SLO BYTES NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY, 1987 NEWSLETTER INFO The SLO BYTES Newsletter is a monthly publication of SLO BYTES of the Central Coast of California (San Luis Obispo) an IBM/compatible personal computer user's group. Information found in this Newsletter is derived from magazine articles, manuals, books, other PC user group newsletters, and our own members. The purpose of this publication is to inform our members of meetings, their program content, and other information related to the use of IBM-PC's and compatible computers. Dues to SLO BYTES are $18 per year. As a member you will receive a membership card, an updated membership list, SLO BYTES monthly newsletter, and free use of our Public Domain Library. Contributors are asked to submit articles for the next issue by the 10th of each month either in writing or on disk (ASCII format preferred). Address all correspondence to SLO BYTES PC USER'S GROUP, % Bob Ward, 2100 Andre' Ave., Los Osos, Ca. 93402. Phone 8am-5pm 546-2164, after 5pm - (805)528-0121. Other user's groups have permission to publish any material found in this newsletter. Have a computer related item to sell? Tell the editor and we will put it in our newsletter. For further information call Bob Ward @ (805)528-0121 eves. **************************************************** Meetings are held the 4th Thursday of every month, unless noted otherwise in the newsletter calendar, at 6:15 pm. They are hosted by the Biology Department and located at Cal Poly University, Biology's Science North, Room 313. **************************************************** DI$COUNT$-DI$COUNT$-DI$COUNT$-DI$COUNT$-DI$COUNT$ Discounts usually apply only to regularly priced merchandise. Ask a salesman to make sure. You must present your membership card to receive a discount. Paradise Computers 5% - all computers, peripherals, 441 Marsh St. and software. San Luis Obispo 10% - Ribbons, paper, disks & 544-7127 other expendable items. Star Computers 5% - any software in stock. 655 Morro Bay Blvd. Morro Bay 10% - paper, ribbons, cable & 772-7827 other supplies. Computer Logic 10% - off retail - all computers, 973 Foothill Blvd. software, computer periphe- Store #4 rals and products. Contact San Luis Obispo Bruce, Paul, or Dave for 544-8347 your discount. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ AST RESEARCH HAS MICROCOMPUTERS TOO! by French Morgan As more and more microcomputers find their way to the market place, each needs to have an edge over the 'other guy' ... price or gadgets or both. AST Research is still one of the most popular add- on/in board manufacturer. They have put themselves at the top of the market with quality devices, but have found themselves as a target. Competition from overseas has flooded the market with AST Research board look and work-a-likes. Also more computers have come standard with multifunction options. In order to keep making money ... diversify, etc. ... AST Research has just added (January '87) 5 models of micros to their line of goodies. Each model runs at 6/8/or 10 MHz without any wait states if you have AST's FASTRAM SLOTS. This allows the micro to out perform the standard 12 MHz micros on the market. One of the benchmark tests used by George Campbell at our December meeting, took 19 seconds on a standard IBM PC (4.77 MHz), 12 seconds on the same machine with a FAST88 (7.14 MHz), and 3 seconds on the AST 286 at 10 MHz. Can you imagine a 'quick' game of pong!?? Up to 4 Mb of RAM can be installed in these slots. The micro is a 80286 based machine. There are appearances of a possible 80386 upgrade by the looks of the interior. The micro is built like a 'tank' with little plastic. This micro is a dealer product and at the present time will not be a mail order machine. It's priced at about half the cost of a similar IBM PC AT. The February meeting will give you a chance to look at this new micro from AST Research. Specifications, brochures, and club pricing will be available. ==================================================== DARLING HUSBAND By W.J. Parsons (from Diablo Valley PC News) I am sending you this letter in a bogus software company envelope so that you will be sure to read it. Please forgive the deception, but I thought you should know what has been going on at home since your IBM computer entered our lives two years ago. The children are doing well, Tommy is seven now and is a right handsome boy. He has developed quite an interest in the arts. He drew a family portrait for a school project. All the figures were good but yours was excellent! The chair and the back of your head are very realistic. You would be very proud of him. Little Jennifer turned three in September. She looks a lot like you did at that age. She is an attractive child and quite smart. She still remembers that you spent the whole afternoon with us on her birthday. What a grand day for Jen, despite the fact that it was stormy and the electricity was out. I am also doing well. I went blonde about a year ago and was delighted to discover it really is more fun! Lars, I ment Mr. Swenson, the department head, has taken an interest in my career and has become a good friend to us all. I have discovered that the household chores are much easier since I realized that you didn't mind being vacuumed but that feather dusting made you sneeze. The house is in good shape. I had the living room painted last spring. I'm not sure if you notice it. I made sure the painters cut air holes in the drop cloth so you wouldn't be disturbed. Well, my dear, I must be going. Uncle Lars - Mr. Swenson, I mean, is taking us all on a ski trip, and there is packing to do. I have hired a housekeeper to take care of things while we are away. She'll keep things in order, fill your coffee cup, and bring your meals to your desk, just the way you like it. I hope you and the IBM have a lovely time while we are gone. Tommy, Jen, and I will think of you often -- try to remember us while your disks are booting. Love, Mary ==================================================== CALENDAR February 26th Demonstration of AST'S PREMIUM 286 compatible computer. Review LeMenu, a Hard Disk Menu System by Bartel Software. March 26th Hard Disk Backup Systems - TakeTwo, etc. Demonstration of Kodak's DataShow with software "slide" making capabilities. April 23rd WORDPERFECT 4.2 by Bryan Johanson, regional marketing manager. May 28th Word Processing and Data Entry filing systems by Larrie Ciano. ==================================================== Bits N' Bytes *** A new FILE LOCATOR disk for installation on to HARD DISKS ONLY will be available at the next meeting. This disk will ultimately hold the catalog for about 300 SLO BYTES library disks. You may also update your files periodically using this disk. This is not intended for floppy based systems and will not run without a hard disk. Use the 2 FILE LOCATOR disks for floppy systems if you are without a hard disk. *** A packet has been developed by George Campbell and will be given out to all NEW members. This will also be available to those of you who have joined within the last 3 months. Packets includes a 20+ page summary of basic DOS commands for the new user written by George (PC/MS DOS: THE ESSENTIALS), a reprint of an article I wrote, called RUNNING PROGRAMS, and a one page summary of disks you should pick up at the 1st meeting to get you started. *** PC MAGAZINE has lifted the copywrite from programs published in their magazine. Our PC MAGAZINE disk will become an official part of our library. George Campbell has downloaded documentation which goes with many of these programs. The DOC files have been added to this disk. *** An excellent article appears in PC Magazine, February 24th: "Digging Deeper into DOS, Part 1". All should read this one - very informative! *** The IBM EXCHANGE magazine will be available at the meeting this month. If you're a member, don't forget to pick one up. Articles this month include: 1. Hard Disk Data Recovery, 2. PCjr Ins and Outs, 3. BASIC Floating Point Numbers, and more. ==================================================== COMINGS & GOINGS Last month Rich Smith from STAR computers in Morro Bay presented a demonstration on the KayPro 10 personal computer. The KayPro has many unique features which come standard on their machine. A CPM emulator is handy for those of you who have upgraded from the older operating system. KayPro will show standard color graphics on a monochrome monitor, something only available on other machines with a special video board such as Everex Edge, or Genoa Spectrum. 768K? You bet! Software? Of course; WordStar, CorrectStar, MailMerge, Poly Windows (a SideKick clone) and a telecommnuications package called Mite. KayPro also guarantees its machine will run any IBM business software or your money back. This particular model comes with a 20 meg hard drive, monochrome monitor, a TURBO switch to increasing processing speed, and keyboard for less than $2000. We ran several programs including Flight Simulator and utilities commonly used on the IBM. The Phoenix BIOS, used in the KayPro, presented no compatibility problems with software. This month we will continue our look at IBM compatible computers. French Morgan recently purchased an AST Research 286, Model 140. This comes with hard disk, and runs at 6 MHz (no wait states) + 2 turbo speeds of 8 and 10 MHz. To supplement our program, we will demonstrate a software program that makes your hard disk "user friendly." Who ever heard of subdirectories being understandable? We will review Le Menu, a hard disk menu system from Bartel Software. If you don't want to learn how to use all those DOS commands, or if you need a menu driven hard disk, then this is the package for you. At $79.95 it's worth the price (see accompanying article). ==================================================== News from our Library The following disks have been added to our library this month. #163 (PC-SIG #606) SIG DIRECTORY #4 - Disk #'s 601 to 700 #175 - #179 (PC-SIG #'s 599-603).... DREAM - a dBASE clone. Produced by PC-Systems, this 5 disk package is a relational database which allows the user to write custom report formats. Comes with over 200K of on line and written documentation. Will handle over 32,000 records per data file and 1500 characters per fixed record length. UPDATES: #089 FANSI-CONSOLE V 1.11 to V 1.15 #122 FILE SQUEEZERS - Added PKXARC & PKARC by Phil Katz. Accomplish same as ARC but MUCH faster! All members should have PKXARC to unsqueeze our ARCed files. ==================================================== NEW MEMBERS A hardy WELCOME to the following new members: ERIC HARTER 544-7980 PATRICK GERETY 544-6495 HERBERT KALER 528-2717 MYER CRUMB 543-2432 STEVE FLAHERTY 543-5670 CLYDE HOSTETTER 544-3224 Don't forget to pick up your NEW MEMBER packages at the meeting! ===================================================== LOCAL SAN LUIS BULLETIN BOARDS The Bulletin Boards listed below are found in San Luis Obispo. Set your parameters to 1200/300-8-N-1 for log-on. SLO PC FILE TRANSFER Not a message board. Good 544-9764 board to download or upload files. Yell for SYSOP... will talk to you almost any time over computer. SYSOP: STEVE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Good general message board. 544-5419 Always busy! File transfers fine when working. Having software problems with this. SYSOP: GERN PARADISE Good all around board... 541-0218 not too busy. Both file transfers & message board. Messages more technically oriented. IBM/KayPro SIG with downloads. SYSOP leans towards ATARI-ST. SYSOP: JIM ==================================================== Le Menu - A Hard Disk Menuing System by Bob Ward Remember when you bought your computer you were lead to believe it would solve all your problems; when, in reality, as a new user it created frustration and sleepless nights. To compound the problem, you were convinced a hard disk would alleviate any mass data storage problems. Perhaps it did solve the storage problems, but what about all those curious little commands that kept popping up when you tried to find or use files on your hard disk? There was CHANGE DIRECTORY, MAKE DIRECTORY, REMOVE DIRECTORY, PATH, and the other million DOS commands which were always just out of grasp when needed the most. For the computer neophytes there is a program that makes using your hard disk much easier. Bartel Software has created Le Menu , a hard disk menuing system. Le Menu is divided into 3 courses: 1. DOS and other services, 2. Le Menu's Main Course, a customized number of menus which at the stroke of a key will take you to any program on your hard disk you desire, and 3. Directory Management. MAIN MENU There are 26 options to choose from in the Main Menu and 26 more for each submenu produced. Setting up a command is as simple as telling Le Menu where to look for the program and the name of the file to load with any other program parameters. This program is an excellent choice if you have a multi- user computer. Password protection and project codes are available on sub-menu and personal levels allowing only people of your choice to access specific areas. File encryption further insures privacy for your most sensitive documents. Le Menu has a built in clock so you can keep track of time spent on different areas of the computer. Great for billing purposes, if actual computer time is part of your clients expense. If most of your time is spent in one specific program, Le Menu can create a batch file with its own built in word processor to automatically load that file on boot-up. DOS and OTHER SERVICES Le Menu automates DOS commands. No longer do you have to keep the DOS manual handy for many of the most commonly used DOS commands as they have been automated in Le Menu's DOS menu. The more complicated commands still require homework and must (next page) be entered manually (unless configured in the Main Menu), but Le Menu does take care of the easier tasks. Other DOS services include change file attributes, viewing a directory tree, sorting files, time & date, and setting project codes. One of the nicest features of Le Menu is the detailed pop-up help screens. It doesn't matter where you are in Le Menu , F3 will instantly give you help specific to your needs. DIRECTORY MANAGEMENT Integrated with the DOS Services Menu is Directory Management (F2). From here you can create or delete subdirectories, bring up a subdirectory tree, rename subdirectories, change file attributes, find a file any where on your hard disk, or encrypt a file. All these commands are menu driven. INSTALLATION Installation for Le Menu on to your hard disk is not a timely task, although I do find some of the procedures necessary for installation questionable. Le Menu creates a new AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the root directory and saves the original as AUTOEXEC.BAK. This is fine until EDLIN is used to modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT file at a later date. Unfortunately EDLIN automatically saves the original file you are editing as filename.BAK. So there goes your original AUTOEXEC.BAT file, written over by EDLIN'S backup file. Having Le Menu save the original file using a more unique extension such as AUTOEXEC.OLD would be more appropriate. Le Menu also has another strange request during installation. It copies DOS commands from a floppy DOS disk to a separate subdirectory accessible only by Le Menu . This is the "safest" way for the program to find specific DOS files when needed, but by no means the most efficient. A PATH option should be available as a second option to the user. Why have DOS in two different subdirectories on the same hard disk. This is a duplication of effort and waste of hard disk space. Also make sure it is your ORIGINAL DOS disk of the same version already on your hard drive. I used a backup which had several non DOS utilities also on it, and they too were recopied to the hard disk. The copy routine needs to be made more specific as to exclude unneeded files. DOCUMENTATION Le Menu comes with 32 pages of documentation. The type face may be a bit small for some people. Personally, I would like to have seen it larger. The manual is written in plain English with sufficient examples of what the menus will look like on your computer. Two pages stood out above the others when I thought how a new user would approach this manual. The section called DOS PRIMER details DIRECTORIES, SUBDIRECTORIES, and FILES. A very straight forward approach with an excellent explanation of these concepts. There are many other features of Le Menu that have not been discussed due to the confines of our newsletter. For the small cost of $79.00, you can automate your computer's hard disk and make life easier and less frustrating with this hard disk menu manager. ORDER FROM: BARTEL SOFTWARE 1275 Fort Union Blvd., Suite 160 Midvale, Utah 84047 800-4LE-MENU ====================================================