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º February 1997 Volume 5 Number 2 º
ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĶ
º Board of Trade BBS New Port Richey, Florida (813) 862-4772 º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
In This Issue
-------------
þ Special Fiftieth Issue - Highlights from the First Fifty Issues
þ The BBSCON
þ Computer Basics
Written by Ed Garwood
þ The latest news, humor and much more
+ + + + +
Editor's Welcome
----------------
Welcome to the fiftieth consecutive month of publication for the Pasco BBS
Magazine!
After last month's Special Fourth Anniversary Issue, there may not be much to
add to the saga of the Pasco BBS Magazine. It has been fun to peruse the back
issues and extract some highlights, which we proudly present in this month's
Special Fiftieth Issue. In addition to these highlights, we do have our
regular features, including Ed Garwood's Computer Basics.
I'm not going to ramble on about the magazine, or the accomplishment of
publishing an issue for fifty straight months. Maybe, I'll save that for our
Special One Hundredth Issue, which is scheduled to be published in April 2001.
I do want to thank everyone who has helped along the way. You are the ones
who have made publishing a monthly magazine an enjoyable experience. Thanks
to those who read the magazine as well, since this endeavor would be rather
pointless without you.
Thank you!
+ + + + +
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ PASCO BBS MAGAZINE ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Tampa Bay's Oldest Free On-line Magazine! ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ EDITOR: Richard Ziegler ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ HOME BBS: Board of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772 ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ World Wide Web Home Page: http://www.sanctum.com/pasco ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
+ + + + +
A Look Back at Some Highlights from the First Fifty Issues
----------------------------------------------------------
There have been many exclusive interviews and special features over the first
fifty issues of the Pasco BBS Magazine. This article takes a look back at
some of the highlights from the history of the Pasco BBS Magazine.
January 1993 - Exclusive interview with Nels Anderson
Nels Anderson, popular Shareware author of the Mah Jongg solitaire tile game,
among other programs, was interviewed in the first issue of the Pasco BBS
Magazine. Much of what he said in that interview was published in last
month's Special Fourth Anniversary Issue, but this extraction addresses how he
got into the Shareware/BBSing business.
"I actually started programming way back in the dark ages of computers, well
before personal computers were available. I was just in high school at the
time and they had a PDP-8/L which was hot stuff at the time (4K of memory,
paper tape for I/O, and a Teletype). I learned a lot from it and naturally
some of the stuff I did was games. I got started on PC games about six years
ago when I got my first PC. It had EGA graphics, so I immediately started
trying to figure out how that worked. My tinkering gradually developed into
my Mah Jongg solitaire game. The game was actually a combined learning
experience rather than something that was originally intended as a product. I
was trying to learn PCs, the C programming language, and how EGA graphics
worked, all at the same time."
March 1993 - Exclusive Interview with Dan Linton
Dan Linton may be the most successful system operators in the history of the
bulletin board and his Software Creations BBS is one of the most popular in
the world. The Clinton, Massachusetts resident took time out of his Florida
vacation to visit Pasco County for an exclusive interview. Here are some of
the tips he gave to BBS Sysops.
"I think you'll find if you want to grow a BBS, 99% of your callers are
interested in files. Make your board easy to get into, and let people get on
your board and take things. That is what they want, and if they take things
they'll come back. Let them get away with something. I actually saw a board
in Worcester with two things on the menu, Goodbye and Membership Door. That
was it, you didn't get to go past that. I think what Sysops have to realize
is they have to treat it, even if it is a hobby, like the users are the
customers and you run a business. Let them window shop, let them take
samples, but you have to let them see everything and play around. The other
thing I suggest is make your board what the caller wants, not what you want.
Are you running the board for you or the callers, there is a big difference.
It depends on if you want to grow the board. If you want a nice little board
that you run for you, and you run it the way you want it and you don't care
how many calls you get, or if you do call it is sort of like a private club,
that is great. If you really want to grow it, turn it into multi-line and
memberships and have it pay for itself, than you have to think about some of
these other things. The marketing aspect is what so many of them miss."
April 1993 - Exclusive Interview with Rocky Rawlins
Rocky Rawlins was the National Coordinator of the American BBS Association,
when he was featured in an exclusive interview. He has since given up that
title, but continues to operate The Matrix BBS in Birmingham, Alabama. Here
is how he explained the goals of the ABBSA.
"One, to put out a set of ethical standards that everyone can agree with and
live with, and that we can let everybody know about. Two is to educate the
general public, teachers, parents, organizations and businesses about what
BBSs really do, as opposed to what the public seems to think they do. Third
is to try to educate the media about what BBSs really do, as opposed to what
they are often portrayed as doing. Just in the past two months I've seen
three different stories on network or local television about bulletin boards,
and every one of them was rather sensational."
May 1993 - Wolfenstein...One Year Later
One of the more enjoyable features was the article discussing the landmark
Shareware game Wolfenstein 3D. Jay Wilbur, Chief Operating Officer of id
Software, and Joe Siegler, Online Support Manager for Apogee Software, were
interviewed for that article. You can expect a follow-up article in a future
issue. Here is some of what Jay Wilbur said about why id Software has been
successful writing Shareware games.
"The basic philosophy around here is that we write the games that we want to
play. We are all avid game players, it is a sickness that runs through our
veins. We write the games that we as game players want to play. It is sort
of funny, Wolfenstein was probably around a month late because once it got
into a playable beta version, we stopped writing and started playing."
June 1993 - Exclusive Interview with Bob Mahoney
Bob Mahoney is the Sysop of the Exec-PC BBS in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. The
system promotes itself as the "Biggest BBS in the World." In an exclusive
interview, he talked about why the board was the biggest.
"We realize that saying we're the biggest in the world is inviting challenge
on that, but nobody has come up and told us they were bigger yet. In one way
we are assuming that is true because we proclaim that in many places and
nobody argues with us, but we do base it on some real numbers. The number of
files we have on-line, which is an elusive number to get the truth out of most
system operators. Another statistic would be the number of callers per day,
we usually average about 5,000 callers per day. Total number of calls into
the system, we have tracked it since we started, we are approaching 7,000,000
calls to our system. Total amount of disk storage, I haven't even added it up
lately, but I believe it is somewhere going over 30 gigabytes. The number of
phone lines, we are hovering around 280. Looking at all those numbers I
believe in every case, in the ones that I just mentioned, we do more than any
other system there is."
July 1993 - CyberScape LIVE! with David Hamel
During the Summer of 1993, Dave White, who operated the now defunct CyberScape
BBS in Lancaster, Massachusetts, ran live on-line interviews from the chat
conference on his board. It was fun to log in on Sunday night and talk to
Sysops and Shareware authors. Highlights from these interview sessions ran in
this magazine under the title "The Best of CyberScape LIVE!" On June 13,
1993, David Hamel, author of the popular Boxer text editor, was the special
guest. Here is some advice he gave to aspiring Shareware authors.
"I think the best way to approach Shareware is for fun, and not for profit.
That is a far more reasonable approach, since so few make real money anyway.
But, if you're talented, and you've got incredible persistence, you might make
some money after all. Find a project which has genuine interest for you.
When a programmer is truly interested in his work, then magic things can
happen."
August 1993 - Exclusive Interview with Brent Yandell
BBS utility author, and Pasco County resident, Brent Yandell is best known for
his USBBSDOR BBS door program, the PCB File View utility for PCBoard, and
QReader, which is the Official Online Text Viewing Door of the Pasco BBS
Magazine. Here is some of what he had to say about the success of Shareware.
"There are certainly some people making a really good living off some
Shareware products. Starting back with Marshall McGee and AutoMenu, there are
some great business applications out there that these fellows are making some
real serious money on. There are some people with games who have done really
well. There is a magazine out called Shareware, I think it is a bimonthly,
but you can just tell by reading this some of these people have done really
well. Would I recommend it? If you have a really hot product and you don't
want to try to sell it to a big company, it's certainly a great way to go."
January 1994 - Exclusive Interview with Graham Cluley
British Shareware author Graham Cluley has written several games including
Jacaranda Jim and the Christmas adventure Humbug. His wonderful sense of
humor was displayed in an exclusive interview in the first anniversary issue
of the Pasco BBS Magazine.
"There are some pretty wacky characters in my games. Alan the Gribbley from
Jacaranda Jim seems to have become almost a cult figure! I guess it's my
natural English eccentricity. I've always loved good characters in games and
its fun to make them amusing. Alan the Gribbley was a homicidal maniac I knew
who used to demonstrate how he could kill cows in 157 different ways with his
bare hands. Sadly he used to use me as the demonstration. Completely barking
mad. Anyway, he did have a beard, hum smugly and carry a copy of PC Tools
Deluxe with him everywhere."
March 1994 - Exclusive Interview with Richard Paquette
Richard Paquette is the Sysop of the Livewire BBS and author of the Livewire
Door Collection. He also published BBS Callers Digest, which was renamed BBS
Magazine, before it ceased publication in 1996. His magazine also sponsored
an on-line related show called BBS EXPO. He talked of many topics, including
the market for publications and on-line shows.
"There is plenty of room in the world for many publications in this market
area. I think there is plenty of room for many future Expos and conventions.
As Internet is trying to do, or as Vice President Al Gore is trying to do,
unite people through information. Maybe that is what a lot of BBS operators
ought to think about also. Try to unite and not have ego trips about what
software they run. Instead of wasting half their life complaining and griping
about he's stealing my callers, or he's doing this or he's doing that, work
together. There are many Sysop organizations, join them. Get something done,
it's almost like voting. If you don't put your vote in, don't grip about who
won."
April 1995 - Exclusive Interview with Ed Black
Ed Black setup Fast Eddie's BBS in late 1984 and it was Pasco County's first
bulletin board system. He shared some recollections of the early days of
BBSing in Pasco County.
"Pasco's phones used to have a little battery up on the pole. It was a re-
chargeable battery that ran the circuitry for the party line. Everything was
alright for an ordinary residential phone, but when you get 30 calls a day and
the calls average 45 minutes or more, which they did back then, that battery
would discharge completely and wouldn't get a chance to recharge and the line
would go dead. Well, GTE could never figure out why this was happening and
they would be sending guys out every other day to put a new battery up there
and these where custom made batteries, I'm sure they were costing them $50 a
month. So finally, after changing cable pairs and everything else to try to
get it to work, they finally figured it out. They did away with that system.
They actually ran real power in instead of batteries. GTE never really
understood us. They tried once to get me to pay commercial rates for the
line, but I said no way am I going to do that. They just gave up at that
point. I said no, so they said oh, okay."
May 1995 - Exclusive Interview with Ted Parker
Shareware author Ted Parker has written the popular Merlin Hurricane Tracking
Tool and Mr. Z's Lotto Optimization Tool, better know as Z-Blast. He talked
about some of the more notable storms he has tracked using Merlin.
"Last year, Gordon was about the most interesting. That was because of its
erratic path. Andrew I think, to me personally, was about the most important
even though it was short of coming here into the Houston area. We certainly
were under the gun like everybody else and it was my first chance to really
use a fairly powerful version of Merlin to do the tracking with. Gilbert was
certainly a good one because of its size, I belive it reached the lowest
barometric pressure of any recorded storm that I'm aware of. Carla was one
that I remember because it was the first Hurricane I can remember actually
being in. I was fairly young, I think I was about 11 or 12 years old, and we
had only lived in this area a short while. I still remember the rain and the
wind from that storm. People I talk to seem to have a favorite storm. People
will tell me about some storm they remember, they come up to me and say 'what
about this storm?' I say 'I don't remember that one' and they will tell me all
about it."
February 1996 - Exclusive Interview with Kathy and Michael Sussell
Kathy and Michael Sussell have operated the New York City based Invention
Factory BBS since 1984. Here is some of what they had to say to those
thinking of setting up a BBS.
Kathy began, "I think a lot of people have the misconception, like at the
conventions, who are just starting out, that right off the bat they are going
to have enough subscribers to not only cover their living expenses, but to
help the board to grow." Michael continued, "If you're thinking of going into
this business, don't. Don't unless you have other sources of revenue that can
carry you for the first three years. The BBS business is a difficult one
right now, basically because of all the competition."
+ + + + +
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ÆØØØØØØØØØØØ Board of Trade BBS ØØØØØØØØØص
ÆØØØØØØØØØ New Port Richey, Florida ØØØØØØØص
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ÆØ The Hobby BBS for the Entire Family! ص
³ ³
³ Pasco County's Information Source ³
³ Home of the Pasco BBS Magazine, DA BUCS and BBS Basics ³
³ ³
³ Call here FIRST for the BEST in Shareware ³
³ Official Distribution Site for the Most Popular Authors ³
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+ + + + +
The BBSCON
----------
The Online Networking Exposition and BBS Convention (ONE BBSCON) was a
wonderful event for BBS system operators. Each summer, this show dedicated to
the bulletin board featured the biggest names in the business. Coverage of
the BBSCON also took up quite a bit of space in the first fifty issues of this
magazine. It is sad that the event met its demise, as organizers changed the
focus and name of the show after ONE BBSCON '95. This article presents a
little background on the convention and some of the highlights from the event.
Jack Rickard, editor of Boardwatch Magazine, and Phil Becker, President of
eSoft, Inc., formed ONE, Inc. (Online Networking Expositions, Incorporated) as
a vehicle to host the first ONE BBSCON in 1992. Jack Rickard serves as
President of ONE, Inc. and Phil Becker acts as Secretary/Treasurer. The event
took place in Denver in 1992, followed by Colorado Springs, Atlanta and the
final convention in Tampa during August of 1995. Over four great summers, the
show grew in size and it was a true American success story. Unfortunately,
the organizers decided to change the focus of the show to the Internet for
1996 and renamed it the ONE ISPCON. While it lasted, the BBSCON was a
celebration of the bulletin board system. This article presents some
highlights from past coverage of the show.
Ward Christensen, the father of the bulletin board, talked about setting up
the first BBS. This enjoyable session was a regular BBSCON feature. "A
history of the bulletin board...it sort of needs to be a history of me and it
needs to be a little bit of a history of technology. CBBS was officially born
on 2/16/78. There were a number of things which went into the invention of
CBBS. I'd like to think of it sort of as an atomic explosion, where if you
bring enough of the proper ingredients, or isotopes, together in a properly
small mass and time, something will happen. That is sort of how the BBS
happened. There were a number things that became feasible, so the time was
just right for that." Later, in that 1993 session, he discussed what a BBS
should be. "I don't feel this real strongly, but it makes a good story, if
it's not free and on-line, it's not a BBS, or something like that. I coined
the term, so I guess I get to define what it is."
Dave Hughes, Sr. of Old Colorado City Communications, who is also known as the
Cursor Cowboy, could be counted on to provide some interesting quotes. Here
is part of what he said at the 1993 Opening Session. "I don't want you to get
the wrong idea. You see, because this is all up-scale, dress code, Broadmoor
Hotel, come on! Don't lose the grip on where you came from, the grass roots,
and I still champion it." He followed that with some interesting thoughts at
the 1994 show. "You don't get me east of the Mississippi, or west of Death
Valley, for many reasons. So, I am here for three things. Having fun is the
biggest part of it. But, see I have fun exercising technical prowesses, and I
also have fun lynching politicians by electronic democracy. I am a
cheerleader for this, of its potential and benefits. I am here to warn you,
who think that all you have to do is jack your little BBS into the Internet
and beyond, and the BBS honeymoon will continue. The jackals of big
communications, the big Tel-Cos, the big ones, and the hyenas of government
together have smelled cyber-pork. Even as we speak, they are forming up
decisions to crash the data flow which could, not necessarily will, unless you
get off your butts and do something about it, could effect every one of your
free BBSs. You better pay attention to it. What I think you ought to be
doing, and a lot of you young hackers don't like politics, don't like
politicians, and you just do your own little old thing. If you don't start
picking up the phone to your congressmen, I'll flat tell ya I'll have to
organize a modem march on Washington's capitol steps. I am quite capable of
doing it, but I'd just a soon spend my time out there in Colorado City, not
back in that puzzle place. The issues are very big, because you don't exist
with your free BBSs in the minds of many of the people in Washington."
One annual session that yielded some helpful tips, along with some humorous
moments, was the BBS Success Roundtable. In 1993, Dan Linton, Sysop of
Software Creations BBS, talked about adding more phone lines in the small town
of Clinton, Massachusetts. "When they had the streets blocked off to put that
cable in, the contractor basically asked me where all the people were going to
sit in my living room to answer all those phones." At the 1994 show, Kathy
Sussell of the Invention Factory BBS commented, "We had a very big (line)
noise problem. The infrastructure of New York City is falling apart. It is
kind of hard to be a high tech company in a low tech town." Dan Linton joked
at that same session, "As far as the modem question earlier, we also run all
external modems. And that is purely from the sense that we love lights."
Kathy Sussell also told how she and her husband Michael got into BBSing full-
time. "Michael and I are basically unemployable, so we didn't really have
much of a decision about leaving a job that we didn't have. It works for us.
We work at home. We write off just about everything, including our dog and
our cat. They come under the heading of security and pest control."
One of the more popular sessions was put on by the event organizers and came
to be known as the Jack and Phil Show. They would discuss how to make money
with a BBS. Here is some of what Phil Becker said at the 1994 convention.
"When Jack and I were first talking about doing ONE BBSCON, it was right about
the time that the prevailing wisdom was that you just couldn't make money with
a BBS. In fact, charging for one was marginally criminal. It certainly was
an unsocial act. And the concept that charging for it would cause any money
to end up in your pockets, instead of people simply to flee from your board,
the prevailing wisdom in the BBS world was that you can charge, if you don't
want any users." Becker later shared one of the keys to running a profitable
system. "Part of that is that actually there are very few secrets. One of
the secrets is, you got to work. Now there are two ways to work, smart and
dumb. Smart is the preferable one, but dumb works, if you stay up late
enough."
The educational sessions featured the biggest names in the business. Modem
pioneer Dennis Hayes talked about how people might find out when ISDN would be
installed in their local area. "If you're a glutton for punishment, you can
try calling your local telephone company." Robert Metcalfe, best known as the
inventor of the local area network technology ethernet, gave the keynote
address at the 1995 show. Metcalfe began his speech, "If you think the
Information Superhighway is a buzz word that takes itself too seriously, I
want to tell you my favorite anagram of the word Information Superhighway. An
anagram is simply a rearrangement of the letters and there are dozens of
anagrams for the phrase Information Superhighway. My favorite is this,
Enormous Hairy Pig With Fan."
Jack Rickard has some humorous insights at the 1995 show in Tampa. "Every
year it seemed there was someone who came up with the idea of forming some
sort of association of bulletin board operators. I watched quite a parade of
them come out, announce something, hope for 15,000 or 20,000 members instantly
and when they didn't materialize, move on. The question is why can't we get
all the BBS operators to do x, whatever x is. Basically, I didn't know. I
had never seen all the bulletin board operators do anything. If you got all
the bulletin board operators in the world, and laid them end-to-end, they
couldn't reach a conclusion, much less lunch. They are a fairly independent
group of people and getting them to do anything is a lot like herding cats. I
think one of the reasons they run bulletin boards, on-line services and their
own Web sites is that the rest of the world didn't do to suit them. So, they
built another one where they could have a little control and do it their way.
Politically, almost all of the bulletin board operators tend to be
Libertarians. None of them actually join the Libertarian Party, there's too
many rules, you don't really buy into all of it, but the tendency is towards
Libertarianism, just don't want to actually become a member. When we started
Boardwatch Magazine people who ran on-line services were viewed much as you
might a group of people who met every Tuesday evening to exchange
toothbrushes. They do what? Why do they do that? In recent years, it's not
that much of a niche. This has gone quite into the national eye and its
become a bit of a mainstream thing. It also lead to a curious desire by our
governing structure to do two things, one is to regulate it, and the other is
tax it. To defend ourselves, we are going to have to make some concessions on
the I don't join and I don't get involved position. The first organization
I've joined in ten years is now this Association of On-Line Professionals."
When the BBSCON came to Tampa in 1995, Jack Rickard was candid on the factors
that lead to the final decision on where to hold the event. Tampa "was
selected as the site because the Convention Center down there has a big hole
in August, and they've got a beautiful Convention Center. They were
effectively persuasive. They want the business. We find that people like
that are a lot easier to work with, we can be pretty demanding on hotels,
Convention Centers and things of that nature."
At the Tampa show, the organizers discussed the active hurricane season and
the fact that Hurricane Erin had passed through the area just two weeks prior
to the event. Phil Becker joked, "I was concerned about that. When the
hurricane came through, and I saw another one coming behind it, I said this
will work out real good. We'll get all these people in town and then kill
them. This will work." Jack Rickard also quipped, "I was praying Hurricane
Felix would come this way, kind of cool things down."
This past August, a summer without a BBSCON, the Pasco BBS Magazine featured
an article on the event's legacy. While it was special when Tampa hosted the
convention, it was tough to top my first time attending the BBSCON. This
article concludes with an extraction from that article.
ONE BBSCON '93, at the base of Pike's Peak, surrounded by the majestic beauty
that inspired the song "God Bless America." A pleasant and cool evening in
the thin mountain air. A crowd of Sysops, just numbering in the hundreds, had
gathered on the outdoor terrace of the exclusive Broadmoor Hotel. With a
classical quartet playing in the background and a modest buffet, it was a
party in the truest sense of the word. Drinking, laughing and carrying on
with people who had a similar devotion to the bulletin board system. Everyone
knew what each other was talking about and never once had to explain what a
BBS was. It was relaxed, friendly and beyond every expectation. Few things
in life are beyond expectations, but that night in Colorado Springs was a
celebration. Perhaps, experiences like that are the legacy.
+ + + + +
The Constipated Cow
-------------------
One of the favorite BBS names that we have ever run across is The Constipated
Cow BBS. Walter Dreksler was the Sysop, and his board was named one of the
earliest Pasco BBS Magazine Distribution Sites in February of 1993.
Unfortunately, when he moved from St. Petersburg to Florida's east coast, the
board had to be shut down. However, Walter did say he might set up another
board down the road. The last time I talked to him he was working on a new
game program and had gone out to farms taping cows for the sound card support.
Maybe we have not heard the last of the Constipated Cow.
Here is the ad that ran in the early issues of the Pasco BBS Magazine, only
the telephone number has been removed.
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ± Û± Û± ÛÛÛÛ± ³ SYSOP : WALTER DREKSLER ³
Û± Û± Û± Û± ³ COSYSOP : HENRY MORGNER ³
Û± ÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛ± ³ RUNNING : PCBOARD 14.5 REGISTERED ³
Û± Û± Û± Û± ³ STATS : NODE 1 1200-2400 ³
Û± Û± Û± ÛÛÛÛ± ³ MAIL NETWORKS : SOON TO GET FIDONET ³
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛ± Û± Û± ÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛ± Û± ÛÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛ±
Û± Û± Û± ÛÛ± Û± Û± Û± Û± Û± Û± Û±Û± Û± Û± Û± Û±
Û± Û± Û± Û±Û±Û± ÛÛÛ± Û± Û± ÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛ± Û± ÛÛÛÛ± Û± Û±
ÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛ± Û± ÛÛ± Û± Û± ÛÛÛÛÛ± Û± Û± Û± Û± Û± ÛÛÛÛ±
ÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛ±
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛ± Û± Û± ³ THE CONSTIPATED COW BBS FEATURING ³
Û± Û± Û± Û± Û± Û± ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³
Û± Û± Û± Û± Û±Û± Û± ³ 80 MEGS OF FILES EPIC D/Ling point ³
ÛÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛ± ÛÛÛ± ³ PASCO BBS MAGAZINE D/Ling point ³
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Walter Dreksler was a big help to the magazine, after he shut his board down
he helped line up a couple of new Distribution Sites. I hope all is going
well for him, as it has been quite some time since I have seen him on-line.
+ + + + +
Definition by Tom Gordon, New Port Richey, FL
----------------------------------------------
Basic -- Nauseated Buc's fan.
+ + + + +
BBS Basics v2.2 Released
------------------------
BBS Basics version 2.2 was released on Friday January 17, 1997, the same day
as this special issue of the Pasco BBS Magazine. This popular program of
information for the new bulletin board user is a compilation of prior articles
from the Pasco BBS Magazine and can be found on better BBSs everywhere. There
is a menu driven executable version available under the file name BBSBAS22.ZIP
and an ASCII text edition available under the file name BBSBA22A.ZIP.
The first version of BBS Basics was released on September 23, 1993 and was an
ASCII file of articles which ran in the first nine issues of the Pasco BBS
Magazine. These articles, which ran in the magazine from January 1993 to
September 1993, were combined into a single file to help the growing number of
people who continue to become aware of what BBSs have to offer. On March 28,
1994, the program was modified into a menu driven executable file and released
as version 2.0. It was thought that having an executable file would make it
easier for the new user to use, however, an ASCII edition continues to be
released. On December 30, 1995, an updated version 2.1 was released.
BBS Basics is copyrighted Freeware made available courtesy of the Pasco BBS
Magazine and the Board of Trade BBS. Sysops are encouraged to have the latest
version available for their callers, as a file for downloading and a bulletin.
There are no fees associated with the use of BBS Basics, but the files cannot
be altered in anyway. No part may reproduced without permission, however,
other publications have been granted permission to print extractions from the
text. The latest version is always available as a free download on the Board
of Trade BBS, (813) 862-4772, or via FidoNet using the magic file name BASICS
at 1:3619/10.
+ + + + +
*****************************************************************************
ATTENTION to Details BBS Clint Bradford, KE6LCS - Sysop
Mira Loma, California BBS (909) 681-6221 BBS
Excellence...Across the Board!(sm) Voice Support (909) 681-6210
Supporting BBS Member: AOP - Association of Online Professionals
ASP - Association of Shareware Professionals
EFF - Electronic Frontier Foundation
ESC - Educational Software Cooperative
NCSA - National Computer Security Association
Message Networks: MustangNet USNet CoveNet Internet
MysticNet ILink HamRadioNet
Official Bulletin Station of the ARRL - American Radio Relay League
ATTENTION to Details BBS is managed in compliance with the
AOP and NCSA Codes of Professional Standards
*****************************************************************************
+ + + + +
Computer Basics
---------------
Written by Ed Garwood, Hudson, FL
Undeleting a File
One of the computer club members called me one evening. He sounded a bit
desperate, and when I asked what was the matter, he told me that he had
erroneously deleted one his spreadsheet files. Now, the file was gone, with
all of his data! He remembered that I had once mentioned undeleting files,
but he had no idea as to how to go about doing that. Could I please help him
recover the file? After first ascertaining that he probably really had
deleted said file, and not just saved it to another directory, I asked him if
he had a program such as Norton Utilities, or PC Tools. "No," he replied. I
then asked him what version of DOS he was using. DOS 6.0. Good! Both DOS
and Windows have Undelete programs.
Inasmuch as I usually use Norton for my undeleting tasks, my DOS memories were
a bit rusty. So, I fired up my computer, put a disk in drive A, copied a few
files from my hard drive to the A disk, and then deleted them. Now, I was
ready to walk the poor soul thru the Undelete process. Five minutes later,
the poor soul was again a happy man, with his lost file back in the fold. At
that point, I began to think that others might have the same problem, and
might not remember about the Undelete command. So, I decided to write this
article on the UNDELETE process.
When one deletes a file, it isn't really deleted in the strict sense of the
word. DOS just strikes out the first letter of the file name. The file is
still there. DOS just can't find it in the FAT (File Allocation Table). If
you haven't overwritten it with a new file you probably can still recover it.
How? Read on.
Let's assume we have file called READ.TXT on a floppy disk in the A drive. We
have deleted it in error, and now wish to recover it. How? Go to the C:\
prompt, and type Undelete A:. You will get a screen message saying something
like this:
Delete Sentry Control File not found
Deletion-tracking file not found.
MS-DOS directory contains 1 deleted
file. Of those 1 file may be recovered
Using MS-DOS directory method,
?EAD TXT 3302 8/5/96 7:25pm ....A
Undelete? (Y/N)
Now, Type Y, since you wish to undelete. The notation appears: "Please type
the first character for ?EAD TXT." You type in the R to make it READ.TXT,
and Voila! C'est Finis! You have recovered your lost file. To satisfy
yourself, type DIR A: and you will see that the file is listed there again.
But, what if you had deleted a file from, let us say, Wordperfect, which is on
your C Drive. It was titled "TAXES.WPM". No problem here. To undelete, the
syntax would be UNDELETE c:\WP\Files\*.wpm, or similar, depending upon your
Directory. You should see ?AXES.WPM. Restore the T to ?AXES.WPM and you will
have restored the file TAXES.WPM.
NOTE: You might see more than one deleted file listed. Some older ones may
not be recoverable, or you may not wish to recover them. Just ignore them.
Eventually they'll be overwritten.
So much for using DOS. But, you say, I use only Windows. I don't know if I
even have DOS in my Computer. How do I Undelete? Simple. Assume you have
deleted the file on Drive A, as before. Open File Manager, and click on A.
The notation appears: "No files found"
Now click on "FILE" (Upper left corner). A window appears with several items
listed. Click on UNDELETE. The Microsoft Undelete window now appears with
this message:
A:\ Condition Size Date Time
?EAD.TXT Excellent 1234 8-5-96 7:23p
Click on the line that says ?EAD.TXT, etc, and it will become highlighted.
There is a group of 6 Icons at the top. Click on the left-hand one, marked
UNDELETE.
Now you get the message: "The first letter of the file was destroyed by MS-
DOS. Please type it in." You will see a blinking box. Type in the R, and
click on OK. The file has been recovered.
Again, what if it was that Wordperfect file you wish to undelete. In this
case, click on the C: drive, and click on the WP directory. Then, follow the
above procedure for Windows.
Sounds complicated, doesn't it. But it really isn't. Try it yourself. Put a
blank floppy in the drive, and copy one or two files to the floppy. Go to
that prompt and type DEL, and the name of the file(s). List the directory
for that disk, and you'll find the files are no longer listed. Now go through
the process I have just described. You will have just become a bona fide file
Undeleter.
Editor's Note: Look for another installment of Computer Basics in next
month's issue. Ed Garwood may be contacted by leaving a message on the Board
of Trade BBS at (813) 862-4772. He is also active in the Pasco ComPats
Computer Club. The club meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month at
the New Port Richey City Council Chambers at the intersection of Main and
Madison Streets in New Port Richey, Florida. For more information about the
Pasco ComPats Computer Club, contact club President Robert Donbar at (813)
863-3963.
+ + + + +
Pasco's On-line Magazines
-------------------------
The September 1995 issue featured a "Catalog of On-line Magazines," which
looked at dozens of free on-line publications found in the electronic world.
This article extracts, and updates, the Pasco County based magazines listed in
that catalog. If anyone has additional information on these publications, or
is aware of one that may have been missed, please let us know.
ÛÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛ» ÛÛ»
ÛÛÉÍÍÍͼ ÛÛÉÍÍÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛº ÛÛÉÍÍÍͼ ÛÛÉÍÍÛÛ» ÛÛº ÛÛÉÍÍÛÛ» ÈÛÛ» ÛÛɼ
ÛÛº ÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛº ÛÛÉÛÛÛÛÉÛÛº ÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛÛÛÛÛɼ ÛÛº ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛº ÈÛÛÛÛɼ
ÛÛº ÛÛº ÛÛÉÍÍÛÛº ÛÛºÈÛÛɼÛÛº ÛÛÉÍͼ ÛÛÉÍÍͼ ÛÛº ÛÛÉÍÍÛÛº ÈÛÛɼ
ÈÛÛÛÛÛÛɼ ÛÛº ÛÛº ÛÛº Èͼ ÛÛº ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛº ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ» ÛÛº ÛÛº ÛÛº
ÈÍÍÍÍͼ Èͼ Èͼ Èͼ Èͼ ÈÍÍÍÍÍͼ Èͼ ÈÍÍÍÍÍͼ Èͼ Èͼ Èͼ
Magazine: GamePlay
First Issue: 1993
Last Issue: July 1995
Editor: Paul Pollack
Home BBS: Board of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772
GamePlay started out as a small ASCII text file, which grew into a huge
database of game information in a menu driven graphical environment. The
magazine was released on an irregular schedule and, since most of the text was
carried over from issue to issue, each release had a version number.
Ò ÖÄÄ¿ ÒÄÄ¿ ÒÄÄ¿ ³ Ò ÒÄÄ¿ ÖÄÄ¿ ÒÄÄ¿ ÖÄÄ¿ ÒÄÄ¿ ÖÄ¿
º º ³ ÇÄÂÙ ÇÄ ÚÄÅÄÄ º ÇÄ º Ä¿ ÇÄ º ³ º ³ ÓÄ¿
ÐÄÄÙ ÓÄÄÙ Ð Á ÐÄÄÙ ÀÄÙ ÐÄÄÙ ÐÄÄÙ ÓÄÄÙ ÐÄÄÙ Ð Á ÐÄÄÙ ÓÄÄÙ
Magazine: Lore & Legends
First Issue: March 1993
Last Issue: April 1993
Editor: Alberto Able
Home BBS: None
Lore & Legends was a short lived magazine put together by then Port Richey,
Florida resident Alberto Able. The magazine was based on games, all types of
games, from video games to role-playing games to card games. Each issue
included something extra, such as ANSI artwork or a joke program.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º º
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ º
ɼ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ º
º Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜ Û º
ɼ Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÜÜÜ Û Û ÛÜÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÛ Û º
º ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ º
º º
º ÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ º
Éͼ Û ÜÜ ÛÜ Û ÜÜ ÛÜ Û ÜÜÜÜÛ º
º Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÜÜÜ Û º
ɼ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ º
º º
ÉÍͼ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÉÍÍͼ
º Û Ü Ü Û Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÜÜ ÜÛ ÛÜ ÜÛ Û ßÛÛ Û Û ÜÜÜÜÛ º
ɼ Û Û Û Û Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÛÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜ Û ÜÛßÜÛÛÜ ÜÛ ÛÜ Û ÛÜß Û Û ÜÜÜÛÜ º
ɼ ÛÜÛßÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÛßÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÊÍÍÍ»
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Magazine: Pasco BBS Magazine
First Issue: January 1993
Last Issue: Still Published
Editor: Richard Ziegler
Home BBS: Board of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772
The Pasco BBS Magazine has been published each month since January 1993. Now
in its fifth year of existence, the magazine has featured a wide range of
articles from various sources, including exclusive interviews with some of the
biggest names in the on-line world.
PPPPPP AAA SSSSSS CCCCCC OOOOOOO BBBBBB BBBBBB SSSSSS
PP PP AA AA SS CC OO OO BB B BB B SS
PPPPPP AA AA SSSSSS CC OO OO BBBBBB BBBBBB SSSSSS
PP AAAAAAAAA SS CC OO OO BB B BB B SS
PP AA AAASSSSSSSS CCCCCC OOOOOOO BBBBBB BBBBBB SSSSSS
NN N EEEEE W W SSSSS L EEEEE TTTTT TTTTT EEEEE RRRR
N N N E W W S L E T T E R R
N N N EEEE W W W SSSSS L EEEE T T EEEE RRRR
N NN E W W W W S L E T T E R R
N N EEEEE W W SSSSS LLLLL EEEEE T T EEEE R R
Magazine: PascoBBS Newsletter
First Issue: October 1991
Last Issue: February 1992
Editor: Clark Gilbo
Home BBS: None
The PascoBBS Newsletter, which may be Pasco County's earliest on-line
magazine, was basically a compilation of text files and it was published for
three issues. One thing unique to this publication was a BBS listing, which
was the beginnings of Clark Gilbo's Westcoast 813 BBS Directory.
That Olde Brain Matter
Warning: Do Not Eat!
Magazine: That Olde Brain Matter
First Issue: 1993
Last Issue: September 1994
Editor: Chris Demmons
That Olde Brain Matter was published on an irregular basis by a group of
students at Pasco-Hernando Community College in New Port Richey, Florida. The
humor magazine was published "when the stars are right," but they did manage
to put out ten issues of TOBM.
+ + + + +
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º º
º ßÛß ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ Ûßßß ÛßÛ Ûßßß ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ßßÛßß Û Û ÛßÛßÛ º
º Û Û Û Û Û Ûß ÛßßÛ ßßßÛ ÛßßÛ Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û º
º ßßß ß ß ß ß ßßßß ß ß ßßßß ß ß ß ß ßßßß ß ßßßß ß ß º
º º
º ÛßÛ ÛßÛ Ûßßß º
º ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ßßßÛ º
º ßßßß ßßßß ßßßß º
º º
º Since 1985 - Pasco County's Oldest BBS º
º º
º Sysops - Rob & Carolyn Marlowe º
º º
º Popular Chat Board, On-Line Games, CD-ROMS, Internet, FidoNet º
º º
º Ten Lines - (813) 848-6055 Voice - (813) 845-0893 º
º º
º telenet: sanctum.com º
º º
º READ THE PASCO BBS MAGAZINE AT: http://www.sanctum.com/pasco º
º º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
+ + + + +
ROTFL
-----
Computer humor courtesy of Sandy Illes
If Windows 95 Operated Appliances Around Your House ...
Written and Copyrighted by Sandy Illes
Toaster: Although the manual clearly states you can put up to 8 pieces of
toast into the 2 slots, only 2 slices will actually become toasted. The other
slices will become wedged into the slots and when you call Micro$oft tech
support, they'll tell you the problem isn't with the toaster, it's your wall
outlet.
Microwave oven: Expect to eat lots of undercooked chicken and burnt bacon,
since all settings are approximated to the standard of "average." When you
call Micro$oft tech support to complain about this, they'll offer to sell you
the Micro$oft Cookbook for only $39.95.
Telephone answering machine: It doesn't matter what message you record, all
callers will hear Bill Gates saying, "Windows 95 is the greatest... you are
getting sleepy... sleeeeeepy... sleeeeeeeeepy... you will buy Windows 95, even
if you don't have a computer..."
Kettle: In the old days, your kettle would whistle when it boiled. Thanks to
Micro$oft, your kettle will now whistle Dixie to a disco beat after a slight
delay of 4-6 minutes to load the WAV file, during which your kettle will boil
dry and you'll have to run out and buy a new one which will mean more
corporate profit$ for Micro$oft. The manual clearly states that all
warranties are null and void once the box in which the kettle is packaged has
been opened.
TV: Changing channels is as simple as switching your current channel into the
background. Unfortunately, since Windows 95 won't support all the cable
channels now available, you're stuck with only 3 channels on UHF. Windows 96
promotional literature promises it will support up to 7 VHF channels, but only
on TVs made after 1995.
Washing machine: Your clothes will be washed whiter than white and stubborn
stains will become a thing of the past. Unfortunately, you can't get your
clothes out of the washer and into the dryer without proprietary software
which is the first of 39 beta versions and mostly doesn't work but is only
available from Micro$oft.
Editor's Note: Extractions from ROTFL Digest! have run in this publication
since the December 1994 issue and this article is one of our favorites. We
want to thank ROTFL Digest!, and its editor Sandy Illes, for allowing this
series of articles to be reprinted. We anticipate that more from the on-line
humor magazine will be published in future issues. ROTFL Digest! is published
by Access Media Systems, which may be contacted at (905) 847-7143, or (905)
847-7362. You may also email Sandy Illes at sandyi@pathcom.com, or visit
their home page on the World Wide Web at http://www.pathcom.com/~sandyi.
+ + + + +
Floppy Fredie
--------------
The first year of the Pasco BBS Magazine ÜÜÜÜÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÜÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ
featured a word puzzle game and over the ÛÛÛÛ øø ÛÛÛÛ Û
first six issues it was known as Floppy ÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÛ
Fredie's Puzzle. While I am not much of Û ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
an ASCII artist myself, someone with talent ßÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
could actually do some pretty nice artwork. ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
At the right is Floppy Fredie, as he ÛÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛ
appeared back in 1993. It would be great Û Û
to get some ASCII artists to send something ÜÜÛ ÛÜÜ
along for the magazine.
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EFF Quote of the Month
----------------------
"Activism is the killer app for the net."
- Steven Cherry <stc@panix.com>, .signature file (email footer).
Editor's Note: The Electronic Frontier Foundation Quote of the Month is a
collection of the wittiest and stupidest, most sublime and most inane comments
ever said about cryptography, civil liberties, networking, government,
privacy, and more. For more information on the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, contact the EFF via the Internet, phone, fax, or US Mail. The
Electronic Frontier Foundation, 1001 G Street NW, Suite 950 E, Washington, DC
20001, (202) 347-5400 (voice), (202) 393-5509 (fax), (202) 638-6119 (BBS),
Internet: ask@eff.org.
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²²²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²²²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²± THE NEWS
²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²± ²²± ²²± ²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± DIRECTORY
²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²±²²± ²²±²± ²²± ²²± ²²²±
²²± ²²± ²²±²²²²± ²²²²± ²²±²±²²± ²²²± A brief look
²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²± ²²±²± ²²²²²²²± ²²²± at some of
²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²± ²²²±²²²± ²²± ²²± the news of
²²²²± ²²± ²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²²²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²± the month
USRobotics and Rockwell have both announced plans for a 56 kilobyte per second
modem. These new modems, which will require a digital telephone network, will
double the current industry standard of 28.8.
Some numbers are becoming available from the NetDay '96 effort to wire schools
for the Internet. In Florida, all 67 counties took part in the undertaking,
with 20,000 volunteers wiring more that 1,800 public and private schools. The
effort was funded by $8 million in donations from 200 corporate and individual
sponsors. Approximately 70 percent of Florida's schools now have some degree
of wiring.
Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple Computers in 1970's, has agreed to return to
the company. Jobs had left the company over ten years ago in what was not an
amicable spilt. Apple agreed to purchase Next, the company Jobs formed after
leaving Apple, for a reported $400 million. Apple also announced an
anticipated $150 million loss for the first quarter of their fiscal year.
Some year end studies are coming up with interesting statistics and
predictions about the Internet. The Internet access business is generating
over $3 billion in annual revenues and, by the year 2000, it is expected to
become an $11 billion industry. Published estimates are that 15 million
Americans are currently on the Internet with the number anticipated to grow to
over 43 million by the turn of the century. Some estimate the growth of those
jumping on the Internet at 200% per year. It is also forecasted that the
number of Internet service providers will drop from the current estimate of
1,525 to less than 100 by the year 2000. ISPs are expected to drop out of the
market due to the high cost of providing customer service and difficulties
competing in the unlimited access for less than $20 environment. One study
predicted that millions of people will begin using voice recognition software
in 1997. Another study said that almost 15% of the U.S. population have
electronic pagers and the number is expected to double over the next five
years.
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Favorite Taglines
-----------------
On an occasional basis, we have published some of our favorite taglines in
past issues. The first installment was in the July 1994 issue and the most
recent was in October 1995. While there are no plans to revive the series, it
is always possible. Here are some of our favorite "Favorite Taglines" from
past issues. For those who do not know, some bulletin boards and off-line
mail readers are set-up to add taglines to the bottom of network type
messages. This is typically done to add a humorous thought onto the message.
I know a good tagline when I steal one.
RAM DISK is NOT an installation procedure.
... My reality check just bounced.
Welcome to Tampa Bay, lightning capitol of the #$^&&&& NO CARRIER
Daddy, what does "Formatting Drive C:" mean?
Turn your 486 into an XT -- Just add Windows!
I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
After all is said and done, more is said than done ...
2 wrongs don't make a right -- But 3 lefts do!
(A)bort, (R)etry, (I)gnore, (S)orry I Asked!
We all live in a yellow subroutine.
A real life? From which BBS can I download that?
"Mind Reader Wanted" -- You know where to call.
If Clinton is the answer, the question must be stupid.
2400 baud seemed SO fast back then.
Dammit Jim! I'm a doctor, not a tagline writer.
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ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
Û Û
Û DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY! Û
Û Û
Û REPORT SOFTWARE PIRACY! * * * TOLL-FREE HOT LINE! Û
Û Û
Û ÜÛ ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ßßßÛ ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ßßßÛ Û Û ßßßÛ ÛßßÛ Û
Û Û ÜÜ ÛßßÛ Û Û Û Û ÜÜ ßßÛ ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ÜÜ Û ßßßÛ Û ÛßßÛ Û
Û ßßß ßßßß ßßßß ßßßß ßßßß ßßßß ßßßß ß ß ß ßßßß Û
Û Û
Û Software Publishers Association, 1730 M St, NW, Washington, DC 20036 Û
Û Û
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
+ + + + +
Surfing the Boards
------------------
Written by Paul Pollack, New Port Richey, FL
Edited by Alex Thomas, New Port Richey, FL
Catchy title, huh? Wasn't that punny? OK, enough with the dumb jokes.
Surfing the boards is an article about BBSs in general, with a special focus
on electronic gaming. Most of the information will be adequate wherever you
live, but there may be an occasional note/emphasis about BBSs in my area (New
Port Richey, FL).
BBSs, or Bulletin Board Services, have caught on in a big way recently, and
with the explosion of the Internet, more people are checking out BBSs than
ever before. But why should you and I care about this? The answer is clear.
BBSs are filled with tons of files, online games, doors, people to chat with,
and much, much, more. Since this (GamePlay) is a gaming magazine, I'll really
concentrate on gaming, although there will be a significant amount of
information about the other aspects too.
BBSs offer a wide variety of service to basically anyone with a few
peripherals. To access the wide-world of BBSs you'll need a modem (it's
almost a requirement these days to have a 2400, and a 14400 is a lot better),
a computer, a telecommunications program, and a hard drive. Actually, you
don't need a hard drive, but else you really can't store many of the bigger
programs that you download. When you log onto a BBS, you're usually treated
with an ANSI/RIP screen giving the name of the BBS, and asking for your
name/handle and password. First of all, most of you should be familiar with
BBSs, if you're reading this you probably downloaded it from a BBS in your
area or a major online service. Just in case you're not familiar with a
handle, a handle is an identity you take on a BBS that others on the BBS
know you as. Since I don't like getting complicated, my handle on most BBSs
is simply Paul Pollack. After that, you enter your password and finally get
onto the BBS.
Once on to a BBS, the approach and software the BBS takes/uses varies widely.
There are many BBS programs out there, ranging from the ever-popular Wildcat
to the lesser-known VBBS (which was written in QB 4.5, for your information [I
think]). Usually, many of the latest versions of these BBS software programs
include RIP graphics support, a type of graphical interface used to access the
different functions of a BBS.
But I've gotten ahead of myself. I said to access a BBS you need a
telecommunications program, a program that will allow you to use your modem
to dial an online service. There are many different telecommunications
packages out there, and many excellent choices. I recommend either of two
excellent programs, Telix, and Ripterm. Both Telix and Ripterm are easy
to set up and use, with no frustrating and arcane commands. Where Ripterm
excels is in its ability to display RIP (short for ripscrip) graphics IF
the BBS supports it.
When you finally arrive at the main menu of a BBS there are many pathways that
you could take. On most BBSs there will be a file section, a message section,
a doors/online games section, and a teleconference or chat section, not to
mention a few sections unique to that particular BBS. For our purposes we'll
concentrate mainly on the doors/online games section and the file section, the
chat section will be covered extensively in one of my other articles. At the
menu, you'll probably be asked to click on your choice (if it's a ripscrip
screen) or to enter the first letter of your choice (if its an ANSI screen).
After going to the online games/doors menu, you'll see a number of Rip-based/
ANSI based games, the most popular of which is TradeWars 2002. Many online
doors allow you to compete against other players, although not in real time.
In the online games section you'll usually find all kinds of games, from
trivia games like Star Trek trivia, to strategy games like Kannons (yes,
that's how it's spelled) and Katapults. The games that aren't multiplayer
either pit you against yourself (like the trivia games) or the computer (like
the previously mentioned strategy games). Many of the games are pretty fun,
but the ANSI graphics that plague most of them will undoubtedly turn some
folks off. Now we move on to our main focus, the file section.
In the file section of the BBS, you'll see a variety of software up for grabs,
including some very good games. Unfortunately, most of the files that are on
BBSs aren't really that good (I could use other words, but I don't know who
reads this magazine, therefore I won't), but many others are. In fact, much
of GamePlay magazine was created with freeware/shareware products. If you
have a modem, almost any shareware program imaginable can be found on one BBS
or another. Let's say you want to find an audio-CD player for your CD-ROM.
Just go into your telecommunications program, dial up a local BBS, and search
through the different areas and files available. Chances are that at least
one BBS in your area will have the files you're looking for. I know that at
least one board in my area has a few CD players to download.
What else can you find on BBSs today? Let's get back to our main focus,
gaming. On BBSs today, there are all sorts of games on-line that range from
great to not so great (I'm not going to start using expletives). Some of the
best games on BBSs are listed in my "Top 10" and "Best Commercial Game Demos"
in the article menu, and I even have a mention of where to find many of my
game add-ons. On the other hand, many of the games that are out there on BBSs
are so dated, that no one will ever download them. On to the CD-ROM areas.
On a CD-ROM you can store six-hundred megabytes of information, more than 400
high-density disks! Many times you'll find a ton of good shareware on these
CDs, but the problem arises when a BBS keeps using an old CD-ROM. Basically
no one finds any new programs interesting on it, and it can't be updated since
you can't write to a CD. I've seen one CD that's been on the same BBS for a
few years now and it dates back to before Windows 3.1 was released.
What I find neat about the Board of Trade BBS and others like it is that you
can perform a "Zippy Dir" scan which enables you to search all the directories
for a game that has a description with those words in it. Thus, if you wanted
to find a neat 3D game, you'd go to the Zippy Dir scan and type 3D, then
search all the directories. I've done this a lot, but many of the games I've
found are like "3-Demon," an old CGA "ten-step" Pac-man game. Some games,
like Billy the Kid, use 3D in the description but aren't 3D games at all.
When you're downloading a game, remember that the author of the game is the
one who probably uploaded it and typed in the description. I know that I love
GamePlay, but others may not think the description appropriate. Shareware
authors tend to hype their products, and you'll often find old EGA titles
hidden underneath a great description.
While on the subject of game descriptions, I'd like to bring up an interesting
anecdote that happened to me on a BBS once. I was on a BBS and I saw a game
with a description that went something like this: "a game with good graphics."
So, like a lot of other people (because it made the top downloads list, so I
know I wasn't the only one fooled) I downloaded the program. Unfortunately, I
should have looked at the ZIP and guessed what it was and then I wouldn't have
to go through this. Anyway, it turned out to be Apogee's Word Rescue program
meant for really young kids. Think about it, Word Rescue got around thirty
downloads just from putting a description of "a game with good graphics." I
oughta try that with GamePlay (just kidding). Just keep in mind that the
description the author gives you is not necessarily the correct description of
the program, and that's one reason why GamePlay includes file descriptions and
not just lists.
Another nice aspect of BBSs is the teleconference available on multi-line BBSs
which enable you to chat real-time between you and the other users.
Unfortunately, even on a local BBS that said that it was for people of all
ages, I found the people at the teleconference talking about some more
(im)mature topics. Let's just say that you wouldn't want your five-year old
to hear it. Some people in the teleconference aren't very mature at all
mentally, and many of the people talking about these immature topics are still
in school, which gives a horrific idea of the future of America. One of the
few things I do like about chatting on BBSs is that you don't take into
account what the person looks like, you take into account how the person acts,
and then, after meeting the person in real life, you actually know them, and
you disregard the split-second subconscious judgements you make about how they
look.
On a related topic is chatting with the sysop, which can range from a fairly
pleasant experience provided he's a nice sysop (Board of Trade, for example)
to a downright ugly experience (I'm not going to mention any BBS for fear of
being sued for this one). On some BBSs, the sysop will make derogatory
comments to you, and give you long explanations about why you can't even
upload anything and then ask you to voice verify. Most sysops are pretty much
OK and shouldn't bother you too much, and most of the good conversation on
BBSs are with the sysops rather than other users.
But now the question everyone has been waiting for: What do I like in a BBS?
I'll give you an example and hopefully it'll answer the question. I used to
thoroughly enjoy calling a BBS called Gateways. It, like all the BBSs I like,
had a friendly sysop, lots of files, tons of doors, and well-split up file
sections. Not only did he have one for games, but one for top-10 games. Not
only did it have online doors, but around forty of them. There were a lot of
neat files there, but since it wasn't receiving enough support, it closed
down. Nowadays I enjoy calling the Board of Trade BBS, available at (813)
862-4772. It has tons of games, doors, and is an official distribution sight
for I don't know how many gaming companies (Apogee, ID, Epic MegaGames to name
a few). In case you didn't get the message, the main thing I look for in a
BBS is the files, particularly updated and new files.
All things considered, the world of BBSs is a compelling world, and one that's
well worth the price of admission. The games you play, the files you
download, and most importantly, the people you meet all contribute to the BBS
experience.
Editor's Note: The previous article first appeared in the December 1994 issue
of the Pasco BBS Magazine.
+ + + + +
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ For a list of the highlights from back issues of the Pasco BBS Magazine ³
³ see the BACK.INF file distributed within the PBM archive. ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
+ + + + +
PBM Flashback - February 1994
-----------------------------
In the February 1994 issue of the Pasco BBS Magazine, Rob Marlowe, system
operator of Pasco County's oldest BBS, the Inner Sanctum BBS, sent along an
article titled "Pasco BBSing: The Early Years." What follows is part of what
Rob wrote in a very interesting history of the earliest days of this area's
on-line community. The Inner Sanctum BBS remains alive and well to this day
and can be reached at (813) 848-6055.
"The Inner Sanctum was NOT the first BBS in Pasco County. The Inner Sanctum
BBS went on-line on March 8, 1985, and at that time there were two bulletin
board systems in West Pasco. The Windjammer's Bay, a Commodore 64 based
system run by Steve Watford, and Fast Eddies' BBS, an Apple // based system
run by Ed Black. Both systems ran 300 bps modems and used floppy disks for
storage! The Inner Sanctum brought high speed (1200 bps) communications and a
hard disk for storage (a whopping 10 meg drive). All this running on a five
slot IBM PC! We started out using RBBS (version 12.2D), which is a very nice
BBS program still available for a nominal cost from the Capitol Area PC Users
Group. We quickly decided we liked running a BBS and switched to TBBS in
early June."
Editor's Note: PBM Flashback will appear on a regular basis in future issues.
Each issue will have this brief look back at some of the features which have
appeared over the history of the Pasco BBS Magazine.
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°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
² ²
² Board of Trade BBS New Port Richey, Florida ²
² ²
² (813) 862-4772 12/24/48/96/144/28800 baud ²
² ²
² The Hobby BBS for the Entire Family! ²
² ²
² Pasco County's Information Source ²
² Home of the Pasco BBS Magazine, DA BUCS and BBS Basics ²
² ²
² Call here FIRST for the BEST in Shareware ²
² Official Distribution Site: ²
² Alive Software, Apogee Software, Epic MegaGames, Gamer's Edge, ²
² Id Software, Impulse Software, MVP Software, Safari Software, ²
² Software Creations, Soleau Software and Union Logic Software ²
² ²
² Supporting the Local Computer Community ²
² Local Author Support File Directory ²
² Official Support BBS for Pasco ComPats Computer Club ²
² ²
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
+ + + + +
Next Month
----------
With the Special Fourth Anniversary Issue and Special Fiftieth Issue behind
us, it is time to publish a regular edition of the Pasco BBS Magazine. One of
the articles for next month will take a look at id Software's great new game
Quake. Look for all our regular features, including another installment of Ed
Garwood's Computer Basics, the latest news and much more in next month's
issue.
Look for the March issue of the Pasco BBS Magazine, which will be available
on, or before, February 22. Make sure you do not miss a single issue of Tampa
Bay's oldest free on-line magazine!
+ + + + +
Important Information
---------------------
The Pasco BBS Magazine is distributed free of charge, as long as it is
unaltered and complete. When uploading make sure the original archive is
intact with all files included.
The Pasco BBS Magazine is the sole property of the Board of Trade BBS and
Richard Ziegler. It is legally copyrighted material and all rights are
reserved. No part of this magazine may be used without permission. No
compensation of any kind may be received for the viewing, distribution, or for
any other use of the magazine files.
By submitting something, you are agreeing to allow publication of the material
in the magazine. Articles reprinted with permission remain the property of
the cited source. Guest contributions may not necessarily reflect the views
of the Pasco BBS Magazine. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions,
however, this is normally only done to correct spelling or grammatical errors.
The editor makes all determinations on what and when articles will run.
Every effort is made to insure that all information contained within the Pasco
BBS Magazine is accurate, but inadvertently mistakes can appear. The Pasco
BBS Magazine, Board of Trade BBS or Richard Ziegler cannot be held liable for
information contained within this document. It is intended that this magazine
exists for the personal enjoyment of the readers.
Rather than place a trademark symbol at every occurrence of a trademarked
name, it is stated that trademarks are only being used in an editorial fashion
with no intention of any infringement of the trademark itself.
More information can be found in the other files distributed with the
magazine's archive.
Comments, questions, suggestions and submissions can be left on the Board
of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772, or mailed to Board of Trade BBS, P.O. Box 1853,
New Port Richey, FL 34656.
+ + + + +
(C)Copyright 1997 Richard Ziegler - All Rights Reserved
+ + + + +
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