=========================================================================
 
INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Fri,  2 Feb 90       Volume 90 : Issue  146
 
Today's Topics:
                   16 meg partition limit (2 msgs)
                      All BBS's speak English??
                             C++ (2 msgs)
                            C-lab notator
                   Getting rid of blinking cursor?
                      Help Needed with MICRO RTX
       Multi-tasking on the ST (and questions bout 16Mhz 68000)
              Problem with asm in MEGAMAX-C --- Thank's
                         Resettable RAM Disk
                            Right Way?????
                   Shareware MICRO RTX and MGR ????
                                SPICE
                        STe, I really want one
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 17:24:00 GMT
From:
 samsung!cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!watdragon!tiger!sw
 klassen@think.com  (Steven W. Klassen)
Subject: 16 meg partition limit
Message-ID: <20465@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
 
In article <1325@crash.cts.com> canada@crash.cts.com (Diane Barlow Close)
 writes:
>I used this program until I formatted my hard drive to have partitions
>bigger than 16 megabytes (allowable under TOS 1.4).  I had no problems with
>FSCK *until* it tried checking partitions over 16 megs, then it gave false
>readings (ie. bad sectors where there were none).  Others in the local
>atari club (San Diego) have reported the same thing.  Be careful...
 
Here is a question about the 16 meg partition limit.  I purchased an
Atari Megafile 60 a number of months ago.  From the part number I
believe it used a Seagate drive.  The manual that came with it
mentioned the 16 meg limit, however, the utilities which came
with it allowed me to make larger partitions.  I decided to experiment
with this.  I made a partition a fair bit larger than 16 meg (I believe
it was about 24 meg but I don't recall for sure) then tested it by
copying a program onto it multiple times (giving it a unique name each
time) and then reading the files (actually some selected copies of it
from throughout the hard drive) and everything worked fine.  I have
kept my large partition and have not had a problem with it yet (although
I also haven't filled more than about 11 meg on that partition, except
of course during the test I mentioned earlier).
 
Does anyone have comments on this?  Did some of the later versions
of TOS 1.0 or 1.1 or whatever it is in my 1040, allow for larger
partitions?  Did some of the later versions of the driver program
allow for larger partitions, patching TOS appropriately?  Did I
just get lucky during my test and is my >16 meg partition going
to be unreliable for long term use?  I am being sure to back
everything up on occasion (usually every 4 months unless I add
something significant to the drive in which case I back it up
immediately following the installation) just in case.  (Actually
I would do this anyway.)
 
 
 
Steven W. Klassen                       +-----------------------------+
Computer Science Major                  | Support the poor...buy fur! |
University of Waterloo                  +-----------------------------+
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 20:25:10 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!brazil@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu  (Timothy E.
 Onders)
Subject: 16 meg partition limit
Message-ID: <3&3+Y|@rpi.edu>
 
In article <20465@watdragon.waterloo.edu> swklassen@tiger.waterloo.edu (Steven
 W. Klassen) writes:
>
>mentioned the 16 meg limit, however, the utilities which came
>with it allowed me to make larger partitions.  I decided to experiment
 
Those would be HDX 3.0. HDX 3.0 allows partitions up to 1 GBy (that's
1024 MB in case you didn't know.), It also allows more partitions per
physical drive.
 
>partitions?  Did some of the later versions of the driver program
>allow for larger partitions, patching TOS appropriately?  Did I
 
See above.
 
>to be unreliable for long term use?  I am being sure to back
>everything up on occasion (usually every 4 months unless I add
>something significant to the drive in which case I back it up
>immediately following the installation) just in case.  (Actually
>I would do this anyway.)
 
The only problem, however, is that many disk utility programs, such
as DL II, and TuneUp(i think), don't know how to handle the larger
partitions. Make sure you find out if a utilities package can handle
the big partitions before you fork() out $$$$ for it. You might not
get your money back.
 
                                        -Tim Onders
                                        brazil@pawl.rpi.edu
                                        70135.563@CompuServe.COM
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 16:09:13 GMT
From: psuvm!alc@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu
Subject: All BBS's speak English??
Message-ID: <90033.110913ALC@PSUVM.BITNET>
 
Certainly... PCBoard 14.2 can be designed to run under any language.
All messages are stored in a separate file which can be easily edited
using a utility which comes with the system. There are already several
language files available on Salt Air, the support BBS for PCBoard.
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 17:28:53 GMT
From:
 cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!watdragon!tiger!swklassen@
 tut.cis.ohio-state.edu  (Steven W. Klassen)
Subject: C++
Message-ID: <20466@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
 
In article <9002011956.AA16674@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu> boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu (Mickey
 Boyd) writes:
>I believe the GNU C++ compiler has been successfully ported over to the
>ST domain, and I also understand that the FSF is developing interest in
 
Can anyone confirm this and give a location (ie. archive or ftp site)
where it can be obtained?
 
 
 
Steven W. Klassen                       +-----------------------------+
Computer Science Major                  | Support the poor...buy fur! |
University of Waterloo                  +-----------------------------+
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 20:28:45 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!rpi!brazil@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu  (Timothy E.
 Onders)
Subject: C++
Message-ID: <6&3+1|@rpi.edu>
 
In article <20466@watdragon.waterloo.edu> swklassen@tiger.waterloo.edu (Steven
 W. Klassen) writes:
>
>Can anyone confirm this and give a location (ie. archive or ftp site)
>where it can be obtained?
 
Yes, G++ exists for the ST. It's available from terminator.cc.umich.edu
for anonymous FTP (archive server too I think). However, it requires
at least two megs of memory, and preferrably four.
 
                                        -Tim Onders
                                        brazil@pawl.rpi.edu
                                        70135.563@CompuServe.COM
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 17:40:08 GMT
From:
 cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars!gandet@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
 (Tom Gandet)
Subject: C-lab notator
Message-ID: <2735@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov>
 
In article <90Jan31.222501est.58651@ugw.utcs.utoronto.ca> 01659@AECLCR.BITNET
 (Greg Csullog) writes:
>Can someone on the net tell me where I can get this program?
 
    NADINE's Music in Hollywood carries NOTATOR as well as the SMPTE add-on
called UNITOR.  MIDI CITY, in LA, used to carry the largest selection of
MIDI software in the city, but they went out of business at the end of January.
Have heard rumours that GOODMAN Music in Hollywood may pick up MIDI CITY's
market, if not their inventory.
 
 
 
Tom Gandet                              Telos/Jet Propulsion Lab - NASA
gandet@mars.jpl.nasa.gov                Work: (818) 351-2341 x239
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 20:46:40 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!hyc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
 (Howard Chu)
Subject: Getting rid of blinking cursor?
Message-ID: <10739@stag.math.lsa.umich.edu>
 
In article <6231@rice-chex.ai.mit.edu> jpexg@wheaties.ai.mit.edu () writes:
>I've written a program in Laser C which invokes an editor via Pexec() and
>after the user exits does some other stuff before ending. The blinking
>block cursor stays on throughout the program's run and then follows all
>the way onto the desktop. It sits there flashing on a window or the background
>until the next program is run. It's apparently harmless, but annoying.
>
>Is there a command that gets rid of this troublesome object?
 
Yep, Cursconf, for cursor configuration. Lets you set it to steady or
blinking, set the blink rate, or disable it completely. (cursconf(0)).
 
I guess I'm glad I started out with MWC 3 years ago, and picked all these
little things up from their (excellent!) documentation...  ?-)
--
  -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 16:47:01 GMT
From: rochester!rit!ultb!rxg3321@rutgers.edu  (R.X. Getter)
Subject: Help Needed with MICRO RTX
Message-ID: <2083@ultb.isc.rit.edu>
 
I'm using the Sozobon C compiler, which is supposed to be Alcyon
compatible, and it compiles RTXBIND.S to RTXBIND.O fine, and then
I put it in my libraries directory and #include <RTXBIND.H>, but
I can't get my programs to link with it. Can anyone tell me how
to fix this problem?
 
I also have gcc, but I don't know enough assembly to convert the file
to one gas will accept. I'll be happy if I can get it to work with
either compiler. Also, people have been talking about bugs in Fforce,
Is there another way to use the pipes supplied in micrortx? or a patch
for Fforce? or does micrortx patch Fforce? micrortx seems like a
fantastic package, and I will register for it if I can use it
effectively.
 
thanks in advance.
 
        Robert Getter
 
ps. this is my first post, so no signature this time, maybe next time.
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 20:31:23 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!hyc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
 (Howard Chu)
Subject: Multi-tasking on the ST (and questions bout 16Mhz 68000)
Message-ID: <10736@stag.math.lsa.umich.edu>
 
In article <897@watserv1.waterloo.edu> bmaraldo@watserv1.waterloo.edu (Commander
 Brett Maraldo) writes:
>       Is there a multi-tasking OS available for the ST?  I'd like to
>be formatting a TeX document while I preview another, and other related
>multi-tasking sorts of things.  What is available?
Two major setups to try out. Dave Beckmeyer's just released his Micro-RTX
kernel as shareware. Of course, to take advantage of it, you need some software
that'll do the right system calls. You can buy his MT C-shell, which would
 probably be a good idea anyway, if you like a Unix-style environment. Or you
 can
hack up your own shell to use his code...
 
>       What can you tell me about 16Mhz 68k retrofits for the ST?
>What is the best board in your opinion and what will it cost?  What
>are the pros and cons of buying and installing a 16Mhz board?
Jim Allen's Turbo-16 board (Fast Technologies) is probably the only one
worth looking at. $300, but 100% speed increase.
 
Btw, I'm not affiliated with either of these guys.
--
  -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri, 02 Feb 90 20:16:51 GMT
From: Michael Mueller <K298027%CZHRZU1A.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Problem with asm in MEGAMAX-C --- Thank's
 
Hi,
 
I'd like to thank everybody who answered my question via MAIL or in this discus
sion. I got so many answers that I can't reply to everyone to do so, please for
give me.
 
I copied a little program from a magazine which was written for GST macroassemb
ler, and I just didn't realize that MEGAMAX-C only used relocatable code. That
was the whole story !!!
--------------------
Michael Mueller, Brain Research Institute, CH-8029 Zuerich, Switzerland
EARN/BITNET: <K298027@CZHRZU21A.BITNET>
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 20:35:05 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!hyc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
 (Howard Chu)
Subject: Resettable RAM Disk
Message-ID: <10737@stag.math.lsa.umich.edu>
 
In article <908@watserv1.waterloo.edu> bmaraldo@watserv1.waterloo.edu (Commander
 Brett Maraldo) writes:
>       Can someone tell me where I can find a resettable ram disk?
>RDY.PRG from MWC will only allow a partition to 700k.  I would like
>to make a 1.5M partition.  It would be great if the M-Disk utility
>that was posted to binaries was resttable; it doesn't appear to be.
 
RDY from MWC also comes with complete source code. You should look at it
sometime.
 
Anyways, I'd guess you were only trying to use RDY from the GEM interface.
There's no fixed size limit in the RDY program itself, those are just the
limited choices you get from the dialog. I set it up from the command line;
used 2 meg with no trouble at all. In msh, try:
        rdy CMD=MAKE DISK=M SIZE=1500
or something like that...
>
>Brett L Maraldo
 
 
--
  -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 19:53:22 GMT
From:
 cs.utexas.edu!samsung!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!jarthur!uci-ics!wngai@tut.cis.ohio-sta
 te.edu  (Wayne Ngai)
Subject: Right Way?????
Message-ID: <25C9E532.8848@paris.ics.uci.edu>
 
Can anyone of you people out there tell me the answer to the following
brainteaser???
 
        Ok, you are in a Jungle and it is getting dark. You must find
your way out of the jungle.  In the Jungle lived two tribes, one tribe
is good and always tells the truth while the other tribe is bad and
alway tells lies.  You are on a dirty path and came upon a Y-intersection.
Right in front of you is a sign pointing right and reads "This way to
Safty------->".  Behind the sign is a native, You can only ask him
one question with a yes or no Answer to determine if the native is telling the
 truth or lie and determine which way is the right way out of the jungle.
Remember you are Allow to ask only one question and it must have a yes
or no anwer.
 
If you have an answer, please tell me by sending it through e-mail!!
Thank you!
 
 
Wayne
 
wngai@Paris.ics.uci.edu
 
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 20:42:52 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!hyc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
 (Howard Chu)
Subject: Shareware MICRO RTX and MGR ????
Message-ID: <10738@stag.math.lsa.umich.edu>
 
In article <1947@laura.UUCP> agrusow@exunido.UUCP (Michael Vishchers) writes:
>Now that most of us have a shareware Multitasking kernel, has anyone given
>a thought to porting MGR, the Bellcore Window Manager, to TOS ???
 
I've been thinking about it as well. Shouldn't be that hard. Dunno what kind
of memory requirements it'll end up with, though...
--
  -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 20:52:18 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!hyc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
 (Howard Chu)
Subject: SPICE
Message-ID: <10740@stag.math.lsa.umich.edu>
 
In article <E58565397B9F604933@UBVMS.BITNET> V067MAJP@UBVMSC.CC.BUFFALO.EDU
 (Arion) writes:
>Does anyone know if SPICE (I guess it would actually be PSPICE) is there
>somewhere for the ST?
>If not, is it public domain?
 
SPICE is supposed to be in the public domain, but I've never seen source
code for it, only PD versions of Mac & PC PSPICE. Good luck finding it,
maybe you can convince someone to port it when you get hold of the source.
--
  -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 2 Feb 90 18:38:27 GMT
From: silver!stowe@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu  (stowe)
Subject: STe, I really want one
Message-ID: <34745@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu>
 
In article <5076@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> oplinger@jupiter.crd.ge.com (B. S. Oplinger)
 writes:
 >I just sold my 1Meg ST. I wanted to upgrade to a mega2. So I called my
 >local dealer. No such thing in stock. So I called a dealer from where
 >I used to live. No such thing in stock. I called 2 dealers a friend
 >recommended, ready, no such thing in stock. I got out the latest
 >issues of STExpress, Start, Atari Explorer, and Current Notes. I
 >called every firm that looked like it sold computers (about 10 stores
 >total). NO SUCH THING IN STOCK.
 >
 >This is crazy. Here I am, a person wanting to buy a mega and nobody
 >(well at least that I can find) stocks one.
 >
 >Fine, be that way. I 'll just buy a STe.
 
It's not that the dealers don't stock them!  Dealers are desperate for
them.  (Believe me... I've just gone through this twice in the last
week!)  The problem is that Atari doesn't have any Mega 2s!!  We can't
get them.  I know dealers who've had them on backorder for 4-6 weeks.
Please don't blame this one on the dealers.  It's not their/our fault.
 
(Brian... look for some more mail from me about this, but I wanted people
to know that it's not because the dealers don't want Mega 2s... they
simply can't get them.)
 
 
 
 
 
-=-=-                              -=-=-                                 -=-=-
stowe@silver.ucs.indiana.edu                    At night the Ice Weasels come.
-=-=-                              -=-=-                                 -=-=-
 
------------------------------
 
End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V90 Issue #146
*****************************************
