Professor P.C. Laptop! is a tutorial system which provides hundreds of amazingly useful tips, tricks and reference articles about the wonderful world of laptop and notebook computers. In a way the Professor is simply a book on a computer disk. But Professor P.C. Laptop! offers more speed, flexibility and FUN than any printed book. A LARGE amount of practical reference material has been packed within this program. The best thing to do is take your time since you can always come back to the Professor for a paper printout or to search for that tip or idea using the powerful software utility tools built right into the program. If you are at the main menu, use the cursor direction keys (arrow up, down, right or left) to move to any menu item then press the return or enter key to open a tutorial section. Once you are reading a tutorial use the PAGE UP (Pg Up) and PAGE DOWN (Pg Dn) keys to move up and down through a tutorial - just like turning pages in a book. Within any tutorial, the F1 help key tells how you can control colors, turn sound on/off, search through the tutorial for a title or phrase, print entire sections on your printer and more. In fact, try pressing the F1 key right NOW and glance at the help screen for a preview of the special tools and functions you can activate from within any of the tutorials. While reading any tutorial, a reminder line appears at the BOTTOM of the screen to provide helpful hints. When you reach the END of a tutorial, press the escape key to return to the main menu. Press escape key NOW to return to the main menu and select a chapter or tutorial section of interest to you. Professor P.C. Laptop! Version 5.8 (c) 1992 A tutorial for laptop, notebook and portable computers A shareware package from Jim Hood & Seattle Scientific Photography POB 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040 (206) 236-0470 CIS: 72020,2176 Suggested BBS name: LAPTUT58.ZIP ---------------------------------------------------------------- How to install: this software must first be installed prior to use. Type the command INSTALL . You may install to or from a hard drive or floppy drive. How to run: after installation, start the program with the command GO DESCRIPTION Professor P.C. Laptop is a comprehensive tutorial system which provides laptop, notebook and portable computer owners (or those interested in buying a laptop or notebook) hundreds of powerful tips, tricks and reference articles. Tutorials include: travelling with laptops and notebooks, clever equipment purchasing strategies, battery care and maintenance, telephone and manufacturer support numbers, software selection, DOS lessons, history of computers, hard drive secrets, laptop batch files, modem use, little-known CompuServe resources for laptop owners, custom reading list, computer virus protection methods and more. An amazing collection of laptop and notebook computer reference material! Contains high speed search system, capability to turn sound on/off, tutorial printing, help screens and color or monochrome light bar menus. Written by shareware author Jim Hood whose PC-Learn and $hareware Marketing $ystem software packages have become instant classics! Registration brings four special bonus disks for laptop and notebook users. This software has no special requirements: it will work on floppy or hard drive equipped computers. Color or monochrome and all screen resolutions (Herc, CGA, EGA, VGA.) Package registration ($20.00) brings four bonus disks. FILES ON DISK (Prior to installation) README General information, this file INSTALL COM Installation file REGISTER TXT Registration form PART1 EXE Tutorial files part one PART2 EXE Tutorial files part two PART3 EXE Menu system for tutorial PART4 EXE Configuration data for single drive installation PART5 EXE Configuration data for dual drive installation LHATXT EXE Documentation on LHA file archiving system (After installation) README General program information GO BAT batch file to run program BOOK CFG configuration for single drive systems BOOK1 CFG configuration for dual drive systems BOOK2 CFG configuration for dual drive systems LAPTOP EXE Menu system for tutorial ORDER EXE Automated order/registration program ORDER FRM Text file for order/registration AUTHOR TXT Author background BATCH TXT Batch file tutorial BATTERY TXT Nicad battery tutorial BIBLIOG TXT Bibliography, reading list BRIEF TXT Introductory program notes CIS TXT Special CompuServe laptop tips CLUB TXT Computer club info and mailing list DOS1 TXT Beginner DOS laptop tutorial DOS2 TXT Advanced DOS laptop tutorial EQUIP TXT Buying a computer or laptop notes HD TXT Hard drive tutorial HISTORY TXT History of computers INTRO TXT General introduction to computers MODEM TXT Using a modem REGISTER TXT Registration information SOFTWARE TXT Selecting software SUPPORT TXT Manufacturer telephone list TIPS TXT Tips for using computers TRAVEL TXT Travelling with a laptop VIRUS TXT Dealing with virus infections Installation of this shareware tutorial on laptop computers by computer stores and VAR's is encouraged. A single copy registration is required for this use although multiple copies can be installed on MANY machines at no additional cost by computer stores, retailers and VARS who FIRST pay a single copy registration fee. Registration ($20.00) brings the following FOUR bonus disks: ONE DISK containing additional powerful laptop and notebook utilities and custom programs to increase the usefulness of your computer. If you like the tips, ideas and training from this software package you NEED this disk collection of software to bring your laptop to its full potential! Plus you also receive... ONE DISK containing the latest version/update of the massive PC- Learn computer tutorial, a much larger computer tutorial system. Whether you are a beginner or more advanced user, PC-Learn contains MANY MORE detailed tips and training tutorials you can use with your laptop. Plus you also receive.... ONE DISK containing an unregistered version of ULTIMATE POWER TIPS, VOLUME ONE. Hundreds of power user secret tips for effective computer use: Windows, spreadsheet, batch files, equipment repair secrets, word processing shortcuts, macro ideas, modem and telecommunication tips and more! Plus you also receive.... ONE DISK containing the latest REGISTERED version of Professor P.C. Laptop! in case you have an old version of this package. And finally you receive.... A registration certificate and registration number to validate your legal right as a fully registered user of Professor P.C. Laptop. Site, LAN licenses and CUSTOM PROGRAMMING MODIFICATIONS of this tutorial for corporate or business training are available. Maybe you want to add something about your office LAN, use of laptops by sales personnel, the layout of your business spreadsheet templates, etc. Contact the author. Special arrangements are available for non-profit users such as job training centers and minority education programs. Purchase orders from corporations are accepted. The program can be CUSTOM adapted to revise, remove or add tutorials for your specific sales, training and equipment strategies. Contact the author. If you are new to computers you may not have heard the term SHAREWARE. Basically this means an author or group has prepared a software program which you are free to copy and share with others, but the author of this software requests a REGISTRATION FEE. The idea is that if the program is useful you evaluate it for a limited period (usually 30 days) and then become a legally registered user of the program by paying the registration fee. If you do not wish to register, you are expected to cease using the program. Shareware is an honor system. Are you registered if you "found" this tutorial already installed on your computer or purchased it from a computer club or shareware disk vendor or other retailer? Probably not. ONLY registered owners receive a printed registration with unique registration number and four special diskettes. You can ONLY become a registered user by mail through the program's author. This package is shareware which means try before you buy. It is acceptable to copy and share it with friends - but only registered PAYING users receive the bonus disks, registration certificate and latest update. The sole owner of this software package is Seattle Scientific Photography and Jim Hood who assume no liability, intended or otherwise, for the use or misuse of this package or the information or software code contained within. No warranties are offered, either expressed or implied. Your rights in this respect may vary from state to state. You are granted a limited license to copy and use this shareware software for a 30 day evaluation period pending your possible submission of a registration fee which brings additional benefits and a legal registration license as noted above. RECEIVE FOUR SOFTWARE DISKS AND LATEST UPDATE FOR ONLY $20.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------- What does your registration purchase, payable to the author of this program, bring to you? For $20.00 you receive FOUR exceptional software diskettes packed with VITAL laptop computer software! Note: four bonus disks provided if 360K format, 5.25 inch size disks ordered. Otherwise expect two bonus disks, 720K format, 3.5 inch size. The higher density 3.5 inch disks hold more programs so you will receive fewer disks but the same amount of software. Here's what you receive for $20.00: ONE DISK containing additional powerful laptop and notebook utilities and custom programs to increase the usefulness of your computer. If you like the tips, ideas and training from this software package you NEED this disk to bring your laptop to its full potential! Plus you also receive... ONE DISK containing the latest version/update of the massive PC- Learn computer tutorial, a much larger computer tutorial system. Whether you are a beginner or more advanced user, PC-Learn contains MANY MORE detailed tips and training tutorials you can use with your laptop. Plus you also receive.... ONE DISK containing an unregistered version of ULTIMATE POWER TIPS, VOLUME ONE. Hundreds of power user secret tips for effective computer use: Windows, spreadsheet, batch files, equipment repair secrets, word processing shortcuts, macro ideas, modem and telecommunication tips and more! Plus you also receive.... ONE DISK containing the latest REGISTERED version of Professor P.C. Laptop! in case you have an old version of this package. And finally you receive.... A registration certificate and registration number to validate your legal right as a fully registered user of Professor P.C. Laptop! Installation of this shareware tutorial on laptop computers for resale by computer stores and VAR's is encouraged. A single copy payment ($20.00) is required for this use although multiple copies can be installed on MANY machines at no additional cost by computer stores, retailers and VARS who FIRST pay the registration fee. Site, LAN licenses and custom programming or adaptations of this tutorial for corporate or business training are available. Maybe you want to add something about your LAN, use of laptops by sales personnel, the layout of your spreadsheet templates, etc. Contact the author. Special arrangements are available for non- profit users such as job training centers and minority education programs. Purchase orders from corporations are accepted. The program can be CUSTOM adapted to revise, remove or add tutorials for your specific sales, training and equipment strategies. TO REGISTER, a $20.00 fee is requested and appreciated! See the registration option elsewhere from the main menu, or execute the command ORDER which automatically processes the order form which is a file named ORDER.FRM. You can also activate the automated order program from the main menu which allows you to print the registration form. If you are new to computers you may not have heard the term SHAREWARE. Basically this means an author or group has prepared a software program which you are free to copy and share with others, but the author of this software requests a REGISTRATION FEE. The idea is that if the program is useful you evaluate it for a limited period (usually 30 days) and then become a legally registered user of the program by paying the registration fee. If you do not wish to register, you are expected to cease using the program. Shareware is an honor system. Are you registered if you "found" this tutorial already installed on your computer or purchased it from a computer club or shareware disk vendor or other retailer? Probably not. ONLY registered owners receive a printed registration with unique registration number and four special diskettes. You can ONLY become a registered user by mail through the program's author. This package is shareware which means try before you buy. It is acceptable to copy and share it with friends - but only registered PAYING users receive the bonus disks, registration certificate and latest update. ---------- TRAVELLING WITH A LAPTOP COMPUTER ---------------------------------------------------------------- Laptops are made to travel. Their small size and potent features make computing on the road a snap. Consider using this assortment of tips which seasoned laptop owners have come to rely on.... Airports are a frequent transit point for laptop owners. Be sure to be prepared for a SPEEDY passage through airport security by being aware that in most cases you MUST boot up the laptop so that a DOS prompt, menu or other sign of visible activity is displayed on the screen. Security officials do this for a reason: if a laptop computer has been tampered with or hollowed out to serve as an empty shell for explosives or weapons, the machine will not boot up or operate. By forcing the laptop owner to activate the machine, airport security is effectively screening for tampered machines. Once you know this, several important tips are quite useful. Always carry a BOTH a fully charged battery and AC adapter with the laptop. No power means no possibility of booting the machine and your laptop might be forced to remain behind! To speed the process on laptops equipped with hard drives try an experiment. Prepare a bootable floppy disk with DOS system files and a short AUTOEXEC.BAT program which boots the machine rapidly since DOS usually tries to boot from a floppy first and then the hard drive second. Now time how long it takes to boot from the floppy as well as the hard drive. Whichever is faster is the one you want to use to speed your trip through airport security. But ALWAYS take the bootable floppy as well. Why? If your laptop hard drive becomes damaged in transit - a possibility in today's airport environments - then you have a floppy backup which will also get you through airport security. Cursor size and blink rate on many laptops are atrocious. Third party software utilities are available which can alter both size and shape of the cursor - we will discuss these in more detail in the software section of the Laptop tutorial. However the point to be made is that you might find one ideal cursor size and blink rate for airplane use and a DIFFERENT cursor size and blink rate better at the office or in the airport. Try various combinations in various lighting. Several different cursor configurations are quite handy when travelling under varying lighting conditions. By the way in a pinch, The WordPerfect word processing package has just such a utility you might want to dig out if you own WordPerfect but have never used software cursor control utility! Did your portable printer malfunction and crash while you are on the road? Or maybe you just don't want to carry your printer at all. Here's an obvious idea: use your laptop and modem/faxboard to fax your file to the hotel front desk fax machine and pick it up there! If your modem lacks fax transmit capability, send the file via modem to CompuServe and let them re-send it to your hotel fax machine using their fax transmission capability. Worried that the fax image might fade or curl with heat or handling? Then xerox copy it onto standard paper which is a more permanent material than fax paper. Speaking of modems, the smallest and most "laptop useful" modems are available from U.S. Robotics (call 708/982-5010.) Their World Port modem is truly tiny, fully-featured and ruggedly designed for travellers. Hayes has also produced the Pocket Modem (call 404/449-8791.) Some of the most clever portable modems do not even need battery power - they draw current from the computer or telephone line. Hotels and airlines always have carpeting. And carpeting is productive of electrical static. Shuffle across the floor in most travel facilities on a dry or cool day and you get a spark when you touch the doorknob. This same static electricity buildup can ruin the EPROM chip in your laptop keyboard when you sit down to use the laptop. Be sure to first touch a bathroom faucet with a coin. To eliminate static in your hotel room, just take off your shoes and socks! Carry extra charged batteries on long flights or international flights. Seems like a simple tip, but that battery pack you bought two years ago may finally decide it has a one hour life somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Rechargeable batteries cannot be recharged forever - after two to five years they begin to die. Be sure you know how to turn off the speaker beep facility in your laptop. Crowded airplanes indicate courtesy. Third party software utilities exist which will provide this capability if you own an older laptop without this software or hardware feature. More about this in our software tutorial. Conserve power on long flights. Turn down the screen brightness to save power. Use the auto-resume feature if your laptop contains the capability. Switch to slow mode or lower the processing speed of your CPU chip. Your instruction book may mention some or all of these features. Some laptops have a variation of the auto resume feature that even allows you to change batteries right in the middle of a program. Check your manual. Might be a lifesaver on a plane trip. Save still more power when travelling by investigating software ram disks or virtual disks which, unlike a spinning hard drive or floppy, use far less power on long airline flights. DOS itself comes with a reasonable although rudimentary ram drive called VDISK which all laptop owners should check out. You can also obtain third party shareware, commercial and public domain ram disk software. Of course be sure to save your work to a floppy or hard disk before you turn the machine off since a ram disk operates purely in memory and MUST have power to maintain your data. If you travel out of the country, be sure to register your foreign made laptop with U.S. Customs when you depart - so that upon return you are not forced to pay duty on a machine you bought in the U.S. but which customs officials will suspect was purchased overseas. This can be a sticky subject. Contact a local customs office for instructions on registering your machine prior to departure. Travellers should also consider etching your name, address, telephone and social security number onto the machine in several places. Although this may decrease the resale value of the laptop, it also increases chances of recovery in case of theft. Don't make the mistake of etching ONLY your social security number onto your laptop. Federal privacy laws prevent release of your social security records even to some law enforcement agencies and in that respect having only your social security number on valuable items is probably next to worthless as a security item. Hotels are getting better about providing modular plug in telephone jacks for laptop users who need to hook up a modem. But it seems the telephone jack on the wall is always ten feet from the nearest table where you laptop sits. Solution? Always bring a modem extension cord with in-line connector. Makes laptop modem work a joy! Another tip: use the hotel's toll free 800 number to call ahead and doublecheck that your room is wired with modular plug-in telephone jacks. Takes a moment and costs you nothing! Speaking of plugs, investigate the new breed of miniature surge supressing AC adapters if you travel to foreign countries whose voltage can be less reliable than that in the U.S. You can obtain special anchor plates or straps which attach to the bottom or side of a laptop with permanent glue. A flexible steel cable and lock lets you secure your laptop to a hotel radiator or piece of furniture and defeats all but the most determined thief. For those who absolutely need telephone links when travelling, consider purchasing an acoustic modem coupler which works with all telephones when you cannot plug your modem into the wall. Acoustic couplers work by attaching directly to the mouthpiece and earpiece of any standard phone and transfer data directly by sound transmission. By the way, in overseas areas you will soon find that you need a maddening array of special adapters to hook your modem to the telephone line directly. An acoustic modem coupler is the only truly "universal" adapter which will connect to all telephones throughout the world. Another modem tip when using hotel telephone lines: arrange with the front desk or operator to ALWAYS put your call DIRECTLY through without intervention. Many hotel system route your call through a switchboard which prevents your modem from getting a dial tone! Diehard laptop users who communicate with the head office via modem should also investigate remote computing software which we will discuss later. Remote computing software allows you in your hotel in New York to call San Francisco by modem and then connect directly with your desktop computer or office LAN network. Once connected, you can run your word processor, obtain files, check figures on the office spreadsheet and more. In essence your laptop functions as a remote keyboard for a computer which is thousands of miles away. Shareware, public domain and commercial software packages of this type are available. But if you do this, here is one important tip many travellers learn the hard way: ALWAYS leave a note for the maintenance person or janitor which tells them not to turn off what appears to be your idle office desktop computer. Oh, and while you are gone, turn off the desktop monitor but leave on the pc if you plan to compute remotely. This saves power and prevents screen burnout! Need to test if two files are slightly different as you check newer document files against older ones? Or maybe just backup all NEWER revisions of your files to a floppy or transmit them by modem to the head office? Use the DOS XCOPY command to track down differences between two files such as word processing documents. DOS also previously had an older File Compare command called FC which accomplishes the same thing. Sidekick version 2 has a reconcile feature and Lap-Link can transfer files between to computers and check dates and times to make sure you are obtaining the newest version of a file or to ensure that both computers indeed have the latest file. By the way, here is an example of how to use the DOS XCOPY command to copy all files from ALL subdirectories on a laptop hard drive named C: onto a backup floppy in the A: drive which have been updated on or later than March 15, 1992. Very handy when you are on the road and want to copy or prepare for modem transmission all of your updated files for the head office. At the DOS prompt type: XCOPY C:\*.* A:/S/D:03/15/92 Consider travel insurance for replacement of your laptop in case of theft. Contact Safeware at 800/848-3469. Business travellers often have to present VERY important presentations with their laptops. Essential job proposals, contracts, crucial price schedules. If it is important to your business, always make a backup copy on floppy disk. Seems simple, but many business users discover that their hard drive equipped laptop has crashed due to airport handling in transit. A floppy can save the day and in a pinch you can rent a computer or borrow one from your client. If data matters, put it on a floppy. Make sure you ALWAYS carry a null modem cable and file transfer software with your laptop when travelling. You can probably patch into another desktop computer to transfer files in emergency, but without the null modem cable and software you are stuck. Practice transferring files between several computers before you travel so you have the process comfortably memorized. For the truly worried traveller, also carry a pair of gender changer plugs which allow hookup of male to male and female to female cable connections. Also a 25 to 9 pin plug adapter. Laptop computer die in transit? Carry a set of jewelers screwdrivers and floppy disk cleaning kit. If a few simple things such as this won't fix it, then grab the yellow pages and look under computer rentals. By the way, many hotels maintain rental laptops for business travellers. But the secret is that the rate is far cheaper by renting from a local vendor than the hotel. Make a few phone calls and get a laptop delivered to your hotel suite in case of emergency. The smartest travellers call ahead to their destination and reserve a backup laptop in case of problems at a local vendor. If the laptop is not checked out a small retainer fee is kept by the vendor. This can be done by a charge card and a long distance phone call. Same goes for renting LCD projection panels for business meetings. Consider obtaining a CompuServe account for modem use if you travel frequently. You can obtain online support for laptop computer problems directly from the manufacturer, download special software utility files, transmit important files to the home office, send faxes when all you have is a modem which lacks fax transmit capabilities (CompuServe converts your modem transmission and sends it on via their fax equipment.) Lots of good ideas and special laptop discussion forums for business travelers. You can even book hotel and airline reservations directly by modem using CompuServe, too. Laptops, travel and CompuServe go together handsomely. Did your ribbon die in your portable printer? Just not black enough? Stick some fax paper in the printer. It is heat sensitive and will frequently pick up an image without a printer ribbon. Amazing but true. This works with dot matrix printers. Do not try it with laser printers. Check ahead for special regulations. Example: in Germany modems are regulated under certain security laws - presumably spies could use them to transmit data. You must have a "modem permit" in that country or your equipment can be confiscated. In other countries and some developing nations such as Africa and India confiscation of computer equipment is common - even if all of your registration and travel documents are in order! In those cases you might be better off leaving your computer at home and bringing a tape recorder or notepad. Just because you own a computer does not mean you can use it in an unrestricted fashion while you travel! Tempted to use one of those inexpensive overseas power convertors to adapt your AC plug in convertor to European current? DON'T DO IT without first checking with the manufacturer. Those inexpensive current convertors work fine when changing high voltage overseas current to lower voltage US current for things like shavers because they reduce the voltage. The problem is that most of the world uses 50 cycle AC current versus the normal 60 cycle AC current in the U.S. Computers CANNOT run from these inexpensive convertors and damage may occur. Find out what device the manufacturer supplies or recommends for travel outside of your country of residence. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES AND LAPTOP COMPUTERS ---------------------------------------------------------------- No other topic seems to inspire more opinion and comment than the proper care and handling of rechargeable laptop and notebook computer batteries. Should you slow or fast charge them? What is the true life of a rechargeable battery after which it must be disposed? Do rechargeable batteries have a "memory" effect? Can nickel-cadmium batteries explode when charging or discharging? Although this tutorial may seem technical in places, try to read ALL of it since battery power may be your only source of laptop power on many occasions. For many portable computers a variety of rechargeable battery options exist today. But frequently it comes down to the old standby: nickel-cadmium batteries. Ubiquitous in consumer electronic items such as shavers, flashlights, toothbrushes and radios, nickel-cadmiums or "nicads" are a reasonable balance of power, cost and weight and are used by many computer manufacturers as the portable power source of choice. Let's scratch the surface on the topic since there is QUITE A BIT the manufacturer doesn't tell you about nicads.... Glance at the following chemical equation which is at the heart of the nickel-cadmium cell reaction. Don't get overly anxious because high school chemistry was not your favorite subject. We'll take things slowly.... <----- Cd + 2 NiOOH + 2 KOH -----> Cd(OH) + 2NiO + 2 KOH 2 In this highly simplified reaction sequence, electricity is generated when the reaction proceeds in the direction of the right pointing arrow, the discharge cycle. If the reaction proceeds in the left direction the cell is charging. In simplest terms, a nicad cell (a battery is constructed of several cells hooked together) has a positively charged plate of nickelic hydroxide and a negative plate of metallic cadmium. The liquid between the positive and negatives plates which facilitates this chemical reaction is usually a dilute solution of potassium hydroxide - similar to lye or the Draino (tm) solution your pour down the sink to clean your plumbing. When discharging and thus producing electricity, the nickelic hydroxide is reduced to nickelous hydroxide as hydroxyl ions from the potassium hydroxide electrolyte combine with the cadmium metal of the negative plate of the cell to form cadmium hydroxide. Cadmium is oxidized when this happens and electrons are provided into the external circuit, such as your laptop computer. When charging, the process reverses and hydroxyl ions combine with the nickel which accepts electrons from the external charging circuit. Notice that the electrolyte, potassium hydroxide is unchanged with two atoms or units produced on both sides of the chemical equation whether charging or discharging. This is why you do not need to add more water to a nicad battery which operates as a sealed reaction container. It regenerates its electrolyte in both the charge and discharge cycles. All of this is an ideal nicad cell. The real world of computers and rechargeable batteries is not quite that simple. The first SERIOUS item to consider is that all nicad cells and batteries generate gas during both the charging, and to a lesser extent, discharging cycle. During recharging, oxygen gas is generated at the positive electrode while hydrogen gas is produced at the negative electrode. In other types of rechargeable cells, a standard lead acid car battery for example, these gasses are usually released into the atmosphere. The nicad cell does not have this luxury since it must operate cleanly and with minimum release of gasses or liquids. To minimize hydrogen gas release, nicad cells usually have an oversized negative electrode which tends to reabsorb hydrogen gas. In addition oxygen is recycled by combining with metallic cadmium to produce cadmium oxide. So called "fast-charging" nicad cells prevent gas buildup and dissipate some of the heat generated during the quick charge cycle by further enlarging the electrodes. Heat and gas buildup is thus controlled and kept to tolerable limits in quick charge nicads. The first of several lessons which can be derived from this technical discussion is that the buildup of hydrogen and oxygen gas during the charging cycle is normally dissipated unless HIGH recharging rates are attempted or unusually high temperatures are produced. If the nicad cell is charged at abnormally high rates the oxygen gas cannot dissipate and will EXPLOSIVELY rupture the cell. A safety system of sorts exists within the design structure of most nicad cells via a pressure venting system - a plastic diaphragm membrane at the top of the cell and small external hole or "exhaust vent." In theory the system safely vents excess pressure and then reseals. In practice the resealing is never complete and the cell may continue to ooze caustic electrolyte or worse the vent may not open soon enough and the cell may simply explode. The vent is really designed for SEVERE charging or discharging rates. In normal use it should NEVER activate; if it does, the battery should be discarded. In cases of massive overcharge or discharge the safety vent is usually too little too late and a dangerous battery explosion takes place anyway. During rapid discharge - short circuiting the nicad cell or battery with a piece of wire, for example - gas buildup and heat can be generated and a violent explosion can occur. Another reason why nicads can explosively burst when short circuited and forced to discharge quickly is that they have relatively low "internal resistance" which allows them to dump their electrical capacity quickly and with explosive force. Common zinc carbon batteries have a much higher internal resistance and when shorted may produce serious burns to your fingers from melting wire but usually will not explode due to sudden gas buildup. On the point of sudden nicad discharge by short circuit you might be tempted to say that it would be highly unlikely with a portable computer battery. Not so. Tales are told of laptop computer batteries which have exploded when a careless owner shoved several fully charged nicad batteries in a travel case with a set of spare keys. If the keys accidentally contact both the positive and negative poles of the nicad simultaneously, a violent explosion reaction can occur! Clearly nicads have some unusual features to be respected and understood. Be careful with charged nicads and treat them as the small "hand grenades" which they can become. Heat, sudden short circuits and high rates of charging are the problem in this area. The correct operating temperature for discharging and recharging nicads is from 65F to 85F, according to most manufacturers. High and low ranges of from +32F to 115F are possible as upper and lower limits if nicads MUST be used in extreme environments although discharge and recharge efficiency may be adversely affected - it may require more power to fully charge the battery, charge may not be held for as long on the shelf after charging and finally discharge may not produce a full three or four hour computing session at these severe temperature ranges. Electrically, individual nicad cells - the units which are hooked together to produce the final battery - have a charged voltage of 1.25 volts. Nominally this drops to 1.2 volts under actual discharge use or "load" in the electrical device. Individual cells are strung together in "series" with the positive terminal of one cell touching the negative terminal of the next cell in sequence to raise the voltage to that suitable for the electrical device. Thus two cells hooked in "series" as a battery produce 2 X 1.2 volts = 2.4 volts. Likewise, three cells connected as a battery produce 3.6 volts. By the way, ordinary flashlight batteries of the carbon zinc type have a nominal voltage of 1.5 volts compared to the 1.2 volts of the nicad cell. Nicad batteries have an unusual and highly characteristic discharge behavior which is best described as "a stable discharge plateau then sudden voltage drop." Essentially a fully charged nicad battery provides constant voltage and current until near its exhaustion at which point the voltage SUDDENLY DROPS and the cell is, for practical purposes, completely discharged. Compare this to standard carbon zinc and alkaline batteries which gradually drop in voltage and amperage through the discharge cycle of the battery. In use nicads tend to be stable, then die suddenly at the end while conventional non-rechargeable batteries slowly decay in voltage as their power is consumed. One conclusion you might draw from this is that when your portable computer beeps that the nicad battery voltage is nearing exhaustion you literally have only moments of use left! The good news is that nicads produce dependable power through their discharge cycle which is highly desirable with digital data and computer memory devices. The "memory effect" of nicads is perhaps the most discussed and misunderstood phenomenon associated with nicad cells and batteries. An undesirable and somewhat unique characteristic of nicad batteries that they can develop a "memory" which can decrease either the capacity or voltage of the battery. The first type of memory problem in nicads - voltage memory - is caused by sustained charging over many days or months. This memory effect can be accelerated by high ambient temperature extreme duration of charge and high rate of charge. In effect the battery is charged for such a long period of time or at such a high rate or high temperature that the efficiency of the chemical reaction is impaired and proper terminal voltage readings are not achieved. In the second, more common "memory capacity" problem, the nicad loses the capability to deliver its full power capacity. One cause of this peculiar memory problem is the FREQUENT PARTIAL DISCHARGE of the battery - use for perhaps 30 minutes - and then full recharge again. In effect the nicad battery "learns" that only part of its capacity is used and over several cycles of "partial depletion and then full recharge" that less then full capacity is needed. It will then be unable to deliver a full two or three hour standard discharge in normal use. Fortunately memory effects are usually temporary and can be reversed. The chemical basis for these two memory effects is not fully understood, but may have to do with obscure oxidation reactions which temporarily coat the internal electrodes of the battery with thin layers of complex non-reactive chemical compounds which can be removed by more fully "exercising" a nicad through a complete charge/discharge cycle. It is claimed by many manufacturers that this odd memory effect of nicads has been largely eliminated due to modern manufacturing methods. However to some degree this may in fact be a result of newer charging systems and the relatively complete discharge of nicad power by modern laptops. In effect the batteries are charged and discharged in a more appropriate manner by most laptop users so memory effects "appear" to be no longer a problem. Both memory problems - voltage memory and capacity memory - are usually temporary and can be corrected by discharging the battery to or very near its exhaustion point (optimum drawdown voltage is about 1.0 to .9 volts for a standard 1.2 volt nicad) and then recharging it to full capacity. Repeat this discharge- recharge cycle from 2 to five times and frequently the nicad will lose its memory for the "partial capacity" and again provide a full 3 or 4 hours of use in most laptops. Actually, frequent FULL discharge and recharge prolongs the life of a nicad. The more you use them the longer they last! Most folks who want to completely discharge laptop nicads simply leave the computer on until it runs down. A much faster method is to use the following batch file which continuously reads the directory of a disk and writes the contents to a disk file. The continuous disk access drains nicad power much faster. If you are not familiar with batch files, read the batch file tutorial elsewhere in this program. Here's the three line batch file. To stop the batch file at any time press the control and break keys simultaneously. When finished you may wish to erase both the batch file and the small file named "test" which it creates. :start dir>test goto start As an aside, the newer nickel-hydride batteries used in some laptop and notebook computers do not seem to suffer from memory effects. But these batteries are more expensive and not in common use by most laptop manufacturers. Nicads do eventually fail. And for various reasons. Temporary or partial failure due to memory effects was discussed in the previous paragraphs. Permanent failure - usually between 3 to 5 years into the life of a typical nicad can happen due to the growth of characteristic "whiskers" of conducting chemical compounds which effectively bridge the internal gap between the positive and negative electrodes inside the battery. Effectively these small contamination deposits gradually short circuit the battery internally which leads to inability to charge or discharge. Some clever electronic hobbyists build high current "surge" power supplies which can burn open these internal deposits and reopen the gap between positive and negative electrodes. A risky practice at best - given the explosive reputation of nicads - but "zapping" nicads in this manner has been documented as one way to add life to an otherwise dying battery. A risky an usually ill-advised attempt to salvage an otherwise dying battery. A different permanent failure can result from premature loss of the liquid electrolyte from the battery. High temperature and/or high charging rates are usually the cause here. Quick-charge batteries frequently fail due to this problem if their charging circuits are not properly designed. If the top edge of the cell which contains the fail safe pressure release valve has a buildup of white corrosion powder this is probably the residue ot the expelled electrolyte and the cell may be on its way to failure and should be replaced. Note that you can only see this corrosion buildup on the top of the SINGLE nicad cells which are usually encased within a surrounding plastic battery housing. The plastic housing may show little problem externally. Generally, however, the average computer user should not attempt to open the protective plastic case of the battery to examine each cell. If the manufacturer seals several individual nicad cells in a plastic battery container it is for GOOD reason and your own personal safety. As a rule quick charge nicads do not last as long a regular nicads due to heat build up during the charging cycle. So how long will a nicad battery last before complete failure occurs? Manufacturers estimate LOW figures between 500 and 1,000 full charge and discharge cycles or about 3 to 5 five years, as noted above. Some nicads have been known to approach 5,000 to 10,000 charge and discharge cycles before permanent failure. Excessive quick charging, heat buildup, infrequent use and lack of full charge all contribute to shortened nicad lifespan. Charging and discharging mathematics... Charging nicads is generally done automatically by a charging circuit. Two practical pieces of advice: 1) if the battery becomes VERY hot something could be wrong 2) if the manufacturer tells you that the battery will be fully charged after a certain length of time although it can be left charging longer you will probably do the nicad a favor by removing it after full charge is reached. Some clever nicad users simply attach an inexpensive electrical timer - similar to those used to turn lights on and off in the evening - directly to the nicad charger to prevent overcharging. Generally nicads have a proper charging rate which depends on each manufacturers recommendation. For standard nicads which are NOT quick charge types the proper slow or "trickle" charge rate is determined by dividing the ampere hour capacity of the battery by 10. For example if a nicad has a total capacity of 1 ampere hour, dividing this by ten (1/10) produces a correct trickle charging rate of .1 amps or 100 milliamps. Quick-charge nicads can accept a charge rapidly and the suggested charging rate is determined by dividing the ampere hour capacity of the battery by 3 rather than by 10. These figures represent the trickle charge rate which theoretically means the nicad "could" be safely left charging indefinitely without harm. Higher efficiency chargers are designed not to simply trickle charge nicads but start a discharged battery at a HIGH rate of charge and then taper the charging current back quickly to the safer "trickle" charge rate once full charge is reached. Usually for regular nicads this "initial surge charge" can be as high as the ampere hour capacity divided by 3. For quick charge nicads this "initial surge charge" can be as high as the ampere hour capacity divided by 1. Obviously these are very high charge rates and are provided to discharged batteries and then quickly discontinued once full charge is approached. Clearly a charging circuit of this sophistication is expensive and may even contain its own microprocessor to sense the discharge level of the nicad and calculate the optimum charge rate, time and trickle charge transition. Since we have previously discussed the adverse affect of heat on nicads it is essential to note that NICADS SHOULD BE CHARGED IN A COOL OR ROOM TEMPERATURE location since they normally generate heat when charged. If you minimize heat buildup - especially during the charging cycle - you will prolong the useful life of your nicad battery. Discharging a nicad - especially if you are trying to remove a "memory" problem such as that discussed earlier does NOT mean discharging a cell to zero volts. Usually the correct discharge voltage is about 1.0 volts. This may seem odd when you consider that the fully charged cell has a 1.2 volt reading, but in fact at 1.0 volts a typical nicad cell has released about 90% to 95% of its energy - another eccentric, but predictable behavior of nicads given the rapid "voltage drop off" as they near the end of their three or four hour life in a laptop computer. Shelf life. While carbon zinc and alkaline batteries can hold their charge for years, nicads lose their charge relatively quickly. Although it varies, one quick rule of thumb is that a typical fully charged nicad will lose roughly 25% to 35% of full charge in one month. Then another 25% to 35% of THE CHARGE REMAINING in the next month. And so on and so on. Thus if you have several nicad batteries you want to charge for a trip you will be taking in a month, it is probably better to charge ALL OF THEM the final week just before the trip rather than the month before. For want of a better phrase, this might be called "shelf discharge" and is normal with all nicads and has to do with slight electrical leakage and chemical compound decay internally within a charged nicad which sits on a shelf. Cooling or refrigerating the nicad (but NOT freezing) will slow this "shelf discharge" since you are cooling and slowing the breakdown reaction. In fact ALL batteries will last longer when refrigerated until they are used. Simply store them in individual sealed plastic bags (to minimize moisture condensation) and place them in the refrigerator. And so we conclude with a little summary.... 1) Do exactly what the manufacturer suggests for both discharging and recharging a nicad. 2) Keep temperatures - especially during charging - cool or at normal room temperature. 3) Never short circuit a nicad intentionally or accidentally. 4) Try cycling a nicad through several COMPLETE discharge and recharge cycles if it "appears" to be faulty an incapable of operating your equipment for a normal three or four hour operating period. 5) Remove nicads from charging circuits or discontinue charging when full charge has been reached. 6) Watch for white flaky corrosion deposits on the upper edge of the cell near the pressure vent this can mean impending cell failure and electrolyte loss. 7) Dispose of permanently defective nicads properly - contact the manufacturer for instructions since cadmium is a dangerous toxic metal and has been banned from many dump sites. Try calling your local city hall and ask who can answer a question about cadmium metal waste disposal. 8) When the nicad battery power begins to drop near the end of a discharge cycle it will drop VERY QUICKLY due to the rapid characteristic dropoff of nicads. Prepare for laptop shutdown quickly. 9) Cycle your nicads through a FULL DEEP discharge and FULL COMPLETE recharge frequently - they will last LONGER before you must dispose of them and deliver MORE power when used. 10) Infrequently used nicads should be charged and discharged at least once or twice every two or three months to prolong their usable lifetime before permanent failure. 11) If your nicads are stated by the manufacturer to be quick charge type, you can probably prolong their life by slow or trickle charging them (if your charger provides that option) since you will minimize heat and gas buildup within the cell. Just because they can be quick charged does not mean they MUST be quick charged. Nicads last longer and deliver more power when not driven to extremes of temperature or overcharging. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. PURCHASING A LAPTOP COMPUTER ---------------------------------------------------------------- There is an allure to purchasing a laptop computer. They are small, sleek and highly productive. What features should you consider when purchasing a laptop? For those who need quick highlights first we'll present a brief overview for the cautious laptop buyer. Later in this tutorial we'll shift gears for a broader "beginners" overview. Before jumping into our tutorial, a reading recommendation. Visit your local library and locate a back issue of the August 1992 edition of PC Magazine. That issue covered a variety of reviews concerning specific laptop machines and also contained some surprising suggestions for productive laptop use. While on the topic of pertinent reading, check for other useful titles in the reading list section elsewhere within this tutorial. Next, general suggestions for laptop buyers... 1) The keyboard is the most important interactive part of any laptop. Is it awkward? Could you use it for longer than 15 minutes? An hour? A complete morning at work? Note the location of frequently used keys like the backslash \, the F1 function help key, the cursor control keys. Some oddball laptops require you to use a shift-funtion key combination for cursor keys. Not terribly comfortable. Othertimes the cursor position keys are oddly laid out in a non standard pattern which is difficult to use and memorize. One of the classic keyboard layouts is the Toshiba 286 T1200XE. Glance at the layout on this machine and compare it to your target laptop. 2) The screen. Next to the keyboard this is the greatest delight - or pain - when it comes to using a laptop computer. Can you use it for longer than an hour? Screens can be either backlit or edgelit. Each has advantages. Try both and see which you like. A few clever laptops have screen reversing software built in which can change the screen from black lettering on a light field to light lettering on a dark field. Helpful for some folks. Ask if your target machine has it. Find out if you like it. Is the output VGA (display and run most software) or lowly CGA (run and display fewer packages?) Is there a port on the back so you can plug in your big monitor to the back of the laptop when you are home or at the office? Do you need to buy an adapter for this? On an airplane tray can the screen be tilted so that the seat in front does not bump into the screen edge? 3) Weight. Fully outfitted with adapters, disks and batteries, what is the real "workday" weight of the laptop? Load the machine and accessories into a carrying case and heft it for a while. Brochures proclaim extremely light weight figures - in real life you will carry the computer and accessories. 4) Price. Determine the REAL price. You will need an AC adapater, carrying case and probably spare battery as a minimum. You will need DOS and some software. Beyond that, most people need a few manufacturer specific cables and sometimes a modem. Add it ALL up. 5) Battery life is a touchy subject - ultimately the attraction of laptops is the opportunity to get work done on the road. Battery life of an hour or so isn't much real work, when you think about it. Two to four hours on a fully charged battery is a working range today. Ask if the laptop has special battery saving features such as sleep mode, pause and resume, user selectable delays for drive and screen refresh use, powerdown mode, capability to change batteries without shutting down the machine and loosing data. Nice features. Is it easy and FAST to change batteries or a real chore? Look at the clasps and snaps as you open and close the battery compartment. 6) Modems. Someday you will need one. Does the laptop have a standard serial modem slot to which any low priced modem can be attached or a proprietary manufacturer specific slot to which ONLY that manufacturer's (expensive) modem will attach? For a few extra dollars consider a modem with combined internal fax send and receive capability which is a godsend for travellers. Much cheaper in the long run than paying your hotel $6 per page to transmit and receive faxes. 7) How much memory can you add to the laptop? For light word processing and spreadsheet work 640K may be all you need. But serious software use, Windows use or high end graphics may require 2 or more Megabytes of memory. How much can you install into the machine? How much will it cost? Can you install the additional memory or must the factory? 8) Drives. A standard 3.5 inch floppy drive is almost essential today. A hard drive, too, if you can afford it. If the laptop has no floppy, you might need to purchase special software and cables to transfer files between your laptop and desktop computer. One more expense. Back to the hard drive for a moment: if you work with large mailing lists, huge databases of clients or unusually large spreadsheets you MUST have a hard drive with larger than average capacity. Between 40MB to 100MB would be a wise investment for hard drive intensive storage applications. 9) Details. Beyond a serial port (for the modem or mouse) does it have a parallel port for a printer? How about capability for an external keyboard? Slot for math coprocessor? Null modem cable for transferring data between other computers. 10) Form follows function. If you plan to use the laptop mostly as your PRIMARY machine at home and work, focus on maximum power and expandable features. If you are a power user of Windows and graphics software you will need VGA display, at least 2MD of ram and at least a 386SX processor. However, if your primary work is spent on the road in planes and trains, pay attention to long battery life and quickly interchangeable battery packs. 11) Consider the new breed of tiny portable printers which work well with laptops. Included are the Diconix 150 Plus which weighs in at 3 pounds, Canon BJ-10 Bubblejet, Citizen PN48 and Star Micronics StarJet SJ-48. All printers will need spare ink cartridges, printer cable, paper, AC power supply and spare batteries. A brief glance at portable computer configurations.... Laptops are for the most part single-piece computer systems weighing in at between 7 to 15 pounds. In most cases the viewing screen opens in a characteristic "clamshell" manner. All are IBM compatible and most will functions from AC or battery power. Most offer some expanability in memory and some, but not all will even accept an expansion board. The latest designs can mater to a "docking module" which adds powerful desktop features when the units are used in a stationary office setting. Prices range from about $700 to well over $5,000 for advanced models. Examples: the Toshiba T4400SX, Librex M386SL, Bondwell B-310SX, Dell 320LT. Notebooks weigh in at 4 to 7 pounds and usually feature both AC and battery power. Both hard drive and floppy drive models are available. Prices range from $700 to about $2,000. By far notebooks are the most popular category in the consumer marketplace and for most users have the best balance of weight, cost and features. Examples: Epson NB3, Dell NX-20, Tandy 1800 HD, Sharp 6220, Tandy 110 HD, NEC 286F UltraLite, Compaq LTE286, Toshiba T1200XE. Palmtops. The smallest of the small. Weighing in at a pound or less these machines features minaturized keyboards, vestpocket size, lack of hard or floppy drives and varying amounts of true IBM compatability. Features are sacrificed in the quest for miniaturization. Some, such as the Hewlett-Packard 95LX contain built in software such as the standard Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. At this writing, only the diminuitive Poqet palmtop is equipped to run most IBM compatable software. Tiny credit card sized memory modules are available for some models. Prices range from aobut $400 to over $2,000. Next, a broader tutorial about buying a computer for the first time. A refresher course for the advanced. An eye opener for the beginner. Some topic areas also address concerns about larger desktop computers as well as smaller laptops - a broad base of information is usually useful so references to desktop computers has been included. Buying a new or used computer is always THE traumatic event. It seems to be easier if you merely NEED one for a definite office or productivity goal such as financial analysis or compiling a mailing list of customers. In that case, you can be logical and evaluate among several machines and take your time. If, however you WANT one because it sounds interesting and you feel a little lost when everyone in the neighborhood is discussing CPU WAIT STATES, you have some serious research ahead! From a use standpoint, start at the beginning: What do you want to do with the computer? What software applications will perform these tasks? After determining answers to those two questions, purchase as much computing power as you can afford which allows you to use all current software of interest as well as retaining the possibility of upgrading the machine later - more memory or a better video display, for example. Simple applications like word processing, accounting and telecommunications may run equally fast on both budget and high end computers while sophisticated software such as drafting, large databases and desktop publishing may run so slowly on a low end computer that your wasted time far offsets the original savings on the budget computer. When in doubt run several software packages which provide features you want on the computer in question. Three technical factors are of interest when purchasing a computer: the type of CPU (central processing unit) which is the brains of a personal computer, the speed of the CPU and finally the choice between 8 bit and 16 bit CPU types. A brief refresher course: A bit is a binary digit used by computers to store and process data. Typically 8 bits are needed to construct a byte or computer character such as a number or letter. Eight bit processors can process one byte or character at a time. Sixteen bit processors can processor two bytes at a time. Faster is better for most folks - although speed has its price... In the IBM world of clone PC's there are four camps of CPU desire and capability. On the low end of price and performance are personal computers of the so-called XT class using the oldest processors such as the Intel 8088 (8 bit data bus outside the CPU and 16 bit data bus inside the CPU) which was used on the original IBM PC. The Intel 8086 CPU, alternatively, provides both 16 bit internal and external construction. A similar CPU is the NEC V-20 chip. Advantages, disadvantages and uses for these XT class machines? XT's are affordable. A basic machine with a couple of floppy drives, monitor and keyboard can be obtained for $300 to $400. XT class machines are useful for small and home office work or light hobbyist use such as word processing and accounting where speed is not of great concern. Generally XT class machines, as with all IBM clones, can be upgraded by the gradual (or immediate) addition of hard drives, color monitors and even faster processors. As a curious aside, this software package was programmed and edited entirely on an XT class machine. In a sense computing power does not derive from the machine, but HOW you use it! When is an XT not a good buy? If you intend to do CAD drafting, work with large database mailing list, or high resolution graphics, an XT is not a wise choice. If you ever to run the OS/2 operating system or Microsoft Windows which are advanced operating and display standards, XT machines are not a good idea. Finally, if you intend to expand the machine to color graphics such as an EGA or VGA standard or install large amounts of memory an XT is probably not an ideal choice. One step up the ladder in performance and price is the AT class machine which runs an Intel (or alternate manufacturer) 80286 CPU chip. The machine is usually 2 to 4 times faster than an XT class machine at perhaps $200 more in price. For most people an AT class machine is a comfortable choice since it can not only run OS/2 and Windows (albeit sluggishly) but also run earlier software programs at greater speeds. AT class machines are considered a "plain vanilla" standard in most office environments and are usually sold with hard drives and additional memory as standard equipment. The 80286 processor also operates in two modes which the 8088 and 8086 cannot: REAL MODE which allows the 80286 CPU to work like an 8088 CPU and PROTECTED MODE which allows access to more RAM memory. In theory, the older 8088 CPU chip can address up to 1 Megabyte of memory. An 8088 CPU always operates in real mode. In protected mode, however, the 80286 CPU can use up to 16 Megabytes of memory which can be an advantage in running both larger, more sophisticated programs as well as earlier programs. In addition, the 80286 CPU can, with the proper software, run several programs simultaneously which is know as MULTITASKING. The benefits of both protected mode and multitasking are somewhat unrealized at present although certain of these benefits can be obtained when running Windows software rather than DOS. Because of this, most users who continue to run DOS use an 80286 computer as a FAST device rather than seeking the advantages of multitasking or protected mode operation. And the 80286 is VERY fast indeed with some manufacturers pushing the CPU to speeds of 25 Mhz. Generally, adding additional upgrade equipment such as EGA monitors and laser printers is a good investment with an AT machine but a poor idea with an XT machine. The AT machine uses a 16 bit bus structure for rapid data flow while the older XT class machine uses a more primitive 8 bit bus. AT class machines run graphics and CAD programs relatively quickly. Hard drives operate quickly on an AT class machine with its larger 16 bit bus. It is a good choice for the small home office doing word processing, accounting, light desktop publishing, medium sized database mailing lists and so forth. Still higher up the food chain are 80386 and 80386SX CPU equipped machines which are still faster and provide a few more whistles and bells. They can run software which XT and AT class machines run, only FASTER. They are the machines of choice for office LAN networks, intensive graphics, CAD programming, Windows, OS/2, compilers and other number intensive programs. Curiously, though, the 80386 data bus remains 16 bits wide in most of these machines and there is no "OS/3" operating system, so the performance you derive is speed without additional whistles and bells. For most users, a "386" machine is mostly an office computer which a home or hobby user might admire but rarely need. Intel corrected the problem of switching from real mode to protected mode - a design flaw of the 80286 - and added a third mode called virtual mode which allows the CPU to act as if several "separate" 8088 computers are all running within one machine. In addition the 80386 chip is a true 32 bit CPU which processes four bytes or characters at a time. This 32 bit structure effectively makes the 80386 CPU twice as fast as the 80286 CPU. Finally, the 80386 can directly address a whopping four gigabytes of memory if available which is 256 times larger than the amount of memory the 80286 can address! The downside is that many of these advantages cannot be realized when running DOS. Windows or OS/2 operating systems provide access to these advanced features. Speed and additional memory capability is the primary byproduct of operating an 80386 within a DOS environment. The 80386SX is an affordable variant of the 80386 CPU. The key difference is that it uses an EXTERNAL 16 bit data bus outside the CPU which is similar to that used on conventional 80286 or AT class computers. Internally it is quite similar to its big brother, the 80386, and offers similar multitasking modes and memory addressing. It can run all of the software the 80386 machine can, albeit slightly more slowly. These design compromises allow manufacturers to produce an affordable computer with a good balance of speed and cost. For many users needing a powerful computer which can run all current and most future software, the 80386SX is an enviable balance of performance versus price and offers superior memory management, optimum speed and ability to run current and future software. The primary reason to select a 80386 over the 80386SX involves the need for higher speed processing, ability to run 32-bit software and advanced multitasking. Before introducing the fourth Intel CPU, the 80486, two new concepts must be mentioned: memory caching and mathcoprocessing. As the speed of the CPU becomes faster, the RAM memory chips where data is stored have difficulty moving data into and out of the CPU. Memory caching involves special high speed RAM memory chips - typically an amount from 64K to 128K - in addition to the normal memory chips within the computer. These high speed chips are expensive but keep data poised to quickly move in and out of the CPU. Memory caching should not be confused with disk caching which is another concept used when discussing hard drives. A second way to increase performance is to install a math coprocessor chip into the empty socket which is available on most computers. This device shares the processing of specific numeric operations which can slow the CPU. Only certain types of software support math coprocessors such as some CAD, spreadsheet and graphics software. Not all software benefits from the use of a math coprocessor. The 80486 CPU combines the features of the 80386 chip plus the addition of a self-contained on-chip coprocessor and memory cache. Although the memory cache is small, a mere 8K, it is extremely effective since it is onboard with the CPU itself. The 80486 is useful for advanced scientific applications, CAD drafting, graphics and high speed LAN (local area network) shared computers in an office environment. An 80486SX CPU is also available which is essentially a "poor man's" 80486 with a smaller external data bus. Back to CPU clock speed. Older XT (8088 CPU) machines operate at a relatively slow speed of 4.7 to 10.0 Mhz or Megahertz. One Megahertz equals one million cycles of electricity per second. AT class machines (80286 CPU) operate in regions of 10 to 25 Mhz while 80386 and 80486 machines operate at speeds in the 20 to 40Mhz region. Obviously faster is better especially when it comes to colorful graphics displays, CAD drafting, large spreadsheets and massive programming tasks. However simple word processing, small business accounting and routine mailing list management is more than adequate at 4.7 Mhz. The need for speed is relative to the computing task at hand! Let's backtrack for a moment and discuss RAM memory. Most computers are sold with a specific amount of memory installed on the main "motherboard". Increments of 640K to 1Meg of memory are common. It is commonly advertised that additional memory may be added as "expandable on the motherboard" to some upper limit such as 4Meg or 8Meg. Thus the user can easily install plug in chips of SIMM's (single inline memory modules) to sockets on the motherboard. If possible, insist on SIMM memory modules which are simpler for the average user to install rather than earlier DRAM chips. Additional plug in memory boards can also be installed into computers having an 80286 or higher CPU. Up to 16 Meg of RAM memory is possible on 80286 CPU equipped computers. Why install more memory beyond the 640K which DOS can address? For fast memory caching, RAM disks, TSR installations, access to programs which can use either or both expanded or extended memory, to run the Windows operating system or OS/2. These software requirements are not terribly exotic - but are simply ways to improve performance and speed for more experienced computer users. The hard disk is also a consideration in any computer purchase. CPU speed is determined by the clock speed of the computer while hard drive speed is determined by two factors: access speed and drive type. Extremely fast hard drives operate at 18 milliseconds access time or faster. Bargain computer hard drives operates in the range of 28 to 40 milliseconds. Hard drives must also be mated to a controller circuit which offers its own blend of performance and economy. MFM and RLL drive/controller combinations are earlier and less expensive hard drives while ESDI, IDE and SCSI drives are faster and more expensive high performance options. Floppy drives come is various configurations. Budget computers may contain only a 1.2MB floppy drive and hard drive. This configuration can read two floppy densities: 1.2MB and 360K floppies. A more flexible computer contains a hard drive, 1.2MB floppy and 1.44MB floppy. This computer can read four floppy formats: 1.2MM, 1.44MB, 720K and 360K. Ask if a budget computer can later be upgraded to include other drive configurations. The new smaller drives housing the rigid "mini floppies" such as the 1.44MB and 720K formats hold 20% to 50% more data in a sturdy plastic case with spring loaded dust door. Monochrome displays are suitable for low end word processing but today's software usually requires VGA color resolution as a minimum. An affordable option is a VGA video card and a MONOCHROME (black and white) VGA monitor which provides an acceptable 64 shades of gray with most modern software applications. Several sources of computer equipment are available - each with a different flavor. 1) Manufacturer direct or direct sales, such as Dell, Northgate and Zeos. This method usually assures relatively high quality at fairly attractive price savings since you are dealing directly with those who design and manufacture the computer. Service is usually good, via telephone, FAX and BBS. The downside is that you must deal through the mail and await delivery. Price is very attractive, but not necessarily the lowest available. 2) Retail vendors such as Computerland or Tandy. Convenience is the factor here since service, returns and delivery is handled locally. You pay slightly higher for this additional convenience. Generally this is the most expensive computer purchase option. 3) Mail Order Houses. Almost 15 percent of PC sales are conducted by mail. Mail order houses do not completely design and build their own systems like direct sellers but rely on imported and pre-manufactured assemblies. Technical phone support can be variable, but if you shop carefully, you can save even more over local retail or manufacturer direct channels. Mail order sources are available in newsstand magazines such as Computer Shopper and PC Sources. 4) VAR's or Resellers. These specialized vendors usually provide systems in volume frequently with "value added" features such as special software setup, training or unique customization of computer systems. 5) Home brewers. The ready availability of computer components has spawned a cottage industry of small shops, some in home or low rent office spaces which can custom design a system or allow you to build your own computer using parts and facilities which they provide. These small, minimum overhead operations can provide extremely low prices but guarantees and service contracts should be provided in writing and background of the vendor should be investigated carefully. What are some questions and requirements in purchasing a system? What speeds are available on the CPU? 10 Mhz is standard on XT's with 12 to 20 Mhz on AT's and 33 mhz on 80386 machines. How many free slots are available on the internal motherboard for expansion with future upgrade circuits? Five to eight expansion slots is desirable except on small laptop computers. Is there both a serial and parallel port? How many of each? Mouse port? Is a clock chip included? How big is the hard drive? 40 to 80 Meg is considered somewhat standard in size today for most hard drives although smaller 20 meg hard drives are useful for light office use computers. How many bays are available for extra drives? Two is minimum. How many floppies? What size of floppies? Most computers today minimally have either two floppies OR one floppy and one hard drive. Who makes the hard drive? Seagate, Connor and Miniscribe are considered reasonable, although not exclusive choices. Who makes the floppy drive? Teac, Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba are considered reputable in floppy manufacture. Whose BIOS chip powers the machine? Phoenix, Award and AMI Bios chips are all fine. How much memory is installed on the motherboard. 640K is a bare minimum for all machines with 80286 and 80386 machines usually offered with at least two to four Megs of RAM memory. Any memory cache chips? Any coprocessor installed? Coprocessor socket available? What warranty covers the product and for how long? Does the warranty cover both parts and labor? Does the vendor have sufficient inventory to replace the entire computer if problems arise? Is there a different warranty for the printer? Who provides the service? What is the vendor's return policy AND refund policy. Is there a restocking charge? Is there a discount or change in price when dealing by check or charge card? How long has the vendor been in business? Is the warranty 90 days, one year or two years as some manufacturers are now offering? Money back guarantee? How long? 30, 60, 90 days? What type of refund on this guarantee: store credit, cash, exchange? Will you put it in writing? Shipping and handling fee? Visa card surcharge? How good is technical support? Is there a toll-free support line? 24 hours or limited hours? Is there a BBS (modem) telephone line for support? Is maintenance performed on site (the customer's location) or only at the vendor's location? Response time? Special conditions? Is the on-site service essentially the same in terms, such as parts and labor, as off-site? Has the vendor sold computers to buyers in your business specialty (medical, for example). References? How long has the vendor been in business? What is the estimated life of the PC? Of the hard drive? How far can it be upgraded? In RAM memory? How many expansion slots? Can the CPU be upgraded? The display and graphics card? What is the MTBF or mean time between failure of the components such as the hard drive and printer according to printed manufacturer's literature? Does the computer come with ALL the parts you will need such as monitor and graphics card? On many bare bones systems this is extra. Are the accessories from the same manufacturer? Is the item available for immediate shipment or is a backorder the option of the moment? When will it be shipped? Has there been a recent price increase? Any financing options available from the vendor which offer advantage over bank or credit card purchase? Leasing options? Bank financing carried by the vendor? What bank? Extras included with purchase? Documentation? DOS software? What version? DOS 5.0 is the latest. Mouse? Software installed on the hard drive? Is it legal software? Is is commercial software? Shareware? Any training classes provided? When? How often. Brush up training free? What utilities and extra software comes with the machine? Any hard drive menu systems or utility software? How is the documentation? Really good or just whatever the manufacturer had translated? What display monitor and card are included (if any)? VGA is standard. EGA is minimum. CGA and Hercules are the bare minimum. Are printer cables included with purchase of the printer? Any spare printer ink cartridges included? How is the keyboard. Springy and clicky with a tactile feel or just mushy and so so? Is the Basic programming language included or is this an extra cost. Will the manufacturer throw in a software package suitable for beginners such as Microsoft Works? Is the machine FCC class B certified (the best) or class A (acceptable)? What is the interleave on the hard drive (1:1 is fastest)? Is the keyboard an 84 key type or 101 key type? Is the computer case metal or plastic? How hard or easy is it to pop the cover and install new circuit cards? Does the keyboard plug into the front or back of the machine? The front plug option is a sometimes more handy. Is the reset and on/off switch on the front, back or side of the machine? Front is again more handy. Panel lights on the machine to indicate CPU speed and hard drive use? Keylock for security? How many copies of the key? Does your key fit all the computers in the store too? Does a local computer club/user group buy from the vendor which might provide personal references who can discuss why they bought from that vendor? For those who wish to read published reviews concerning specific brands of computers, printers, monitors, modems and software: the most complete resource is PC Magazine published by Ziff- Davis and available at most libraries and many newsstands. PC Magazine editors usually select one or two items within a product classification as their "Editors Choice." The complete index to both PC Magazine as well as their product review index is contained in their on-line modem service PC MagNet. Instructions for reaching PC Magnet by modem are contained in the Utilities section included within each issue of PC Magazine. For product reviews of hardware and software you may wish to download the PC MagNet files PCM.EXE, PCSRCH.EXE and PCM.INF which are quite large. The files occupy more than 2 Megabytes of disk space and require about 1.5 hours of somewhat expensive modem connect time. Alternatively, you can reach the same index of products on line within PC MagNet by typing GO REVIEWS which allows you to search the product review database directly. A larger database of 130 periodicals and their respective product reviews can be viewed by typing GO COMPLIB from within PC MagNet. Additional product review sources are suggested on page 27 of the June 26, 1990 issue of PC Magazine (Vol 9 No 12.) Page 397 of the same issue contains instructions on reaching and using PC MagNet by modem. If you do not have a modem or a friend with that capability, a low-tech method for reviewing specific computer hardware and software recommendations is to visit a local library which contains back issues of PC Magazine. Glance at the magazine cover for highlights of products reviewed in that issue. If you work your way from the current issue backwards in time for 6 to 12 months, you should find detailed reviews on the equipment you are investigating. Many computer clubs maintain a library of PC Magazine issues and may be a source if your local library does not subscribe to the magazine. Yet another way to constructively shop for computer equipment is to obtain free catalogs which are provided at no charge by reputable computer vendors and manufacturers. See the listing of free equipment catalogs contained in the recommended reading/bibliography section elsewhere on this disk. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 22 BASIC COMMANDMANTS OF COMPUTER CONSUMERISM ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Does the computer contain sufficient RAM memory and CPU speed for the applications you intend to run and how easy is it to add more memory? A 80286 computer may be fine for word processing, for example, but a poor choice for extensive desktop publishing. 2) Is the computer FCC approved with an FCC sticker? Class A or B? Class B is better since it means certified for home use and theoretically emits less objectionable static radiation. 3) Have you identified the software you will (or might) be using? Can the machine run that software? Is DOS included with your machine? 4) As your needs change in time, will the machine expand or change with those needs? 5) Is the outer case of the computer large enough to accommodate additional expansion circuit boards? How many? 6) Is the power supply sufficiently large for future expansion? What is the wattage of the power supply? Is the fan noise low or NERVE WRACKING? 7) How many and what kind of floppy drives do you need? 8) Is the hard disk (if the machine contains one) certified for use with the internal controller board which operates it? What make on the controller card and hard drive? 9) Is the hard disk set with the correct interleave factor? 10) Will your dealer offer superior service after the sale? Who does the service? Where? Any free training classes? 11) Are all warranties in writing and how do they compare to other dealers warranties in writing? 12) What kind of monitor will you need and does the video adapter card inside the computer allow for monitor upgrades and will it display the software you intend to use? 13) Are you buying the computer or a sales pitch? 14) Are the internal components industry standard? Especially the floppy and hard drives. What brands? 15) Is the dealer trying to sell you more/less than you need? 16) Have you set a realistic budget? 17) Have you gathered information for all sources such as friends, magazine reviews, stores and advertisements? Are you relying on one computer guru from work or, more wisely, several? 18) If the price is far below the average, something is missing. What is it? Quality of the hard drive, lack of higher resolution video, toll free telephone support, software such as DOS? 19) Determine the REAL price by extracting hidden additional shipping charges, credit card surcharges, restocking charge if item returned. 20) Pay by credit card if possible since if you end in dispute, your credit card company can go to bat for you and issue a credit until the dispute is resolved. In addition, many credit cards automatically double the manufacturer's warranty. 21) Get details in writing. What is the salesperson's name? What is the exact shipping date? 24 hours? same day? Get it in writing via FAX. Retain the ORIGINAL AD which promoted the computer. A paper trail established early is the best protection. Retain warranty cards long enough to test all equipment functions first! If you mail in manufacturer's warranty cards too quickly, you may have to settle for warranty coverage rather than replacement by the vendor. 22) Retain all original cartons and packing material. Many vendors ABSOLUTELY require it in case of return! ---------------------------------------------------------------- MUSCLE FOR COMPUTER CONSUMERS - THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you are dealing with a mail order supplier, Federal Trade Commission rules apply! Essentially the vendor must ship the order within 30 days of receiving it unless the advertisement states otherwise. If a delay will be experienced in shipment, the vendor must notify you in writing of a definite new shipment date and also offer you the chance to cancel the order with full refund. That notice must include a stamped or self-addressed envelope or card which allows you to indicate your choice. If you do not respond, the seller may rightfully assume you accept the delay. However, the vendor must either ship or cancel the original order within 30 days after the original shipping date which was promised. Any refunds for order cancellation must be made promptly. Even if you accept an indefinite delay, you have the right to cancel the original order at any time before the item is shipped. If you chose to cancel any order, which has been paid by check or money order, the vendor must mail a refund within seven business days excluding weekends and holidays. Likewise if the order was paid for by credit card, the vendor must credit your account within one business cycle following your cancellation request. Store credits and other methods or offers of similar merchandise are NOT acceptable unless you agree. If the original item is not available, a substitute item, even if similar, is not acceptable unless the vendor has your consent. Report violations to the Federal Trade Commission whose phone number is usually listed in the blue pages (government section) of your local telephone book. Tell the vendor you are reporting violations to the FTC and mail the vendor a copy of the letter you wrote to the FTC. This usually brings action quickly. One primary conduit for recourse is the Direct Marketing Association which maintains an action line for problem resolution. First you should attempt to deal directly with the seller, but if a problem is not promptly resolved you may wish to contact the Mail Order Action Line, c/o DMA, 6 East 43rd Street, NY, NY 10017. The first step in any attempt to seek redress from a vendor is to notify the supplier in writing that the item is defective and include a copy of the invoice with information as to model, price, date of order and account number if available. Retain a copy of your letter seeking refund or replacement. Any phone calls should be followed by a letter. Generally do not return the item to the vendor until told how and when to do so, since many have formal return policies and require "return authorization numbers" which are usually issued to you by phone or in writing. The return authorization number accompanies the defective item on its return. Keep a copy of the shipping receipt and packing slip. Any rights to recover postal or shipping costs is determined by the policy of that vendor as is usually stated in advertising and product literature. You may also consider contacting the attorney general for the state in which you live as well as the state in which the vendor does business. This can be MOST effective especially if you send a copy of that letter to the vendor. If the product was paid for with a credit card, you may also retain the right to withhold payment or cancel payment which is usually arranged directly with your bank or credit card issuing agency. This is explained under provisions of the Federal Fair Credit Billing Act. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. COMPUTING TIPS, TRICKS AND TRAPS PLUS COMMENTS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE COMPUTING ---------------------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it takes months or years to stumble onto the ESSENTIAL tips, tricks and traps with which every PC user should become acquainted. Let's discuss a few of the more important items which never seem to be covered adequately in the instruction book which arrives with the computer. Many of these tips apply to both laptops and desktop computers. If you are an advanced user, glance at all of the tips - this tutorial contains a sprinkling of basic, intermediate and advanced tips. A little something for everyone! Let's begin.... Don't experiment with ORIGINAL copies of your files! If you want to tinker with a word processing file or slice and dice your accounting data FIRST make a floppy or hard disk copy of the file and then work on the COPY in case something goes wrong. That way you will have the original to fall back on in case you need it. Don't buy floppy disks when the price is too good to believe. If your data is worth anything at all, a few pennies more can make the difference between having that important business letter obtainable or a dreaded error message on the screen that your file format is unreadable just when you needed that file at 3 AM. Make backup copies of important files. If the data is REALLY important, keep yet a second or third copy in a safe deposit box in case your home or office burns down! Sounds a little severe, but just wait until you discover the joy of doing your income tax return on your PC (fantastic compared to the old pen and pencil way) and then discover somehow the ONLY copy of the file is no good when the IRS decides to perform a routine audit! For backup you might want to switch from the COPY command to the sensational DOS XCOPY command (available in DOS versions 3.2 and later) which also allows file copying and backup using additional parameter switches which you can read about in your DOS manual. For example the /S switch used with XCOPY will copy all files from your subdirectories to the new target disk. Adding /P to XCOPY will cause a pause at each step to ask whether you want each file copied. Using the /D switch followed by a date will allow you to copy only those files created or modified on that date or later. All three of these switches can be used in tandem. Here's a standard tip which is so simple most people overlook it. Whenever you buy a box of new diskettes, FORMAT them immediately. Why? Reason one: you will find out if any disks are bad and be able to return to the store rather than be down to your last (surprise: defective!) disk when you need it. Reason two: usually you are right in the middle of a long word processed document and need to save the file, but OOPS, your current disk is full. No problem. Just reach into the desk drawer and grab an empty floppy disk. SURPRISE! The floppy disk is NOT FORMATTED which forces you to exit your word processor, lose the data permanently from RAM memory, and format the disk just as you should have in the first place. Beginners luck, I guess. . . Here's an extremely important tip most beginners should consider: AT class computers and those containing a 80286 CPU chip also contain a special battery to maintain the "setup configuration." This battery will eventually die and thus cause you to lose your important setup data. The first sign that your battery is going are mysterious losses of time and dates. Other "strange" data losses may start to occur. Eventually your computer will even refuse to start! Preventative maintenance suggests that you dig around on your DOS disk(s) and locate the SETUP program. Run setup and when you see the configuration report screen (lots of funny numbers and settings), hit the SHIFT-PRTSC (Shift key and Print Screen key pressed at the same time). This will force a printout of the valuable setup data to paper. You can also obtain shareware and commercial software programs that will store this data to disk. Most experienced users deal with the situation by making a copy of this setup data onto a "safety disk." If your battery dies, you will be able to quickly reconstruct the setup data from your paper sheet or safety disk after replacing the battery and running the setup program (or safety disk backup program.) A better method, of course, is to realize that the battery contained inside the computer lasts for about 2 to 4 years and simply keep a record (much like oil changes on your car) and manually replace it well before the deadline. Of course when you replace it, run the setup program and record the setup data on paper, since once you remove the battery the data will be lost from memory. You might investigate newer battery systems which automatically recharge themselves from the power source of the computer and thus never need replacement. IBM originally designed this feature, by the way, to supplant the older "dip switch system" on the first PC's. In older computers of the XT design, a user had to remove the PC cover and carefully set tiny switches deep inside the computer whenever a different circuit board or monitor system was used. This was tedious, so the software equivalent of the tiny switches were created in memory with settings stored by battery (when the computer was shut down). This allowed users to change the setup from the keyboard using the DOS setup program from the DOS disk rather than removing the cover and fiddling with switches. The downside is that now we must replace the battery periodically and of course record the setup data on paper or disk. Technology marches on! Here's an "insider's" tip power users are familiar with. When working with long text or document files such as instructions for shareware packages, business letters and other text files it is frequently useful to extract small portions to a separate file or print for future reference. Power users frequently use the shareware program LIST which browses or displays these documents and can "clip" screens using the frequently overlooked ALT-O key (press and hold ALT then hit O). Assuming LIST is currently browsing your document, it will ask for the name of a file to create which you may supply (e.g., custom.doc). List will extract that single screen of data to the file. As you continue browsing the document, hitting ALT-O will append or add any additional screens to the special target file! When finished you have a compact file of extracted text data which you can save, print or edit with your word processor rather than wading through endless screens of the lengthy master document! LIST is available from all shareware vendors, many computer clubs and individual users. Several shareware vendors are listed in the tutorial on software. Want the ultimate simple database? Combine LIST with any simple word processor or text editor. Using your word processor type in any list of ideas, phone numbers, addresses, parts inventory which needs to be tracked. Save the information on disk as an ASCII (plain text) file. Load the file into LIST using the appropriate command (e.g., LIST INFO.DOC) and use the high speed search feature by pressing the F key (F for find) and enter a search phrase to locate (e.g., Denver). List will locate that phrase and the information near it very rapidly. Pressing the F3 key will take you to the NEXT occurrence of the same search phrase. When finished, hit the HOME key to return to the top of the document to begin a new search. Technically you could use your word processor's search feature to locate information also, but LIST is quicker and more flexible. To update your simple database, periodically edit the master document with your word processor to change, delete or update entries. When you turn on your computer each morning does DOS greet you with several prompts instead of one? Do you see: C> C> C> This is easy to fix since most beginners are unaware that someone has probably tinkered with the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and inadvertantly added a few extra carriage returns to the end of the file by pressing the return key several times when the file was orginally created and saved on disk. Simply load AUTOEXEC.BAT back into your word processor and remove all (usually invisible) lines and spaces and carriage returns at the end of the file (use the delete key). Resave the file as ASCII text with the same name and your problem should disappear. Beginners also need to know about the alternate keyboard. Sometimes you need a special symbol like the cents sign, the British currency (pounds sterling) symbol, or the one half fraction sign. IBM compatable computers contain an "alternate keyboard" system which allows access to special math, foreign language and graphics symbols. The source is a special ASCII chart printed in the appendix of your DOS manual as well as most computer reference books. It's easy to use this system: while you are in your word processor, DOS or other program, press AND CONTINUOUSLY HOLD DOWN the Alt key and then USING ONLY THE NUMBER KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD (to the right of the keyboard, not the normal number keys above the keyboard) hit the three digit DECIMAL number code of the special character you need. For example, from the ASCII table in the back of my DOS manual I note that the symbol for the British currency Pound is decimal code 156. I hold down the Alt key, press in sequence the three numbers 156 on the numeric keypad and finally release the ALT key to get the proper symbol on my screen. There are many useful symbols for foreign languages, math, fractions, foreign currency, symbols to draw boxes, lines and useful graphics symbols. Note that these ASCII symbols will usually display properly on your screen but MIGHT NOT print properly on your printer since some are used for special control codes and other activities. Many will, however, display on both your screen and printer. Jot down the codes for the most interesting ASCII symbols to keep near your keyboard! By the way, PC-Magazine published a shareware utility called ASC.COM several years ago (available from many computer clubs and BBS systems) which can "pop up" over many of your programs and display the full ASCII code table for quick reference and handy use if you don't want to go searching for the ASCII index in the back of your DOS manual. Before leaving the discussion about the alternate keyboard, note that crucial control of your printer - setting various typefaces and features - can be provided via a combination of batch files and use of the alternate keyboard. See the printer discussion at the end of the batch file tutorial elsewhere on this disk. Absolutely lethal trick: If you get the message ABORT, RETRY IGNORE? from DOS while you are attempting to copy files from one drive or disk to another DO NOT EVER switch disks in the target drive (i.e., the drive to which files will be sent) then answer RETRY. If you do, you will end up with a hopelessly scrambled mess on the target disk if it already has important files in place. This can occur, for example, when you try to copy files to a disk which has a write protect tab in place. Your temptation might be to insert another different disk and retry. However, when DOS copies files, it first reads the directory of the target disk and stores it in memory. If you switch disks, the in-memory copy of the directory of the OLD disk will overwrite the directory of the new disk. Best situation in this case is to answer abort and rekey the operation again (shortcut with DOS is hit F3 to automatically reissue the last command) then try another disk, if necessary. There are other ways this dangerous situation might arise besides a write protect tab, so be careful. Don't install or change add-in circuit boards or cards within your computer with the power on. And be extremely careful about static electricity. Try to briefly touch a metal ground such as a lamp or metal window frame to discharge stray static electricity before you touch your fingers inside the PC. Static electricity discharges can blow out one or several integrated circuit chips and leave you with a repair bill of $300 or more! If you ever see the message: ARE YOU SURE (Y/N)? always answer no unless you really know what is going to happen next! This message usually precedes disaster as DOS prepares to delete all of the files on a floppy disk or format your hard drive and wipe out all data. Don't invite dumb power problems. You are typing the last draft of a valuable client contract and your 30 foot long power cord dangles in front of both family cats on its meandering way across the middle of the living room carpet to the wall socket. It is plugged into a rat's nest of four way plug adapters along with high-current drawing air conditioners and toaster ovens. This is a great way to send your data to toaster heaven while we are on the subject. Treat your hard drive with EXTREME tender loving care while it is spinning. No bumps, jolts, slams or ramma-lamma-ding-dongs! One little bump will send the read/write heads plowing into the spinning disk surface. Kind of like a 747 jet crash into the library of congress. Translation: large data catastrophe! If your data is sensitive and you lock the keyboard with that cute little key which slips into the front panel of your machine, DON'T forget to remove the mouse or other input devices. Since a mouse is an alternate input device, a savvy user can easily direct the computer to spill forth its information even while the keyboard is locked. Use the DOS command DISKCOPY in ONLY two cases: to make a backup copy of new commercial software OR when you have somehow damaged a disk and want to work on it with the Norton utilities or some other recovery program. For all other copies you are safer to use the COPY or XCOPY command. Reason? DISKCOPY does not remove file fragmentation which COPY does. Second reason? DISKCOPY can attempt to copy good information onto a target disk sector which has formatted bad or is otherwise unavailable to DOS. Use COPY *.* to copy all files on a disk and you will simultaneously copy everything and unfragment the files. Two operations for the price of one! Thunderstorm coming? Shut down the computer and unplug it from the wall INCLUDING the modem or telephone line! LIghtning hits to the power or phone line send very high voltages hurtling down the wire. If you prefer you can leave the computer plugged in and chose as to whether you wish your PC scrambled, sunnyside up or just deep fried! Never switch or remove disks in the middle of an aborted program operation. If for some reason you get an error message in the middle of a file copying session or disk writing operation, don't swap in another disk! DOS may think the old disk is still there and continue to write the remainder of the data over something valuable on the new disk! Better to stop what you are doing and issue a non-writing command such as VER or DIR or even shut down the computer in extreme situations rather than mangle two disks with misinformation. Be careful using the DOS commands ASSIGN, FORMAT and RECOVER. Especially if you are being a little too clever and change disk drive letters with the DOS commands ASSIGN, JOIN and SUBST. What happens is that you might temporarily rename your hard drive the B: drive and then absent-mindedly try to format B: or recover B: which will lead to a lot of deleted data on your hard drive. Generally the RECOVER command is best removed from your DOS subdirectory and never used. It is just too dangerous! If you delete some files by accident, Norton Utilities, PC Tools and several other utility programs can bring them back if you are quick to use them and haven't created or changed any files since the accident. Best to go out and get a copy of Norton, PC Tools or a shareware unerase utility (e.g., Bakers Dozen) before the need arises. Then practice using them on a dummy disk for the likely day you need them. Be careful when using the powerful DOS redirection and piping commands discussed in our earlier DOS tutorial. (example) a>sort < this.doc (sorts contents of this.doc on column one and displays contents on the monitor - a nice idea!) (example) a>sort > this.doc (trashes any existing this.doc and gives it a file length of zero! Bad news!) The same advice also applies to using the MORE command with redirection arrows < > since you can likewise wipe out data files. Watch the direction of those cute little redirection arrows! Same thing applies to using the redirection arrows when you write batch files. Look at the sample line from a batch file listing below: (example) ECHO -------->This message is important! In the above example, DOS will erroneously think the little > redirection symbol is telling it to create a file named THIS and use ECHO to redirect text from that line of the batch file into the file. A goofy, dangerous result! Another good boner is the following batch file example: (example) ECHO Now use the c>prompt to return to DOS The above perfectly innocent batch file line creates a file called PROMPT because DOS spots the > symbol and does what you told it to do! Instructions mean business! If program documentation says MUST BE USED ON A COLOR MONITOR don't try to run it on your hercules or monochrome system. Software can indeed destroy a monitor and it only takes a second! Know what your monitor and display card can handle and be SURE that the intended software matches hardware capabilities. If you suspect a business or individual may be illegally using a commercial software package, for example buying one copy and then installing MANY copies on various machines, you should report the violation to the Software Publishers Association. Call tollfree: 800/388-7478. SPA use of Federal and State law enforcement methods is sudden and highly visible. The SPA is quite aggressive on this point. The majority of calls received by the SPA are from "whistleblowing" employees within a business which is illegally using software. If you use a RAMDISK to hold data be sure to stop every half hour and copy the information into a more permanent floppy or hard disk area in case of power failures. In fact every half hour, check to see that your data from ANY program is transferred to magnetic disk. No exceptions! For those using the newer disks having 1.44 Meg and 720 K sizes - those little plastic diskettes - don't swap and mix formats willy nilly. Label the diskettes clearly and know the format density (1.44M or 720K) with which you are working. If data is sensitive and you want it GONE from snooping eyes, use a utility like Norton's WIPEFILE to truly delete it from the disk so an office curiosity seeker can't bring it back with an unerase utility! Likewise, some word processors create backup files having the extension BAK. You may think you have deleted that sensitive client proposal when a second document CLIENT.BAK also exists! DOS manuals make reference to the VERIFY command. You can add the /V switch to the COPY command to supposedly verify the accuracy of the second file copy. Likewise you can turn VERIFY ON and VERIFY OFF from within your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Unfortunately, the VERIFY command does a rudimentary CRC check which can test only gross errors in file transfers. To be sure the second copy is good, use the COMP command which, although slow, is deadly reliable when you "gotta be sure." The FC command found in MSDOS versions is even better and DOS manuals discuss its use. Likewise use the DISKCOMP command whenever you use DISKCOPY if you absolutely have to be certain that the second diskette is PERFECTLY identical to the first. Our next tip concerns computing devices and services to assist the disabled: AbleData, Adaptive Equipment Dept, Newington Children's Hospital, 181 E Cedar St, Newington, CT 06111 800/344-5405 Accent on Information, POB 700, Bloomington, IL 61702 309/378-2961. Apple Computer, Office of Special Educ. and Rehab., 20525 Mariani Ave. MS 43F, Cupertino, CA 95014 408/996-1010 Closing the Gap, POB 68, Henderson, MN 56044 612/248-3294 Direct Link of the Disabled, POB 1036, Solvang, CA 93463 805/688-1603 Easter Seals Systems Office, 5120 S. Hyde Park Blvd, Chicago, IL 60615 312/667-8626 IBM National Support Center for People with disabilities, POB 2150, Atlanta, GA 30055 800/426-2133 Proceedings of Johns Hopkins National Search for Computing Applications to Assist Persons with Disabilities. IEEE Computer Society Press, 10662 Los Vaqueros Circle, POB 3014, Los Alamitos, CA 90720-1264 American Foundation for the Blind, 15 W. 16th St, NY, NY 10011 212/620-2000 Trace Research and Devmpmnt, Univ of Wisconson, Madison Room S- 151, Waisman Ctr, 1500 Highland Ave., Madison WI 53705 608/262-6966 National ALS Association, 21021 Ventura Blvd, Ste 321, Woodland Hills, CA 91364 818/340-7500 ---------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE COMPUTING ---------------------------------------------------------------- Computing has impacts on the earth and I would like to share a few constructive suggestions and tips about saving resources and protecting the environment. Computing uses paper. Keep two wastebaskets by your desk and recycle. Same for cardboard packing boxes and packing materials which arrive with computing equipment. But let's go a little deeper with the paper issue: Do you really need to print on multiple part carbonless forms and heavyweight computer paper? I use a lightweight 18# paper in my little dot matrix printer. How about carbonless and two part forms? The chemicals used in the manufacture of carbonless paper are toxic. Do you really need a two part form (or 6 part form in the case of some corporations which go wild with multipart forms?) Why not see if a single part form can be made with a tear off stub or perhaps a file saving feature in the software that traps the data and saves it to disk for "your copy" of the form? Just like banks: ask the customer if they want their checks back: meaning does your customer need seven copies of a form or will your monthly invoice statement cover the bill? Environmentally responsible computing also means ONLY upgrading machines when you really need to or buying a used computer. Here's why: the manufacture of integrated circuits used in computers uses large amounts of concentrated acids, gasses and caustic chemicals. These are stored, recycled or (hopefully) dumped into approved waste sites in normal practice, but the point is do you really need the latest machine and its impact on our planet given the toxic nature of computer manufacturing processes? This package was written on an XT class machine. I don't need anything better, and when I do, I hope to find a USED "recycled" computer of higher quality rather than buying a new one. Same with printers, modems and so forth! Here in Seattle, several computer brokers specialize in reselling used computers on consignment. Head that direction for your next purchase! It's less expensive and helps the planet! As a commercial photographer by training, I use a Seattle film lab for some of my photo processing. The lab uses an 8 1/2 by 11 inch TWO part carbonless form to log in each order, they later mail me a THREE part carbonless invoice for EACH order within a few days by mail, then a final billing statement at the end of the month AND they have 4 computer terminals in the order processing customer counter area of the lab! I am sure their accounting is extraordinarily well documented, but there may not be enough trees on this earth to support this kind of "information flow" if every business operated this way. I could do with a small claim stub when I drop off my film, a little itemization printed on the paper envelope which contains the finished order and perhaps a monthly statement printed on recycled paper to summarize the account activity. The ironic footnote is that the same lab has a sign prominently posted in the lobby as to willingness to accept cardboard and plastic (from things like film containers) for the benefit of the environment! Clearly the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing and sadly computers are pushing the waste factor in this real life example. If you suspect I am beating the environmental drum too loudly, back up and consider the financial COST to an operation like the film lab mentioned above. Unwise from the financial end and equally unwise from the environmental end. Computing uses electricity. If you are just stepping out of the office for a half hour or so, it is probably best for the machine to leave it on and the hard drive spinning to prevent the wear and tear of machine startup which eventually wears out a hard drive. However, turn off the monitor if you are away for even short periods using its own separate power switch (leaving the PC on) even if you use screen blanker software since the monitor is still drawing power! When should you turn off the machine completely? Use the two hour rule: if you are away from the PC NO MORE than two hours, leave the machine on. If away MORE than two hours, shut it off. Also factor in the dust argument which follows: Don't leave a PC on all night or LONG periods of time. The dust sucked through your machine by constant fan use will more than offset the savings in wear and tear you may gain by leaving the hard drive spinning! The dust impacts the power supply which is the heart of the system. If the power supply goes bad due to overheating (because of a thick blanket of internal dust) it can destroy your entire PC! For the curious or mechanically adept, open the power supply WITH ALL APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS IN AN UNPLUGGED AND COMPLETELY DISCHARGED MACHINE. You will be stunned by the dust you see! I regularly take my pc and power supply cover off and give the internals a LIGHT blast of compressed air (not ozone-destroying freon) to free the dust and help the machine run cooler. I do this every six months. Do a calculation for your office on your PC: how much wattage does an average PC in your office draw per hour? How many PC's in your office? What is the TOTAL economic cost leaving them ALL on during the night (12 hours?) versus turning them off? Now how much a month, then how much a year. Finally, multiply by the cost per killowatt hour for cost per year. This doesn't even consider maintenance savings or waste - just electricity! Plastics and computing are everywhere. Talk to a recycler and see if they can accept polyethelene packing bags, stryrofoam packing, printer cartridges and so forth. If you are involved in large corporate purchases, ask the vendor to supply a one page sheet describing how they use LESS in an environmentally safe way in providing your computing equipment needs (e.g., do they use popcorn from a growing plant (which is now common) rather than styrofoam chips for packing, do they recycle paper in their organization, etc.)? Vendors just might take notice if large organizations asked for a one page "computing impact statement" from each computing supplies vendor. If your vendor doesn't know what you mean by a "computing impact statement," send THIS printout as an example and ask them again for their statement. Try to recharge printer ink cartridges if possible. Same with laser printers. A nutty but workable method of recharging a FABRIC printer cartridge is to take it outside, lay it on a piece of newspaper, pry off the plastic cartridge lid and lightly spray the ribbon with the lubricant WD-40. Replace the lid of the printer cartridge and allow a few hours for the WD-40 oil to redistribute ink from the edges of the ribbon (where the printhead does NOT strike the ribbon) to the center strip of the ribbon. Recharged cartridges at the cost of a few pennies of WD-40! This method works best with cloth fabric ribbons not mylar ribbons, but I am told a few people have even tried this with the mylar ribbons too. Professional ink and ribbon recharge companies exist, investigate this option! Consider using shareware rather than commercial software. How does this positively affect the environment? Simple. Shareware uses simple packaging or NONE AT ALL since it frequently travels electronically by BBS/modem methods, isn't returned to the wholesaler to be sent to the garbage dump if too many packages are manufactured, supports a small software programmer who has less impact on the earth as a single human being rather than a large corporation and provides you with high quality at a fair price which goes well with the environmental features. This isn't just a sales pitch, shareware DOES have less negative impact on the environment than commercial software! Speaking of laser printers, the environmental cost and economic cost is NOT favorable. Toner, paper, electricity, everything about lasers is less favorable to the earth. Use a humble dot matrix printer unless you are ready for the final draft. Lasers need more maintenance, too. Finally people are forever buying MORE plastic font cartridges and upgrades for lasers. In this respect, a good compromise if you need laser quality and sharpness in printing, is to consider using BUBBLEJET printers which produce crisp "near laser" quality, but use far less ink, plastic cartridge material and electricity than a conventional laser printer. Most software packages now support bubblejet printers. Back to the paper issue. Do you really need to send a memo or submit a rough draft on paper? Can you get the boss to accept the memo on disk and teach the boss how to use a simple file browser to read the file? Pick up the phone and call with the information, it is a faster, more human in scale and saves resources. Let's talk about envelopes: if your office uses window style envelopes for billings or mailings, try to design or use window envelopes WITH EMPTY WINDOW OPENINGS RATHER THAN CLEAR PLASTIC WINDOW OPENINGS. The billing address peeks out the front just the same and becomes recyclable! Plastic containing envelopes cannot be recycled. Otherwise try to pre-print the address on the return envelope - anything but plastic windows. FAX processes are wonderful. Investigate FAXing onto disk (using a FAX board installed in your computer) rather than paper printouts of FAXES. This produces an electronic FAX file which is saved on disk rather than printing on paper. Do you program or sell software? Why not recycle disks? Simply slap your new label over that old disk no longer needed and add a line that "this is a recycled disk" on the bottom of your disk label or jacket. Most folks approve of greeting cards printed on recycled paper. Do you really need to use a fresh new disk to impress your client when a recycled one with a new label will do? Keep your keyboard, computer and printer clean. Once in a while vacuum or dust out the power supply which collects loads of dust. Reason: you prevent breakdowns which require repairs or scrapping of the computer. End result: more earth resources used which could have been prevented in the first place with a little preventative maintenance. Look at your software and documentation shelf. Stacks of old computer magazines and documentation pile up! Have a once a month PC recycling party where you rip out pages from documentation and magazines you really need and recycle the remains. Same goes for old disks, binders, the works. Donations. If computers help you make money, and they do, set aside a small contribution to the non-profit group of your choice which is involved in conservation and recycling. Submit suggestions for this little part of the tutorial on "how your office saves the earth using computers WISELY." I'll try to insert it if valuable and of course, it will float all over the world on BBS systems and shareware distribution points so your small or large suggestion WILL possibly make a difference to somebody in Brazil or China. This is a shareware package which lives electronically on the Compuserve network which is accessed by people all over the world! If possible, send your suggestion on disk in ASCII using your word processor so I can electronically merge it. Don't compute when you don't need to! Sometimes it is too easy to turn on the machine and bang out a spreadsheet or draft a memo. Can you solve the problem with your BRAIN or grab your rolodex to find that phone number? Our brains our much more capable than the most modern computer. What can you do better by leaving the machine OFF and not using electricity, paper, plastic, ink and toner? Finally, turning off the computer means we spend a few minutes with each other, rather than our (let's face it) addictive computers. You just may come up with a solution to that budget problem by visiting with a colleague at the next desk rather than recalculating that monster spreadsheet for the millionth time trying to find an optimum budget solution for the office. The vast majority of business problems are solved by CREATIVITY which organic brains do best! Print (on paper, unfortunately) this little section of the computer tutorial and place it on the company bulletin board. This is a win/win situation: your co-workers will start to think about earth conscious computing and if more beginners will use PC-LEARN they will learn how to use a computer more efficiently SOONER and thus WASTE LESS paper, electricity and natural resources, does that make sense? Computer beginners can waste a lot of paper, money, time and electricity learning how to use a computer. If PC-LEARN helps them learn faster, then they should waste less and become proficient more quickly! Consider renting computer equipment for short term and special projects. Obviously you can save money in most cases, but the larger issue is that you don't impact the environment by using resources for something you can share that computer equipment with many other people via a rental arrangement. When you print lengthy documents from a disk to paper, investigate clever software products (many of them shareware) which allow you to print FOUR pages in tiny but readable typeface and on BOTH SIDES of the paper. Add your suggestion here or mail it to me. You do not need to be a registered user to submit a suggestion to this section! Suggestion from Mr. Bo Stiff, Charmichael, California . . . (Letter has been slightly edited and shortened) "A company I used to work for had a mainframe computer in Connecticut with office hubs in Houston and LA. Approximately 40 reports were printed from a spooler set up to do this routine in over 200 offices in the U.S. EVERY NIGHT! The company had a guilty feeling about the environment so asked each office to submit ideas." "I suggested that they take the reports off line. Make them available on demand only, put them on a screen with a 48 hour hold on daily reports. 10 day old on weekly reports and 40 day hold on monthly reports. Also suggested that when reports were printed, NOT to send a blank page to set line space or formfeed. This could be performed by the local office if needed. Obviously the computers in the company were turned over to the controllers who decided who got to see which reports and screens." "Our initial calculations were staggering, then we found out that we were one of the frugal offices! By our accountant's calculations we cut back over 4000 cases of paper nationwide per MONTH! Latest calculation is closer to 5000 cases." Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. LAPTOP RESOURCES VIA COMPUSERVE ---------------------------------------------------------------- After a while you begin to wonder. Is there a single centralized source for laptop and notebook computer information? Somewhere you can ask questions, comparison shop among various portable computer models, locate specialized laptop software and obtain tips on travelling with portable computers? No problem. Try CompuServe - a vast computer network accessible by computer, telephone line and a modem. Before we highlight some selected resources for portable computer users a little background concerning the CompuServe service.... CompuServe. Telephone: 800/848-8199 or 800/8488990. 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd, Columbus, OH 43220. Claiming that more than 800,000 members can use the service at any one time, Compuserve is without doubt the most extensive online service in existence. The vastness can be overwhelming with literally hundreds of conferences including gardening, coin and stamp collecting, legal research, music, games, foreign language training, desktop publishing, travel planning, banking, ecology, portable computers and more. Over 1,400 databases are contained online and users can send and receive messages and software from anywhere in the world. Compuserve users can use an attractive basic monthly service plan, costing $7.95 per month, which includes messaging, limited but useful services such as Consumer Reports, News, Weather, Encyclopedia, Peterson's College search and others. Additional forums and advanced services are charged on a per minute connect time basis with additional surcharges for advanced services. Connect time rates for forum access and advanced services cost about $6.30/hour at 300 baud, $12.80/hour at 1200 or 2400 baud and $22.80/hour at 9600 baud. Depending on services accessed, Online databases, such as the IQuest service of Compuserve provide access to corporate financial data, full text magazine articles, legal data, medical topics and more - although a surcharge of between $2 to $100 per search on advanced database searches can make Compuserve expensive but cost effective if vital data is needed quickly. An online member directory and national telephone and address database is also available. A Compuserve starter kit is available from most retail software stores ($39.95) or can be ordered from Compuserve via their toll free telephone number. The starter kit includes a $25 credit for online time which more than pays for the included software and reference materials. Compuserve also publishes a richly detailed monthly magazine for members which includes articles on travel, research, shareware, forums of interest, shortcuts and news for members which is well worth the price of basic subscription services described above. Compuserve is owned by H&R Block Company. What is available on CompuServe for laptop and portable computer owners? There is so much information it almost becomes a necessity to organize the topic into three areas: forums, files and services. Let's start with forums. Containing both message areas and specialized library areas where software files are located, forums are the primary conduits of specialized information. All can be quickly accessed using a GO command. For example GO PALMTOP would quickly transport you to the palmtop computer forum which contains information on devices such as the Sharp Wizard, Casio BOSS, Psion and Poquet computers. Here is a brief list of applicable CompuServe forums and their specialty areas which laptop and portable computer owners should investigate. The IBMHW forum, library 6, is an especially rich treasure trove. Laptop, portable and notebook computer interest areas Forum name Focus/specialization IMBHW IBM hardware forum, see library 6, small computers PALMTOP Palmtop computers and personal organizers TRAVSIG Travel special interest group CEFORUM Consumer electronics and the mobile office IBMNET Vendor forums for IBM related hardware/software CLUB Computer club forums, small computers IBMCOMM IBM communications forum EUROPHONES Telephone access numbers (CompuServe) in Europe IBMEURO IBM European users, travelling with laptops info IBMFF IBM file finder, locate files you need Specialized vendor and manufacturer forums... APORTFOLIO Atari Portfolio forum TOSHIBA All toshiba portable and laptop computers ZENITH Zenith laptop and desktop computers EPSON Epson printers and portable computers HP Hewlitt Packard computers, printers HAYFORUM Hayes modem forum M100SIG Tandy model 100 notebook computer CANON Canon portable computers and printers PPIFORUM Practical Peripherals - miniature modems PCVENA Vendor A forum, section 10, Northgate computer PCVEND Vendors such as Dell computer MALL Electronic shopping mall - merchants/vendors Routine commands/helpful GO words and commands BILLING Review your current charges COMMAND List of commands for efficient use RATES Fees and charges for various services FEEDBACK Ask questions on ANY CompuServe topic INDEX Locate a forum, service or topic DIRECTORY Locate a person and his/her ID number MAIL Check your mail, send messages, FAX, postal QUICK Master list of GO words LOGON Telephone access info and numbers TOUR An informative guided tour of the service QALOGON Commonly asked logon/logoff questions NEW What's new this week on CompuServe BYE Command to logoff, exit the service The treasure trove of CompuServe software files of interest to portable computer owners in almost overwhelming; one service which helps you navigate through files bears mention: the IBM File Finder (GO IBMFF). Using this speedy "search engine" you can quickly locate selected software files by keyword, filename, uploading author and other criteria. CompuServe software files are associated with "keywords" which help index them. For example a file on using laptops might contain keywords such as "beginner, laptop, notebook, travel, portable". Using the IBM File Finder you can ask for a listing of all files containing the single word "laptop" or, for a more precise search, BOTH the words "beginner" and "laptop". The File Finder report will tell you the forum (e.g., IBMHW,) library (e.g., Library 6, small computers) in which the selected file resides as well as the filename. Now that you know the details, simply jump to that forum (e.g., GO IBMHW), switch to the library (e.g., DL command, then select library 6). Finally, read a full description using the BROWSE command (e.g., BRO filename). Quick and painless. What types of files are available to laptop and portable computer owners? A sampling.... AIRPRT.ARC (GO IBMHW, library 6) discusses airline travel concerns and issues of laptop computing such as use of laptops while airborne, airport security and X ray inspections. PORTCS.TXT (GO IBMHW, library 6) discusses business situations, mostly oil drilling and prospecting, where laptop computers processed crucial business information and assisted in investment decisions. TRAVEL.INF (GO IBMHW, library 6) contains a clever assortment of tips and accessories for the well-equipped laptop traveler. BC3.COM (GO TOSHIBA, library 5) cursor utility which changes shape from thin underscore line to large block shape for better visibility. 3PARTY.ZIP (GO TOSHIBA, library 4) retailers who can supply specialized memory, modems, cables and accessories for Toshiba laptop computers. LAPKEY.ZIP (GO ZENITH, library 5) a clever utility which lets you redefine the cursor control keys (right/left/up/down arrows) on your laptop. PKL105.EXE (GO ZENITH, library 5) PKLITE allows laptop users with limited disk drive space to compress COM and EXE files to save space - yet files still uncompress and run programs quickly. LAPTOP.ARC (GO TOSHIBA, library 4) discussion of common laptop questions and issues concerning mobile and cellular computing. CLAP.ARC (GO IBMHW, library 6) cursor pulsing speed can be altered for better visibility. TOSHUT.ZIP (GO TOSHIBA, library 2) an assortment of utilities for Toshiba laptops, many of which also work on other portable computer models, which toggle displays, cursor size, report system setup information and more. GAS50.ZIP (GO TOSHIBA, library 2) clever "gas gauge" utility to report nicad battery level for older laptops lacking this feature. BF171A.ZIP and BF171B.ZIP (GO ZENITH, library 4) Back and Forth allows you to rapidly switch between several applications for increased laptop productivity. Switch quickly from word processor to notepad when the phone rings. Jump from spreadsheet to database or other program when you need real productivity. VIDTOG.EXE (GO IBMHW, library 6) switch between internal LCD display and external monitor on Compaq SLT computers. Beyond files, other services await you on CompuServe. If computer research and cost comparisons are what you need, try the following services. Most of these services have surcharges and special connect time charges in addition to normal rates, so check rates before you begin an extensive search.... The Computer Directory (GO COMPDIR) contains almost 10,000 manufacturers and 60,000 product listings. You can search by any word or phrase such as product name or manufacturer name. Likewise, the Computer Database Plus (GO COMPDB) contains reviews of products from almost 150 computer magazines and periodicals. You can search articles individually or in linked groups. InfoWorld Online (GO INFOWORLD) provides further research by way of product reviews on selected hardware, manufacturers and software. Finally Consumer Reports provides general information and ratings for many consumer items such as computers, cars, toys and food (GO CONSUMER). Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. THE JOY OF MODEMS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Using a computer for telecommunications is perhaps the most addictive and powerful reason for using a computer in the first place. The productivity payoff is the ability to use an ordinary telephone line to accomplish a variety of tasks quickly and effectively from your keyboard. Modem communications allows you to converse with other computer enthusiasts; research databases of demographic, medical or strategic markeing data; send faxes; read the news of the day; purchase airline tickets; obtain shareware software; play games; obtain a university degree; scan a weather report; order merchandise; trade stocks; consult a continuously updated encylopedia; locate a restuarant or hotel in a foreign country; send flowers to your mother. You can do all of this without leaving the comfort of your computer keyboard. Let's examine the pieces of the puzzle. First a short tour of the hardware and software required for modem telecommunications followed by a detailed listing of online services which can open the door to a world of business, hobby and technical information. Computer telecommunications, simply stated, is the process of hooking one or more computers together via a telephone line to exchange information, transmit and receive software programs or carry on a live conversation. Your computer will need a device called a MODEM which allows data to be converted into a special signal which can be transmitted over phone lines to another computer. Two types of modems exist: internal and external. External modems are slightly more expensive than internal modems and are housed in an external box or enclosure. External modems require a socket on the computer or port - usually the serial port on the back of your computer. The serial port is also called a COM port, COM for communications. Most PC's arrive with a serial port, a few must have it installed. If you are already using the serial port for something else (e.g., mouse or pointing device) you may need to install an additional port or temporarily unplug the device using the existing serial port. External modems take up a bit more space and add a bit more clutter while internal modems mount inside the computer. Some people like an external modem with its blinking lights which instantly displays call status - something a hidden internal modem cannot do unless special display software is also installed or activated. In addition, external modems are portable, you can move from machine to machine by simply unplugging the external modem and taking it to the next job site. Some basic terminology: The HOST COMPUTER refers to the computer your PC is calling. Sometimes this is a commercial service such as The Source or Compuserve which are large interactive online services. Other times the host may be a computer on the other side of town or perhaps a BBS (bulletin board system) which is a computer operated by a private individual or company with files and messages having general public access. Another important term is the BAUD rate associated with the modem transmission process. Essentially baud (or bits of information transmitted per second) is a reference to the speed at which your modem and the host modem exchange information. Some common rates are 300, 1200, 2400 and 9600 baud. A 1200 baud modem is roughly 4 times faster than a 300 baud modem. And since you may be transmitting information via long distance lines, speed and brevity of the modem link is important. Some BBS systems will not allow access to slower 300 or 1200 baud modems since this ties up the BBS for other users. As an aside, most modems automatically switch to transmit and receive at slower baud rates when needed so there is automatic "downward" flexibility in purchasing a high speed modem which automatically swtiches to lower baud rates when required. Thus a 2400 baud modem will automatically decrease its baud rate to match a 1200 baud modem, for example. Most BBS systems are capable of 9600, 2400 and 1200 baud speeds. A 2400 baud modem is an economical compromise for most casual users although heavy modem use probably dictates a 9600 baud modem for increased savings in time and long distance costs. Newer modems also incorporate FAX transmit and receive technology at most attractive prices. While DOS controls the internal workings of your computer, you'll need communications software (sometimes called terminal software) to enable the PC, modem and telephone line to work together. A modem will not function without software. Commercial, shareware and public domain packages are available and many can be obtained from BBS systems via modem! Some of the more dependable software packages include Qmodem, Procomm, Boyan and Telix. Good communications software is flexible and powerful without being difficult to start and use. The best packages have help screens and tutorials as is common with application software in general. Telix, for example asks a few simple setup questions then attempts to set the variety of initial configuration settings needed without operator intervention. Modem software allows sending and receiving files, capture of screen information to disk or printer, scrollback buffers (view what just went by on the screen), dialing directories, macros (automated sequences of keystroke instructions), terminal emulation for links to mainframe computers, password protection and other features. Two of the most popular terminal packages are Procomm and Telix which are both available as "try before you buy" shareware disks from most computer clubs and shareware vendors for a few dollars. Although baffling at first, the modem software setup process allows configuring the modem to your specific PC and use. The modem software needs to be told if you are using serial port (com port) one or two. You will need to tell the communications software which directory or drive where files will be sent or downloaded. The baud rate must be set as well as noting if the modem is Hayes compatible. Hayes compatibility refers to a standard set of transmission instructions which many modems share. In some ways this is similar to the DOS standard within operating systems for IBM compatible computers. Most modems today are Hayes compatible. The modem software must also be told other basic details such as PARITY, and DATA BITS which refers to how the data is "grouped or packaged" during the actual modem transmission. Generally data bits are set to 8. Parity is usually set to NO. Commercial services such Compuserve offer exception to these settings and will tell you these settings in their literature. An example: If parity is required, set data bits to 7. Set stop bit to 1. This is a total of 1 + 7 = 8 Bits. The final bit is usually used to check parity/accuracy. The above setting is somewhat cryptically referred to as 8N1 which means 8 bits, no parity, one stop bit. The 8N1 setting is a standard which is common to most communications links throughout America and large parts of the world. Don't worry about this too much now - frequently this is a one time setup which you will not have to adjust once the software has been configured. Other settings can include ANSI terminal emulation (a standard choice you should select). ANSI terminal emulation is usually the default setting and should only rarely be changed. Software PROTOCOLS must also be specified. In simplest terms a protocol is a method of checking for errors between modems as data transmission progresses. In a precise fashion, these protocols tell the first modem to transmit a small packet or "chunk" of data then the receiving modem will play back a short verifcation "checksum" or "password." The transmitting modem stops, listens for the checksum and if that item matches the information which it originally sent, it then transmits the next packet or chunk of data. This continues, one small chunk of data at a time. The concept here is to protect data integrity over noisy, static-prone telephone lines. Several common protocols include Xmodem, Ymodem, Xmodem-CRC and Zmodem. Xmodem is generally offered by most BBS systems and is a safe bet if you are not sure. Introduced in 1977 by Ward Christensen, this protocol is slow, but reliable. Two variants of Xmodem are used: Checksum and CRC. The CRC method is more reliable at detecting errors during transmission and should usually be selected if given a choice. Mistmatching the two variants of Xmodem during file transfers is usually the reason for transfer problems. Xmodem-1K refers to the Xmodem CRC protocol method but with data blocks 1024 bytes in size. Many BBS systems can automatically detect Xmodem variations and may simply present you with a single Xmodem choice. Newer protocols are faster and more dependable, but Xmodem will usually do the job. Trial and error or simply logging onto the BBS system and then inspecting the menu of protocols available will give you more detailed information and clues about other possible protocols. Ymodem offers a faster transmission rate than Xmodem, better data security through a refined CRC checksum method and finally a method for "batching" or sending/receiving several files one after another unattended. Choose Ymodem over Xmodem for increased speed and data security if both your software and the host computer can provide it and if telephone lines are relatively unnoisy. In reality, basic Ymodem (without the batch file feature) is CRC Xmodem with 1024 byte data packets. Or simply Xmodem-1K. Ymodem with batch file handling is sometimes also called "true Ymodem." Zmodem is faster still, somewhat more secure with respect to data loss, offers batch transmission of files and additionally allows part of a file to be stored if transmission connections are lost and then completed when the connection is restablished. If your transmission is interrupted and you have transferred only part of the file, you can call up the host computer and continue the file transfer from where you left off. Finally, Zmodem can detect excessive line noise and automatically drop to a shorter, more reliable data packet size when necessary. Data inegrity and accuracy is assured by the use of reliable 16 bit CRC (cyclic redundancy check) methods rather than less reliable CRC checking of Ymodem and Xmodem. UPLOADING data to the host (you transmit data to the other computer) and DOWNLOADING data (you receive data from the other computer) require selection of one of the protocols above. General considerations in selecting software for modem use include: * The dialing directory is of crucial importance. The idea is that the package will store and dial your most frequently used numbers. Some packages hold only a few, some quite a lot. Does the package store your individual password and comments next to each number? You may wish to use different passwords for each BBS system you call. * Consideration of transfer protocols offered. Xmodem is basic, but you may want more efficient protocols later. Make sure the package supports several or can be upgraded to more protocols later. * How does the package dial numbers from the dialing list? Will it call back and continue trying? Can it dial numbers from the list in a certain order. Can it do circular dialing (several numbers are called in a row, then the program jumps from the bottom of the list and starts at the beginning again). This type of dialing efficiency is important if you deal with busy communications services and BBS systems where it may take several attempts to log on to a system especially during busy evening peak time. * Does the package offer scripts or macros? Simply stated a script is a way of having the package automate several steps with only one or two keystrokes. At the touch of a key, the package can call a BBS system, type in your password and then continue typing further keystrokes as if you were entering them from the keyboard - in essence a script or macro capability is a programming language which gives the communications software package a customized capability. Many programs let you record the sequence of keystrokes during a communications session for playback and retrieval later. Beware though, if the system which you are calling changes log on sequences or you may have to go back and later revise your original script - not a major problem, just a concern. * Is it possible to capture screen information to your disk drive? Can you output screen information to your printer? Long communication sessions produce endless screens of information which scroll by quickly. The ability of your software package to output all or selected parts of your session to permanent disk file or printer output can be a tidy bonus. Neighborhood BBS systems offer the most entertainment and information for the first time user. The cardinal rule of behavior when you call a private BBS system: act as if you are in someone else's home. Courteous behavior is a must. How do you find telephone numbers for local BBS systems? Consult local computer clubs, then call those BBS systems with your modem for lists of more telephone numbers. Once on line, you can usually download the popular "Darwin list" which is a listing of BBS telephone numbers throughout America. Another popular national list of BBS systems is contained within the back pages of Computer Shopper Magazine, available on most newsstands. That list is compiled by FOG, PO Box 3474, Daly City, CA 94015. Tel 415/755-2000. BBS operators and users are quick to answer questions for new users and can serve as helpful "experts" on any computer question no matter how arcane. Operators of these BBS systems are called SYSOPS and many provide BBS systems as a hobby activity much as other hobbyists enjoy short wave radio operation. In a sense, SYSOPS are a modernized version of the "ham radio operator." Most BBS systems will allow you to tour within the various parts of the "board" or system for 30 minutes to an hour on your first call. After that you are expected to leave your name and a phone number where you can be reached for verification. Some boards are free, some request a nominal use fee (usually around $25 per year.) Some boards request that you upload (send to them via modem) shareware files or public domain software in order to download their software. The process is something like two kids with bubble gum trading cards: "I'll trade you 125,000 bytes of this shareware file for 200,000 bytes of your files." On your first visit into a BBS board you usually are allowed access only to certain "low level" but interesting areas of the BBS. The SYSOP (system operator) may be available to come online if you experience difficulty. The software of the BBS system itself will prevent you from damaging the host computer even if you hit an incorrect key. You may leave messages for the SYSOP, leave messages of a general nature, ask for help on a specific question, download shareware programs, play a game, or just generally explore the information within the system of the host computer. Downloading files is easy. For many boards the file download command is a simple D, ALT-D or page down key. The BBS will ask you the name of the file you wish to download and then give you an estimate of how long it will take and the modem protocol you will be using. When the transfer is complete, the BBS presents the main menu of choices or selections so you can continue to browse as before. Most public domain and shareware software from BBS systems is stored and transmitted in a compacted form as either an ARC or ZIP file format. You will need a small public domain program (ARC or NARC or PKZIP) also available from the BBS to unpack the software. This archiving or "arcing" process is done to compact the software thus saving time and disk space for both the BBS and your computer. The easiest way to visualize arc'd or zip'd software is to think of the many files of a typical software package compacted in size and then placed into one single file. You might also wish to compact other files for storage on a hard drive aside from the modem process. File compaction is a useful tool unto itself. Working with modems and telecommunications software sounds daunting at first, but is a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding pastime - and also a nice way to make friends and delve deeper into the global network of information and friendships this new form of communication represents. ---------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL ONLINE SERVICES ---------------------------------------------------------------- Compuserve. See discussion in previous tutorial.... America Online. 8619 Westwood Center Drive, Vienna, VA 22182. 703/893-6288. Featured services include news and finance, online messaging, software upload and download, games, travel, shopping, online encyclopedia, research databases, stock market information and more. Monthly fee is $5.95. One hour of free connect time upon membership and one free hour per month. Connect charges are $8/hour, 6AM - 6PM Monday through Friday with $4/hour at all other times. A relative newcomer to commercial online services, America Online offers good value and a colorful menu driven interface with mouseable control for computers so equipped. Owned by Quantum Computer Services. Prodigy. Telephone: 800/Prodigy. Billed as a family oriented service, this joint venture between IBM and Sears features a monthly flat rate charge of $12.95 with savings if you pay one or two years in advance. Prodigy uses a proprietary software package, featuring colorful menus which guide the user through services such as online shopping, games, encyclopedia, news, colorful weather maps, airline ticket purchasing, banking, stock and bond trading and message send/receive capabilities. Prodigy hosted Summer picnics for members in several dozen American cities in August, 1991! It does not offer software upload and download capability as well as more advanced topics, however the first time telecommuter will appreciate the varied Prodigy offerings at reasonable flat rate prices. Prodigy startup kits are available at most Sears stores and many software retail outlets. GEnie. For a flat fee of $4.95 per month, GEnie offers many similar features as Compuserve at a fraction of the cost. The user will pay extra for features such as computing forums, software libraries, banking services and learning center capabilities. As with most online services, the lowest rates are during non-peak evening and weekend times. The subscriber base and local access telephone listing of GEnie is neither as extensive nor as convenient as that of Compuserve, but the capabilities are reasonably similar. To connect: use your modem and call 800/638-8369. After connecting type HHH. At the U# prompt type XTX99432,GENIE then press return. Provide a credit card number when requested. Follow additional prompts as appropriate then log off (hangup). After about two days you will be given full access after credit card information is checked and user information is configured within the system. Delphi. Although the user will not find as many shareware files or forums as Compuserve, Delphi is similar in design and content. Monthly subscription is $5.95 which includes the first hour of usage. Each additional hour is $6.00. To connect: with your modem call 800/695-4002. When connected, press return key twice. At the Username prompt type JOINDELPHI. At the password prompt type SHAREFREE. Additional info: call 800/544-4005. PC-Link. Owned and managed by Tandy Corporation - the Radio Shack people - PC-Link is extensive and family oriented. Two levels of service are available: PC-Link and PC-Link Plus. $9.95 per month provides unlimited access to PC-Link and one hour of access to PC-Link Plus. After the first hour the user is billed fifteen cents per minute in PC-Link Plus. News and reference services are located on the first level with more advanced computer hardware and software forums on the PC-Link Plus level. The service features a good graphic interface for ease of use and a variety of offerings, classes and conferences. File uploads and downloads are available. Call: 800/827-8532. ---------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIALIZED ONLINE SERVICES ---------------------------------------------------------------- A 1990 Small Business Association survey revealed that of 2,000 business owning a PC, few were using it for marketing research with business and marketing databases available via modem. These databases can reveal new customers, potential geographic marketing concepts, foreign trade possibilities, suppliers, competitors and key executive contacts. Online census data can be accessed to determine a precise geographic area which is ideal for a new product introduction. Next, a listing of specialized online database services. Calling a specialized database directly may yield more detailed information since gateway services such as Compuserve obtain only a portion of the entire database. Realize that there are over 4,250 online databases of specialized research and business data! Two master indexes are available which describe each online service. The directory of Online Databases is available for $75 from Cuadra Associates and can be found on the Orbit service at 800/456-7248 or DataStar at 800/221-7754. You might also consider the more detailed Computer Readable Databases index for $165 from Gale Research which is available through Dialog at 800/334-2564. BRS Gateway. 800/345-4277, 800/289-4277. Accesses many business and special research databases described within this tutorial. Business Dateline. 800/626-2823 or 502/589-5575. Complete text articles of over 200 US and Canadian business magazines. Also available on CD ROM. Also available through Dow Jones News, Nexis and other services. Businessline. 800/866-2255. Statistical reporting service on over 8 million businesses, including number of employees, sales line, number of businesses in a geographical area in a specific product line. BusinessWire. 800/227-0845 or 415/986-4422. Carries announcements and press releases about new products, services, research findings, financial reports. Also available through Delphi, Dow Jones, and other services. Cendata. 301/763-4100. Economic data on domestic and foreign business trade including retails sales, building permits, employee staffing levels, etc. Conference Board Abstract Data base. 317/872-2045 or 800/421- 8884. Specialized research areas on business management, decision making, case studies in management of individual companies, speeches by corporate executives, management consultants and government researchers. Topics also cover labor relations, merit pay, executive compensation. Consumer Spending Forecast. 215/660-6300. Forecasts and past historical trends on consumer spending, credit use patterns, retail sales. Consumer Trends. 212/725-4550 or 212/725-5954. Contains references, citations and cross referenced bibliography regarding consumer trends articles and research. Corptech. 617/932-3939 or 800/333-8036. Profiles of small and emerging growth companies or those with innovative technology. Useful for identifying customers for your product or candidates for stock purchase, merger, technology transfers or mutual research arrangements. Daily Developments. 317/872-2045 or 800 421-8884. Contains over 180,000 articles concerning governmental actions, pending legislation, environmental developments, international trade, tax rulings and similar topics. Track the evolution of a regulation which may affect your business from introduction through final enactment. Useful for personnel professionals needing latest insights on legislation concerning employee rights, unions, urban planning, drug and alcohol abuse. Superb up to date information on tax legislation. Dialog Information Services. 800/334-2564. Accesses many business and financial database services. Disclosure Database. 212/581-1414. Updated financial reporting data on over 14,000 publicly owned companies whose stocks are traded on the NYSE and other public exchanges. Also available through Compuserve, BRS, Dow Jones and other services. Donnelly Demographics. 203/353-7474. Contains US census data which is highly valuable to marketing and sales analysts. Useful for planning expansions of retail stores or analyzing a region's labor pool by age, education and race. Includes Arbitron Press Areas of Dominant Influence, AC Nielsen Designated Market areas. Also includes current and five year projected estimates and demographic analysis of US census data. Dow Jones News. 609/520-4000. Timely business, financial and government news bulletins which include articles from Wall Street Journal and Barrons National Business. Business and market professionals can learn about emerging legislation, business mergers, economic forecasts, financial disclosures and banking regulations hours before general media report the story. DRI/NPDC County Business Patterns Service. 800/541-9914 or 617/860-6385. US county employment data including SIC code and business patterns census data. Includes payroll, staffing, number of firms referenced by number of employees. Dun's Million Dollar Directory. 800/526-9018. Contains financial, marketing and address data for over 190,000 companies whose net worth exceeds $500,000. Also available on Dialog. EconBase. 215/667-6000. Unique analytical database with state by state or industry tabulations of foreign currency changes over time, electricity use, agricultural output or use of aluminum. Useful for forecasting, business relocation planning, raw materials planning, economic trends, manufacturing output. Data recorded back to 1948. Encyclopedia of Associations. 313/961-2242 or 800/521-0707. As its name suggests this online service lists national and international associations, trade groups, unions, societies, non-profits, clubs and patriotic groups. Over 77,000 groups in all. Knowing the right organization can point you in the right direction to authorities on a given topic or field. Harvard Business Review Online. 212/850-6000. Contains full transcript of all articles of the esteemed Harvard Business Review from 1976 to the present. Business topics include statistics, marketing, ethics, automation, robotics, foreign trade, forecasting, negotiating and employee training. Insiderline. 301/738-1400 or 800/231-DATA. Provides up to the minute specialized information on corporate executive stock trades as required by SEC forms 3 and 4. Trader name, company position, share volume traded, value, total shares owned. Market Analysis and Information Database. 212/245-3513. Over 36,000 reports on marketing methods and trends for specific industries and countries. Electronics, agriculture, silk screen printing, food and beverage, consumer habits, demographics and more. Covers over 730 business and trade publications in 22 languages - all translated into English. Newsline service offers fast breaking trends and is updated daily. Mead Data Central. Nexis Research Service. 800/277-9597. 800/277-8379. Moody's 5000 Plus. News and financial reporting data on 14,000 companies which are publicly traded. Also available on CD ROM. NewsNet. 800/345-1301. News and business database service. Newsearch 800/227-8431 or 415/378-5329. Index of over 4,200 news stories, books, reports and libraries on businesses, products, finance, marketing trends. Standard and Poor's News Service. 212/208-8622. High level financial reporting data on over 18,000 companies to include mergers, aquisitions, management and staffing, earnings. Telescan Financials. 713/952-1060. Allows investors to scan over 10,000 stock offerings for particular investment profile such as SIC code, profits to earnings, price, etc. Historical data reveal a target company profile and growth. Complete transcripts and analysis of trade shows, investment seminars, wire service news. Thomas Register. 212/290-7291. Who makes what and where in the U.S. Over 160,000 businesses, 50,000 classes of products and over 100,000 trade names of products. Also available on Compuserve. Trade and Industry Index. 800/227-8431 or 415/378-5329. Index to over three million articles on industry, trade, commerce. Also available on CD ROM. TriNet. 201/267-3600 or 800/874-6381. Information on over 200,000 private and public companies. Arranged by conventional SIC code categories. Private company information is especially difficult to obtain and TriNet seems to the best at locating it. Western Union. 800/527-5184 Gateway for most major business databases. ---------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK TIPS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Use telecommunications scripts or macros (many keystrokes stored and then later replayed) to automate log on, moving around to various forums and downloading. This saves time and reduces errors while online. Draft all letters and messages off-line, save them as text messages and upload them quickly and efficiently when connected online. With Compuserve, connect at 300 baud while searching for file titles, so you can inexpensively spend many minutes connected. Then log off and reconnect at a higher baud rate to accomplish the actual file download. Uploads on Compuserve are at no charge. Within Compuserve, use the IBM forum file finder. This feature allows you to RAPIDLY locate files available in different forums and search by key phrases, names, keywords or file types. GO IBMFF. Download library file lists from most services - complete lists of available files. These indexed lists are updated daily on most services and allow you to browse and search inexpensively offline, then reconnect and obtain the files you desire quickly. Watch Compuserve magazine for advertised special offers on selected databases, telephone directory services, merchandise, and selected services. This information may also be available when you first log on. For additional reading materials on modems and telecommunications, refer to the reading list/bibliography elsewhere in this package. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. SOFTWARE FOR LAPTOP NEEDS INCLUDES A LISTING OF SHAREWARE VENDORS AT END OF THIS FILE ---------------------------------------------------------------- In some respects you should not need special software just for a laptop or notebook computer. The whole idea is to be able to run software that larger desktop computers run - but when and where you need it. That's the flexibility of computing in a laptop environment. However, several software packages are frequently mentioned by laptop users as being valuable because of their minimal memory requirements or specialized features. For the many users, an integrated package containing a word processor, spreadsheet, database and modem package may be the best value since some needs may be met within ONE software system. Two standouts in this category are Microsoft Works and LotusWorks. No-Squint from SkiSoft Publishing is a small software utility which changes the tiny laptop screen cursor into a larger block which can be seen. Available from most software vendors or call 617/863-1876. Shareware packages with minimal memory needs which run all laptops include Alite (a spreadsheet), PC-Write Lite (word processor) and File Express. All are available from shareware disk vendors such as those listed at the end of this article as well as most computer clubs and BBS systems. For hard drive users whose disk space is at a premium, the software package Stacker from Stac electronics compresses and expands files on crowded drives - a necessity for many laptop and notebook computer users. For modem work, many laptop users gravitate to the software package ProComm Plus (commercial software which also has a shareware variant) or the useful Telix package (shareware.) Other, distinct utility packages are frequently mentioned. Although not specifically designed for laptops and notebooks, these are useful software items.... PC TOOLS DELUXE. The quintessential toolkit of goodies DOS forgot to include. PC Tools contains a superb DOS shell for file management, a miniature database, file transfer utility, calculator, backup system, unerase data restorer, disk repair capability, security file wiper and literally dozens of other useful one-of-a-kind goodies. If you can only afford one utility, PC Tools Deluxe is it. THE PC MAGAZINE UTILITIES are continuing classics and favorites of many users. Available through most computer clubs and by modem from local BBS sources and PC Magazine as disk bonus offers when you subscribe to that periodical. An index to PC Magazine utilities is maintained through their on line PcMagnet modem service which can be reached by following printed instructions contained in every issue of PC Magazine. The utilities are in the public domain and generally available at no charge beyond a small disk copying or distribution fee. Most shareware distributors carry disk sets of the PC Magazine utilities. Several utilities in this set are useful for laptops and allow file transfer between two computers, remote computing, file slicing and macro work on laptops. Since all are free and easily located they are genuine bargains for all laptop users. LABELPRO prepares labels and address stickers better than any competing program. Prepare nametags, casette tape labels, address stickers with ease. HOTLINE allows you to manage, search, sort and DIAL phone directory databases. A grownup electronic rolodex system which works better than any other program of this type. BROOKLYN BRIDGE & DESKLINK allow transfer of files between computers via a cable connector and facilitate the transfer between desktop and laptop computers with ease. KEYWORKS & NEWKEY are universal keyboard macro programs which issue a burst of keystrokes when you press only one or two keys. ESSENTIAL for all beginners to learn and use! NEWKEY is shareware. CHECK-IT & SYSTEM SLEUTH perform diagnostic tests to tell your what connections, cables, ports disk drives and components are working and why. You can locate bad memory chips and in general save time and frustration tracking down problems. QEMM-386 & 386MAX manage vast areas of RAM memory in 80386 equipped computers. These can convert extended memory to expanded memory, move device drivers and terminate and stay resident programs efficiently, and remap BIOS and graphics video into faster RAM area memory. Subtle programs which help manage memory on more powerful DOS machines. MARK/RELEASE is a small program whose sole function is to install and remove TSR programs such as popup calculators, address books and others for minimum memory crowding and conflict. Shareware. FASTBACK PLUS allows reliable and quick backup of essential hard disk files to floppy disks and tape backup systems. A variety of options allows selective backup by date, data and file type. SUPER PC-KWIK provides a fast disk cache buffer system that speed processing and convenience for hard disk users. Speed is always a convenience when using a hard drive and SUPER PC-KWIK is the champion disk cache software utility. PKZIP is a unique shareware program which compresses files up to 80% smaller in size! This frees up disk space on your hard drive and also allows faster file transfers when using a modem. PKZIP is as standard as DOS and almost as essential. FASTTRAX is a disk optimizer and file defragmenter whose sole job is to periodically assemble files into efficient contiguous sectors on a disk for speedy performance. A routine housekeeping function no disk drive owner can neglect. SCAN & CLEANUP are virus/trojan horse detection and erradication programs which are probably the best of the bunch. Shareware. CED & PCED & LIST are utilities which browse files (list) and provide command line editing functions (CED and PCED) which are far superior to the functions DOS provides. All are shareware. HOT SHOT GRAPHICS & PIZAZZ PLUS function to capture screen graphics to transfer them to another software program for presentation or publication use. GRAPHICS LINK PLUS facilitates the conversion of graphics picture files between varying software packages. TYPEFAST resets the keyboard rate of your system so you can (good guess) type fast! Public domain utility from PC Magazine. PRINTCACHE is a print spooler. You can thus dump your document file out to the printer and within a split second come back to your program and keep working rather than sit there for 30 minutes as your printer hogs the PC. ULTRAVISION adjusts cursor size and provides many differing typefaces on your screen if you don't care for the ones which came with your software or PC. MAGELLAN The ultimate text search utility. Search an entire hard disk quickly for the file that contains the phrase "swimming pool budget for Mr. Davis" or other search idea. Great for locating that document when piles of files seem lost on your hard drive. GRANDVIEW The best of the outliner programs. When you need to assemble, sort and prioritze tasks or documents Grandview is it. SOFTWARE BRIDGE & WORD FOR WORD PROFESSIONAL allow different word processing programs to swap documents in different file formats. Great for the office where each person uses a different word processing package. Next, a short overview to highlight the differences between types of software and a brief listing of shareware disk vendors. With so much software in the marketplace sometimes the hardest job is to select from overabundance and arrive at genuinely useful programs. Software is available in three basic flavors: COMMERCIAL, PUBLIC DOMAIN and SHAREWARE. Commercial software is sold by mail or through retail outlets and is generally protected by both legitimate and stringent copyright laws. Commercial software may in addition be copy- protected (difficult or impossible to make spare disk copies) or non-copy protected (can be copied to another disk for safe- keeping or archival purposes.) Commercial software is usually of good quality and can range in price from 10 dollars to several hundred dollars or more. Public domain software represents computer programs which have been released into the public domain, do not require payment or registration fees to the author, and are frequently available from computer clubs, some libraries, and modem BBS telephone systems. PC Magazine utilities are examples of public domain software. Shareware, a third area of software interest represents programs whose author(s) request a donation or registration but are otherwise available in much the same manner as public domain software. Frequently "enticements" such as a documentation manual of program instructions, an upgrade disk or other bonus offer is made within the program to secure a registration fee. Which type of software is best? Probably a little of each, to be honest. Many people find that starting with several affordable commercial programs (to ensure fast, productive results) and then sampling shareware over time (to continue trying new software affordably) to be of value. Other computer owners find that starting with shareware and public domain software (to get a broad sampling of software variety at little cost) and then buying additional commercial programs as sophisticated needs grow a productive strategy. Back to shareware for a moment.... You do not have to be a hobbyist, hacker or computer guru to utilize shareware and public domain software. A short list of shareware distributors follows this section. Membership in a local computer club or user group is one way to obtain shareware. Many retail software and computer equipment stores maintain lists of local clubs. Frequently a local and friendly Radio Shack salesman can give you a clue as to computer clubs. The clubs frequently augment club treasuries by sale of shareware disks. Membership with many clubs is optional - purchasing a shareware disk is convenient whether you are a member or not. Disk distribution or copying may fees hover around $3 to $5. A second, perhaps more convenient source for some people, is mail order sources of shareware, otherwise known as shareware distributors. A list of several shareware sources is provided at the end of this tutorial. A third avenue for locating shareware is either a BBS computer system (a computer in someone's home or office hooked by modem to telephone lines) or the larger commercial on-line services such as Compuserve, The Source and BIX. These larger commercial services can be the fastest way to locate and obtain shareware. The on-line modem route has the additional advantage that shareware can be located by electronic search/sort which certainly speeds up the process. Cost is obviously a factor. With a local BBS service the cost is simply that of a local phone call. Commercial services generally charge by the minute or hour and sometimes also involve long distance charges if a local line is not available. Next a list of popular mail order shareware distributors not to be confused with mail order software distributors of commercial software. Contact them and request a free catalog - you will be surprised at the depth and variety of shareware offerings. A shareware distributor or disk vendor usually charges a nominal fee ($2 to $5) to copy and DISTRIBUTE a disk to you. If you find the shareware useful, you are encouraged to send the author of the package a final REGISTRATION FEE ($10 to $50 approximately) to use the package and receive updated copies, instruction manuals or bonus items to thank you for the courtesy of registering. Shareware is an honor system. The distributors make money charging a fee for a sample disk, but the author also deserves a registration fee if you find the shareware useful. ---------------------------------------------------------------- SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTORS - A SHORT LIST ---------------------------------------------------------------- SSP Shareware Sales, Dept LC PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040 Offers specialized shareware collections for laptop owners and buyers as well as a large collection of general purpose shareware. Featuring low prices of $1.99 per program item, SSP offers over 3,000 shareware titles. SSP catalog available on disk and costs $1.00 for shipping/handling in 360K format size disk or $1.50 on 720K format disk. One of the lower priced disk vendors for laptop and general purpose shareware. PC-SIG 1030D East Duane Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086; (800) 245-6717; In Calif. (800) 222-2996. PC-SIG is perhaps the largest and best known of the shareware distributors. With a bi-monthly magazine, slickly packaged software, over 2000 disks and a printed catalogue PC-SIG is perhaps also the best organized. PC-SIG boasts authorized dealers throughout the United States (most major cities) and many foreign countries! Marketing and customer service are a PC- SIG trademark. Memberships list at $20 per year which allows members to purchase disks for $5.50 per disk in lot orders of 10 or more. Non-members pay $6.00 per disk. PC-SIG CD-ROM available which contains all titles in the PC-SIG library. Public Brand Software, Inc. POB 51478, Indianapolis, IN 46251; (317) 856-1001 or (800) IBM-DISK. Public Brand charges $5 per disk plus $5 shipping and handling per order. On par with PC-SIG. Extensive shareware catalog. All titles can be downloaded from CompuServe or the PBS bulletin board online with your modem. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY - INPUT, STORAGE, OUTPUT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Before we examine computer technology let's cover two items which seem to confuse EVERY computer beginner. It's a wonder computer manufacturers don't include these two ESSENTIAL points in instruction books. First item: Booting. Many times an instruction manual refers to "booting up" or "booting DOS" before you can start a program. This means inserting your DOS diskette in a floppy drive and starting the machine with the DOS diskette in place. When you see the familiar A> or C> prompt symbol, you have booted up! If you have a hard drive which starts the machine automatically, the hard drive "boots DOS" for you and you do NOT need to use the DOS diskette. This seems simple, but many beginners are confused by the term "booting up." Second item: Working with floppy diskettes. A standard floppy diskette is either 5 1/4 inches or 3 and 1/2 inches square. To insert a floppy diskette into your computer drive, first remove it from the paper or plastic slipcover if one protects it. The proper way to insert a floppy diskette in most drives is as follows. For larger 5 - 1/4 inch floppies, turn the printed label side up and locate the TWO VERY TINY notches along one edge. Near the notches will be a jelly bean shaped hole about one inch long cut into the plastic surface of the diskette. This oblong hole is the read/write opening. Insert the diskette into the drive with the label side up and the two tiny notches FIRST into the drive opening then close the drive locking handle. Along one edge of the diskette you will also see a SINGLE square shaped hole which is the write protect notch. If this write protect notch is UNCOVERED you can BOTH read and write data to the diskette. If the write protect notch is covered with a piece of tape, then you can READ information from the diskette but you CANNOT write information to the diskette. This is a safeguard feature you may wish to use from time to time. Keep fragile diskettes away from smoke, hair, dirt and ESPECIALLY sources of magnetism such as motors, loudspeakers or even childrens magnetic toys which may ERASE your data! For smaller 3 - 1/2 inch size diskettes, turn the label side up and locate the metal "shutter". Insert the diskette into the drive with the label up and the shutter FIRST into the drive. The write protect notch or opening is a small square hole with a SLIDING PLASTIC TAB which is slid CLOSED (cannot see an open hole) to enable BOTH reading and writing to the diskette. The sliding tab is placed OPEN (visible open hole) to enable reading but NOT writing. Here is how to tell the different densities of various diskettes your computer might need: a standard 5 - 1/4 inch, 360K (Kilobyte) diskette has a plastic reinforcing ring around the center hole. A 1.2MB (Megabyte) diskette does not. Small 3 - 1/2 inch, 720K diskettes have one small notch cut in the plastic diskette casing while 1.44MB diskettes have two notches. Time to move on to basic computer technology . . . Computers vary widely in size and use. However all computers are similar in what the hardware does. So-called microcomputers (like your desktop pc) are designed for personal use, relatively low price, and modest data processing tasks. Minicomputers are moderate sized (a small refrigerator size) and perform more complex tasks with larger amounts of data. Minicomputers might be used in a small engineering office or a local bank branch to send transaction data to a head office computer. Mainframe computers are large, expensive and process billions of characters of data rapidly and fill entire rooms. Finally supercomputers are built to minimize distance between circuit boards and operate at very high speed for complex uses such as designing airplanes, animating complex movie sequences graphically or solving complex engineering formulas having billions of steps mathematically. Supercomputers are built for raw speed. Some terms apply to all computers. INPUT is how data gets into a computer. The keyboard and mouse are familiar INPUT devices. OUTPUT references how data is provided from the computer. A Monitor or printer are good examples of OUTPUT devices. PRIMARY STORAGE or MEMORY is the computer's immediate data storage area - usually this is in small integrated circuit chips which hold data ONLY while power is supplied. This PRIMARY STORAGE area is thus temporary. More permanent SECONDARY STORAGE is used when computer power is off or when data overflows primary storage. This is usually floppy or hard disk drives but can include paper tapes, punch cards, or even non-volatile magnetic bubble memories. How do computers store data and programs? For the PC (personal computer) storage of data can take place either in an integrated circuit chip or IC when the machine is on or a magnetic disk when the machine is turned off. The magnetic disk used to store information works in a manner similar to a tape recorder - magnetic impressions are placed on the tape and can be later replayed. Magnetic sound tape as a long strip of plastic with a thin coating of a metallic, easily magnetized powder glued to the surface of the plastic strip. When a electrically driven coil is placed near the surface of the plastic strip, thousands of little magnets are created on the surface of the tape as it rapidly streams beneath the coil. Later these little magnets can induce current to flow in the coil as the tape is pulled past the coil a second time. Thus the information or music is replayed. During recording, the electrical coil receives electric pulses which produce small magnetic "blips" along the tape. During playback, the coil is passive and the little magnetic pulses passing below its surface create electric pulses in the coil which are amplified. A magnetic computer disk works in the same fashion but spins in a circle like a music record rather than moving in a straight line like recording tape. Magnetic computer disks are available in two basic types: floppy and hard disks. A hard disk can hold considerably more information than a floppy disk - frequently millions of computer words (or "bytes") while a floppy disk holds less than a million in many cases. However what the floppy disk loses in capacity in gains in the advantage of portability since it can easily be removed from the pc and stored which is not true of the hard disk. On a typical music cassette tape you will find two channels (left and right speakers) and a total of four tracks (side A of the tape and side B.) Think of this as four lines of "information" running the length of the music tape. On a computer disk data is stored in a similar manner except there are far more tracks of information and of course the tracks are arranged in circles on a flat surface like a music record or compact CD disk. Tracks of computer information are written to and read from the computer disk by a read/write coil (head) that moves rapidly across the surface of the disk in a fashion similar to a record player needle on a music record. Most current disks (360K IBM format) have 40 tracks which are numbered from 0 to 39. The low numbers are towards the edge of the disk - the high numbers towards the center. Tracks, the circular data paths on the disk, are divided into still smaller units called sectors with the number of sectors varying with the exact DOS operating system you use on your PC. MS-DOS version 2.0 and higher versions use nine sectors per track. DOS 2.0 and above can read the older eight sector disks created by DOS version 1.1 but the reverse is not true. Each track is divided into the same number of sectors like pieces of apple pie. The sectors contain the magnetic bits or pulses of information which the computer records in a special index (called the file allocation table or FAT) so that it can quickly move from sector to sector sniffing out information on the disk. When you format a disk you ask the computer to inspect the magnetic surface of the disk for any errors, prepare it for use by future data and create an index "file allocation table (FAT)" which is like a card index for a large library of books. Formatting a disk is a little like taking a blank piece of paper and using a pencil and ruler to turn it into graph paper with both horizontal and vertical lines. What was blank before now has little cells or file drawers which can hold information. The file allocation table is so crucial to keeping track of where the data is on the disk that DOS (the disk operating system) usually keeps two copies in case of errors. Without a file allocation table the disk is like a large public library with no card catalog index and (worse still) every light in the building has been turned off! Certain utilities contained in DOS (i.e., the debug utility) and other software programs can adjust or repair the file allocation table but generally this is a delicate operation a beginner should not attempt. Floppy disks are available in two types: single and double sided. This means that the manufacturer guarantees only one (or both) sides of the disk as capable of holding magnetic pulses. Usually both sides of all disks are chemically coated, but the manufacturer may have found defects and advises use of only one side. IBM compatible machines usually use double sided, double density disks (abbreviated as DSDD on the package.) Single density disks record magnetic pulses or computer bits at 2,768 bits per inch and double density at 5,876 bits per inch. A single sided disk may work in a machine for a while, but you DO stand a risk that the data may be lost in time on the second "non-certified" side of a single sided disk. Do NOT turn over a disk and attempt to use the other side! Two problems arise: the disk spins in the opposite direction which may cause data errors and the small write protect notch is in the wrong location which may damage the floppy drive mechanism. What is the difference between a bit and a byte? The IBM PC and its clones generally use 8 bits (electrical pulses) to make up a byte (computer word.) A ninth "odd bit" is used for error checking (parity testing) to make sure the other eight bits are not accidentally erased or lost during storage or use by the computer. Bits are like alphabet characters and bytes are like the words made up from alphabet characters. So how many bytes are stored on a floppy disk? 40 tracks per side x 2 sides per disk x 9 sectors per track x 512 bytes per sector = 368,640 bytes stored per disk assuming DOS version 2.0 or later. Basically this means about one third of a million pieces of data information - quite a bit! On the side of all floppy disks is a small square notch. If the notch is uncovered, data can be freely written to the disk. If covered with tape, the PC will NOT write to the disk but CAN read from the disk. This is called the write protect tab. Be careful when handling disks! Since the read/write magnetic head on a floppy rides delicately in contact with the disk, tiny obstructions can cause it to jump, skip or scratch the disk and lose your data. Fingerprints, smoke, hair and moisture can cause problems. Always handle a floppy disk by the edges of its protective plastic "jacket" and replace it in a paper or plastic Tyvek slipcover sleeve when not in use. In addition, magnets, x- rays, televisions and other sources of stray magnetism can cause a floppy disk to lose data. Hard disks have many of the same characteristics as floppy disks, but are managed and maintained in a different manner as we will see in a later expanded tutorial on hard disks within package. In brief, however, hard disks use aluminum or hardened glass platters rather than flexible plastic mylar. Usually several platters are stacked together within a single hard drive unit. The number of stacked platters determine the data capacity of the hard drive unit. Because the hard disk platter spins much faster and holds data packed more tightly that a floppy disk, the hard drive unit is usually sealed in a metal shroud or container to eliminate dust or other contaminants. A sealed hard drive is sometimes referred to as a Winchester disk or Fixed drive. Where a floppy disk might hold approximately 360,000 bytes (abbreviated as 360K), a hard drive holds 10 Megabytes (million bytes) or more. As we will discuss later, backing up (making spare copies of hard drive data onto floppy or tape) is a necessary task since hard drives can and do fail - taking precious data with them. The bottom line is that once you get started with a computer, quite quickly your data becomes far more valuable than the computer in which it resides! Since we have briefly covered data storage we need to talk about data input. Two primary input devices are central to getting data into a pc. The keyboard and the mouse. We will discuss the keyboard in greater detail in a later tutorial. The mouse is an alternate input device which is rolled or moved across the desktop to position a cursor or pointer on the computer screen. The mouse also contains several buttons to help select items on data on the monitor screen. A mouse is not necessary for computer input - it is an optional device. Another introductory topic is that of output devices such as a monitor, printer or plotter. A plotter is a device which uses a motor to move pens or drawing implements in tightly controlled horizontal and vertical motions on a piece of paper or film. The computer can control a plotter to combine on one piece of paper differing pen colors and text and pictures stored within the computer. Computer plotter can be purchased with flat table or flat bed configurations or in models which move the pen(s) back and forth with gears that also drive the paper movement at the same time. The printer is probably the most common and useful output device attached to your computer. There are many types of modern computer printer with differing speeds and capabilities. The most common printer is the dot matrix printer which provides characters made up from tiny dots of ink on paper. The Daisy wheel printer uses a rapidly spinning wheel to imprint each letter separately like any ordinary typewriter. Line printers print entire lines of text in one sweep then move to the next line and are thus very fast. Ink jet printers produce characters made from individual dots of ink sprayed onto the paper. Thermal printers contain tiny wires which burn and thus darken special thermal paper into tiny letters and dots which we can read. Finally laser printers use a rapidly scanning laser to sensitize a polished drum with an entire page of information quickly and look and work roughly like an office copier. The first three types of printer are classified as impact printers since something strikes the paper which the later three are non impact printers. The oldest printer design is the thermal printer which maintained some popularity and was easy to manufacture, however the use of thermal printers is fading since the special heat sensitive paper is expensive and subject to random extraneous marks and blurring. The laser and ink jet printers are becoming more popular due to rapid speed of printing and quiet mode of operation. They are expensive with prices ranging from $600 to $2000. The ink jet printer squirts individual dots of ink onto the paper to form letters or other characters. A high quality paper is necessary since the wet ink can smear if not carefully handled. The laser printer is used for quickly producing one page of text at a time. In operation, the laser scans a polished drum with an image which is then dusted with dark toner particles which stick to the exposed areas made sensitive by the laser. Paper is then placed in contact with the drum and the toner is transferred to the page and is finally fused with heat to "fix" or seal the toner particles to the page. Dot matrix and daisy wheel printers are common and affordable alternatives for many small offices and home computer hobbyists. The two differ in the sharpness and quality of the final printed document. Dot matrix printers produce letters via small pins which strike the ink ribbon and paper to produce print which can be jagged looking. Nine pin dot matrix printers produce somewhat rough looking letters while 24 pin dot matrix printers produce crisper, fully-formed letters. In many cases the 24 pin dot matrix printer approaches the quality of the daisy wheel printer which seems to be fading from the computer printer scene. Both dot matrix and daisy wheel printers strike the paper through a ribbon to transfer ink to the printed page. Connecting a printer via a cable to the computer is always done through one of two plugs (or interfaces) on the back of the computer. One type of interface (computer plug) is serial, the other called parallel. The most commonly used interface for printers today is the parallel interface but serial interface printers do exist. What is the difference? Recall that there are eight bits (computer dots and dashes) to a byte (or computer word). The serial interface has each bit sent one at a time to the printer - like men in single file at the supermarket checkstand. The parallel interface sends all eight bits at once - like eight men all entering eight supermarket checkstands at once. Each interface is different, the printer manufacturer will tell you which interface to use. As a clue, frequently modems or mouse devices use the serial interface leaving the printer to the parallel interface. We have talked about output to paper, next let's briefly discuss output to a monitor or screen. The monitor or video display works much like your television - some older home computers still use a TV. Another term for a monitor is the cathode ray tube or CRT. Monitors differ in the sharpness or resolution they can display. On the low end of the resolution spectrum is the monochrome (single color) monitor frequently available in either green or amber screens. Next is the color RGB monitor (RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue) which displays low resolution color dots to make up an image. Higher resolution is obtained with an EGA monitor (Enhanced Graphics Adapter) and still higher with a VGA (Video Graphics Array) Monitor. Each monitor is mated to work with a circuit card located within the body of the computer. One way to upgrade a computer is to switch both the monitor and display/graphics circuit card to produce a sharper, more colorful image. The dots which make up all images on the monitor screen are called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the higher and sharper the image resolution. What is the difference between computer hardware and software? In simplest terms, hardware is the physical parts associated with a computer - the circuit boards, floppy drives, printers, cables and physical pieces of a system. Software is the electronic instructions necessary to make the computer perform. These instructions are usually stored inside a piece of hardware (e.g., software instructions stored inside a circuit chip or floppy drive) but they are nevertheless software. There are two major types of software: operating system software and applications software. Operating system software (like DOS) performs very elemental housekeeping instructions (e.g., where is monitor, how can I keep track of what data is on which track or sector of a floppy drive.) Applications programs perform tasks on a higher level (e.g., word processing programs or database programs are applications.) Generally an application software package uses the lower level operating system (DOS) to do routine tasks (e.g., your word processing application uses the lower level DOS operating system frequently to write and store data on a disk. We interrupt this tutorial for a brief reminder: be sure to submit your registration fee to receive your BONUS DISKS! Now back to our regularly scheduled tutorial . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY - PROCESSING AND THE CPU ---------------------------------------------------------------- You can pause for a while if you like or go onto to another tutorial. But if you want delve into great complexity, read on. Now it's time to delve deeper into the heart of the computer. The central processing unit or CPU is the "brains" of every computer. On the PC, the CPU is simply a tiny integrated circuit. It is the control center and contains two circuit elements to perform tasks plus several special locations or memory areas called registers which hold instructions. Registers, located within the CPU chip are temporary storage locations which hold instructions. Secondly, the arithmetic logic unit or ALU is the location within the CPU where seven basic math and logic operations take place (such as addition and subtraction.) Finally, the control unit is a portion of the CPU which directs all elements of the computer. It does not add or subtract like the ALU, it only directs the activity. Let's first examine the registers within the CPU. Four registers are present in the CPU - some computers contain more than four. The storage register is simply a parking area for information taken from or sent to memory. The accumulator register accumulate the results of calculations. The address register stores the location of where the information or instructions are located. Finally, one or more general purpose registers are usually available and have several functions which can interchangeably include addressing (where is it?) or arithmetic (add or subtract it.) Registers can vary in size or bits with the variety of the computer. 8-bit registers are common on small computers. 16-bits for larger personal computers. And finally minis, mainframes and supercomputers have 64-bit or larger registers. This length (8- bit, 16-bit, etc) is called a word and frequently larger and more powerful computers feature larger register size. Despite this seeming complexity a basic fact remains: all digital computers can only add and subtract two numbers: zero and one! Let's back up a bit. For purposes of digital computer electronics, internally a computer can only respond to two things: on and off - just like a light switch. These electronic states of being might actually be a positive and negative voltage or a high and low voltage stored in a series of transistors etched in silicon on a chip, but to the computer the logic is on or off. Two conditions, that is all. Back in the human world we can represent these as one and zero (1 and 0). A special branch of mathematics deals with calculations of numbers represented by 1 and 0 which is called binary arithmetic. Each one or zero is a pulse of electricity or magnetism (electricity inside a chip, magnetism out on the surface of a floppy disk.) Each pulse, either a 1 or 0 is called a bit. Whole series of bits in a row can be used to represent numbers larger than 9 in our human decimal system. Bits in strings of eight units are called bytes. One byte represents a single character of data in the computer. As a curious aside, a nibble is half a byte or four bits. We go back to our analogy of the light switch (on and off representing one and zero to a computer.) In simplest terms, if we have two light switches we have the following ideas: OFF OFF = 0 0 = (human decimal number) zero = 0 OFF ON = 0 1 = (human decimal number) one = 1 ON OFF = 1 0 = (human decimal number) two = 2 ON ON = 1 1 = (human decimal number) three = 3 Notice something peculiar: in the above we find FOUR binary numbers (0,1,2,3) but THREE human decimal numbers (1,2,3.) We rarely think of 0 as a number since we consider it NOTHING.) To computers ZERO is always a number!!! Going a little further a single bit can only represent two numbers: (ON or OFF = 1 or 0 ). Two bits (our above example can represent four numbers (0,1,2,3). And four bits could represent 16 numbers. If you go all the way to a byte (eight bits) you could get 256 numbers. The pattern is that each additional bit doubles the quantity of possible numbers. To a computer these binary numbers march together in a long string, one after another. Remember, the CPU has only two numbers to work with: 1 and 0. Human Computer Decimals Binary 0 - 0 1 - 1 2 - 10 3 - 11 4 - 100 5 - 101 6 - 110 7 - 111 8 - 1000 9 - 1001 10 - 1010 11 - 1011 12 - 1100 13 - 1101 14 - 1110 15 - 1111 Notice several eccentricities about this system. In binary, start on the right and keep adding digits to the left. When you fill a space with all 1's, you zero out everything, add one digit to the left, and start with "1" again. When you reach binary 111 you start the WHOLE series over again with a 1 in front of it. One bit counts two numbers, two bits count four, three bits count eight and so on as we mentioned earlier. When you add a binary digit to the growing string of 1's and 0's you double the number of total decimal digits you can use! These eccentricities appear odd, but to the computer they are shortcuts which simplify calculations and keep things to 1's and 0's. It is this simple system of on and off (like light switches) which make computers and their odd binary system so FAST! Now that we understand the basic binary arithmetic of a computer we can say a few words about addressing. Simply put, each piece of information in the computer lives in a little memory location (like eggs in a carton -each egg is a piece of data, each carton hole is an address or location.) Each address is unique, of course. The first address, the second, and so on. How many addresses can an 8-bit binary number describe? 256. A 16-bit number can specify 65536 addresses or possible locations for data. As we finish our introduction to computer technology we should briefly list a few terms. There are more in the glossary contained elsewhere on this disk. Kilo - Thousand units. Example: kilobyte. Because of the binary math associated, this is actually 1024 bytes. Frequently abbreviated as the simple letter "K". Meg - Million. Example: 20 Meg hard disk which hold 20 million bytes approximately. Millisecond - One thousandth of a second. Microsecond - One millionth of a second. Nanosecond - One billionth of a second. Picosecond - One trillionth of a second. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. A LITTLE PC HISTORY WHERE WE'VE BEEN WITH NO IDEA WHERE WE'RE GOING! ---------------------------------------------------------------- In the beginning . . . Computing or calculating by machine began in the middle east with the use of pegs or stones in trays or channels. The Babylonians developed the idea of stone or bead counters into the more modern abacus - modern in the sense that the abacus is still in use today and in the hands of an experienced operator can calculate results faster than a computer! The beauty of the abacus is its simplicity in construction and operation. Inexpensive beads of stone or wood and a simple frame make up the abacus and the uneducated could quickly be trained in its use. In the 8th and 9th centuries we note the rise of the Arabic numeral system which slowly spread through Europe and the then civilized world. Although a superior calculating system, Arabic numerals required the user to understand the more complicated numerical theory associated with the system. By the early 1600's Napier (often associated with the development of logarithms and their practical application) introduced a series of rods which could be used for multiplication - a crude slide rule system. Soon, ever more complicated "calculating engines" or primitive mechanical computing devices appeared. One example is the complex Pascaline invented by Blaise Pascal. By 1791 the stage was set. Babbage, an English mathematician and inventor with the help of Ada Byron (daughter of lord Byron, the famous poet) developed the ideas for two mechanical calculators or "number engines." The Difference Engine was a device to solve polynomial equations by the methods of differences. The Analytical Engine (which was never built)) was designed as a general computing device. Both were mechanical in concept using gears, rods and cams to perform calculations. Unfortunately neither machine was built since the tooling and machining technology of the day was imprecise and could not construct the accurate parts needed. However the models and planning of Babbage and Byron did lead to important preliminary computing concepts still in use today. As an aside, we should note from the work of Babbage and Byron that computing even in its infancy was strongly influenced by BOTH women and men - let's face it, computing is NOT gender specific! Next we jump to the United States. By 1880 a problem had arisen with the United States census. By that time, it took 7 years to process all of the information gathered by the Census Bureau since all tabulation was done by hand on paper. It was assumed that the 1890 census might take 10 to 12 years to tabulate. Clearly a better method was needed to crunch the volume of numbers and data. A public competition was held to produce a better indexing or mechanical system to tabulate future census results. Herman Hollerith, a census employee, handily won by suggesting the use of punch cards and a form of punch card reader which tabulated the results in six weeks. Hollerith, wise in the ways of computing devices and seeing a good opportunity went on to found the Tabulating Machine Company (later changed to IBM). Hollerith might be thus thought of as our first computer entrepreneur! The advent of World War II provided the impetus for the development of more refined computing devices. The Mark I was an electromechanical device using relays. IBM built that computer for the Navy. Later, the Colossus was built for the British and used for wartime code breaking of German radio transmissions. The ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) was constructed at Iowa State and was the first fully electronic digital computer. Admiral Grace Hopper, known as "Amazing Grace" to some, was a naval officer and pioneer in the field of computer programming during the 1940's and 50's. An innovative and fundamental thinker, she recognized that computers could be used for business applications - a pioneering insight beyond the then conventional use of computers for scientific and military applications. Her programming language called "Flowmatic" later evolved into COBOL, the most common and still popular language for programming business software. She died in 1992 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Computing science continued to evolve rapidly . . . Eniac was the most famous of the early computers and contained 18,000 vacuum tubes and was used by the Army for ballistics calculations. Edvac was the first stored memory computing device which did away with rewiring tasks associated with changing computer programs and represented a true computer breakthrough. This first generation of machines running from roughly 1951 through 1958 featured computers characterized by the use of radio type vacuum tubes. But the pace was increasing . . . Second generation machines such as the famous Univac were designed as true general or universal purpose machines and could process both alphabetic and numeric problems and data. Punch cards still formed the major input path to the machines of this era and all programming was done in complex low level machine language commands. By 1959 with the invention of the transistor, computers began to shrink in size and cost and operate faster and more dependably than the huge vacuum tube models. Programming languages began to feature English-like instructions rather than cumbersome machine code or assembly language. Fortran and Cobol are two modern "high level" languages developed during this period and still in use today. In many respects, the personal computer industry began in 1974 when the Intel corporation introduced a CPU integrated circuit chip named the 8080. It contained 4,500 transistors and could address 64K of memory through a 16 bit data bus. The 8080 was the integrated circuit brain behind the early MITS Altair personal computer which fired popular interest in home and small business computing when it appeared on the July 1975 cover of Popular Electronics Magazine. The first MITS Altair contained no keyboard or monitor, only crude LED lights and tiny flip switches to facilitate programming. Four years later in 1978 Intel released the 8086 chip which had a tenfold increase in performance over the 8080 chip. When IBM began the design phase of the first desktop PC units in 1980 and 1981, they chose the cousin of the 8086, the Intel 8088 chip, to power the first PC which was designed for modest corporate use but quickly exploded in popularity due to an excellent design, spectacular keyboard and openess to upgrade by the addition of "plug in" boards and cards. Early IBM PC computers retained a link with the past by allowing the addition of a small "Baby Blue" circuit board which could run software programs based on the then dominant CPM operating system. Finally we come to the present decade . . . August 1981. Original IBM PC (personal computer) introduced. Has options for monochrome and CGA color display. Receives generally good reviews and acceptance by business users and a few home users. Original DOS version 1.0 released which supported only single sided disks (160K capacity). Later version 1.1 corrected bugs (problems) in the DOS programming code and provided double sided disks (320K capacity), and faster disk access, date and time stamping and better serial communications. August 1982. Monochrome resolution of PC screen increased with introduction of the Hercules graphics card circuit. Combined with the LOTUS 123 spreadsheet, the IBM PC was now a hot choice for corporate computing. November 1982. Compaq portable arrives. First IBM clone on the market. The IBM PC standard is growing in popularity. Clone makers start to copy the PC in earnest. Software companies such as Phoenix technologies prepare BIOS and SYS programs which run the same as the IBM BIOS program without the copyright violation which every clone computer tries to avoid. BIOS stands for basic input and output system and is the core software essential to keyboard, disk and screen input/output. The BIOS is considered legally protected IBM software code, but can be simulated (or emulated) closely by a clever programmer in an attempt to do the same job, without using exactly the same programming code. March 1983. IBM introduces the PC XT (increased memory and hard drive capability). DOS version 2.0 released. This second DOS version includes hard drive capability, filter commands (sort, find, more), and a new floppy format system for 360K capacity per floppy. IBM bios code upgraded. October 1983. IBM PC JR released. Market disappointment for that IBM entry into the home market with the underpowered PC JR. The larger IBM PC standard is rapidly growing as the standard for personal computers and clones. March 1984. IBM PC portable introduced. Portable clones already on the market with small but growing success. August 1984. IBM PC AT machine arrives. More power, a new processor (Intel 80286). New screen display standard (EGA). Also new version of DOS 3.0. This version of DOS now takes into account the AT high density floppy drive (1.2 meg or million characters of capacity), read only files and a new disk write system for better file recovery in case of errors. Shortly thereafter, DOS 3.1 addresses file sharing. November 1985. Microsoft windows graphic display environment released. NEC multisync monitor is released. December 1985. DOS 3.2 supports the new 3.5 inch 720K diskettes. DOS now addresses up to 32MB on a single hard disk. April 1986. Older IBM PC standard model discontinued for newer models. IBM PC convertible model is released. September 1986. Compaq jumps the gun on IBM with release of new (80386) processor computer with more power than the PC AT. April 1987. IBM PS/2 models 30, 50 and 60 released. DOS 3.3 released. VGA video standard arrives. IBM blesses the new 3.5 inch minifloppy already in use on Apple Macintosh computers by offering that format on IBM machines. 1.44MB format is supported for high density floppy users. OS/2 operating system announced. August 1987. Microsoft windows version 2.0 arrives. November 1988. DOS 4.01 released which includes a shell menu interface system. This release of DOS, largely developed by IBM, generally ignored due to poor performance and large memory requirements. Many users stick with DOS 3.3. 1988 Laptop computers, smaller versions of desktop computers, are sold in large volumes. Size as well as features become issues in computer sales. 1990 Microsoft introduces Windows version 3.0 which includes a superb graphical user interface (GUI) display for the PC. Improves on earlier versions of Windows. Using software is more productive with multiple graphical software windows and the possibility of jumping between several software tasks operating on screen. But windows can only run acceptably on more expensive "high end" machines such as those containing the 386DX or 386SX chip. For many users in small offices or home offices, Windows may not be a necessity where simple DOS applications offer affordable functionality on low priced PC's not equipped to run Windows applications. 1991 Laptop computers, portable FAX systems, and cellular portable phone technology allow computers to function anywhere on the go for a practical "portable office" concept. Still newer "palmtop" computers about the size of portable calculators now offer full IBM compatable functionality. June 1991. DOS 5.0 is released which includes excellent new features including an improved menu interface, full-screen editor which improves on the Edlin editor, some limited task- swapping abilities, unformat/unerase utility, improved Basic interpreter, and ability to load system files to High Memory on machines having at least 1MB for improved performance and increased conventional memory availability for primary applications. DOS 5.0 is seen to be a major and highly necessary update to the PC operating system. Generally receives good reviews from computer trade press. The future? Difficult to predict, but the consensus of industry observers is that the IBM PS/2 computers will migrate into the office scene while many home and home/office users will stay with older XT computers and AT models. Best entry level computer system at this time is judged by many experts to the a 386SX PC system which allows many types of software both current and future to work reliably. Prices continue to tumble on AT and XT compatibles ($400 to $500 range) and AT clones ($700 to $900 range). The operating system for AT and higher class machines (using 80286/80386 processors) is called OS/2 but requires more memory and the 80286/80386 processor found only in higher priced computers. OS/2 or Windows may slowly replace the older DOS system, but for many users of home and home/office machines not needing LAN networks (many computers talk to each other and share data), the DOS standard will live a long time. The Microsoft Windows 3.0 system may delay the acceptance of OS/2 for several years. In general expect things to happen faster, computers to become still smaller and prices to descend still further! Graphical user interfaces or GUI's will gradually become the standard so that users can point and click at small icon pictures and lists of tasks on screen to accomplish the work at hand rather than fight with terse and cryptic commands. Computing will become a standard in many small and home offices owing to the incredible power, accuracy and affordablity of personal computers. Laptop computers and even smaller palmtop computers will become new standards. Computers and modems linked by wireless cellular radio/telephone technology allow a single computer user the power of "large office computing" on the go from anywhere in the world! Shareware software will make strong inroads into the market as users evaluate commercial "high priced" software against user support "low cost" shareware software. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. DOS FOR BEGINNERS - A LOW STRESS INTRODUCTION ---------------------------------------------------------------- This tutorial discusses minimum basic DOS commands, DOS shells, disk subdirectory structure, start up boot sequence and file names/file handling. DOS stands for disk operating system. DOS is the software program which controls the primary input and output of your computer while you use an application program such as your word processor or database. Learning about DOS isn't that difficult after all. It seems that beginners live in fear of DOS. A better way to do things is to imagine that DOS is a kitchen of cooking tools and helpful chefs waiting for your instructions on what to fix for lunch. Here's the point of the analogy: you've got to be a little comfortable in the kitchen to live (no food - no you!) Same thing with DOS. Learn just a little and you can survive. But just as with the kitchen, a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches may keep you alive (i.e., passing familiarity with only 4 or 5 DOS commands), life is more flavorful eating a variety of things like seafood, salad and dessert (i.e., a richer diet of DOS commands.) DOS or the disk operating system controls the flow of data to and from the screen, keyboard, disk drives, printers and of course the integrated circuit RAM (random access memory) chips wherein data is stored and processed. In as sense, DOS is the "verbal interpreter" through which your program (e.g., word processor) talks to the raw hardware. Somewhat like a person in a foreign land who needs a language interpreter. Over the years DOS has been produced in a variety of versions. New commands and capabilities have been added with different versions for a variety of machines. You might bump into a version of DOS for a true IBM machine and a version of DOS for a machine manufactured by Tandy. PC-DOS is a version of the more general MS-DOS developed for 16-bit computers using the Intel- manufactured line of CPU microprocessor chips. DOS is a software program having MANY parts! It consists of one (or more) disk(s) having an input/output system, a command processor, and many utilities. Don't worry about all of this right now, just be aware that DOS has many parts. DOS utilities are small software program files which are found on your DOS disk. These utility files perform helpful tasks such as formatting a disk or checking it for errors. Since they are a part of DOS, they live on the same disk but are not needed all of the time (e.g., you may need to format disks only once or twice a week and thus occasionally use FORMAT.COM which lives on your DOS disk.) Thus these EXTERNAL disk-based utility programs live in the computer's RAM (random access memory) chips TEMPORARILLY while in use and usually are kept on the disk until needed. They are EXTERNAL commands. Other commands live inside RAM memory because they are used frequently and are INTERNAL DOS commands. The file FORMAT.COM is an example of an EXTERNAL COMMAND. An example of an INTERNAL COMMAND would be DIR. Keep in mind that there are two basic types of DOS commands which will become more apparent as we delve into DOS magic. ---------------------------------------------------------------- DOS THE EASY WAY - DOS SHELLS AREN'T FOUND AT THE SEASHORE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Before we start our main DOS tutorial a brief alternative: There is always an easier way to do anything - given enough time and ingenuity. If DOS commands and structure are not interesting or you don't have the time to learn DOS, there exist programs called DOS SHELLS which essentially provide DOS access for routine things like moving and copying files; these menu programs hide the DOS commands behind a series of "point and select" choices and options a little bit like the point and shoot menus you are using with this software package. The typical DOS shell is a package which surrounds DOS (like a shell, hence the name) and allows you to perform the most common DOS functions by pressing only one or two keys or moving a highlighted arrow. Very appealing for beginners! This may be all the DOS control most people need . . . This is a bit like using a cash machine at the bank. If you need to take money out of the machine, you insert your card, key in a password and press a few different choice buttons. DOS SHELLS provide a screen of DOS command CHOICES, allowing you to point the arrow or cursor at the task you want done. You see a menu of choices instead of a cryptic C> prompt. The tradeoff is that you may miss out some of the more subtle operations that direct contact with DOS can provide, but then sometimes it is easier to get the task accomplished without fancy sidetracking and confusion. There are two flavors of DOS shells: memory resident which stay put in the computer memory and are always available whether the DOS shell disk is in the machine or not. The second type, non- resident shells, live on the disk and must be present in the disk drive to be used. Non-resident DOS shells do not use active RAM memory continuously and thus free more memory space for your main program. Some DOS shells also have added features: security passwords and macros - the capability to cause one key or key combination to instantly type a long string of commands. DOS shells are a good "beginners crutch" to let you work with the computer and its DOS operating system without having to learn the DOS commands and their somewhat arcane syntax. Some practical and easy DOS shell packages include: Still River Shell, DOS2ools, PC Tools, Powermenu, Automenu, Dirmagic and Directory Freedom. If you are beginner and don't want to be troubled learning DOS, then a shell program is the easiest way to use the PC. DOS version 5.0 contains its own shell system. ---------------------------------------------------------------- USING DOS - THE NUTS AND BOLTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Next let's jump into our main DOS tutorial, for those interested. Remember, there are TWO ways to use DOS. Directly at the prompt using what is termed a COMMAND LINE. This is the detailed method we will study in a paragraph or so. A second way is to use a DOS SHELL to manage files and other data, as we discussed previously. The following examples are best practiced at the DOS prompt A> or C> rather than within this tutorial. You might wish to print this tutorial and then practice the examples with your computer displaying a true DOS prompt such as C> To print this tutorial, refer to the help screen (press F1) for instructions on "file printing." Now let's begin the tutorial: When you first turn on the computer with only the DOS disk in place, assuming some automatic startup software or menu program has not been installed, you will see the lonesome A> prompt or maybe C> prompt if you have a hard drive. The DEFAULT drive is the disk drive in which DOS will search for a program or file if no other specification to another drive is given. The prompt tells you which drive is the default drive at the moment. DOS can specify up to 63 drive names (not just a, b and c!) If A> is on the screen it is the DOS prompt and in this case the A: drive is the DEFAULT floppy drive which will be searched for information if you issue a command and ask DOS to execute it. You can CHANGE the default drive simply. Let's try switching drives. If you see A> try the following example: (Example) b: The result on screen is now B> The computer now pays attention to b: (b drive). Hopefully there is a disk in b: drive or DOS gets confused and will give you an error message. If you have a hard drive (which is usually the C: drive,) you can try switching back and forth between your A: drive and C: in a similar manner. Try switching around between drives, go back and forth a few times. Switching drives is a VERY IMPORTANT SKILL, since DOS pays attention to the default drive whose letter is displayed on your screen. Let's try some other simple DOS commands. Type the short command (such as VER) when you see a DOS prompt. You can use either upper or lower case letters to type DOS commands. Try these examples . . . (Example) A>ver (Example) A>time (Example) A>date In the above examples, you first asked DOS to tell you what version of DOS you are using then a request to tell you the time and date. Get the idea? Type in a word or phrase and something happens. But just what are the words and phrases? Let's delve more deeply . . . (Example) A>dir/p You get a listing of files in the drive (hopefully a disk is in the drive.) Notice that we added /p to the end of a command. P is shorthand for "pause after each screenful." The DIR command means "directory" (a list of files or programs on the disk.) You can modify a basic DOS command like DIR with additional COMMAND SWITCHES, PARAMETERS and ARGUMENTS (e.g., /p) which simply implies modifications to a basic DOS command. The following examples show DOS commands with modifying switches or parameters. Try this . . . (Example) A>dir/w /w means "wide screen" (Example) A>dir a: list a: drive contents (Example) A>dir b: list b: drive contents You will notice that the DOS prompt stays with or in the default drive you started from but can examine another drive directory then COME BACK to the default drive from where you started. Another way of explaining this is that you can switch back and forth between drives (typing a: or b:) and ask for directories OR you can stay in a drive and ask DOS to look at either a: or b: independently of the default drive. Flexibility! A REMINDER: DOS is a computer operating system. Many of its commands once loaded stay inside the machine. As long as the power is on, these commands stay resident (stay put) and are called INTERNAL commands. DIR is an example of an INTERNAL COMMAND - it lives inside the computer once DOS is loaded. EXTERNAL COMMANDS only live on the DOS disk and can be copied to other disks (example: SORT.COM). They load TEMPORARILY into the computer memory, do their job and then are gone. EXTERNAL DOS COMMANDS MUST HAVE A DOS DISK (OR COPY) of that command in a disk drive when you need them. While we are concentrating on DOS at the moment it is important to understand that DOS is only an operating system. DOS is the first step. The second step for most people is to use more useful APPLICATION programs such as word processors, accounting systems, databases or other software to accomplish real work. These higher level APPLICATION programs are started by entering a simple word or instruction at the DOS prompt. For example, if you purchased a word processing disk it might instruct you to insert that special disk into the computer and type: A>start (then press enter key) The point is that DOS is a program which itself allows other useful programs to be loaded into the PC and operated. TIME TO JUMP TO LIGHTSPEED! The listing which follows is a portion of the most useful DOS commands with examples and clarification tips. Your DOS manual contains many more. -- DIR -- (Internal command) lists a table of disk file contents. Use this command to view a disk volume label, all filenames, sizes of files in bytes, the date, time of file creation and amount of space left for storage on the disk. A disk for IBM PCs clones hold about 360,000 bytes or computer "words." DIR/W lists columns in "wide screen mode" DIR/P lists in "pause" mode (one screen at a time). You can also locate or find certain files. Example: A>dir letter.bak Example: C>dir rll.wks. You can switch and view another directory. Example: C>dir b: Example A>dir c: When you issue the DIR command your screen will produce a listing similar to this assuming you have a disk in the floppy drive: COMMAND COM 16037 2-15-84 3:55p ANSI SYS 1632 6-26-84 5:15p ASSIGN EXE 1386 5-22-84 3:42p AUTOEXEC BAT 40 3-26-87 6:32a BACKUP COM 11855 12-11-84 1:02p CHKDSK COM 6468 10-19-83 7:51p DEBUG COM 12223 10-19-83 7:52p DEVCNFG COM 4621 9-18-85 7:01p DISKCOMP COM 2088 9-12-85 4:41p DISKCOPY COM 1409 10-19-83 7:51p DISKSHIP EXE 2376 8-29-85 11:08a In the above partial screen listing, the first word in each line is the filename. The second word is the file extension. (Example: the first file is actually named COMMAND.COM not COMMAND COM ). The next number is the byte count or file size (i.e., how many computer words or bytes make up the file). The next item is the date of file creation. The final item is the time of file creation. This is very useful as you start to build up a collection of files! Which one is the latest and when did I write that financial report are common questions and good reasons why a date and time of file creation is important to both DOS and you. Tip: FILE HANDLING with the DIR command and DOS. On the screen a directory listing might show a file as BUDGET WKS but the true filename syntax is always BUDGET.WKS The point is that you need a dot between the filename (first part) and the extension of the file (second part) or DOS cannot handle the file properly. FILENAMES. There is a meaning to life, as they say. The clue as to the use of a file usually resides in its three character file extension. Files can be typed in upper or lower case, DOS doesn't care! Names longer than eight letters will be shortened automatically to eight letters. File extensions longer than three letters will be shortened to three letters. The file name frequently gives a clue as to the nature of the file. The file extension tells WHAT KIND of file it might be. Acceptable characters which can be used to make up a file name are: A through Z, 0 through 9, and these: $#&@!()-{}'`_~ Unacceptable characters which CANNOT be used in a filename are: |<>\^+=?/[]";,* (and also) Control characters and the space Examples of filenames. LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE THREE DIGIT EXTENSIONS: 123.EXE The program 123, an "executable" file. Think of as a program that can be started and "run" to do something. GO.BAT A Batch file (bat). Like an exe file. Contains plain english DOS commands and can be viewed with the DOS "type" command. VIEW.COM Unknown file, but a "command" type, similar to an exe file. 783.WKS A worksheet file from lotus possibly from July of 1983 (7/83) README.TXT Probably a text file in plain english. Can be read and viewed with the DOS command: TYPE (discussed below.) XVC.DBF Unknown file, but we might guess a dBase database program database file. CONFIG.SYS A PC system file. Helps "configure" your computer for specific hookups, and equipment. If you type A>ZIGZAG (then press enter key) DOS will look for: ZIGZAG.COM or ZIGZAG.EXE or ZIGZAG.BAT. As we illustrated in the directory listing above, the first (ZIZAG.COM) is a COMMAND file or program which can be run to do something. The second is an executable file. And, the third is a batch file (see the batch file tutorial.) COM and EXE files can execute as programs. The difference between the two relates to how memory is allocated. COM files when loaded into memory are exact mirror images of their structure on disk. EXE files are usually larger programs which use extensive chunks of RAM memory and are not exact images of their disk counterpart. An arcane but interesting distinction. A DOS command has a unique command syntax just like we humans have rules of grammar. A DOS command has a mandatory part and some DOS commands have an optional part. For example, DIR C:pathname\filename.ext/w/p is the complete syntax for the DOS DIR command we used above, BUT only DIR is mandatory. We will explain pathnames and directories in a later tutorial. For now, just realize that DOS commands have a central or mandatory command and additional "refinements" or options with little / and \ bars to refine the command. / is a slash. \ is called a backslash. You don't need to use the refinements, but they help as you grow in proficiency. DOS is quite honest for the most part. When you ask for a directory listing of files on a disk you usually get it. EXCEPT for two small lies! On the main DOS disk are two files which cannot be seen on the directory (hidden) but are there: IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM. These files are the core of the operating system. The designers of DOS hid them for two reasons 1) copyright concerns 2) protection from accidental erasure. But the biggest problem is that these two special files will not copy to disks in the normal manner (see our copy discussion below). These two files can only be copied with the SYS command or DISKCOPY command (also below). Without these two files a disk cannot boot or startup the computer. When you copy a DOS disk the COPY command copies almost everything (except IBMBIO and IBMDOS.) The DISKCOPY command copies everything. You only need IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM to start the computer. IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM do not have to be on every disk - only those disks which start the computer. Tip: STOP! Not a formal DOS command, but if you need to stop something in progress, (copying, listing) do this: If a directory is scrolling endlessly down the screen, hit control key AND the S key held together. This stops things until you want to continue (hit any key). To stop a DOS operation altogether, use control key and C key together. Easy way to remember: control-C means crash. control-S means stop. This will not always work within every program (e.g., inside lotus 1-2-3) but it does work within DOS. -- TYPE -- (Internal) displays or "types" the contents of a file on your monitor. Use type for a glimpse into files. Only text files (also known as ASCII files) will read in english. Other files (com or exe) will show gibberish since they are in computer code. Hit CTRL-Z to stop (control and Z keys). Hit Ctrl-S (control and S key) to pause and any key to restart. Example: A>type readme.1st (sends output to screen) Example: B>type readme.1st>prn (sends output to printer) -- ? and * -- DOS can use "wildcards" in many operations (? *). Simply stated, these wildcards take the place of letters and numbers. Use the question mark as any SINGLE character. Use the * as any GROUP of ANY LENGTH of characters. Think of them as shortcuts to get the job done! Very powerful and useful! Frequently used with the COPY and DEL commands which are discussed in a few paragraphs. Example: C>dir a:*.wks Means provide a directory listing of any files on the a: drive ending in WKS and beginning with ANY characters of ANY length from 1 to eight digits. Files such as MY.WKS or NUMBERS.WKS or NAMES.WKS would fit this description. Example: B>copy ???.dat a: Means copy any files to a: drive ending in DAT and having any characters in the filename AND ONLY filenames exactly three digits long. The often used *.* means ANY FILE NAME and ANY extension regardless of length. For instance: Example: C>copy *.* a: (means copy ALL files from the existing default c: into the a: drive) Example: C>copy a:*.* b: (means copy ALL files from a: to b:) Example: A>del finance.* (delete files from the a: drive which begin with finance and have ANY file extension size or character type.) -- COPY -- (Internal) copies one or several files to a disk or directory. Copy can duplicate a file onto another disk or into a subdirectory (more on subdirectories later). Copy is the most flexible and powerful of the DOS commands! Use the copy command with the wildcards seen above for even more flexibility. Example: B>copy zip.doc a: (copy zip.doc from b: drive to a: drive.) Example: A>copy c:why.me b: (copy why.com from c: drive to b: drive.) Example: C>copy c:fuss.txt b:whine.txt (copy fuss.txt from c: drive to b: drive and rename it whine.txt) Copy and /v verifies a good transfer or copy. Example: A>copy whine.bat b:/v Means copy the disk file whine.bat to the b: drive and then VERIFY this is a good copy. Verify is also an independent DOS command. Copy and the + symbol COMBINES two or more files into one larger file. Useful for combining two wordprocessor files into one larger file. Example: A> copy files.old+files.new files.all (The NEW file = files.all) Copy can send data to the printer. Example: B>copy files.new prn Example: B>copy files.new>prn. Copy CON (copy from the console or keyboard) can prepare batch files and autoexec.bat files to automate many DOS operations (examples below). In this fashion copy can create a new file and act like a very simple "mini" word processor! Example: A>copy con lotus.bat (press enter) A>123 (press enter) A>^Z (press enter) In the last line ^Z is produced by either pressing F6 (function key 6) or holding down control key and z key together. This file means (first line) create a file named Lotus.bat as typed from the keyboard or con (console). (Second line) execute the program named 123. (Final line) end of my orders from the keyboard - prepare the file Lotus.bat and save it on the disk. -- VERIFY -- (Internal) checks file copying operations to make sure a newly copied file is identical to its companion. It is usually added as a /V command at the end of a copy command, but also is a separate DOS command. Typing verify all by itself simply reports whether verify is currently on or off. Example: C>verify on (turns on verify function until you turn it off) Example B>verify off (turns off verify function until you turn it on) -- DATE and TIME -- (Internal) A calendar and clock exist within DOS. On some computers it automatically is updated and kept current. On other computers (without a clock card or chip installed) you type in the date and time on startup. If you don't type in the date and time manually or have an automatic clock chip which does this, the default values will be 1/1/80 and 00:00:00.00 for date and time respectively. You can enter the date with hyphens (-) or slashes (/). Do not enter the day of the week (e.g., Monday) even though it may show on the monitor. The PC will calculate this for you automatically. A two digit year references dates between 1980 and 1999. In 2000 you must use four digits. The time setting references a 24 hour military time clock (e.g., 1300 hours = 1PM). Date and time data is important to DOS since it is attached to all files to keep track of when they were created so you can determine which file is most recent. Example: B>time Example: A>date -- DEL or ERASE -- (Internal) deletes files or groups of files. Use DEL*.* to erase all files from a disk. See our previous mention of wildcards (* and ?). If you make a mistake, certain non-DOS utilities (e.g., Nortons Utilities and PC-Tools) can un- delete a deleted file. But DOS cannot do this! Be careful - a typographic mistake can delete an unintended file! Deleting old files is a necessary operation, though, which frees up space on a disk. Hard disk users may prefer to move files to a floppy to free up space yet still retain a backup copy of the file in case of need. Example: A>del whine.txt Example: B>del 784.wks Example: A>del *.wks (notice the use of the * wildcard we mentioned earlier!) Example: A>del old.* (notice the use of the * wildcard we mentioned earlier!) Example: C>del ??.rxd (notice the use of the ? wildcard we mentioned earlier!) -- DISKCOPY -- (External) copies entire contents of one floppy to another. Some DOS versions (Ver 2.11) require you to first format the blank disk while later versions (Ver 3.1 and higher) sense an unformatted disk and first format it then proceed with the diskcopy. Diskcopy is a wise idea since disks wear out after several hundred hours of operation. The /1 argument means copy to side 0 of the disk only. All information on the target disk will be destroyed and over-written with the new information, so be careful! Example: A>diskcopy a: b: (copy the contents of a: floppy to b: floppy) Example: A>diskcopy a: b:/1 (copy the partial contents of a: floppy to b: floppy using single side of disk only) -- COMP and DISKCOMP -- (External) compare two files or disks. Diskcomp is frequently used after diskcopy operations. These commands ensure identical accuracy of the copied files or disks. Example: A>comp a:fuzz.txt b:thatch.txt (compares two files) Example: A>diskcomp a: b: (compares two entire disks) -- CLS -- (Internal) clears the screen and puts the cursor in the home (upper left) position. Useful. Try it! Example: A>cls -- FORMAT -- (External) Prepares a blank floppy to receive data. Think of a fresh disk as blank paper. DOS prefers graph paper with little boxes drawn on it to receive data. Each little box stores a computer word or "byte." Format erases any old files on a disk - be careful! Format prepares the tracks and sectors which will receive the data. All disks must first be formatted prior to use. Example: B>format a: (format floppy in a: drive) Example: C>format a:/s (format floppy in a: AND add system files) Example: A>format (format the disk in the DEFAULT a: drive). Full command syntax is: format d:/s/1/8/b/v In the above example, d: tells where the disk is. /s put the system files IBMDOS.COM and IBMBIO.COM on the disk. /1 formats one side of the disk only. /8 formats as 8 sectors for use the older DOS 1.1. /b formats as 8 sectors per track and leaves room for the DOS system files. /v puts a volume label onto the disk for future identification. Tip: Only new (empty) formatted disks can receive the system files (IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM). Once you put a few files on the floppy, the system files will not fit since track 0, sector 0 have been used. Remember that the system files are designed to start the computer and MUST start on track 0, sector 0, However very few of your floppies NEED the system files: just the one or two which actually start the PC. Tip: Danger! A>format c: wipes out your hard drive! Also C> del *.* wipes out hard drive. -- REN or RENAME -- (Internal) changes name of a file to another new name. Destroys old name. Usually you will use this when you want to change on old backup file to another name so that it can be used by a program again. Wildcards are allowed but can cause trouble - be careful. If the new file name already exists, the ren command will give you an error message as a safety measure. Example: A>ren old.txt new.txt Tip: Use the copy command instead of rename if you want to KEEP the old file and its old name, and want another copy of that file with a new name. See the THIRD example given in the copy command. -- VER -- Shows the DOS version number. Example: A>ver -- VOL -- Displays a volume label, if one exists on a particular hard or floppy disk. The label is a name you can give the disk when it is first formatted. It can contain names, dates or helpful reminders much like the title on the cover of a book. Some special utilities help you change the volume label AFTER formatting has taken place. Example: C>vol -- SYS -- (External) copies the hidden files (BIO and SYS) to another disk which has been already formatted. This command makes a disk floppy bootable to the computer - you no longer need DOS to start the machine. The newly made disk with the two hidden files will boot (start) the machine by itself. The basic purpose of the SYS and format/s commands are to make a disk self-starting or self booting. The command FORMAT/S first formats a floppy then adds the hidden files. Example: A>sys b: (used when the disk is already formatted) Example: A>format b:/s (does same thing but first formats blank disk) Example: A>format b:/s/v (verify also used) -- CHKDSK -- (External) checks contents of a disk for errors. Chkdsk/f fixes minor file allocation table (FAT) errors. Chkdsk/v (v means verbose) displays all filenames as it works. Followed by a filename, chkdsk checks only that file. Always use the version of chkdsk which came with your DOS disk. Switching to a different version from another disk can do damage! Below is a sample display produced by running chkdsk on a floppy disk. The first three lines of the report tell about the disk. The last two tell about the RAM memory inside the computer. C>chkdsk b: produces following 362496 bytes total disk space 251904 bytes in 26 user files 110592 bytes available on disk 655360 bytes total memory 234016 bytes free Example: A>chkdsk b: (check b: floppy, all files) Example: C>chkdsk c:\*.* (check for contiguity of files in root of c: drive) Example: A>chkdsk b:this.doc/f/v (check only the file this.doc on b:floppy. Give verbose report and attempt to fix any errors) -- FDISK -- (External) prepares hard drive for data. First use fdisk then use format c:/s/v for second step. Some hard disks come shipped with fdisk already run and only need final formatting. Running fdisk is also known as partitioning the hard disk. Example: A>fdisk -- LABEL -- (External) attaches volume label or header to a floppy. Like stamping a book with a title. Only in DOS 3.0 and above. Some utilities can add this feature to DOS 2.11 and below. Example: A>label b:expenses.com -- CTRL & PRTSC -- (Internal) aren't really DOS commands but a combination of two keystrokes at the same time which sends all displayed data to the printer until you hit the same two keys to turn the command off. This allows you to print directory listings or files of interest. Remember to turn command off when finished. Press CTRL-PRTSC to toggle the printer on and print anything which goes to the monitor screen, then press CTRL-PRTSC to toggle the printer off when you have all you need printed. -- SHIFT & PRTSC -- (Internal) two key combination which copies only the current screen to your printer. DOS also uses device (equipment) names within commands. For example you can talk to your printer on keyboard by using the proper DOS name. Each name is unique. Examples follow: -- CON -- Is the name for the keyboard and monitor. Below is a repeat of a previous example using the con device name. Copy CON ("copy from the console or keyboard) can prepare batch files and autoexec.bat files to automate many DOS operations (examples below). In this fashion copy can create a new file and act like a very simple word processor! Example: A>copy con autoexec.bat (press enter) A>123 (press enter) A>^Z (press enter) -- AUX: or COM1 -- Is the first ansynchronous communication port which usually has a modem, serial printer or mouse connected to it. COM2 is the second port. PC's can have up to 4 serial ports. -- PRN or LPT1 -- Is the first parallel port which is usually used with a printer. LPT2 is the second printer. By the way, a PORT is an electrial socket on the back of the PC where a cable of some type plugs in. -- CAS1 -- Is an antique term still available within DOS which refers to the early PC days when a cassette recorder was used for storing data rather than floppies. This is the cassette recorder port. -- NUL -- Is a test device. Anything sent to nul goes nowhere. However it is useful in testing DOS batch programs or simply sending excess garbage from a screen report to nul (nowhere) thus uncluttering a busy screen. Odd but useful in its own right. ---------------------------------------------------------------- SUBDIRECTORIES - LITTLE BOXES IN THE DISK DRIVE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Floppy disks have a relatively limited capacity to store files - limited in comparison to the seemingly expansive space on a hard drive. To find a necessary file name on a floppy, just use the DIR or directory command. However, on a hard disk things get a little out of hand with hundreds of files all listed on the same screen. In version 2.0 of DOS and above, a solution is obtained by adding subdirectories and pathnames to manage the location and organization of file storage. A path is nothing more than a "trail" or "direction post" which helps DOS find a particular file out of the hundreds which may be located on a hard drive. This pathname is facilitated by the use of multiple directories (called subdirectories) on a single disk. In this fashion you sort files into groups in a specific place on the drive. By the way, a subdirectory is itself a small file and does occupy space on the disk. You could compare a hard or floppy disk to a department store. The store might sell toys, books and clothes. Similar items go in the same department or area. A disk also has the capacity for many separate areas in which to place files. DOS refers to these with a main central directory (root directory) and subdirectories branching below it. You can create a subdirectory named TEXT which contains all your word processing documents. Computer utilities could be in a subdirectory called UTIL, and so on. In diagramatic form this might be seen in a simple example as: ROOT (CENTRAL) DIRECTORY (contains startup files) C:\ | | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | DATABASE SUBDIRECTORY SPREADSHEET SUBDIRECTORY GAMES SUBDIRECTORY | | | | | | | | data files business files PERSONAL games files | | ---------- | | | | Earnings files Tax files On the screen, a listing of any subdirectory might show the first two entries mysteriously named . and .. (single dot and double dot). The first dot is a name for the subdirectory itself. The double dot is a name for the parent (higher) directory one level up. Anytime that a subdirectory can be referred to, one can use . or .. For example, if you want to copy all of a diskette, you could use copy A:. (A: single dot) instead of copy A:*.* or A:\*.* Be careful to use short pathnames, especially in the DOS search PATH. A long path name (example: \this\that\another\yik\yak) slows down DOS searches and is a pain to type out. When DOS first starts or boots up, you always begin in the root directory. Notice that pathnames use the backslash (\) as their main "roadpost." The correct name of a file always includes its path. Thus while we might talk about a file named PCL.EXE its REAL NAME if it were in a subdirectory area of a hard disk might be \this\that\thing\place\PCL.EXE. Most hard drive users include a PATH command within their autoexec.bat file to allow DOS to find the location of all the files. In this way you DON'T have to change directories manually for the file to execute. DOS will simply consult the PATH established when the computer started and read in the autoexec.bat to find all files regardless of subdirectory location. The DOS commands MD, RD, and CD allow you to make, remove, and change among subdirectories. They are of marginal use on a floppy but essential use on a hard drive which may have hundreds of (hard to locate) files. Frequently the main (root) directory is where startup files such as AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS are stored. The mark of a good main or root directory is that a DIR listing of the root should fill only ONE screen and not scroll with several screens of extraneous files. Additional files and programs are neatly tucked into appropriate subdirectories and not into the root area of the hard drive. -- MD or MKDIR -- (Internal) makes a subdirectory and assigns it a name or Example: A>md\data Example: C>md c:\data\files -- RD or RMDIR -- (Internal) removes an empty subdirectory (it cannot remove a subdirectory already loaded with files as a safety measure - use the DEL command to first clear a subdirectory.) The root (main) directory cannot be removed. Example: B>rd\letters\financial (removes financial subdirectory below letters subdirectory and root directory) -- CD or CHDIR -- (Internal) changes the current (active) subdirectory or directory. CD\ brings you to the root (main directory) no matter where you are. Example: A>cd\ (change to the root or uppermost directory) Example: C>cd\data (change to subdirectory named data below the root) Example: B>cd\data\financial ---------------------------------------------------------------- TURNING ON THE PC - THE ELEGANT BALLET OF DOS TECHNOLOGY ---------------------------------------------------------------- The following description is an optional tutorial but may be interesting for those curious about the starting sequence when a computer is first turned on and what the role of DOS is in this elegant "electronic ballet." The command processor mentioned earlier (i.e., COMMAND.COM) is also a file which resides on the disk but once it is read into the RAM chip memory of the computer it stays or resides there until the machine is turned off. Sometimes you may even need to load a second copy of COMMAND.COM and at other times, some application programs and games provide their own command processor. Basically COMMAND.COM watches for keystrokes from your keyboard and tries to execute commands and actions based on what it finds. That is why it is called a COMMAND PROCESSOR. The input/output system consists of two system files (which live on the DOS disk) plus a ROM (read only memory) chip which also contains software instructions wired directly into the circuits of your computer. The two system files which are on the DOS disk are normally hidden and not available for changing. The most elemental and necessary part of the input/output system is called the BIOS or basic input/output system. The BIOS consists of the ROM chip on the computer's main circuit board we mentioned earlier plus one of the hidden files on the DOS disk called IBMBIO.COM (or IO.SYS). The other hidden file on the DOS disk, IBMDOS.COM (or MSDOS.SYS), is the main file handling system for the computer. IBMDOS.COM hides inside it a portion of software for disk based files and a portion for non-disk peripherals. The two files (IBMDOS.COM and IBMBIO.COM) are necessary because non-disk peripherals require data as strings of characters (one after another in a long line) while disks move their files about in large data groups known as blocks. Let's jump back to COMMAND.COM which provides three services for the computer: it handles critical errors and problems. If your printer is not turned on at the right time or a disk drive door is open, COMMAND.COM finds out and attempts to report a message or suggest a remedy. It also handles critical interrupts which is a technical way of saying it takes care of demands and priorities imposed by the differing parts of the hardware. If you hit the Ctrl-Break key combination to stop a DOS operation, this is a critical interrupt which COMMAND.COM must deal with. Finally it performs end of program services which are routine chores like making more RAM memory available when a program finishes its job or reloading parts of itself when needed. In addition it also places the familiar prompt C> or A> on the screen and listens for commands you might type. Essentially, COMMAND.COM instructs the rest of the DOS series of programs what to do. When you first turn on the switch to start the computer in the morning, the machine goes through a process called "booting." This derives from the arcane but descriptive process which refers to how the machine literally picks itself up by the "bootstraps." In the first stage of "booting up," the machine begins by testing its memory RAM chips and other components in a power on self test (POST). After this, the left or top A: floppy drive spins and if no disk is available the hard drive light flickers as the machine searches for further clues about starting itself. Initially the ROM chip BIOS wired inside the machine loads track 0, sector 0 of the disk. This disk sector contains a very small program (boot loader) which reads the rest of the input/output system stored on the disk. Next the boot loader reads the input/output system (IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM) into the system. IBMBIO.COM initializes the hardware of the machine and runs a small file named CONFIG.SYS (if available) and finally moves IBMDOS.COM into its normal location in RAM memory. Finally, IBMDOS.COM loads COMMAND.COM and turns control over to it. COMMAND.COM runs the AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file (if found) and finally control is given to the keyboard and you. It is a long process with each step depending on the previous! An elegant ballet, fascinatingly complex, but necessary for the PC to function. Why not wire this permanently into the machine on a ROM (read only memory) chip? Some machines do, but the main advantage of having this information stored on a disk is that it can be updated and revised easily via a change of a floppy disk. The machine can revise its operating system quickly by simply using a different or later version of DOS (or even an operating system other than DOS such as UNIX or other operating systems.) This is what gives the PC such flexibility to change and upgrade to a newer operating system without the expense of tearing down or even replacing the machine. You simply change the floppy disk and you have a new way of doing business! Simplicity, elegance and ease of changing software is what this means for the computer user. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. ADVANCED DOS COMMANDS ---------------------------------------------------------------- This tutorial covers advanced DOS commands, updates for DOS version 5.0, keyboard shortcuts, function key assignments and a special functional index of DOS commands which is located at the end of the tutorial. Life gets more interesting the longer you stay in the game. The more you want to accomplish with a computer, the more you need advanced DOS commands. But first, let's take a side trip to the keyboard and study some powerful DOS shortcuts. ---------------------------------------------------------------- FUNCTION KEY USE ---------------------------------------------------------------- The keyboard function keys labelled F1 through F10 access a special buffer storage area of DOS. Additional key combinations offer other shortcuts. Some keyboards have twelve function keys while others have the function keys arranged along the top of the keyboard rather than stacked along the side. The best way to understand how the function keys work is to pause and explain the concept of a keyboard buffer which is little more than a temporary storage area in the computer's memory. A buffer is necessary because the activities of input and output (using the keyboard or printer) are much slower than those activities which interact with the speedy RAM memory chips and CPU. Data from the keyboard is placed into a memory buffer area until you signal the PC that you are ready to move on to the next task. Usually this signal is the carriage return or enter key. A buffer storage area can vary in size. For the DOS command line buffer, up to 127 characters can be contained. When data is entered into the keyboard buffer is stays there until flushed out. DOS allows some limited repeating and editing of data stored in the buffer (data you previously typed at the keyboard) by use of the function keys. The FUNCTION Keyboard: The following discussion applies to the function keys WHEN YOU ARE USING DOS! When you use an application such as your word processor or database program the function keys will probably have different uses! The function keys assume different roles for different programs. F1 through F5 have special meaning within DOS. They help in reissuing/editing the last DOS command typed. F1 Repeats one character per keystroke of the previous DOS command typed. F2 Repeats characters stored in the buffer up to the character you typed after pressing F2. F3 Repeats the entire LAST command. USEFUL! Repeat last command and edit it over again with other function keys or the backspace key. F4 Deletes all characters in the buffer up to the character you typed after F4. The buffer is not displayed. To see the buffer on screen tap F3. F5 Stores the current line for re-editing. F5 is used with the other four keys so you can repair long DOS commands which weren't typed in properly. When you press F5 the current line will be marked and the cursor will move down one line WITHOUT a new prompt. Then use the other function keys to finish editing. The main Keyboard Delete key deletes character on or to the right of the cursor Backspace key removes last character typed - to the left of cursor Insert key puts keyboard into insert mode Escape key voids current input and exits or escapes to previous settings PageUp key in many applications moves you up one screen of text PageDown key in many applications moves you down one screen of text Left and right arrow keys move cursor left and right without deleting Numlock key toggles (goes back and forth) between numbers on the numeric keypad and cursor control (functions such as page down, move cursor right, etc) Pressing two or more keys at the same time produces further results. You may hold down the Control (Ctrl) key and then press another key for a required result. Here are some two key combinations. Hold down the first key, then press the second: Shift-PrtSc prints one screen of data on your printer. Control-C or Control Break Aborts current DOS command. USEFUL! Control-H or backspace removes last character typed Control-P or Control-PrtSc sends output to printer until turned off by typing same key combination (Control P) a second time. Whatever appears on screen will be sent to printer until turned off with control P a second time. This is a little used, often forgetten and HIGHLY useful key combination! Control Numlock or Control S pauses screen output. Press any key to continue Control-Alt-Delete keys together shuts down computer and WIPES OUT all computer data! This is also called a "warm boot" as compared to a cold boot (completely turning off computer, then turning back on again.) Either of these methods means that ALL DATA AND PROGRAMS LOST from RAM memory but whatever data stored on disk(s) remains. Other keys have special meanings and can be confused with their look-alike twins: the slash (/) and Backslash (\) are different but easily confused as are the apostrophe (') and grave accent (`), and also the capital O and Zero (0.) ---------------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED DOS COMMANDS AND METHODS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Now on to some of the more advanced DOS commands, files and methods which we continue from the previous DOS tutorial: -- AUTOEXEC.BAT -- is not a DOS command but a small text file which gives the user an automatic way to specify a precise series of DOS commands whenever the computer is started each day. Within AUTOEXEC.BAT you can specify system variables such as the PATH and PROMPT commands, load or start a menu system with a variety of program choices, load memory resident "TSR" programs such as a calculator or notepad, run other batch files or start one specific program such as your word processor every time the computer is turned on. You can create or modify an AUTOEXEC.BAT file with any word processor which saves text in ASCII (plain text) format. Additional comments and explanations about the AUTOEXEC.BAT file are provided in the batch file tutorial elsewhere within this package. Following is a listing of the contents within a sample AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Note that it is simply a series of DOS commands which will be given every time the computer is first turned on: echo off date time path \dos;\wp;\util;\doc;\bat prompt $P$G verify on mode bw80,r type menu -- CONFIG.SYS -- is not a DOS command, but a small text file which tells DOS the system setup information or "custom configuration" of your computer. Whenever additional hardware is added such as a tape drive, mouse, ram drive or other device, you will usually add a DEVICE command to the CONFIG.SYS file so that DOS can recognize the new hardware or software device. Performance can also be increased by adding other parameters to the CONFIG.SYS file such as the FILES and BUFFERS commands. On startup, CONFIG.SYS helps DOS determine the configuration of hardware, RAM memory, keyboard, ramdisk, hard drives and other "customizations" to your system and is usually stored in the root or main directory of your hard drive. The CONFIG.SYS file can be prepared or altered with your word processor operating in ASCII mode (plain text). You could also use the COPY CON command or any text editor such as Edlin to prepare a CONFIG.SYS file. Following is a listing of the contents within a sample CONFIG.SYS file: device=ansi.sys device=vdisk.sys buffers=20 files=20 -- MODE -- (External) is a command to setup the printer, display and communications outputs of your computer. Use mode when you have several printers or two or more monitors such as both color and monochrome. Example: A>mode CO80 (set display mode to color,80 columns wide) Example: B>mode lpt1=com1 (set printer to com port number 1) Example: A>mode com1:10,n,8,1,p (set modem transmission settings) Example B>mode bw80,r (set monitor to b&w text, 80 columns wide) -- MORE -- (External) causes the display to pause when reading a long file or directory. More is always combined with other DOS commands. See below for an example using the MORE command. -- REDIRECTION AND PIPING -- Are not DOS commands but powerful methods for sending information to or through other DOS utilities. Some commands, for example DIR, can use MORE, SORT and other DOS "filters" with a special vertical bar | in a method called "piping". Piping is best explained as "filtering" a DOS action through yet another DOS program or command. Example A>dir|more (DIR listing is "piped" through MORE to pause after each screenful of information) Try it with a long listing! Example: B>type letter.txt|more (the file letter.txt is "piped" through MORE) -- < and > -- are input/output symbols. They help DOS send and receive signals properly. You can redirect the output from or towards a particular device. For example if the output of a file normally goes to the screen you could redirect it with the > symbol to the printer. Or you could redirect the input for a DOS command from a file, rather than the keyboard so you would not have to answer a series of questions - the file would provide the keystrokes. Example: A>sortletter.new (sort letter.txt and output to a new file called letter.new) Example: B>dir>prn (meaning produce a directory listing, but send the output to the printer, rather than the screen) Example: format b:dir|sort Example: sortnew.doc -- GRAPHICS -- (External) allows you to print the contents of a graphics display (e.g., a lotus graph on the screen) while using the SHIFT-PRTSC key combination mentioned earlier. Graphics mode software uses medium resolution CGA color displays or other graphics displays which will not print using the standard SHIFT- PRTSC key until the DOS graphics system has been loaded. Graphics is a memory resident program which uses some RAM memory. If a screen display will not print on your printer by tapping SHIFT-PRTSC, trying running graphics first then retry SHIFT-PRTSC. Example: A>graphics -- FIND -- (External) searches for words and phrases in a file. You cannot use wild cards (? and *). You must use quotes surrounding the phrase or word which is sought. Example: A>find "chocolate candy bars" letter.txt bones.wks (meaning: search for "chocolate candy bars" within the two files letter.txt and bones.wks then report any occurrences) -- ASSIGN -- (External) tells DOS to send disk requests for one drive to the other. Effectively renames your a drive the b drive and vice versa. Allows you to access only certain drives for security reasons (remote modem use, for example). By itself, assign simply restores the normal drive configurations and names. DISKCOPY and FORMAT commands ignore assign! Use of assign command is rare. Example: B>assign c=a -- PATH -- (Internal) tells DOS where to search for executable files in the subdirectories you specify. Allows simultaneous searching of many subdirectories at once. Path eliminates the need to search through many subdirectories manually. Frequently a PATH command is used in your autoexec.bat file when starting the computer. A path command is highly recommended for use with all hard drives and, as stated, is embedded within the AUTOEXEC.BAT file as a permanent command. Example: C>path \letters;\finance;\utils -- PROMPT -- (Internal) allows change of the DOS prompt - for example, the dull A> on screen. $P shows the active directory. $G shows the > symbol. This can be set in the main autoexec.bat file to initialize the prompt every time you start your computer. With the proper commands you can dramatically change your prompt to even display words, pictures or phrases rather than a typical C> See batch file tutorial covered later. Example: A>prompt $P$G. (result is: a:\> ) -- TREE -- (External) shows the structure of the subdirectories on your disk. You can check the arrangement of the root (main) and all subdirectories. Tree/f shows all file names. Example: B>tree/f -- ATTRIB -- (External) allows a file to be set as "read only" (non-erasable). Attrib +r marks for read only. Attrib -r removes this. Protects files from modification or removal. Attrib alone displays file attributes. A small r appears to the left of a files directory listing if that file is read only (protected). Only available in DOS 3.0 and later. Example: A>attrib +r letters.doc -- BACKUP & RESTORE -- (External) used to making spare copies (backups) of hard disk data. Copies groups of files to floppies. Restore reverses the process and puts the files from floppies to hard disk. Backup/m copies only files modified since the last backup. Backup/s copies all subdirectories and their files. Backup/d copies files modified after the date you specify. Backup/a adds files to a disk that already contains other files. Files copied to floppies with backup can't be used (they are "encoded") until they are restored ("unencoded"). Restore/s puts back all subdirectory files. Example: A>backup c:\*.* a:/s Example: C>restore a:\*.* c:/s -- EDLIN -- (External) is a small word processor/text editor which prepares text files. DOS version 5.0 uses an upgraded text editor called EDIT which is easier to use the Edlin. Edlin's output is ASCII (plain text). Edlin is rudimentary and provides editing line by line. Other word processors and text editors can output ASCII files more quickly and easily, but Edlin is good for short jobs such as preparing batch files. The COPY CON command (discussed earlier) will do the job also. The entire list of Edlin commands is detailed in your DOS manual. Example: A>edlin go.bat (starts Edlin and loads the file go.bat) -- RAMDRIVE.SYS -- (used in MS-DOS, see below) (External) -- VDISK.SYS -- (used in PC-DOS, see below) (External) Both of the above files are equivalent "ramdisks" which allow you to construct an artificial software disk drive in RAM computer memory. It is very fast and is also known as a virtual disk. RAMDRIVE.SYS or VDISK.SYS is usually placed in the CONFIG.SYS file via the DEVICE command. RAMDRIVE.SYS or VDISK.SYS is available in DOS 3.0 and later. DOS 2.0 users can use alternative "add in" RAMDISK utilities to produce the same result. Within the CONFIG.SYS file the following statement might appear for users of this device: Example: device=vdisk.sys 128 (sets up a ramdisk of 128,000 bytes in size) ---------------------------------------------------------------- DOS VERSION 5.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------- In 1991 Microsoft made DOS more powerful, smarter, sleeker and vastly more helpful. A variety of major and minor changes to this classic operating system provide something useful for everyone. While most computer owners can take advantage of this cornucopia of new features, a few may not need to upgrade to DOS 5.0. Let's examine the "new and improved" DOS. Five major changes were made with DOS version 5.0: 1) An on-line help system was added so that users could access brief "help screens" for reminders about specific DOS command syntax and usage. The DOS manual was also substantially improved and rewritten. 2) By using the extended or "high memory" system of computers equipped with 80286, 80386 or 80486 CPU processors and additional RAM memory beyond the conventional 640K, DOS 5.0 can now load memory resident programs, device drivers and even DOS itself into extended memory thus leaving more room in conventional memory for application software - a potent plus for memory starved software. Up to 622K of memory can be made available to conventional memory. Microsoft Windows 3.0 applications and large DOS applications such as spreadsheets and database programs accelerate with access to this additional memory. 3) A new extended memory manager allows 80386 or 80486 computers to turn extended memory into LIM (Lotus-Intel-Microsoft) expanded memory. This provides popular programs such as Lotus 123 and others with the capability to automatically use memory more effectively and releases additional conventional memory for data and application software. 4) New commands such as UNDELETE, MIRROR and UNFORMAT were added to allow for the recovery of accidentally deleted files or subdirectories. A new DOSKEY command was also added to allow for convenient recall of previous DOS command keystrokes and also provides keyboard macro commands. 5) A new graphical interface or shell and full screen "mini-word processor" text editor was made available. Users can work from the DOS prompt command line or the new shell and text editor. The GWBASIC language system, present in most versions of DOS, was provided with a fresh new interface and editor. The setup or installation routine for DOS 5.0 cleverly allows users to backup earlier DOS files - just in case they need to return to a previous DOS version - and smoothly glides through installation without the need to completely reformat a hard drive from scratch, an annoying hallmark of earlier DOS versions. Beyond these major features, smaller items provide icing on a useful software cake: A new SETVER command allows the user to change the apparent DOS version number so that older, finicky programs which demand a unique version of DOS run properly. The DOS directory or DIR command has been updated with additional switches which let users sort directory listings in a variety of ways without using the cumbersome SORT command. Hard drive users also benefit from DOS 5.0 modifications. DOS 5.0 can now create hard drive data partitions of up to 2 gigabytes and can now function with more than two physical drives at a time. In a series of hard drives, now only one drive is required to contain a DOS partition for the entire system to work - a substantial savings in hard disk space. However, not all computer owners need to upgrade to DOS 5.0. Owners of older 8088 and 8086 CPU equipped machines - XT class computers - may find the urge to upgrade to DOS 5.0 to be less than overwhelming since the advanced memory management features are unusable on a machine having only 640K of RAM memory. However the new UNDELETE, UNFORMAT and MIRROR commands, refined editor, DOSKEY utility, improved Qbasic programming language interface and on-line help may be reason and convenience enough to upgrade. Owners of 80286, 80386 or 80486 CPU equipped machines will probably wish to upgrade to DOS 5.0 to take advantage of the additional conventional memory which can be released for application software as well as the relocation of device drivers into high memory. New or modified DOS 5.0 commands include: -- DOSKEY -- (External) This DOS utility allows you to recall and edit DOS commands you previously entered at the DOS prompt. Unlike pressing the F3 key which recalls only the last command typed, DOSKEY gives you access to all previous commands typed and allows you to edit or change them. Keyboard macros or series of keystroke sequences may also be recorded and edited. DOSKEY is a memory resident TSR program (terminate and stay resident) which uses about 3K of conventional memory. Note that in the syntax examples which follow, you may use one or several switches following a command if you wish: (Example) DOSKEY /REINSTALL /HISTORY /OVERSTRIKE In the above example three parameter switches follow the command. Note in DOS syntax examples which follow that the bracket symbols [ and ] are NOT typed at the DOS prompt, but only serve to indicate an OPTIONAL parameter or switch. If you see a | symbol within a syntax example, it means run EITHER the command prior to the | OR run the command following the |, but NOT both commands at the same time. Do not confuse the | symbol given in a syntax example with the "piping symbol" which is a DOS redirection method sometimes used in DOS commands. For example, the syntax entry below provides for EITHER the /INSERT switch OR the /OVERSTRIKE switch. DOSKEY syntax is: DOSKEY [/REINSTALL] [/BUFSIZE=size] [/MACROS] [/HISTORY] [/INSERT|/OVERSTRIKE] [macro=[text]] Parameters: /REINSTALL Installs new copy of DOSKEY /BUFSIZE=size Set buffer size to "size" bytes (default=512) /MACROS Display current macros /HISTORY Display command history /INSERT When editing, default to insert mode /OVERSTRIKE When editing, default to overstrike mode macro Name of macro to load or run text Macro definition Note that macros override or take precedence over internal commands such as DIR and CLS. Using this feature you can define new, personal DOS commands. (Example) DOSKEY FINDIT=DIR \$1 /S /B Using the above DOSKEY definition you have created a new command called FINDIT such that when you type FINDIT *.WKS all spreadsheet files (which usually end in WKS) will be displayed and listed on screen. DOSKEY can use advanced DOS characters such as piping, input and output redirection and replaceable parameters (e.g., |, >, <, $1) -- DOSSHELL -- (External) This is a useful menu program for those preferring a visual "point and shoot" method of dealing with DOS and managing files, rather than typing commands at the DOS prompt. It is mouseable and provides a file viewer and task switcher so you can jump between software programs and return exactly where you left off without having to exit each application software program in progress. DOSSHELL syntax is: DOSSHELL [/G[:res[n]]|/T[:res[n]]] /B Parameters: /G Start DOSSHELL in graphics mode res Sets screen resolution with L = low res, M = medium res, H = High res. n Resolution number which varies depending on video card/adapter in use /T Shell is run in text mode /B Shell is run in black and white mode Several functions can ONLY be run from DOSSHELL. For example, DOSSHELL's rename function can rename a subdirectory which cannot be done with the RENAME command from the DOS prompt command line. Likewise, the task switching function can only be run from DOSSHELL and cannot be activated from the command line DOS prompt. -- EDIT -- (External) This is a full-screen text editor or "mini-word processor" which offers a practical, intuitive alternative to the previous DOS EDLIN text processor. EDIT features text search and replace capabilities, pull-down menus, on-line help, and block moves. EDIT syntax is: EDIT [[d:] [path] filename] [/B] [/G] [/H] [/NOHI] Parameters: filename Name of the file to be edited /B Run editor in black and white mode /G Run editor with fast updates on CGA screens /H Display maximum number of allowable lines /NOHI High intensity colors are removed/suppressed EDIT will not run without the companion file QBASIC.EXE in the current directory or path. When you start EDIT, internal changes are made to QBASIC's editor and you are in fact running a modified version of QBASIC's own editor! -- EMM386 -- (External) This utility is a memory manager for the "upper memory area" of DOS, sometimes called the UMA. It can make your computer's extended memory simulate expanded memory - if you have extra RAM memory installed beyond the conventional 640K amount. This is useful for software programs such as a spreadsheet which can increase performance when given access to expanded memory. Users of computers having an 80386 or 80486 CPU can also load programs and device drivers into this upper memory area. Typically those using upper or high memory will have 1 Meg, 2 Megs or even 4 Megs of RAM memory available. EMM386 syntax is: EMM386 [ON|OFF|AUTO] [W=ON|OFF] Parameters: ON Enables the EMM386 device driver OFF Disables the EMM386 device driver AUTO Device driver placed in auto mode W=ON Enables Weitek math coprocessor W=OFF Disables Weitek math coprocessor Note that a few software applications will not work with the EMM386 driver due to virtual-8086 CPU operation of EMM386. Placing EMM386 in either OFF mode (shuts driver off until reactivated with the ON command) or AUTO mode (automatically disables when application begins, then enables EMM386 when application exits) solves this problem. You cannot switch EMM386 to OFF or AUTO mode when EMM386 is providing expanded memory to an application such as your spreadsheet or if there are TSR software programs or device drivers loaded into upper memory which EMM386 is managing. -- HELP -- (External) This command provides help/reminder screens about DOS command syntax and use. To obtain a complete list of all DOS commands, simply type HELP at the DOS prompt. Slightly faster, if you need help with only a single command is to type HELP /? If you know the specific DOS command for which you need help, simply type HELP and the command name. (Example) HELP COPY HELP syntax is: HELP [command] -- HIMEM.SYS -- (External) This device driver manages extended memory including the HMA (high memory area) and prevents programs from simultaneously using the same area of memory. HIMEM.SYS is usually installed via a statement in your CONFIG.SYS file and should precede in the CONFIG.SYS file other device drivers which use extended memory such as EMM386, SMARTDRIVE.SYS or RAMDRIVE.SYS. -- LOADHIGH -- (External) Allows the user to load a TSR program such as a calculator or other "popup" program into the upper memory area of RAM. LOADHIGH syntax is: LOADHIGH [d:] [path] filename [parameters] Parameters: filename Name of the program to load into high memory parameters Parameters used by the program loaded Warning: note that LOADHIGH will, without notice, load a program into conventional lower memory if there is insufficient upper memory to accomplish the task. LOADHIGH will not warn you of this result, but you can use the MEM/C command to determine where the program was loaded or to verify memory configuration if in doubt. -- MEM -- (External) This DOS 5.0 utility provides a concise listing of memory use. It provides information on which programs, device drivers and buffers are in use, memory consumed, free memory and location of all software. Works with conventional, expanded and extended memory. MEM syntax is: MEM [/CLASSIFY|/DEBUG|PROGRAM] Parameters: /CLASSIFY Provide list of programs in conventional and or /C upper memory /DEBUG Provide list of programs and device drivers or /D loaded in memory /PROGRAM Provide list of programs in memory or /P The /C parameter switch is perhaps the most useful for determining contents of upper memory and may called from a batch file such as AUTOEXEC.BAT to confirm critical upper memory usage. -- MIRROR -- (External) This unique utility creates a special "tracking" file which stores the location of files which have been deleted but can be located and "unerased" with the UNDELETE and UNFORMAT commands. By keeping a detailed record of deleted files by loading MIRROR, chances are improved for file recovery in case an unwanted deletion occurs. It can also backup a copy of the hard disk partition tables to floppy in case of massive file deletions or virus infection. MIRROR has three distinct functions. MIRROR syntax and parameters are: MIRROR /PARTN Creates a backup copy of hard disk partition tables. MIRROR d: [/1] Creates MIRROR disaster recovery file used by UNFORMAT command MIRROR /Tdrive[-entries] [...] The above command places MIRROR in memory resident mode and provides deletion tracking in memory which can be used by the UNDELETE command MIRROR /U Removes the MIRROR utility from memory Parameters: /PARTN Makes backup of disk partition tables /1 Retains only latest disk information /Tdrive Provide deletion tracking for drive specified entries Within a range of 1 to 999, provide deletion tracking for the specified number of entries for the specified drive The value of the MIRROR command lies in frequent use to prevent data loss due to accidental formatting, virus infection or other disk problems where sensitive files must be reliably maintained. -- QBASIC -- (External) Entire volumes have been written about Qbasic, also known as QuickBasic. It is a complete programming language that allows you to design custom software for jobs which DOS programming cannot provide. Qbasic provides a way to construct small databases, printing software, calculators or simple business accounting software. Qbasic, as delivered with DOS 5.0, is an interpreter which must be present at all times along with your software program. A basic compiler, which is an entirely different programming package, allows you to build standalone software packages which do not require a Qbasic interpreter to be present. Qbasic includes a workable program text editor for easy program construction. Basic programs use the extension BAS. For example you might see a file named BASEBALL.BAS which is run by loading it into the Qbasic interpreter. If you load Qbasic then can't figure how to get back to DOS, type the command SYSTEM then hit the return key/press enter. Qbasic syntax is: QBASIC [/B] [/EDITOR] [/G] [/H] [/MBF] [/NOHI] [[/RUN][d:] [path]filename] Parameters: /B Starts Qbasic in black and white mode /EDITOR Starts only the DOS editor /G Fast screen update on CGA displays /H Display maximum number of lines /MBF Change the internal Qbasic functions as follows: CVD to CVDMBF CVS to CVSMBF MKS$ to MKSMBF$ MKD$ to MKDMBF$ /NOHI Suppress colors in high intensity hues /RUN Run program specified by filename filename Name of Basic program to run You can now run a Qbasic program from a batch file, then return control back to the original batch file. Use the /RUN parameter switch and make the final statement in the Qbasic program SYSTEM. -- SETVER -- (External) This small, but necessary utility is of use when you need to reset the internal DOS version number - such as DOS 5.0 - to an earlier version number so that older software which checks this number will run reliably. SETVER also updates a list of programs and the required DOS version number each program needs. If a program refuses to load and run or reports an incorrect DOS version number, SETVER may be the utility you need. Simply add the name of the problem software application and required DOS version number to the SETVER data list. Note that SETVER only works when it is loaded with a DEVICE or DEVICEHIGH statement in the CONFIG.SYS file. When you update or change entries in the SETVER data table, you must restart your computer to update the changes. SETVER syntax is: SETVER [d:path] [filename] [n.nn] [/DELETE] [/QUIET] Parameters: d:path Drive and path where SETVER is stored filename Filename of software program to which a version number is given n.nn Version number to report: 2.11, for example /DELETE Delete an entry from the SETVER data table /QUIET Remove/suppress messages when /DELETE is active -- SHELL -- (External) This utility is a versatile menu system which lets you move, copy, delete, view and manage files with a point and click menu interface. File viewing is available in either ASCII plaintext or hexadecimal display mode. An onboard task switcher lets you start a software application, freeze the screen and data, exit to a different application then later return to your first application where you left off. New file management capabilities allow you to search an entire hard drive for a file, alter file attributes and even associate data files with a parent software application. Once the data is associated or "linked" to its parent software application, you can start the program simply by clicking on the data file - such as a spreadsheet template or word processing document. The shell display operates in graphics modes including 43 and 60 line displays. The shell consists of several operational files and help screens such as SHELLB.COM, SHELLC.EXE, SHELL.ASC, SHELL.CLR, SHELL.HLP and SHELL.MEU. -- SMARTDRIVE.SYS -- (External) This utility creates a disk cache in RAM memory which can speed up the performance of software applications which frequently access the hard drive. By using a cache, frequently needed data is stored in a fast RAM cache memory area rather than waiting on the more slowly accessed disk. By default, SMARTDRIVE.SYS is installed to extended memory to conserve conventional memory space for software applications. Using the /A switch after the command forces installation to expanded memory. Since SMARTDRIVE.SYS is a device driver, it must be installed as a DEVICE statement in your CONFIG.SYS file. -- UNDELETE -- (External) Allows accidentally deleted files to be recovered. Since DOS deletes files by merely removing the filename from a master index called the allocation table, it is possible to recover the data if a recovery attempt is made SOON after the file is deleted to prevent newer files from eventually erasing the older data. Using the DOS MIRROR program substantially increases the recovery chance from file deletion disasters. UNDELETE syntax is: UNDELETE [[d:][path]filename] [/LIST|/ALL] [/DOS|/DT] Parameters: filename Name of file(s) to undelete /LIST List the file which might be recoverable /ALL Undelete all files without prompting for first letter of each filename /DOS Ignore delete tracking file /DT Use delete tracking file A quick shortcut if you need to undelete several files without halting to supply the first letter of each one is to move to the directory where the files were stored by using the CHANGE DIRECTORY or CD command, then enter UNDELETE /ALL. Since you are in the directory in question, UNDELETE will recover all files which you can later rename if necessary. -- UNFORMAT -- (External) Provides the capability to restore the directory structure of a floppy or hard disk which has been accidentally formatted with the FORMAT command or restructured with the RECOVER command. Also provides capability to rebuild damaged hard disk partition/allocation tables. Works with local drives - will not work with drives which are part of a LAN (local area network.) Use UNFORMAT to display hard disk partition info by typing the command: UNFORMAT /PARTN /L UNFORMAT syntax is: UNFORMAT /PARTN [/L] Restores hard drive partition table UNFORMAT d: [/U] [/L] [/TEST] [/P] Above unformats a hard or floppy disk UNFORMAT d: /J Verifies that a disk contains MIRROR data file Parameters: /PARTN Saves copy of hard disk partition tables /L Displays partition info for selected drive. Without the /L switch: list every file and subdirectory found and ignore MIRROR data file if existent. /U Unformat a disk without using MIRROR data file /TEST Perform test unformat. Do not actually unformat. /P Send report/data to printer port LPT1 /J Verify MIRROR data file ---------------------------------------------------------------- DOS COMMAND FUNCTIONAL INDEX --------------------------------------------------------------- Curiously, most computer manuals list DOS commands arranged alphabetically rather than by FUNCTION, in logical groupings. Next, a brief functional index which is helpful for most beginners. These tutorials do not attempt to present every DOS command, since some are best reviewed from your primary DOS manual. However, once you study this index, you will probably be able to locate the DOS command you need in your DOS manual. File management commands: ATTRIB Change or display file attributes COMP Compare two files COPY Copy one or several files DEL Delete one or several files DIR Display directory listing ERASE Delete one or several files FC Compare two files RENAME (REN) Rename file or files REPLACE Replace current files VERIFY Turn on/off write accuracy verification check XCOPY Copy one or several files Disk management commands: ASSIGN Redirect disk access to alternate drive CHDIR (CD) Change directory, display current directory CHKDSK Check disk/files for fragmention, optional repair DISKCOMP Compare floppy diskettes DISKCOPY Produce identical copy of diskette JOIN Join a drive to a directory MKDIR (MD) Make a directory on disk RMDIR (RD) Remove a directory from disk SUBST Substitute drive for a directory TREE Display directory organization of disk DOS command, help, menu and screen commands: APPEND Set search path for non executable file CLS Clear the monitor screen COMMAND Start the central command processor DOSKEY Start command line enchancer/macro features DOSSHELL Start DOS shell/menu features/task switching EXPAND Expand file(s) from stored/compressed state HELP Display help for one or more DOS commands PATH Set search path for executable files PROMPT Configure the displayed screen prompt SET Set environment variable SETVER Set/reset DOS version number VER Display version of DOS File disaster/recovery/prevention commands: BACKUP Backup hard disk files to floppies MIRROR Backup partition table/create delete tracking file RECOVER Recover damaged files RESTORE Restore files backed up with BACKUP SHARE Start file-sharing utility for LAN networks UNDELETE Recover accidentally deleted files UNFORMAT Unformat/recover formatted disk Batch file commands: CALL Call/start one batch file from another ECHO Turn on/off screen echo, display message EXIT Stop command processor FOR Run command once for each element of a repetition GOTO Jump to another line of a batch program IF Run command if condition stated is satisfied PAUSE Pause batch program execution until key press REM Remark/comment in batch program SHIFT Shift replaceable parameters to left Text file commands: EDIT Start full screen editor/mini-word processor EDLIN Start rudimentary line editor FIND Locate a search string of characters MORE Display data one screen at a time SORT Sort text file data into sequential order TYPE Display internal contents of file Disk setup and configuration commands: FASTOPEN Install cache for rapid disk use FDISK Configure hard disk partition(s) FORMAT Prepare disk to receive data LABEL Modify, label or delete disk volume label SYS Copy DOS system files to disk VOL Display disk volume label and serial number RAM Memory setup and configuration commands: EMM386 Install 80386 high memory manager LOADFIX Load program above 64K memory area LOADHIGH Load program into upper memory area MEM Display memory use map Hardware setup, keyboard, printing and configuration commands: BREAK Turn on/off break testing CHCP Change code page (foreign keyboard) CTTY Set console device DATE Display or set date GRAFTABL Install graphics characters (foreign keyboard) GRAPHICS Install graphics screen printing capability KEYB Install alternate keyboard layout MODE Configure printer or modem ports, screen NLSFUNC Install language support capabilities PRINT Print spooler installation TIME Display or set time Writing programs, changing programs: DEBUG Start machine code debugger/assembler EXE2BIN Convert EXE format file to COM format file QBASIC Start Quick Basic interpreter programming system Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. BATCH FILES FOR EFFICIENCY - GETTING REAL WORK DONE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Batch files are one of the hidden treasures within your computer. Let's face it, learning and using DOS commands is a test of patience, memory and stamina. Batch files are the secret weapon which can boost your computer into the fast lane of work productivity. Batch files are small software programs which you can prepare in the space of only five or ten minutes which automate a variety of tasks and customize the computer to your work style. The bottom line is that batch files can preserve your sanity in the face of arcane, easily-forgotten DOS commands to provide you with a menu system for your hard drive, transfer and backup files, provide security, start other software programs, activate your printer and much more. Amazingly, batch files require that you become familiar with only eight commands in addition to the normal DOS commands. Working with batch files means you are programming in the most literal sense - let's take a tour of the small miracles called batch files . . . A batch file is little more than a list of DOS commands plus eight special batch commands. These commands are stored on your floppy or hard disk in an ordinary text file such as produced by your word processor or text editor. If you can type a letter to a friend, you can prepare a batch file! Several time-saving batch file examples which provide real work power to your everyday computer problems are presented at the end of this tutorial. We will also examine the eight basic batch file commands as well as the AUTOEXEC.BAT file which starts your computer each morning. In addition we will present some simple tricks for managing your printer with batch files. One way to think about a batch file is that it takes the place of your keyboard and issues commands one after another until it reaches a conclusion. Batch files operate line by line and are read directly from the disk which makes them a little slow, but nevertheless useful and flexible. You can eliminate repetitious keyboard tasks by using batch files. Let's look at a short batch file . . . Each line of a batch file contains one instruction or operation per line which the computer is to perform. Below is the listing of a simple batch file example. Don't worry about understanding it yet, simply note that each instruction is a DOS command on a separate line. The list in the left column is the actual batch file, while the explanation in the right column is NOT part of the batch file, only a helpful column of comments. EXAMPLE BATCH FILE EXPLANATION | | date date displayed time time displayed ver DOS version displayed dir a:/p directory of a: floppy displayed with a pause The primary use of batch files is to automate sequences or instructions which you use frequently. A batch file always has the extension BAT. A batch file might for instance be named MENU.BAT, CAR.BAT, INSTALL.BAT or MONEY.BAT. Each line in a batch file is a separate command and is performed in sequence as if you had typed in the command from your keyboard at the DOS prompt. In addition to the usual DOS commands, batch files can also contain additional special commands to provide truly sophisticated program structures which include decision branching and even repetitions of commands. In addition, batch files may have special parameters or inputs passed to them at the time you run the batch file from the DOS command line or prompt. A batch file is run or started by typing the file name without the extension. This of course also applies to files ending with file extensions EXE or COM as well as BAT. Example: A>hello (Then pressing enter or return key) This starts the file hello.bat hello.com or hello.exe Example: C>whoops (Then pressing enter or return key) This starts the file whoops.exe whoops.bat or whoops.com There are several ways to abort or terminate any batch file in progress. 1) Issue the break command which uses the two key combination CONTROL-BREAK (hold down the control or CTRL key then press the break key) or you can 2) Tap CTRL-SCROLL LOCK keys or 3) Tap CTRL-C keys. There are many ways to prepare a batch file, all of which use simple methods of text editing or word processing: 1) Use the DOS COPY CON (copy console) command. 2) Use the older EDLIN line editor available within DOS. 3) Use the newer DOS EDIT text editor available in DOS version 5.0 4) Use any word processor (e.g., Microsoft Word, Wordperfect, PC-Write) whose output has been set to ASCII or pure text output - many word processors use a "save as" file option to select pure ASCII output. See your word processor reference book index under ASCII file saving. Let's prepare a batch file: First make sure you have a formatted disk in your disk drive and DOS is displaying a DOS prompt such as A> or C>. We need a disk in order to save our batch file. We will be using the command COPY CON (copy data from the CONsole) command. We could also use any ASCII (plain english) text word processor (e.g., Wordperfect) or even EDLIN on your DOS disk. Note that you can use either upper or lower case to prepare batch files (capitals or small letters.) Using COPY CON is like using a small typewriter to prepare your batch file. Type the following list carefully at the DOS prompt: copy con blink.bat (press enter - cursor skips to new line) echo Hello there (press enter) ver (press enter) date (press enter) dir/p (press enter) ^Z (press F6 OR your can press control key AND Z key, then press enter) When done, you'll have prepared a batch file of DOS commands named blink.bat. Run the batch file by typing this at the DOS prompt: blink (then press enter key) WARNING! Be careful when preparing batch files since you will automatically overwrite and destroy any PREXISTING batch files of the same name! Better to make a backup copy of the existing batch file (or rename it temporarily with the REN command) and then proceed. A classic beginner mistake is to tinker with the crucial AUTOEXEC.BAT file without saving a backup copy first! More about AUTOEXEC.BAT later in this tutorial. We could also have named the batch file above hello.bat or info.bat rather than blink.bat by changing the first line we typed, but for simplicity we'll stick with blink.bat which does the following chores: Print "hello there" on the screen, then type the DOS version in use then display date and finally produce a directory listing with pause after each screenful. At this point the batch file ends and returns you to DOS. In the first line we use COPY CON as our small word processor to begin construction of the batch file named blink.bat. In the last line the ^Z means end of batch file preparation - exit back to DOS and save the file on disk. Another example batch file for you to try, let's call it F.BAT This is a reminder that F.BAT refers to formatting a disk: echo off copy con f.bat cls pause format b: echo all done Notice that here I have omitted the COPY CON command to start file preparation and the F6 to end file preparation. Use the COPY CON method described above if you wish or whatever word processing software is available to construct the file. This batch file (activated by typing f then enter) will clear the screen then prepare to format a blank disk in b: drive. NOTE: you MUST have FORMAT.COM, the DOS formatting utility, on the same disk as the batch file, f.bat - remember that format is an EXTERNAL command and f.bat will try to find FORMAT.COM. After the batch file has formatted the disk it prints "all done" on the screen. So instead of LOTS of keystrokes to format a disk, you just tap "F" then hit enter and the batch file runs. See how we are saving keystrokes - that's one of the purposes of a batch file! We will discuss the new ECHO command a little later in this tutorial. A reminder: Ctrl-Break or Ctrl-C key combination will halt any batch file operation if you wish. The next batch file might be used to backup word processing data files from your hard drive onto a floppy disk. Let's make an initial assumption that your word processing documents are stored on your hard drive in the subdirectory C:\DOC. You could name this backup batch file B.BAT and when you need to backup simply type B (then press enter) at the DOS prompt. We've omitted the copy con command at the top of the file and the ^Z at the end of the file since you already know how to start and end a batch file from previous examples. Note the new commands we are using: REM, ECHO and PAUSE which we will discuss shortly. ECHO OFF ECHO This batch file backs up DOCUMENT files to disk B: ECHO READY TO BACKUP. PAUSE COPY C:\DOC\*.* B: ECHO All done! The line which does most of the work is COPY C:\DOC\*.* B: which translates as "copy all files from C:\DOC subdirectory and transfer them to B: drive." One batch file can start or call another, but the original batch file cannot usually be returned to - you must continue on within the second batch file. For example, you could have one batch file start another batch file. If a batch file contains a typing or syntax error in any of its commands, the computer will stop execution at that point and return you to DOS which remembers which disk contains the batch file and the drive it was in. If you remove the original disk, DOS will ask you to replace it so it can finish executing the batch file. Batch files execute one step at a time from the disk and NOT from RAM memory. This disk-based nature of batch files make them a little slow, but they get the work done in reasonably short order for most people. Several books and power user tricks should also be mentioned regarding batch files before we move on . . . A superlative book on batch files you might wish to investigate is MOS-DOS Batch File programming by Ronny Richardson, 1988, Wincrest Books. You should also investigate the SEBFU (Scanlon Enterprises Batch File Utilities) software package which is a series of small batch file utilities which offer an improvement over the standalone DOS batch file programming language. SEBFU allows the user to produce subtle, powerful batch files and includes an excellent tutorial about using batch files for productivity. If you wish to try SEBFU, the shareware version, contact Scanlon Enterprises, 38354 17th ST E #C, Palmdale, CA 93550 Telephone (805) 272-4827. Include five dollars for shipping and handling. Special batch file COMPILER utilities exist which speed execution of batch files and make them run from RAM memory rather than disk. Most computer clubs and BBS system carry these batch file compilers. One popular batch compiler is named BAT2EXEC and was produced by PC Magazine several years ago. Batch files will FLY once they have been compiled and run from memory rather than disk. Another batch file speedup trick uses a "ramdisk" as follows. Remember the DOS VDISK command in our second DOS tutorial? Many DOS experts put commonly used batch files in a virtual or RAM disk in memory where a batch file runs quickly. This is one trick which can turbocharge batch file operations. ---------------------------------------------------------------- AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE BASICS - THE WAKEUP CALL TO YOUR COMPUTER ---------------------------------------------------------------- The AUTOEXEC.BAT file starts your computer exactly the way you want. It allows you to customize the machine to your liking as the computer comes to life. You can cause the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to print a startup menu of choices, load one particular program, execute another batch file or other useful tasks. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file is the first file DOS runs after loading itself and configuring the computer. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file must be on the same disk as DOS when the computer starts. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file is a special batch file which MUST be placed in the main or root directory of a disk to function properly. An AUTOEXEC.BAT file can always be modified, enlarged, edited, or deleted later as you wish. Sometimes it is useful to have several AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Each on a different startup disk to operate different programs! An AUTOEXEC.BAT file, like all batch files, can be modified with any word processor, DOS EDIT or EDLIN text editor. Before tinkering with your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, make sure you do not accidentally over-write or destroy your current AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If necessary, rename your current AUTOEXEC.BAT file (using the rename or REN command) and make a new file while saving the old one "just in case." Never edit files on your original DOS disk, work on a copy! This wise advice applies to ANY computer file. Save a backup copy; never work on the original. Examine the next batch file: copy con AUTOEXEC.BAT (press enter) 123 (press enter) ^Z (press enter) This means (first line) create a file named AUTOEXEC.BAT as typed from the keyboard or con (console). Then (second line) start program named 123. The (final line) end of batch file preparation - stash it on the disk. Since the first and last lines prepare the batch file, this program really has only one line whose purpose is to start a specific program (123.EXE) each time the computer is turned on. When finished you'll see a file named AUTOEXEC.BAT on your directory listing screen which contains automatic startup instructions. If this file were placed on your main DOS disk it would try to start a program such as 123.EXE if such a program existed there. And since it is AUTOEXEC.BAT this would be the first file run each morning when you turn on your computer. You can also start the AUTOEXEC.BAT by typing autoexec and then pressing enter. To take a "peek" at the contents of an AUTOEXEC.BAT file (or any bat file) simply use the type command. Remember to use Ctrl-S key combination to pause the screen if the display flashes by too quickly. Example: C>type AUTOEXEC.BAT (display file contents) Example: A>type b:AUTOEXEC.BAT (display file on the B: drive) Example: C>type AUTOEXEC.BAT>PRN (display file contents on printer) Here is another AUTOEXEC.BAT file, this time from a hard drive computer. It provides a higher degree of control and direction that a computer user might need for hard drive customization. path \dos;\reflex;\wp;\util;\doc;\nor;\bat prompt $P$G cpu n verify on blank mode bw80,r dispclk type menu.txt Let's examine this more complicated AUTOEXEC.BAT file in greater detail: The first line after establishes a path command to help DOS search every subdirectory on the hard disk -you don't have to switch around to different areas of the disk, DOS will search for you since it knows the various subdirectory "paths" to take. The second line alters the cursor prompt to always display your current location and subdirectory. Instead of seeing C> you view a more informative C:\DOCS> for example. The third line is a reference to the speed the computer will operate at and is a unique command to a particular brand of machine (cpu n means start the central processing unit chip at normal speed.) Cpu is really CPU.COM, an external file which sets the computer's processing speed. Your DOS disk may or may not contain the file CPU.COM. This highlights the ability of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to start or load other programs and is very useful! The fourth line turns on the verify function for file copying. The next line instructs the DOS mode function to switch to black and white display, 80 columns wide and shift one column to the right for alignment. We are setting the hardware the way we wish. We could also configure the modem or printer with the mode command. Next we ask DOS to tell us the time and date. Run the program DISPCLK.COM, an external program stored on disk. The final line instructs DOS to type to the screen a text file containing a simple menu for the monitor to display. Menu.txt probably gives us choices of programs and thus calls other batch files. ---------------------------------------------------------------- BATCH FILE COMMANDS AND USE ---------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to the normal DOS commands, batch files have eight special subcommands. At the end of this section we will provide some interesting batch files which you can use or edit on your computer. The special batch commands are: --- REM --- The rem command sends a message to the screen or simply documents or notes a part of a batch file's operation. You should use REM extensively to document long detailed batch files so you can revise things and locate portions of the program if you decide to change the batch file later. Remarks can be up to 123 characters long. REM does not cause any operation, it merely documents what you want to say or do. Example: C>REM this is the location of menu operations In DOS 2.0 the REM command could be replaced with a period or dot, but this is not true in DOS 3.0 and above. Example: C>. this is the location of menu operations --- PAUSE --- Stops batch file execution on a temporary basis until you press a key. Thus you can pause a batch file and do some operation (perhaps changing a floppy disk) and then continue when you strike a key. Very useful. Example: B>PAUSE Example: B>PAUSE This is an optional message, pardner! In the first example, no message is displayed. --- ECHO --- Turns display listing of commands on/off. It can also send a message to the screen. It is frequently turned off to remove excessive screen messages. Normally, with ECHO on, screen messages are sent to the screen which can be distracting. To suppress them use the first example. To restart the messages use the second example. To add a message with the ECHO command see example three. REM or remark command can also send a message to the screen but NOT with ECHO turned off! Example: A>ECHO OFF Example: A>ECHO ON Example: A>ECHO It's raining cats, dogs and computers Example: A>@ECHO (don't display this particular line) --- PARAMETERS AND MARKERS ---- This is NOT a batch file command like ECHO or PAUSE. Instead parameters are additional pieces of information or "modifiers" which follow DOS commands. Example: C>format b:/s In the above, format is the command while b: and /s are the parameters. Parameters modify the basic operation of a DOS command but are not required by the command to operate. A batch file can also accept parameters such as a word, filename, symbol, drive letter or any useful character or group of characters! Markers placed inside the batch file listing signify which parameter goes where. Markers are made from a percent sign (%) and a single digit between 0 and 9 for a total of ten markers available (remember, zero is a number too.) Here are the ten markers: %0 %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 Let's use an example. Pretend that DOLITTLE.BAT is on your floppy. Within its listing of commands there might be this single line: ECHO %0 %1 %2 (ECHO shows messages on the monitor) If at the DOS prompt you typed: B>DOLITTLE fancy pants (then press enter) Your screen would show the following: ECHO DOLITTLE fancy pants. In this case, %0 has taken on the value at the start of the DOS command which is the first word "DOLITTLE". Meanwhile %1 has become "fancy" and %2 is now pants. Looking at this another way: DOLITTLE fancy pants | | | ECHO %0 %1 %2 Let's try a more useful example. Pretend you had a large file of word processing files containing bills you have to pay from time to time. You need to look up bills or amounts in the file accounts.txt which is in plain ASCII (english) text from your word processor. The DOS FIND utility can search large files for specific words, strings or characters. The general format for the FIND command is: FIND "text" filename. FIND is located in the file FIND.COM on your DOS disk and must be present with the batch file to be used. A simple batch file possibly named GET.BAT could do this: ECHO OFF ECHO searching for data . . . . FIND "%1" %2 ECHO Finished, boss Start the batch file get.bat with search data like this: C>get grocery accounts.txt (first word starts get.bat, second word is the item to search for, third item is the file to search.) As a result, you will get a report of the line where the word "grocery" is found within the file accounts.txt. This could also be used to search a telephone list or list of employee names and addresses. A powerful idea for a short batch file! --- GOTO --- Jumps to a labeled set of commands within the batch file. The general format for the command is GOTO LABEL where LABEL is a line in the batch file which must start with a colon (:) followed by a name up to eight characters long. A simple, but useless batch file illustrates the GOTO command by looping around in circles doing the same task endlessly. Example listing for batch file: ECHO OFF :kitty ECHO watch this fill your screen over and over, folks GOTO kitty Note! On some versions of DOS it is necessary to include one blank line at the end of this file. In the above example, just press Enter/Return key one extra time after the line "GOTO kitty" and then save the batch file. The above batch file will continue to print the remark line over and over since it always returns to the start. Tap Ctrl-Break to stop this silliness. The true usefulness of the GOTO command is best understood by allowing the GOTO within a batch file to transfer control elsewhere within its listing rather than to the line immediately next in sequence. You can thus cause varying useful results depending on a conditions present. Choices and different outcomes are a trademark of savvy batch file use. --- IF --- Allows conditional operation of a command. This is a fancy way of saying you can cause a batch file to make decisions based on a logical condition or input then do something. The usual syntax of the IF command is IF CONDITION COMMAND. Let's take this apart and examine the concept. In the situation IF CONDITION COMMAND: COMMAND is any normal DOS or batch file command and CONDITION is one of three possible tests that yield true or false. Example: IF %1==w GOTO dog (we'll explain this in a bit) Example: IF %3 == 80 MODE BW80 (we'll explain this in a bit) The three possible tests are: 1. The ERRORLEVEL condition (i.e., a specific number is found). 2. The STRING COMPARISON. (i.e., two strings are equivalent or not.) 3. The FILE EXISTENCE condition. (i.e., if a file exists or not.) In true full-featured programming languages many other logical tests might be allowed, but for batch files these are the only three tests. Let's examine the three more closely. Then illustrate with an example. 1. ERRORLEVEL is a number which tells DOS whether the last program run was successful. If so the errorlevel is zero (0) anything else above zero means unsuccessful. 2. STRING COMPARISON, the second conditional test, is always indicated in a batch file by double equals signs (==). A test is designated by the condition IF string1 == string2. This is frequently used with parameters or markers such as: IF %3 == 80 MODE BW80. 3. In the final and third conditional test, FILE EXISTENCE, the usual format is IF EXIST d:filename.ext. which checks for a certain file on a certain drive. You can thus check for a certain disk or file before continuing the batch file process. Pathnames are not allowed (d:\slip\and\slide). Let's try a batch file example to illustrate the use of STRING COMPARISONS to make a choice in how the batch file does its work. In a way, this is a menu program. Pretend you have two software applications. One is a word processor named WORD.EXE whose command to start is WORD and the other is a spreadsheet named LOTUS.EXE whose command is LOTUS to start. If we prepared a simple batch file called go.bat whose listing is below, we could start one or the other program by using either the command: A>go w (to start the word processor) OR THIS: A>go s (to start the spreadsheet). Notice how the "w" or "s" is picked up by the batch file and sends the program either one direction or the other in the example below. The remarks lines which begin with REM in the batch file give you a clue about the operation of the program but are not themselves commands. The end result of this batch file is a saving of keystrokes for frequently used software (the word processor and spreadsheet) and could be expanded to start many other software packages. REM This batch file selects one of two choices based on input REM The next line turns off screen echo to avoid screen clutter ECHO OFF REM Begin test for one of two choices REM Next two lines use percent signs as markers for "w" or "s" keys IF %1==w GOTO dog IF %1==s GOTO cat REM Next line forces goto end if no match is made for w or s GOTO end :dog REM Next command starts word processor, WORD.EXE WORD GOTO end :cat REM Next command starts spreadsheet, LOTUS.EXE LOTUS GOTO end :end REM Next line switches to root directory and ends the batch file CD\ ECHO Batch file done, bye bye! --- SHIFT --- Re-assigns the relationship of parameters to markers. It changes their values. And it does it in a very odd way . . . Remember that there are only ten markers available to a batch file to hold the parameter values as we mentioned above. Here they are: %0 %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 However you can raise the limit of 10 parameters in a batch file using the single word SHIFT. When this command is encountered in a batch file, all the parameter and marker pairings are shifted one unit to the left. Whatever was assigned to %0 is lost. A diagram to visualize. Before a SHIFT command is issued the parameters and markers might be: %0 %1 %2 | | | dog cat computer After the SHIFT command we would see: %0 %1 %2 | | | cat computer Notice that dog is lost, %1 becomes computer and %2 is left vacant unless it takes a new parameter from %3 (if %3 had a parameter). The effects of the SHIFT command are wide ranging throughout the batch file and provide great flexibility and a range of parameters greater than ten values. --- FOR..IN..DO --- Allows iteration (repetition) of actions or commands. The command is similar to a FOR...NEXT...STEP loop programmers use. This command lets you repeat an action several times. The command is rather subtle and could be thought of as a three part command. The syntax is: FOR %%Variable IN (Set) DO Command Let's look more closely at the three parts: FOR %%Variable IN (Set) DO Command ============== ======= ========== | | | part 1 part 2 part 3 Translating into English this means: FOR a certain batch file variable withIN a SET of filenames or commands DO a certain action. The %%VARIABLE is a one-letter variable which must have a double %% prior to the letter to distinguish it from single % markers we have seen earlier. The SET portion of the command is always in parenthesis as (SET). The SET represents filenames or DOS commands you want the %% variable to assume while the command is executing. A space is used between entries. Pathnames are never allowed but wildcards such as *.* are acceptable. If the SET contains DOS command then only the %%VARIABLE is used. The COMMAND is a DOS command or batch subcommand. One or several of these commands will contain the %%Variable in it. Let's try an example. Pretend by you want a batch file to present the DOS version then clear the screen and finally issue the directory. We could do this in three lines by: VER CLS DIR/P However, with the command FOR..IN..DO we can do this in one line: FOR %%T IN (Ver cls Dir/P) DO %%T Notice how each DOS command is separated by a space. ? and * are NOT allowed within any command within the SET. Use a colon : instead of a space within the set when passing parameters to programs. You can issue the FOR..IN..DO batch file subcommand at the DOS prompt by dropping one of the percentage signs % on the variable. Let's move on to some practical and fairly interesting examples . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- BATCH FILE PROJECTS FOR YOU TO TRY! ---------------------------------------------------------------- The following batch files do real work and can teach you some fascinating principles. To save typing each example, here's a shortcut: simply load this file, BATCH.TUT, from this disk or hard drive into your word processor. Next, delete the tutorial and batch files you don't need, keeping only the batch file lines you require. Move all lines of the batch file to the far left margin then save the batch file back to disk in plain ASCII text with a permanent batch file name such as CANDY.BAT, GO.BAT or PRINTER.BAT which you can easily remember. Feel free to change or add things to these batch files with your word processor since that's the point - batch files are flexible! Note the liberal use of the remarks or REM lines in some batch files to explain how things work. If you like, delete all REM lines to save typing time, space and speed program execution! ---- Fast freespace batch file ---- This is a short but useful batch file. It reports the amount of freespace on a disk by using the FIND command in DOS to search out the line containing the word "free" in the DOS DIR command. Program name: TELLFREE.BAT ECHO OFF CLS ECHO CHECKING FOR FREE SPACE ON DISK DIR | FIND "free" You could modify the last line to DIR A: | FIND "free" to locate the free space on the A: drive. The piping symbol | , discussed in a previous DOS tutorial illustrates how one command (DIR) can "pipe" its output into the FIND command. You MUST have the DOS file FIND.EXE on the same disk so that the DIR command can use it. The word "free" is case sensitive and must MOT be typed in capital letters since the FIND command is case sensitive. Obviously, to use this small program, at the DOS prompt just type TELLFREE then press the return or enter key. You could also name this batch file T.BAT if you wanted to only type a single letter and save additional keystrokes. ---- Fast deletion batch file ---- This is a short batch file with some powerful wrinkles for speedy file deletions. It could be modified in many ways. Program name: DB.BAT ECHO OFF CLS ECHO Ready to delete ALL files on B: drive ECHO Press control-break keys to abort or ECHO any other key to continue PAUSE REM Following line does the deleting ECHO Y | DEL B:*.* ECHO DONE! This is an odd batch file using some powerful DOS secrets. Line four reminds us we are about to delete all files on the B: drive and gives us the chance to abort using the control-break key combination which works to abort all batch files. The pause command on line six halts operations and waits for our keypress. Line eight shows the real power of DOS in a one line command which uses ECHO to pass the keystroke Y (meaning yes) via the pipe operation of DOS represented by the vertical bar |. This effectively means that the deletion of all files on B: drive represented by *.* will take place WITHOUT pausing for the traditional Yes/No request. The name of the batch file, DB.BAT reminds us that its use is to delete all files on B: drive or DB, for short! ---- Fast formatting batch file ---- This batch file will speed your disk formatting. Its name F.BAT means format disks, and it gives you some choices and illustrates other batch file tricks. There are three ways to use it: for formatting A: drive, B: drive, or both A: and B: drives. Note the minimum number of keystrokes required and how the batch file determines your choice by using parameters. This batch file also requires a small text file called yes.txt which shows how a file can be used to redirect input to a DOS command in place of the keyboard. It is explained below. Be sure to prepare YES.TXT or F.BAT will not work! To start this batch file you MUST chose one of the following. The space between letter characters is important. To format only A: drive, at DOS prompt enter F A To format only B: drive, at DOS prompt enter F B To format both A and B drives, at DOS prompt enter F AB In the above commands, the A, B or AB will be inserted into the batch file in the location of the symbol %1 as noted earlier in this tutorial. Program name: F.BAT ECHO OFF CLS ECHO FORMATTING DISKS NOW! REM This batch file selects one of three choices based on input REM Begin test for one of three choices IF %1==A GOTO DOG IF %1==B GOTO CAT IF %1==AB GOTO MOUSE REM Next line forces goto end if no match is made GOTO end :DOG FORMAT A:PRN ECHO DONE The fourth line contains a secret trick. The code we need to send is 27 69 according to our printer book. When preparing this batch file with EDLIN, COPY CONsole or your word processor, you must send the printer control code 27 then 69 to the printer. In line four after typing the word "ECHO" then a blank space, hold down the ALT key then press 155 on the FAR RIGHT NUMERIC KEYBOARD. When done entering the number, release the ALT key. On most computers, the cents symbol will appear which the printer will accept as the "escape code 27." DO NOT type the left and right parenthesis marks which appear on line four: ( ), they are only for clarity. Next press ALT 69 which produces the E symbol. You could also just type capital E. Next type >PRN which sends this code to your printer. Note that there is NO blank space between (ALT 155) and (ALT 69). The code 155 is substituted for 27 but the 69 is unchanged. Why 155 rather than 27 for the escape code? An explanation: Printer control codes begin with code 128, thus escape character 27 is generated by using 27+128 = 155. An necessary trick for this batch file. We could send SEVERAL codes by adding more lines to the batch file to set letter quality, pica font, line spacing and tabs, then type the letter to the printer (ECHO LETTER.TXT>PRN) and finally reset the printer. Your printer book discusses these decimal control codes. If we wanted to send a formfeed to the printer (eject paper,) the printer reference book suggests control code 12, therefore 12+128 = 140. So the fourth line in the batch file would read ECHO (ALT 140) >PRN. The bell sound (decimnal code 7) is generated by 7+128 = 135. The batch file would change to read ECHO (ALT 135) >PRN. Some printer features are controlled by SINGLE control codes while other features are controlled by MULTIPLE escape sequence codes which always begin with 27 followed by additional numbers. Escape code 27 is always translated to ALT 155 when DOS and batch files transmit the printer control information. Within software programs the codes may use a different format: \027E for example. Many other printing features can be turned on using short batch files. For example, double strike printing uses the decimal code 27 71. In the batch file you could use ECHO (ALT 155)(ALT 71) >PRN. You can also turn on a COMBINATION of several features in one longer batch file to control several features. Just add more lines and codes to the batch file! To reset the printer when a printing job is finished: code 27 64. Search out these printer codes in your printer manual and let a batch file do the hard work! One of the best batch file tutorials to date was published in two parts in the November and December 1991 editions of PC Computing Magazine. Contact your library for back issues or contact PC Computing at Back Issues Dept, PC Computing Magazine, Ziff Davis, POB 53131, Boulder, CO 80322. Back issues currently cost $6.00 each. The bibliography/suggested reading list with this disk provides additional reading suggestions to advance your batch file knowledge. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. HARD DISKS - THE ESSENTIAL ACCESSORY ---------------------------------------------------------------- A simple observation: the first accessory any computer user should buy is hard drive. On a dollar for dollar basis nothing speeds up processing and expands convenience like a hard drive. The bad news? The substantial storage capacity of a hard drive contains the seeds of data catastrophe if you don't understand how to CAREFULLY maintain a hard drive. Some reference information pertaining to larger desktop hard drives as well as smaller laptop drives has been retained since drives in both computers are similar in function although different in form and size. Many computer operations tend to slow down at the critical bottleneck of information transfer from computer memory (RAM) to disk. The faster the transfer, the faster the program operates. Nine times out of ten it is the bottleneck formed when information flows to or from a disk that you and your program must wait. This is where a hard drive really shines - speed. Given the best possible treatment, a hard drive should last from eight to fifteen years. Drive manufacturers typically suggest 30,000 to 70,000 hours of routine life for a hard drive before failure. If you kept your PC on for a 40 hour work week for 50 weeks - you could expect about 15 years of service for a drive rated at 30,000 hours. Some hard drive users even suggest leaving the drive on continuously or alternatively turning it on in the morning and off at night to minimize motor and bearing wear since it is the starting shock which wears most heavily on a drive. However, given marginal treatment or abuse, you can expect about fifteen minutes of service followed by a $250 repair bill. Obviously a little information about hard drives and their care can't hurt. ---------------------------------------------------------------- TECHNOLOGY 101 - BOOT CAMP FOR HARD DRIVE USERS ---------------------------------------------------------------- What is a hard drive? If you have worked with a floppy disk you already understand something about hard drives. Basically the hard drive unit is a sealed chamber (sealed against dust and dirt) which contains rapidly spinning single or multiple stacked platters. The platter(s) are similar to a floppy disk in that they store information magnetically - data can be erased and rewritten as needed. The trick is, however, that the storage capability is immense on a hard drive. A floppy typically holds about one third of a million computer characters (360,000 or 360K bytes). The hard drive can commonly hold 20 to 40 million (or more!) bytes or computer words. In addition, the hard drive motor spins the magnetic platter quickly so that information is transferred rapidly rather than the tedious rate of the leisurely spinning floppy. A small read/write head hovers and moves above the hard drive magnetic platter much like a phonograph needle above a record. The difference is that the read/write head of the hard drive rides slightly above the platter on a thin cushion of air. In the floppy drive mechanism, the read/write head is in direct contact with the floppy. All hard drives are installed in two parts: the drive (a box containing the disk and read/write head) and the controller (a circuit board) which may be integrated into the drive or a separate circuit board. The hard drive stores the information. The controller assumes the role of a high speed "translator/traffic cop" to help the hard drive move its massive amount of information smoothly. Back to the magnetic platter for a moment. The read write heads are mounted on a moveable arm and each position of the head above the platter defines a circular TRACK just like the track of a phonograph record. As the arm changes positions, different circular tracks are traced magnetically upon the surface of the platter. Most hard drives have several read/write heads which service both the top and bottom of each platter. A set of tracks on different platters define a vertical CYLINDER somewhat like the surface of a tin can whose top and bottom are missing. Large hard drives can have six or more platters and therefore 12 or more sides for information storage. The tracks can also be defined as divisions of equally divided data called SECTORS which are something like portions of the outer edge of a circle. Finally, the sum collection of tracks, sectors and cylinders define the entire VOLUME of the hard disk. Each piece of data has an address which tells the read/write heads where to move to locate that specific piece of information. If you tell the read/write heads to move to and hover over a specific track, sooner or later your data will pass beneath it. Since you can move the heads directly to a given track quickly, the early nomenclature for a hard drive was the DASD or DIRECT ACCESS STORAGE DEVICE. Movement of the read/write head arm takes a little time. For this reason an ACCESS TIME is associated with hard drives and stated in advertising and specification sheets. Generally this time is stated as the AVERAGE ACCESS TIME and is frequently in the thousandths of seconds or millisecond range which is fast indeed. The old IBM XT class machines featured access times around 85 milliseconds with the AT class machines featuring access times around 40 seconds. Newer hard drives post times in the 28 to 15 millisecond access range. Remember, the faster you can move the read/write heads, the faster you can get to your data. The AVERAGE WAIT TIME is a less frequently discussed number but equally interesting. Once the read/write head is positioned over the track holding your data, the system must wait for the correct sector to pass beneath. Obviously, the average wait time is one half the time it takes for a full rotation of the platter. This figure is rarely given in advertisements and is usually comparable for most drives of the same type and is generally much shorter than the access time. Speed matters to a hard drive! Average wait time is published if you dig it out of the specification sheet or write to the manufacturer. An extension of this logic brings us to consider the INTERLEAVE FACTOR for a disk. Generally a hard drive reads and writes information in sectors of the same, repeatable size such as 512 bytes. However programs and data files are usually much bigger than this and obviously must be scattered onto many sectors. The problem is that the disk rotation is much too fast for a large file to be written in perfectly contiguous sectors on the same track. If you tried to write the data onto a track, one byte after the next, the central processing unit chip or CPU could not absorb the data fast enough. The solution is to place sectors to be read in ALTERNATING fashion which gives the CPU time to digest the data. Thus if a circular track on the platter had 8 sectors you might number and read them in this order: 1,5,2,6,3,7,4,8. This way the CPU has a "breather" in between each sector read. The number of rotations it takes the heads to read ALL tracks in succession is the INTERLEAVE FACTOR. Slow CPU chips can force a disk to use an interleave factor of 3 or even 4. A faster processor might be able to handle a disk interleave of 1:2 (such as 80286 processor chips) or even 1:1 (such as 80386 processor chips.) It is possible to low level format a disk and change its interleave factor; but if the CPU cannot keep up, the adjustment is worthless. To the processor operating in millionths of a second, the time drain of waiting for a hard drive which operates in thousandths of a second or floppy drive which operates in tenths and full seconds is wasted time. The obvious point of logic is that when using a hard drive you need to organize files for minimum time delays for the processor. The first outer track on a disk is always the boot record which loads the main portions of DOS into the machine. Following this is the file allocation table or FAT which we discussed in earlier tutorials. The FAT maintains data in CLUSTERS which, for an XT class machine are 4096 bytes. On the AT class machine the cluster size is 2048 bytes which is much more efficient and less wasteful of disk space. Following the FAT are the sectors for the root directory of the hard drive. Each directory entry is 32 bytes in length. Curiously, and to our good advantage, unused entries in the directory have a unique first character byte. When a file is deleted though DOS, ONLY the first character is reset. Fortunately this allows various utility programs to attempt to recover the deleted file since ONLY the directory data is altered but NOT the file itself. However, as time goes on and additional files are added to the disk, the original file is overwritten by new information. This is why you need to act immediately if you discover you have accidentally deleted a file. An advantage to the use of the FAT is that files do not have to be given a fixed amount of space on a disk - they can use as many or few clusters as needed. The downside is that the file pieces can be scattered wildly over the surface of the disk in a non contiguous fashion which only the FAT can track. This means more read/write head motion and more wasted time as far as the CPU and the performance of your program is concerned. Additionally, if you have many deleted files within the directory, DOS must search tediously through each one from top to bottom of the directory to find a match for the file you are trying to locate. Obviously, then, programs and data of high use should have their directory entries located near the top of the directory to speed the search. Each time the read/write head moves takes time: searching the directory and finding the pieces of the scattered file all take movement of the read/write arm. There are several ways to unfragment files which boost disk performance, and we'll talk about those techniques it a bit. ---------------------------------------------------------------- HARD DISKS - STRATEGIES FOR TURBOCHARGED RESULTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Before we examine methods for improving hard drive performance, several simple "care and feeding" precautions should be mentioned. Hard drives are touchy if mistreated! Once brought up to speed, a hard drive should never be bumped or moved. The read/write head (similar to the phonograph needle resting on a record) will smash or chip into the surface of the spinning hard drive platter and take your data with it. Either the head or the magnetically coated platter can be permanently damaged. Allow the hard drive to some to a complete stop before moving the computer. In addition always use a "parking" software package to move the read/write head to the safety zone before turning off the computer. A parking program usually accompanies most computers which have hard drives installed or can be obtained from commercial or shareware sources. A few drives automatically park the heads when turned off but this tends to be a rare feature seen mostly on high priced hard drives. Always maintain copies of data and programs outside the hard drive by "backing up" onto a floppy or tape. How often should you back up your files? Daily if you use the computer to produce many changes to important documents. Weekly backup is probably a bare minimum considered reasonable for occasional computer users. Other computer users maintain vital data on floppies or other backup systems and use the hard drive to store programs or applications only such as a spreadsheet or database. Backups are a good idea even for floppy disk systems which have no hard drive. Make two copies of every file regardless of whether you have a hard drive or not. Some shareware and commercial utilities ease the backup chore by only copying those files to a floppy which have been changed or updated since the last backup has been performed. They ignore files which have not changed and thus do not require copying again. This can save a lot of time when backing up valuable files from your hard drive to a floppy for safekeeping. Hard drives should periodically be reorganized (files unfragmented) to ensure speedy retrieval and access to data. Inexpensive or free software programs known as "disk file unfragmenters" do this job nicely. As disk files are created and deleted, blank spaces and unused sectors begin to build up. Gradually files are broken into pieces and scattered over the many tracks and sectors of the disk. This happens to both floppies and hard drives, but is especially annoying on hard drives because of the dramatic increase in time it takes to load a program or data file. The File allocation table is the culprit, sense all data is packed away in the first and handiest sector on the drive which the FAT can find. The FAT allows files to be fragmented down to the cluster level. One way to unfragment a disk is to copy all of the files off to floppies and then recopy them back to the hard drive - a tedious nuisance at best. You would do this with the DOS XCOPY or COPY commands but not DISKCOPY since this would retain the tracks and their fragmentation as you first found them. Defragmenting programs perform this task without requiring removal of the files from the hard drive. They perform their magic by moving around the clusters of a scattered file in such a way as to reassemble it into contiguous pieces again. Some customization is permitted with the more sophisticated "defragmenting" programs. For example, subdirectory files can be relocated after the root or below a different subdirectory or, in another example, high use files might be placed higher in the directory listing for faster disk access. The first time a defragmenting program is run may require several hours if a hard drive is large and badly fractured with scattered files and clusters. It is a good idea to backup all essential files prior to "defragging" just in case there is a power failure during a long "defrag". Subsequent runs of the "defragger" produce runs of only a few minutes or so since the heavy work was done earlier. Essentially, "defragging" the hard drive should be done regularaly, perhaps weekly. Defragging is not a substitute for caching, ramdisks, or buffer - instead it is a maintenance function which should be done regularly. Yet another possible avenue to improve disk performance is that of changing the disk interleave factor which we will discuss a bit later in this tutorial. By way of brief introduction: the disk interleave indicates how many revolutions of the magnetic platter are required to read all the sectors of data from the spinning track. A ratio of 1:1 means all data can be read sequentially. One sector of data after another. There is some overhead time required for the read/write head to zip to the FAT area of the disk (if it is not in a cache or buffer) to determine location of the next sector along the disk track. For example, five clusters of data on a track might require four trips back to the FAT track to find the cluster addresses even on a completely defragmented disk. We will talk more about cluster and defragmenting a bit later in this tutorial. Nevertheless, depending on the speed of your central processor or CPU, using a program which tests and alters the interleave factor, IF THIS CAN BE DONE, may yield better performance. Most interleave adjustment software first performs a test to determine the current interleave, the possible changes and of course how much performance time might be gained. A few of these packages can alter the interleave with the files in place but you should backup truly essential files before starting the process. Interleave factor adjustment are mainly derived from the CPU speed NOT the disk speed. Thus a fast AT or 80386 equipped machine will more likely be able to take advantage of an interleave adjustment. Tinkering with a hard drive for optimum results might best be divided into two categories: DISK SUBSTITUTION and DISK ALTERATION. DOS allows two clever ways substituting RAM memory for disk memory. In the first, using BUFFERS, the small CONFIG.SYS file on your hard drive is modified to contain a buffers statement. A sample might be: BUFFERS=20. A DOS buffer is an area of RAM memory capable of holding a 512 byte mirror image of a disk sector. This allows DOS to quickly search the buffer area for frequently used data instead of the slower disk. In the older XT class machine, if you did not specify a buffer size, DOS defaulted to 2 buffers while later versions of DOS default to about 10 buffers. Most users settle on about 20 buffers but you can specify up to 99 with current releases of DOS. But you don't get something for nothing. If you used the full 99 buffers available, you would soak up 45K of your main RAM memory! The downside of using buffers is that more is not necessarily better. Unfortunately, DOS searches the buffer area of RAM sequentially rather than logically so if DOS requires data which is in the buffer area, it will search each 512 byte area in sequence from top to bottom even though the data it needs may be at the end of the buffer. Logically, then, there is an optimum number of buffers - too many used with a small program and you can slow things down, not enough and DOS will be forced to go out to the disk to retrieve what it needs. If you rarely use the same data within a program twice but load lots of different programs and data, a large number of buffers won't help. However if you need frequent access to a certain data file or portion of that file, buffers will help. Portions of the FAT are kept within the buffers area, so dropping your buffers to zero has the damaging effect that DOS must always go to the disk to read the FAT which isn't helpful either. Another way of substituting RAM memory for disk memory involves using a RAMDISK. The idea is to create in RAM memory an entire disk or a small portion of a disk. This works like magic on many machines since the reading of tracks and sectors takes place at the high speed of RAM memory rather than the mechanically limited speed of the read/write heads on a floppy or hard drive. But be careful. Three areas of difficulty can arise. First you must remember to take the data from a floppy or hard drive and move it into the RAMDISK. Many people do this automatically from within an AUTOEXEC.BAT file or may have several floppies, each with a different RAMDISK configuration depending on the task at hand. Copying data to the RAMDISK usually moves along briskly. Secondly you must sacrifice a large area of memory for the RAMDISK which can no longer be used by your main program. Users of computers with extended or expanded memory usually choose to put their RAMDISK in the extended or expanded memory area of RAM so that precious main memory is not lost. Still, a small RAMDISK can soak up 64K of RAM memory and one or two MEG RAMDISKS area common for many users. The third and most serious problem when using RAMDISKS is that they are volatile - switch off the machine or experience a power failure, and your data is lost forever! Rather than residing safely on a magnetic disk, the data is "floating" in RAM memory and should be - MUST BE! - written to a disk before the machine is powered down. Many applications fly with a RAMDISK. Users of word processors find that moving the spelling checker and thesaurus to the RAMDISK speeds up things considerably since these are used heavily in a random manner. Spreadsheet users find that reading and writing short data files to RAMDISKS is a boon. Programs which use overlay files or temporary files as well as programming compilers benefit from RAMDISK use. Batch files which are disk intensive as well as small utilities really sprint when placed on a RAMDISK. Basically, any program file which is frequently used and loaded/unloaded repeatedly to a disk during normal computer operation is an excellent candidate for RAMDISK placement. DOS contains a RAMDISK which is called by using the statement DEVICE=VDISK.SYS or DEVICE=RAMDRIVE.SYS (if you are using MSDOS) which is placed in your CONFIG.SYS file. Your DOS manual details the specifics such as stating the size of RAMDISK and giving it a drive letter. You must still copy your target files into the RAMDISK and place it in the search path (with the PATH= command) as we mentioned in a previous tutorial. And the RAMDISK should always be the first drive letter mentioned in the path command so that DOS searches it first for optimum results. Yet another area of investigation is that of CACHE software. Essentially a CACHE is an extension of the buffers idea we discussed earlier. But the twist is that the CACHE is searched intelligently by a searching algorithm within the CACHE software rather than from top to bottom as with the more typical DOS buffer search system. Disk CACHE software can be obtained as either commercial software or shareware. As with a RAMDISK, the CACHE requires a chunk of RAM memory to operate. This can be extended memory, expanded memory or main RAM memory. Some manufacturers include a CACHE program with the software package or DOS disk. A CACHE is a sophisticated type of RAMDISK, in a rough sense. CACHE software allocates a large area of memory for storage of frequently used disk data. This data is updated by an intelligent CACHE search algorithm in an attempt to "guess" which tracks of a disk you might read or need next. The CACHE also stores the most frequently used disk data and attempts to remove less frequently used data. Whenever DOS requests disk data, the CACHE software first tries to fill the order from data currently stashed in the CACHE which prevents a slower disk search. When data is written from the program to the CACHE, first a disk write is done to prevent data loss in case of power failure and then the data is stashed in the CACHE in case it is needed again. Usually the hard drive data is the target of the CACHE activity, but a floppy disk could also be cached. All CACHE software allows you to allocate the size of the CACHE as well as the drive or drives to be cached. And some even allow you to specify exact files or data to be cached. The key is that high use data lives in RAM memory which keeps tedious disk access times low. In general, if your computer has a megabyte or more of memory and a speedy processor such as an 80286 or 80386 either or both a CACHE or RAMDISK option does improve performance. As we leave hard disk boot camp, let's finally look at hard drive formatting processes. Two basic formatting operations are of concern: physical formatting or low level formatting and logical or high level formatting. When you use the format program on a floppy disk both low level and high level formatting is accomplished. On a hard disk, formatting performs only logical or high level formatting. On a hard disk, low level formatting is usually done to a disk before shipment. As an aside, the FDISK command of DOS has little to do with either type of formatting, but is a method of partitioning or arranging the data onto the hard drive tracks. Each disk platter is separated into circular concentric tracks where data is stored as we saw earlier. During physical formatting the tracks are divided into further subdivisions called clusters and further yet into sectors. High level formatting involves the specific ordering of the space for the exclusive use of DOS and is a bit more analogous to the formatting of a floppy disk. Some software programs of use by hard drive owners: The following two programs perform low level formatting and simple diagnostic routines on a hard drive: Disk Manager and CheckIt Data recovery and "unerasing" programs also containing diagnostic routines are: PC Tools Deluxe, Norton Utilities, Mace Utilities Extensive diagnostic and maintenance/data repair functions as well as interleave alteration and head parking are offered by: SpinRite II, Optune, Disk Technician Shareware programs with unerase functions include: Bakers Dozen Shareware programs with defragmentation capabilities include: SST and PACKDISK. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. LAPTOP AND PORTABLE COMPUTER BOOKS ---------------------------------------------------------------- August 1992 edition of PC Magazine. Comprehensive laptop and portable computer edition. Available at most public libraries. A classic, MASSIVE edition providing laptop purchasing tips, detailed reviews concerning specific portable computers and a surprising amount of software information for laptop users. Also contains a guide of useful travel tips and secrets from the magazine editors who use laptops daily at work. The Complete Laptop Computer Guide by David H. Rothman. Everything from equipment you can buy at Radio Shack so you can hook your laptop into hotel telephone networks to the eccentricities of using a laptop computer in Egypt. This one is the best guide if you want to know about using modems and telecommunications with a laptop under ANY travel conditions ANYWHERE on planet earth! On the Road. The portable Computing Bible, by Jim Seymour. Detailed laptop and portable use guide. Clever tips and tricks the manufacturer forgot to put in your insturction manual! Jim has been a writer for PC Magazine for years and shares some surprising information for laptop users and buyers. Tips and tricks from a laptop guru who uses a laptop daily. The Complete Laptop Computer Guide: How to Choose and Get the Most Out of Your Portable PC or Mac, by David H. Rothman. 384 pages. Large and quite detailed. Covers both hardware and software resources for portable computer users. The Little Laptop Book, by Steve Cummings. Peachpit Press. 186 pages. How to use, buy and travel with laptops. Extensive software recommendation and research is offered. Clever ideas not seen in other books. PC Magazine Guide to Notebook and Laptop Computers, by Bob Howard. Hundreds of productivity tips, purchasing suggestions and a disk of shareware and public domain software round out this comprehensive book. The disk alone is worth the price of the book since the software is especially tuned for laptops. ---------------------------------------------------------------- WINDOWS ---------------------------------------------------------------- There are dozens of books out there about Microsoft Windows, but for my money the best collection of articles and tips ever published on using Windows is at your local library: obtain a back issue of PC/Computing Magazine, November 1992. Over 174 pages of Windows power tips that even the most jaded computer guru will find amazing. The best coverage of Windows ever done in any publication. ---------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL INTEREST BOOKS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Understanding Computers (multiple volume series) By editors of Time-Life Books. 1985. Reader information service, 541 North Fairbanks Court, Chicago, Ill 60611. Found in most libraries, this multiple volume set of lavishly illustrated computer guides covers topics such as computer security, data input, programming, computer history, new technology and other topics. Managing Your Hard Disk. Don Berliner. 1988 Que Publishing. Topics include installing and formatting a hard disk, learning about subdirectories, backup methods plus many tips, tricks and traps in using the all essential hard drive in your PC. Next, the popular "Build Your Own...And Save A Bundle" series: Build Your Own IBM Compatible and Save A Bundle Upgrade Your Computer And Save A Bundle Build Your Own 80286 And Save A Bundle Build Your Own 80386 And Save A Bundle Build Your Own 80486 And Save A Bundle Above books by Aubrey Pilgrim. TAB-McGraw-Hill Publishing. Order via toll free telephone number 1-800-765-1714. This series of books features detailed photos, notes, diagrams and PLAIN ENGLISH instructions on how to assemble or upgrade a complete computer system. Save hundreds of dollars on equipment. Over 200,000 copies sold of this popular series. Incidentally, you can obtain a free catalog listing the TAB-McGraw-Hill computer books by calling 1-800-822-8138. The Printer Bible. Scott Foerster, Que Corporation, 1990. This is by far the biggest and best book ever written on using ANY type of printer effectively. How to fully use, buy, maintain, upgrade everything from the humble dot matrix printer to the flashiest laser. Contains a thorough review of printer technology, comprehensive charts, installation tips, postscript, ribbons, ink technology! Using 123. 1989 Que Publishing. With over one million copies sold, this is the number one choice in Lotus 123 guides. Includes basics of command structure, installation, spreadsheet template examples, graphing, traps and techniques for advanced use, menu structure, effective macro use and much more. 837 pages. Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications. John Dvorak and Nick Anis. 1990 McGraw-Hill. At over 1037 pages this is the essential book for those interested in learning about modems, bulletin board systems, E-Mail, Compuserve or anything related to computers and telecommunications. Contains two disks with useful programs such as Telix, CED, Shez, PKZip, Modem Tutor, and others which compliment the text section of the book. Appendix sections include the Hayes AT command set and hundreds of BBS telephone numbers plus discount coupons for products and services. The Joy of Computer Communications. William Cook. 1984 Dell Publishing. Inc. Magazine's Databasics: Your Guide to Online Business Information. 1986. Garland Publishing. The Complete Handbook of Personal Computer Communications: Everything you need to go online with the world. Alfred Glossbrenner. 1987 St Martin's Press. The PC Configuration Handbook. John Woram. 1991 Bantam Computer Books. The total guide to troubleshooting hardware related problems. A 768 page resource rich with notes on tests such as configuration of laser printers and other hardware setup needs. The Winn Rosch Hardware Bible. Winn L. Rosch. 1991 Brady Computer Books. A hands on approach to repairing and troubleshooting PC problems. Including printers, memory, keyboards, software settings and more. 628 pages. The Laserjet Handbook. Steven Bennett. 1991 Brady computer Books. 518 pages with a utility diskette for information on the care and feeding of the HP Laserjet printer. Using PFS: First Choice. George Omura. 1988 Sybex. A thorough beginners guide to mastering the First Choice integrated program which is popular with those needing a single program which contains a word processor, spreadsheet, database, report generator, graphics and telecommunications package. Using Wordstar. Steve Ditlea. 1988 Que. Wordstar users will delight in over 600 pages of tips on this classic word processing package. Covers installation, editing, printing, command structure, mail-merging techniques, spell-checking, macros and much more. Also includes tips on using this classic word processor with other packages such as 123 and PC-Outline. Recommeded Wordperfect Resources: Wordperfect 5.1 Tips, Tricks and Traps. Charles Stewart III Wordperfect 5.1 made Easy. Mella Mincberg Wordperfect 5.1: The Complete Reference. Karen Acerson Wordperfect 5.1 Macros and Templates. Gordon McComb Wordperfect Desktop Publishing in Style. Daniel Will-Harris Wordperfect 5.0 Instant Reference. Greg Harvey Computer Viruses, Worms, Data Diddlers, Killer Programs and other Threats to Your System. John McAfee and Colin Haynes. 1989 St Martins Press. Written by the chairman of the Computer Virus Industry Association, this book presents a chillingly detailed look at viruses. Includes actual programming code for two virus samples as well as detailed reviews of software protection programs, computer security methods and historical anecdotes about virus infections in corporate and university settings. Computer Viruses. Ralph Roberts. 1988 Chilton Books. Discusses many known viruses, how they work, telephone and sources for help and virus antidotes. IBM XT Clone Buyers Guide and Handbook IBM AT Clone Buyers Guide and Handbook 386 Buyers Guide and Handbook By Edwin Rutsch. 1988. Modular Information Systems. This trilogy of books cover computers of all major categories in the IBM clone world. Buy an edition which is six months or less old; frequent updates are common. Back issues of PC Magazine also review computers and recommend "editor's choices" and best buys in most classes of IBM clone computers. Dr. File Finder's Guide to Shareware by Michael Callahan and Nick Anis. ISBN: 0-07-881646-7. A book and disk package teaching you how to find and use the best in shareware. Learn about disk vendors, computer club sources, the best shareware in 20 categories. Includes such popular programs as Qmodem, Dos line editor, Anarkey, MackMail and more. Two additional disks available upon submission of a postcard contained in the book. Writing & Marketing Shareware - a book and companion cassette tape by Steve Hudgik, HomeCraft, P.O. Box 974, Tualatin, OR 97062. Tel 503/692-3732. The best book in the industry for learning about programming, designing and MARKETING shareware for maximum financial return. Shows you how to become a successful shareware author who develops WINNING shareware for maximum income. Includes mailing list of distributors, equipment suppliers, service providers, how to design your shareware and more! $hareware Marketing $ystem. Two disk set containing tutorials and quarterly marketing newsletter for shareware authors plus dBase format mailing list on disk of over 4,000 addresses for industry contacts: computer clubs, disk vendors, magazine writers and more who use, distribute or review shareware. The mailing list on disk is ready to import into many database software packages and print mailing labels directly. By Jim Hood, the author of THIS tutorial! POB 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. 206/236-0470. Alfred Glossbrenner's Master Guide to Free Software and Shareware, c/o FireCrystal Communications, 699 River Rd, Yardley, PA 19067. One of the largest and most respected guides to shareware in the industry. Editor is a contributor to computer industry magazines. Tips and Techniques for Using Low-Cost and Public Domain Software. John Gliedman. 1988. McGraw-Hill. A thorough guide to low cost, effective shareware and public domain programs including RAM disks, word processors, batch file systems, hard disk managers, tutorials and other topics. Fire in the Valley, Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine, Berkeley California, Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1984. The classic pre-history of the early days of personal computers. Colorful, animated and witty discussion about the makers of the personal computer revolution. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, Steven Levy, New York: Doubleday, 1984. A fascinating look at the early computer hacker culture in the days at MIT. A great book to curl up with on a long rainy weekend! The Joy of Computers, Peter Laurie, London: Hutchinson, 1983. The Computer Glossary, Alan Freedman, 1989, AMACOM. Find out exactly what determines the difference between a pixel and a TSR. Thousands of terms explained in a savvy and witty manner. The Elements of Style, William Strunk and EB White, 1979, Macmillan. This little book is a classic for writers and communicators alike. For those who aspire to write simply, cleanly and well, the is the little book which should accompany all word processing packages. Learning the precepts of this book requires a lifetime of practice and reward you with text which explains, delights and clarifies. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig, 1977, Bantam Books. Understanding how YOU fit in with computers means understanding the philosophy and history of computers. A non- technical look at using high technology to tinker effectively and adapt to the pleasures of life in this electronic age. History of Programming Languages, Richard Wexelblat, New York: Academic Press, 1981. The Elements of Spreadsheet Style, John Nevison, 1987, Brady Books. The essentials of proper construction and use of spreadsheets. Years later you can come back to the spreadsheet you designed for a complex budget report and know WHAT and HOW it works plus WHERE the formulas are. Packed with exceptional techniques for using these marvelous number crunching programs. Home Businesses Under $5000. Joyce Lain Kennedy. Sun Features Inc. POB 368, Cardiff, CA 92007. (cost: $4.50). Everyone who owns a computer wonders if there isn't a way to start their own small business out of the den or garage and use the computer to make money rather than punch a time clock for the boss. This 36 page booklet is a practical guide with tips for starting everything from a mail list maintenance business to a pet portrait business. $4.50 and a self stamped (75 cents) self- addressed envelope. Windows 3.0: A Self-Teaching Guide. Keith Weiskamp and Saul Aguiar. 1991. Published by John Wiley and Sons. The ins and outs of installing and running windows from the ground up for the novice. ---------------------------------------------------------------- DOS OPERATING SYSTEM BOOKS ---------------------------------------------------------------- PC Magazine DOS Power tools, 1991, Bantam - includes 2 disks with utilities. Probably the ultimate DOS book for those willing to roll up both shirtsleeves and crawl under the hood for a "nuts and bolts" understanding of the PC. Batch files, DOS, DEBUG, the works! $40 but available at discount from many bookstores. The disks of software utilities are worth the price of the book. 1251 pages! Running MS-DOS (2nd edition), Van Wolverton, 1985, Microsoft Press Quick Reference guide to MS-DOS, Van Wolverton, 1987, Microsoft Press Peter Norton's DOS Guide (rev. edition), Peter Norton, 1987, Brady Books Also responsible for the essential software utility toolkit of the same name, Peter Norton takes you on a friendly and detailed tour of setting up shop and getting results quickly. Tricks of the MS-DOS Masters, John Angermeyer, 1987, Howard Sams & Co. MS-DOS Bible, Steven Simrin, 1985, Howard W. Sams and Company (Division of Macmillan Inc. Publishers) ---------------------------------------------------------------- COMPUTER MAGAZINES ---------------------------------------------------------------- PC MAGAZINE (at most newstands) The preferred magazine for businesses and serious hobbyists. This is the one to subscribe to if you can afford the financial and time committment to only ONE computer magazine. The best and most detailed equipment and software reviews in the industry. Back issues at most libraries are ESSENTIAL goldmines for beginner and advanced alike. Software utilities published by PC Magazine and available through most computer clubs and PC Magazine MagNet (modem service) are instant classics. SHAREWARE MAGAZINE. Published by PC-SIG, 1030-D East Duane Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. Voice telephone: 408/730-9291 FAX: 408/730-2107. Included with membership in PC-SIG, one of the largest shareware disk distributors in the world. A bimonthly, "light and lively" guide to the shareware market featuring reviews and articles on the best and latest. COMPUTER SHOPPER (at most newstands) A monthly review of mail order and deep discount computer sources. The largest and most detailed pc purchasing guide in existence. Contains updates on new software, discount computer reviews, news articles, listings of local computer clubs and mail order sources for shareware. Page after page of mail order ads offer tremendous diversity and equipment choice. HOME OFFICE COMPUTING combines computers with topics and techniques for working at home including equipment and software reviews, new ideas for making money with a computer in a home office environment, using a modem, money management for the work at home computerist, new business ideas, time management, interesting franchise ideas, and more. 730 Broadway, NY, NY 10003. 212/505-3580. LOTUS MAGAZINE (circulation office: PO Box 9123, Cambridge, MA, 02139-9123, telephone (617) 494-1192) The ultimate spreadsheet periodical. Back issues at some public libraries and many university and college libraries are essential resources. The spreadsheet is the ultimate number crunching engine as well as an adequate database and even a poor man's word processor. Lotus magazine shows you how to turbocharge your spreadsheet via detailed and interesting examples. PC RESOURCE MAGAZINE. No longer published, but back issues in library archives are ESSENTIAL reading for computer beginners and novices. UNCLE HANKS SHAREWARE REVIEW Magazine is a Bi-Monthly collection of reviews of some of the finest Shareware Programs available today. A great little magazine discussing low cost quality shareware programs for beginners and advanced computer users alike! For a sample copy, send $1 to: Uncle Hank's Shareware, 8 Hendricks Street, Easthampton, MA 01027. ---------------------------------------------------------------- RECOMMENDED READING - EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE CATALOGS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Below are listed several reputable software and hardware vendors who provide interesting catalogs and reasonable service. This does not suggest an endorsement, simply a resource with printed catalogs which are of good educational value. Selective Software Catalog (903 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz CA 95060) Power Up Software Catalog, POB 7600, San Mateo, CA 94403-7600. 1-800-851-2917. US Micro Inc 1-800-874-5505 or (206) 453-4046 CompuAdd Computer 1-800-627-1967 or 1-800-666-1872 Dell Computer 1-800-283-1290 Austin Computer 1-800-752-1577 Swan Computer 1-800-468-9044 Northgate Computer 1-800-548-1993 Zeos Computer 1-800-423-5891 PC-Brand 1-800-PC BRAND ---------------------------------------------------------------- RECOMMENDED READING - SELECTED MAGAZINE ARTICLES ---------------------------------------------------------------- 55 Word Processors tested and evaluated, PC Magazine, February 29, 1988 Programming Languages, Lawrence Tesler, Scientific American, September 1984. Economy class accounting for small business. PC Magazine, April 10, 1990. Advanced accounting packages evaluated and rated, PC Magazine, September 15, 1987 Spreadsheet review, PC Magazine, April 24, 1988 Hard drive use and evaluations, PC Magazine, June 9, 1987 Best low end integrated packages including Microsoft Works, PC Magazine, December 26, 1989 Printer evaluations and ratings, PC Magazine, November 10, 1987 Also covered in PC Magazine issues: October 31, 1988 & November 14, 1989 Basic programming language compilers, PC Magazine, October 31, 1989 Best utilities, backup systems, fax review, PC Magazine, June 23, 1987 Keyboards, mouse and other input devices, useful utilities, PC Magazine, August 16, 1987 Project management programs, keyboard macro programs, 386 high speed computers, disc diagnostic programs, PC Magazine, September 29, 1987 Desktop publishing, spelling checkers PC Magazine, October 13, 1987 Spreadsheet reviews, backup software evaluation, PC Magazine, October 27, 1987. Hard drive cards - mail order drives, Low cost CAD packages, PC Magazine December 8, 1987 The Excel spreadsheet from Microsoft, popup scratchpad/note- takers PC Magazine, December 22, 1987 Best programs and hardware of 1989, PC Magazine, January 16, 1990 Databases, expanded memory, graphics packages, 80386 computers, Personal Computing, January, 1988 Portable computers, worms, PC Magazine, March 29, 1988 Database package evaluation, Desktop publishing software, PC Magazine April 12, 1988 Top charting and graphing packages, Projection screen systems, integrated word processors, PC Magazine March 15, 1988 Evaluation of OS/2, Running a small business with personal finance software, Personal Computing, February 1988 High speed modems, Personal Computing, December 1987 Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. USER GROUPS AND COMPUTER CLUBS - I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND ---------------------------------------------------------------- Note! This section has been revised and now includes an extensive address list of computer clubs! See the list at the end of this tutorial . . . The deeper you delve into computing, the sooner you discover the benefits of joining a user group. The idea is simple: books, tutorial disks and healthy doses of personal computer magazines will only take you so far; sooner or later you need to talk to SOMEONE. Computer groups once had an image as hacker havens, but have now broadened in scope to provide services as general or specific as you like. User groups offer an informal way to meet and exchange ideas about equipment, software or specialized techniques in certain program areas. A good user group will boast a variety of functions and sub- functions. A monthly meeting headlines the agenda. Meetings vary from group to group, but a common standard is first a beginners corner for those just getting started. More experienced users may come later to the main meeting or come early to help teach or copy public domain software. The second portion of the meeting usually revolves around an open "question and answer" session during which members present ideas or ask pressing questions of the entire gathering. Third on the agenda is usually a presentation or guest speaker who discusses a software program, new device or procedure. The fourth and final portion of many user group meetings is the copying of public domain and shareware programs of interest to members. Annual dues for most users groups vary from free to $50 and are frequently supplemented by the sale of public domain and shareware software to both members and interested non-members. Frequently a resource referral list is prepared which provides the name(s), phone numbers and specialties of members who are available to answer technical software or hardware questions. Sometimes problems and questions becomes so numerous that the user group will schedule special training sessions to help many members having difficulty in a common area. Other user groups enjoy field trips and opportunities which brings members directly into contact with business users or computer development professionals at an office or plant location. Additional activities of the group may involve a monthly newsletter on disk or paper, a BBS system with group news and programs accessible by computer and telephone modem, group discount purchasing memberships, a library index, directory of members and list of local BBS systems and recommended software/hardware vendors. The groups also serve as a handy conduit for sales of used equipment by and for fellow members. As senior members in the group migrate to more powerful computers and attachments, fellow members can frequently locate excellent equipment and software packages below retail prices. The software library of a user group is a vast repository of unusual software programs. Generally, the larger or more technical the group, the broader the software resources available. In addition some groups maintain older versions of a program which may be simpler and more useful for the beginner. Another benefit of using the user group software library derives from the availability of program variants within a given area: a club member can try not one but five or six different shareware spreadsheets in an attempt to locate the most comfortable software for his or her particular needs. Shareware springs from the roots of the personal computer movement and for many computer user group members, shareware and public domain software may be the only software ever needed. Some groups further specialize. Frequently these groups are known as SIG's (Special Interest Groups). SIGs have a narrow focus which may be more suited to certain people. SIGs exist to serve spreadsheet users, DOS beginners, modem users, database users, designers, lawyers, modem users, graphics designers and the list goes on. Locating a user group involves a little probing at first. At the end of this tutorial is a mailing list of the largest computer groups in the United States. Frequently a self-stamped envelope will bring you information on a group nearest you or an invitation to join that national club. In addition, FOG, an international nonprofit computer users group, maintains a comprehensive listing of national clubs. This list is also printed in all issues of the Computer Shopper magazine (most newsstands or $21 per year, 5211 South Washington Ave, POB F, Titusville, FL 32781.) The address for FOG is PO Box 3474, Daly City, California, 94015. FOG telephone is (415) 755- 2000. FOG lists over 20,000 members who have access to the club's library of shareware for both CPM and DOS machines as well as a helpline for members needing fast telephone answers to computer questions, a monthly newsletter and discounts on assorted computer merchandise. Membership in FOG is $40 per year. A self-addressed, self-stamped envelope to FOG will bring a list of computer clubs nearest you. Another source of lists of local computer clubs is The Association of Personal Computer User Groups 1730 "M" ST NW, #700, Washington, DC 20036. Yet another way to locate user groups is to ask sales personnel at a local software store or manager of any local Radio Shack Store! Frequently a few phone calls will produce several phone numbers of interest. In addition, IBM maintains an automated national registry of user groups which can be reached at (404) 988-2782. Two lists follow. First a list of large computer clubs, then a list of clubs specializing in business and computer management. ---------------------------------------------------------------- LARGEST NATIONAL USER GROUPS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Before you begin, here's a clever trick to search the list FAST! If you are using the high speed color menu system with pop down menus there is a SEARCH FEATURE! Press the F1 key to bring up the help menu with notes on the search key capability. When prompted for a search string enter a phrase which will zoom you straight to your state of residence! For example, the address for California groups should have a comma followed by a space then CA. So enter this as the search string: , CA (comma space CA) Press enter and you will zoom straight to a phrase which contains that search item. You can continue to the next match if the first match is not useful. Follow the instructions on the screen. Many of these groups welcome out of state memberships and can also provide additional lists of user groups in your area. This list is sorted into order of states (i.e., Alaska at top of list, West Virginia at bottom of list.) POLAR PC'S USER'S GROUP BOX 72934, FAIRBANKS, AK 99707 BIRMINGHAM IBM PC USER GRP POB 19248, BIRMINGHAM, AL 35219-9248 HUNTSVILLE PC UG POB 16013, HUNTSVILLE, AL 35802 ARK/OK PC USERS GROUP PO BOX 853, FORT SMITH, AR 72902 CENTRAL ARKANSAS PC USERS ASSOC. POB 2095, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72203 TWIN LAKES USERS GROUP RT 5-BOX 127, MOUNTAIN HOME, AR 72653 NORTHWEST ARK MICROCOMPUTER USERS RT 4 BOX 376, SPRINGDALE, AR 73764 JONESBORO USER GROUP PO BOX 838, STATE UNIVERSITY, AR 72467 PHOENIX PC USER'S GROUP POB 35637, PHOENIX, AZ 85069-5637 SOUTH MOUNTAIN USERS GROUP PO BOX 50002, PHOENIX, AZ 85076 TUCSON COMPUTER SOCIETY POB 1489, TUCSON, AZ 85702 BERKELEY PC USERS 1145 WALNUT ST, BERKELEY, CA 94707 VALLEY COMPUTER CLUB PO BOX 6008, BURBANK, CA 91510 FOG INT'L COMPUTER USERS GROUP POB 3474, DALY CITY, CA 94015 COLOR AMERICA INC 1466 SPRUCE TREE DR, DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765 IBM HUMBOLDT USERS GROUP POB 6721, EUREKA, CA 95502 MICROLINK PC USER GROUP 15865-B GALE AVENUE #1003, HACIENDA HEIGHTS, CA 91745 ANTELOPE VALLEY PC USERS POB 2942, LANCASTER, CA 93539 SAN LUIS OBISPO PC USERS 2100 ANDRE AVENUE, LOS OSOS, CA 93402 MONTEREY BAY UG 177 WEBSTER STREET SUITE A-354, MONTEREY, CA 93940 NAPA VALLEY PC USERS POB 2653, NAPA, CA 94558 CHANNEL ISLANDS PC USERS GROUP POB 5025, OXNARD, CA 93031 PASADENA IBM USERS GROUP 711 - EAST WALNUT ST #306, PASADENA, CA 91101 RIVERSIDE IBM COMPUTER CLUB 7860 LIVE OAK DRIVE, RIVERSIDE, CA 92509-5339 SACRAMENTO PC USERS GROUP PO BOX 162227, SACRAMENTO, CA 95816-2227 IECG POB 5281, SAN BERNADINO, CA 92412 SAN DIEGO COMPUTER SOCIETY POB 81444, SAN DIEGO, CA 92138 SAN FRANCISCO IBM PC UG 3145 GEARY BLVD. SUITE 155, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118-3316 SAN FRANCISCO COMPUTER SOCIETY POB 783, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94101 SF BUSINESS COMPTUER CLUB 455 VALLEJO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133 SANTA BARBARA PC USERS GROUP 281 OAK RD, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93108 SILICON VALLEY COMPUTER SOCIETY 2464 EL CAMINO REAL #190, SANTA CLARA, CA 95051 NORTH BAY USERS POB 7156, VALLEJO, CA 94590 METRO AREA COMPUTER ENTHUSIASTS PO BOX 440247, AURORA, CO 80044 COLORADO SPRINGS PC U. G. BOX 1028, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80901 MILE HIGH COMPUTER CLUB POB 5226, DENVER, CO 80217 WINDOWS ON THE ROCKIES CLUB POB 9929, DENVER, CO 80209 FRONT RANGE PC USERS GROUP 305 W. MAGNOLIA #152, FORT COLLINS, CO 80521 CHAFFEE COUNTRY COMPTUER CLUB POB 1123, SALIDA, CO 81201 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT USER GROUP 781 MAIN ST, COVENTRY, CT 06238 CONNECTICUT IBM PC USER'S GROUP BOX 291, NEW CANNAAN, CT 06840 TRUMBILL PC USERS POB 545, TRUMBULL, CT 06611 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL USERS GROUP PO BOX 1468, WEST HARTFORD, CT 06107 ASSOCIATION OF PERS. COMPUTER UG 1730 "M" ST NW, #700, WASHINGTON, DC 20036 PC PROFESSIONAL USER GROUP 1601 CONCORD PIKE, WILMINGTON, DE 19803 POLK IBM PC USERS 2182 LAKE ARIANA BVD, AUBURNDALE, FL 33823 MANATEE PC USERS 411-67TH ST NW, BRADENTON, FL 34209 HERNANDO CITRUS PC USERS POB 1106, BROOKSVILLE, FL 34605 SW FLORIDA PC USERS POB 1466, FORT MEYERS, FL 33902 SOUTH POLK PC USERS GROUP 815 N. LAKE REEDY BLVD., FROSTPROOF, FL 33843 HOGTOWN HACKERS 4623 - NW 13TH AV, GAINESVILLE, FL 32605 MIAMI PC USER GROUP INC 4651 SHEIDAN ST STE 300, HOLLYWOOD, FL 33021 P.C. UG JACKSONVILLE POB 47197, JACKSONVILLE, FL 32247-7197 IBM RIDGE AREA COMPUTER CLUB 251 TOWER LAKES, LAKE WALES, FL 33853 CFCS COMPUTER CLUB POB 948019, MAITLAND, FL 32751 PCBUG POB 285, NAPLES, FL 33939 CHARLOTTE COUNTY PC USERS POB 3530, PORT CHARLOTTE, FL 33949 TRI-COUNTY COMPUTER USER GROUP POB 7414, PORT ST. LUCIE, FL 34985 SARASOTA PC USERS 4557 CAMINO REAL, SARASOTA, FL 34231 EPSUNCOAST PC USERS 1237 - 79TH ST S, ST PETERSBURG, FL 33707 FT. LAUDERDALE COMPUTER USERS GROUP 8461 N.W. 31ST PLACE, SUNRISE, FL 33351 USF PERSONAL COMPUTER/SYSTEM UG SVC 4010 USF UCS INFO CENTER, TAMPA, FL 33620-6940 PBUG COMPUTER CLUB 319 SEQUOIA DRIVE, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33409 ATLANTA IBM PC USER'S GROUP INC. POB 28788, ATLANTA, GA 30358 CSRA COMPUTER SOCIETY POB 284, AUGUSTA, GA 30903 LAGRANGE AREA MICRO USERS GROUP 262 EAST LAKEVIEW DR, LAGRANGE, GA 30240 HAWAII IBM PC USERS GROUP BOX 22967, HONOLULU, HI 96822 MILITARY PC USER GROUP 400 HOBRON LANE #1802, HONOLULU, HI 96815 WAIKIKI PC USER GROUP PO BOX 15911, HONOLULU, HI 95811 QUAD CITY PC USER'S GROUP POB 2456, DAVENPORT, IA 52809 HAWKEYE PC USERS GROUP POB 2592, IOWA CITY, IA 52244 NORTHWEST IOWA PC USER GROUP 320 OAK PARK CIRCLE, WATERLOO, IA 50701 NORTHERN ILLINOIS COMPUTER SOCIETY PO BOX 547, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60006 CHICAGO COMPUTER SOCIETY THE POB 8681, CHICAGO, IL 60680-8681 ASSOC PERSONAL PC USERS 9063 N CLIFTON AV, NILES, IL 60648 FOX VALLEY PC ASSOC PO BOX 28, NORTH AURORA, IL 60542 PEORIA COMPUTER CLUB POB 758, PEORIA, IL 61602 WESTERN IL PROGRAMMERS AND USERS RR5 BOX 75, QUINCY, IL 62301 FOX VALLEY COMPUTER SOCTY POB 188, SOUTH ELGIN, IL 60177 NORTHERN ILL COMPUTER OWNERS N 371 COUNTY FARM RD, WINFIELD, IL 60190 ANDERSON COMPUTER USR GROUP 830 HAROLD ST, ANDERSON, IN 46013 INDIANAPOLIS COMPUTER SOCIETY POB 2532, INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46206 MICHIANA AMATEUR COMPUTER SOCIETY PO BOX 2171, MICHIGAN CITY, IN 46360 TOPEKA PC USERS CLUB POB 1279, TOPEKA, KS 66601 BLUEGRASS USER GROUP 1160-A CENTRE PKWY, LEXINGTON, KY 40517 CENTRAL KY COMPUTER SOCIETY 2050 IDLE HOUR CENTER #160, LEXINGTON, KY 40502 KY-IN PC USERS GROUP BOX 3564, LOUISVILLE, KY 40201 HEARTLAND USERS GROUP 155 HIGHLAND CIRCLE, PADUCAH, KY 42003-1206 POWELL COUNTY PC USER GROUP C/O COMPSERV LTD BOX 399, STANTON, KY 40380 IBM SERIOUS U. OF BATON ROUGE COMPUTER ELECTRONICS/1955 DALLAS DR., BATON ROUGE, LA 70806 ACADIANA MICROCOMPUTER USERS GROUP PO BOX 51142, LAFAYETTE, LA 70505 NORTHWEST LOUISIANA PC U. G. 945 DUDLEY DR., SHREVEPORT, LA 71104 BOSTON COMPUTER SOCIETY THE ONE KENDALL SQUARE, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 PIONEER VALLEY PC U. G. P. O. BOX H, NORTH AMHERST, MA 01059 CHESAPEAKE PC USERS GROUP 2315B FOREST DR. #31, ANNAPOLIS, MD 21401 COMMUNAL COMPUTING POB 6599, SILVER SPRINGS, MD 20916 ISLAND REACH COMPUTER CLUB POB 1029, BLUE HILL, ME 04614 DOWNEAST COMPUTER SOCTY POB 384, DEER ISLE, ME 04627 IBM PC USERS 26 CASCADE ROAD, OLD ORCHARD BCH, ME 04064 FLINT AREA COMPUTER ENTRUSIASTS POB 69, FLINT, MI 48501 CURSORS IBM USERS GOGEBIC COM COLLEGE/E. 4946 JACKSON RD, IRONWOOD, MI 49938 S.W. MICHIGAN IBM PC USERS GROUP 2320 CROSSWIND DRIVE, KALAMAZOO, MI 49008 MIDLAND COMPUTER CLUB 830 W PRAIRIE RD, MIDLAND, MI 48640 DETROIT AREA NETWORK USERS POB 69015, PLEASANT RIDGE, MI 48069 STERLING HEIGHTS COMPUTER CLUB POB 925, STERLING HTS, MI 48311 TWIN CITIES PC USERS EDINA COM CTR/5701 NORMANDALE RD, EDINA, MN 55424 KANSAS CITY IBM PC USERS GROUP 221 E. 63RD ST., KANSAS CITY, MO 64113 MICROCOMPUTER USERS GROUP PO BOX 411436, KANSAS CITY, MO 64141 ST LOUIS U G FOR THE IBM PC PO BOX 69099, ST LOUIS, MO 63109 PC USERS OF ASHEVILLE C/O DOUG FRENCH 44 HOLLYBROOK DR, ASHEVILLE, NC 28803 FOOTHILLS PC USERS POB 563, HICKORY, NC 28603 MAGIC CITY IBM USERS POB 3124, MINOT, ND 58702 WAHPETON PC USERS POB 181, WAHPETON, ND 58074 PEMI BAKER COMPUTER GRP RFD 2, BOX 399, PLYMOUTH, NH 03264 PC CLUB OF SOUTH JERSEY POB 427 295 W. RT 70, CHERRY HILL, NJ 08002 BROOKDALE COMPUTER USERS 12 GEORJEAN DR, HOLMDEL, NJ 07733 SOUTH JERSEY IBM PC USERS G. P. O. BOX 1117, OCEAN CITY, NJ 08226 NEW JERSEY PC USER GROUP INC. POB 14, PARAMUS, NJ 07653-1014 AMATEUR COMPUTER GRP NEW JERSEY POB 135, SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ 07076 COMPUTER CONNECTION POB 382, VOORHEES, NJ 08043 LAS VEGAS PC USERS GROUP 5000 E BONANZA RD #8788, LAS VEGAS, NV 89110 LONG ISLAND PC USERS 659 STRATTFORD RD, BALDWIN, NY 11510 BUFFALO IBM USERS GROUP INC. POB 609, BUFFALO, NY 14226 LONG ISLAND COMPUTER ASSOCIATION POB 71, HICKSVILLE, NY 11802 HUDSON VALLEY PERSONAL COMPUTING BOX 6057, KINGSTON, NY 12401 COMPUTER CLUB OF NY 9 CHESTNUT GROVE CT, NEW YORK, NY 10956 CREATIVE COMPUTER CLUB 153 EAST 57 ST #8-G, NEW YORK, NY 10022 NEW YORK PERSONAL COMPUTER GRP 40 WALL ST #2124, NEW YORK, NY 10005 NY AMATEUR COMPUTER CLUB BOX 3442 CHURCH ST. STA., NEW YORK, NY 10008 LEATHERSTOCKING COMPUTER CLUB POB 1284, ONEONTA, NY 13820-5284 LONG ISLAND COMPUTER SOCTY POB 2440, PATCHOGUE, NY 11772 FROG COMPUTER SOCIETY 321 EXECUTIVE OFFICE BLDG, ROCHESTER, NY 14614 PC ROCKLAND USERS 32 SMITH AVE, SOUTH NYACK, NY 10960 SYRACUSE MICRO CLUB POB 753, SYRACUSE, NY 13205 WESTCHESTER PC USERS GROUP POB 349, WHITE PLAINS, NY 10602-0349 CINCINNATI IBM PC USERS GROUP BOX 3097, CINCINNATI, OH 45201 CLEVELAND COMPUTER SOCTY 3150 PAYNE AVE, CLEVELAND, OH 44114 COLUMBUS COMPUTER SOCIETY POB 1556, COLUMBUS, OH 45216 DAYTON MICROCOMPUTER ASSOC INC MUS NAT HIST/2629 RIDGE AVE, DAYTON, OH 45414 MSDOS PC USERS 200 ROUDEBUSH HALL/MIAMI UNIV, OXFORD, OH 45056 TOLEDO PC USERS GROUP P. O. BOX 13085, TOLEDO, OH 43613 WESTERN RESERVE IBM-COMP PC ASSOC PO BOX 8828, WARREN, OH 44484 OKC PC USERS GROUP POB 12027, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73107 TULSA COMPUTER SOCIETY BOX 3211, TULSA, OK 74101 EUGENE PC USERS POB 11436, EUGENE, OR 97440 RACE COMPUTER CLUB 1358 WILLOW CT, GRANTS PASS, OR 97440 PORTLAND PC CLUB 921 SW MORRISON/GALLERIA STE 529, PORTLAND, OR 97205 COMPUTER USERS OF ERIE POB 1975, ERIE, PA 16507 EXTON PC COUNCIL (EPCC) MS BUCK 400 EXTON SQ PKWY, CHEST. LIBRARY, EXTON, PA 19341 HARRISBURG PC USER GROUP 1195 FAIRMONT DRIVE, HARRISBURG, PA 17112 PHIL. COMPUTER USERS P. O. BOX 312 LASALLE UNIV., PHILADELPHIA, PA 19141 GREENE COUNTY PC USERS 42 S WEST ST, WAYNESBURG, PA 15370 SOUTH COUNTY COMPUTER USERS PO BOX 493, WAKEFIELD, RI 02880 IBM PC UG OF CHARLESTON CC PO BOX 520, CHARLESTON, SC 29402 PALMETTO PERSONAL COMPUTER CLUB POB 2046, COLUMBIA, SC 29202 CUMBERLAND MICROCOMPUTER UG POB 151, COOKEVILLE, TN 38503-0151 MUSIC CITY COMPUTER CLUB 488 SADDLE DR, NASHVILLE, TN 37221 EAST TENN PC USERS STEVEN PEYROT 1345 OAK RIDGE TURNPIKE STE. 291, OAK RIDGE, TN 37830 GOLDEN TRIANGLE PC CLUB POB 20905, BEAUMONT, TX 77720 BRAZOS VALLEY PC 1920 PEACH CREEK RD, COLLEGE STATION, TX 77845 NORTH TEXAS PC USER'S GROUP POB 780066, DALLAS, TX 75378-0066 FORT WORTH IBM PC USERS POB 1476, FORT WORTH, TX 76101 BAY AREA PC USERS POB 580356, HOUSTON, TX 77058 HOUSTON AREA LEAGUE OF PC USERS/HAL-PC 1200 POST OAK BLVD. SUITE 106, HOUSTON, TX 77056 DALLAS FT. WORTH PC USERS GR. 309 LINCOLNSHIRE, IRVING, TX 75061 FT BEND COMPUTER USERS POB 292, RICHMOND, TX 77469 ALAMO COMPUTER CLUB P. O. BOX 65180, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78265 TEMPLE AREA PC USERS 1501 E BARTON ST, TEMPLE, TX 76501 TYLER COMPUTER CLUB 4928 RICHMOND RD, TYLER, TX 75703 UTAH BLUE CHIPS POB 510811, SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84151 PACIFIC NORTHWEST PC USERS GROUP POB 3363, BELLEVUE, WA 98009 BORDERLINE PC USERS POB 5229, FPO SEATTLE, WA 98791-5229 FOX VALLEY TECH COLLEGE PC USERS POB 2277 MAIL ROOM 318, APPLETON, WI 54913-2277 MADISON PC USER'S GROUP POB 2598, MADISON, WI 53701-2598 MILWAUKEE PCUG POB 2121, MILWAUKEE, WI 53201 HUNTINGTON PC USERS GRP P. O. BOX 2173, HUNTINGTON, WV 25722 BOOT HILLS PC USERS GROUP PO BOX 686, WHEELING, WV 26003 ---------------------------------------------------------------- USER GROUPS SPECIALIZING IN BUSINESS AND COMPUTER MANAGEMENT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Society for the Management of Professional Computing, c/o Lynn Geissler, Shawmut Bank of Boston, 1 Federal St, Boston, MA 02211; (617) 292-3027 Micro Managers Association, c/o Annie Zdinak, 333 Sylvan Ave, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632; (201) 569-6016 Association of Personal Computer Users, 323 S. Franklin St, Ste 204, Chicago, Ill 60606; (219) 696-6760 Chicago Association of Microcomputer Professionals, POB 380, Deerfield ILL 60015; (312) 831-0286 Gateway Microcomputer Managers Association, POB 28773, St. Louis, MO 63146; (314) 854-4338 San Francisco Microcomputer Management Association, 834 Baker St., San Francisco, CA 94115; (415) 346-4452 Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. VIRUS WARFARE: THE NOVEMBER MESSAGE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting stories sometimes begin with a touch of horror. Technological terror is so much more invigorating when the plot is true and the author real.... Imagine you are a computer operator at a local college on a crisp November afternoon. It is Monday and you have finished running a routine payroll data processing job which will print employee paychecks on Friday. You decide to check messages on the University computer network which links colleges and Universities throughout America. At 4:15 PM the following message flashes onto your screen. This message is NOT fictional. The dates and people are REAL: Monday, 30 November 1987 BITNET computer network - URGENT FROM: Kenneth R. Van Wyk, User Services Senior Consultant, Lehigh University Computing Center (215)-758-4988 {RISKS-FORUM Digest Volume 5 : Issue 67} Last week, some of our student consultants discovered a virus program that's been spreading rapidly throughout Lehigh University. I thought I'd take a few minutes and warn as many of you as possible about this program since it has the chance of spreading much farther than just our University. We have no idea where the virus started, but some users have told me that other universities have recently had similar problems. The virus: the virus itself is contained in the stack space of COMMAND.COM. When a PC is booted from an infected disk, all a user need do to spread the virus is to access another disk via TYPE, COPY, DIR, etc. If the other disk contains COMMAND.COM, the virus code is copied to the other disk. Then, a counter is incremented on the parent. When this counter reaches a value of 4, any and every disk in the PC is erased thoroughly. The boot tracks are nulled, as are the FAT tables, etc. All Norton's horses couldn't put it back together again... :-) This affects both floppy and hard disks. Meanwhile, the four children that were created go on to tell four friends, and then they tell four friends, and so on, and so on. Detection: while this virus appears to be very well written, the author did leave behind a couple of footprints. First, the write date of the COMMAND.COM changes. Second, if there's a write protect tab on an uninfected disk, you will get a WRITE PROTECT ERROR... So, boot up from a suspected virus'd disk and access a write protected disk - if an error comes up, then you're sure. Note that the length of command.com does not get altered. I urge anyone who comes in contact with publicly accessible disks to periodically check their own disks. Also, exercise safe computing -always wear a write protect tab. :-) This is not a joke. A large percentage of our public site disks have been gonged by this virus in the last couple of days. END OF MESSAGE ... ---------------------------------------------------------------- COMPUTER VIRUSES: ELEGANT SOFTWARE WITH A SAVAGE PURPOSE ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you followed the previous message closely you are beginning to sense what a computer virus is and can do. A definition might roughly describe a VIRUS as a SELF-REPLICATING computer program which copies itself and attaches to one of the following areas of a computer: the hard disk partition table, the DOS boot sector of a hard disk or floppy or one or more executable files within the system. It may also make itself resident in RAM memory during computer operation. Infected executable files may be operating system programs, system device drivers, .COM files, .EXE files, overlay files or any other file which can be loaded into memory and executed. The virus activates itself at some predetermined (or randomly determined) time and attempts to destroy, remove or otherwise scramble data and programs. Some virus type even attempt to damage computer hardware. A trademark of a virus is that it is SELF-REPLICATING and thus clones multiple copies of itself. A virus is a computer program - designed by someone - to spread identical copies of itself among many computers and destroy data or programs in a specific targeted manner. In many ways a computer virus is quite similar to a biological virus. It attacks one computer then proliferates among many computers as infected floppy disks and the programs contained within are shared among many computer users. The virus may lie dormant for many months, or even years, all the while replicating its program code to many more programs and floppy disks. When an infected program is run it will in turn infect other programs and disks in that same computer. Sometimes, but not always, viruses interfere with printing or other routine DOS operations. Many times the programmer who designed the virus allows unintentional errors to exist within the virus program code which can cause unexplained system crashes and other odd behavior BEFORE the virus is triggered to erase or destroy data. It seems even viruses are not perfect programs and can be subject to programming bugs and errors just like standard programs! What does a virus program look like to a human operator? Simply a string of highly encoded computer data bytes which by themselves mean nothing to the casual observer. If you were to glimpse deep inside the computer program code which makes up a virus you might see something on your screen like the following "machine code" listing: xxxx:0110 02 00 02 3B A2 F8 29 00-11 00 04 00 11 00 80 00 xxxx:0120 00 00 00 00 0F 00 00 00-00 01 00 FA 33 C0 8E D0 xxxx:0130 BC 00 7C 16 07 BB 78 00-36 C5 37 1E 56 16 53 BF xxxx:0160 13 72 67 A0 10 7C 98 F7-26 16 7C 03 06 1C 7C 03 xxxx:0190 A1 34 7C E8 96 00 B8 01-02 E8 AA 00 72 19 8B FB xxxx:01B0 B9 0B 00 F3 A6 74 18 BE-5F 7D E8 61 00 32 E4 CD xxxx:01C0 16 5E 1F 8F 04 8F 44 02-CD 19 BE A8 7D EB EB A1 xxxx:01D0 1C 05 33 D2 F7 36 0B 7C-FE C0 A2 31 7C A1 2C 7C xxxx:0200 0C 01 06 2C 7C F7 26 0B-7C 03 D8 EB D9 8A 2E 15 xxxx:0210 7C 8A 16 1E 7C 8B 1E 32-7C EA 00 00 70 00 AC 0A xxxx:0230 18 7C FE C2 88 16 30 7C-33 D2 F7 36 1A 7C 88 16 xxxx:0240 1F 7C A3 2E 7C C3 B4 02-8B 16 2E 7C B1 06 D2 E6 xxxx:0250 0A 36 30 7C 8B CA 86 E9-8B 16 1E 7C CD 13 C3 0D Computer virus programs can be designed in assembly machine code, Basic, Pascal, C and even the DOS batch file language. What triggers a virus to destroy data once it is embedded within your computer? Depending on the person who designed the virus programming code, the virus can trigger and destroy data based on: A date, perhaps Friday the 13th to add a cruel twist of fate. The number of repetitions a certain program is run. An occurrence such as printing the payroll or running Lotus 123. A lack of an occurrence (removal of a name from a list.) A time of day, perhaps 1 AM when an office network is running unattended. A capacity, say when your hard drive reaches 90% capacity, nearly full. A random time of day or random date, or both. The presence of another program or removal of a program. Use of a modem or your printer. A particular person's name or password. Essentially, the programmer of the virus code selects a "trigger" of some type and deliberately programs the virus to wake up and "bite" when a certain condition is met! One of the original viruses designed to infect the IBM PC came from Pakistan where the programmers of the "Brain" virus wanted to punish American software users who copied or "pirated" commercial software. They did this by infecting illegal copies of commercial software which they sold in their retail store in Pakistan. In 1989 a large number of viruses were reported as originating in Israel. Some authorities speculate that PLO members might have written virus programs for political purposes to "punish" those living in Israel or America. Others speculate that those living in Israel might have designed the virus programs to penetrate complex computer networks in Arab countries or America to gain access to sensitive government data. Rumors continue to surface that perhaps the Russian KGB tried to develop a "super virus" that could penetrate NATO computer systems. In 1987, a European public BBS modem system was found to contain a highly specialized program "toolkit" designed by a young programmer. The purpose of this software toolkit was to assist in designing yet better and more clever virus programs! Private American BBS systems have been reported to exist wherein virus programmers trade virus program code examples and ideas on how to create "more savage" virus programs! These BBS systems have confidential telephone numbers and passwords so that only virus programmers can access these "virus libraries of information." What is the lure of programming a virus? The few programmers of virus software who have been caught usually explain their act as an intellectual challenge - an attempt to see how far programming code can be extended. In some respects this may be true. Virus programs are frequently crafted with obscure and highly elegant machine code and must be self replicating, self- modifying and "wired" with elaborate logic and algorithmic triggers. A virus must be small, fast and very stealthy. A virus in many respects is programming at the cutting edge of the craft, and perhaps this is the lure. ---------------------------------------------------------------- NOW THE BAD NEWS: VIRUSES AREN'T THE ONLY TOUGH KID ON THE BLOCK! ---------------------------------------------------------------- Perhaps we should back up and also define several other "rogue program" types which pose a security risk to your computer data. A TROJAN HORSE program appears as something useful - perhaps a program to sort names or print a list of telephone numbers on the computer. Yet it actually does something destructive either immediately or at a later time. As an example, several trojan horse programs offer to display X-rated images or colorful games which distract your attention to the screen long enough for the program to cheerfully erase your bookkeeping data. A trojan horse might (but does not usually) replicate its code to several other disks. This replication feature is more distinctive of a true virus. A LOGIC BOMB is much like a trojan horse and may lie hidden within a useful program. However when a certain point of logic or data is presented to the program (e.g., the programmer's name is removed from the company payroll records presumably because the programmer has been fired) then the logic bomb is activated to "extract revenge" by scrambling payroll records or perhaps removing all occurrences of the numbers 4, 7 and 9 from any data throughout company records. Insidious . . . A WORM is somewhat similar to a virus. It can replicate and spread throughout a computer system. When the worm program is run is creates copies of itself and runs those copies. It can wreak havoc on interconnected computer systems such as are found within university networks or government computers. A well-known worm infection occurred in the Fall off 1988 when a worm program was installed on a large internet network and quickly spread through hundreds of government and university UNIX type computers. All of the infected computers quickly bogged down as the worm created and then ran many copies of itself thus demanding more and more memory and computing time from legitimate programs and more necessary work tasks. A word before we continue. Virus programs are not THAT common. They are real, but have been vastly over-reported in the popular press. They seem to be more common within university communities where youthful students might be tempted to "test" their programming skills by creating virus programs. Commercial software has OCCASIONALLY been infected, but for practical purposes, commercial programs purchased from retail sources and packed in original factory boxes are low probability sources of viruses. Public domain and shareware sources of software as well as BBS/modem sources are sometimes suspected of virus infection, but most reputable shareware distributors and BBS systems report low computer virus incidence. Indeed, the shareware and public domain software community is more rigorous in routine testing for virus infections than the commercial software development houses. Computer virus programs DO exist, but they are quickly caught and erradicated from most BBS systems and shareware sources. Your chance of computer virus infection is probably on the order of 2% probability, but knowledge and foresight are a wise investment in computer and data security! Published lists of virus programs detail unique virus names and characteristics. One of the better virus lists is the shareware software program DIRTY DOZEN which is available from most computer clubs and many BBS systems. Some examples of virus programs which have been identified include: ICELANDIC PENTAGON DARK AVENGER SYSLOCK DISK KILLER/OGRE ZERO BUG VACSINA DATACRIME TRACEBACK What can you do to protect your computer data? Make frequent backups of data you consider essential. To "backup" means to routinely copy important files from your hard drive to floppies or other portable magnetic media. Weekly file backup is a minimum. Daily is not unreasonable. Consider rotating between two or three sets of backups (use backup floppy set #1, then set #2 then set #3 - then back to set #1 and so on). Limit the exchange of data disks within your workplace unless necessary - especially if those disks contain EXE or COM files. Always write protect all floppies unless they are data disks which must be updated routinely. If you find a file on a public BBS system interesting, leave it there for a month and wait to see if other users report problems with the program. This pessimistic outlook may save considerable hard disk data. Other common sense suggestions for preventing virus outbreaks include the following: Avoid sharing commercial software and making copies for others. It is a violation of the author's copyright to copy commercial software, in any event. Always obtain public domain and shareware software from reliable sources such as large BBS systems - Compuserve and PC MagNet are relatively reliable as are large shareware distributors such as PC SIG and Public Brand Software who obtain their copies directly from the author via US mail. If possible, use one of the many virus checking programs on the market to test public domain and shareware software prior to installation on your system. Test ALL of your system's files - perhaps at the same time as you perform routine backups - as a monthly or weekly routine. The first time you start a suspected public domain/shareware program run it from a floppy disk and not your hard drive. Always write protect your floppies if possible. Use one of the available "vaccination programs" which continuously monitor your system for unauthorized or otherwise unexpected data transfers. These programs monitor your hard disk and memory for activity not usually normal under DOS operations. If you do detect a virus program, consider that both your hard disk and your backup copies are probably infected. Keep original application disks from the manufacturer safely tucked away and protected by write protect tabs so they cannot be infected. Never start a hard disk-equipped computer from a floppy disk except the ORIGINAL DOS disk which is WRITE PROTECTED with a tab in place. No exceptions! Curiously, 90% of those infected with a virus or trojan horse program are reinfected within a month! This attests to widespread sharing of data disks and poor data work habits. Don't always assume a computer problem is virus related. Most of the time it is related to improper equipment use. Carefully scrutinize file directories on your disk(s) for date or file size changes. Viruses are fond of adding their code to the files COMMAND.COM, IBMBIO.COM, or IBMSYS.COM. Perhaps jot down or print out known file sizes and dates of creation and check for any changes which may appear since you first installed that file on your disk. Both commercial and shareware/public domain software programs exist whose purpose is to detect and repair damage caused by virus software: Software Program Purpose and method of action ------------------------------------------------------------------ Viruscan & From McAfee Associates telephone (408) 988-3832. Clean Available from most BBS's, computer clubs, this is an exceptional program, updated frequently. Scans drives and RAM memory for virus presence. The program is proactive: is searches for exact virus "flags" rather than waiting for a virus to hit. Program is self-testing to make sure that it has not itself been infected! The scan program searches for the virus, the clean program attempts to remove it. F-Prot From Fridrik Skulason, Reykjavik, Iceland. Available from most BBS systems and shareware vendors. Reliable and inexpensive virus utility. Has scored higher on some tests than McAfee's Virus Scan program. VIRX Runs faster than Viruscan and detects and deletes many of the same viruses. From Microcom, Inc. POB 51816, Durham, NC 27717. Dirty Dozen Detailed list of virus and trojan horse programs which is available from most computer clubs or shareware distributors. Interesting reading. Dr. Solomon's A commercial virus detection and removal Toolkit utility. Performs well. (800) 872-2599 AntiVirus From Central Point Software. Another highly regarded commercial virus detection and removal utility. (800) 445-2110 PC Magazine Checks and verifies your files and allows PCDATA continuous testing prior to virus infection. Free from computer clubs, shareware outlets, BBS's. See February 13, 1990 edition, PC Magazine. Cleverly provides backup for crucial data and makes unique "fingerprint" of sensitive files. DBack Backup FAT Tables, similar capability in PCDATA. PC-Tools Deluxe Repairs damage to file allocation table and damaged files Mace+ Repairs damage to file allocation table and Utilities damaged files Norton Utilities Repairs damage to file allocation table and damaged files ---------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT NEXT? - WHAT TO DO WHEN A VIRUS BITES ---------------------------------------------------------------- The cat is out of the bag and you are pretty sure - that sinking feeling - that a virus is in your computer. What next? If you don't want to try to unravel the mess yourself, try calling McAfee Associates at the telephone number listed above. They can send you a diagnosis program (VIRUSCAN) and virus removal program - also available from most computer clubs and shareware vendors. In the case of boot sector infestations, power down your system then restart from an uninfected write-protected ORIGINAL COPY DOS disk. Execute the DOS SYS command to attempt to overwrite the boot sector with new startup files. This will work in most cases. If it does not work, backup all data files which are essential (and maybe infected) then perform a low level format of the hard disk or a normal format if it is an infected floppy disk. Do likewise for ALL floppies which may have come into contact with the virus. When you are done, use VIRUSCAN to check for the presence of continuing virus infestation. If an EXE or COM file has been infected, power down the system, reboot from the factory WRITE PROTECTED DOS disk, delete all infected COM and EXE files then replace them with the original files from the WRITE PROTECTED, factory original program disks. Run any virus detection utility again to check for absence of the virus. For a disk partition table infection the only option short of a removal utility is to low level format the disk. And with that action destroy not only the virus but also your data. Better hope you have backup data on a floppy disk! After disinfecting a hard disk, you MUST test and probably reformat EVERY floppy that came into contact with the infected computer. If you are reinstalling a backup copy, do not restore it unless it was made BEFORE the system became infected. Run a virus testing utility to be sure. For additional help, consider contacting the National Computer Security Association at 717/258-1816 or McAfee Associates at 408/988-3832. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. SUPPORT RESOURCES ARE JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY! ---------------------------------------------------------------- A listing for general support services, manufacturer specific support services, virus information, reporting software piracy and hard drive disaster recovery. Don't forget use can use the handy SEARCH feature of this program to locate a specific name, number or manufacturer! Press the F1 key for information on how to search for a phrase, company name or phone number. Sometimes the best thing to do for a computer problem which stumps you is to pick up the phone and call one of several support services. In most cases the manufacturer of your hardware or software offers free support. In other cases you may wish to call a general support service. In most cases the small charge paid either through your credit card or via a toll charge 900 telephone number is well worth the time and money invested - especially if you need an answer fast and don't have the time for research. ---------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL SUPPORT SERVICES ---------------------------------------------------------------- These support services offer general assistance, for a fee, on a variety of levels ranging from technical support for DOS, Windows, word processing, desktop publishing, hardware and software troubleshooting, system configuration and product reviews if you are trying to select from several software or hardware items and more. Advanced Support Group: 900/456-HELP, 268 Lamp and Lantern Village, Town and Country, Missouri 63017 Ask about their monthly publication, The ASG Insider Newsletter. Support calls are $2.00 per minute, the first 24 seconds are free. ASG returns the call if the tech specialist needs to research the answer. Visa and Mastercard. Subscription basis 800 toll free service available. Further information: 314/256-3130. CompuAdd: 900/990-0111 - also offers similar services. More info: 512/250-2000. Kirin International 900/446-2468 - claims support for over 600 software and hardware products, both MSDOS and Mac. Both prepaid and pay as you go plans. 24 hours a day. Further info about Kirin: 800/753-2468. Micro Support Resources: 404/452-7676 - Yearly support contracts for those needing continuous industrial strength support. Flat $200 per year. Focus is small business. PC-Helpline: 800/366-8125 - good customer support on a variety of packages. The Help Network: 900/88-4HELP - offers specialists on call who are knowledgable about many software packages. Special expertise in accounting software such as DAC, Peachtree and Bradford, as well as general software packages. ---------------------------------------------------------------- MANUFACTURER SPECIFIC SUPPORT SERVICES ---------------------------------------------------------------- ALR 714/458-1952 Apple Computer 408/996-1010 Arche Technologies 800/322-2724 AST 800/727-1278 AT&T 800/922-0354 Atari 408/745-2000 Austin Computer 512/339-7932 Bondwell 415/490-4300 Brother 201/981-0300 Canon (printers, scanners, copiers) 800/423-2366 Canon Computers 516/488-6700 Casio 201/361-5400 Citizen 213/453-0614 Compaq Computer 800/345-1518, 800/231-0900, 713/370-0670 Complete PC Inc. 408/434-9600 CompuAdd 800/999-9901 CompuServe 800/848-8199 Conner Hard Drives 408/433-3340 CORE Intl. 407/997-6033 Dell Computer 800/624-9896, 800/426-5150 Diconix/Kodak 716/724-4000, 800/242-2424 Dove Computer 919/763-7918 Epson Intl. 213/782-2600, 213/539-9140 Everex 415/498-4411 Gateway Inc. 800/248-2031 General Electric 203/373-2431 GEnie 800/638-9636 Grid Computer 800/654-4743 Hayes Inc. 404/441-1617, 404/449-8791 Hewlett-Packard 208/323-2551, 415/857-1501 Hyundai Computer 800/234-3553 IBM 800/426-2468, 914/765-1900 Intel 800/538-3373 Librex 408/441-8500 Logitech 415/795-8100 Lotus 617/577-8500 Mannesmann Tally 206/251-5593 Maxtor Hard Drive 800/356-5333, 800/262-9867, 408/432-1700 MCI Mail 800/444-6245 Micropolis Hard Drive 818/709-3325, 818/709-3300, 800/395-3748 Microsoft 206/637-7096, 206/882-8080 Microtek Inc 213/321-2121 Mitsubishi 800/828-6320 Motorola 708/576-4704 NCR Inc. 800/543-9935 NEC Computer 508/264-4300. 508/264-8000, 800/826-2255 Northgate Computer 800/446-5037 Okdata Printer Inc 609/273-0300 Outbound Systems 800/444-4607 Panasonic Inc. 800/222-0584, 800/447-4700, 201/348-7000 Poqet Computer 408/764-9400, 408/982-9500 Practical Peripherals 818/706-0333 QMS INc 205/633-4500 Quantum Hard Drive 800/624-5545, 408/894-4000 Safeware Computer Insurance 800/848-3469 Seagate Hard Drive Technologies 800/468-3472, 408/438-8222 Sharp Electronics 800/732-8221, 201/529-9500 Skisoft (no squint laptop cursor software) 617/863-1876 Smith Corona 203/972-1471 Sony Corporation of America 800/433-5212 Star Micronics Printer 714/768-3192, 212/986-6770 Tandon Inc. 800/487-8324 Tandy Computer 817/390-3861, 817/390-3700 Teac 213/726-0303 Tektronix Inc. 800/835-6100 Texas Instruments Inc. 512/250-7407 Toshiba Computer 800/999-4273, 800/334-3445, 714/583-3000 Tusk Inc. 407/881-9050 U.S. Robotics 708/982-5010 Western Digital 800/832-4778, 714/932-4900 WordPerfect Corporation 801/225-5000 Wyse Technology 408/922-5700 Zenith 800/877-7704 Zeos International 800/228-5390 To report illegal use or duplication of software, pirating of software: Software Publisher's Association. 800/388-7478. Frequently this number is used by "whistleblowing" employees to report a dishonest employer or business who may be illegally copying or using software. Computer virus information and help: National Computer Security Assocation 717/258-1816 McAfee Associates 408/98-3832. Total hard drive or floppy failure and you MUST recover data which is irreplaceable? Includes disks or hard drives which have been dropped, fire-damaged or water-damaged: Ontrack Company 800/872-2599 Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. ABOUT THE AUTHOR ---------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Hood is a commercial photographer by training and a computer hobbyist by preference and resides about 3 miles from Seattle, Washington on Mercer Island, a city of about 22,000 people in the middle of scenic Lake Washington. A former coordinator for the Mercer Island Computer Club, Jim divides his time between computer related hobby activities and the operation of Seattle Scientific Photography which produces 35mm lecture/presentation slides for medical and corporate training. Jim attended the University of Sophia in Tokyo, Japan and Seattle University in Seattle. Following are descriptions of other shareware programs written by Jim.... PC-LEARN is a computer training system for beginners which includes chapters on buying and using a computer, an entertaining history of computers, DOS lessons, hard disk drives, tech tips how to use shareware tutorial and virus protection. It also includes information on word processing, a suggested reading list, software selection, mailing list of computer clubs, batch files, spreadsheets, databases, and even a glossary! PC-LEARN features high speed color or monochrome menus, tutorial printing, information searching capabilities and more! The SSP Directory of Computer Clubs. Every computer owner, from novice to advanced, can use this comprehensive directory of over 1,000 computer clubs and users groups to locate and benefit from the vast offerings which computer clubs and users groups offer. Edited by a former computer club coordinator, the SSP Directory of Computer Clubs is a comprehensive listing of major computer clubs and users groups which focus on the MSDOS and PCDOS family of personal computers. Includes a mailing list of computer clubs plus brief tutorial on the support services, newsletters, monthly meeting agenda and special interest groups of computer clubs. The mailing list and contact directory is provided in both plaintext ASCII which you can read and revise with your word processing software and also in dBase format so you can generate mailing labels or use your database program to effectively search and sort this large resource list. The SHAREWARE USER'S TUTORIAL is a detailed presentation on how to use and enjoy shareware! Topics include: eight easy steps to using shareware FAST, determining what is on a disk, how to run a program, how to unpack and unarchive, commonly asked questions, a short DOS review course, shortcuts, using filenames and extensions, locating documentation on disk. Even includes a short pop quiz to test your "shareware survival skills!" Chapter titles of this excellent tutorial are as follows: What is shareware, public domain, freeware and commercial software? Eight easy steps to using shareware FAST! Minimum DOS commands for using shareware. Copying the master disk. The directory listing of a shareware disk. File names and extensions - the keys to the kingdom. A turbocharged shortcut! Finding, reading and understanding documentation within a file. Unpacking and installing, including ARCS, ZIPS, LZH and more! Configuring the program if necessary. Running the program. Feedback: either register or send your regrets! Common questions and answers. Recommended reading list for shareware users and authors. Shareware vendors should consider adding this to their catalog as a reprint or at least sending this file with every order to customers! The $HAREWARE MARKETING $YSTEM received the Public Brand Software Trophy award in 1991 and 1992. It is a top seller at over 800 vendors. It is a quarterly updated marketing newsletter and complete mailing list of over 4,200 major shareware disk distributors, large computer clubs, key magazine editors, recommended BBS systems and more! Software programmers, disk vendors, agents and shareware programmers can use the detailed mailing list to mail software in an effective, highly successful manner. Also contains a massive marketing newsletter which has been prepared by an established shareware author and contains dozens of creative tips, tricks and traps every author and disk vendor should review. The database file mailing list is rated so you can mail shareware to key vendors ranked A, B or C. The database file is supplied in dBase III (DBF) file format. Program does NOT require color or special graphics. Requires database program such as PC-File, dBase or any database which can import dBase III format (DBF) files. Hard drive suggested. Single issue registration available as well as subscriptions - 4 quarterly issues per year. Tutorial finished. Be sure to order your FOUR BONUS DISKS which expand this software package with vital tools, updates and additional tutorial material for laptop users! Send $20.00 to Seattle Scientific Photography, Department LAP, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Some portions of this software package use sections from the larger PC-Learn tutorial system which you will also receive with your order. Modifications, custom program versions, site and LAN licenses of this package for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author. This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu. ---------- End of Document