BTN:  Birmingham Telecommunications News

COPYRIGHT 1992            ISSN 1055-4548

August 1992    Volume 5, Issue 7

Table Of Contents
-----------------
Article Title                                  Author
Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Staff
Publisher's Corner.............................Mark Maisel
Letters to the Editor..........................
Notes From The Trenches........................Dean Costello
Boot From HELL.................................Brian Anderson
Review:  Commo 5.3.............................The Id
Hannah Home....................................Lurch Henson
Online Service Review:  America Online.........Eric Hunt
To Own A Fast Modem............................Dean Costello
BBS Spotlight:  CM(ee).........................Eric Hunt
Special Interest Groups (SIGs).................Barry Bowden
Known BBS Numbers..............................Staff

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Disclaimer and Statement of Policy for BTN

We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
information in our publication.  We assume no responsibility for damage
due to errors, omissions, etc.  The liability, if any for BTN, its
editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
of such damages occurring.

With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles.  We publish
monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
publication.  If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any
time but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear
in a particular issue.  It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise
harm a person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the
content of the articles prepared by our writers.  Our writers own their
work and it is protected by copyright.  We allow reprinting of articles
from BTN with only a few restrictions.  The author may object to a
reprint, in which case he will specify in the content of his article.
Otherwise, please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as
the source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
article's original title are retained.  If you use one of our articles,
please forward a copy of your publication to:

Mark Maisel
Editor, BTN
221 Chestnut St.
BHM, AL 35210-3219
(205)-956-0176

We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
you like it.  We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
all of this and not get too serious about it.

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         F R E E B I E :  G E T  I T  W H I L E  I T S  H O T !

The following boards allow BTN to be downloaded freely, that is with no
charge to any existing upload/download ratios.

ADAnet One              Alter-Ego               Arkham Asylum
Channel 8250            Little Kingdom          Joker's Castle
Crunchy Frog            Owl's Nest              The Bus
The MATRIX              Abject Poverty          Hard Disk
The Outer Limits        The Round Table         Kiriath Arba
DC Info Exchange        Owlabama BBS            Safe Harbor
Amiga Alliance ][       Martyrdom Again?!       Lemon Grove
Medicine Man            F/X BBS                 Thy Master's Dungeon
Playground

If you are a sysop and you allow BTN to be downloaded freely, please let
me know via EZNet so that I can post your board as a free BTN
distributor.  Thanks.  MM

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                           N E W S  F L A S H

          For those of you who somehow didn't hear, MATRIX
          just expanded to 15 lines.  323-2016 accesses lines
          1-10, which are reserved for 300-2400 baud callers.
          323-6016 accesses lines 11-14, which are reserved
          for 9600-14400 baud callers.  458-3449 accesses line
          15 and is reserved for 9600 baud callers.

          F/X BBS received some lightning damage recently so
          please be aware of the following till the sysop
          reports otherwise:  Node 1 2400 baud, Node 2 V.32
          9600, and Node 3 V.32bis 14400

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Publisher's Corner
by Mark Maisel

     We missed a month once again.  An interesting thing happened in
that I didn't receive nearly as many "where is it?" messages this time.
I don't know what to make of it but I'm not terribly concerned as it
could not be helped and popularity is not the reason I do this each
month.  This issue you have in hand, or on screen, as the case may be,
is a pretty good one.  All of the articles are very much worth reading.
Give 'em a shot and be sure to let me and the authors know how you feel
about them.

     Times are changing, what with my consulting hobby turning into a
fairly lucrative business.  Kathy and I have decided to stop denying
ourselves quite so much, especially with the extra income, and we're in
the process of purchasing another home.  My time has many more tasks
pulling for a slice of it.  As a result, I've given very little thought
to having a party any time soon.  If someone wants to volunteer their
time and a place to have it, please let me know right away.  Right now,
I can't and won't be able to manage it.  Additionally, BTN needs more
help than ever.  If I don't hear from anyone by the September deadline,
then I will be dropping the network portion of the bbs list.  The list
itself is in a bit of danger as I can't always make the time to verify
the many boards that are now on it.  If someone wants this job, please
let me know and I'll be glad to help you establish accounts on the
boards you currently don't use, and let the sysops know your business
for BTN.  Speaking of deadlines, if you are going to submit articles,
please try to do so by the deadline mentioned in our policy and
disclaimer.  It will make things much easier for me when I'm pressed for
time.  I accept articles of all kinds.  You need not be a professional
writer.  Most of the folks who have written for BTN had never tried
writing since graduating from school, or are still there.

I'd like to keep putting out BTN but if I don't get some help, I don't
know how much longer I'll be able to keep it up.  Profitable pursuits
definitely take a front seat to it.  Those are the breaks.  Please don't
regard this as some sort of extortion.  BBS' did just fine before BTN
came along and they'll continue to do so if it ceases.

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Letters to the Editor

     As promised, here are the responses I've received that seem to
belong here.  If you wish to make it here, please feel free to leave me
a message on either the main message base of THE MATRIX or in any EZNet
message base.  I'll get it one way or the other.  MM

No letters this month.  You people must be awfully satisfied with BTN.

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Notes from the Trenches
by Dean Costello

                          "Happy Trails"
                
     It occurred to me that there is still one more big, ugly thing in
my life that needs to be excised.  Something so big, so all encompassing
that it didn't even occur to me before.

     Small town life.

     I grew up in a town named Cambridge, not Massachusetts, Maryland.
And it wasn't picturesque in any way.  It was nasty, ugly, smelled bad,
and had pretensions of being a 'resort town'.

     As a result, I must defer to Garrison Keillor, who wrote the
ultimate condemnation of small towns.  I wish I could relate it to you,
since it really is good.  In a nutshell, he talks about a person who
returns to Lake Wobegon for an Advent party, and is about to tack up
against the Lutheran Church his 95 Theses 95, an incredibly nasty and
cutting indictment of small-town life.  A few examples:

     "6.  You have taught me the fear of becoming lost, which
     has killed the pleasure of curiosity and discovery.  In
     strange cities, I memorize streets and always know
     exactly where I am.  Amid scenes of great splendor, I
     review the route back to the hotel."

or

     "9.  You taught me to be nice, so that now I am so full
     of niceness, I have no sense of right and wrong, no
     outrage, no passion.  "If you can't say something nice,
     don't say anything at all," you said, so I am very quiet,
     which most people think is politeness.  I call it
     repression."

or

     "33. "Oh, I think you can do without that."  Your words
     come back to me when I look at a new sport coat.  Good
     Scottish tweed, it costs $130, and when I try it on, it
     makes me feel smart and lucky and substantial, but you're
     right, I can do without it, and so I will.  "You can get
     a perfectly good one at Sears for half the price."  If I
     bought the $130 one, pride would leak in and rot my
     heart. Who do I think I am?"

or

     "34. For fear of what it might do to me, you never paid a
     compliment, and when other people did, you beat it away
     from me with a stick.  "He certainly is looking nice and
     grown up." He'd look a lot nicer if he did something
     about his skin. "That's wonderful that he got that job."
     Yeah, well, we'll see how long it lasts.  You trained me
     so well, I now perform this service for myself.  I
     deflect every kind word directed to me, and my denials
     are much more extravagant than the praise.  "Good
     speech." Oh, it was way too long.  I didn't know what I
     was talking about, I was just blathering on and on, I was
     glad when it was over.  I do this under the impression
     that it is humility, a becoming quality in a person.
     Actually, I am starved for a good word, but after the
     long drought of my youth, no word is quite good enough.
     "Good" isn't enough. Under this thin veneer of modesty
     lies a monster of greed.  I drive away faint praise,
     beating my little chest, waiting to be named Sun God,
     Kind of American, Idol of Millions, Bringer of Fire, the
     Great Hafi, Thun-Dar the Boy Giant.  I don't want to say,
     "Thanks, glad you liked it."  I want to say, "Rise, my
     people. Remove your faces from the carpet, stand, and
     look your lord in the face."

or

     "74. You misdirected me as surely as if you had said the
     world is flat and north is west and two plus two is four,
     ie. not utterly wrong, just wrong enough so that when I
     took the opposite position--the world is mountainous,
     north is east--I was wrong, too, and your being wrong and
     the world and north made me spend years trying to come up
     with the correct sum of two and two, other than four.
     You gave me the wrong things to rebel against. Your
     mindless monogamy made me vacillate in love, your
     compulsive industry made me a prisoner of sloth, your
     tidiness made me sloppy, your materialism made me
     wasteful."

or finally

     "95.  Now you call me on the phone to ask, "Why don't you
     ever call us?  Why do you shut us out of your life?"  So
     I start to tell you about my life, but you don't want to
     hear it.  You want to know why I didn't call.  I didn't
     call because I don't need to talk to you anymore.  Your
     voice is in my head, talking constantly from morning till
     night.  I keep the radio on, but I still hear you and
     will hear you until I die, when I will hear you say, "I
     told you," and then something else will happen."

     The town is Cambridge, not Lake Wobegon.  The paper is "The Daily
Banner", and it is published daily (except weekends and holidays), but
everything else stays the same.  Mistah Keillor put it much better than
I could have.  Jesus, I wish I could write that well. I heartily
recommend buying it ("Lake Wobegon Days" by Garrison Keilor).  And for
you snots that are sitting there thinking, "How dare he say that kind of
thing?" the rest of the book is just chock-full of warm family-like
homilies, and you can rest comfortably in your own self-delusion.

     Well, sports fans, that about wraps it up.  One good thing, though,
about no more columns is that there will be more room for "A Day in the
Life of a Prepubescent Teenager". And that, as all right-thinking people
know, is a good thing.

     Lord knows we wouldn't want to have some nasty bastard as a
continuous contributor.  All hail tedium.
-
Dean C.

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Boot From HELL
Or, Tinkerer/Addict
by Brian Anderson

     Look at that. Another nice, sunny day. I guess I should get out in
the yard and do the stuff I said I was going to do last time. What was
that file I DL'ed last night? Something about Scuba Wars or Downlink
Light, or something. Better check it out before I get tied up doing
things. Hmmm, an error in my config.sys, better take care of that first.
What editor have I been using lately? Oh yeah, New-Ed. Well, that comes
up OK, should I try something else with mouse and see if it works?
There's that game I borrowed from D.T., maybe I should try that.  What's
that stuff on my screen? Damn, this thing takes too long to reboot.
Error in WHAT.sys? I better look into that.

     "Well Honey, it's too hot to go out there now. I know, but I'll
take care of it later in the day when it cools down." Good, now I can
concentrate on this. Norton seems slow, now that I've put in that new
mouse driver. Wonder if it's just Norton, or the mouse thing. There's
PCTools, I'll try that. Oops, gotta exit Norton first. Out of respect,
of course. Besides, who knows what'll happen with both in memory?  Hmmm,
doesn't seem to bother anything. Well, it's slow too.  Could be Norton
underneath PCTools slowing things down, though. Maybe I'll unload the
mouse. Can't be removed from memory? Oh yeah, that was down the list a
little. Damn this reboot thing. I'm going to have to take some of this
crap out. Error in WHAT.sys? What the hell IS that anyway? OK, New-Ed to
the rescue. "Device = _-^&$ver.sys"? Jeez, I must have a helluva disk
problem here. Chkdsk doesn't say anything bad, though.

     "In a minute, dear, I've got a REAL problem here." "I know it
stinks, but this is more important than garbage right now." Garbage is
right, look at this directory. What the hell is norf.ghj? Let's see. Now
why would New-Ed lock up on that?  I have GOT to fix that config.sys,
this boot thing is getting old.  May be I can catch that error now.
(reboots perfectly) I hate when that happens. (Reboot again) Why is that
switch sticky?  Oh yeah, Wan's caramel corn. This thing needs a bath.
Error in WHAT.sys?? Damn, I'm going to have to put a pause or something
right there just to see it. What do you mean, Error reading drive C?????
Maybe if I shut it off for a bit.

     "No honey, I'm not done, I'm just giving it a real cold boot." "I'm
sure you would, but it's not paid for yet, so please don't." (Takes out
garbage) Well, let's see. Damn, it came up OK. Wait a minute, where's
that norf.ghj? Dadgummit, everything is fine! Norton's OK. And fast,
too. Better check that config.sys. Well, nothing odd. One more boot for
the hell of it. Zzzzzzzz. I should explain to her why a new motherboard
would save time for the whole family. Well, I can't fix it if it ain't
broke. "Wal-Mart? But we went there just yesterday." "No, it's still not
right. But I think I know what it is now (nose grows slightly longer)."
Good, now I'm alone, I can get something done. Now what was that file I
DL'ed last night? Something about Scuba Link or Lite Wars..

     Can this man be saved? Probably too late.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

REVIEW OF {COMMO} COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM VER. 5.3
by id

{COMMO} Pronounced just like comma, except for the last letter.

                             INTRODUCTION

     I was  looking for  small and  useful programs,  since hard disk
space is scarce,  and the latest  area to look  was in communications.
Checking the remaining room on  the hard drive showed that
communications was taking more than its fair share.

     Several years ago I owned a  Model I Radio Shack and a 300 baud
modem.  The first communications program I used was Vidtex.  I can
remember the excitement of the first transfer of a simple text file over
the wire.  The  expectation of not having  to get in the  car and take
the file to  another machine for  various reasons was  just thrilling.
Vidtex had a serious problem; it could only transfer ASCII files,  not
binary.  Writing programs and delivering them was a pain.

     MTERM arrived on the scene.  Now transfers of binary files  were
possible but only using by xmodem protocol.  Most of the boards called
were out of state.  At 300 baud, Ma Bell was getting rich.

     Next, metamorphosis from Model IV to an IBM clone and a new
internal  2400  baud  modem.  I lost the lights and the three toggle
switches, but what the hell.

     New modem, new  software.  Well,  nothing came bundled  with the
modem in  those days,  and you  couldn't call  out.   So, with disk in
hand, off I went searching for a copy of Procomm.  Procomm was  enough
to get me on the boards just long enough to find other programs.

     My priority was  to find a  comm program that  would run in  the
background.   A second  machine was  purchased and  it too  had to  be
equipped with a modem.  Well, this time I got a bundle.  Telix.   WOW!
What fun.  Then it was Bitcom (but the less said about that, the
better).  Next came QModem and Robocomm.

     Suddenly, different protocols became available: the new Y-Modem,
Y-Modem Batch, J-Modem,  and Bi-modem.   Everybody was having  trouble
getting all the external protocols  to work, not to mention  interrupts
and jumpers.   Z-modem  became the  rage!   Boards were  touting it as
faster and more reliable.   It became the  protocol of choice for  me.
Procomm had a problem with it and people waited for patches.

     On with the search for  a communications program that would  run in
the background.   Mirror II  was mentioned in  some magazine.   The next
time I was in a software store, there it was on the shelf: Mirror II, a
book with a disk taped to the back.  It was cheaper than  registering
Procomm, so I bought it.

     I installed the program  on my new 20  MB hard disk and  went to
town.  The program took up 1.5 MB of real estate on the drive but  the
way I figured it, so what?  I had 15 MB free, the most I had seen yet,
on my system anyway.  I fired her up to see if I could download  files
while I  did something  else.   The hot  keys were  Left Shift-Right
Shift.  It worked.  I tried it to see what would happen.  While online
and downloading  I make  the brave  move to  shift the  program to the
background.  It worked.  Now it was time to run another program.   The
first I tried was a word processor.   Wrong move.  It turned out  that
yes, the program would  move to the background  but you only had  184K
memory to work with.  Small programs were a necessity.  List was  very
good to read files and so forth.  I learned the program, and  realized
that due to memory constraints and other factors, the background
operation was fruitless for any  serious work.  I tried  Desqview,
Double- Dos,  and  Software  Carousel.    None  did  what I wanted to
do, so I settled back for a while and stopped looking for a
communications program.  I concentrated  on  fine-tuning the  one I had
and  upgraded to Mirror III, ver. 2.5.

     Real estate became a premium on the hard disk and size was becoming
a factor.   After writing  scripts, custom menus,  set up files, updates
and so forth, Mirror III-2.5 was over two MB.

     Dreaming of a small communications program and remembering  that
MTERM was only 3K and did everything, I started looking for a new
communications  program.    A  friend  mentioned  {Commo}, even though
he didn't use it himself.  He found it and downloaded it so I could test
it out.

     {Commo} 5.1, dated October, 1991 is a treat: a 35K COM file  and
associated text files, a help file of 37K and a total of 101,202K  for
the whole program.   Boy, could that save  some space on the  old hard
drive!  I installed it and took off.  The program is written in
assembler and is fast.  {Commo} uses straight ASCII for the support
files. The support files are the .SETup configuration file, the (.FON)
dialing directory, .MACro file and  help.  Loading from the  command
line, switches can  be applied  and one  can run  customized .SET, .MAC,
and .FON files. For example:

                    commo /Ssetup.set /Mmacro.mac /Dmine.fon

                    no spaces between switch and filename.

     I have 3 flavors of  {Commo} running on my machine:  1-me, 2-wife,
3-guest.  I can keep passwords private and only use 183k of Disk  space.
Could a laptop use this program?

     All available switches are:

/iy, /in        Initialize, don't initialize modem.
/:label         Startup macro.
/sfilename      Alternate Setup File.
/dfilename      Alternate Dialing Directory file.
/mfilename      Alternate default Macro File.
/knn            Size of Scrollback Buffer in kilobytes.
/vnnnnn         Size of String Variable Space in bytes.

                              REQUIREMENTS

     The minimum requirements to run {Commo} are: an IBM PC  compatible
computer with MS-DOS 2.1 or  higher, 128k of memory, one  diskette drive
and a serial port or internal modem with an 8250, 16450 or 16550  series
UART chip.  {Commo}  can be configured to  work with any type  of modem,
using modem initialization  strings and pre-fix  dialing commands.   All
you need is your modem manual.

     The program has no problem with communications over 2400 baud  and
will handle up to 115200.

                                 SET-UP

     The set up  file, COMMO.SET, uses  various defaults including  the
speed, port, stop bits, parity, and modem parameters.  This is the first
file you should  edit before you  run the program.   The baud  rate, com
port, parity, stop bits and  modem initialization string must be  edited
first!    The  file  can  be  edited  with any word processor that reads
straight ASCII.  {Commo} comes with  an editor that is limited to  a 64k
file.  The editor is not limited to just its own files.  It can read and
edit any ASCII file under 64k.  All support files are ASCII so the  next
file you should edit is the Dial Directory COMMO.FON.

     Included are listings of the Support Board of {Commo}  (1-718-444-
4555, and Babble Underground.

                         ALTERNATE SET UP FILES

     At home, my  wife and I  call different boards  and have different
passwords, so I needed the ability to use different dialing directories,
colors, and macros.   {Commo} lets you call  a different setup from  the
command line.  Load {Commo}  by entering COMMO /dcommo.fon and  you will
get the default dialing directory.  Now, with the addition of about 10K,
I have 3 different configurations.

                           DIALING DIRECTORY

     Editing  the  dialing  directory  is  straight  forward.    All of
{Commo}'s  files, commands or parameters are enclosed by curly  brackets
{}.  Within  the dialing directory,  the commands are  positional.  That
means they have to be in a  certain order, not in a certain place.   The
description of the  favorite BBS can  be 128 characters  long, and total
information per entry is 255 characters.

     To dial, just press <enter>  when the highlight bar is  positioned
on the BBS you want to call,  and away you go.  Everything seems  to run
fine.    After  log-on,  find  a  file  you  wish  to  download, hit the
<PageDown> key and  {Commo} will jump  to Z-modem.   You can build  in 8
autodetect setting for downloading.  You don't have to set {Commo} to  a
certain protocol since it auto-senses the right one.

     Uploading: Press the <PageUp> key and a menu will appear.  Pick  a
protocol such as Xmodem, Ymodem,  Zmodem, or HSlink. Move the  highlight
bar to the correct  protocol and press <Enter>.   Supply a filename  and
press <Enter> to start the upload.  Simple.

                                 MACROS

     The next file to customize is the Macro file, commo.mac.  This  is
where you set up macro keys, script files, and Alternate keys.   Example
scripts are given but they have the  author's name in them.  If you  run
them without editing  the files, you'll  send 'pword' as  your password.
External programs can be assigned to Alternate keys and you can run just
about anything you want.  {Commo} can run in 128K, not as small as MTERM
but not a hog like MIRROR III.

     The Macro file gives you the ability to make the program look just
like Procomm, Qmodem and even Robocomm.  Scripts can be written so  that
you call one board or many, download a .QWK packet and at the end of the
run, auto-load your mail reader.

     I have yet to reach the limit of available Macros keys.  All
Alt-keys, Ctrl-keys, Function-Keys, in  combination with another key can
be assigned.  Then you can add the Shift-Key with of all the above key
combinations for yet another  set of macros.   I was impressed, so I
broke down and read the documentation.

                             DOCUMENTATION

     The documentation contains a familiar disclaimer, with a table of
contents and registration information.  The program takes shape when you
start customizing it to your personal wishes and demands.  All commands
are laid out in the manual with some references to the online help
which, by the way, can be  customized with hot links and quick searches
on key words.  The only limitation is that key words cannot start with a
T.  The  manual can be  printed but why  kill a tree.  The Sample Macro
file included needs to be read along with the Macro Help file if you are
going to write a Macro.

                                 COLOR

     Within the setup file, the colors  for the screens are set by
entering different values for different colors.  This works well for
using different setup files for different people,  as in my case.  Now I
have my colors set for  Outrageous "Halloween" and my  wife has them set
for soothing pastels.  Guests get the plain vanilla default.

                     SOUND ALARMS AND MISCELLANEOUS

     If you have  that long download  and want to  be warned when  it's
through, set the alarm  for 25 if you  are in another room.   Otherwise,
the default is  set for 3  rings and then  silence.  Beeps  can warn you
about several things.  Specific alarms can be silenced or turned on.

     Chat windows  can be  sized, graphic  characters can  be added  to
spruce up you screens, and Function keys can be programmed.

     One function key,  <F2>, is already  programmed to log  on to a  PC
Board to pass your name and password automatically.  With one key  stoke
you can log  on, download a  file and log  off.  However,  that macro is
non-functional since it is included only in a sample macro.  Be sure  to
edit this file and add your name before trying this.

     If you are calling another {Commo} user at the other end, the
program has a doorway to access Dos. Included is the Macro File for a
Host BBS.  With  this doorway, remote  access is possible  for when you
left that file at the office.

                              REGISTRATION

     Fred P. Brucker,  the author of  {Commo} is asking  $50.00 for the
latest release which comes with a printed manual, a disk with the latest
version and a disk  of utilities which includes  a BBS Host program  and
several Macro files.   The author  sends you secrets  on how to  further
customize the program.  If you don't have fifty but want just the latest
release, send him $40.  If you're cheap, send $35 for a single site
license, and keep using what you got.

                                VER 5.3

     While testing the  download feature of  {Commo}, I needed  to test
different aspects of the program so I started logging on to more boards.
I checked the latest release of BTN and started calling.  I called Night
Watch and lo and behold, sysop Lamar Smith broke into chat.  During  the
discussion, {Commo} came up  and he said he  had just gotten the  latest
release of {Commo} ver  5.3 off of Compuserve  the night before.   I had
ver. 5.1 so I downloaded COMMO53.ZIP and set it up.  The update does not
have any new visible features.  It has grown from 35K to 39K.  The
macros have been improved and autodetect has new protocols.  A swap disk
is new.

                              LIKES

     This is really a fast program which is very small in comparison to
other terminal programs.   It is full featured  to support a variety  of
terminals with an  extensive list of macros to automate  your BBS,
Compuserve, or MCI sessions.

     In your settings  you can set  {Commo} to default  to the Terminal
screen of the Dialing  directory.  To dial  a board just press  <Enter>.
After you connect, type in your name and hit <Alt W> to give your
password.  This feature is nice because if you have a different password
for every board, you won't have to remember each one.  Another option is
to press <F2> and a PCBoard Macro  will pass your name and password.
This macro can be edited to do just about anything you could do
manually.

     The scripts  are part  of the  macro file  in this  program.  Each
script can be labeled and assigned  to a hot-key.  Also, you  can
designate a label to run from the dialing directory and when you
connect, the script will auto-run.

     The help file, macro file, settings file and dialing directory are
all ASCII screens and  can be edited to  suit your individual needs  for
almost anything one desires in a communications package.

     Dialing multiple BBSs  can be a  pain with some  term programs but
with {Commo} it's a breeze.  Just mark the numbers you want to dial  and
hit <Alt  N>.   The marked  BBSs can  be saved  for later use or cleared
every time you exit the program.   All you have to do is edit  the Setup
file by answering yes or no to the setting.

     Just when you're getting ready to download, in pops the SYSOP  and
wants to chat.   Hit <Alt -> (dash)  and you have a  split screen: SYSOP
types on the top half of the screen, you type on the bottom.

     Trying to download that special file and forget its name?  You are
in luck because  {Commo} has a  scroll back feature.   Press <Alt  K> to
view the contents of  the buffer which is  adjustable up to 64K.   Handy
when you can't remember commands and the help screen just scrolled away.
Hitting <Alt  I> appends  the contents  of the  buffer to any designated
file.

     This program is  Desqview, Double Dos,  and OmniView wise  and the
documentation explains any problems you may have in setting it up.  This
is a nice feature if you are  downloading a file and want to play  games
or write that special little memo to your Congressman.

     Programs can be assigned to a  number of Keys.  The function  keys
are available,  as well  as the  combination of  <Alt> and the functions
keys, <Ctrl> and the function keys, <Shift> and the function keys,  plus
all the alpha and number keys.  These key combinations should give  just
about everyone enough room to do  anything they want.  I have  put Silly
Little Mail Reader on one key and PKZMENU on another.  List is  attached
to Shift-F8 as a default so long as you have the LIST program.   {Commo}
will execute any program  and if you use  the swap switch, {Commo}  will
only take up 2K while you run another program.

     Support is provided  by the author,  and he gives  his voice
telephone number  in addition  to several  boards which  support
{Commo}.  A {Commo} conference is  carried on the  U'NI-net network. The
author is active  within  the  conference  and  responds to unregistered
users who freely admit using the program past the 30 day trial period.
Currently, there are  two conversations  going on:  1. Why  is there  so
little activity, and  2. A  To-Do list  for Macros. Recently  (July 22)
a user volunteered  to  write  any  macro  if someone  just told him
what they wanted.  Nice, eh?

     Is the program so bug free there is no need for conversation?  Who
cares.  The other line of talk is on the settings and whether to use the
.SET file or the .MAC  file.

     Thirty days is not long enough  to give a good evaluation to  this
program, unless all you have to do is pay the phone company and download
files.  Using the  program once a week  for about an hour  was enough to
get familiar with  it enough to  customize.  Reading  the documentation,
installing the program  and customizing it  for your individual  boards,
colors, and settings is time consuming.  The best part is the ability to
edit its files in  your own word processor  to speed it up,  and most of
the defaults work untouched.

                                DISLIKES

     The documentation  is basically  split into  three parts:  the DOC
file, Addendum, and the help file.  The Addendum is an addition to
version 5.2 and is necessary if you intend to do extensive Scripts or
Macros.  The necessary information is spread out over several documents
and is not all in one place.  The documentation needs some work.

     The default keys are familiar to most users of other terminal
programs, but in this program they are  QUICK.  <Alt S> shells you to
DOS, <Alt X>  terminates the  program and  <Alt D>  is the dialing
directory. When I first started  using the program I  accidentally hit
<Alt S>  instead of <Alt  D>.  I  didn't know I  had shelled out  but
thought I had terminated the  program.   Well, it  happened a  few more
times, and  I finally figured out what happened and had 4 copies of
{Commo} running at the same time.  The lesson to learn is be careful
with the keys.

                            RECOMMENDATIONS

     Are you looking for a  communications for the same reasons  I was?
If you are, then  COMMO53.ZIP might be a  good choice for you.   I would
recommend this program for  anyone who has a  lap top or who  is cramped
for room.   This is a  small program which  can be made  to run lean and
mean or a robust program to have complex scripts which automate bulletin
boards, running just like Robocomm.   If you are used to Procomm  on the
desk top machine and need more room on the lap top machine then you  can
customize {Commo} to run just like  Procomm on the lap top and  have the
best of both worlds.  If you are going through the trouble to  customize
it why not use it on the  Desktop and save room?  Just about  every
feature can be customized  to your desires.   This is truly a
customizable program for everyone's individual tastes.   This program,
as any,  needs time and effort to install, but the rewards are worth the
trouble.

     A good, small  program, cheaper than  some, costlier than  others,
but few are quicker.  This program has enormous capacity for automation,
customization,  and  individualization  for  any  user whether expert or
novice.  Give it try before you  make your next purchase.  You may  save
some money and try it before you buy!  Caveat Emptor.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hannah Home
    or
Something Serious For a Change.....
by Lurch Henson

     Some of you may have seen the messages I've left in EZ-Net, and on
some of the BBSs in the area.  The messages I'm referring to are the
ones that talk about Hannah Home.  Hannah Home is a place, and a
program, that helps battered women and children.  It gives them a safe
place to stay, food to eat, and clothes to wear.  It provides many more
things for them as well, like counseling and other forms of care they
might need, when they need it.  A couple of weeks ago I went to sit in
when one of their recruiters gave a talk about the Home, and though I
disagreed with a lot of what he said, I did agree with the need for the
program.  I, unfortunately, can't offer a lot to the program, since I am
in a low/no income situation myself.  I can, though, tell all of you
about them, and you can help out.

     One of the things we were told was that Hannah Home had burned down
awhile back, and that this had caused them to have to ask for help from
some of the other organizations in town.  King's Ranch had buildings
they weren't using at the time, so they put up the mothers and children
that were now homeless, and are keeping them until the new Hannah Home
can be finished.  When the people from Hannah Home and King's Ranch sat
down and looked over a lot of their programs, they saw they were wasting
a lot of effort by duplicating much of what they did, so they decided to
join forces and see if they could help more people by better using their
resources.  From what they say, they're reaching more and more people
all the time, and King's Ranch reports that their income has jumped from
joining up with Hannah Home, because of Hannah Home's Thrift Stores.

     Which brings me to how you can help out.  The Thrift Stores are
where the things you donate end up.  If you have anything laying around
that you'd really like to get rid of, but you just haven't been able to
get up the motivation to drag it out to the dump, or donation box, then
you can call the Thrift Store and have them come and pick it up from
you, without you having to put any more effort into it than getting it
ready for pickup.  All sorts of things can be donated, working and non-
working, and they will be fixed up and sold, the money generated by the
sales going to help out the people served by Hannah Home and King's
Ranch.  Here's a partial list of things you can donate......

     window air conditioners
     small appliances - working or not
     bedding - blankets, sheets, quilts, spreads, etc.
     books - hardbacks, paperbacks, bibles, etc.
     bicycles, tricycles, motorcycles, etc.
     brooms and mops
     clothing - mens', womens', childrens', including shoes and purses
     clocks, computers, calculators, etc.
     curtains and drapes
     flatware and silverware
     furniture - all types and any type
     games and toys, etc.
     jewelry and accessories
     lawn mowers, yard tools and equipment
     linens - sheets, pillowcases, towels, tablecloths, etc.
     microwaves, toasters, blenders, mixers, etc.
     office equipment - typewriters, adding machines, etc.
     plants and flowers - real or artificial
     pots, pans, cookware
     radios, stereos, speakers, amplifiers, cameras, lighting, etc.
     televisions

     As you can see, there are a lot of things they will take.  About
the only things they won't come out and pick up are major appliances,
like refrigerators, or LARGE furniture that needs A LOT of work, like
recovering a couch that someone was axe-murdered on.  If you have some
of these things laying around your house or garage, and you want to get
rid of them (or if your wife has been telling you to clean out the
garage for the past 10 years, and you finally get around to it), then
all you have to do is call the Thrift Store, bag or box it up, mark it
HH or Hannah Home, and put it out on your front porch.  They will be
glad to send a truck out to pick it up, and will leave you a receipt, so
you can claim it to Uncle Sam when April rolls around again (like it
always does), and he starts telling you that you have to pay him for all
the money you made this year.....  If you have something that you aren't
sure they'll take, ask them when you call to request pickup.  If you
want to donate, then just call 856-1234 and give them my name (Jim
Henson or Lurch Henson, whichever you prefer), and they will be more
than happy to set up a special pickup for you.  They need all the help
they can get providing help to all the battered and abused women and
children around, because there are already more out there than there
ever should have been in the first place.....  One is one too many.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Online Service Review
by Eric Hunt

America Online
America Online, Inc.
8619 Westwood Center Drive
Vienna, VA  22182

     A refreshing change is coming to the online services arena. It is a
move away from the text oriented line by line services of the past (such
as CompuServe, GEnie, Delphi, etc) to an environment dominated by the
mouse and easy to use commands and functions. Prodigy was the first, and
now comes America Online.

     America Online is a pay-per-use information service originating in
Vienna, Virginia. It utilizes the Geoworks Ensemble GUI as an access
front end. Instead of typing in arcane commands to read messages,
download files, and search for information, America Online offers you
complete mouse control over actions taken. There are colorful, easy to
understand icons everywhere. Geoworks serves a pleasant environment,
offering MOTIF-style menus and dialogues. If you are familiar with
Windows, you should have no trouble using America Online.

     Installing the front-end software is easy, taking about 10 minutes.
Then, a toll-free call is made automatically to find out the local
access numbers for your area. After that, signing on just requires a
credit card or checking account number. Full and complete access is
granted immediately, no validation time is required. Since this is a
commercial service, there is never a time limit. You pay for the time
spent online. Current access charges are in line with other services. A
$7.95/month access charge is levied, but that comes with 2 free hours of
usage every month. After those two hours, you are charged $6 an hour, 24
hrs a day, for usage. There is no 9600 access, only 300-2400.

     The service itself is very user-friendly. Different services and
features are accessed through "GO" keywords. Pulling down a menu and
selecting GO brings up a box where you type in a keyword. Alternatively,
navigating through the services hierarchy can get you to the same place,
albeit a little slower. Using AOL (as it's commonly referred to) is
unlike using any other BBS or online service. You really don't get the
impression you're online with a service. It's quite refreshing. The
range of activities and forums available is immense, and growing daily.
Many major computer/peripheral/software makers are also beginning to
provide support via AOL. PC World magazine recently selected AOL to be
the home for its online area (similar to ZiffNet on CompuServe or
Prodigy.) There are online chat round table discussions, tutorials, you
name it, it's probably happening on AOL. Finally, an email gateway has
recently been installed, allowing members on AOL to send and receive
messages to people on the global academic/research computer network
commonly called The Internet.

     While AOL might shine in the range of services and message areas,
the file areas are still in a growing stage. I found the Matrix here
locally to have a much wider selection of files available for download
than AOL. With the file libraries, the Geoworks front end again shines.
Gone are the complicated protocol selection and download procedures.
When browsing libraries, there is a 'SAVE' button, which saves the
selected file onto your hard drive. You supply a location, and AOL takes
it from there. A welcome change for online veterans, and a lifesaver for
the newcomer to computers and online procedures. Batch file saving is
not available, although I hear it is definitely coming in future
releases of the frontend software.

     The picture is not all rosy and bright, for AOL is not without it's
quirks and annoyances. The most obvious is in the area of message
folders (bases). One cannot reply to a message! At the bottom of every
message displayed is a button for 'Adding a Message,' which can only be
taken to mean 'Reply.' Once you've started adding a message, the only
way you can quote portions of the original into your own is to use the
cut and paste facilities available. Cumbersome, and not immediately
obvious to someone who is not intimately familiar with GUIs. Another
shortfall is the non-ability to download new messages and reply offline.
This might be an academic point, however, as we *are* talking about an
online pay-as-you-use service here. One can hope, however. Lastly, a
feature to immediately compose a reply to the author of a post via EMAIL
would be enormously helpful. The lack of a Windows 3.x frontend to AOL
is becoming a larger and larger problem, as the worldwide usage of
Windows 3.x increases. However, little birdies again have told me that a
Windows 3.x frontend is on tap for sometime in the future. Time will
tell.

     America Online is a refreshing change from the humdrum online
services available today. The easy to use GUI interface makes using it a
breeze, as well as opening up the world of telecommunications to the
computer user who might have been intimidated before by all the
techo-babble surrounding more traditional services. AOL does not attempt
to censor or filter messages left by their users, both publicly and
privately, and THAT in itself is a big plus in my book. This doesn't
mean users are turning into potty mouths (that's not allowed), it means
they can feel free to express their true opinion on any subject without
the specter of their message being removed and/or their account being
revoked. As AOL grows and matures, the file bases will likewise grow,
and the service itself will turn into a major player for the growing
online services market. With all the pluses, I don't see where they can
go wrong or loose.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

To Own a Fast Modem
by Dean Costello


Sometime in March:  Mark Maisel says to me, "Dean, I can get you a 
                    9600 modem for about $300.  You interested?"  
                    I replied, "Yeah, I guess."  "It's also a fax 
                    modem."  "Lovely, why would I need it?"  "I 
                    dunno, but it's there."  "Okay."

Sometime in May:    Mark says, "Dean, your modem came in."  I 
                    replied,"Umm.  I'll give you the money when I 
                    wander down.  Alright?"  Mark answers, "I 
                    don't think that Kathy would mind."

July 2:   Arrive in Birmingham for vacation.  See modem for the 
          first time.  Neat-o.  See Mark's.  Very small, 4 inches 
          by 6 inches by 1.5 inches.  Just like my Supra 2400.  
          Read box:

     "Now there's a state-of-the-art data modem with fax capabilities
too--and at an amazingly affordable price."

     "On the data side, the SupraFAXModem V.32bis features 14,400 bps
communications with up to 57,600 bps throughput with another modem that
supports both V.32bis and V.42bis data compression. All this speed means
you'll save time online and money spent on connect charges and
long-distance calls!  And of course, the SupraFAXModem V.32bis also
maintains downward compatibility with the millions of V.32, 2400, and
1200 bps modems already in use."

     "With appropriate fax software (which must support Class I,II, or
III fax commands), you can quickly send high-quality faxes without ever
leaving your desk--you'll wonder how you ever managed before!  You'll
also be able to automatically receive faxes and then print or archive
them electronically."

     "To top it off, the SupraFAXModem also has a revolutionary status
display that constantly gives the modem's status--25 different displays
to make your telecom tasks even easier!"

July 4:   Open modem.  Like the smell of ozone that oozed from the 
          shrink wrap.  In ecstasy.  Pick up modem, note a 
          clunking noise.  Crash to the earth, modem not good.  
          Mark hooks modem to his computer (very easy, DB25 
          connection, 9-volt power supply wire, phone line in and 
          out sockets).  Works like charm.  Connects to Crunchy 
          Frog (HST Dual Standard), achieves transfer times of 
          1650 characters per second.  Life good.  Disconnect 
          modem from Mark's 486 with 16550 communication port.  No 
          clunking, back to the heights of ecstasy.  Dave Stanton 
          arrives.  Mark tells Dave of clunking.  Dave picks up 
          modem and starts to whip it around in order to generate 
          clunking.  Achieves clunking while I have evil angina
          pectoralis.  Dave tears modem apart (front piece slides 
          off, chassis held together with two screws) to determine
          source of clunking.  Sight going, everything fading to 
          gray.  Dave finds that the clunking noise is from the 
          modem speaker.  Reattaches modem speaker to chip it was 
          glued on.  Starting to come back from the white tunnel 
          with Granpa and Elvis at the end.  Puts back together.  
          Whips modem around:  no clunking.  Chest pains starts to 
          fade.  Happier.

July 5:   Attempt fax.  Unit came with Windows(tm) fax software.  
          Unfortunately, don't use either Windows or an IBM-
          compatible computer.  Mark uses the DOS fax software to 
          fax a message to my home office in Fairfax, VA.  Very 
          easy to use, and apparently the message got through.  
          Impressive beast so far <note:  Resulting fax was 
          inspected at office.  Not impressive at all.  Bottom 
          third of fax was missing.  Still few flaws here and 
          there.>

July 5-11:     Mark uses my modem for his use during this time 
               period.  Seems to work like a charm.  Mark does not 
               report any problems with modem during week.  At end 
               of period, pack it up and move it to Oakton, VA.

July 11:  Got home, pissed, then unpacked the modem and hooked it 
          up to my Atari ST.  Already owned a Supra Modem 2400, 
          and hooked the V.32bis up to the Atari the same way the
          2400 was.  Used the software handy (Interlink, version 
          1.75, December 1987) and called Crunchy Frog (205-956-
          1755, HST Dual Standard).  Connected at 14,400.  Went
          through log-on, modem reported TE (transmission error) 
          and dropped carrier.  Crushed.  Not happy.  Tried again.  
          Couldn't connect at all.  Very unhappy.  Tried other 
          node.  No Connect.  VERY unhappy.  Called Dave Stanton's 
          board (already owned SupraFAXModem).  Connected at 
          14,400.  Happier.  Tried Crunchy Frog again.  Got 
          through at 14,400.  Connection seemed steady.  Left 
          message, noticed some hesitations.  Noted that modem was 
          transmitting at 7200.  Not very fast.  Tried downloading 
          file.  Downloaded a 1K packet (Z-modem) every four 
          seconds.  Hmm, just like a 2400 baud modem.  Crushed 
          again.  Noted that comm software's settings were at 2400 
          baud.  Might be connection here.  Maxed out comm 
          software to 19,200.  Tried Bill Walsh's MetroNet board.  
          Connected at 14,400.  Decided to try my hand at 
          downloading files again.  Watched a download progress at 
          1650 cps.  Had orgasm watching same.  Dreamed the dreams 
          of the righteous.

July 12:  Experimented with calling boards in D.C. and Birmingham.  
          Life is good.  Figure out that even though the modem 
          will connect at 14,400, the software will only allow 
          downloads at the speed indicated for each BBS.  In other 
          words, was getting slow downloads from Frog yesterday 
          since the calling directory used claimed that Crunchy 
          Frog was a 2400 board (I remember those days, I might 
          add, but that is a story best left to Tim Straughn).  
          Begin to call all kinds of boards, high-speed modem or 
          not, to celebrate my new, apparently functioning modem.  
          Like it, and don't have to dick around with all the 
          settings that have seen the PC-drones diddle with when 
          they get their very first high-speed modem.

July 13:  Tried calling Matrix (205-323-6016) four times. 
          Connected but nothing else (no logon process).  Somewhat 
          annoyed.  Discovered that Supra has absolutely nothing 
          for the ST in the way of fax software.  Have to call 
          Joppa Computer (1-800-876-6040) to order fax software.  
          Will cost $70.  Promise to work nicely with my modem.  
          Not happy.  Will have to talk to Supra people about 
          cutting me some slack on the cost of the package.  A 
          rebate would be appreciated, especially being that my 
          old modem was a Supra 2400, one of my hard drives is a 
          20mb Supra Miniscribe, and the other one is a 44mb Supra 
          Syquest.  Damn it, they owe me.

July 14:  Hooks into 2400 baud systems nicely.  Might have to
          monkey around with some of the settings, am bothered by
          a hesitation before dialing.  About .75 seconds, but 
          enough to be annoying.  Quickly coming to conclusion 
          that am not going to save money with modem, but just 
          going to call more long distance boards.  Got 1450cps 
          from Bill Walsh's MetroNet system.  Happy.  Got 1000cps 
          from Bill Freeman's Adanet system.  Not quite as happy, 
          but nevertheless very tolerable.  Told me he has a USR 
          Dual Standard.  Don't necessarily believe him.  But not 
          saying he lies, he will attempt to sue me.  But that may 
          be grounds for slander, so guess had better stop while  
          still own something ("Keep talking, Counselor; I can use 
          the money." -V. Fuentes).  Have feeling that by next 
          week anything under 1500cps is very pedestrian, and 
          anything below 9600 is simply not worth calling.  Hope 
          not, but know self.

July 21   Call Joppa Computer to find out about fax software.  
          Said that they would mail 2nd day air.  Week later, no 
          software.  Call order department.  Said problem with 
          credit card.  Why didn't they call house?  Would not 
          say.  They had my home phone number.  Hang up phone in 
          disgust.  Have noticed that a lot of Atari software/ 
          hardware dealers have attitude of "We don't need you.  
          You need us."  Attitude has gotten worse with decreased 
          number of dealers.  Will avoid buying anything from 
          Joppa in future.  Sloppy customer relations.

July 26   Modem is now part of normal operations.  Got over the 
          overwhelming desire to download copious quantities of 
          large files ("Why am I downloading big-ass GIF files?  
          Because I can." -B. Thorn).  Seems to work fairly well.  
          Some problems that still exist:

     1).  It doesn't have fax software for the ST.  It came 
          bundled with IBM or Mac software.  For Christ's sake, I 
          have over $2,000 of Supra peripherals hanging onto my 
          system right now, it would have been nice to have fax
          software available for my computer.  And I already have
          discussed the 'nice' people at Joppa Computer.

     2).  No one will tell me the deal with flow control and the 
          problems the ST has in its serial port.  When I ask I 
          usually get something like, "Well, it's obvious.  The 
          blahblahblah port protocol command structure 
          blahblahblah CRC flow rates blahblahblah 1K buffer 
          control," or words to that effect.  That's a real clue 
          to my problems.  If I cared, I would research it.  I 
          don't, I just want things to run fairly efficiently.

     On the whole, I like this thing.  Eventually, I reckon, I will
understand the more esoteric controls on the beast.  Just paging through
the "Reference Card", I see commands like V.42 negotiation action
(0,7,128), programmable transmit level, and desired DCE line speed.
These are apparently not important for my day-to-day use, since I
haven't been forced to fool with them yet.  I am puzzled by why some
high-speed modems I contact allow transfer times of upwards of 1600cps,
while others allow 1350 or so, and still others allow 1050-1100, and yet
others will not connect at all.  It is not important enough to me to
determine the problem at this time.
   
     Well, recommendation time.  Do I recommend it?  For my purpose
(occasional phone calls to BBS), I do recommend it.  For fax work,
however, I really do not know.  The one fax that I saw the results of
had the bottom half of it removed.  One example is not enough to draw a
proper conclusion from, though.  For $300-350, it seems to be a pretty
good deal.  The other Supra hardware that I have has functioned very
well, and I see no reason to assume that this fax modem would perform
any less.  Keep in mind that there seems to be an awful lot of other
modems that perform like the Supra in the same basic price range (Zoom
and Practical Peripherals come to mind).  If you want to fill your hard
drive real fast, this would be the way to do it.

Editor's Note:  This modem has turned out to be a pretty good purchase
                for both Dean and I.  I have experienced some problems
                connecting to certain boards, but most of that is a
                result of the way they have configured their modems.  My
                speaker of late has started working only intermittently.
                I have not cracked the case to attempt a repair because
                of concerns over my warranty.  Supra says they are going
                to ship upgrades to their ROMs for users to install very
                soon. When they do, I will see what can be done for the
                speaker.  I would like to thank Jeff Freeman of Front
                Porch Computers for helping us to get hold of these
                modems.  He can help you if you are interested at
                1-800-GO-PORCH. MM

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bulletin Board Spotlight
by Eric Hunt

Questions

1) Name of the BBS:

        Computer Monthly[ee] BBS ("ee" for "electronic edition")

2) Name of the sysop:

        Ron Albright and Eric Hunt, Co-Sysops

3) BBS software used:

        Oracomm Version 6.0

4) How long have you been sysoping:

        30 months

5) Are you a subscription only / completely free / hybrid of the
two BBS?

        Completely free

6) How many incoming phone lines and approximate disk space? Do 
you support high speed modems? If so, what type(s)?

        Two lines; 300 megabytes; 2400 baud max

7) Is your BBS primarily a files BBS, primarily a message based
BBS, or a combination of the two?

        Messages and files

8) If you've sysop'd more than just this BBS, briefly list previous
endeavors and their life spans.

        Currently sysoping another active BBS - the Disktop Publishing
        BBS. A Wildcat 3.0 system, one line; active since April, 1991

9) What made you decide to take the masochistic plunge and become a
sysop:

        I enjoy the learning process and the technological challenge.

10) What is the general 'thrust' or area of specialty for your BBS:

        The CM[ee] BBS is designed to support the readers and
        subscribers of the Computer Monthly magazine, a locally
        published magazine with 250,000 subscribers.

11) (optional) What is your regular job/career to support this
leeching hobby of sysoping?

        Physician (M.D.)

12) What are your plans for the coming year?

        To survive thunderstorms and power surges.

13) Where would you like your BBS to go over the next 5 years?

        Faster modem support is probably the only major changes in the
        foreseeable future.

14) What do you feel the highlights of your BBS are?

        A well-rounded system with a good file selection and a fairly
        active (and unusual) message base, courtesy of some regular
        users.

15) What is your personal vision of the 'ideal user?'

        A message-leaver.

16) What is the thing you've enjoyed most about providing your BBS?

        Observing others use it to communicate their ideas and opinions
        with others. Seeing people be their crazy selves without the
        constraints of face-to-face interaction.

17) What is the thing you've enjoyed least about providing your BBS?

        Thunderstorms and power surges wiping out the message base. I
        have, so far, been fortunate enough to not have any troublesome
        users or more typical sysop woes.

18) What is the funniest story you can tell about your BBS and/or your
users?

        The "Case of The Disappearing Messages" that occurred this summer
        after a thunderstorm corrupted the message base. For several
        days after the messages were "reconstructed," people would leave
        messages and they would, after a few days, mysteriously be
        erased when the BBS cleaned up. I suspect the pointers in the
        indexes were really botched. It was funny how the users reacted
        to their disappearing messages...you had to be there.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SIG's (Special Interest Groups), Computer Related
-------------------------------------------------

BEPCUG                              CCS
Birmingham East PC Users Group      Commodore Club South
Jefferson Sate Jr. College          Springville Road Library
Ruby Carson Hall, Rm 114            2nd & 4th Tuesday (C64/C128)
3rd Friday, 7-9 PM                  3rd Monday (Amiga)
Paula Ballard 251-6058 (after 5PM)  7:30-10 PM

BCCC                                BIPUG
Birmingham Commodore Computer Club  Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group
POB 59564                           UAB Nutrition Science Blg
Birmingham, Al 35259                RM 535/541
UAB School of Education, Rm 153     1st Sunday (delayed one week
2nd and 4th Sundays, 2 PM              if meeting is a holiday)
Rusty Hargett 854-5172              Marty Schulman 967-5883

BACE                                FAOUG
Birmingham Atari Computer           First Alabama Osborne Users
Enthusiast                          Group
Vestavia Library, downstairs        Homewood Library
2nd Monday, 7 PM                    1st Saturday, 1PM
Benny Brown 822-5059                Ed Purquez 669-5200

CADUB                               BGS/CIG
CAD Users of Birmingham             Birmingham Genealogical Society/
Homewood Library                    Computer Interest Group
3rd Tuesday, 6:30PM-8:30PM          Birmingham Public Library
Bobby Benson 791-0426               3rd Floor Auditorium
                                    3rd Sunday, 2:30 PM
                                    Robert Matthews 631-9783 or
                                    Bone Yard BBS

RAHSPCUG
Ramsay Alternative High School PC Users Group
Ramsay High School
1800 13th Avenue South
last Wednesday of each month (September-April)
from 3:02-3:35
Lee Nocella 581-5120

SIG's, Non-Computer Related
---------------------------

BBC                                 Birmingham Astronomy Club
Blue Box Companions                 Subject: Astronomy
Subject: Dr. Who                    Red Mountain Museum Annex
Hoover Library                      4th Tuesday, 7:30PM
1st Saturday, 2PM-5PM

If you belong to or know of a user group that is not listed,
please let us know by sending E-Mail to Barry Bowden on
The Matrix BBS.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Known BBS Numbers For The Birmingham Area

    NAME                    NUMBER     BAUD RATES  MODEM    BBS SOFTWARE
                                       SUPPORTED   TYPE

129 ADAnet One Nodes 1-3    854-9074   1200-2400            PCBoard 14.5
129 ADAnet One Node 4       854-5863   9600-14400  USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
1   Alter-Ego BBS           925-5099   300-9600    USR HST  PCBoard 14.5
1_  Amiga Alliance ][       631-0262   300-2400    V.32bis  PCBoard 14.5
4(0 Arkham Asylum           853-7422   300-14400   USR DS   VBBS 5.50
(   Asgard                  663-9171   300-2400             WWIV 4.11
    Baudville Node 1        640-4593   300-2400             Major BBS 5.3
    Baudville Node 2        640-4639   300-2400             Major BBS 5.3
    Baudville Node 3        640-7243   300-2400             Major BBS 5.3
    Baudville Node 4        640-7286   300-2400             Major BBS 5.3
13  Bus System              595-1627   300-2400             PCBoard 14.2
17= Byte Me!                979-BYTE!  2400-14400  USR HST  WWIV 4.12
    CM(ee) BBS Node 1       655-4059   300-2400             Oracomm Plus
    CM(ee) BBS Node 2       655-4065   300-2400             Oracomm Plus
    Camelot                 856-679    300-2400             Telegard 2.5
16  Channel 8250 Node 1     744-8546   300-14400   USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
16  Channel 8250 Node 2     744-5166   300-14400   USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
$   Christian Apologetic    808-0763   300-14400   V.32bis  Wildcat! 3.00
13_ Crunchy Frog Node 1     956-1755   300-14400   USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
13_ Crunchy Frog Node 2     956-0073   300-14400   USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
    Deep Space 9            980-1089   300-2400             Wildcat!
    Disktop Publishing      854-1660   300-9600    V.32     Wildcat! 3.02
    Drawing Room            951-2391   300-2400             Wildcat! 3.02
    EcoBBS                  933-2238   300-2400             WWIV 4.21
    Elysian Fields          620-0694   300-2400             Telegard 2.7
-^  F/X BBS Node 1          823-5777   300-14400   USR HST  PC Board 14.5
-^  F/X BBS Node 2          822-4570   300-14400   V.32bis  PC Board 14.5
-^  F/X BBS Node 3          822-4526   300-14400   V.32bis  PC Board 14.5
12  Family Smorgas-Board    744-0943   300-2400             PCBoard 14.5
    Final Frontier          681-6148   300-2400    USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
    Genesis Online 4 Nodes  620-4144   300-2400             Major BBS 5.3
    Graphics Zone Node 1    870-5306   300-2400    MNP4     TBBS 2.1(16)
    Graphics Zone Node 2    870-5329   300-2400    MNP4     TBBS 2.1(16)
    Hacker's Corner         674-5449   1200-2400   MNP4     PCBoard 14.5
1   Hard Disk               987-0794   300-9600    V.32bis  PCBoard 14.5
$*  Hardeman's BBS          640-6436   1200-2400            Wildcat! 3.02
2   I.S.A. BBS              995-6590   300-9600    USR HST  Remote Access
(   Infinite Probability    791-0421   2400-9600   V.32     VBBS
    Intruder Enterprizes    969-0870   300-9600    V.32     VBBS 5.5
    Island                  870-4685   300-2400             Hermes 2.0
13  Joker's Castle          664-5589   300-14400   USR DS   PC Board 14.5
    Killing Fields          780-8845   300-2400             WWIV 4.21
4(  Kiriath Arba            681-8374   300-2400             WWIV 4.21
    Lemon Grove             836-1184   300-12000   V.32bis  Searchlight
15  Little Kingdom Node 1   969-0007   300-9600    USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
15  Little Kingdom Node 2   969-0008   300-2400    MNP4     PCBoard 14.5
1-  Magnolia BBS            854-6407   300-14400   USR HST  PCBoard 14.2
#   Medicine Man BBS        664-5662   300-14000   V.32bis  GTPower 17.00
29  MetaBoard               254-3344   300-14400   USR DS   Opus
    Missing Link            853-1257   300-2400             C-Net
^&* Night Watch             841-2790   1200-2400            TriBBS 2.11
=   Nirvana                 942-6702   300-2400             WWIV 4.21
#   Owlabama BBS            856-2521   300-2400             GTPower 17.00
13_ Owl's Nest              680-0851   300-14400   USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
^&* Party Line              856-1336   300-2400             TriBBS 2.11
&*  Playground              836-4200   300-2400             TriBBS 2.11
    Pooh's Korner           980-8710   300-14400   USR DS   Remote Access
%   Pro-Electric            980-8836   300-9600    V.32     Proline 2.065
#   Safe Harbor Node 1      665-4332   300-2400             GTPower 17.00
#   Safe Harbor Node 2      665-4355   300-14400   USR DS   GTPower 17.00
    Sperry BBS              853-6144   300-2400             PCBoard 14.5
1   ST BBS                  836-9311   300-2400             PCBoard 14.2
=   Teasers                 987-0122   300-2400             WWIV 4.20
2   The Bone Yard           631-6023   300-9600    USR HST  PCBoard 14.5
    The Castle              841-7618   300-2400             C-Base 2.0
    The Den                 933-8744   300-9600    USR HST  ProLogon/ProDoor
1378-% The MATRIX Nodes 1-10 323-2016  300-2400             PCBoard 14.5
1378-% The MATRIX Nodes 11-14 323-6016  9600-14400 USR DS   PCBoard 14.5
1378-% The MATRIX Node 15   458-3449   9600-14400  V.32     PCBoard 14.5
    The Monster             967-4839   300-2400             Telegard 2.7
2   The Outer Limits        425-5871   1200-9600   USR HST  Wildcat! 3.01
    The Quiet Zone          833-2066   300-2400             ExpressNET
    The Safety BBS          581-2866   300-2400             RBBS-PC
    The Song Remains ...    995-0794   300-2400             VBBS
    The Wanderer            836-0603   300-2400             Wildcat! 3.00
(   The Word                833-2831   300-2400             WWIV 4.12
    Thy Master's Dungeon    940-2116   300-9600    V.32     TriBBS 2.11
    Torch Song              328-1517   300-2400             Wildcat 3.01
    Warrior River BBS       520-9540   300-2400             Wildcat! 3.02
=   Wild Side               631-0184   300-1200             WWIV 4.20
    Willie's DYM Node 1     979-1629   300-2400             Oracomm Plus
    Willie's DYM Node 2     979-7739   300-2400             Oracomm Plus
    Willie's DYM Node 3     979-7743   300-1200             Oracomm Plus
    Willie's DYM Node 4     979-8156   300-1200             Oracomm Plus
    Ziggy Unaxess           991-5696   300-1200             Unaxess

The many symbols you see prior to the names of many of the bbs' in the
list signify that they are members of one or more networks that exchange
or echo mail to each other in some organized fashion.

1 = EzNet, a local IBM compatible network
2 = FidoNet, an international network, multi-topic
3 = Metrolink, an international network, multi-topic
4 = WWIV-Net, an international network, multi-topic
5 = Intellec, an international network, multi-topic
6 = Uni'Net, an international network, multi-topic
7 = ThrobNet, an international network, adult oriented
8 = ILink, an international network, multi-topic
9 = ADAnet, an international network dedicated to the handicapped
0 = VirtualNet, national network, multi-topic
- = RIME, an international network, multi-topic
= = TcNet, not certain at publication time
! =
@ =
# = GTNet, an international network, multi-topic
$ = WildNet, a national network, multi-topic
% = InterNet, an international network, linking businesses,
    universities, and bbs', multi-topic
^ = City2City, a national network, multi-topic
& = TriBBS Net, a national network, multi-topic
* = Dixie Net, a regional network, multi-topic geared toward the south
    eastern United States
( = MAXnet, a local network, connecting WWIV and VBBS systems
) = PlanoNet, a national network, multi-topic
_ = LuciferNet, an international network, adult oriented
= = ANet, a local network, adult oriented

If you have any corrections, additions, deletions, etc., please let us
know via EzNet.
