Hello, All;

======================[ BEGIN QUOTE ]======================
CMDTIME is a program which translates
dollar-sign options on the command- line to
values based on the current time/date, and
then execute the given command.
=======================[ END QUOTE ]=======================

This is one of Scott Dudley's minor works, but its 2-digit year is Y2K-
broken (oddly enough, IIRC, its 4-digit year is OK).

Scott has released the sources to much bigger pieces of software; does anyone know if he released this one too? I'd like to see it both Y2K-corrected
_and_ brought into the LFN era.

Thanks in anticipation,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Sun 2003-03-02 16:32, Robert Bull (2:250/501.4) wrote to All:

======================[ BEGIN QUOTE ]======================
CMDTIME is a program which translates
dollar-sign options on the command- line to
values based on the current time/date, and
then execute the given command.
=======================[ END QUOTE ]=======================

This is one of Scott Dudley's minor works, but its 2-digit year is
Y2K- broken (oddly enough, IIRC, its 4-digit year is OK).

Scott has released the sources to much bigger pieces of software;
does anyone know if he released this one too? I'd like to see it
both Y2K-corrected _and_ brought into the LFN era.

Not that I'm aware of. Certainly not with the Maximus 3.0 source code release,
at least. But it sounds simple enough to rewrite.

-- mail@ozzmosis.com

--- timEd/Cygwin 1.11.a5
* Origin: Blizzard of Ozz, Mt Eliza, Victoria, Australia (3:633/267.1)

Hello, andrew;

03 Mar 03 16:39, andrew clarke wrote to Robert Bull:

CMDTIME is a program which translates

does anyone know if he released this one too? I'd like to see
it both Y2K-corrected _and_ brought into the LFN era.

Not that I'm aware of. Certainly not with the Maximus 3.0 source code release, at least. But it sounds simple enough to rewrite.

The archive I have contains executables dated 1991 but no source code, so
it would probably have to be from scratch...

Thanks,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Robert Bull wrote to All <=-

======================[ BEGIN QUOTE ]======================
CMDTIME is a program which translates
dollar-sign options on the command- line to
values based on the current time/date, and
then execute the given command.
=======================[ END QUOTE ]=======================

I haven't seen the source for this, but as someone else mentioned, it shouldn't
be too hard to recreate. I've already done some similar things using REXX and Perl (for quick & dirty stuff), and should be able to throw something together in C. What platform (operating system) are you looking for?

Also, can you email me the portion of the docs showing the command syntax, options, and return codes (along with any "enhancement" suggestions)? That way,
if I do develop something it should be pretty much a "drop in" replacement. Thanks.

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
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Hello, Bob;

23 Mar 03 10:20, Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull:

able to throw something together in C. What platform (operating
system) are you looking for?

I'm currently using DOS, but a DOS box under Win95/98 or "better" would be nice.

Also, can you email me the portion of the docs showing the command
syntax, options, and return codes (along with any "enhancement" suggestions)? That way, if I do develop something it should be pretty
much a "drop in" replacement. Thanks.

Here is the _entire_ doc;
======================[ BEGIN QUOTE ]======================
CMDTIME [1.00/Mar 13 1989] Copyright 1989 by Scott Dudley (1:148/314)

Command-line syntax error:

CMDTIME is a program which translates dollar-sign options on the command-
line to values based on the current time/date, and then execute the given command. The following options will be translated according to
the current date:

$a - The abbreviated weekday name
$A - The full weekday name
$b - The abbreviated month name
$B - The full month name
$c - Standard date and time string (mm-dd-yy hh:mm:ss)
$d - Day-of-month as an integer (01-31)
$H - Hour, in the range of 00-23
$I - Hour, in the range of 01-12
$j - Day-of-year as an integer (001-366)
$m - Month as an integer (01-12)
$M - Minute as an integer (00-59)
$p - Local AM or PM as a string
$S - Second as an integer (00-59)
$U - Week-of-year, Sunday being the first day (00-52)
$w - Weekday as an integer (0-6), Sunday being 0
$W - Week-of-year, Monday being the first day (00-52)
$x - Standard date string (mm-dd-yy)
$X - Standard time string (hh:mm:ss)
$y - Year as an integer w/o century (00-99)
$Y - Year, including century as an integer
$Z - Time zone (Must have TZ environment variable defined)
$$ - The dollar sign

Please notice that all options are case-sensitive, and if you wish to enter a dollar sign in the command-line, you must specify it twice or else it
will be interpreted as one of CMDTIME's internal options. =======================[ END QUOTE ]=======================

Main enhancement I'd like is the ability to use Win95/98 LFNs, i.e., quite long concatenations of the above tokens. Current version is limited to
8.3 file names, I think.

Thanks,

Robert.

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Robert Bull wrote to Bob Swift <=-

Here is the _entire_ doc;
======================[ BEGIN QUOTE ]======================

... clipped ...

=======================[ END QUOTE ]=======================

Main enhancement I'd like is the ability to use Win95/98 LFNs, i.e.,
quite long concatenations of the above tokens. Current version is
limited to 8.3 file names, I think.

Thanks. I'll have a look, but it will likely be a few days before I get a chance. (I'm currently job hunting.)

As for the LFN stuff, I assume that you've tried enclosing them in quotes? I'm guessing that the quotes aren't getting passed through to the command being executed. I can think of a couple of ways to handle this, and will be sure to include _something_ in the code. <grin>

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
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Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull <=-

Main enhancement I'd like is the ability to use Win95/98 LFNs, i.e.,
quite long concatenations of the above tokens. Current version is
limited to 8.3 file names, I think.

Thanks. I'll have a look, but it will likely be a few days before I get
a chance. (I'm currently job hunting.)

Done, and ready for testing. Can you (and anyone else that's interested) download a copy from http://www.rsds.ca/misc.html and give it a try, then let me know if it's okay to release? The package is called CommandTime and you should be able to find it at the top of the web page. The archive includes both Linux and Windows binaries, along with brief instructions and complete source code.

Thanks.

Bob


-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
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Hello, Bob;

27 Mar 03 18:47, Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull:

Done, and ready for testing. Can you (and anyone else that's

Many thanks, will pick it up and test ASAP.

I think the original CMDTIME does its stuff by invoking a second copy of COMMAND.COM, and suspected that either it wasn't passing LFNs correctly because it didn't understand them, or that it did pass the command line literally and COMMAND.COM wasn't having it... the second would seem
unlikely, but with Windows you never know :-(

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Hello, Bob;

27 Mar 03 18:47, Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull:

Done, and ready for testing. Can you (and anyone else that's

Apologies for (so far) a _very_ quick test, and for not having the results
to hand (my Fidonet machine at home is DOS/Win 3.1 only, the ones used for testing are elsewhere - and I only poll once a week now). ATM CMDTIMEW
seems to take only one token at a time. That is, if I wanted to make an
LFN containing the date, _and_ the time, and with an extension, it doesn't seem to know how to add them all together?

More another time - will try to remember to keep some screen shots etc.

Thanks,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Robert Bull wrote to Bob Swift <=-

Done, and ready for testing. Can you (and anyone else that's

Apologies for (so far) a _very_ quick test, and for not having the
results to hand (my Fidonet machine at home is DOS/Win 3.1 only, the
ones used for testing are elsewhere - and I only poll once a week now). ATM CMDTIMEW seems to take only one token at a time. That is, if I
wanted to make an LFN containing the date, _and_ the time, and with an extension, it doesn't seem to know how to add them all together?

More another time - will try to remember to keep some screen shots etc.

Right you are. I found the problem and posted a corrected version at http://www.rsds.ca/misc.html for you (or anyone else) to download. Thanks for the help in finding the bugs. Much appreciated.

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
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Hello, Bob;

06 Apr 03 17:49, Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull:

Right you are. I found the problem and posted a corrected version at http://www.rsds.ca/misc.html for you (or anyone else) to download.

Many thanks! I'll d/l and check ASAP.

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
* Origin: The Luminous Void (2:250/501.4)

Hello, Bob;

06 Apr 03 17:49, Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull:

Right you are. I found the problem and posted a corrected version at

I'm still not getting what I wanted/expected, but, I'm not sure that's to
do with CMDTIMEW. It might be something to do with the way COMMAND.COM
passes parameters, or maybe, the way it deals with zero-byte files as I
used for testing (only just thought of that one). Viz.:

dir:

SPAR001 HTM 0 04-14-03 10:12a spar001.htm

cmdtimew ren spar001.htm @X_@T.htm
File not found - spar001.htm

dir

SPAR001 HTM 0 04-14-03 10:12a spar001.htm


OTOH;

cmdtimew echo @X_@T.htm
2003-04-17_16:03:01.htm

as expected, and how I wanted to rename the file.


Also noticed the following behaviour WRT quote marks;

cmdtimew echo "@X_@T.htm"
2003-04-17_16:03:18.htm

cmdtimew echo ""@X_@T.htm""
2003-04-17_16:03:24.htm

cmdtimew echo """@X_@T.htm"""
"2003-04-17_16:03:31.htm"

i.e., if you want to echo one double-quote, you have to stack three. Not
sure if that means much...


type nul > $.$

cmdtimew ren $.$ @X.htm

dir

2003-0~1 HTM 0 04-17-03 4:04p 2003-04-17.htm

which is OK, but I was after time as well.

Have I missed something?

Thanks,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Robert Bull wrote to Bob Swift <=-

I'm still not getting what I wanted/expected, but, I'm not sure that's to do with CMDTIMEW. It might be something to do with the way COMMAND.COM passes parameters, or maybe, the way it deals with zero-byte files as I used for testing (only just thought of that one). Viz.:

cmdtimew ren spar001.htm @X_@T.htm
File not found - spar001.htm

That's because DOS is confused and doesn't know what error message to display. The problem is that you're trying to rename the file to a name which includes a
colon. That's still an absolute no-no under DOS.

cmdtimew echo @X_@T.htm
2003-04-17_16:03:01.htm

as expected, and how I wanted to rename the file.

And worked because it was displaying to the screen, not renaming with an included colon.

Also noticed the following behaviour WRT quote marks;

cmdtimew echo "@X_@T.htm"
2003-04-17_16:03:18.htm

cmdtimew echo ""@X_@T.htm""
2003-04-17_16:03:24.htm

cmdtimew echo """@X_@T.htm"""
"2003-04-17_16:03:31.htm"

i.e., if you want to echo one double-quote, you have to stack three. Not sure if that means much...

I actually found that really interesting, and can (sort of) explain it. When the original parameters are passed to CMDTIME, DOS will remove the quotes (one set) around the parameter. If you are only using one set of quotes, they never
actually get passed to CMDTIME, however the string enclosed within will get passed (including null strings and strings with spaces). After CMDTIME does its substitutions on each parameter, it checks to see whether the parameter is either a null string or contains spaces. If it meets one of these two criteria, then the parameter will be enclosed in quotes when passed to the system command processor. For example, if you enter:

cmdtime echo @c

you will find that the resulting date and tme information will be echoed to the
screen enclosed in quotes. This is because the original parameter @c contained
a space once expanded. CMDTIME attempts to keep the same number of parameters by enclosing them in quotes. In hindsight, this may not be the best method because it takes away some of the user's control. For this reason, I've added two more substitution options for single- and double-quotes. The new version is available at http://www.rsds.ca/misc.html.

type nul > $.$

cmdtimew ren $.$ @X.htm

dir

2003-0~1 HTM 0 04-17-03 4:04p 2003-04-17.htm

which is OK, but I was after time as well.

Have I missed something?

Sort of... The problem is a DOS / Windows limitation that doesn't allow you to
include certain characters (in this case a colon) in a file name. Using the _new_ version of the program, you could enter something like:

cmdtimew ren spar001.htm @Q@X_@H.@M.@S.htm@Q

which should take your file and rename it to include both the date and time information. Does this help?

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
* Origin: The Power Station BBS * powerstationbbs.ca * (1:342/5)

Hello, Bob;

20 Apr 03 18:29, Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull:

That's because DOS is confused and doesn't know what error message to display. The problem is that you're trying to rename the file to a
name which includes a colon. That's still an absolute no-no under
DOS.

In the immortal words of Charlie Brown: Aaauuuggghhh!

I should have worked that out :-( Thanks for putting me straight...

And worked because it was displaying to the screen, not renaming with
an included colon.

OK, that makes sense.

Also noticed the following behaviour WRT quote marks;

I actually found that really interesting, and can (sort of) explain
it. When the original parameters are passed to CMDTIME, DOS will

A bit over my head, but I sort-of see what's happening.

of the user's control. For this reason, I've added two more
substitution options for single- and double-quotes. The new version
is available at http://www.rsds.ca/misc.html.

OK, many thanks. Will pick it up and check ASAP. Paul Quinn in BATPOWER reports oddities, including with/without TZ set, but I had it set anyway
(for Info-Zip) so haven't had any problems.

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
* Origin: The Luminous Void (2:250/501.4)

Robert Bull wrote to Bob Swift <=-

display. The problem is that you're trying to rename the file to a
name which includes a colon. That's still an absolute no-no under
DOS.

In the immortal words of Charlie Brown: Aaauuuggghhh!

Don't beat yourself up about it. It took me about four passes through the code
looking for *anything* that might be causing the problem, and then it suddenly dawned on me.

OK, many thanks. Will pick it up and check ASAP. Paul Quinn in BATPOWER reports oddities, including with/without TZ set, but I had it set anyway (for Info-Zip) so haven't had any problems.

Good point. I should probably include something in the docs about that. I think it is likely operating system dependent, but I think that all of the systems I tested it on here did have the TZ variable set. Thanks again for your help in testing and such.

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
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Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull <=-

Good point. I should probably include something in the docs about that.
I think it is likely operating system dependent, but I think that all of the systems I tested it on here did have the TZ variable set. Thanks again for your help in testing and such.

The problem was that when there is no TZ environment variable, Windows provides
the long time zone name to the function and this was overrunning the allocated string space for the variable. I've revised the code to deal with this MUCH more gracefully, and have posted the new version (v1.11) on the web site at http://www.rsds.ca/misc.html for anyone who wants a copy. Thanks again for all
the testing help.

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

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Robert Bull wrote to Bob Swift <=-

I'm happy to report that 1.11, with the command line you gave me before, works perfectly :-) Many thanks! I have confess that with the

Excellent! It took a while, but it looks I may have finally got it right. <grin>

I see you and Paul got the other queries sorted out.

Yup. I haven't heard back that there's still a problem, so I'm assuming that things are working okay. I appreciate the help that both you and Paul provided
in testing and identifying bugs. I don't know how I missed some of them. Just
goes to show, that a second (or third) pair of eyes is a must.

Thanks again,

And thank-you for mentioning it in the first place. It proved to be an interesting diversion.

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
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Hi! Bob,

In a msg of Sun, 04 May 03, Robert Bull wrote to you:

I'm happy to report that 1.11, with the command line you gave me
before, works perfectly :-) Many thanks! I have confess that with
the immediate problem solved I haven't done much other testing, but
it looks like things should now be OK.

I've been trying to grab 1.11 for quite a few days but the cgi script doesn't seem to complete the 'gotget', for me. :( It could be my browser. Is there any other method I may use to acquire a copy? Is it FREQ-able via IBN/ITN/IFC as well, please?

Cheers,
Paul.

--- Radius/W32 4.009-02.01.03/RC10
* Origin: Humpty dumpty was pushed. (ZMH only) (3:640/384)

Paul Quinn wrote to Bob Swift <=-

I've been trying to grab 1.11 for quite a few days but the cgi script doesn't seem to complete the 'gotget', for me. :( It could be my browser. Is there any other method I may use to acquire a copy? Is it FREQ-able via IBN/ITN/IFC as well, please?

It's also available via anonymous ftp from ftp.powerstationbbs.ca in the /pub/filegate/psn/pdncee area (or through any system that carries the PDNCEE file distribution area). It _should_ be available via telnet or file request to powerstationbbs.ca, although I've been tightening up the firewall lately and
may have inadvertently closed the ports used for back connections (will check on that later today). Out of curiosity, what problems were you having and what
browser? I just tried it from here and it worked okay. Also, I could send you
a copy via email if you send me a note with your internet address. Mine is "powerstation -at- shaw -dot- ca".

Thanks.

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

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Bob Swift wrote to Paul Quinn <=-

It's also available via anonymous ftp from ftp.powerstationbbs.ca in the /pub/filegate/psn/pdncee area (or through any system that carries the

Oops... Should be /pub/filegate/pdn/pdncee. (Darn fat fingers. <grin>)

Bob

-+- blueMail/Linux 1.0

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-4
* Origin: The Power Station BBS * powerstationbbs.ca * (1:342/5)

Hello, Bob;

04 May 03 21:20, Bob Swift wrote to Robert Bull:

Excellent! It took a while, but it looks I may have finally got it
right. <grin>

It certainly looks ready for release to me :-))

know how I missed some of them. Just goes to show, that a second (or third) pair of eyes is a must.

Different people have different priorities :-)

Thanks for a useful utility,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Hi! Bob,

On Tue, 06 May 03, you wrote to me:

It's also available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.powerstationbbs.ca in the /pub/filegate/psn/pdncee area (or
through any system that
carries the

Oops... Should be /pub/filegate/pdn/pdncee. (Darn fat fingers.

<grin>>)

:) Oooh, I have 8 of those and 2 left thumbs.

Thanks for that. I grabbed a copy via FTP. Strangely, I didn't receive a copy
of your original reply, just your reply/forward follow-up. Nevermind...

I'm gonna set up a DOS 4.01 (I think, 4.00 if you're real lucky) system on the weekend and I'll do some testing then. Probably to no avail as you've no doubt
'plugged all the holes', I guess. ;)

Cheers,
Paul.

--- Radius/W32 4.009-02.01.03/RC10
* Origin: Blonde Borgs all have the same fun. (ZMH only) (3:640/384)

Hello, Paul;

14 May 03 18:24, Paul Quinn wrote to Bob Swift:

I'm gonna set up a DOS 4.01 (I think, 4.00 if you're real lucky)
system on the weekend and I'll do some testing then. Probably to no

Isn't that the one that was a dog?

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
* Origin: The Luminous Void (2:250/501.4)

Hi! Robert,

On Sun, 18 May 03, you wrote to me:

14 May 03 18:24, Paul Quinn wrote to Bob Swift:

I'm gonna set up a DOS 4.01 (I think, 4.00 if you're real lucky)
system on the weekend and I'll do some testing then. Probably
to no

Isn't that the one that was a dog?

Yep, it's the one where all the hoo-ha about DOS is hell started from... from the DOS SHELL task-switcher thingie. Not a multi-tasker; just a task switcher.
Everyone I knew either never installed it or turfed it after one look. Least it all fits on a 40meg HDD. =:)

I built the machine up from spares on the weekend (still got enough for another). The real testing dustoff starts tomorrow.

Cheers,
Paul.

--- Radius/W32 4.009-02.01.03/RC10
* Origin: Hey! Pull my finger. (ZMH only) (3:640/384)

Hello, Paul;

19 May 03 21:55, Paul Quinn wrote to Robert Bull:

Yep, it's the one where all the hoo-ha about DOS is hell started
from... from the DOS SHELL task-switcher thingie. Not a multi-tasker;

Don't think I ever ran DOS 4, and at some point during DOS 5, bought a copy
of DESQView. I looked at a few third-party task-switchers; my favourite
was FastFlip. I even tried to register, but the author was uncontactable. When I enquired - in a local UK echo, I think - about the shareware multitasker VMIX, I was told it was stable enough to run a BBS, "but you wouldn't like it."

I built the machine up from spares on the weekend (still got enough
for another). The real testing dustoff starts tomorrow.

Quite the squirrel :-)

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Hello, Paul;

27 May 03 18:54, Paul Quinn wrote to Robert Bull:

The very best DOS extender/multitasker I've known is Windows. 3.1 was quite handy on my old '286/1meg, where I could switch between 2
concurrent Win apps, one of which was usually a terminal proggie.

AAMOI, did you ever have DV on DOS? I never used Win 3.1 much, but I don't much like Win95/Win98 for task-switching DOS, because it's slow compared
with DV and there's this sort of "visual clunk" as it writes the screens.

Ahh, those were the days... 2400bps modem, beernuts and hot coffee.[giggle]

Fledgling - _I_ started with a 1200/75 modem :-))

The nodes in our net know how to keep their NC happy. I get all their rejects. Whoo!hoo!

:-))

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Hi! Robert,

On Sun, 01 Jun 03, you wrote to me:

AAMOI, did you ever have DV on DOS?

Nope. I just never had the need for it. I knew my hardware's limitations and didn't try anything stoopid, capability-wise, with the configs.

Ahh, those were the days... 2400bps modem, beernuts and hot
coffee.[giggle]

Fledgling - _I_ started with a 1200/75 modem :-))

Been there; done that. That was my second modem, bought in L.A. by a dood (holidaying there) from where I used to work back in Brisbane... at one-third the cost, BTW. No, my first was a hand-me-down 300/1200 internal. Spent more time at 300 than the other.[giggle]

Cheers,
Paul.

--- Radius/W32 4.009-02.01.03/RC10
* Origin: So Many Messages! So Little Time! (ZMH only) (3:640/384)

Hi Robert (of 2:250/501.4),
On <Sun, 25 May 03, 16:24 o'clock>, in a message to Paul Quinn you wrote:

.... When I enquired - in a local UK echo, I think - about
the shareware multitasker VMIX, I was told it was stable enough to
run a BBS, "but you wouldn't like it."

HEY... I remember discovering Vmix. I thought it was very slick. But I think there were a couple of things that made it incompatible with the pc (a 286, I think and with 2 meg ram) that I was using it on, so I had to turf it.
I was also operating a BBS and hoped to find something that allowed me to work concurrently while the BBS was running.


...August

--- FMail/Win32 1.60
* Origin: . (1:229/390)

Hello, Paul;

02 Jun 03 21:50, Paul Quinn wrote to Robert Bull:

AAMOI, did you ever have DV on DOS?

Nope. I just never had the need for it. I knew my hardware's
limitations and didn't try anything stoopid, capability-wise, with the configs.

I waited until I had a 486 with 250Mb HD and 4Mb RAM, and that works fine
with DV. DV/QEMM come with their own configuration system. I'd never have got things optimised on my own. Great system for multitasking DOS programs and much faster than using Windows. Seems to have been popular with sysops
if they didn't move to OS/2.

at one-third the cost, BTW. No, my first was a hand-me-down 300/1200 internal. Spent more time at 300 than the other.[giggle]

I'll bet :-)

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Hello, August;

03 Jun 03 21:12, August Abolins wrote to Robert Bull:

HEY... I remember discovering Vmix. I thought it was very slick.
But I think there were a couple of things that made it incompatible
with the pc (a 286, I think and with 2 meg ram) that I was using it

ISTR that 286s were more trouble than most, something to do with memory addressing? I never had one, moving at work from an 8086 to a 386, and starting at home with a 386. I didn't try very hard to get VMIX working.
It was probably above my level at the time, or maybe I just didn't RTFM!

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
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Hi Robert (of 2:250/501.4),
On Sun, 08 Jun 03 at 16:26 o'clock, you wrote me:

ISTR that 286s were more trouble than most, something to do with
memory addressing? I never had one, moving at work from an 8086 to a 386, and
starting at home with a 386. I didn't try very hard to get VMIX
working. It was probably above my level at the time, or maybe I just didn't RTFM!

I had a rather good-natured 286. Infact, with 2meg it was rather innovative for the particular model/mobo I had. I used a TSR that "pushed" some resources
into highmemory area. I also used a util that could create a ram-drive. I forget the name of the util, but unlike other ramdrive utils, this one allowed changing the size of the ram drive on the fly and it even allowed removing and adding the ramdrive without rebooting!


...August

--- FMail/Win32 1.60
* Origin: . (1:229/390)

Hello August!

09 Jun 03 10:39, August Abolins wrote to Robert Bull:

"pushed" some resources into highmemory area. I also used a util
that could create a ram-drive. I forget the name of the util, but
unlike other ramdrive utils, this one allowed changing the size of
the ram drive on the fly and it even allowed removing and adding the ramdrive without rebooting!

Maybe you mean this one?


SRDSK208.ZIP 78870 7-15-96 1:00 ReSizeable RAMDisk 2.08. Copyright (c)
1996 Marko Kohtala. Released Jul 15th,
1996. SRDISK is fast virtual disk
capable of using over 32M of XMS and
EMS memory. The disk can be disabled
and it's size can be changed without
rebooting. Lots


Regards,
Gerrit

--- Msged/BSD 6.0.0
* Origin: We are a nation of innovations (2:246/4020)

Hello, August;

09 Jun 03 10:39, August Abolins wrote to Robert Bull:

I had a rather good-natured 286. Infact, with 2meg it was rather

I suspect you were lucky :-)

could create a ram-drive. I forget the name of the util, but unlike
other ramdrive utils, this one allowed changing the size of the ram
drive on the fly and it even allowed removing and adding the ramdrive without rebooting!

Got a note of these in my allfiles list;

FU_RD19G.ZIP 72341 10-28-97 XMS/EMS RAM disk installable and resizable
from command line. You can choose the drive
letter. Up to 2 Gbytes supported.
SRDSK202.ARJ 53986 01-27-93 ReSizeable RAMDisk 2.02. Copyright (c) 1993
Marko Kohtala. Released Jan 27th, 1993. SRDISK
is a virtual disk device driver and controller
capable of using over 32M of XMS (2.0) or EMS
(4.0) memory.

I think the second one was the popular one. I see from other msgs it's
rung a bell :-)

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
* Origin: The Luminous Void (2:250/501.4)

Replying to a message of Robert Bull to Paul Quinn:

Hello, Paul;

27 May 03 18:54, Paul Quinn wrote to Robert Bull:

The very best DOS extender/multitasker I've known is Windows. 3.1
was quite handy on my old '286/1meg, where I could switch between 2
concurrent Win apps, one of which was usually a terminal proggie.

AAMOI, did you ever have DV on DOS? I never used Win 3.1 much, but I don't much like Win95/Win98 for task-switching DOS, because it's
slow compared with DV and there's this sort of "visual clunk" as it writes the screens.

Ahh, those were the days... 2400bps modem, beernuts and hot
coffee.[giggle]

Fledgling - _I_ started with a 1200/75 modem :-))

Hmph. a new guy.<g> I still have my Hayes 300 bps Smartmodem. I *upgraded* to
1200 bps back around 1983 (memory fades). and to 2400 bps in the late 1980s.

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* Origin: Bob's Soapbox, Plattsmouth, Nebraska, USA (1:379/103.104)

Hello, BEN;

16 Jun 03 20:31, BEN RITCHEY wrote to ROBERT BULL:

I have used this one without any problems (for the Resize option):

TDSK23.ARJ 27,606 12-12-95 02:30:00
From the Author of the 2M Format package:
TDSK 2.3 (C) 1992-1995 Ciriaco Garcia de Celis
Resizeable RAM Disk, with EMS/XMS/Conventional

I'd only heard of SRDSK and Nifty James, and not tried either. The one
above is new to me. Nice to see a free one that works, though I suppose
it's water under the bridge for most nowadays.

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
* Origin: The Luminous Void (2:250/501.4)

Hello, Bob;

23 Jun 03 01:05, Bob Ackley wrote to Robert Bull:

Fledgling - _I_ started with a 1200/75 modem :-))

Hmph. a new guy.<g> I still have my Hayes 300 bps Smartmodem. I *upgraded* to 1200 bps back around 1983 (memory fades). and to 2400
bps in the late 1980s.

Apologies for long-delayed reply, I've been away, and summer is always
busy.

Oops :-)) Yes, I only started in about 1988. Never had to struggle with
one of those acoustic couplers, either.

Regards,

Robert.

--- GoldED 3.00.Beta2+
* Origin: The Luminous Void (2:250/501.4)

Replying to a message of Robert Bull to Bob Ackley:

Hello, Bob;

23 Jun 03 01:05, Bob Ackley wrote to Robert Bull:

Fledgling - _I_ started with a 1200/75 modem :-))

Hmph. a new guy.<g> I still have my Hayes 300 bps Smartmodem. I
*upgraded* to 1200 bps back around 1983 (memory fades). and to 2400
bps in the late 1980s.

Apologies for long-delayed reply, I've been away, and summer is always busy.

Oops :-)) Yes, I only started in about 1988. Never had to struggle
with one of those acoustic couplers, either.

I did, but it wasn't mine. Back around 1982 one of the local colleges set up a
'computer lab' in the base education center. Three Apple II's w/acoustic couplers to the computer on campus.

That is long gone, and the local community college has a complete lab there now, part of the college's WAN - which encompasses a pretty good chunk of eastern Nebraska, IIRC there are five campuses.

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* Origin: Bob's Soapbox, Plattsmouth, Nebraska, USA (1:379/103.104)