibility for my own actions - even though
they're usually NOT my fault.
God, help me to NOT try to RUN everything - But, if You need some
help, please feel free to ASK me!
Lord, help me to be more laid back and - help me to do it EXACTLY
right.
God help me to take things more seriously - especially laughter,
parties, and dancing.
God give me patience - and I mean right NOW!
Lord help me not be a perfectionist - (Did I spell that correctly?)
God, help me to finish everything I sta
God, help me to keep my mind on one th- Look, a bird -ing at a time.
God help me to do only what I can, and trust you for the rest - And
would you mind putting that in writing?
Lord keep me open to others' ideas - WRONG though they may be.
Lord help me be less independent - but let me do it my way.
Lord help me follow established procedures today - On second thought,
I'll settle for a few minutes.
Lord, help me slow down andnotrushthroughwhatIdo.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ FOR SALE: C-128 outfit, with flat 128 plus JiffyDos, 1571 and 1581
disk drives 1902A RGB monitor, Supergrafix printer interface, Mach
128 cartridge, Epyx Fast Load (for 64), modem and much software! Any
reasonable offer will be considered, call Tom Johnson, 610-525-3440.
FOR SALE: MLCUG has a lot of hardware and software that is available
for you to purchase at very attractive prices! Because of new
arrivals, we'll be in the process of updating our list. See the new
listing in the next newsletter issue or check our website for it
sooner or you can contact Charles Curran to order any items of
interest (610-446-5239).
****************************** For June, we were back to a regular meeting length. But even with
that, we had a rather hectic time! Getting the C-128 setup with the
big TV display and the new PC with its add-ons left us a hair short.
The PC had a new ethernet card installed, but has a very short cable;
so we had to keep it close to the wall for the demos we did!
For the Commodore users, we had a quick look at the new WHEELS 64
upgrade to GEOS - a tour de force for Maurice Randall (more in the
future). An equally quick look at the new v3.02 of Desterm 128 -
since we have no phone line, we can only look... For the PC users,
the big item was the brief demo of the ethernet connection to the
internet. For those members who have internet experience, the speed
achieved was extremely impressive. One can get spoiled fast! And,
we'll be doing more of this.
****************************** Last month, we started the discussion of how we might get going with
the club's new PC. The idea being to provide ideas along the way as
a guide to members who have purchased a new PC and are wondering just
what to do first????
We began the process at the June meeting with a review of what had
been done to the club PC prior to its first showing at a meeting a
couple of months ago. Then, we took a few more steps. The list
below has been updated to include what we have reviewed thru 06/13.
AND, to provide an indication of what will be coming up in future
meetings.
I'll plan to continue and modify this listing as we work our way thru
it. Experience and member interaction will guide its evolution:
[Steps 1 thru 10 complete thru 06/13]
Item 9) - since compressed files are the norm in the on-line world, a
versatile utility to deal with them is essential. Hence the
installation of WinZip, which does the job nicely.
Item 10) - the Win95 OS offers many, many places where utilities and
programs can be started during the bootup process. ALL are not easy
to find, but you may have a real need to know what they are and have
the opportunity to CONTROL them. The StartUp Manager utility seeks
out these startup files, identifies them for you and provides a tool
to turn them on or off. It keeps track of what has been done and
lets you easily reverse any action you took. This program is used
whenever you wish, it does NOT run automatically (so you have control
of it, too!).
NOTE: any opinions expressed above are those of the editor! They are
subject to change from either new knowledge or persuasion from the
members! COMPUTER BIG LIE #10 - "You should upgrade to the new version". If
your old version of Microsoft Word or Lotus 123 [or Windows?] seems
to work fine, don't rush to replace it unless the newer version has
some specific feature you really want. Newer software releases take
more memory, add unneeded bells and whistles, and introduce new
complexity. You can take advantage of the Win95 OS to reduce the power
consumption by your PC if you leave it on for long periods of time
(e.g. all day or all the time), but have it ready to use in a couple
of seconds.
This can be handled by the POWER control panel - and needs a monitor
that is energy compliant (usually they'll have a green Energy Star
logo on them), as well as a PC that can respond properly.
[We'll try setting this up on the club PC at the upcoming July
meeting]
Here's one route, via the Win95 desktop:
START Once in the POWER control panel, select the Power tab, then be sure
there is a check mark in the box labeled "Let Windows manage power
use on the computer".
Then select the Disk Drives tab and be sure there is a check mark in
the box labeled "When powered by AC power" and pick a reasonable time
(say, 30 minutes) in the time box.
Click OK, as needed, to exit the control panel and you should be all
set.
In my case, the screen saver kicks in in 10 minutes, then the power
conservation takes over at 30 minutes - with the monitor going dark
and the PC reducing its power use (I hope!).
When you move the mouse, or tap a key, the monitor comes back on full
in about 2 seconds. Last issue, I had a piece on defragging your CMD hard drive. Now
comes the next chapter in the story - beginning with a point of view.
That is, the computer world is divided into two types of people:
those who HAVE lost their data and those who WILL lose their data.
This little piece has been quoted here and there and everywhere - but
it does come home to roost - this time around, it came to yours
truly. Altho I'll have to admit, it is not the first time!!!
Perhaps, you are expecting me to talk about hard drive problems.
But, in the Commodore world, we have another sort of vulnerability;
namely, information stored in battery backed RAMdisks - most commonly
a CMD RAMlink. Yours truly has used such a beast for years.
Unfortunately, for us all, we have been visited in this last month
with some rather fierce and destructive weather! A significant side
effect of which is the loss of electricity.
Normally, that would simply mean that you could not use your computer
(along with a few other devices!!!). But, when it comes to a
RAMlink, life without power is short. So, when we had no power for
about 42 hours, my trusty 128 came up with total amnesia, its RAMlink
brain was empty!
CMD tells us that the RAMlink backup battery will keep the
information intact for 8-20 hours, depending on how much RAM is in
your RAMlink. So, this storm took me well beyond this range!
Fortunately, I had a whole device backup (prepared with CMD's BCOPY+
software) that was ONLY three months old. A restore from those disks
(three Extended Density - 3.6 MB floppies) brought RAMlink back to
the 3-month previous state. So, I updated the RAMlink as much as I
could remember I had changed it in that time and made another backup
(hah, you won't catch me again!).
Then, just a couple of weeks later - another blustery storm goes thru
- and out goes the power for many more hours. Unfortunately, the
RAMlink battery apparently had not had enough opportunity to fully
recharge; so amnesia again!
Since I had done a few things - like install Wheels 64 and Desterm
v3.02 - in the interval of power, I was again faced with restoring
that previous state, then updating the RAMlink. This I did a few
hours ago. And then - in the last hour - I made another backup! It
remains to be seen if I'll be diligent enough to do this when I have
made any significant change in the RAMlink's info.
BUT, with the unstable kind of weather we are having - and will
likely continue to have - I'd better be .......! Oh yes - and by the way - I NEVER have stored valuable DATA in my
RAMlink - only PROGRAMS! These experiences reinforce that MO and I
commend it to your attention. Nuff said!
NETWORKING AT HOME -- WHY BOTHER?
I don't know what your situation is with computers, but I have more
than one and occasionally or often, as the case may be, need to move
files between them and sometimes the files are larger than what will
fit on a floppy. I used to use the old "sneaker net" routine when I
could, but with large files moving them can be a hassle. Also,
moving lots of files by sneaker net can be a lot of hassle.
Initially, Parnet was a solution to my woes, but it required
disconnecting the printer from the parallel port to make the
connection. Also, it wasn't very quick. I must say this though, it
was inexpensive and beat using a null modem connection for
convenience.
ETHERNET NETWORKING -- THE QUICKER NETWORK
Eventually, I decided to graduate to the big time and spend big bucks
doing it. I bought a PCMCIA Ethernet I-Card made by Interworks for
my A1200 and an Ariadne Ethernet card for my A2000. Face it,
Ethernet cards for the Amiga are expensive at about $300 each, at
least they were when I bought them. They're still expensive today,
though somewhat less so. Both cards support 10Base2 and 10BaseT.
The Ariadne also has two parallel ports, one internal and the other
an external connection. The extra parallel ports of the Ariadne are
useful when networking to an A500 or A1000 since you don't have to
disconnect your printer. 10BaseT requires the use of routers and
uses what looks something like an oversized phone line connector.
10Base2 covers a shorter distance (about 185 meters maximum) and uses
RG58U coax and BNC connectors in a daisy chain computer connection.
All Amiga Ethernet cards come with appropriate SANA-II (Standard
Amiga Networking Architecture) software drivers and a copy of Envoy,
the networking software developed by Commodore before their
bankruptcy in 1994. Envoy uses some of the standard TCP/IP stack
concepts in its design, and is designed for peer-to-peer networking.
The standard Envoy package supports file sharing and remote printing.
There are third party freeware tools for time, remote control, and
messaging and conferencing.
CROSS-PLATFORM NETWORKING
Within the past few months I acquired a PC clone for greater
compatability with my office work environment. I felt that my old
Amiga 25MHz A2386 Bridgeboard running Windows 3.1 was starting to let
me down when it came to handling work I brought home. Besides, PC's
do have software that Amigas don't have, even a disappointing Win95
OS <grin>. I knew before I bought the PC that I wanted to
network it with my Amigas. I was pleasantly surprised to find that
PC Ethernet cards cost almost nothing. I paid $25 retail for my PC
Ethernet card.
If one wants to cross-platform network, then the Internet's TCP/IP
stack protocol is the way to go. TCP/IP is the universal common
"language" of computers. Win95 comes with Microsoft's flavor of
TCP/IP. On the Amiga you essentially have two TCP/IP stack choices,
though you can choose from three. The two TCP/IP stacks worth
mentioning are AmiTCP and Miami. From what I've read, Termite's
implementation is barely adequate for a SLIP or PPP connection and is
not recommended for LAN service. In fact, it may not be capable.
Between Miami and AmiTCP, AmiTCP is currently more capable when it
comes to connecting simultaneously to a LAN and PPP connection. When
Miami Deluxe hits the market, it will probably become the more highly
prized of the Amiga TCP/IP stacks. Until then, AmiTCP is the more
capable LAN software.
To connect to a LAN and the Internet simultaneously and provide
Internet connectivity for other LAN based computers (HOSTS)
simultaneously requires that your TCP/IP software act as a gateway.
That kind of connectivity generally requires commercial TCP/IP
software. The Win95 standard TCP/IP stack doesn't provide gateway
service, but does support the use of gateways. The same goes for
Miami on the Amiga. Only AmiTCP starting with the demo 4.0 version
supports creating a gateway service. Yes, you can get gateway
service functions in a commercial TCP/IP stack, but the beauty of
AmiTCP 4.0 is that it is demo freeware.
Configuring AmiTCP is not easy as it is primarily an adapted port of
the BSD Unix TCP/IP stack. That said, there are quite a few scripts
to edit and lots of documentation to read. Additional supporting
documentation for configuring AmiTCP can be found on the Internet. I
will not attempt to describe the configuration process here.
DAEMONS & CLIENTS
Getting a TCP/IP stack up & running is one thing, finding and
configuring daemon (services) and client (users) applications is
another. Examples of applications for the TCP/IP stack are HTTP
(browsers), telnet, FTP, SMTP & POP (mail services), NNTP (net
news/usenet service), LPD & LPR (remote Line Printer Daemon
service & client), NFS (networking file service), and Samba (a
Unix service compatible with Windows for Workgroups file and printer
sharing).
Here's a cross listing of TCP/IP clients and daemons I'm using on the
my Amiga and PC:
Part of the challenge of setting up software has been finding it.
The other part of the challenge has been making it work or finding a
friendly application. For instance, there are two applications of
Samba for the Amiga on Aminet. Only one seems to work or the one
that didn't work for me needs better documentation. Finding the
Samba application that worked for me took awhile. Similar comments
could be made for the NFS daemon and LPR client for the PC. I found
several applications of each from which to choose. Only a couple
satisfied me with their ease of configuration and user interface.
Besides the TCP/IP services above, there's also the Siamese System
(see previous reference) that can be used to connect the Amiga &
PC over a TCP/IP connection. The Siamese System works well for
connections involving one PC and one Amiga, but does not offer the
generic flexible connectivity one would want for connecting more than
two computers. The Siamese System offers the following features:
If you have either software or hardware for your Amiga that has taken
your fancy, please bring it to our attention. I'm sure your specific
interests will be of interest to others. Let me know if this is the
case at the next meeting, or leave me email on our BBS. Remember, a
user group is only as rewarding as the sum of the efforts of its
individual members.
GRAPHICS PERSPECTIVES
BY C.U.P.I.D.
FELLOW COMMODORE USERS:
Directory of Club Disk: C214
0 "PERSPECTIVES " PS 2A
36 "ULTRA V8.1" PRG
9 "INTRO.TXT" SEQ
17 "PART1.TXT" SEQ
14 "PART2.TXT" SEQ
25 "PART3.TXT" SEQ
175 "SHRINK-IT!" PRG
19 "FILE CONVERTER" PRG
11 "FGM SCREEN FIND" PRG
32 "S.DEMO SCREEN" PRG
4 "D.REDUCTION DEMO" SEQ
0 "^STUDENT FILES!^" PRG
0 "------------" PRG
9 "-INTRODUCTION" PRG
9 "INTRO.ASC" PRG
18 "-PERSPECTIVE1" PRG
18 "PT1.ASC" PRG
14 "-PERSPECTIVE2" PRG
14 "PT2.ASC" PRG
30 "..FACES PLUS" USR
15 "-PERSPECTIVE3-1T" PRG
15 "PT3-1.ASC" PRG
1 "-PERSPECTIVE3-1G" PRG
21 "..FIG.A" USR
10 "..FIG.B" USR
12 "-PERSPECTIVE3/2T" PRG
11 "PT3-2.ASC" PRG
12 "..ANCHORS.6" USR
28 "..ANCHORS AWAY!" USR
0 "^EDITORS FILES!^" PRG
DIRECTIONS FOR ST. AUGUSTINE CENTER MEETING ROOMS
http://astro4.ast.vill.edu/mlcug/index.html
------------------------------------------------------------------
64/128/PC/Amiga Meetings 1998 Steering Committee Meetings
July 11 * July 15 **
August 08 * August 12
September 12 * September 16 **
* = second Saturday ** = third Wednesday
******************************************************************
EDITOR: Emil J. Volcheck, Jr. 1046 General Allen Lane
West Chester, PA 19382-8030
(Produced with C-128/SCPU 128, RAMlink, HD-40/85, 1571, FD-4000, THE
WRITE STUFF 128, XETEC Super Grafix, Canon BJ-200ex, Swiftlink and
Motorola 288 modem)
MLCUG BBS: 610-828-1359 (300 --> 33600 bps), 24 hr/day
WWW: http://astro4.ast.vill.edu/mlcug/index.html
PUBLICITY/BOOK LIBRARIAN: Robyn Josephs 565-4058
DISK ORDERS: Charlie Curran 446-5239; Bill Bacon 441-5908
VILLANOVA SPONSOR: Prof. Frank Maloney, Dept. of Astronomy
MLCUG STEERING COMMITTEE:
PRESIDENT: Emil Volcheck 388-1581
SECRETARY: Charles Curran 446-5239
TREASURER/MEMBERS: Dewitt Stewart 623-5145
AMIGA SIG/SYSOP: John Deker 828-7897
INTERNET: Peter Whinnery 284-5234
DATABASE: Layton Fireng 688-2080
AT LARGE: Tom Johnson 525-3440
########################################
ANNOUNCEMENTS & SPECIALS
########################################
******************************
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS
[Another stellar contribution from Doctor Mike]
$ TRADING POST $
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
64/128/PC MEETING
******************************
YOUR NEW PC - PART II
By Emil Volcheck
Items 7) and 8) were tested for internet access, see the notes
elsewhere in this issue.
a) send in warranty cards
a) consider getting a full tutorial
---------------
******************************
PC POWER CONSERVATION
By Emil Volcheck
SETTINGS
CONTROL PANEL
POWER
******************************
DID YOU SAY BACKUP?
From: Emil Volcheck
Now - how about YOU???
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By John Deker, AMIGA SIG Leader
DAEMONS setup by platform --
Service name Amiga PC
----------------------------
HTTP yes yes
Telnet yes no
FTP yes yes
LPD yes no
NFS no yes
Samba yes NA
CLIENTS setup by platform --
Client name Amiga PC
----------------------------
HTTP yes yes
Gopher yes yes
Telnet yes yes
FTP yes yes
LPR no yes
NFS yes no
Samba NA yes
NOTE: A "no" indication above just means that I'm not currently using
that client or daemon on that platform. It doesn't infer that it's
not possible. For instance, I'm sharing two printers between my
three computers, an Epson FX compatible Okidata 180 dot matrix
connected to my PC and an HP DeskJet660Cse connected to my A2000. I
generally don't have a need or desire to share the Okidata with the
Amigas though I can easily share it with my A1200 that's running the
Siamese System. On the other hand, I often desire to connect any of
the computers with the HP as it has a higher quality output and
supports color. I use Envoy (see earlier reference) to enable
printing from my A1200. I use LPD (the Line Printer Daemon) on my
A2000 and an LPR (Line Printer Remote) client on my PC to enable
printing to the HP from my PC. A LPD is available for my PC, but I
don't need it. Neither do I need it on my A1200 for that matter.
FUTURE MEETINGS
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