Chaos Corner V03 N01 27 Feb 93 -------------------------------------------------- Chaos Corner Volume 2 is now available At long last, the collected issues of Chaos Corner (volume 2) are now available in several forms. The PostScript and text forms are on pelican.cit.cornell.edu in the /pub directory. Look for ccv02.ps and ccv02.text. If you only want the index to the volume (9 pages in two columns in the PostScript version), look for ccv02.index.ps and ccv02.index.text. Last but certainly not least, the printed version of Chaos Corner Volume 2 is on sale at the CIT Service HelpDesk in the Computing and Communications Center on the Cornell Campus for only $3. Look for it in the Campus Bookstore next month. If you would like a full color copy of the graphic image that is on the cover of volume 2, use anonymous FTP to retrieve the file tims.gif from /pub/gif on pelican.cit.cornell.edu -- of course you will miss out on the final touches applied to the cover by the famous graphic designer Tom Boggass (worth the $3, without a doubt). In the planning ahead department, Gary Buhrmaster already has his order in for a bound copy of Volume 3. -------------------------------------------------- Wrong 800 number to reach Deutsche Welle Pat Karl was quick to point out after the last issue that we seemed to have given out the wrong number for contacting Deutsche Welle and subscribing to their program guides. Dr. Chaos rechecked against the program guide; and then to be sure, he tried calling the number ... got the same recording as reported by Pat. Finally, in a flash of insight, he called 800-555-1212 (information for 800 numbers); asked for Deutsche Welle, and found that the number published in the DW program guide was incorrect. I was going to give you the correct number but Dr. Chaos now reports to me that the "correct" number no longer works, and that 800-information no longer has a listing for Deutsche Welle. Oh well, if you are really in a hurry, you can fax them a request for the program guide. From the US, call 011-49-221-389-4155 for fax or 011-49-221-389-0 for voice. (We assume that people outside of North America already know how to make international calls and can figure out how to make the call based on the above instructions). -------------------------------------------------- Chaos Corner Reaches out The distribution list for Chaos Corner is now closing in on 600 entries (with some of those entries being other list exploders). All continents except Africa and the South Pole are represented. Welcome to all of you who have joined since the previous issue in late December! -------------------------------------------------- New version of C-Kermit is available, for Unix, OS/2 ... A new improved version of C-Kermit is available for OS/2 users and for certain selected Unix platforms (NeXT and Sun). If you don't feel like compiling it yourself, the binary executables are available from the main Kermit distribution point via anonymous FTP from watsun.cc.columbia.edu. In the kermit/bin directory look for the file ckoker16.exe (OS/2 Release 1), ckoker32.exe (OS/2 Release 2), and for the Unix systems look for files names ckuker. (eg. ckuker.rs6000). If you get this latest version and the herald still has a November 1992 date, don't worry. Issue the 'version' command and check the dates of some of the modules ... you will see that some were recompiled in February '93. -------------------------------------------------- Deutsche Welle versus Voice of America In response to the description of the Deutsche Welle antenna array just outside of the town of Juelich, Bruce Tindall of N. Carolina says: "If you ever visit this area you could take a side-trip to the Voice of America antenna site near Greenville, N.C. Immediately adjacent to the huge high-tech facility is a community of none-too-wealthy hog farmers. The air all around has a certain olfactory je ne sais quoi. The picture of the gleaming monstrous antennas towering over the economically tottering and smelly little farms provides a picture as sadly ironic as the homeless person sleeping across the street from the White House. The only good thing about all this is that the high level of RF in the vicinity probably does a real good job of preventing trichinosis in the local pork supply." Dr. Chaos must agree that the smell from the pig farms would most probably overpower the aroma from the sugar-beet factory in Juelich. -------------------------------------------------- Free Widgets available from the Free Widget Foundation The Free Widget Foundation (FWF) commenced in the summer of 1990. They began as an ad hoc, volunteer effort, to generate a publicly accessible repository for X graphical user-interface modules (widgets). Over time, many people have contributed widgets of varying degrees of complexity, and having application across a wide range of program domains. To join FWF, just send mail to: free-widgets-request@kazoo.cs.uiuc.edu Some examples of widgets already in the collection include: FileSelector, Histogram, ImageSelector, MultiList, PixelEditor, Rheostat, ScrolledList, and Slider. The latest version (3.4) of the FWF widget library can be obtained via anonymous ftp from: a.cs.uiuc.edu (128.174.252.1) pub/fwf.shar.Z in North America, or, if you are in Europe, try: ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de (131.159.0.110) /pub/comp/X11/contrib/lib/fwf/fwf.tar.Z A much extended widget set is tentatively schedule for release by the end of April, 1993 (Release 4.0). Look for it at the above sites. -------------------------------------------------- Server for Unix Windows is hard to find Don Peckham points out that if you look just for the Unix server part of Unix Windows, it will be difficult to find ... because it is imbedded as a ".tar" file in the PC version of Unix Windows (currently UWPC201.ZIP). The ".tar" file must be uploaded to a Unix host in binary form and then unpacked to get the source for the server. -------------------------------------------------- Finding the Perfect addition to Your Life '"The Catalog of Personal Computing Tools for Engineers and Scien- tists' lists hardware cards and application software packages for PC/XT/AT/PS/2 class machines. Focus is on engineering and scien- tific applications of PCs, such as data acquisition/control, design automation, and data analysis and presentation." If you would like a free copy, send your postal address (not sure if this is limited to U. S. Postal address) by e-mail to jdoll@cup.portal.com. -------------------------------------------------- Want to upgrade that PS/2 you have sitting around? Ever wonder where to find products you can use to upgrade the PS/2s you might have sitting around? (Dr. Chaos claims that if you have XT or AT-class machine sitting around, don't even think about upgrading them ... just donate them to a worthy cause.) Here are some 800 numbers for vendors that carry PS/2 upgrades: AOX Customer Support 800-232-1269 BDS (sells AOXs) 800-950-5657 John Gavern x636 Evergreen Technologies 800-733-0934 IBM Customer Support 800-772-2227 Kingston Technologies 800-835-6575 Reply 800-955-5295 Xtend Micro Products 800-232-9836 Phil Of course, you can always frequest the 'misc.forsale...' groups on NetNews. Dr. Chaos just managed to get a lead on an XGA card from one of those lists. -------------------------------------------------- List of POST Codes For the German readers, no this is NOT a list of the new postal codes that are going into effect on 1. July; rather it is a list of the meaning of the cryptic error codes from the Power On Self Test (POST) program that runs each time you turn on your IBM PC or compatible. If you would like a copy of the list ... just let Dr. Chaos know at chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu. -------------------------------------------------- Release 2 of PKZIP is finally available The long awaited new release of the popular library/compression program is now available. The latest version as of this writing is 2.04g ... it appears that at this point most of the nasty bugs are fixed and so it should be in reasonable shape to try. In addition to sporting newer, faster compression algorithms, Release 2.0 supports long awaited features like backups to multiple diskette volumes. An encryption algorithm approved for export (to almost all countries except Iraq) can be used to further secure your data (Dr Chaos asks how secure the encryption can be if the U. S. Government will let it be exported?). The irony is, since it can't be exported to everyone, the software is not available from the normal FTP sites. We don't know about you but Dr. Chaos is switching to the freeware versios of ZIP/UNZIP rather than deal with this any longer. -------------------------------------------------- Want to read high-density Macintosh diskettes on your PC? A 3 1/2 inch diskette with a 1.44 MB capacity can be read by a disk drive either in a Macintosh or a PC. Macintosh users often have some software called "Apple File Exchange" that allow them to read and write PC diskettes and have the files appear on the Desktop. Dr. Chaos has come across two recommendations for PC users ... the first is mac-ette.zip from the pub/msdos/dskutl directory on oak.oakland.edu (for some reason we couldn't find the 'dskutl' directory on the simtel mirror of wuarchive.wustl.edu). Another program to read Macintosh disks is macsee.zip (Windows pgm) and it can be obtained by anonymous FTP from ftp.cica.indiana.edu in the pub/pc/win3/util directory. -------------------------------------------------- Need to know what's installed on your PC? Understanding your PC hardware and software configuration and keeping track of it over time might be just a little bit easier with InfoPlus. The latest version (1.56 as of this writing) includes support for correctly reporting hardware configuration even when running under OS/2 and supports many more resident drivers and utilities. Look for ifp1p156.zip in pub/msdos/info on oak.oakland.edu. The detailed report from this program is 21 screens long ... how could you awnt to know more? -------------------------------------------------- Want a collection of opinions on High Speed Modems? Dr. Chaos just happens to have a collection of some reviews that appeard on NetNews about the products of the major high-speed modem manufacturers. If you would like a copy, ask for it by name by sending electronic mail to chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu. -------------------------------------------------- Interested in Telephone Communications winners & losers for 1992? The annual review of the technology winners and losers for 1992 is reviewed along with short descriptions of existing and proposed services like SONET, VIdeo dial tone, ISDN, etc. If you're curious about the telephone industry and where it's going, request this file from Dr. Chaos at chaos-request (you know ehere). -------------------------------------------------- Free copies of the REXX interpreter available to ".edu" sites The Workstation Group is offering to send out free copies of their version of the REXX interpreter to almost anyone with a return mail address that ends in ".edu" (and, we presume, other appropriate addresses such as "edu.au", etc.). This interpreter runs on a very large number of versions of Unix (more than Dr. Chaos even knew existed). If you're interested ... send mail to freerexx@wrkgrp.com, and make the subject line one of the following platform names: aixesa AIX/ESA apo68k Apollo DNx5xx, HP/9000-400(Domain OS) apoprs Apoll0 DN10000 crayy Cray-Y/MP crayx Cray-X/MP cray2 Cray2 decsta DECStation hp68k HP/9000-300, -400(HP-UX) hp700 HP/9000-700 hp800 HP/9000-800 mips3k MIPS Magnum 3000 mot88k Motorola 88000 pyramt Pyramid MIServer T Series pyrams Pyramid MIServer S Series rs6000 IBM RS/6000 sgi Silicon Graphics sun3 Sun-3 sun4 SparcStation (Sun-4) sysv386 SCO UNIX V (386) uts UTS Comments or problem reports should be sent to freerexx-help@wrkgrp.com. -------------------------------------------------- Concise Guide to Unix Books If you have been looking for suggestions on the best books to learn about this strange and different operating system called Unix, check out the Concise Guide to Unix Books available from Chaos Corner. -------------------------------------------------- FREE! Subscriptions For you very own free subscription to Chaos Corner, send electronic mail to chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu. Requests for files and subscriptions will be delayed until nearly the ides of March due to "unavoidable" travel delays ... but Dr. Chaos points out that you've already waited over two months for this issue anyway ... what's another couple of weeks? Dr. Chaos (I have a Master's Degree ...) .