8:59:18 AM PST Sunday, December 27, 1987 (Sysop Tony) Hi dere. (Sysop Denny) Hi Tony (Sysop Tony) Gad... sudden interest in one of my programs, CRDFIL. Interesting. (Sysop Denny) Reading the message board, it looks like you got C. Davey fired up. There has long been interest in a dbase program that can work with any peripheral. (Sysop Tony) Yeah, but CRDFIL isn't much of a dbase-type program. ... Too limited. (Sysop Denny) Well, if it even comes close, it's a major improvement if it can be used with the TDD or other mass storage devices. There just isn't anything commercially available that works with external devices. Really a pain. If Lucid Data could use 0:, it would be the best. Very fast, but limited to ram available. (not as easy to use though) The ideas that you have so far are very close to the existing dbase programs. (Phil) Hi, Tony Brry cold there, huh! (Sysop Tony) Oh, there probably is, we just aren't familiar with it. PCSG has PBASE for the Chipmunk... that could be converted but only by those who have a Chipmunk... then, what's the point in converting? (Sysop Denny) That program didn't work well at all and it was amazingly slow. I tried using it for real work a couple of times and gave up when it would bomb its index file and you'd have to recreate the data files every other time you worked with them. (Sysop Tony) Well as we found with the spelling programs, disk access time is a real limitation. Not like with big systems. (Phil) Neat way to do the data base stuff appears to be with TS-RANDOM. very powerful and fast with TDD. But no one uses it and it will not work with TDD2 as best I understand. (Sysop Denny) Yeah, I tried that (Eiji) [Good morning] (Sysop Denny) and found it to be faster than the Chipmunk program Hi Eiji! (Phil) [Eiji, XMDPW5.200 lives!] (Eiji) [nice to hear that, Phil] (Phil) Yes, TS-RANDOM is nice, and I think they used it to do the disk access part of Sardine, which is a really fast DB program of course, the key is to make the driver all in M/l. Good morning, Eiji it's really cold where Tony is. How is Tokyo (assuming you are still there) (Sysop Tony) Hmmm... Lost Denny. (Phil) [Eiji did a C] (Eiji) Yes, I'm in Tokyo It's been a little warmer for last two days. Not bad for winter time. ga (Sysop Tony) (I'll bet the kid pulled his plug! grin) (Sysop Denny) [back, got dumped] (Phil) [wife, maybe!] (Sysop Tony) Gene's up next, Denny. (gene) Is there still a file on ROM calls, Peeks, & Pokes in a DL? (Sysop Tony) (Half a dozen of them) (Sysop Denny) Right, quite a few. You could look at the reference cat in DL 8 or BRO with an appropriate key to get a list. (Sysop Tony) There are also some in DL3, and DL10. POKES.100, POKES.200, TELTIP.001 (I think), CALLS.ROM, CALLS.MNU. (gene) I thought there was a M100 MAP file (Sysop Denny) Yep, there are 8 files concerned with the ROM map. (Sysop Tony) (Plus those conversion tables that Phil has done) (Sysop Denny) Check out 100ROM.RC* in DL 8 (WAYNE S.) I bought a dvi that was a display model in the store and they couldn't find the operating disk. How can I get one. (Ron) Wayne. Have the dealer order you a disk from Tandy Software Assembly. Make sure that you specify what computer you are using. The DVI DOS for the 100/102 is different from the 200. (Sysop Tony) (One disk contains the programs for both the 100/102 and 200 versions) (WAYNE S.) ok...the salesman was suppose to send me one but he hasn't. thanks. (R Caley) [ALRIGHT...ANOTHER DV/I FAN] (Sysop Denny) Wayne, I would stay on top of that salesman (WAYNE S.) (it was on sale for 199.00 (Ron) No sir! The DVI DOS for the 100/102 IS DIFFERENT from the 200 (Sysop Tony) (Different, yes. But both on the same disk) (Ron) No sir! (Sysop Denny) They aren't supposed to sell that stuff incomplete. (Ron) They are on DIFFERENT disks (Sysop Tony) Sorry Ron. That doesn't jive with what I bought. I have both machines, and the DOS for both is on the same disk. (Ron) A 100 DVI DOS on a 200 will send you to the North Pole. (Sysop Tony) Of course But the machine can tell which computer it's hooked to, and load the correct DOS from the disk into the machine. (R Caley) Probably behind the times but Greg Susong sold me one of his DV/I's because Tandy had not completed the promised DOS at least at that time....but they WOULD be different. (Sysop Tony) Of course they are different That's not the point. The point is, that the DVI comes with connecting cables for both the 100 and 200. I don't know about the 102. But there is one disk, and it contains the DOS for BOTH machines. Two versions of everything are on the disk. (Ron) Believe me when I say that the DVI DOS for the 100/102 IS DIFFERENT from the 200. They carry different part #'s from Tandy and they will work on only one machine or the other, not both the cable for the 100 works only with the 100 and the cable for the 102 will work with the 200. (Sysop Tony) Of course the DOS is different. There are TWO DOS's on the disk! One for the 100/102 and one for the 200. The DVI is a "Universal disk drive for the portables. It does not come in two versions. And there are not two disks in the package. And you don't have to special order a different disk if you have a 200. There is one disk, and it contains both DOS's. If you have something different, then you have something that is non-standard. There's no point in arguing the point. You have what you have, and I have what i have. Apparently it is different. OK? (Sysop Denny) I think a call to National Parts is in order. It would clear this up (Ron) Correction...Software Assembly (Sysop Tony) Correction, Tandy Marketing. (Sysop Denny) We aren't talking about the assembler But the DOS, Ron. (Ron) They'll refer you to Software Assembly (Sysop Tony) They won't refer ME to Software Assembly!!! (Joshua) The land of thick fingered elves? (Ron) They'd refer JOHN ROACH to SA!!! (Sysop Denny) Anyway, I think we need to move on. (Phil) Curious how many splitscreen users there are here today. (gene) me (Ron) me too! (Eiji) X-TEL here (Phil) [Booo!] (Joshua) How can you tell? (Phil) Joshua (Sysop Denny) Phil was taking a poll. (Phil) gotta run special software. If you don't, no split screen. (gene) Eiji, When in Japan, do you listen to Country & Eastern music? he-he (Eiji) No, I don't listen music much But when I do, I listen to classic music. (gene) ok. just wanted to hear from you! Happy Holidays done (Ron) Eiji. Any comments on the new Mitsubishi 286 and 386 machines? (Eiji) I haven't seen them yet, Ron I'm planning to visit some computer stores in January. (Ron) I will wait with bated breath till then. Thanks. Phil,any plans for an OS'2 look-alike for the 100? (Phil) Yeah, right! Convert the TDD to a 1.4 Mb disk (Joshua) Sorry I misunderstood you earlier. I'm rqather wary of machine code (Ron) 0001000100100010001000011111111 (Joshua) software (though it sounds good). Another case when online is not as good as face to face interface. (Sysop Denny) Are you talking about XMDPW5 and split screen? (Joshua) Rgiht (Sysop Denny) Well, I wouldn't be too concerned about it the program is pretty solid (Joshua) When you said "Curious" I thought you meant "Isn't it curious" instead of "I am cur." (Sysop Denny) and it does make quite a difference when on line here. There is no way for us to tell what type of software a person is using while online (Sysop Tony) (another myth dispelled) (Sysop Denny) but I bet some of the comercial companies would sure like to know! (Curtis G) Speaking of companies is PCSG still in business and if so are they or will they be making a (Ron) VERY MUCH SO! (Curtis G) SuperROM for the 102 (Sysop Denny) Curtis (Curtis G) Yes (Sysop Denny) SuperRom already works with the T102, no problems. But don't expect too much from them in the future for the Tandy laptops (Curtis G) What about the Chipmunk? (Sysop Denny) They are now called PERSONAL Computer Support Group and have switched their focus to PC's. The Chipmunk has been discontinued and can now only be purchased from Holmes Microsystems. The only thing they are selling for the Tandys is SuperROM and the Lucid/Write Roms. (Phil) There was a recent article in PC Magazine (I believe) that complimented PCSG (Lucid 3D) and TS (Laplink) on their successful "trasitions" from M100 world to PC laptop world. I doubt if it was an accidient! (Ron) PCSG just won an award for technical excellence from PC Magazine for their new spreadsheet "LUCID 3D". (Phil) [Musta bought lota ads!] (Sysop Denny) Hopefully, TS will stick with the Tandys for a little longer than PCSG has. We do need new goodies to keep up interest. (Ron) Also, PC Magazine in an article written by Steve Manes (Neatness: it really counts) said that the M100 is not neat anymore Little does he know!!! (Phil) Mine isn't too neat any more. Getting pretty messed up! (Ron) Put a "safe-skin" on it,Phil (Sysop Denny) Well, I just did a complete cleanup job on one of mine and it looks great now. (grin) (Ron) Safe-skin protects the M100 from Coke and AIDS!(grin). (Sysop Denny) Ok, do we have a new topic? If not I'll get out the slides. your choice (Curtis G) I am having a problem from time to time with the function keys double bouncing. Do you know of a simple fix for this problem? (Ron) New keyboard time! (Curtis G) From Who? (Ron) Radio Shack Service. (Sysop Denny) No simple fix, because it's a little tough to tell if it's the actual keyboard or a possible chip problem. If you don't have problems with ALL of the keys it's probably just the switch. But if it's all of the function keys, that might suggest something different. (Curtis G) Thanks Denny (Sysop Denny) You can order a new keyboard from National Parts (Sysop Tony) (or keys) (Sysop Denny) but it is still rather expensive for the whole keyboard. (Curtis G) Any knowledge of the price or part no.? (Sysop Tony) Curtis, That question has come up on the message board several times. It seems you can buy the keyswitch itself for a couple of bucks, and if you're handy, remove the old one and solder in the new one in about 10 minutes. Since the part number will have to be looked up, and it's not convenient to do so now, suggest you leave a message on the board, and one of us will look it up and send you the info. There is a minimum charge of about $10 though. (Curtis G) That I can do (Ron) I'm looking (Sysop Tony) You might need to buy several. (Sysop Denny) Thanks Tony. (Curtis G) Thanks Tony (Sysop Denny) Seems though, that the most common failure for function keys is that they stop working altogether, or they have to be hit several times. (like mine) (gene) [and mine] (Curtis G) and mine (Sysop Denny) I haven't really heard of a debouncing problem where they are double hitting. That would be heaven! (Dana Hyde) How is the new 1400LT doing/ ? (Ron) 1400 LT is backordered! the part # for the function key is AS-7570. (Curtis G) Thanks Ron (Sysop Denny) Dana, we don't handle the 1400LT here. You can find support for it and other PC type Tandy computers on the TANDYPRO Fourm. Since it is an MS-DOS machine, they are covering it there. (Dana Hyde) I'll be happy with my 100 for a long time, especially if I can eventually get some of those nice goodies from Traveling Software. (Ron) M100's forever! (Sysop Denny) Yes, additional equipment sure does make these machines (Ron) NEAT! (Sysop Denny) much more fun. (gene) Poll If you were going to start over, what would be the 1st extra you would buy. Excluding Disk Dr.? ga (Ron) SuperROM (Curtis G) SuperROM (Sysop Denny) 8 bank Ram (Sysop Tony) External 1200 baud modem. (Phil) for 100, 8 rom bank (RAM!) (gene) ok thanx , just wondering as I never added on. done (Phil) As a follow up to Ron's mentioin of the Seve Manes article in PC Mag. They put the M100 in the same class with Lotus 1-2-3, 10 MB HD's and AT-class speed a s once neat but not so neat now. Still not SHABBY company! (Ron) AT-class speed OK but 10 Mb HD's (yuko!) (Phil) [Spoiled kid speaking!] (Ron) Also Lotus 1-2-3 is rather passe' (Phil) [compared to what, Ron?] (Ron) I just got "Enable" and it is NEATO! Sort of like SuperROM for the PC but incredibly powerful (Phil) Ron, you should upload a reveiw of it to the IBMSW forum. (Ron) I've got a Tandy 3000HL and I don't like IBM. (Phil) [Tandy PRO forum, then] (JOHN A) Thinking about adding some memory to my 102 anything i should look out for (Sysop Denny) There are several ways to go. Node makes a variety of ram addons but it really depends on how much you are willing to spend. You can add up to 2 meg of ram right now and another product comming out (haven't seen it yet) can take you up to 10 meg. But this gets REALLY expensive. What did you have in mind. (JOHN A) Something that can be added internally (Sysop Denny) Do you have an M100 or T102 or T200? (JOHN A) without to much fuss or surgury about 8k is all i really need m 102 (Sysop Denny) Ok Expanding RAM is a common interest of many users, so we have prepared files on the subject that cover much more than we can here. Depending on your interest, see EXPAND.RAM (100-200) or EXPAND.102, or if you want a LOT of RAM space, see BIGRAM.INF. (all in DL13) For the 600, see EXPAND.600 in DL11. (Ron) Check out the stuff from PJohn, do you have a 24K 102? Repeater (JOHN A) 16K 102 (Sysop Denny) You should be able to upgrade (Ron) John, do you have a 24K 102? (Sysop Denny) to 32K for about $28. How did you get only 16K? (Ron) No such animal as a 16K 102! (JOHN A) My fault 24k 102 i have a DV/Iconnected which takes up about 8k for dos (Sysop Denny) Ok, then for $14 from Tandy you can add an additional 8K. See the file EXPAND.102 in DL 13 for details and an alternate source that runs about $8. (JOHN A) OK i'll check it out. Thank you (Ron) What does sending ";;C" do on the SIG? (Sysop Denny) Nothing. But doing a /SEN (job#) does. That will send a message to someone if you know their job number which can be found by doing a /CO command. (Ron) Even in private talk? (Sysop Denny) Yep, actually, anywhere that you can list the job numbers, you can send from that point. On the message board, you don't need the slash in front of the command. But you do a UST to find job numbers. (can be used here also in the form /UST) (Ron) ok. The witching hour approaches! (Sysop Denny) Well, if there is no new business I'll close down the normal CO for now. Anything, guys? (Ron) Bye,all. (Sysop Denny) Well, it looks like we're out of time for this morning's conference. So I'll end the formal conference now. Feel free to stick around and chat further, if you like. Thanks for coming this morning, we appreciate your input. Bye. *** END OF CONFERENCE *** (Curtis G) Seasons Greetings to All Bye now (Sysop Denny) Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. List of Participants: 70250,211 PETER 70721,1000 JOHN A 71266,125 Phil 72216,512 gene 72217,541 Joshua 72276,2454 WAYNE S. 72300,3645 Ron 72316,647 R Caley 72407,3224 Marty T 72527,765 Dana Hyde 72737,2150 Will 73337,3516 WILLIAM VANHETTINGA 73720,3563 Gary P. 75725,1130 Curtis G 76701,40 Sysop Denny 76703,4062 Sysop Tony 76703,4311 Eiji