Re: [Ql-Users] Commercial QL Games
Bill Loguidice wrote: I'm aware of Rich's excellent site, thank you. In fact, Rich was the one who helped me source an NTSC Sinclair QL, which was much appreciated. A gentleman at my Website, Armchair Arcade, apparently found out the story regarding the Pawn (not sure where he got the info from): Basically Pawn was written first for QL, then the QL died a horrid death. The quickest way to get the game on other machines was to write a 68k QL emulator, which became the game driver for Magnetic Scrolls. The version of Pawn or any other Mag Scrolls game (pre Wonderland) basically was a 68k cpu emulator that ran QL compiled code on the pc/st/apple etc. The copy I have also has what were described as debugging aids (by a friend) still working. eg you don't need to move the boulder to get past it (you can do something else which doesn't require all the effort of executing the [proper] solution, ie when debugging the game, you could skip that puzzle ^_^). ... The first game released by Magnetic Scrolls was QL-Pawn, the originate version 1.o of the later so popular The Pawn. QL-Pawn came on two micro drives that were enclosed within a micro drive wallet that was badged by Sinclair Research. A sleeve was also produced for the wallet along with an instruction booklet containing a short narrative to introduce the adventure. The game was text only, but it already had the powerful parser which was one of the basics for the success of Magnetic Scrolls. QL-Pawn also was the only Magnetic Scrolls game that was produced for the ill fated QL. What is interesting is if you look at the clone program - it starts with a few REMarks: ``The Clone Programme ``Just in case you are thinking of Pirating this Adventure ``Pause for a moment and ask yourself ``Would you steal from shops? ``Would you break into a house? ``Steal a car? ``is (sic) the answers to the above are no - then why steal from us??? ``if the answers are yes... ``then don't pirate this one ... wait for our next adventure ``The Guild of Thieves ``Thank you. ``Magnetic Scrolls. ``--'' I wounder how much FACT have paid Magnetic scrolls for use of their [obviously] copyrighted (in 1985) questions and idea(s) above in the unskippable FACT adverts against Piracy? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] This is worth a look and laugh
Richard Kilpatrick wrote: On 10 Sep 2007, at 21:03, Rich Mellor wrote: Actually quite a snip at that price - after all, the software was one of the original best selling points about the QL and with the current dollar-pound exchange rate, it's only about a fiver? lol The one which really puzzled me is http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=110167130062 Wonder if that was for a One Per Desk? I think it's more likely to be unrelated to QLs at all I may be wrong - I can't be bothered to visually check and compare my GC as it requires unplugging, etc, but: The edge connector looks like it only has probably 32 connections (it looks like 16 connections are visible on the top edge, with probably the same number on the bottom edge) - the QL expansion port is 64 connections. Unless of course, there are 4 connections for every clearly visible wire (3 below it); in which case I'll go back to sleep...good idea anyway. G'd nite. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Karsten Engstler ist außer Haus.
Tony Firshman wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ich werde ab 20.08.2007 nicht im Büro sein. Ich kehre zurück am 27.08.2007. Ich werde Ihre Nachricht nach meiner Rückkehr beantworten. Could you please repeat this in English. Roughly translated (I think - based on my O level German of 1981 my laziness in going to find a dictionary/giving babelfish a go now): I will be away from the office from 20.08.2007 until 27.08.2007. I will answer your mail on my return. [It's probably an auto-holiday mail.] ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] LBYTES
Derek Stewart wrote:
What is the difference between a feature and bug... Microsoft Windows
has many features.
From the glossary of an Apple ][ manual:
Feature:- bug as described by the marketing department.
(Other gems include: Window:- something out of which you jump when the power
fails and you lose lots of work {or something like that}.)
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Re: [ql-users] Computer One Programs
Timothy Swenson wrote: Rich Mellor wrote: Does anyone have a copy of the following Computer One languages on disk (or working microdrive copy) - : I could have sworn that someone did a scan of the Computer One Pascal manual and put it online some where. I think I was the one that donated the manual to the project. I think the person that scanned it sent me a copy. I also think I've seen the binary for Computer One Monitor. I think I've got it somewhere. I have the C1mon manual (treeware); also the C1ass manual (treeware). Could scan them if necessary. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Computer One Programs
Rich Mellor wrote: Does anyone have a copy of the following Computer One languages on disk (or working microdrive copy) - : Pascal Forth Monitor I have C1mon[1] and C1ass (which includes a text file editor and Linker). For what purpose? [1] Slightly modified on my working copy as the quit command has become qqit [harking back to my Mist/Mud days: when you gave the command q it would respond Use QQ to quite as people keep hitting q by mistake (or something like that)]. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] old QL
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... death. I've had various Star printers, from Gemini10x to my favourites of the Star range, the LC10 and LC24 My LC24/200C has been running quite happily since I got it when made redundant (from that employer selling off equipment being used in the offices) in 1994...my original PC I purchased from them was a 386, but the mobo died when I added a CD-ROM, so I replaced that with a 486 - that still works, but the 1.5G HD I added (dual boot DOS 6.22/Win 3.1 FreeBSD) is now playing up (the original 500odd M HD is fine!). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] new hard disk
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ... LOAD and SAVE load and saves files in order (ie SuperBasic files). SAVE was the equivalent of OPEN#channel,file:LIST#channel:CLOSE#channel? SBYTES and LBYTES does the scatter loading. So the interleave is good for LOAD/SAVE but meaningless for SBYTES/LBYTES. It'd be good for each, but for LOAD, a large interleave to allow for tape stop-start would be good (as the tokenization was [relatively] slow). With LBYTES, scatter loading would use whatever happened to pass the head; interleave would possibly mean that it would be the next logical block. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] new hard disk
David Tubbs wrote: At 15:10 30/04/2007, you wrote: I must admit, I was assuming Sinclair had used 1024 byte blocks on his microdrives - I may need to be corrected on that. 512 byte seectors. one map sector, one byte for each potential sector, I had a few mdvs of 250 sectors. didn't it have 1 word, 2 bytes per sector: the file number in one byte ($f8 = sector map, $fd = free, $ff = dead) plus the block number within the file in the othe byte? Note tpp, every file fragmented of necessity by the interleave factor allowing the QL to digest the data from one sector before reading the next, some 11 or 13 further on. If the file were contiguous it would require a full revolution between sector reads. That begs the question of what one means by fragmented? If the sector allocation is such that some are deliberately skipped (interleave) then surely a fragmented file would be one that doesn't use the preferred sector(s), which for DOS users (with hard disks) would be the next contiguous sector (apparently). I had some of the Psion package which were Turbo Load, laid out for optimum pickup speed, they had to be copied by special procedure equivalent to a DOS DISCOPY. I never did that, but I had heard of it being done - the file laid out so that when the QL had digested the current sector, the next required one would be passing the read head...did it take into account scatter[1] loading? [1] As each sector has a file number and block number, it's position in the file is instantly recognised when read and if a later block happens past the read head before an earlier one, it is loaded first, into the correct memory. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] new hard disk
Ade Vickers wrote: ... I must admit, I was assuming Sinclair had used 1024 byte blocks on his microdrives - I may need to be corrected on that. Sinclair used 512 byte blocks/sectors on the mdvs. ^_^ (AFAIK) When a cartridge was formatted, the blocks were written with decreasing block numbers; thus the highest block still valid gave the max capacity of that format - duff sectors and the [root] directory would decrease the available blocks. The space available in K is simply half the number of free sectors. For floppies, it depends upon the capacity of the disk as to how many sectors = 1 block. eg for ED, it was 3 sectors/block. Of course, the capacity decreases when you format the disc as well (how did they work out the unformatted capacity, because, if it is unformatted then you cannot store anything on it !) Stephen Usher's description of the perils of formatting is amongst the best I've ever seen. It's true that you can lose staggering amounts of disk space to a bad file format... My ED disks are described as 4M unformatted. Under DOS (fat) they provide 2.88M, on the QL, I get 3.2M. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] new hard disk
Ade Vickers wrote: ... Sinclair used 512 byte blocks/sectors on the mdvs. ^_^ Of course I'd forgotten that. It's been too long since I used a QL in anger -- even though I have one set up right here in the office :-/ So... My estimate of 3.5million MDVs is, in fact, wrong; it should be nearly 7million MDVs. Mdvs had a [theoretical] max capacity of 128K, though in practice, it was slightly less: I used to get around 220 sectors on a formatted cartridge giving about 110K. ... Of course, formatting will remove a lot of that; if one assumes 50%, my original figure comes out conveniently accurate, for some inexplicable reason :) On a MDV, 2 sectors were taken at the start: sector 0 is the sector map and another sector was the start of file 0 - the directory for the mdv. The data for each sector had a header which contained the filenumber and block number within that file - the sector map contains a copy of these bytes for all 255 possible data sectors, along with a note of the most recently allocated sector.[1] Other than those 2 sectors, all formatted sectors are available for use for files. Each file has a 64 byte header containing things like name, file type, etc, and this takes the first 64 bytes of the first sector allocated to the file. The directory file (file 0) holds a duplicate copy of these 64 byte headers, the offset within its sector(s) the file number*64. Thus File 0 (the directory) has its header starting at the first byte of first sector of File 0 (this is the only file to have a single copy of this data); File 1 has its header copy starting at offset 64, etc. File 8 has its header starting at offset 512 which is the start of a second sector which is added to the directory file when needed. [1] According to Adrian Dickens: QL Advanced User Guide (with my sumarizing) Bit of a stupid question: Why does each file contain its header in its first 64 bytes (meaning that a file can only hold up to 448 bytes before a second sector is needed for bytes 449-960, etc): why not just use the one in the directory? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Epson printer help
P Witte wrote: I bought an Epson Stylus Color 850 printer on the high street here in the UK in about 2000/2001. (Great printer for QLs and PCs with an LPP. Still works.) I now need to know approxiamtely what it cost me then but Ive lost the original receipt. Any idea anyone? Found one ad in Jun 2000 Computer Shopper (by Watford Electronics) for the 850 at £148+vat ~= £175. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] new hard disk
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ... Of course, the capacity decreases when you format the disc as well (how did they work out the unformatted capacity, because, if it is unformatted then you cannot store anything on it !) I'd like the proper answer to that as well. I guessed that unformatted capacity represents the total amount of data that can be stored on the disk. Formatting added extra information (like an [un]allocated sector/cluster map, root directory, boot info and program, etc) that needs to be stored somewhere and so comes out of that unformatted capacity. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] new hard disk
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ... like the new and useless NHS project or Trident etc. What I find extremely funny is that the first two episodes of Yes, Prime Minister! (originally broadcase Jan '86) were about scrapping Polaris and replacing it with Trident; and the comments given - eg when Jim Hacker PM asks Sir Humphrey who runs Britain - that cabinet or the American President?, Sir Humphrey replies I'm a bit of a herectic and in the minority: I believe it's the Cabinet... (or words to that effect) - are just as appropriate today... ... I'm sure under Win 3.1 the defrag tool had an 'advanced' option where a graphic (lots of squares) appeared. You could, if I remember, hover over a square and it would tell you the file and highlight all the other fragments of thet file too. Not any more. I didn't realise Win 3.1 had a defrag program - I used a DOS defragger (speedisk) that allowed you to look at a cluster and told you to which file(s) the data belonged... ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] New here....
P Witte wrote: ... I have serious doubts whether modern, CD-ROM based systems could keep the data for so long. I would never use CDs or DVDs for long-term storage of important data. CDs and DVDs are the medium of the day (as were microdrives and floppies in their day). Round the next corner are HD and Blu-ray, perhaps, so then we'll have to copy all our important data once again. Wasn't there a report [fairly] recently about writeable CDs becoming unreadable after a while, the time also dependent upon method of labelling said CD? see, eg: http://searchwincomputing.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid68_gci1157306,00.html http://www.postgazette.com/pg/04127/311683.stm http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EoLc ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] new hard disk
Rick Chagouri-Brindle wrote: ... Try fdisk d: in a command line and see what transpires. I wouldn't expect that (fdisk d:) to work as d: wouldn't exist. IIRC when you run fdisk on a PC under [some form of] DOS, you select the drive number you wish to partition from a prompt [somewhere]. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] typeface changing in Psion Archive
Renato Barigazzi wrote: How can I change characters by printing within the Psion Four ? Changes in the configuration window of QPCPrint have no effect; I always have 10 CPI. How can I obtain 17CPI in QPC Print and use it in Archive ? Send the control code (ESC/P2?) code directly to the printer from archive? As in: lprint chr(27)+P+chr(15) Actually I use a Star NL10 with the proper printer_dat, but ribbon-inks ar difficult to find. I need help In the psion four printer driver (printer_dat file) itself? (actually it's just a config file of ESC codes to send to an ASCII/Text (ESC/P2?) printer to interpret. Set the preamble code to include set printer to 17 CPI (ESC, P, SI = 27, 80, 15) and post-print to include resetting printer to, say, 10 CPI (ESC, P, DC2 = 27, 80, 18)? If I remember rightly (haven't done it for a while) I had a few printer_dat files set up for various configs and copied the relevant one to printer_dat before running the relevant psion program. [I have a Star LC24/200c...I seem to be able to get original ribbons; though when I do I usually buy a lot (10-20) to ensure that (a) I have supply and (b) makes it possible that supplier can actually get them (as it's not just 1 or 2). NOTE: I don't know how QPCPrint handles access to the printer - ie whether it converts the output into a raster scan to send (like a normal, slow, Windwos printer sends a graphical image) or just passes the data straight through to the printer (like a standard QL). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Programming question
Rich Mellor wrote: On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:18:05 -, omega [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thank you guys for suggestions. Especially George, Daniele, Dilwyn, Tony and others. I need to work on the routines with your hints and test the results. I am sorry for lack of response, simply out of time. Derek and Robert: I know the example code in advanced QL user guide. I just want to use plain standard QL. That is for which the code was written - see extracts of QLAUG below. Note that the QLAUG code is actually written as BASIC extensions! I must say, I have not actually tested the code, but it seems fairly reasonable as to what it's doing. If it would appear to be impossible with JS,JM,MG roms, I'll switch to Minerva. Hi Jan, The code in the advanced QL user guide does allow you to use the dual screen mode on a standard QL. By entering supervisor mode, the system variables are no longer accessible and the space (32768 bytes?) at $28000 can be used as the second screen. However, you have no access to TRAP calls (if I recall correctly) - it has been a long long time since I looked at this. Quoting a bit from QLAUG: ``On the QL, there are two different areas of memory which can be used to generate the screen display...The second screen is located 32K bytes of RAM above the first. Unfortunately, the system variables...are actually inside of screen 1! ``However, all is not lost. There is still the possibility of using most of screen 1 (apart from the 5k allocated to system variables). To do this, screen 0 alone can be used to display the top fifth[1] of the screen. Screen 1 is then flipped into the display under interrupt control every frame... ``...Manager trap MT.ALCHP is then called to reserve memory in the common heap area. This is so no other allocations in the common heap area will overwrite screen 1... ``The Interrupt service routine...screen 1 can only be switched in after the system variables have passed...The timing for this period is done in software using DBRA D0,* which puts the 68008 into an internal timing loop...'' [1] sic Errm, 5k/32k = 1/7-1/6! 1/5 = 6.4k! A comment is made that the timing loop is affected by a high priority interrupt, so screen 1 switching is disabled if MDV or SER are being used. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Composite Video Connector
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have tried in the past building some cables 75ohms for this (composite and monochrome)on 3 different QLs and differnt monitors/TV. The result : it works but the quality is allways very bad (probably due to the embeded Motorola MC1377 PAL generator). Compared to the modulated UHF, the composite was much cleared - I use[d] a Phillips TX BW TV[1] into which I hacked a composite input (following directions in a computer mag) and the picture quality was much better (still missed edges of the screen tho'). [1] Originally purchased as a monitor for my ZX81. In MHO, displaying anything else than RGB signals from the original QL is rubish. RGB *IS* the best ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Programming question
Derek Stewart wrote: Robert, When not put Minerva into your machine, then you will have a faster operating system than JS or earlier and the second screen is working. Could do, but was responding to original request for possibility of 2nd screen on original QL, pointing to an example of code done to do it. ... I want to present kind of demo for QL on the retro-computing competition called Forever see: http://forever.zeroteam.sk I did some graphics already on PC and it looks good (looks cool in fact :-). But, I need to write special screen hadler with following conditions: 1) I need to use both screens of the QL without affecting of the 2nd screen by system variables. (if there must be some variables, how much is the minimum for functionality interrupt handler?) Program given in QLAUG does this. 2) I still need to call my routine every interrupt (50/60Hz) It links into 50/60Hz interrupt list, using a DBRA delay loop; will have problems on an expanded QL (eg with GC as this runs about 3-4 times as fast(?) as a std QL), but... 3) It must run on unexpanded QL with standard QDOS (sandyQboard optional), no aurora, no Q40, Q60, no (S)GC. Plain, pure, virging QL only. For standard QDOS, QLAUG manual has a possible solution. Minerva upgrade has another. ^_^ 4) Safe return to Qdos is not required. Anyone has any idea if it's possible? Yes, as suggested. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] win98se
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... FAT32 (is you said to FDISK you want large partition) is for partition up to ( 2^28 * 4K !! ) = 8 GB. So the limitation is 4 GB in FAT16 with cluster of 64 KB ( not recommended ) And 8 GB in FAT32 with 4K Clusters and up to 32GB. But be carefull a FAT32 partition isn't recoverable with an MS-DOS floppy disk. Jimmy. http://www.jadiam.org Ah, I see. Does it allow for, say, a 40GB hard drive to be seen as several smaller partitions by Windows 98SE, say 5 x 8GB partitions? I was given a Gateway Win98 machine with a dead HD. I replaced it with an 80G (I think) HD and re-installed Win98 with 3 partitions (but not using the whole disk space as I intend to duel (sic) boot it when I get round to installing the other OS(s)). I'm firmly against the idea of a single large partition. This partly comes from my original 386 (now 486) machine with FAT16 to prevent wastage (in terms of cluster sizes - having a few smaller partitions allows for smaller cluster sizes which in turn means less wastage with lots of small files). It also comes from trying to split usages between partitions to assist in preventing data corruption (eg due to a crash). I generally try to have at least 3 partitions: C: - Main boot/OS drive D: - installed programs and data E: - temporary data, including Windwos swap file. Ideally, C: should only ever need writing when OS is updated, D: contains installed programs and gets written quite often with data used by programs, E: is totally volatile - anything stored on it not expected to have any value beyond the moment and can be recreated as necessary (eg temp install directory for unpacking an archive, etc). I have used 15G partitions happily with Win98SE. My duel boot desktop computer has: C: 3G D: 15G E: 7G(ish) C: is only 3G as the machine is quite old and to prevent a possible 1024 cylinder limit (4G) problem for duel booting - the first partition of the other OS is immediately after C: E: was 15G, but my Windwos usage wasn't as large as expected and the other OS needed some extra disk space: I split the partition into 2 of about 7G each - just try doing that if you only had a single large partition for Windwos on a duel boot machine (a much greater headache). As 40GB drives seem to be the smallest drives around now (looking at eBuyer site anyway) - at 25 pounds very cheap, it seems silly to put a 40GB drive on a Win98SE machine if it will only see a few GB and the rest goes to waste. I know the feeling...my original 486 is having hardware problems with the 1.5G HD I added to the original 525M HD it had. I've got a 10G (I think) HD to replace it, but I haven't got round to doing it yet...partially worried that the machine won't be able to handle it. (The machine has an intended role on my network once I get it fixed, so it is worth doing.) ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Spare GC or SGC?
Stephen Usher wrote: Hi Steve, ... I find with 2M on my GC, data and programs just rattle around inside! Even with the base 128K machine (around 77K(?) free for use) I used to be able to do/run more than I could with a 540K PC. Or are people becoming so bloatware expecting that 4M sounds titchy? Yes, but the QL doesn't have all those silly GUI thingies written in bloating C++ (or now JAVA and .NET). I must admit that I sometimes found 128K restrictive but never filled the Trump Card memory. (Oh and I did have a sort-of GUI thingy for the QL, the ICE ROM mouse.) Neither did the 540K PC of the time (Windwos 3.x were just about around when I got the GC, but never had them at the time to compare with using the 128K QL). Still, storage has never been a problem for you, other than the UCL Euclid file quota, which you got around using a neat trick using the e-mail inbox if I remember correctly. If space really ran out there was alway the emergency PTP (Paper-Tape-Punch) archive...I still have a few sitting around upstairs, but with no means of reading contents :( Oh and then there was thae hack for getting long printouts on the self-sevice printer.. and the Babbage programs you wrote which made UCLCC people nervous about 'cos they did things no-one thought a normal user could do. Funny you should mention them...I was having a chuckle about one in particular (the pre-main code filing password adder/remover) and exactly what it did and how it did it. By the way, I seem to remember a couple of years ago that you asked if you could pass on the source etc. of the terminal emulator I wrote to someone, did you do so? Seeing as I've not got a modern machine readable copy would it be possible for you to fish it out and pass it onto whoever archives QL software on this list? Someone might as well get some use out of it. I have it somewhere...need to search...can't remember to whom I wanted to send it now. To whom should I sent it (ie who would possibly be interested in archiving/having it [for distribution])? Dilwyn? -- --- Robert Newson, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 17 Sunnybank, South Norwood Phone: (020) 8654 6643 London, SE25 4TQ Mobile: 07737 515 214 or 07922 060 873 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Spare GC or SGC?
Rich Mellor wrote: I would be interested in sourcing a new development of SGCs (must write to Stuart about this), but I do wonder how many people would still be willing to pay £200-£300 for a SGC nowadays. Certainly with a need to make 50 boards to make it worthwhile, I am not certain there would be a big enough market, especially with only 4MB RAM ! I find with 2M on my GC, data and programs just rattle around inside! Even with the base 128K machine (around 77K(?) free for use) I used to be able to do/run more than I could with a 540K PC. Or are people becoming so bloatware expecting that 4M sounds titchy? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Returning back to the QL :)
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... 1. Gold Card is a combined memory expansion (2MB) and disk interface which can handle HD and DD floppy disk drives,a nd adds a full 68000 processor instead of the 8-bit data bus 68008 in the QL. I must have a SGC in disguise ^_^ - my GCs have always handled ED disks - when I purchased my GC (Nov 1991), I got a dual ED drive with it (originally ordered a dual HD drive, but got letter back saying no longer supplied, but ED were the standard now and did I still want to order) and a box of 10 ED disks - still not completely used up! (at 3.2M per disk, that's roughly equivalent to a 30M HD ^_^). Perhaps the most worrying thing about the purchase of the GC + ED drives + Disks is that for roughly the same price today I purchased a Turion64x2 1.6GHz Notebook with 80G HD! But then again, as power has increased prices have fallen; and the QL still holds its own for certain things. 2. Super Gold Card is a development of the above, with 4MB memory, 68020 processor and capability to handle all floppy disk formats (including DD, HD and ED 3.2MB). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Using ED drives with Trump Card
Neil Riley wrote: Hi Chaps, The only QL I own with working Microdrives for some reason refuses to work with my GC but works with my Trump card. whereas my other QL with very unreliable microdrives works fine with my GC. I know this may be a bit extreme, but does the network work between the QLs? In which case could you copy the MDVs on one QL onto the disks on the other? PS Thanks for fixing my QL-GC problem Tony - could this be something similar? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] QL Emulator for Linux
Rick Chagouri-Brindle wrote: ... I've tried googling but all the options seem woefully out of date, so I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a QL emulator for Linux? The QL emulator for Linux is called UQLX and can be found at http://linux-q40.sourceforge.net/uqlx/ ... Thanks, John. They're the ones I tried unsuccessfully. I've just downloaded uqlx (from above link), made it (MK.all ; make install) and it seems to be running ok (except for the lack of tk2_ext). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] month number
Dilwyn Jones wrote: OK, I goofed on that one. I assumed (wrongly) that because JM allowed 6 parameters on a JM ROM and appeared to return a vaguely right number I assumed it worked. Except it just pretends to work and of course you can't tell accurately from an E number where in the year it was until you do detailed checks with storing DATE result then using DATE$ to see what it makes of it - no parameter checks on JM it would seem. Using DATE with 6 parameters on a JM ROM returns the same result as DATE with no parameters. Or with any number of parameters! At least JS is kind enough to give err_bp when you try :-( So I have been taught a lesson, not to let APPARENT results fool me. There were a few things that didn't work [properly] on the JM that when the JS came around, to avoid the problems, it just didn't allow them. eg upto JM, I seem to remember some sort of variable was allowed somewhere (was it integers on SELect? have the info lurking here somewhere), but I think something wasn't quite right, so JS just won't accept it in the first place I fell foul of something in a program I wrote for my JM that worked, but when I gave it to a friend to try on his JS, it didn't work - the JS just didn't accept one of the lines. At a guess either the DATE(yr,...) was intended to be, but it was never written, and so the JS errors; or it was a parameter check that was missing upto JM that was finally fixed in JS. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] month number
Dilwyn Jones wrote: Robert Newson wrote: DATE returns the number of seconds [since 01/01/61] for the /current/ date/time (I suspect it just reads a/the clock); It can read the clock, but you can also do PRINT DATE(1996,1,10,12,59,59) Marcel I suspect most people don't know about this form of DATE, since the QL manual (Concepts - Date) does not list the 6 parameter version, and neither does the Jan Jones Superbasic guide. I certainly didn't. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] (OTramblings about left and right)
George Gwilt wrote: On 24 Sep 2006, at 21:56, Dilwyn Jones wrote: Shall we ponder how this rumour will work? Start with clock faces changing from 1-12 to 1-10. Napoleon tried to make the time go metric. I actually saw an example of a French clock of the period which had ten hours per day. It didn't take on Napoleon must have been before his time. Along with the French Revolutionary [metric] Calendar: 12 Months of 30 days, each of 3 weeks of 10 days each week; an extra 5/6 days were a holiday at the end of the year; the clock was also changed to have 10 hours per day, each of 100 minutes, each of 100 seconds[1]. It lasted from 1792AD = 1FRC until 15FRC = 1806AD. [1] So the FRC second was 0.864 [Gregorian?] seconds long. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] month number
Rich Mellor wrote: ... It can read the clock, but you can also do PRINT DATE(1996,1,10,12,59,59) ... I suspect most people don't know about this form of DATE, since the QL manual (Concepts - Date) does not list the 6 parameter version, and neither does the Jan Jones Superbasic guide. ... Odd - it was certainly pushed by Lau as one of the improvements made by Minerva - are you sure it works on a JM ROM or earlier?? Just tried: PRINT DATE(1996,1,10,12,59,59) on my JS [ROMed QL - later than JM] and it comes up with: bad parameter /was/ it a Minerva improvement? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] (OTramblings about left and right)
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... rant You probably forget the inevitable British resistance to change. How long have we been thinking of going metric? We actually went metric on 1 July 1959 when: The yard was redefined as 0.9144 metre /exactly/[1] and The pound was redefined as 0.45359237 kilogram /exactly/ ie the yard and pound since 01 July 1959 have been defined in /exact/ terms of the metre and kilogram - not exact multiples of 10 I grant you, but defined /exactly/ none-the-less. Just I expect nobody noticed - like normal. [1] Sourced from my Collier's Encyclopedia [set of 24 volumes] published 1968 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] month number
Marcel Kilgus wrote: ... I only added the functions that are readily available (i.e. DATE$ had to calculate all this anyway, it's just a matter of exposing the values to BASIC). Was a 5 minutes job. Precisely what I would have done. I also often find SECONDS(year, month, day, hour, minutes, seconds) handy. What's the difference between SECONDS and DATE? DATE returns the number of seconds [since 01/01/61] for the /current/ date/time (I suspect it just reads a/the clock); SECONDS takes 6 params (or possibly a single string param) and converts them (it) into the number of seconds [since 01/01/61] ie SECONDS allows a programmer to convert any arbitrary date[-time] into internal format - the inverse of the DATE$(secs). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] month number
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... In fact, as I was given permission to include those articles on the Documentation CD, may I ask you if I can also include these routines as well? Sure. If so, a few lines explaining the algorithm may be in order. I understand parts of it, but not all of it: for example what's the significance of the (dy+0.8) ? It's the Fudge factor to get the leap year calculations correct - it could possibly be removed by changing the base year (of the shifted year) from 1960 to 1959 (and adding an extra 366, ie +972 instead of +306 to the days) but I haven't checked it: 0.8 was chosen, as otherwise the first year would be a leap year with 366 days (0-365), the 2nd would then be days 366-730, 3rd 731-1095, 4th 1096-1460; the 5th would also be a leap year. The my_mth_no() fn is just the month stuff extracted from my_date proc, so I'll just explain my_date. I'm not a very good technical author (and I'm currently half asleep), so I'll write what it does and I'll let you tidy it up (if you want to). 88888888 The way it works is by using a calendar based on day 0 = 1 March 1960. The year in this calendar runs from 1 March to 28/29 February - the leap day is added at the end of the year, every 1460 days. (4 years) Having the leap day at the end of the year means that we don't have to worry about it when working out the day offset for any date in the year 1 March or later. As we're passed seconds, we divide by 86400 = 24 * 60 * 60, the number of seconds in a day and ignore the fraction. The passed date needs to be adjusted for our shifted year and as day 306 is 1 January 1961, an offset of 306 is added. The current year is calculated from the base by checking out every 365.25 days. (The fudge factor of (dy + 0.8) simplifies the calculation so that yr 0 = days 0-364, yr 1 = 365-729, yr 2 = 730-1094, yr 3 (leap) = 1095-1460, etc.) Once the relative year to the base year is found, the number of days until the start of that year is removed leaving the day offset within the year. The number 30.6 is useful in that its multiples, when ignoring the fraction bit, provide an increase of 30, 31, 30, 31, 31 which then repeats. This matches the number of days in each of the months in the year that need to be added to get to the start of the current month: 31 (March), 30 (April), 31, 30, 31, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31 (February has 28/29 which then starts the next year and so we don't need it). Adding 31 to the current day number corrects for the sequence of the multiples of 30.6 so that it matches the month sequence. Dividing by 30.6 then gives the month number in the shifted year. We need to subtract the number of days in the month(s) preceeding this one from the day offset in the year. Again, we need to shift the 30.6 sequence and the (mn + 3) provides this. However, we also have to correct for INT(30.6 * 3) = 92 extra days which are subtracted, so we need to add them back with a +92 Finally the shifted month is corrected for the real year by adding 2. If the resultant month is 12 (ie a month past December, ie January or February), subtract 12 from the month number and add one to the year. The year is corrected to the real year by adding the base year of 1960. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] month number
Robert Newson wrote: OOps, typo: Obviously this: DEF my_mth_no(secs) should be DEF FN my_mth_no(secs) LOC dy, yr, mn dy = INT(secs / 86400) + 306 yr = INT((dy + .8) / 365.25) mn = INT((dy - INT(yr * 365.25) + 31) / 30.6) + 2 IF mn 12 : mn = mn - 12 RET mn END DEF ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] month number
Dilwyn Jones wrote:
A help request:
Is there a way of returning the current month as a number?
...
Seems so clumsy I'm sure there must be a better way! I need to use it
in my diary program to find entries for the current day or current
month. The only other idea I've come up with so far is to take the
value of DATE as seconds from DATE=0 and try to divide by the number
of seconds per year and per month, taking into account leap years!
Almost as clumsy. I suppose the month number probably exists somewhere
in the OS to select which month name to take from the language
dependent modules.
It probably takes the date in seconds and converts that, taking into account
leap years!
Talking of which, when I wrote a date converter years ago (dd/mm/yy - secs
secs - dd/mm/yy), I found it easier to work with the year starting on
March 1 - then the leap day is added at the end of the year - and
correcting for that in the secs. I'll see if I can dig up the code for you
(I later changed it to use localtime(), but I have my original somewhere - I
may just re-write it).
I also wrote a diary and a year planner printing programs. They handle
festivals (Easter, GMT/BST, etc) which are printed, so I'm sure they use
some sort of secs-date conversion - I know the planner uses a formula I
found in PC World magazine years ago that [seems to] work for any year
{summat like} 20,000 BC/AD (including 1752AD, but I'm not sure about the odd
leap years that occured around the BC/AD time).
So...help, please!
I'll see what I can dig up tomorrow (before I have to go out).
___
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Re: [ql-users] QLer ages
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... [Age: pedwar deg chwech - only known to Welsh speakers :-) ] And me (can't speak Welsh - would love to learn it tho') ^_^ ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] QLer ages
nearly 41 8-( Ade Vickers wrote: ... Agreed, it is far simpler; but I would love to be able (one day) to say THAT is 100% my original computer (ok, barring whatever components needed replacing to make it work again!) Replacing m/b to get it working?... This broom of mine is the same one I bought 30 years ago; since then it's had 10 new heads and 5 new handles, but it's the same broom... ^_^ ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Updated web site
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ... Thankfully, many web sites I use these days have little icons that say 'W3C validated for HTML and CSS' (or words to that effect) and work better in non-IE browsers because IE is far from standards compliant. My web page at http://www.bountiful.demon.co.uk/qstripper.html, for example, has been written in standard compliant HTML and CSS (I hope!) and only IE gives problems of the browsers I have tested. Mind you, Opera 9 has yet to be tried out. I even decided to put a paragraph on the page to advise users of IE that they might have problems. May I suggest that you also put a link to from where a download could be performed? So not only do you suggest that the user gets a [much better] tandards compliant browser, but also from where they can get it. How times have changed eh ? And for the good of everyone. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Q40/Q60 screen
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... Many thanks to anyone who can help. Assuming I've set my Q40 in the correct mode (I don't often use it and haven't fully learnt how to use it - just haven't had the time), they are indeed as suspected for colour: 0xf800 = Green 0x07c0 = Blue 0x003e = Red ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Infinity
Marcel Kilgus wrote: ... Curious fact: there are also 2 zeros! +0 and -0. When I worked with Data/Basic on Pick, -0 was used to represent infinity[1]. Add 1 and you got the largest positive number possible, subtract 1 and you got the largest negative number possible. [1] Data/Basic used fixed point maths - ie integer maths divided by a power of 10, defined at compile time, default 4 dp. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] apostrophes
Laurence Reeves wrote: PS. (this is a Pre-script, just for variety). Shouldn't that be AS: Ante Script? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] apostrophes
Tony Firshman wrote: ... Indeed, but not completely - it would be I am not I are. As in She is nicer than you and I am? Surely it's we are not we am. I was referring to the 'correct' She is nicer than than you and I (are) As I thought, but shirley you and I, the subject of the missing/implicit verb is plural (together as one pronoun: we) and so would use are and not am? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] apostrophes
Tony Firshman wrote: ... She is nicer than me and you /are/. Now you see why it's wrong. Indeed, but not completely - it would be I am not I are. As in She is nicer than you and I am? Surely it's we are not we am. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] apostrophes
P Witte wrote: David Tubbs writes: ... Youre welcome ... Three missing apostrophes (8-)# ... BTW the apostrophies are not missing, Ive merely removed redundant information for the benefit of the discerning reader. Actually, they're not redundant, they represent the missing a from You are, giving You're. Without, them it looks like a typo of Your welcome (or an attempt at a quaint olde looke by adding a trailing e to your) which then begs the question of What about mine welcome? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Printer Problem
hitchies wrote: [Third attempt :( - 2 previous returned. Why??!] == Re Robert's: durabrite...is that the same as the coating that goes on Ally [coach] wheels so that you don't need to polish them to keep them shiny? I've managed similar unblocking by sparingly using warm water with old cartridges - until normal service was resumed (via invocation (!) of ROM auto-head-cleaning routine). ;) What technique do you mean? Removing an bathing head in warm water, or injecting it into an old cartridge and installing that? = Hi Robert! DURAbrite = [One of?] Epson's **waterproof** inks! Place the catridge(s), head down, in lookwarm water - just enough to cover its head only. Wait for a colour show. Dab dry with tissue. Insert to printer. Run test with scrap paper(s) until you have a dry product. The printer I was given has the head jets in a carriage on the printer (which I removed when I last directly tried to clean it) and the cartridges have a plastic seal which is pierced to allow ink to flow to the heads...I'll have a look to see if warm water works (with the ink directly) before dismantling the head carriage again. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] printer problem
David Tubbs wrote: ... But that pre-supposes a handleable cartridge and not mounted in the printer itself, had that problem years ago with an Epson, what a bugger that was, endlessly cycling it through it's nose wipe routine, even used a solder sucker over the feed tube, but at the time it was within a 3 year warranty so back to maker, Never again. hmmm...solder sucker...might try that (but that needs replacing as the spring has got weak/plunger has got sticky)... I suggest that for both types one keeps an old cartridge to fill with solvent of choice for these occasions. I have never managed myself to follow another of my recommendations, namely a small daily print exercise that uses all jets. Got a 1/2 used cart with the rest of the black ink in it! ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Future of the QL?
Rick Chagouri-Brindle wrote: ... I'm still stuck in the Space Invaders, Galaxians and Pssst (Spectrum game from Ultimate in the 1980s). Sad, eh? The only more modern game i play is The Wall from JMS and sometimes Mah Jonngg when I can get my wife off that computer. Psst? I don't know that one. What's it like? If it's what I think it is, and I remember correctly, you control an aerosol can to spray bugs (insects) and kill them. Steve? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] printer problem
John Gilpin wrote: ... I successfully use Surgical Spirit (Obtainable from any chemist shop) and a cotton bud to clear the jets on my HP printer. Alternatively, HP used to provide strips of adhesive backed velcro type material which you stick onto a test page provided using the software provided. It seems as though the heads are cleaned by a scrubbing motion against the velcro. - Sounds as though it is ripping the printer to bits but the results are - so far - 100% effective. Usually the surgical spirit and cotton bud is sufficient to clean the jets and provide a satisfactory test page. I attacked the jets directly (after removing head assembly) with iso-propyl alcohol (aka propan-2-ol) and cotton buds - the colour jets leeched wonderfully, the black steadfastly refused. Out of interest...what is surgical spirit? On retrying with setting the quality higher last night I seemed to get more of the black jets working for a short period before petering out. Perhaps I just need to keep on trying, but as the printer keeps getting itself lost (wrt where the head is), I'm still in favour of scrapping it for a replacement. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] printer problem
John Gilpin wrote: ... Out of interest...what is surgical spirit? According to the bottle I have it contains the following: Virgin Caster Oil BP 2.5%v/v, methyl salicylate BP 0.5%v/v, Diethyl Phthalate BP 2.0%v/v, industrial methylated spirit BP 95%v/v. So it's mainly Industrial Methylated Spirit. Interesting; according to http://www.wbateman.demon.co.uk/gcse2003/gcsesums/chemsums/organic/organic.htm hospitals use a 95% ethanol/5% water solution, but adding methanol makes it IMS and cheaper (no tax as poisinous)...I was advised against using [ordinary] meths to clean the tape heads for the company for which I was the computer dept as it left residue (from the colourant?) and to use propan-2-ol instead - also available from your local friendly neighbourhood chemist. ... I somrtimes find that a period of regular use after cleaning gradually improves the output and once it's producing an acceptable quality, regular use helps to maintain that quality. Only longer periods of no or very low usage tends to cause the jet blockages again. Not really surprising: regular use prevents the ink drying in the jets... ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] printer problem
Norman Dunbar wrote: Dilwyn Jones wrote: Wonder if anyone knows anything about this printer problem. I have my son's Epson Stylus C64 set up here at the moment and it has developed a problem - both indicators are blinking which indicates (according to manual) print head unable to return to home position, but it seems to be parked in the home position! I was recently given a PC (with a dead HD - replaced and it's now live and kicking) along with an Epsom stylus Colour 460. There would be times when I first got it and switched it on that it would attempt to start up (with some odd head movements - presumably cleaning the jets) eventually ending with both cartridge indicators flashing. It just seemed to fix itself; it seemed to get out of sync with itself. However, I've been unable to use it as it was put away with a black cartridge open in it. Once I had downloaded the correct drivers for it, I eventually got the CMY jets working, but the black has steadfastly refused to work - I eventually got it to product a single (dot) line for about 2 lines and that peters out to nowt; ink appears to have dried in the jets...any suggestions how to clear (trying propan-2-ol seems to have had little effect (other than to get one dot working for minimal time), though it does collect the other colours quite well - I dismantled the head unit to get direct access to the jets...the C460 has a small sponge for the lifetime of head cleaning, along with a rubber block that pops up to scrape along the jets.). As I got it for nowt, I'm not too worried about replacing it - especially as I intend to get one that is Linux compatible. -- Outgoing mail certified virus free... It has gone nowhere near a Windwos machine before my ISP. I am the ILOVEGNU signature virus. Just copy me to your signature. This email was infected under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] printer problem
hitchies wrote: Robert said - ...any suggestions how to clear (trying propan-2-ol seems to have had little effect (other than to get one dot working for minimal time), though it does collect the other colours quite well - I dismantled the head unit to get direct access to the jets...the C460 has a ... -- The Epsom [racing !] stylus Colour 460 is (I believe) 'NonDURAbrite' inked. oops...typo...(well that's ny excuse). durabrite...is that the same as the coating that goes on Ally [coach] wheels so that you don't need to polish them to keep them shiny? I've managed similar unblocking by sparingly using warm water with old cartridges - until normal service was resumed (via invocation (!) of ROM auto-head-cleaning routine). ;) What technique do you mean? Removing an bathing head in warm water, or injecting it into an old cartridge and installing that? (I've got a black page I use for testing and getting the printer to think the cartridge is empty by thinking it has printed all that ink). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Dead QL - long live my QL!
Derek Stewart wrote: The normal QL power supply is not enough to power the QL CPU - 68008 and the Gold Card. Remove the CPU from the QL and plug the Gold card into the QL and this may solve your problem, assuming there are no bent or damaged pins on the expansion port. It worked for *years* with the GC and the ICE rom - I had upgraded the power reg /years/ before getting the GC to get a better performance anyway. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Today 20 years ago...
Stephen Usher wrote: Well, actually, it was 20 years ago tomorrow, but why wait.. I also got my QL then. It allowed me to learn how to program in assembler, helped me with MSc project (the MSc course used a 68000 board for the robotics stuff and I used the QL as a development platform, writing a subset of the QDOS system calls for the 68000 board to ease the development) and was a lovely machine to program. I see that another subscriber to this list is Robert Newson. Do you still use my old terminal emulator program? Would if the QL worked...handy for testing Bullet ^_^ It still works, though it's up in my loft at the moment along with the Trump Card and the twin 3.5 DD drives. Mine's still sitting on my desk; however it isn't working at the moment (I suspect a ULA) :-( Ah, the memories. So much stuff on my 3.2M ED disks I want to get at (eg my year planner program, and my diary program - prints a weekly twin page diary starting on any day with 4 days on the left page and 3 on the right to a given size, complete with printing on both sides of the paper ready for cutting and binding...)...must get the QL fixed when I get a chance. -- --- Robert Newson, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Dead QL - long live my QL!
Tony Firshman wrote: On Wed, 25 Jan 2006 at 21:01:56, Robert Newson wrote: (ref: [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Mine's still sitting on my desk; however it isn't working at the moment (I suspect a ULA) :-( What are the symptoms? Clears desk to get access to QL... It's been rather erratic when I last used it. I was trying to do some programming when it just kept corrupting - name table did silly things, etc and it was impossible to list (etc) the program on which I was working. Prior to that I had changed my GC battery and on re-insertion of GC, QL wouldn't work. I also had ICE ROM installed. Removed both GC ICE and it seemed to work again. So had GC checked and it came back AOK. Then QL kept crashing and not even booting WITHOUT any extra peripherals - ie just the QL itself (it has had one personal mod *years* ago in that I changed (upgraded) the voltage regulator - as per instrs in QL mag [poss QL World]). Having just switched it on for the first time in ages, it has booted up without problem and is currently playing Psion Chess against itself (demo) in 3D Mode. I've had to resort back to my hacked (personal mod [again]) Phillips TX BW TV (hacked in a Video input to bypass the demodulator which doesn't work) as my colour monitor died when I tried to use the QL after a long break (having finally got a replacement GC battery); the QL started playing up at around the same time. I suspect the last colour monitor wasn't doing the QL any good as prior to that monitor I had a rebadged Phillips TTL monitor (an Archimedes monitor) which worked fine (until it died and my brother took it to be fixed, never to be seen again), even when I did a dual display with a TV as well to show the difference in quality - the last colour monitor caused the TV output to visibly degrade considerably if run at the same time. I did have an odd occurence years ago when I removed the dead battery from the GC; on reinsertion of GC the QL didn't work and I thought it was fried, but it just started working again. I have just tried to re-insert the GC and it crashes on boot. Without it, it booted ok, so haven't tried to re-re-insert. Have subsequently tried ICE ROM and it has booted ok. Would poss suggest GC, but that *WAS* checked and found Ok - implying poss fault on expansion port of QL? Robert -- --- Robert Newson, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Dead QL - long live my QL!
Paul Holmgren wrote: Robert Newson wrote: Tony Firshman wrote: I have just tried to re-insert the GC and it crashes on boot. Without it, it booted ok, so haven't tried to re-re-insert. Have subsequently tried ICE ROM and it has booted ok. Would poss suggest GC, but that *WAS* checked and found Ok - implying poss fault on expansion port of QL? Robert Might peer into the expansion port with strong light and try and see if you have any bent pins I did (bend pin) years ago (and fixed that...don't remember the kind of crash now get). Just checked, all pins ok. -- --- Robert Newson, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Dodgy Email
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... There is an issue in particular with NTL which is causing havoc. The root cause is spam, and many ISPs inept efforts at pre-filtering. I remember chaos at Demon a few years ago, when someone decided to put them on a blacklist because one of their customers had an open relay. My ISP does absolutely nothing other than spend £100,00 plus to cope with the spam traffic. That is fine by me - I would rather be in control of my own filters. Consider that the £100,00[0]+ has to come from somewhere: it'll end up coming from you in terms of costing you more to access their system - spam defence must form part of the cost you have to pay your ISP for using their systems and their providing you with email facilities. One of my contacts using freeserve,co,uk is having terrible trouble. Approximately 50% of her emails get filtered out somewhere in transit. That is curious. My old email address[1] was with freeserve (.fsnet.co.uk) and all the spam arrived having been through their filters, usually marked as ***SPAM*** in the subject field plus a couple of extra X- header fields. I believe there was/is a facility for the user to allow them to delete the spam at the ISP end (before even being seen); also I believe you could train their filters so that false positives, and negatives, could be corrected. [1] I stopped checking that old eaddr at the beginning of the year. When I last checked it a couple of days ago (telnet'ed in) it held 1001 messages (7,650,581 bytes) with the last message dated Tue 17 around 9:15am which leads me to suspect that it's now full (and probably bouncing all mail sent to it). How do these ISP spam filterings work? Do they pattern match emails (i.e. look at it, that's spam, add it to the list and stop every copy of that email) or simply decide that a particular isp seems to carry a lot of c*** and focus on those alone? The freeserve/wanadoo mailings (I receive) include a score which must be based on content - I've had messages from the same (expected, non-spam) source some marked as spam, others not. For example, the header of the parent of this reply contains: ... X-DH-Virus-Scanned: by amavisd-new-20030616-p10 (Debian) at deathwish X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 tagged_above=-999.0 required=999.0 tests= X-Spam-Level: ... X-me-spamlevel: not-spam X-me-spamrating: 0.398634 I really do seem to get a lot less spam on tesco.net now, but what I don't know of course is how many inncoent emails are being blocked. Plus, as I'm on dial up, I tend to put a specific size do not download on if I'm receiving emails at peak (costly) time. You could always download the headers of all messages without downloading the bodies. (The pop3 TOP command sends the message header along with the first n (specified) lines of the message - if specified as 0, only the header is sent.) ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Dodgy Email
David Tubbs wrote: One of my contacts using freeserve,co,uk is having terrible trouble. Approximately 50% of her emails get filtered out somewhere in transit. As you see, I use same, and Wanadoo ISP, they don't remove spam, just mark it. Very little gets under and a tiny number of false positives. And they do kill virus attachments neither can members send them. I've had quite a few false positives - filtering on my old .fsnet eaddr was easy as I used the 'user' bit (see below) - and a few false negatives as well; though I believe you are supposed to be able to submit mail to the filter(s) for your account so that it/they can learn - never used it. My ISP does absolutely nothing other than spend £100,00 plus to cope with the spam traffic. That is fine by me - I would rather be in control of my own filters. A friend was on Pipex tried to set own filters, some 200 or so, all to little avail, viagra is potent stuff, A periodic change of address might seem the easiest cure. That is a hassle, but that's exactly what I've had to do (and lose a nice eaddr in the process). I was checking my old e-domian until the end of last year, mainly for statistical reasons, but just in case I had forgotten to tell someone; it is now filling and will soon be bouncing spam as it has run out of disk space. Once an eaddr has been changed, the next thing to do is to be sure to whom the eaddr is given or exposed. Since changing, I've received a couple of spam which I think were received because the email-domain (wanadoo freeserve give you a e-domain) was harvested from a publicly archived mailing list - I no longer involve myself in debates on that list, but send any comments directly. Having an e-domain also has its advantages in that I provide a separate eaddr (different [EMAIL PROTECTED]) to everyone who needs an eaddr and am then able to filter on the 'user' part to separate the email into folders. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Spell Checking [OT]
Malcolm Cadman wrote: ... I seem recall that the C language, for example, emerged as a new variant computer language, as it was not A or B - which already existed. So it became C. AFAIAA, 'C' was a development of the [typeless] language 'B' which was a development of the language 'BCPL' (available at one time for the BBC micro). There were a few people who suggested that the successor to 'C' (named 'C++') should be called 'P' (the next letter of BCPL). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] QL is 21
Malcolm Cadman wrote: ... Marvin, the paranoid android said something like ... a brain the size of planet and all they ask me to do is to park cars . OK, OK, but where are you? Reverse primary thrust Marvin, that's what theysay to me, open airlock number three Marvin, Marvin can you pick up that piece of paper? Can I pick up that piece of paper? Here I am, brain the size of a planet... Yeah, yeah... But I'm quite used to being humiliated. I can even go ans stick my head in a bucket of water it you like. Yeah...Marvin... ... What's he saying Zaphod? Oh nothing. He just phoned up to wash his head at us. Has that satisfied you? Will you please tell us where you are? I'm in the car park. In the _car_ park? What are you doing there? Parking cars, what else does one do in... I'm sure that those that want to program, do. And those that don't, don't. Well, at least that is where the QL at 21 is still OK ... it is still fun to program, and people even know how. -- --- Robert Newson, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 17 Sunnybank, South Norwood Phone: (020) 8654 6643 London, SE25 4TQ Mobile: *watch this space* (07795 338 262) ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] QL is 21
BHA! Hit wrong button; should have added: From The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts, ISBN: 0-330-29288-9 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Minix for QDOS
Dilwyn Jones wrote: While reading some material about Linus Torvalds and his exploits with a QL in Finland in 1984-85, I came across a 1992 posting by Dave Woodman (who ported various language and parsing utiltiies for the QL) to a reference to a QL Minix. Dave seems to have been in conversation with Linus Torvalds and wrote: Well (and Linus you might not want to hear this given your recent efforts), there is Minix available for QDOS. And Linus replied: Oh yes, I'm definitely interested...does QL-minix use QDOS for multitaskign too? Anyone know if there indeed was a Minix system for the QL and what happened to it? From my searches: http://p.m.nu/sinclair/intl_ql_part3/intl_ql3_8.html#14209 Message 14209 1995-07-20 14:17 18 lines by Richard Zidlicky Area: INTL.QL Subject: QL-MINIX - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi, I received a bunch of sources for qlminix 1.5 from Felix Croes, ... http://p.m.nu/sinclair/intl_ql_part1/intl_ql1_12.html#2520 Message 2520 1992-01-10 14:52 26 lines by Dave Walker Area: INTL.QL Comment to message by Thilo Oldiges % MAUS BI Subject: MINIX -- ... What I have done is make amendments to the Atari ST Release 1.5 issue to produce a MINIX Kernel that runs as a job under QDOS. This means that you can run MINIX on a QL - a minimum of 640Kb and 2 disk drives is required. ... 8888888 Anyone else want to take the ball from here? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Advice
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Tony, I tried dir dos1_Program Files but it does not work. quotes in the wrong place...think about files with odd characters (non-variable_name_valid) under QDOS: you put the device and filename _all_ inside quotes (or a variable) - it's only with valid variable names can you drop the quotes. progra~1 means what? vfat still uses directory entries which are filename limited to 8.3 characters (11 characters in all). When you create a long filename (ie more than 8 characters before a dot, or 3 after it, or non-valid characters, eg a dot or space) vfat stores the long name in 11 byte chunks in multiple entries in the directory which are hidden from DOS; it also stores a DOS compatable 8.3 version. To create the DOS compatable version it basically takes the first 6 (or 5) characters, adds a tilde (~) followed by a number to make a unique filename. (I think I've got the algorithm somewhere.) Thus, starting with Program Files, it stores Program Fil in one directory entry, es in another (both hidden from DOS), and then creates a DOS compatable version by taking the first 6 characters (Program), case ignored (program), adds a tilde (program~), and adds a 1 (program~1), checks it doesn't exist. If not, ok otherwise it tries with a 2 (program~2), and so on; once a unique name has been found, it stores it in yet another directory entry - making a total usage of 3 directory entries for the name Program Files. If you copy, etc the 8.3 compatable name from [an old] DOS, you'll lose the long version. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Advice
Robert Newson wrote: ... Obviously I can't count...program is 7 characters... 0ma:.,$s/(program/(progra/g 'a:.,$s/(Program/(Progra To create the DOS compatable version it basically takes the first 6 (or 5) characters, adds a tilde (~) followed by a number to make a unique filename. (I think I've got the algorithm somewhere.) Thus, starting with Program Files, it stores Program Fil in one directory entry, es in another (both hidden from DOS), and then creates a DOS compatable version by taking the first 6 characters (Program), case compatable version by taking the first 6 characters (Progra), case ignored (program), adds a tilde (program~), and adds a 1 (program~1) ignored (progra), adds a tilde (progra~), and adds a 1 (progra~1) checks it doesn't exist. If not, ok otherwise it tries with a 2 (program~2), and so on; once a unique name has been found, it stores it (progra~2), and so on; once a unique name has been found, it stores it in yet another directory entry - making a total usage of 3 directory entries for the name Program Files. If you copy, etc the 8.3 compatable name from [an old] DOS, you'll lose the long version. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Help
David Tubbs wrote: At 21:36 05/09/2005 +0100, you wrote: Sony KV 2217 UB Scart has been around for so long, cold it just be for a wired remote control ? That's wwhat Google found I did say it was an old TV...all the [operating instructions] manual says is: VIDEO TAPE RECORDER ... Using the 8-pin DIN connector If your recorder is connected to the 8-pin DIN connector on the TV, make sure AV appears on the program indicator. If not, press VIDEO. SPECIFICATIONS ... Input MULTI connector (8-pin DIN) [with no reference to the actual pin-ins.] ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Help
Phil Kett wrote: Phil Kett wrote: Robert Newson wrote: Can anyone help me regarding the multi-input din socket on a Sony TV? (Namely what each Pin could represent?) Have a look at this link:- http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/vga2tv/rgb_pinouts.html There's an 8 pin din connector on there that seems to be a european standard. That appears to be a TTL input...VCRs, I would presume, send analogue It's a long shot but it might be what you're looking for. Or - if that doesn't match - try this... http://freespace.virgin.net/matt.waite/resource/av/din8a.htm aha...yep, that seems more likey...now just need to get the connectors Thanks. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[ql-users] Help
Can anyone help me regarding the multi-input din socket on a Sony TV? (Namely what each Pin could represent?) ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Help
John Southern wrote: On Monday 05 September 2005 21:10, Robert Newson wrote: Can anyone help me regarding the multi-input din socket on a Sony TV? (Namely what each Pin could represent?) Depends on what model? Could be a S-Video, AV cable, EIAJ for video camera support, EVID-30 etc., What model TV and how many pins on the connector? [Old] Sony KV 2217 UB, 8 pin standard size din ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Help on RGB Monitor
Marcel Kilgus wrote: ... I think I had the monitor Karsten was referring to (it was definitely some Commodore), but I'm not sure I have the cable anymore. I was using an Archimedes (rebranded Phillips) RGB monitor. One thing you do need to be aware of is trying to use an analog RGB, as opposed to a TTL RGB, monitor - I'm sure the impedences are different: my archi [TTL] monitor died, went for repair and was never seen again :( so I purchased an analog RGB monitor; with the archi monitor I could use the TV out as well, but with the analog one the QL struggled, leading me [now] to suspect that I hadn't impedence matched and the monitor was draining too much current (and has probably part-frazzled a ULA?). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Help on RGB Monitor
Engstler Karsten wrote: Hello, can please someone give me a hint on this: I have an 1084s RGB Monitor with: Pin-Outs (1084S DB9) Pin 1: Ground Pin 2: Ground Pin 3: Red Pin 4: Green Pin 5: Blue Pin 6: Unused Pin 7: Composite Sync Pin 8: Horizontal Sync Pin 9: Vertical Sync How do I connect the QL ? it looks like HSYNC is missing on the QL site. When I've connected RGB monitors to my QL, I used RGB, GND Comp Sync and they seemed to work fine. So try: NameQL Monitor GND 2 1 or 2 (or possibly both - try to see which works!?) SYNC4 7 GREEN 6 4 RED 7 3 BLUE8 5 Anyone want to offer any warning, or do you think it's ok to give this a go? Robert ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[ql-users] Test
Please ignorejust changing my email address - checking done it right. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Newbie with some questions...(transfer scart)
Marcel Kilgus wrote: Alexander Klock wrote: ... - Is there a way to get software from the net onto microdrive cartridges, e.g. with a cable or something? This is a bit of a chicken and egg problem, it is possible using a serial lead, but the QL does not come with terminal software... though a simple basic program without much of a protocol might be sufficient for starters. On the other side you could use a PC with my QPC emulator (http://www.kilgus.net/qpc/), the demo can read files and write to the serial ports just fine. I think the max serial speed with an unmodified QL is however 9600 bps. Unmodified, 9600 is specified as the max speed, but personally, without error correction, and hardware flow control, I wouldn't recommend it. Especially as the serial input buffers can get out of sync with themselves if too much data arrives, with the result that there then appears an 11 character delay - when a character arrives, you get the character that arrived 11 before it, but until a character arrives, you won't get any characters, even though there are 10 awaiting collection; the only cure we found was a reset. But a disc interface really might be a more of a hassle free solution. Disc interface is the easiest, but if you can get a boot strap serial link[1] going you can use a program (eg kermit, if you can get the PC version...got both here...somewhere) to do the later transfers with error correction. (Out of interest, whilst at Uni, a friend wrote a terminal emulator that emulates a VT52[2] and a Tektronic 4010 storage tube.) [1] QPC may help you out here: use it to send a file transfer utility (eg kermit) to the QL; you could then use that with error correction to send others. Your best bet is to transfer QL files zipped to the QL and use a QL unzip utility as it'll include the QDOS header information, in particular, the data space for executables. You may be able to run the file transfer utility in QPC. [2]It actually more emulates the terminal emulator that the MicroLabs of UCLCC wrote and put in the BBC micros that were used as terminals to EUCLID. ... - Is there a kind of SCART-cable available? (The TV output is so terrible...) The TV output never was particularly good, I'd always prefer a monitor. If you want the (relevant) scart pins, they're: 8 -) Function switching 15 - Red[3] 16 -) see below 13 - Red Ground[4] 11 - Green[3] 20 - Video in[5] 9 - Green Ground[4] 7 - Blue[3] 21 - Common Ground 5 - Blue Ground[4] 20 - Sync I'm not sure about function switching: I made no connections and it worked with my monitor, but my info says: Pin: 8 16 Result 0 0 Normal 'off-air' signal[6] 1 0 Composite input x 1 RGB input[7] [3] Impedence 75 ohm, Video Level 0.7V +/-3dB, +ve DC component 0 to +2V [4] The grounds are all connected together on the scart connector of my monitor. [5] Impedence 75 ohm, Video Level 1Vp-p+/-3dB, +ve DC component 0 to +2V [6] I suspect that these are used by TVs to auto select. ie if both pins 8 16 are logic 0[8], there is presumed to be no signal on the scart connector. If either (or both) go to logic 1[8], a signal is present on the scart connector and automatically switches input to the source, waking up a TV from standby (in which case, when they both return to logic 0, the TV reverts to standby mode). If you can manually switch the input on the TV, then these pins shouldn't matter. [7] The QL RGB outputs are at TTL levels: +5V. Trying to use RGB direct could damage you QL, your monitor/TV, or both - the signal levels ideally need to be dropped somehow. [8] Pin 8: Logic 0: 0 to +2V, Logic 1: +9.5 to +12V Pin 16: Logic 0: 0 to 0.4V, Logic 1: +1 to +3V RGB gives best output, but using Composite would give better output than TV. Easiest is to get a scart-Video input/output converter as then all you need do is build a QL Din to phono cable (you'll need to connect pin 2 to gnd, and either pin 1 or 3 to the signal: one is monochrome, the other should be colour - not sure which is which as I've see different specifications with it both ways round). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] dictionaries
Dilwyn Jones wrote: Found it. It is ispell (http://www.lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/ispell.html). Each letter is a code for prefixes and suffixes that are permitable in the given language - every language can have its own affix file to define what each letter means! ... Right, this is interesting and should keep me out of mischief for a week or two! My 25,000 word list expanded to about 34,000 words with my preliminary stumbles in the dark...the info you gave should help me a lot, at least once I get past the Unixy terminology and write some code to extract the data from the .AFF files. One bit I'd missed was the fact it has (for example) -e flags where the last letter is to be dropped before adding the suffix. The reg expr's are quite simple (well the bits you need): dot (.) matches any single character [...]matches any character in the square brackets [^...] matches any character NOT in the square brackets (note the caret (^) as the first character). charmatches exactly that character There are more to regexp's, but that's all (I think) you need for the affix files. I suspect that the affix files are well defined for each language. Try looking at the ispell web site for the other language dictionaries - they'll have the relevant .aff files. If you want, I can send you the english.aff file, but (a) you can get it from the ispell website, (b) I extracted the relevant info in my last message. The way the rules work appear to be for prefixes, it matches the first n characters. As a dot (.) is specified, it matches any first character, and then the rule says insert whatever. For suffixes, it looks at the given end characters for a match, eg: [AEIOU]Y matches any (word) string that ends AY, EY, IY, OY, UY, and then applies the rule. The rules are simple. If the first char is a minus (-) it specifies the character(s) to remove upto a comma, then; the characters to add are specified. They are specified in caps, so you may want to convert to lowercase. Many thanks for your help. My pleasure. google is my friend! (If you're interested, I found it like this: tried googling for 'dgs dgnsx' which found that 'ht://dig' reference, which then led me to ispell on the htdig website.) May I suggest that you write your converter to read the conversion from an .aff file. If you're stuck, you could download the ispell tarball (about 620K) as there's an unmucher in there (but it's integrated with the ispell package, so (obviously) relies on initialisation elsewhere), along with english.aff. Also, you may have noticed the capitalisation of the words - along with the normal first letter, ispell can handle various capitalisations...intended for case matching in dictionary searching. If you're not bothered, just convert to lowercase. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] dictionaries
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... One thing I need help on is on what appears to be a simple ASCII compression scheme on some of the unix-sourced word lists. I'm assuming they're from Unix systems because the end of line character is only a linefeed, no carriage returns. I need to find out if the following is a known standard or not: After many words, there's a forward slash followed by single letters indicating various word endings. Example: Abbreviate/DGNSX or ABBEY/MS In some cases it's quite obvious that /S indicates plural or current tense is valid, e.g. /S implies Abbreviates, /D implies Abbreviated, although there's a certain amount of grammar dependency, e.g. PLAY/S would mean that both PLAY and PLAYS are valid, but ABNOMALITY/S is less easy because the plural is ABNORMALITIES. I've no real idea, but I love a challenge... It's obviously a code of some sort, but I don't think it's quite as you suspect: ... abandon/DGS abandonment abase/DGS ... abbey/MS abbot/MS Abbott abbreviate/DGNSX ... aberrate/NX ... ability/MS abject/PY abjection/S abjure/DGS ablate/DGNSV ablaze able/RT ablute/N ... It's the 'R', 'M', 'X' etc that lead me to suspect that. I would suspect that each letter means something, just not a direct 'S' pluralises with 'S'. Some of the listed words don't exist in my dictionaries (eg aberrate, ablute; though aberration and ablution both exist) - Concise Oxford Dictionary, and my American MW (Marion-Webster?) Dictionary. From where did you get this list, and what's the file called? And do you have any idea of the original purpose of the list - ie what sort of app might have processed it? They may give us something more to search if there is nobody who knows (which I suspect). ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] dictionaries
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... I can of course go through the word list until I find all the permutations, but if anyone already knows the scheme used, it would help me enormously. I hate reinventing wheels! Here's a short example text from one of the files: ... I've done a little detective work, and the first lead I currently have is ht://dig, see: http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_id=445494forum_id=2691 I'm currently digging through to see if I can find any documentation as to what the dos style flags mean. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] dictionaries
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... One thing I need help on is on what appears to be a simple ASCII compression scheme on some of the unix-sourced word lists. I'm assuming they're from Unix systems because the end of line character is only a linefeed, no carriage returns. I need to find out if the following is a known standard or not: After many words, there's a forward slash followed by single letters indicating various word endings. Example: Abbreviate/DGNSX or ABBEY/MS In some cases it's quite obvious that /S indicates plural or current tense is valid, e.g. /S implies Abbreviates, /D implies Abbreviated, although there's a certain amount of grammar dependency, e.g. PLAY/S would mean that both PLAY and PLAYS are valid, but ABNOMALITY/S is less easy because the plural is ABNORMALITIES. I can of course go through the word list until I find all the permutations, but if anyone already knows the scheme used, it would help me enormously. I hate reinventing wheels! Here's a short example text from one of the files: I think I've found it: ispell (http://www.htdig.org/dev/htdig-3.2/) The man page looks promising. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] dictionaries
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... One thing I need help on is on what appears to be a simple ASCII compression scheme on some of the unix-sourced word lists. I'm assuming they're from Unix systems because the end of line character is only a linefeed, no carriage returns. I need to find out if the following is a known standard or not: After many words, there's a forward slash followed by single letters indicating various word endings. Example: Abbreviate/DGNSX or ABBEY/MS In some cases it's quite obvious that /S indicates plural or current tense is valid, e.g. /S implies Abbreviates, /D implies Abbreviated, although there's a certain amount of grammar dependency, e.g. PLAY/S would mean that both PLAY and PLAYS are valid, but ABNOMALITY/S is less easy because the plural is ABNORMALITIES. I can of course go through the word list until I find all the permutations, but if anyone already knows the scheme used, it would help me enormously. I hate reinventing wheels! Found it. It is ispell (http://www.lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/ispell.html). Each letter is a code for prefixes and suffixes that are permitable in the given language - every language can have its own affix file to define what each letter means! The file is a munched (ie condensed) file that is used by the spell checker. Expanding some of your entries would give a full dictionary, eg: abate/DGRS abbey/MS abbreviate/DGNSX abnomality/S become abate abated # D flag abating # G flag abater # R flag abates # S flag abbey abbey's # M abbeys # S abbreviate abbreviates # S abbreviated # D abbreviating# G abbreviation# N abbreviations # X abnomality abnomalities# S Each letter is like a macro. The man page summarises them: In the following list, an asterisk indicates that a flag participates in cross-product formation (see ispell(4)). ... Prefixes: *A - re *I - in *U - un Suffixes: V - ive *N - ion, tion, en *X - ions, ications, ens H - th, ieth *Y - ly, ily *G - ing *J - ings *D - ed T - est *R - er *Z - ers *S - s, es, ies *P - ness, iness *M - 's The actual rules use regular expressions for the conversions, especially with regard to the modifications required. Here's the rules from the english.aff file: # Here's a record of flags used, in case you want to add new ones. # Right now, we fit within the minimal MASKBITS definition. # #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ # Used: * * ** * * *** #A D GHIJ MN P RSTUV XYZ # Available: -- ---- - - - # BC EFKL O Q W # Now the prefix table. There are only three prefixes that are truly # frequent in English, and none of them seem to need conditional variations. # prefixes flag *A: . RE # As in enter reenter flag *I: . IN # As in disposed indisposed flag *U: . UN # As in natural unnatural # Finally, the suffixes. These are exactly the suffixes that came out # with the original ispell; I haven't tried to improve them. The only # thing I did besides translate them was to add selected cross-product # flags. # suffixes flag V: E -E,IVE # As in create creative [^E] IVE # As in prevent preventive flag *N: E -E,ION # As in create creation Y -Y,ICATION # As in multiply multiplication [^EY] EN # As in fall fallen flag *X: E -E,IONS # As in create creations Y -Y,ICATIONS # As in multiply multiplications [^EY] ENS # As in weak weakens flag H: Y -Y,IETH # As in twenty twentieth [^Y] TH # As in hundred hundredth flag *Y: Y -Y,ILY # As in messy messily [^Y] LY # As in quick quickly flag *G: E -E,ING # As in file filing [^E] ING # As in cross crossing flag *J: E -E,INGS # As in file filings [^E] INGS# As in cross crossings flag *D: E D # As in create created [^AEIOU]Y -Y,IED # As in imply implied [^EY] ED # As in cross crossed [AEIOU]Y ED # As in convey conveyed flag T: E ST
[ql-users] QL Serial ports and null modem cables
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... I think (the article doesn't say this) that pin 6 of a QL serial port plug is the one nearest the latching pin. It is not connected for the purposes of these cables and file transfer, but I think it carries +12v, so might cause some damage to interfaces if wired wrongly, although you could test my assumption by using a tester to determine which pin is +12V since that will identify pin 6. Just to confirm, pin 6 (+12v to be used to assert any control line, eg DSR, DCD) is next to the clip. Although ser2 pin 4 is shown in the QL manual as DTR, Tony Firshman told me a while back it is more like an RTS signal as far as making these cables is concerned. You can then see that making up a serial cable is a simple matter of cross connecting the relevant signals, i.e. RxD to TxD and vice versa, and RTS to CTS and vice versa, and connecting the two ground signal lines together. The DSR/DTR RTS/CTS handshake pairs have always been something of a confusion to me. As far as I understand these lines, they are: DTR - Data Terminal Ready: terminal is ready for input DSR - Data Set Ready: modem is ready to send data to terminal RTS - Request To Send: ... terminal wants to send data CTS - Clear To Send: . modem is ready to receive data from terminal. So logically, crossing RTS/CTS on a DTE-DTE null modem cable makes no sense: the Request To Send from one terminal is connected to the Clear To Send on the other; or to put it another way: If terminal A wants to send data (raises RTS), terminal B gets the signal telling it it's ok for it to send data to terminal A (CTS goes high), and terminal A gets no signal that terminal B is ready to input the data terminal A wants to send to terminal B - that would happen the moment terminal B decided it wanted to send some data to terminal A and raised its RTS line (causing terminal A's CTS line to go high). The serial ports on the QL were rather a cludge. They are both split into two halves, with the 8749 second processor handling the input side of both, and the ZX8302 ULA handling the output side of both. Output of data from the QL is fairly straightforward: The ZX8302 assumes the relevant request line is raised (use the +12v line if necessary) and awaits clearance on the relevant control line (Ser1.DTR or Ser2.CTS). Then it sends the data on the relevant data line (Ser1.RXD or Ser2.TXD) - shifting out the bits at the baud rate. Input of data to the QL is rather more complicated: The input lines (Ser1.TXD Ser2.RXD) are tied (via logic gates) together and appear on one data pin (port) of the processor (and the interrupt line). The start bit causes the processor to interrupt, which then shifts the data in at the relevant baud rate (I presume). Thus ONLY ONE serial port can receive data at any one time. Hardware handshaking is [almost] vital to ensure correct input of serial data - especially if both ports are being used. The way it is done is that the 8749 asserts the ready for input line (Ser1.CTS Ser2.DTR - of the port on which it is expecting data) for a short time and then clears it. If both serial ports are open, it then asserts the other one. This flip-flop nature of the control line(s) can be observed by a LED serial port tester. Thus, the QL uses the following: Ser1.CTS Ser2.DTR to control when it is ready to receive input Ser1.TXD Ser2.RXD to recive input from another device Ser1.DTR Ser2.CTS to control when another device is ready to receive input Ser1.RXD Ser2.TXD to send output to another device As the QL uses non standard connectors, perhaps it'd be better to rename the port pins: PinSer1Ser2 1 GND GND GND = signal GrouND 2 DTQ DFQ DTQ = Data To QL 3 DFQ DTQ DFQ = Data From QL 4 RFF RFT RFF = Ready For From 5 RFT RFF RFT = Ready For To 6 +12 +12 RFF is set by the other device saying it's ready for data From the QL RFT is set by the QL saying it's ready for data To the QL. Thus a QL to QL cable would cross DTQ/DFQ and RFF/RFT (for Ser1 to Ser2, this crossing would occur with a straight through 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 cable; with Ser1 to Ser1, or Ser2 to Ser2, the crossing would occur with crossed pairs: 1-1, 2-3, 3-2, 4-5, 5-4). Thus, I think a cable from the QL to a PC would connect: DTQ -- TXD = Data transmitted To QL DFQ -- RXD = Data received From QL RFT -- CTS = Clear To Send To QL RFF -- DTR = Ready to receive data From QL* GND -- GND = Signal ground *DTR would probably always be asserted by a PC as their serial ports can usually handle input at any time; thus the RFF control line could be looped to the +12 line (pin 6) so that the QL always thinks it can send data. The only vital line is the RFT control line - the QL _MUST_ be allowed to control the flow of data to the serial port otherwise framing, or other errors will occur. Is
Re: [ql-users] QL Serial ports and null modem cables
Robert Newson wrote: ... Hardware handshaking is [almost] vital to ensure correct input of serial data - especially if both ports are being used. The way it is done is that the 8749 asserts the ready for input line (Ser1.CTS Ser2.DTR - of the port on which it is expecting data) for a short time and then clears it. If both serial ports are open, it then asserts the other one. This flip-flop nature of the control line(s) can be observed by a LED serial port tester. Forgot to mention: the rate at which the control line flip-flops is dependent on the baud rate - the higher the baud rate, the faster the flip-flop; it must be syncronised with the baud rate clock? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Spelin'
Dilwyn Jones wrote: Grrr. Who made the English language so difficult??? Because it is so difficult and some of us take the trouble to learn it correctly we don't mangle it like our cousins across the pond - especially their leader. Like this suggestion (from across the pond?): A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling by Mark Twain For example, in Year 1 that useless letter c would be dropped to be replased either by k or s, and likewise x would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which c would be retained would be the ch formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform w spelling, so that which and one would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish y replasing it with i and Iear 4 might fiks the g/j anomali wonse and for all. Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez c, y and x -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez -- tu riplais ch, sh, and th rispektivli. Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Spelin'
COLIN PARSONS wrote: ... Its letter perfect awl the weigh My chequer tolled me sew! John Taylor I may be being pedantic, but how about the missing apostrophe in it's, it's miss-spelt with out it!! But it's also rite to spell it's its. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Digital Precision Software
John Hall wrote: Derek Stewart wrote: The DP package was not really worth the money... But I bought to support the QL scene. There are much better software around which is free. The point I was trying to make was a slightly different one - the licence conditions attached to the DP bundle prevent ME from selling or giving away MY copy! (From memory, they also forbid me from doing the same with any earlier versions of the software included in the bundle software that I might have previously acquired.) I also bought them when it was offered (having never really bought any s/ware, it really expanded my collection). From the agreement: (10) Remember, by purchasing this collection you have agreed to its licence conditions. Note that it is for your personal use only (you can make a reasonable number of security backups of it or its contents - again, all for your own use only), and that you agree not to resell, or otherwise pass on, whether for reward or otherwise, any part (except ZIP and UNZIP) or all of it, or of any Digital Precision Ltd software already possessed by you, to _any_ third party, in any circumstances. Breaches of this will be dealt with severely. This means, among other things, that if you are disposing of part or all of your QL system you may NOT pass on this collection (or any part of it, except ZIP and UNZIP) with it. Plus (13)...And of course, nothing in this document shall be construed as taking away or reducing any statutory or other enforceable rights that you may possess. The question I have (as I can't remember) is if attention was drawn to statement (10) BEFORE the purchase of the goods. This comes from a bit of paper (containing the document) that came included with the disks AFTER I had purchased them - there is no mention of what to do if I disagree with the terms of the document (like Windows says contact your supplier for details of how to return the unused product(s) for a refund if you disagree with its licence terms). Robert ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] OFF TOPIC - Welsh Humour
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: * 9 1/2 Leeks * Treforest Gump * Cwmmando * The Lost Boyos * An American Werewolf in Powys * Huw Dares Gwynedd (Note: dd in Welsh = th in English, almost !) * Dai Hard * The Wizard of Oswestry [It's in England, but close enough] * Cool Hand Look-you * Sheepless in Settle [Settle is in West Yorkshire, not Wales !!] * The Eagle has Llandudno * The Magnificent Severn * Haverfordwest Was Won * Austin Powys * The Magic Rhonddabout * Independence Dai * The Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwantysiliogogogoch that Time Forgot * Seven Brides from Seven Sisters * Welsh Connection * Welsh Connection II * The Bridge on the River Wye * Lawrence of Llandybie * A Beautiful Mind-you * The Welsh Patient * The King and Dai * The Sheepsh*g Redemption * Breakfast at Taffanys * Look Back in Bangor * Evans Can Wait * A Fishguard Called Rhondda * Where Eagles Aberdare * Dial M For Merthyr Not forgetting: * Why didn't they ask Evans? * Paint your Dragon * The Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwantysiliogogogobetween * The Good, the Bad and Llanelli * Mad Max Boyce * Shake, Rattle and Rhyl * Eistedffordd Zebra * When Harry met Dolly * Bob and Carol and Dylan Thomas * Dai Hard II ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] OFF TOPIC - Welsh Humour
Dilwyn Jones wrote: Add: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-or (spelled with Sh in place of Ch) Funny you should mention that. I did a transfer/Llundain Sightseeing for a French group of students. During the transfer/Sightseeing one of the students made anouncements about their trip. One of the shows they were going to see was Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang. She pronounced the Ch as Sh. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Black to the QL
Dilwyn Jones wrote: ... Was the change of subject line deliberate or an apt mistype (back and black) Deliberate...wondered who'd be the first to spot it - well done Wilson... ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Whither or Wither ?
hitchies wrote: Re Dilwyn's - So, somewhere between 300 and 400 years after Christ's birth, his birthday moved to 25th December! Not in Ethiopia boyo (Jan 6th). I had two Christmases a year when I lived there! That comes about because of the Gregorian reform of the Julian Calendar. The Julian calendar assumed an earth orbit of 365.25 days and so added a leap year every 4 years. However, the actual orbit is closer to 365.243 days and so the julian calendar added an extra day roughly every 134 years. To compensate, only centries exactly divisible by 400 are leap years in the Gregorian calandar and this is quite accurate (for about the next 3 millennia). So how did 25 Dec become 6 Jan? When the reform was made, the calendar had had 10 extra leap days it shouldn't have had - which were then dropped in one go. The English calendar, however wasn't reformed until a few centries later in 1752, by which time there was an extra day (ie 11 days) to lose, hence Sep 2 was followed by Sep 14. At the same time, the year start was changed from 25 March (9 months prior to 25 Dec - the date of Christ's conception), to 1 Jan. However, people objected to be taxed for 11 non-days and so held back their taxes, and hence the tax year of Apr 5. When the calendar was reformed, the dates of festivals were held steady, ie Christmas was still 25 Dec. However, some objected and still stuck to the old calendar and so celebrated Christmas on 25 Dec on the old calendar, which, in that country was 12 days ahead (the reform happening later than England's), ie Jan 6 in the new calendar. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] browsers
David Tubbs wrote: ... It is my wont to take as much as possible out of the C: drive, leaving it as Uncle Bill's sandpit. to remove as many of the changing files to other partitions. Where is the logic of stuffing temp files deep in the static OS material ? On my first PC (486 with DOS/Win 3.1) I originally split my drives up to avoid large cluster sizes (and because it was originally a server with a small C: to boot it, and the rest as a partition for the server), but in doing so, also split out stuff to different drives: C: - OS D: - programs E: - more programs F: - Test programs G: - temp drive (holds Windows VM file) every drive had a \tmp directory, but the default was on G: (TEMP=G:\TMP) . (Further partitions hold FreeBSD.) My later Win98 PC also has partitions with C: (OS), D: (Programs), E: (Temporary), again with the Windoze VM file on E:, and TEMP=E:\tmp (every occurance of temporary file directory I could file was changed to point here as opposed to C:\WINDOWS\TEMP; tho' I didn't change the Temp IE files as I don't us the Win98 boot for surfing [or much these days]). I have often removed chunks but there is much that one cannot attack - the REG !!! I have loaded Windoes and Office, without OUTLOOK and ACCESS, but there remain hundreds of references to them in the REG. I think I really must look into the LITE Windows referred to recently . Did you load to empty machine, or re-load without/remove LookOut Access? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.quanta.org.uk/mailing.htm
Re: [ql-users] my all time favourite QL code
Tony Firshman wrote: ... The reason for this posting: I really wonder if someone out there also has something special: a stunning effect from some simple (at the first) SuperBasic code? Yes - the winner (and runner up - same person) of a QL World graphics competition will probably beat this one (I haven't run this one as I am in the US) Was that a different compo from the one with the rotating head? I think Mark Swift made that one and it rocked! I have to check my QLTs :-) This was QL World - the original mag published in London. I think around 1986. It was the 1988 QL World Artist of the year comp (announced in May 1988 Mag, results in Sep 1989 Mag). Winner was The Animated Head by Mark Swift. It required 512K Extra memory to run. I think (vaguely remember) that it was available on the microdrive exchange (but I can't find the details at the moment - if it was). The Plant Life by Colin Bate was another was-run. It was listed in the Progs in Mar 1990 mag. (2 1/2 pages long, 103 lines including 16 lines of REMarks) (Sorry for not snipping. My USA link is so so it is nigh on impossible to do (8-(# ) Tony -- --- Robert Newson, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 17 Sunnybank, South Norwood Phone: (020) 8654 6643 London, SE25 4TQ Mobile: 07795 338 262 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.quanta.org.uk/mailing.htm
Re: [ql-users] OT: Who taught the Greeks to play football ?
Malcolm Cadman wrote: In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Phoebus R. Dokos [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes On Sat, 3 Jul 2004 20:10:18 +0100, Dilwyn Jones [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yahooo :-) Hehe Too bad for the BBC Sport commentators ;-) They were all proven wrong ;-) CHeers :-) Nice to see the outsider win ... well done to Greece ! As they beat the holders - France, the host nation - Portugal ( twice ), and the other strong outsiders - the Czechs ... I guess they really earned it :-) You know why they beat them? The French, Portugese Czechs took one look at their opposition playing football and couldn't work it out: it was all Greek to them... ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.quanta.org.uk/mailing.htm
Re: [ql-users]Decent ISPs
Dr Colin F Parsons wrote: +50% of my Spam recieved came from Hotmail, that's why the generic hotmail.com and all its international variants is in my killfile, So your mail may not get through to it's intended recepients!! I think you probably mean 50% of your Spam received allegedly came from Hotmail? My current spam pot contains: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from 179.0.47.72 by 24.188.249.242 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from 198.117.88.59 (HELO sorrel) (envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) by quarkmail-2.8.0) [65.26.69.40] [Result of whois 198.117.88.59: OrgID: NASA NetRange: 198.116.0.0 - 198.123.255.255] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from 236.157.242.208 by 61.254.122.78 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from 80.64.223.56 by law3-hb09.law6.hotmail.com [Core a real spam from hotmail!] [Why does the whois entry for bash.sh Ltd (inetnum: 80.64.208.0 - 80.64.223.255) have a mobile phone number?] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from 106.1.28.112 by 65.24.41.155 [rr.com] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from 200.208.27.53 [CREDICARD.COM.BR] by 221.164.46.31 [Korea Telecom] [Message for Viagra...links url to 24meds.net == www.directi.com] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from 173.236.166.204 by 68.75.49.179 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from remnant ([34.120.32.100]) by zmf30-mail.joshua.normalcy.hungry.cable.rogers.com etc. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.quanta.org.uk/mailing.htm
Re: [ql-users]Decent ISPs
Jeremy Taffel wrote:
I just had a look at my freeserve (wanadoo now) account. I have stopped
using it because of the volume of spam. Over 4000 spams since mid-March!
About 600 had virus attachments. Many did not even have my email address
from what I could tell (how does that work?).
Freeserve gives you an [effective] email domain.
When you set up your account, your choose a userid and a domain:
userid @ domain . {freeserve|fsnet|fsbusiness} . co . uk
when email is sent to you, the freeserve servers split it at the domain
bit. You then download either email for an individual userid by logging
into their pop server using [EMAIL PROTECTED], or you can download all
emails at your domain by logging in using domain... - in which case,
regardless of whatever userids have been used, you'll get all email sent to
your domain (thus making it dead easy to set up unique email accounts for
those places that insist on them; and you can then trace any possible spam
source if it arrives at one of these userids).
Unless you are referring to the To: field not containing your e-addr, like
this:
From: Terry Carroll [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: *** SPAM *** Fwd: Re: Low Cost Term Life ins.
Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 05:51:18 -0200
However, if you look at the headers of the message, you'll see that the mail
system has used this field to deliver the mail:
Envelope-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
It's like a buisness letter where you put their address on the letter and
then put it in a window envelope (that's the To: field), stick an address
label over the window with a different address (the Envelope-to: field),
and then the recipient's secretary removes it from the envelope and gives it
to her boss (who only sees the To: field - by checking the envelope {ie
mail headers} he can see what really happened).
...
This is a strange thing to write about one of our favourite hates, but
hotmail is virtually spam free. They have a special bulk mailings box from
which only the headers are downloaded and then only on request.
Technically not spam free; just spam-hidden. The problem with ISPs hiding
spam like this is that people forget how much of a problem spam really is -
it's being swept under the carpet, but the carpet is now getting rather
lumpy and the ceiling is getting lower; eventually there will be no more
room under the carpet and then the spam will explode out and everyone will
ask (a) from where it's all suddenly come, (b) what we going to do about it
and (c) why didn't anyone do anything much earlier when it was manageable.
You can
quickly look through these for genuine mail. This means very little spam
actually gets through to your inbox. It is one of the reasons I keep a
hotmail account and why this is the contact email address I use on my QL
(on topic!) websites. If hotmail can do this, why can't others?
The pop protocol includes downloading headers, and deleting without
downloading. I know where my spam arrives (the majority at Envelope-to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]) and so I could write my own version of fetchmail (*nix
command to download email from a pop server) to auto-delete any message with
a header including Envelope-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] without downloading it.
Freeserve/Wanadoo have introduced SPAM filters and mark messages as spam for
you. Using their Web interface to your email, you now have options to
correct the filters and bulk-delete all messages marked as SPAM without
having to download them. (You can [auto-]shuffle the SPAM to a bulk-mailing
folder [I think] on their servers.)
___
QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [ql-users]Decent ISPs
Malcolm Cadman wrote: ... I have found it worthwhile to have a :- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ( address ) Mine's [now] called [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The only problem is that there is no filter available for my mail reader to filter on Envelope-to: - it would cut down the number of rules in my spam filter to 1. I use SMTP for mail/news not POP. You have your own mail server for inbound mail? I intend, when I get the time, to set up fetchmail (or alternative) to get my inbound mail from my ISP's POP server which would then be filtered (auto-delete/redirect spam on Envelope-to:) before being sent by SMTP to deliver across my LAN. I could write a pre-fetchmail filter to process my POP to download the headers and delete spam before running fetchmail to download and distribute the rest [of my email]. ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [ql-users]Decent ISPs (was: QPC2 vs Word 97)
P Witte wrote: Robert Newson writes: Im trying to get rid of my Tiscali account as Tiscali are obviously not interested in my custom. Ive tried a few other ISPs, but they have so far not proved reliable or decent - apart from Freeserve, now Wanado. You must have a different definition of decent than I do. About 60% of the spam I get arrives from WANADOO.fr hosted sites. I think our definitions are the same; only our experiences differ. Ive had about 300 spams since March 15 (lucky me, some might say), virtually all of them addressed to somename.tiscali.co.uk, ie tiscali let them bombard me even without the correct address! Most of my spam arrives at a freeserve email address that got harvested from usenet. The rest arrives at spurious userids at the same domain. The amount of spam arrives has a kind of exponential growth: inyear Month Total 32 32 - Jan 2003 . . - Jan 2004 ) Lost data, inc 58 91 - Feb 2003 . . - Feb 2004 ) Mar 01-20. 143234 - Mar 2003 1213 1213 - Mar 2004 (21-31) 254488 - Apr 2003 3915 5128 - Apr 2004 365853 - May 2003 4406 9534 - May 2004 (01-29) 316 1169 - Jun 2003 540 1709 - Jul 2003 482 2191 - Aug 2003 676 2867 - Sep 2003 1274 4171 - Oct 2003 2168 6309 - Nov 2003 2316 8625 - Dec 2003 Ive had my freeserve address for a couple of years now, and it isnt hard to come by on the internet, yet I get no more than about one spam per week via my PAYG account with them, mainly legitimate service announcements from freeserve/wanadoo. I got my freeserve acct in 2001. spam to it is via usenet eaddr harvesting. Really stupid thing is, as I pointed out, about 60% of the spam that it receives is spamvertising sites hosted by sibling company WANADOO.fr. If that sibling company was to deal with these 141 unique sites, that would have been 4,139 less emails that I alone would have received (between 21 Mar 29 May - a period of just over 3 months) - I'm sure I'm not the only one on that spammers' list. The ironic thing is that it is a sibling company and they don't seem to be able to do owt about them: their sibling company's inactivity/lack of due care is flooding their mail servers with spam. Ive no idea where the spam comes from, as I dont bother to find out anymore since theres precious little I can do about it. The only thing that concerns me is which mailbox they arrive in. Ditto...my program just spots WANADOO.fr for the simple reason that when I was moaning about the spam, I noticed too much of a recurrance of WANADOO.fr that I decided to see how much they were generating. Ive previously written about the devious tricks I suspect tiscali of using to bump up their revenue at my expense. Forcing me to download all that rubbish is, I must assume, just another of their little ploys. Bah! Although I use freeserve mailboxes, I actually connect via another ISP - just once a month I dial-into freeserve to keep the mailboxes active. ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [ql-users]Decent ISPs (was: QPC2 vs Word 97)
P Witte wrote: Tony Firshman writes: ... Im trying to get rid of my Tiscali account as Tiscali are obviously not interested in my custom. Ive tried a few other ISPs, but they have so far not proved reliable or decent - apart from Freeserve, now Wanado. You must have a different definition of decent than I do. About 60% of the spam I get arrives from WANADOO.fr hosted sites. I did an analysis of 3,783 spam messages that were received over a month (March-April) this year; 2,022 were spamvertising WANADOO.fr hosted sites. There were, among this number, 141 unique sites (something.site.voila.fr) - a mean of 14.3 spam per site, or roughly one every other day spamvertising each of the sites. (Of the 3,007 that arrived in March 58%, or 1,475, were spamvertising WANADOO.fr hosted sites.) After getting a message from Freeserve/Wanadoo that they were installing SPAM message markers, I emailed them back with my stats and suggested that they ought to scan for sites ending with .voila.fr. My program that collates my stats then began to notice a drop in the count for WANADOO.fr hosted sites. I thought my moan had been successful until I then found out why: the spammers had started to hide the url by using percent escapes (...%2evoila%2efr, etc), and hiding the messages in encode64 messages - neither of which my program was written to handle. I've adjusted my program to handle percent escapes, but I think it is still missing a few; encode64'd messages are not being processed. When I get the chance/time, I may re-write the program to pass the email messages properly. ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [ql-users] 41K virus
Duncan Neithercut wrote: Hi According to norton antivirus the one I am getting W32.Netsky virus. Its must be someone on this list who is infected. Does anyone know a nicholas hearne. Is that the shown field or did you check the actual message headers to see for yourself? ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [ql-users] 41K virus
Dilwyn Jones wrote: While downloading my emails tonight I noticed it was slow and the stats said I seemed to be sending about 10 times as much data as I was sending. Yes, I had one of the hundreds of 41K viruses (message failure) worms or virus, whatever they were, probably emailing everyone in sight from my address book. Interesting...tonight I just checked my spam bin and found a message of 40k with the following header: 88888888 From - Sun Mar 28 22:53:00 2004 X-UIDL: 1076698283.5096 X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 X-Mozilla-Status2: Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from mwinf3102.me.freeserve.com (mwinf3102.me.freeserve.com) by mwinb3005 (SMTP Server) with LMTP; Sun, 28 Mar 2004 19:35:53 +0200 X-Sieve: Server Sieve 2.2 Received: from bullet3.fsnet.co.uk (m269-mp1.cvx1-b.man.dial.ntli.net [62.252.201.13]) by mwinf3102.me.freeserve.com (SMTP Server) with ESMTP id 0C3E3180016B for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Sun, 28 Mar 2004 19:35:28 +0200 (CEST) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Error in document Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 18:33:27 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary==_NextPart_000_0016=_NextPart_000_0016 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Envelope-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --=_NextPart_000_0016=_NextPart_000_0016 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=Windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Important message, do not show this anyone! +++ Attachment: No Virus found +++ Panda AntiVirus - www.pandasoftware.com --=_NextPart_000_0016=_NextPart_000_0016 Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name=attach.zip Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=attach.zip 88888888 The file attach.zip contains one file: data.rtf [lots of spaces] .scr. If this came from you Dilwyn (I've replaced the host with xxx as it's not a tesco name), you need to update your address book: the eaddr [EMAIL PROTECTED] is now a spam trap and anything sent to it is considered spam and filtered as such (to a safe area for analysis when I get round to it) - please delete that eaddr if you have it. Thanks, Robert. ___ QL-Users Mailing List
