Here it is again - after a fairly long period of silence: the latest edition of the SA Shareware Magazine. We apologize again for the delay, but our life has been fairly hectic over the past few months, not in the least due to a new addition to the editor's family (Sylvia Carina was born on 10th January). But things are slowly settling again, so you should be able to look forward to more frequent newsletters again.

On the club front, there is not too much to say. We would just like to remind you of our policy to copy either one volume onto a 360Kb floppy (5") or four (sometimes five) volumes onto a 1,44Mb stiffy (3"). The copy fees for members remain R10 per disk volume (e.g. 4588A to 4588E would count as five volumes). But we have changed the "bulk discount" arrangement: if you order (and pay) for four volumes, you can order one additional volume for free if you specify 360Kb floppy media, but three additional free volumes if you will take 3" stiffies. This means that if your PC can read high density stiffies, you can order 7 volumes for R40! With the increase in postal rates, we will be forced to increase our shipping, postage & handling fee soon, but we will try and keep at the current R6,oo at least until Easter.

On the articles side, there should again be something of interest to anyone in this issue. After our previous issue's introduction to Internet, we highlight one of its lesser known services: the Internet Relay Chat service. For those who would like to see how computer literate they really are, we include a nice, long MCQ/TF test. And for those of us who still run DOS applications, there is an article on how to maximize the amount of free base memory (640K) in which the DOS applications run. Finally, there is also the second part of the article on what was new in MS-DOS version 6.2; this part is highlighting the enhancements to the SMARTDRIVE disk caching driver.

Enjoy your reading!

How to Get Maximum Upper Memory with MS-DOS Memory Management p.2

Funnies: E-mail Taglines p.6

Test Your Computer Knowledge p.7

Internet Relay Chat p.13

DOS 6.2 - WHAT'S NEW? p.16

New Shareware Reviews p.19

Unfortunately, MS-DOS doesn't provide memory management for 286 or lower computers, other than Extended (XMS) memory services via the HIMEM.SYS driver (and in most cases, it only works for a system with more than 1 meg of memory installed). There's not much you can do on a 286 without the use of Upper memory, which is where you could load device drivers and TSRs high, out of conventional memory. There is hope, though! A few good shareware Upper memory managers that support a lot of 286 systems do exist, the best being LastByte, MemKit, UMB_DRVR, and UMM (all of which are available online). Popular commercial offerings that support some 286 systems include Quarterdeck QRAM, Qualitas MOVE'EM, and Helix NetRoom.

If the following information doesn't help you load everything you need into Upper memory, or one of the EMM386 configuration settings does not work on your computer, then your only options are the following: Invest in another memory management package (mentioned above); load only the device drivers and TSRs that you absolutely need; or live with the reduced conventional memory, but use a multi-config setup for running those huge applications or games.

Now on with the show... The MS-DOS memory management system consists of three parts:

First is the HIMEM.SYS device driver. HIMEM.SYS provides access to the computer's Extended memory, which is that above 1 meg. HIMEM.SYS makes the physical Extended memory accessible as XMS memory to programs that are designed to take advantage of it. (XMS is short for "eXtended Memory Specification"; XMS memory and Extended memory generally refer to the same thing these days, but they are technically different.) HIMEM.SYS also creates the High Memory Area (HMA) from the first 64K of Extended memory, which DOS can use for loading its own kernel into and free up close to 50K of conventional memory (which is that below 640K and being the most important to programs). For the HMA to be available on most systems, there must be at least 64K of Extended memory above 1 meg in the computer; computers with only 1 meg of total system memory usually will not be able to take advantage of loading DOS into the HMA.

Second is the EMM386.EXE device driver, which provides access to Upper memory and/or Expanded (EMS) memory. Upper memory is what EMM386.EXE creates from the areas of Reserved memory between 640K and 1 meg that are not occupied by any ROM BIOS. Expanded (or EMS, short for "Expanded Memory Specification") memory is a special type of memory in a computer, a standard for extra memory that came long before XMS. On 386 or better systems, EMM386.EXE simulates EMS memory from the XMS memory provided by HIMEM.SYS. That's one reason why EMM386.EXE requires that HIMEM.SYS be loaded first in CONFIG.SYS to work.

Third is the line DOS=HIGH,UMB in CONFIG.SYS. The UMB part is necessary for DOS to be able to access the Upper memory provided by EMM386.EXE. The HIGH part isn't really required, but it does perform a very important function in that it frees up close to 50K of conventional memory by moving the DOS kernel into the HMA created by HIMEM.SYS -- Its use is highly recommended! Note that you can have separate DOS=HIGH and DOS=UMB lines if you want (something MS-DOS 6 MemMaker likes to do), but combining them as DOS=HIGH,UMB is a bit more tidy and it is one less line for DOS to process at bootup.

So, lines similar to the following must exist in CONFIG.SYS for DOS to manage the memory in the computer:

DOS=HIGH,UMB

DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS

DEVICE=EMM386.EXE

HIMEM.SYS must be the first of any DEVICE lines to load in CONFIG.SYS, and EMM386.EXE must always load directly after HIMEM.SYS (in normal setups). By the way, it actually doesn't matter where lines like DOS=HIGH,UMB, FILES, BUFFERS, etc. appear in CONFIG.SYS; the only order that matters to DOS is that of DEVICE and DEVICEHIGH lines. Note that the path to HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE is not shown above, since that of course varies per setup and depends on whether you're using MS-DOS 5.0, 6.x, or Windows 3.1. The MS-DOS 6.2 versions of HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE are the newest, the MS-DOS 6.0 versions are older, the Windows 3.1 versions are older still, and the MS-DOS 5.0 versions are the oldest. Even if you have Windows 3.1 installed, always use the newest versions of HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE since they contain fixes and enhancements over previous versions and are meant to replace them.

Now EMM386.EXE must be specially configured to get what we want: Maximum Upper memory. To do this, one of the following EMM386.EXE lines is to be used:

1) For Upper memory only, no EMS memory support:

* MS-DOS 5.0, 6.x, or Windows 3.1:

DEVICE=EMM386.EXE NOEMS I=B000-B7FF I=C800-F7FF

* MS-DOS 6.x only alternative:

DEVICE=EMM386.EXE NOEMS I=B000-B7FF I=C800-EFFF HIGHSCAN

This EMM386.EXE line is used when you want Upper memory only, and don't need EMS memory support for DOS programs, which is specified by the NOEMS parameter. You gain an extra 64K of Upper memory for loading things high when not using EMS memory support.

2) For both Upper memory and EMS memory support:

* MS-DOS 5.0 or Windows 3.1:

DEVICE=EMM386.EXE [memory] RAM FRAME=C800 I=B000-B7FF I=D800-F7FF

* MS-DOS 6.x only alternatives:

DEVICE=EMM386.EXE MIN=0 RAM FRAME=C800 I=B000-B7FF I=D800-F7FF or

DEVICE=EMM386.EXE MIN=0 RAM FRAME=C800 I=B000-B7FF I=D800-EFFF HIGHSCAN

This EMM386.EXE line is used when you need both Upper memory and EMS memory support for DOS programs, which is specified by the RAM parameter. With the MS-DOS 5.0 or Windows 3.1 EMM386.EXE, you must specify a value for the amount of EMS memory you wish to have available to DOS programs if you want more than the default of 256K. With MS-DOS 6.x, a number no longer has to be specified to set the amount of EMS memory, because its EMM386.EXE will dynamically allocate as much EMS memory as a program requests, and then release it back to XMS memory when the program is done. Using the MIN=0 parameter means to not permanently reserve any EMS memory from the XMS memory pool (otherwise the default is 256K reserved), thereby making the largest amount of XMS memory available when EMS is not actually in use. (This is just like how Quarterdeck QEMM has been working all these years!)

The following explains the parameters common to both EMM386.EXE lines:

The I=B000-B7FF parameter tells EMM386.EXE to convert the area of Reserved memory that is normally for a monochrome video adapter into Upper memory. This is perfectly safe to do if you do not use monochrome, and gains 32K more Upper memory. The only major problems this may cause are when using special high-resolution video modes or monochrome emulation modes of certain SuperVGA video adapters; and with Windows 3.1, depending on the Windows video driver used. The video mode problem will vary greatly with the ton of video cards out there, but it is quite rare. The Windows problem can be solved by using the MONOUMB.386 driver available from Microsoft or included with MS-DOS 6.x, which involves adding the line DEVICE=MONOUMB.386 under the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file in the Windows directory (either copy the MONOUMB.386 file to the Windows System directory, or supply the full path to the MONOUMB.386 on the DEVICE line).

The I=C800-F7FF parameter (or alternate I=C800-EFFF HIGHSCAN parameters for MS-DOS 6.x only; HIGHSCAN is really the same as I=F000-F7FF) converts the largest free area of Reserved memory normally empty on most systems (with one hard disk controller, no special expansion cards, and that are not IBM PS/2s) into Upper memory. If the RAM parameter is being used, then D800 is used instead of C800 because of the 64K EMS Page Frame required in Upper memory for EMS memory support. The EMS Page Frame is placed at the lowest free area by the FRAME=C800 parameter so the largest free area of Upper memory is created. Either of these settings is the most common, but it will of course differ per system. Some things to note about this memory range:

- Including the F000-F7FF area (or using HIGHSCAN with MS-DOS 6.x) converts the first half of the System ROM BIOS into Upper memory. This gains an extra 32K of Upper memory, but unfortunately it causes problems on quite a few systems. For example, many system will exhibit erratic floppy drive behaviour or plain old system lockups at some point. In my experience, I've found it necessary with a 1990 AMI BIOS to use F6FF instead of F7FF (or HIGHSCAN) to avoid floppy drive problems in certain DOS programs and in Windows; however, F7FF (and HIGHSCAN) works fine with a Phoenix BIOS on another system I use. You will just have to test it out on your system. Some less-compatible systems may not like Upper memory in the System ROM BIOS area at all.

- Adapter cards like secondary IDE hard disk controllers and SCSI controllers may use 8K or more for their own ROM starting at the C800 address.

- Network interface cards may place their RAM buffers in the D000-DFFF area.

- IBM PS/2 computers use the E000-EFFF range for their Advanced BIOS. Some computers (such as Epsons) use this range for the VGA BIOS instead of the normal C000-C7FF range.

To avoid memory conflicts, your best bet would be to first examine the Reserved memory area for the spaces that do not contain ROM. This way you can see if multiple I= parameters must be used instead of one big range, and what would be the best range for the 64K EMS Page Frame (if using EMS memory support). Such a utility to do this is called MSD (Microsoft Diagnostics) and comes with Windows 3.1, MS-DOS 6.x, and most other Microsoft products. There is also a utility from PC Magazine called UMASCAN that displays a nice map of the Reserved memory area.

There is one more trick for MS-DOS 6.x users. Using the EMM386.EXE parameter NOHI will prevent EMM386.EXE from taking 4K of Reserved memory for its own code. That 4K will then take away from free conventional memory, however if you have a device driver or TSR that requires just a couple more K to load resident in Upper memory, then that trade off is well worth it. I had to do this myself in order to fit SHARE into Upper memory; EMM386.EXE now takes up 4K more conventional memory, but the 17K SHARE driver fits into Upper memory now.

After you have configured EMM386.EXE for maximum Upper memory, you should optimize the loading order of your device drivers and TSRs so hopefully all of them fit into Upper memory now.

The easiest way to do this with MS-DOS 6.x is to run MemMaker in its Custom mode, and then if necessary change the EMM386.EXE line back to the way you configured it for maximum Upper memory. Since MemMaker puts a size value (the /L parameter) on each device driver and TSR load line, you can easily reorder them to load the ones with the largest size values first since they require the most free Upper memory to initialize in before going resident. Usually MemMaker does this reordering for you, but not always for the best.

If you are not using MS-DOS 6.x, then optimizing the loading order of your device drivers and TSRs is a more involved trial-and-error deal. You first have to check memory usage with the MEM /C command and note what device driver or TSR is not loading into Upper memory. Then move the line that loads that device driver or TSR higher up in CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. Reboot and check with MEM /C again. Keep trying if necessary until you hopefully get everything to load into Upper memory. Remember that no other device driver should be loaded before HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE in CONFIG.SYS (in normal setups).

If you use a certain device driver or TSR that must load after another one to work properly, then you can't always optimize the loading order of them. An example of this is the new SmartDrive 5.0 included with MS-DOS 6.2, which can now cache a CD-ROM drive. In order to cache a CD-ROM drive, SmartDrive must be loaded after the MSCDEX.EXE driver. Since MSCDEX.EXE must be loaded first, and most load it into Upper memory, SmartDrive may not be able to completely fit into Upper memory anymore (depending on what else has been loaded into Upper memory already).

Hopefully the information discussed here will help you load everything you need to load into Upper memory, without having to spend more on a third- party memory management package!

On a clear disk you can see forever...

OOPS, I stepped on a GUI

If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test

Hey, is that an XT or are you running Windows?

In DBLSPACE no one can hear you scream...

Windows: from the makers of the 640K barrier

Circular Definition: see Definition, Circular

Does fuzzy logic tickle?

Oh,great.Nowthedamnspacebarwon'twork.

Computer Lie #1: You'll never use all that disk space.

Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are.

A yer ago I kudnt spel progremr now I are won.

DOS never says "EXCELLENT command or filename, Dude!"

Drive A: format failure, formatting C: instead...

Drive C: Error, (A)bort (R)etry (I)gnore (K)ick (S)cream

Diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

Daddy, what does "Formatting Drive C:" mean?

FATAL SYSTEM ERROR: Press F13 to continue...

Everyone has photographic memory...some don't have film!

Everyone is entitled to my opinion.

Error reading REALITY.SYS - Universe Halted

FIGHT BACK! Fill out your tax forms with Roman numerals.

by Mike Eccles (with thanks)

1. Punch cards are associated with:

1. Eckert

2. Pascal

3. Hollerith

4. Babbage

2. Charles Babbage:

1. was an eccentric French mathematician and inventor

2. designed a device that contained the five key components of modern computers

3. built a scale model of the Analytical Engine

4. all of the above

3. John von Neumann's contribution to the logical design of the computer was:

1. the use of vacuum-tube technology

2. the idea of using several layers of memory

3. the stored program concept

4. the idea of using binary rather than digital numbers

4. Babbage's engines performed calculations using:

1. the method of differences

2. logarithms

3. vacuum tubes

4. electronic relays

5. English mathematician, Alan Turing, assisted in the design of the first practical single-purpose electronic computer called:

1. ENIAC

2. COLOSSUS

3. EDVAC

4. ANSI

6. Second generation computers used:

1. printed circuits

2. test tubes

3. vacuum tubes

4. transistors

7. Third generation computers:

1. used transistors

2. contained core memory

3. exclusively used assembly language

4. contained silicon chips as internal components

8. A bit is the smallest possible unit of information because a bit:

1. can be represented by two different levels of voltage in a computer circuit

2. is enough to tell the difference between two opposites such as on and off

3. can be grouped with other bits to represent numbers, letters or special characters

4. is any pattern that has a commonly understood meaning

9. An information system:

1. consists of a set of people, procedures and resources that collect, transform and disseminate information in a an organisation

2. is always computer-based

3. fills the role of control in the model of the system of the business firm

4. all of the above

10. The control signals which determine when data is to be transferred from primary memory to registers originate in:

1. the control unit

2. the arithmetic/logic unit

3. the operating system

4. software

11. The microcomputer revolution began with:

1. the invention of the Intel microprocessor

2. the invention of the transistor

3. the invention of magnetic core memory

4. the design of spreadsheet packages

12. The basic difference between data and information is:

1. data are information arranged in a meaningful way

2. data are numeric, while information is characters

3. data are "raw facts" while information is data that has been organised so that meaningful conclusions can be drawn

4. information cannot be represented in machine readable form while data can

13. CPU stands for:

1. computer processing utility

2. combination processor and understanding device

3. central processing utility

4. central processing unit

14. A microprocessor is:

1. a tiny microscopic processor designed to support more than one task at once

2. a mainframe

3. a computer on a chip

4. the processor built into a microcomputer

15. The primary memory of a modern computer is composed of:

1. vacuum tubes

2. integrated circuits

3. cores

4. magnetic disks

16. Which of the following is a typical list of primary input devices?

1. light pen, floppy disk, control unit, video display

2. keyboard, punched card, hard disk drive, CPU

3. keyboard, touch screen, light pen, electronic mouse

4. electronic mouse, RAM, arithmetic logic unit, optical scanner

17. The function of the Control Unit within the CPU is to:

1. control a string of disk drives

2. control a string of disk drives and/or magnetic tape decks

3. interpret program instructions and direct processing

4. control, temperature and humidity in the computer environment

18. This processor design uses several instruction processors to execute many instructions of the same program simultaneously:

1. multi-processors

2. parallel processors

3. Von Neumann machines

4. RISC processors

19. How many kilobytes in a terabyte?

1. 1,000

2. 1,000,000,000

3. 1,000,000,000,000

4. none of the above

20. How many milliseconds in a picosecond?

1. 1,000

2. 1,000,000

3. 1,000,000,000

4. none of the above

21. A storage device that will lose its contents during a power failure is called:

1. system-dependent

2. solid-state

3. volatile

4. off-line

22. In binary, the number 000111 added to 001010 equals:

1. 001001

2. 010001

3. 011000

4. 101101

23. When doing the above sum in binary, how many "carries" occur?

1. three

2. two

3. one

4. none

24. What is the hexadecimal equivalent of the binary number 01010?

1. 10

2. 11

3. A

4. 5

25. Which of the following are valid types of printer?

1. non-impact laser printer

2. character line printer

3. non-impact print wheel printer

4. none of the above

26. Which of the following is best classified as secondary storage?

1. punched card

2. read-only memory

3. random access memory

4. magnetic disk

27. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

1. a magnetic tape is a typical sequential access medium

2. there are three basic types of semiconductor memory, RAM, ROM and EPROM

3. semiconductor storage is based on VLSI technology

4. floppy disks consist of polyester film covered with iron oxide

28. Which of the following are characteristics of a disk pack?

(A) a "cylinder" is the set of all recording tracks that can be accessed by the read/write heads for one setting of the access arm.

(B) the tracks toward the centre of the disk surface contain fewer bytes of data than those toward to outer edge.

(C) a sector is a set of concentric disk tracks, counting from the outer edge toward the centre of a disk surface.

(D) the total number of sectors in a disk pack is given by the number of surfaces multiplied by the number of tracks per surface multiplied by the number of sectors per track.

1. (C) only

2. (A) only

3. (A) and (B)

4. (A) and (D)

29. The two major classes of computer software are:

1. operating systems and application programs

2. system software and application software

3. system utilities and application packages

4. data management software and telecommunications software

30. The two major software trends described in this course are

1. toward object orientation and toward increasing use of packages

2. toward user programming and toward increasing use of packages

3. toward conversational natural language programs and toward easy-to-use multipurpose packages

4. toward high-level languages and toward integrated data management software

31. Which of the following is NOT a list of major tasks of an operating system?

1. job management, resource management, data management

2. user interface, resource management, task management, file management

3. communications monitor, language translation, data validation, system support

4. data management, end-user/system communication, utilities, task management

32. The primary purpose of the operating system is to:

1. maximise the productivity of a computer system

2. handle errors and exceptions

3. manage the interface between the human user and the hardware

4. record system usage and costs

33. Which of the following are the four major levels of programming languages?

(A) machine language

(B) natural language

(C) expert system

(D) high-level language

(E) assembler language

(F) object-oriented language

(G) fourth-generation language

(H) micro-code

1. (A), (E), (C), (B)

2. (H), (A), (D), (G)

3. (H), (E), (D), (C)

4. (A), (E), (D), (G)

34. Which method of output would you recommend for the visual display of a portable computer?

1. LCD or plasma display

2. CRT

3. Optical scanner

4. MICR

35. At the start of the following Assembler program segment, registers 006 and 007 in main memory contain the numbers 12 and 25 respectively. What does register 007 contain at the end of the segment?

LOAD 006

ADD 007

ADD 006

STORE 007

1. 50

2. 49

3. 25

4. 37

36. Which of the following is a high-level language version of the above segment?

1. B := 2*A+B

2. ADD BONUS, BONUS, COMMISSION GIVING FIRSTPRIZE

3. LET B = A+A+B

4. all of the above

37. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

1. high-level languages are less efficient than Assembler languages but easier to learn.

2. assembler languages are less efficient than machine languages but just as easy to use.

3. high-level languages are more efficient than machine languages because they are easier to use.

4. none of the above

38. Which of the following are lists of Fourth-Generation Languages?

1. INTELLECT, C++, COBOL

2. SQL, FOCUS, INTELLECT

3. ADA, SMALLTALK, FORTRAN

4. SQL, PASCAL, PG

39. Which of the following statements is true?

1. an interpreter is a type of compiler that obeys each program statement one at a time

2. a compiler translates high-level language statements into a machine or related code

3. interpreters produce more efficient code than compilers.

4. compilers produce more efficient code than interpreters.

40. Which of the following are application-specific programs?

(A) Word processors

(B) ACCPAC (An accounting package)

(C) Lotus 1-2-3

(D) dBase IV

(E) Computer games

1. All of them

2. (B), (D) and (E)

3. (A), (C) and (D)

4. (B) and (E)

41. Modem stand for:

1. MODerate EMulation

2. Media Over Distance for Electronic Machines

3. MOdulate DEModulate

4. none of the above

42. Which of the following communications media is the fastest:

1. coaxial cable

2. twisted pair copper wire

3. microwave signals

4. fibre optic cable

43. Which of the following communications media is the least expensive:

1. coaxial cable

2. twisted pair copper wire

3. microwave signals

4. fibre optic cable

44. A modem is used to convert between:

1. numeric and character data

2. wave (analog) and digital (0 or 1) signals

3. even and odd parity

4. the Rand and other currencies

45. Which of the following is NOT a communications medium:

1. copper wire

2. microwave signals

3. acoustic coupling

4. coaxial cable

46. A method of transmitting information which allows communication to occur in both directions at the same time is called:

1. simplex

2. half-duplex

3. full-duplex

4. none of the above

47. Communications rules that control transmission speeds, direction of transmission, error detection and interrupt techniques are called:

1. protocols

2. procedures

3. topography

4. network architecture

48. Time division, frequency division and statistical time division are all types of:

1. multiprocessing

2. multiplexing

3. signal amplification

4. repeating

49. A computer network which links its units with coaxial cables and which exists within a limited physical area such as an office, building or factory is called a:

1. data communications network

2. distributed processing network

3. leased line network

4. local area network

50. Devices in an electronic data network can be linked in a number of different configurations, which of the following is NOT a network configuration:

1. bus

2. highway

3. ring

4. star

51. Magnetic tape files would have this type of file organisation:

1. direct

2. sequential

3. random

4. indexed sequential

52. The name of an employee would probably be which of the following common data elements:

1. character

2. field

3. file

4. record

53. Which of the following lists of common data terms is in the correct order from low to high:

1. database, file, field, character

2. file, record, database, field

3. character, field, record, file

4. record, field, file character

54. Which of the following is a disadvantage of database processing systems:

1. data is dependent upon programs

2. data redundancy increases

3. program/data dependence is reduced

4. systems overhead is increased

55. Which of the following statements concerning methods of file organisations is true?

1. in the indexed sequential method, records re organised randomly and referenced by an index

2. organising the records in a file according to a predetermined sequence is known as sequential file organisation

3. in the direct access method an index based on a key field is used to locate a particular record

4. placing records in a file in no particular sequence is called the sequential method of file organisation

56. The network model for database design is:

1. the most complicated type of database

2. the least powerful approach

3. used extensively with personal computers

4. the simplest type to understand

57. Which if the following is INCORRECT:

1. when a sequential file becomes full the data must be unloaded and the file made bigger before the data is reloaded

2. reading a record from an indexed sequential file requires access to the index before finding the data

3. reading a record from a direct file is achieved by calculating the location of the record by using an algorithm which is part of the program

4. the average time to read a record from a sequential file is the time it takes to read half the file

58. In the relational model, fields are represented by:

1. linked lists

2. pointers

3. vertical columns

4. horizontal rows

59. A database is:

1. a cross-referable collection of unique data

2. a common term for a complex file

3. a grouping of files with the same keys

4. the term for a companyÆs information files

60. Which of the following statements does NOT apply to magnetic disks:

1. the sector method of addressing divides each disk surface, or platter, into sectors which provide for all data to be addressable

2. blocks are separated by interblock gaps which allow for the device to accelerate to working speed before the data is read or written.

3. the cylinder method reduces seek time by using the same read/write position to store data across all disk surfaces, or platters

4. a track on a computer disk is a ring corresponding to a position of the read/write head

Answers? What answers?

;-)

from the IRC FAQ

IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat". It was written by Jarkko Oikarinen (jto@tolsun.oulu.fi) in 1988. Since starting in Finland, it has been used in some 20+ countries spanning the globe. It was designed as a replacement for the "talk" program but has become much much more than that. IRC is a multi-user chat system, where people convene on "channels" (a virtual place, usually with a topic of conversation) to talk in groups, or privately.

IRC gained international fame during the late Persian Gulf War, where updates from around the world came accross the wire, and most people on irc gathered on a single channel to hear these reports.

The user runs a "client" program (usually called 'irc') which connects to the irc network via another program called a "server". Servers exist to pass messages from user to user over the irc network.

You either compile the source yourself, have someone else on your machine compile the source for you, or use the TELNET client. "telnet bradenville.andrew.cmu.edu". Please only use the latter when you have no other way of reaching irc, as this resource is quite limited.

cs.bu.edu /irc/clients/msdos freebie.engin.umich.edu:/pub/irc/clients/MSDOS

[Ed.: or order our volumes 4477A and 4477B]

It's usually best to try and connect to one geographically close, even though that may not be the best. You can always ask when you get on irc. Here's a list of servers avaliable for connection:

csd.bu.edu

ucsu.colorado.edu

badger.ugcs.caltech.edu

ug.cs.dal.ca

nic.funet.fi

vesuv.unisg.ch

munagin.ee.mu.oz.au

sunsystem2.informatik.tu-muenchen.de

This is, by no means, a comprehensive list, but merely a start. Connect to the closest of these servers and join the channel #Twilight_Zone When you get there, immediately ask what you want. Don't say "I have a question" because then hardly anyone will talk.

It's probably best to take a look around and see what you want to do first. All irc commands start with a "/", and most are one word. Typing /help will get you help information. /names will get you a list of names, etc.

The output is typically something like this-> (Note there are more channels than this, this is just sample output).

Pub: #hack zorgo eiji Patrick fup htoaster

Pub: #Nippon @jircc @miyu_d

Pub: #nicole MountainD

Pub: #hottub omar liron beer Deadog moh pfloyd Dode greywolf SAMANTHA

"Pub" means public (or "visible") channel. "hack" is the channel name. "#" is the prefix (see number 7 below). A "@" before someone's nickname indicates he/she is the "Channel operator" of that channel. A Channel Operator is someone who has control over a specific channel. It can be shared or not as the first Channel Operator sees fit. The first person to join the channel automatically gets Channel Operator, and can share it with anyone he/she chooses (or not).

"+" channels were in older server versions. They no longer exist, and probably will stay dead in later code revisions.

#hottub and #initgame are almost always teeming with people. #hottub is meant to simulate a hot tub, and #initgame is non-stop game of initials. Just join and find out!

Many irc operators are in #Twilight_Zone ... so if you join that channel and don't hear much talking, don't worry, it's not because you joined, operators don't talk much on that channel anyways!

ftp to cs.bu.edu and look at irc/irc-2.7.CHANGES

Never type anything anyone tells you to without knowing what it is. There is a problem with typing a certain command with the ircII client that gives anyone immediate control of your client (and thus can alter your account environment also).

To quote from NickServ's help text, NickServ's purpose is to keep unique nicknames on irc. NickServ sends a warning to anyone else who signs on with your nickname. If you don't use IRC for 10 weeks, your nickname expires for reuse. Only a NickServ operator can change your nickserv password. To find out which NickServ operators are online, send /msg NickServ@service.de OPERWHO

Nicknames with a "*" next to them are online at the time.

IPCLUB stands for IRC Picture Club. It is an E-Mail service provided by tommi@phoenix.oulu.fi for all the users of the Internet. For more help, mail tommi@phoenix.oulu.fi with the subject of "IPCLUB/HELP".

A good place to start might be downloading the irc tutorials. They're avaliable via anonymous ftp from cs.bu.edu in /irc/support/tutorial.* .. You can also join various IRC related mailing lists. "operlist" is a list that discusses current (and past) server code, routing, and protocol. You can join by mailing operlist-request@eff.org. You can join the irchat mailing list by mailing irchat-request@cc.tut.fi. There is a low traffic ircII mailing list, mail dl2p+@andrew.cmu.edu to be added. Another mailing list, ircd-three@eff.org, exists to discuss protocol revisions for the 3.0 release of the ircd, currently in planning. Mail ircd-three-request@eff.org to be added to that.

email hrose@eff.org or ask for help (in #Twilight_Zone) on irc.

Hard work never killed anyone but why take the risk?

Handwritten on a condom machine; "This gum tastes funny"

Friction can be a drag sometimes.

General stupidity error reading drive C:

Help!!! I'm falling and I can't click out!!!

Help stamp out, eliminate and abolish redundancy!

How much can I get away with and still go to heaven?

I am. Therefore, I think. I think.

I didn't know it was impossible when I did it.

I don't have a solution but I admire the problem.

I had a life once... now I have a computer and a modem.

I wish life had a scroll-back buffer.....

I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it.

I'm dangerous when I know what I'm doing.

I'm no stranger, just a friend you haven't met...

I'm not a complete idiot - several parts are missing.

I'm sure it's in the manual somewhere...

If At First You Don't Succeed Ignore The Docs...

If at first you don't succeed, call it v1.0!

If speed scares you, try Windows...

Ignorance is temporary; stupid is forever.

It can't be full...I STILL HAVE SUBDIRECTORIES!

It doesn't work, but it looks pretty.

It said "insert disk #3" - but onty two will fit...

It's as easy as 3.14159265358979323846264338327950...

It's not GEEK - it's SOCIALLY CHALLENGED, dammit!

Keyboard Not Found - Press [F1] to Continue

Itsdifficulttobeverycreativewithonlyfiftysevencharacters!

Let's organize this thing and take all the fun out of it.

SMARTDRIVE is a disk cache program that works with computers that have extended memory. A disk cache uses a portion of memory to store information that DOS reads from disk. DOS can read the information from the disk cache much faster than it can read information from a drive. However, with DOS 6.0 Microsoft had their SMARTDRIVE program default to both read caching and write caching. The problem with write caching is that if you turned your computer off immediately after quitting a program, you could potentially lose data.

With DOS 6.2 SMARTDRIVE write caching is turned off by default. If you upgrade to DOS 6.2 from 6.0 and you had SMARTDRIVE write cache your drives, then SMARTDRIVE leaves write caching turned on.

You can force DOS immediately to write the cached data to the hard drive, by typing at the system prompt:

smartdrv /c <ENTER>

With DOS 6.2 SMARTDRIVE automatically flushes a write cached disk before returning you to the system prompt.

This means it gets the data from memory and writes it to the hard drive before you are returned to the system prompt. If you are using DOS at the command line, you should always exit your program and return to the DOS prompt before you turn your machine off.

With DOS 6.2 Microsoft has added a new /X switch to turn off write caching for all drives.

For most people, the SMARTDRIVE line is in their AUTOEXE.BAT file which is a text file that resides on the root directory of the start-up disk. See pages 205 - 208 in LEARNING DOS FOR THE COMPLETE NOVICE, 2nd Edition for examples and exact instructions on how to use EDIT and modify your AUTEXEC.BAT file to selectively turn off write caching. Those people with exotic ("bus-mastering" hard disk controllers) such as SCSI, or ESDI, may need to have SMARTDRIVE installed in the CONFIG.SYS file. The CONFIG.SYS file also resides in the root directory of your start-up disk and can be viewed and modified with the DOS EDIT program.

With DOS 6.2, you could add the /X switch to turn off write caching like so:

SMARTDRV /X

You can selectively disable write caching by following the SMARTDRV command with the letters of your hard drives. Suppose you had hard drives C, D, E, and you wanted to disable write caching on these drives. Use the DOS EDIT program to change the SMARTDRV line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to read the following:

SMARTDRV C D E

The above line tells DOS to allow read caching while disabling write caching for drives C, D, and E. SmartDrive does not cache compressed drives (DoubleSpaced drives); however, for increased performance, you can cache the host drive. If you are running DoubleSpace, you can get information on all your drives by typing:

dblspace /i <ENTER>

If you are running DoubleSpace, the above command gives you information about all your drives. It also tells you which drive is your host drive. Suppose you have only one hard drive and are running DoubleSpace. Suppose you typed the above command and found out that your DoubleSpace host drive is called H. If that is the case, you can configure SMARTDRIVE to read cache, but not write cache the host drive by changing your SMARTDRIVE line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to read:

SMARTDRV H

SmartDrive does not cache network drives, or RAM drives.

With DOS 6.2, SMARTDRIVE read caches CD-ROM drives. This is a very nice feature because CD-ROM drives are often too slow. Caching should help performance. If you want to see which drives SMARTDRV is caching, at the system prompt type:

smartdrv <ENTER>

If after typing SMARTDRV <ENTER> you notice that your CD- ROM drive is not being cached, there may be a perfectly logical reason. The line which loads the MSCDEX program needs to be loaded BEFORE the SMARTDRV line.

To see how to modify an AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file see LEARNING DOS FOR THE COMPLETE NOVICE, 2nd Edition. For most people the line that loads the MSCDEX program (for the CD-ROM) and SMARTDRV will be in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file resides in the root directory of the start-up disk (usually drive C).

If you are one of those people who have an exotic "bus mastering" hard drive controller, you may need to have SMARTDRIVE load in the CONFIG.SYS file. For specific instructions on how to modify a CONFIG.SYS file look in Learning DOS for the Complete Novice, 2nd edition. Try using the following line in the CONFIG.SYS file:

DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER

The above SMARTDRIVE command needs to come before the DEVICE command that loads EMM386. Note that when in the CONFIG.SYS file, SMARTDRV.EXE is used. Remember, before an AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS start up file can take effect, you must reboot your machine. After you reboot type:

smartdrv <ENTER>

With the above DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER line in your CONFIG.SYS file the SMARTDRV <ENTER> command loads SMARTDRIVE into upper memory. After you do that you can type the following:

smartdrv /s <ENTER>

Here, the /S stands for Status. A table appears on your screen that looks something like:

DISK CACHING STATUS

drive read cache write cache buffering

A: yes no no

B: yes no no

C: yes yes no

S: yes no no

Look in the buffering column. If all the entries say "no" then your hard drive does not need this Double Buffering and you would be better off taking the SMARTDRIVE line out of your CONFIG.SYS file and just using a SMARTDRV line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This Double Buffering makes SMARTDRIVE operate slower. So, if your hard drive can support SMARTDRV in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you are better off.

If you want more information about the DOS 6.2 SMARTDRIVE program type:

help smartdrv <ENTER>

Of course, you will have to be using DOS 6.2. If you need any help on using the DOS HELP see pages 192 - 194 in LEARNING DOS FOR THE COMPLETE NOVICE, 2nd Edition.

If you are using DOS at the command line, you should always exit your program and return to the DOS prompt before you turn your machine off. Make sure the rest of the family knows this, too.