=================================================================

                               The

                             $ R / O

                        R E A D   O N L Y

                  
                     -=( May 1986 Issue )=-



The   monthly   news  magazine of the Tampa Bay   Kaypro   User's 
             Group and the DataCOM Super Systems(tm)

=================================================================
News and reviews of programs, hardware, and peripherals for users 
of microcomputers with CP/M,  MP/M,  MS-DOS,  PC-DOS, or TurboDOS 
operating systems.
=================================================================

               Steven L. Sanders - Editor (Sysop)

=================================================================

The  DataCOM Super Systems(tm) is a "state of the art" multi-user 
remote  database  with  40mb of files online.   An annual fee  of 
$35.00 is required  for access,  an application may be downloaded 
by  calling (813) 791-1454 at 300/1200/2400 baud or send a   SASE 
along with your request to:


                TBKUG / DataCOM Super Systems(tm)
                      2643 Cedar View Court
                      Clearwater, FL 33519


                      -==( DISCLAIMER )==-

Articles and reviews of microcomputers,  hardware,  software, and 
other peripherals reflect currently advertised prices as released  
by  the distributors and are included here for  YOUR  INFORMATION  
ONLY.   The  TBKUG/DataCOM Super Systems(tm) is  NOT  being  paid  
to    advertise   these  products  and  we   cannot    be    held 
accountable   for  the  actual retail price  and/or   performance  
of  said products.

=================================================================


              -={ Software Review: PRESTO! v. 2 }=-

                    Review by Peter Donnelly
                      Victoria, BC, Canada
 
(PRESTO! is a multi-function software supercharger by Eric Meyer)

vendor:     Spectre Technologies, Inc.  
            22458 Ventura Blvd., Ste. E
            Woodland Hills, CA 91364

price:      $42.95 (US dollars) postpaid

     From among several Sidekick-style programs for CP/M machines 
that  have  appeared  recently,  I chose Presto  because  it  was 
reasonably priced,  required no hardware modifications,  and came 
from an established firm that had already given us Rembrandt. The 
program is available for all Kaypros and Osbornes; I'm running it 
on an '84 Kaypro 2X with graphics but no clock.

     Presto  is  four  utilities:  a  notepad,  a  calculator,  a 
timekeeper,  and  a  screen dumper.  Overlays for each  of  these 
functions  reside  on  disk whence they are called up by  a  core 
program  that  sits  in  high memory  regardless  of  what  other 
software  is  being  run.  Say  you are  editing  a  document  in 
Wordstar. You hit ^\, a bell sounds, and in about three seconds a 
window  appears  on  the screen with  the  Presto  menu.  Another 
keystroke  calls up the utility you want,  again inside a  window 
with  a  menu  (optional for the  notepad).  Striking  ESC  twice 
cancels back through the main menu to Wordstar and the screen  is 
refreshed, all within four seconds.

     In  CP/M  2.2 the console command processor is rewritten  by 
Presto,  and there are some visible changes.  DIR now lists files 
in five columns instead of four.  The user number appears at  the 
system prompt unless it is 0. TYPE strips the high bit from files 
as  it  displays them,  so that Wordstar document files will  not 
appear  to contain Kaypro graphics or other  strange  characters. 

     Users of ZCPR do not have to give up their CCP for Presto's, 
if  they  have the source code.  The manual gives  the  necessary 
instructions. 

     With  63K  or  less at their disposal,  CP/M users  must  be 
conscious of headroom,  and the first question they are likely to 
ask about a resident utility program is:  how much memory does it 
take?  The promotional material for Presto encouragingly promises 
that  it  will  cost only "a few K," but the  fact  is  that  the 
version for newer Kaypros occupies a whopping 11008 bytes of RAM. 
Thus  the transient program area on my machine is reduced to  46K 
when Presto is loaded.   If I want to add Xtrakey,  even allowing 
for  the minimum of keystring space I'm left with only 42K.  That 
allows  enough  room to work with files of moderate  length  (300 
lines  or  so)  in  Turbo Pascal or  MBASIC  - but  it  precludes 
Wordstar from running at all.

     As for disk space,  on 1984+ Kaypros the minimum requirement 
is  24K for the core program plus any one function.  If you  want 
all four functions you need 44K, allowing for the 2K holding file 
created  by  the notepad.  The maximum requirement  for  the  old 
single-sided  Kaypros is 36K.   None of the files have to  be  on 
your  working  drive:  you  can keep them all on  drive  B  while 
running Turbo Pascal on drive A, for example.

                         What Presto Does

     First, the NOTEPAD function, which as the manual says is the 
heart  of Presto.  One of my reasons for wanting the program  was 
that  I  found  it  a nuisance to load Wordstar  for  any  little 
writing job like putting a short note on a disk.  (Yes,  I know I 
can do it with PIP, if I'm willing to forgo editing.) The notepad 
does  this and a lot more.   It is a complete  interface  between 
screen  display,  program,  disk,  and printer,  and handles just 
about any kind of exchange.  

     At all times Presto keeps a single page of 11 lines in  disk 
memory  and this appears whenever the notepad is called  up.  The 
whole  page  can be sent to a permanent file or the  printer,  or 
individual  lines  can be sent to the screen at the  last  cursor 
position  (where they are fed into any program you are  running). 
Pages can be saved individually, or appended one to the other. As 
well as exporting,  you can import text from the screen or from a 
disk file of any length.   A key feature is the ability to scan a 
file  without  importing  it wholesale into  the  program  you're 
running.  Once a file is opened you can scroll forward  manually, 
either  line-by-line or in notepad pages,  or have Presto  search 
for a text string. 

     Editing  on  the  pad is done with a small set  of  Wordstar 
commands  for simple cursor  moves,  character  deletion,  insert 
toggling,  and  insertion and deletion of lines.  Other  commands 
will  home the cursor,  erase the notepad,  or undo what has been 
done since the last file operation. 

    The  notepad  does have its limitations.  You  cannot  scroll 
backwards,  and there is no word wrap. Imported lines longer than 
80 characters are truncated.  Wordstar documents come in as  non-
document  files with no print codes;  and I've had a problem with 
occasional  lines dropping out between pages when scrolling  with 
^C.  At the system level Presto is not suitable for editing files 
of more than its 11 lines, since even changing a date on a letter 
would require a number of appended saves. 

     The  CALCULATOR  provides many features invaluable  for  the 
programmer,  including  the  logical  functions  (AND,  OR,  ones 
complement,   etc.)  and  operations  in   octal,   binary,   and 
hexadecimal  (worth  the  price  of the program  as  far  as  I'm 
concerned), as well as easy conversions from one base to another, 
and   conversions   of  ASCII  characters  to   their   numerical 
equivalents   and   back  again.    It  does  not  do  roots   or 
trigonometrical functions. The operation is straight-forward, and 
results  can  be  written to the notepad  or  directly  into  the 
program you're working on. Up to seven values can retained in the 
calculator's memory for as long as Presto is loaded.

     The TIMEPAD provides a calendar of any month in this century 
and,  on  machines with clocks (various makes are  supported),  a 
display of the current time,  a timer, and an alarm that will not 
only ring a bell but also print a message to the screen. The date 
and  time  can  be  written to the  underlying  software  or  the 
notepad.   The  calendar too can be written to the  notepad,  and 
from there into a document; but I encountered some problems here. 
When  the  calendar was transferred to the  notepad,  the  cursor 
would  keep  on printing blanks and finally the page would  blank 
out and some gibberish would appear on the pad.   By experiment I 
found that the only way around this,  unaccountably, was to enter 
the date on the notepad with the WN command from the timepad menu 
before using the WC command.

     Finally,  the  SCREEN  DUMP  function will send  the  entire 
screen (i.e.  what underlies the Presto window) to the printer or 
a disk file, or create a graphics file for use with REMBRANDT. 

     Presto  is a powerful program,  well-presented and  easy  to 
use.   Programmers  and technical writers are likely to find  the 
calculator function a godsend. The notepad is a convenient way of 
saving  or printing lines from the screen,  creating hasty notes, 
and  finding  needed  information  in  other  files.   It  is  an 
especially useful tool for programming in MBASIC.

     Still,  the  hefty chunk of memory Presto requires  must  be 
weighed against its many useful features.  If you're in the habit 
of  using  a  key-definition  program,   you  may  find  yourself 
reluctant  to  part  with it for the sake of being  able  to  use 
Presto  with  Wordstar.  (This  may  or  may  not  be  necessary, 
depending  on  your machine and key-definition program,  and  the 
length  of  your keystrings.) But if you find you  have  to  live 
without  Presto  in word processing,  you can at least  use  your 
keystrings  to  emulate some of its notepad features - for  which 
see  Dick  Ezzard's article "Shades of  Wordstar,"  available  on 
bulletin boards as SHADES.DOC. 


      -={ Review: Adaptec ACB-2070A IBM HDD Controller }=-

                   (c) 1986 by Steven Sanders

The  Adaptec ACB-2070A Winchester disk controller is the  highest 
performance  unit available today for IBM PC-XTs and clones.   It 
is  also one of the best kept "secrets" in the business.  I  have 
never  seen this controller advertised anywhere and  believe  me, 
before  I  bought  my clone I checked every ad  in  The  Computer 
Shopper.    The  ACB-2070A is fully IBM hardware compatible  with 
PC-XT  controllers  and plugs directly into the  chassis  without 
modification.   It  can  handle two 5-1/4" or  3-1/2"  ST506-type 
Winchester  disk  drives and has its own DOS drivers for ease  of 
installation.   The 2070A will handle drives with up to 16  heads 
and  1024 cylinders and even supports wedge servo drives like the 
Sysquest  and  Microscience  International.  Plus  features  like  
power-on  diagnostic  and self-diagnostic testing to  insure  the 
controller is functioning properly.

The  ACB-2070A when used with RLL capable drives such as  Seagate 
ST-238,   Tandon  TM755,   Vertex  V150,   Microscience   HH-725, 
Miniscribe  3425,  Lapine,  or Titan will yield approximately 50% 
more formatted disk capacity.    Yes,  I said 50% more  formatted 
disk  capacity!   The  ACB-2070A  uses RLL (run  length  limited) 
encoding  with a 3:1 interleave factor which turns a  20mb  drive 
into a 30mb+ formatted drive.   It performs this magic by using a 
25 sectors-per-track density versus the 17 sectors-per-track used 
by standard IBM controllers.

The  ACB-2070A features a primary formatting utility resident  in 
ROM  which  is easily called up by using the DOS  utility  DEBUG.  
There  is no software diskette supplied with the drive as  anyone 
with   DEBUG.COM  (which  comes  with  DOS)  has  access  to  the 
formatting  routines.   The format program is self-prompting  and 
allows  you to enter the locations marked bad (if any)  from  the 
factory  and  any other bad spots will be mapped and  locked  out 
during  the  format  process.

You  may  also partition a single drive into many  equal  logical 
units.   The  units  can be up to 32mb each (a  DOS  restriction) 
having  a maximum of eight units for one or two physical  drives.  
If  you  do  some  quick arithmetic you will find  that  the  DOS 
restriction of 32mb is no longer valid,  the 2070A will handle up 
to 256mb of online storage.


MFM (modified frequency modulation) Encoding:

   - 4 megabit per second (4.0 MHz) transfer rate on ST506/412
   - 100 nanosecond data window (+/- 50ns from center)


2,7 RLL (run length limited) Encoding:

   - 7.5 Megabit per second (7.5 MHz) transfer rate on ST506/412
   - 66.6 nanosecond data window (+/- 33.3ns from center)

Not   all  ST506/412  interface  Winchester  drives  meet   these 
requirements.   Based  on testing done by Adaptec engineers  many 
drives  that  use the thin film-plated and sputtered  media  meet 
these  requirements.   Most drives using oxide media do NOT.   An 
example  of  an oxide media drive is the  popular  Seagate  ST225 
which can be used only with the MFM encoding.

As  always,  you  the  reader benefit from  my  prior  experience 
(and  expense),  I have just found the Adaptec controller bundled 
with a Microscience 20mb hard disk drive for only $499.00  !!!

Contact:    Worldwide Access, 6311-L Desoto Ave., Woodland Hills, 
            CA. 91367  1-800-826-3736, 10-day trial period.


                -={ WHATSNEW in Public Domain }=-

All  files mentioned here are readily available for  download  on 
any of the DataCOM Super Systems' remote nodes.

[PC/MS-DOS Files]

LSWP103.LBR  contains the latest DOS library-sweep utility  which 
allows you to manipulate .LBR type files.   LSWEEP is an extract-
only utility, you can extract and optionally unsqueeze any or all 
internal  member  files to the default drive or any  other  valid 
drive.  LSWEEP displays the library directory in circular fashion 
like  CWEEP or PCSWEEP,  you simply move to the desired  filename 
and then enter the appropriate command letter.

PCSWP21.LBR  is the newest DOS file-sweep maintenance program and 
now features a built-in LSWEEP mode.  PCSWEEP can squeeze and un-
squeeze   files  using  the  standard  HUFFMAN  encoding   scheme 
supported by most SQ utilities.  PCSWEEP can also now extract and 
extract/usq  library  file members with the addition of  the  "=" 
command.   It  operates the same way as LSWEEP using  a  circular 
directory  and  is  very  easy  to  use.   PCSWEEP  supports  DOS 
directories  and  you can easily log into another dir or  sub-dir 
once it has been invoked.   PCSWEEP should now run on any  IBM-PC 
or clone machine, earlier version were very IBM BIOS specific and 
usually bombed on clones.

COMMANDO.LBR  is  also  from the authors of PCSWEEP and  is  very 
similar  to a very enhanced 1DIR type program.   COMMANDO  allows 
full manipulation of files on any drive or directory with  simple 
function  key entries.   You are shown a full-screen display with 
many different windows showing disk space remaining, memory, date 
and time,  and sorted file listings.  A file pointer can be moved 
over  any  listed  file  to  perform  the  desired  function  and 
executable  programs  can  be run  by  pressing  the  appropriate 
function  key.   All of PCSWEEP's features are included plus  you 
get a really nice full color interactive screen display.  This is 
a super nice program, buy a legal copy from the authors!

QMDM20E.LBR  is probably the best freeware modem program for IBM-
PC  or  true  clones.   Full support of  all  XMODEM  and  YMODEM 
protocols except 1k packet which will (hopefully) be supported in 
future versions (if everyone asks John nicely!)  The 2.0E version 
now also supports SCRipt files for auto logons and automatic file 
transfers.   The  library  has a multitude of pre-done  .SCR(ipt) 
files  for  logging into most major telecom  services  like  CIS, 
Source,  FIDOs,  BBSs,  MCI-MAIL,  and  others.   Other  features 
include  an auto-dialing phone directory that can also change the 
communications  parameters (baud,  data bits,  stop bits) on  the 
fly.   On  screen  pop-up windows for all  operations  which  are 
easily  configured to whatever colors suit your monitor best plus 
you can also move them to another part of the screen if  desired.  
If  you're not going to buy a commercial program such as  MEX-PC, 
then I would highly recommend QMODEM as a shareware alternative.

SEARCH.LBR  is  similar to the GLOBAL utility and allows  you  to 
access  any  file in any directory once SEARCH has been  defined.  
SEARCH will replace the DOS PATH command and allow access to  ALL 
files,  not  just  .COM,  .EXE,  or .BAT files - but  ALL  files.  
SEARCH  also  works properly under DOS 3.x which is where  GLOBAL 
fails.  SEARCH can be disabled or enabled with simple commands.

DISMOD.LBR  contains a disk utility program similar to CP/M's  DU 
and  allows  full modification of data in any DOS  file.   DISMOD 
uses full-screen editing to display the data record,  the + and - 
keys move you forward and backward through the file.  Editing can 
be  done  in either the HEX or ASCII display areas and  does  not 
become permanent until you issue the "S"ave command.   This is  a 
very  useful  addition to anyone's bag of DOS tricks and is  much 
easier  to  use  then DEBUG  for  most  ASCII  search-and-replace 
applications.

DSM206.LBR is the latest version of DOSAMATIC.   This is a multi-
purpose  DOS operating shell that initially comes up looking like 
PC-BOSS  or 1DIR but also allows psuedo multi-tasking of  several 
programs  like MULTI-CH.   You can switch back and forth  between 
different  segments of memory running different  programs.   It's 
main   purpose   is  to  manipulate  files  from  a   menu-driven 
environment  plus   have all the usual DOS  commands  like  TYPE, 
CHDIR, CHKDIR, ERA, and REN available on the function keys.  This 
is  the last version of this program to be put into the shareware 
community.   Version  3.00 is sent to users who purchase the  $39 
registered (and enhanced) version, and is well worth the $$$.

PROCOM23.LBR  PROCOMM is another full-featured modem program with 
many of the same commands as used by QMODEM.  PROCOMM was written 
in  'C'  and  is available as one large .EXE file  unlike  QMODEM 
which  is written in Turbo Pascal and consists of  many  external 
overlays.   PROCOMM  features  many different "exploding"  pop-up 
windows to set parameters,  transfer files,  dial numbers, and is 
very easy to use.   Once connected with a host system,  the  PgDn 
key  will initiate a file download sequence with full support  of 
XMODEM, YMODEM, Telelink, and Kermit protocols.

GAMES,  GAMES,  GAMES ...  In the DOS-FUN file section we have an 
excellent  assortment  of  the latest color  graphic  games  like 
PACMAN,   FLIGHTMARE,   QUBERT,   TIC-TAC-TOE,  CHESS,  MONOPOLY, 
SPACEWAR,  PINBALL,  STRIKER, DIGGER, and many other to keep your 
interest for hours.  For kids of all ages!


[CP/M 2.2 Files]

KP-DB22.LBR  is  the  latest (and probably last)  version  of  my 
Kaypro-specific  multiple-file  mailing  list  database  &  name, 
address,   and   phone   roladex   program.   During   first-time 
installation  of DB you will now be prompted whether or not  your 
Kaypro has an Advent TurboROM installed.  If you answer YES, then 
the  codes used to generate the status line on video Kaypros will 
be  handled differently to accomodate the altered BIOS used  with 
the TurboROM.  I have added the "U" option to switch to any valid 
CP/M  user number 0 through 15 during program  execution.   Added 
support for both the Kaypro 2/4 and Kaypro 10 Legacy clock boards 
as  each  uses  different PIO port  addresses.   And  I  added  a 
"W"ildcard  string  search option which will attempt to  match  a 
string  you input to a string anywhere in the name,  address,  or 
city  fields.   This is handy when you can't  remember  someone's 
name but you do remember what city they live in.   All known bugs 
have  been removed and version 2.2 is fully compatible with  .DAT 
files created by version 2.1 and 2.0.

DZ-FEB86.LBR   This  is  the  newest  update  to  the  absolutely 
incredible  DAZLSTAR disassembler utility.   DZ will  disassemble 
any  CP/M file and gives you an on screen display almost  exactly 
like Wordstar.  Help menus on top (in inverse if supported), then 
two windows below with HEX,  ASCII,  and opcodes.  You can change 
the  size of the display windows for HEX or code or do away  with 
one or the other altogether.  Can dump the disassembled code into 
a diskfile and build a symbol table,  and much,  much more.  This 
new  version  features an install program with many of  the  most 
popular terminals pre-defined for a simple "pick the menu letter" 
installation.  This is not just for hackers!

BD02.LBR  is  a  long-overdue  update to  the  essential  FINDBAD 
utility  for locating bad sectors on disks and locking them  out.  
BD goes FINDBAD one better by also showing which filename(s) were 
affected by a locked out sector.   BD will work on any floppy  or 
hard disk drive being used under CP/M 2.x.

FINREP22.LBR   Eric  Gans' Find & Replace utility  that  is  much 
faster then the ^QA of Wordstar and offers many more options such 
as:  wildcards in the search string, wildcard filenames, can have 
hex  and control codes in the replace string,  and even works  on 
object  (.COM) files as well as text files.   All of it's command 
parameters  can be fed in by a SUBmit file to fully automate  the 
process if desired.

WINDEX21.LBR   Indexes Wordstar document files with lengths up to 
9,999  pages  and with up to 254 key  words.   Many  improvements 
above  and  beyond the ability of MicroPro's  STARINDEX  program.  
This is just another example of Eric Gans' fine CP/M utilities.

B29V301.LBR  is a NEWSWEEP look-alike/work-alike disk maintenance 
utility that now even has LSWEEP features added.   You can  copy, 
print,  delete,  and  rename  files either in single or  multiple 
modes.   B29 now also has the ability to extract,  view, or print 
library file members much the same as LSWEEP.  The only known bug 
with  version 3.01 is with the "N" command for changing a  file's 
user number assignment.   It does not seem to work right on  hard 
disk drives but is OK for floppy-only systems like K4'84s.

CHG11.LBR   CHG  is a small utility that allows you to  change  a 
file's user number assignment or unerase a file.  This is a great 
utility for hard disk owners as you can move a file from one user 
area  to another of the same drive without the need or delay of a 
physical copy.  You can also specify a filename and a user number 
to restore a previously erased file.

COMP-DIR.LBR   CDIR  is another handy utility for  hard  disk  or 
floppy-based  system owners,  it will compare the directories  of 
two disks and show duplicate filenames.   The standard version is 
set to compare diskette A to diskette B and the Kaypro 10 version 
will let you compare any drive user area of the hard drive to the 
user 0 area of the floppy drive.   Great way to find out what you 
have already backed off the hard drive to the floppy drive.

CRUNCHLZ.LBR   Here's  a new kind of CP/M file  squeezer  utility 
that  compresses files smaller then can be obtained  by  HUFFMAN-
encoded files.  CRUNCH uses a different kind of alogrythm to gain 
a  superior compression ratio.   This is the scheme being used in 
the  DOS archive program ARC51.EXE and is now available for  CP/M 
users as two very small (2k each) utilities.

TYPELZ.LBR   This is the first of the new utilities for use  with 
CRunched files.   TYPELZ can display any ASCII CP/M file  whether 
it  be normal uncompressed form or compressed either with SQueeze 
or  CRunch.   TYPELZ  will display the file  in  paginated  form, 
pausing  after  24  lines.   You  can advance a  single  line  by 
pressing the spacebar or an entire page by hitting RETURN.

EGUTIL50.LBR   I  have already mentioned the  FINREP  and  WINDEX 
utilities  by Eric Gans,  EGUTIL50.LBR is a collection of all  of 
his latest CP/M utilities.   There are many Kaypro 10 (hard disk) 
specific utilities in this library plus a wrath of others  usable 
by anyone running CP/M 2.2 or ZCPR3.

CSWEEP.LBR   CSWEEP is a command-mode version of NSWEEP,  it does 
not have an interactive mode but rather is operated strictly from 
the  commandline.   CSWEEP fully accepts wildcards and  can  move 
files from one user area to another, much easier to use then PIP.

SSTAT19.LBR   Replacement  for the standard STAT command plus  it 
has  a circular directory display that easily allows you  to  set 
and  reset  file  attribute  bits.   Inverse  video  display  for 
terminals that support it like the newer Kaypro models.

DDRAW-20.LBR   The much awaited release of Dan Griffith's graphic 
editor  for  video Kaypros - the complete source  code  in  Turbo 
Pascal  is now available.   Lots of super routines in the  source 
code  that can be used by Turbo hackers to enhance other programs 
using graphic screen routines.


                   -={ Until Next Month ... }=-

That's about it for another month.   Looking at the number of new 
CP/M  programs available I'm reminded of the phrase,  "Rumours of 
my death are greatly exagerrated."

                     Steve Sanders - Editor

