Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bbn!rochester!ritcv!iav1917 From: iav1917@ritcv.UUCP (alan i. vymetalik) Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec.micro Subject: Where is Everyone? Message-ID: <824@ritcv.UUCP> Date: Tue, 1-Dec-87 23:36:58 EST Article-I.D.: ritcv.824 Posted: Tue Dec 1 23:36:58 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 5-Dec-87 06:47:13 EST Reply-To: iav1917@ritcv.UUCP (alan i. vymetalik) Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY Lines: 86 Ok, Rainbow, Robin, and PRO fans: Wake up! Time to stir the coals again. We have access to this news- group across a wide spectrum of universities and companies. Surely, there are enough 'techies' out there who are doing 'interesting' things with their machines and 'others' who could use the help. So, for this round of postings and mail messages, let's start putting together a reasonable wish list of items people need, have problems with, or are working on for DEC's lost microsystems. Publicity will probably be tolerated here. Anyone doing ANYTHING for the machines? Anyone? Some items and food for thought for Rainbow users: - MS-DOS 3.10 *does* exist for the Rainbow. WRITE TO KEN OLSEN AT DEC AND HAMMER HOME THE IDEA THAT DEC SHOULD RELEASE THE O/S TO THE WORLD AS A FINAL SALUTE TO THE RAINBOW. It's the * least * that they could do. Don't try for Windows. Let's try to get 3.10 out officially. Even if they'll release it as an 'unsupported' product it'll be a huge success. Better yet... - Want to run a good multi-tasking O/S on your Rainbow? Check out Enhanced Rainbow/VENIX from The Boston Software Works at 120 Fulton Street, Boston, MA, 02109, 617-367-6846. It's an amazing sight to be to 'login:' to your machine and run several programs simultaneously! It makes MS-DOS look absolutely ill! - Anyone notice that the disk drivers in Rainbow MS-DOS can handle a double-sided floppy disk? Anyone experimenting with adding a TEAC drive (can't remember the model) to replace the RX-50s? Workable patches to the driver to support it? - Check out the HitchHiker's Guide BBS at 315-589-7361 if you want to see one of the largest DEC Rainbow BBSs in the country. This BBS is now running Fido V12d (apparently the only Rainbow BBS running Fido V12) with a 67 MB disk structure holding over 1500+ Rainbow CP/M, MS-DOS, and IBM PC programs. Oh, that's right, the disk is an RD53! Same controller as the one for your 5MB drive. Those good-natured folks at DEC never told us it would work! Of course, they told us we couldn't have more control over the keyboard to reassign function keys. Check out CodeBlue V2.0 by Dan Pleasant. He proved everyone at DEC didn't know what they were talking about. (For example,will reboot the Rainbow when running CB...it's almost the same key positions as the famous sequence. Also, the first 10 grey function keys are the same as the PC's PF1-PF10!). Ok, the question here to ANYONE who has an idea on this subject: DEC says we can reprogram the microprocessor on the keyboard to accept commands from the host processor. In fact, they go about telling us the codes and values (with some pathetic examples) to do this (see the Rainbow 100 Technical Manual EK-PC100-TM-001 pages 8-23 and on). For example, I would like to program the keyboard to oscillate the bell and key-click sounds. But, no matter what I have done, I cannot get anything to work. Any clues? I've tried interrupts, calling it from CP/M, and offering small animals as sacrifices. Next, I'll have to point a .44 at it! Any rumors or secret goings-on out there??? Send me an e-mail and I'll pass the knowledge on to Charlie Matco at Digital Review. Maybe if we get enough tidbits we can get a couple of cases of Matco Coffee Mugs! Enjoy! Alan Alan I. Vymetalik @ {allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!iav1917 ----------------------------------+---------------------------------- J.A.M, Inc. | Prism Software Designs 300 Main Street | 44 Arborwood Crescent East Rochester, New York, 14445 | Rochester, New York, 14615-3807 | 1-716-458-4932 ----------------------------------+---------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: The above statements and opinions belong to the author. Any resemblence to statements found in actual reality is purely coin- cidental. And, as always, the above opinions have absolutely nothing to do with the little, fat man putting $100 bills in my pocket. ---------------------------------------------------------------------