
EI                               Z-NEWS 801                        6 July 1987
==============================================================================
Facts About SemiDisk DT42 Computer System.  The Deep Thought 42 single board 
computer from Semidisk Systems is the best CP/M-compatible computer ever 
designed.  Sounds like another grandiose advertising claim, but no!  Look at 
these features:

                                DT42 Hardware

The DT42 is a Single Board Computer, but what an SBC!  Sized at 5.75" by 8", 
it uses only one ampere at +5 volts with a complete complement of chips.

     * 9.216MHz Hitachi HD64180 cpu gives you computational throughput beyond 
that of a 12MHz Z80 machine.  And, unlike other 9MHz 64180 designs on the 
market, this machine has no RAM wait states to slow you down (one RAM wait 
state slows most other designs by 30%).  12.288MHz will also be supported when 
faster 64180 chips are available--better than a 16MHz Z80!

     * SBC comes with an interface permitting simultaneous operation of four 
5.25" 48tpi or 96tpi and four 8" single or double sided floppy disk drives.  
Eight floppies at once!  Additionally, the 1.2Mb 5.25" floppy drive models 
(such as those used in the PC-AT) are also supported.

     * 512k-byte RAM is standard, with 428k available as RAMdisk.  An optional 
disk emulator expansion card adds 8 megabytes of ultra-fast storage, with 
optional battery back-up.  The awesome processing speed combined with this 
large amount of RAMdisk makes you wonder why the fuss over hard disk drives.

     * If you want a hard disk, the DT42 supports this also.  An included on-
board SASI port interfaces directly to popular hard disk controllers made by 
Adaptec and Xebec to give you megabytes of hard disk storage.

     * Communication facilities include 4 serial ports and a parallel output 
port.  Two of the serial ports can accommodate speeds in excess of 300 
kilobits per second; and the DT42 overcomes a shortcoming of 9MHz 64180 
designs and allows you to run serial ports at 38,400 baud.  One serial port 
connects to an optional on-board video display manager and keyboard 
controller.  Thus, a RS-232 terminal is not required, though one can be used 
if desired without software changes.

     * Optional Dallas Semiconductor "Smartwatch" real time clock/calendar 
chip, and additional EPROM sockets are available.

                                DT42 Software

A special version of the advanced Z-System disk operating system is available 
with the DT42.  This includes ZCPR 3.3 and ZRDOS 2.0 and over 90 utility 
programs.  This version of Z-System, called the Hyperspace Z-System, places 
ZRDOS outside of the 64k-byte TPA space.  Z-System is modern software 
technology, packs an incredible amount of power and features, and will give 
you tremendous flexibility and convenience compared to CP/M or MS-DOS.

     * The BIOS of the DT42 supports the large amounts of RAMdisk, hard disk, 
and floppy drives available.  Communication channels are interrupt-driven; 
CP/M-compatible logical devices such as LST: and CON: are easily redirected; 
and the majority of the BIOS resides outside of the 64k-byte TPA space.

     * Because of the advanced characteristics of the Hyperspace Z-System and 
the BIOS, CP/M-compatible application programs see 57.5k-bytes free memory, 
even with a full-featured (5k overhead) ZCPR3 implementation including IOP and 
RCP support.

     * Very powerful BIOS-resident disk handling software supports eight 
different floppy disk formats without any special conversion software.  You 
can directly read, write, and copy between formats such as Kaypro, Osborne, 8" 
single density, etc.

     * Utility programs written for the DT42 include FVC, CONFIG, and 
HDFORMAT.  FVC allows you to format, verify, and track-to-track copy the 
different floppy disk formats; CONFIG permits customization of the system 
software such as reassigning logical disks (e.g., any physical device such as 
the RAMdisk could be set as drive A:, drive B:, etc.), setting communication 
ports parameters like baud rate, etc.; and HDFORMAT, a very flexible SASI/SCSI 
command editor that communicates with SASI/SCSI devices attached to the DT42.

     * The EPROM-resident DT42 Monitor allows you to examine and modify memory 
within the full 512k-bytes; auto-boots the Z-System (if available) when the 
hardware is reset; and contains important debugging-style commands for setting 
breakpoints, tracing program execution, and uploading code.  You can switch 
between the Monitor and Z-System at any time.

     To find out more about the DT42, call or write:

                            SemiDisk Systems, Inc.
                             11080 SW Allen Blvd.
                        Beaverton, Oregon  97005  USA
                                 503/626-3104

     No other computer made possesses the raw power and features of the DT42.  
This machine is blindingly fast, and the Hyperspace Z-System represents a 
significant and positive new development in CP/M-compatible computing.  
Combined with standard CP/M-compatible applications such as the forthcoming 
WordStar 4.0 or dBase II, Multiplan, Turbo Pascal, Turbo Modula-2, etc., this 
machine will provide for your computing needs for years to come.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Z-User's Corner. ARUNZ v0.9, VERROR v1.7, and ZCPR v3.3 combine to produce a 
smooth user interface, smoother far beyond that possible with either CP/M v2.2 
or MS-DOS v3.2.  But, you may wish to try new Z33ERROR that comes with v3.3 
package instead of VERROR.  Either error handler offers quick recovery from an 
unrunnable command in a multiple command line, especially useful when 
developing aliases and menus lines.
     New ECHO command available in Z33RCP, the RCP with the extended H 
facility (Z-News 709-2), has lower-case output to printer and console feature.
Here's how the Z33RCP.LIB looks in the ECHO options area.

; 'ECHO' command

; This command sends characters to the console or list device.  If ECHOLST is
; enabled, then code is included for sending characters to the LST device.
; Characters normally go the the console device and are normally upper or lower
; case depending on the setting of UPCASE.  The command line can have special
; command sequences to toggle the case of the output and to change the
; destination between the console and printer.  Any other character following
; the command character will be sent as is.  For the normal setting of the
; equates below (upcase/yes, cmdchar/%, prtchar/P, crtchar/C, lcasech/>,
; and ucasech/<) an example command line would be:

;	A0:ROOT>ECHO T%>HIS IS A TEST^M^J^IDONE%PONE, TWO, %<THREE

; The following text would be echoed to console (including carriage return,
; linefeed, and tab characters, '|' indicates the left margin):

;	|This is a test
;	|	done 

; The string "one, two, THREE" would be sent to the printer.

echolst		equ	yes	; Allow sending characters to LST device

upcase		equ	yes	; Initial case of output

cmdchar		equ	'%'	; Character to flag case change

prtchar		equ	'P'	; Character to start sending output to
				; the printer (must be upper case)
crtchar		equ	'C'	; Character to start sending output to
				; the CRT (must be upper case)
ucasechar	equ	'<'	; Character after CMDCHAR that toggles
				; subsequent output to upper case
lcasechar	equ	'>'	; Character after CMDCHAR that toggles
				; subsequent output to lower case

     Upper and lower case alphabet echoing of messages from aliases and menu 
command lines dresses up your displays, makes them easier to read.
     ZFILER, likely to replace VFILER as Z-System standard (if we have our 
way), offers a macro facility that works on tagged files, to simplify file and 
disk management.  Look for it on your local Z-Node and, hopefully, on an 
upcoming SUS diskette.

From The Mail Box.  Van Vanhorn, Lynnwood, WA, takes issue with our view about 
low sales of ANSI terminals (Z-News 708-1).  "Wyse now outsells DEC, but that 
includes all the VT-100 and VT-220 compatible terminals that Wyse is so busily 
selling into the DEC [ANSI] marketplace!"  Van, we have no way to determine 
the product mix of Wyse's terminal sales.  Though we know Bernard Tse, founder 
of Wyse, we would not ask him such a proprietary question.  We will be on the 
lookout for an answer through other sources.
     "Seduced by Z-News 709's assurance that the ZCPR 3.3 User's Guide tells 
how to install...enclosed...a check for $49.00 is payment...to assure myself 
of the continued reception of Z-News...as the trickle of 8-bit-system-related 
information dwindles to a mere drip, your publication becomes a more and more 
important source of such information," writes R.W. Odlin from Sedro-Woolley, 
Washington.  Thanks for your order.  We will continue to bring you news 
related to CP/M-compatible computing.  Lots of upcoming ZCPR 3.3 things to 
learn and report on.  Remain tuned to this source...

            A good newsletter is the community talking to itself.
              It should contain humor, satire, and originality,
    be descriptive and cleverly condensed, and be of good literary style,
           but most of all it should be accurate in its reporting.

Hardware Beat.  Conner Peripherals (Z-News 708-5) hires 100s of production 
workers to keep up with demand for their super-fast, 25 msec average access 
time, 3.5" hard drives--a Silicon Valley success story.  DRAM has hard time 
keeping up cost-wise, what with high value of Japanese yen.  (CP's Finnis 
Conner, along with Al Shugart, were founders of Seagate Technology.)
     We knew it would happen.  What: Sony Corp. has announced a 2" floppy disk 
drive with capacity of 800k-bytes per side.  Data transfer rate is similar to 
a Winchester (hard) drive at 14.3 megabits per second.  Power: 5 volts at one 
ampere.  Size: 2.5" x 3.5" x 1".  When: drives start shipping before end of 
year.
     Information about Kodak's three 5.25" high-capacity floppy disk drives 
(Z-News 309-4) can be obtained by calling 800/44KODAK, extension 990.  These 
drives hold 2.7, 5.4, and 10 megabytes of formatted data, are great for backup 
of RAM and hard drives.  Verbatim, Silicon Valley company owned by Kodak, 
makes blank diskettes for these super-special drives.  Speaking of these high-
capacity floppies, Jasmine Technologies, Inc., 555 De Haro Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94107, offers the 10-megabyte Kodak, called MegaDrive, that 
hooks up to a SCSI bus just like a hard disk drive.  MegaDrive sells for only 
$999.00.  Blank disks are only $39.95, three for $109.95.  Interested?  Call 
Jasmine at 415/621-4339.
     Varityper, Division of AM International, 11 Mt. Pleasant Ave., East 
Hanover, NJ 07936, 800/631-8134 or 201/887-8000, offers 600-dpi laser printer.
Called VT600, unit provides beyond near-typeset quality, has built-in 20-
megabyte hard disk to hold PostScript fonts.  If you have to ask the price you 
can't afford it.
     At another end of scale, we can report with adequate authority that 
Hewlett-Packard is readying a $995, 4-page per minute, 300-dot per inch Laser 
printer.  Mail order should put the unit below the $800 threshold to put near-
typeset quality printing in the hands of all who want it.  "Power of the press 
belongs to those who own one."

Software Beat.  Doug Anderson of Anderson Techno-Products, Inc., 947 Richmond 
Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2B 6R1, Canada, offers a disk of software to turn your 
computers into a local area network.  Called "Poor Man's Network," it's just 
the ticket priced at $69.00 to connect one CP/M computer to another.  Works 
with Z-System and CP/M v2.2, and requires a serial or parallel port on each 
computer.  Contact Doug (613/722-0690) for more information.

In Other Words.  Many are old enough to have lived and experienced the coming 
of age of digital computers.  We have observed human folly at work:  our 
government spending millions on direct language translators, Russian to 
English, overly optimistic natural language understanding projects, all 
failed, are failing.  Yes, all bogged down, because we missed the fundamental 
point.  Human language is used to describe mental images.  Words are 
abstractions of visual images, feelings, of our being, of our mental body, of 
our inner consciousness.  Human thought produced verbal language!  Language is 
not thought but its abstraction.  Thinking is more than language.  Language is 
an inferior medium; it does encompass a small aspect of the human whole, but 
so what?
     There's so much more to our power of imagination than described by mere 
words.  We can simulate past, present, future from data in our memories.  We 
see--we have far vision!  Not needing or using words, we paint images of 
facts, events, people, and ideas.
     Our electronic computing machines solve complex math equations, have 
near-perfect memory; but, they can't handle problems of ordinary meaning 
because they can't see.  Seeing goes beyond language.
     The old adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" is never really true.
The mystics of old, with their third "eye," were not scientists--they were 
keen observers, seers of life, the way things are.  Words, no matter how many, 
do not ever fully describe what is seen.
     If you can't express yourself verbally in words, either orally or in 
writing, it means you can't communicate your sight to others.  That's all it 
means.  Think for a moment what this means!
          As an observation: people are remarkably results-oriented, but also 
so short-sighted.  We can and do act without thought or without consciousness.
Yes, we are that complex!
     Our computers, after 30 years of intensive work on them, should have much 
intelligence.  But, let's face it--they have little intelligence.  Why don't 
they?  Because the humans designing them--building the hardware and producing 
the software--don't understand what intelligence is, how the human brain 
functions.  They have, in general, acted without knowledge or understanding.
     Our computers, even the largest mainframes, are all with right-brains and 
are playing at the game of being intelligent with a partial left-brain.  (A 
human's brain is thought to be organized into two halves: left, for 
accumulating data and facts for logic; right, for accessing information into 
contextual knowledge and understanding for wisdom.)
     Humans are so fallible (fallen?), why make machines into human-like 
thinking devices?  We should be designing machines that go beyond the human or 
is this just so much heresy!

        "Whoever said, 'It is not whether you win or lose that counts,'
         probably lost."--Martina Navratilova, Tennis World Champion.

==============================================================================
Of Angels and Eagles.  Instead of examining past ethical dilemmas (good-by 
LtCol Oliver L. North and Iran-Contra affairs), we would do better to get into 
the habit of seeing a moral, an ethical dimension to every social or personal, 
to every business or governmental situation and association.  Set a high 
standard and stick with it, no matter what.  Over a period of time, we rest 
easy compared to now.


Echelon, Inc.       885 North San Antonio Road         Los Altos, CA 94022 USA
Telephone: 415/948-3820    Telex: 4931646   Z-Node Central (RAS): 415/948-6656

Trademarks:  Little Board, Bookshelf, Ampro Computers; SB180, SB180FX, GT180, 
Micromint; ON!, Oneac; DT42, The SemiDisk, Deep Thought 42, SemiDisk Systems; 
XLR8, M.A.N. Systems; VAX, Digital Equipment; Macintosh, Apple; HD63484/64180, 
Hitachi; Z80, Zilog; Z-System, Hyperspace Z-System, ZCPR3, ZRDOS, Z-Tools, 
Zas, Zlink, Z-Msg, Term3, Quick-Task, NuKey, Turbo Modula-2, Lasting-Value 
Software, Echelon; CP/M, Digital Research; Unix, AT&T; TurboROM, Advent; 
Graphix Toolbox, Turbo Pascal, Borland Int'l; WordStar, MicroPro Int'l; 
JetFind, Bridger Mitchell; PC-AT, IBM; Smartwatch, Dallas Semiconductor; MS-
DOS, Multiplan, Microsoft; dBase II, Ashton-Tate.


                  *                                        *



                            
                                 Fly with Z!



                  *                                        *




Z-News 801 is Copyright MCMLXXXVII Echelon, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.  
Permission to reprint, wholly or partially, automatically granted if source 
credit is given to Echelon.
