Date : Wed, 05 Nov 1980003:47:00-MST
From : Frank J. Wancho <FJW at MIT-MC>
Subject: The SIG/M Report
The SIG/M Report
November 1980
edited by
Bruce Ratoff and Bill Chin
SIG/M has now been in full operation for the past two months
and things are really starting to happen. As Sol announced in
this column last month, our first three software volumes,
containing source and object of two souped-up Adventure games,
are now available. Since that announcement, we have collected an
additional four volumes of software, which will be available for
the first time at the November meeting of SIG/M (at the 808X/Z80,
CP/M, N*, TRS-80 users' meeting) at UCTI on Friday, November 7.
The new volumes are:
SIG/M004 - miscellaneous CP/M utilities
SIG/M005 - 8080/8085 diagnostics package
SIG/M006 - 6502 monitor and simulator (on Z80!)
SIG/M007 - modem and BBS utilities
Another disk of games has been started but does not yet
contain sufficient material for release. Expected future volumes
include more CP/M utilities, and a set of cross-development tools
for the TI9900 processor. These and all future volumes will be
announced in this column, and on our participating BBS's (see
below).
We are of course always seeking software contributions
in all areas of interest. Remember that the "quickie" that you
threw together to solve some minor problem may be a lifesaver
for another user, no matter how trivial you may consider it.
For those who have not yet heard about SIG/M, its purpose is
to promote the exchange of programs and information on/about CP/M
and related systems. It is our goal to provide this exchange in
as open and non-commercial an environment as possible. Besides
providing software exchange, we would like to serve as a forum
for sharing ideas/comments on CP/M related topics. This is your
organization, and can only succeed with everyone's participation.
SIG/M was jointly founded by CP/M proponents in ACGNJ and the New
York Amateur Computer Club (NYACC).
WHERE TO FIND US
There are many ways to contact/locate SIG/M for information
or to exchange software. We can always be found at the "first
Friday" ACGNJ users' group meeting at UCTI or the "second
Tuesday" NYACC users' group meeting at Computer Emporium (in
NYC). You may also contact one of the four coordinators directly.
We are:
Bruce Ratoff Iselin, NJ 201-283-2724
Bill Chin Clifton, NJ 201-778-5140
Marty Nichols Dover, NJ 201-361-7180
Henry Kee Flushing, NY 212-539-3202
Written correspondence and diskettes may be mailed to:
SIG/M
P.O. Box 97
Iselin, NJ 08830
If you have a modem at your disposal, you may wish to
contact us and/or obtain programs by calling Bruce Ratoff's
Remote Iselin Bulletin Board System (RIBBS). In addition to
normal BBS functions, it is possible to go into CP/M and send or
receive programs using the Ward Christensen MODEM program. Plans
are currently underway, although not yet implemented, to support
Apple CP/M and TRS-80 CP/M on this system. To reach the system,
dial Bruce's number (listed above), let it ring once, hang up and
call back within 40 seconds. The system will answer the second
call. A number of other BBS owners and potential BBS owners have
expressed interest in providing the same service on their
systems. Their numbers will be published in future columns. We
are especially looking for participants in other regions (both in
and out of the NY/NJ area). Contact us if you wish to
participate.
LOCAL COORDINATORS
We are looking for people to coordinate local distribution
of the SIG/M software collection. This is in line with our
general policy of keeping both user costs and club costs to a
minimum. If you are the 8080 or CP/M coordinator of a local
club, or wish to act as the "dropping off point" for the other
CP/M users in your area, please contact us. The point of all
this is to minimize the number of disk copies that we have to
produce, while providing the widest possible distribution of the
software collection. Clubs and area coordinators may obtain
copies of the SIG/M volumes for a donation of $4 per diskette,
plus $2 to cover mailing costs. These diskettes are to be
redistributed locally on a non-profit basis. Funds collected by
the local coordinator should go back into the support of the
local club or group. All commercial use of these diskettes and
their contents is expressly forbidden.
PROGRAM SUBMITTAL
All programs/files for submittal to SIG/M should be provided
on 8" single-density soft-sectored "standard CP/M" format, along
with our standard submittal form. A copy of this form appears
on each SIG/M volume as the file SIG/M.LIB. It is also
reproduced in this issue of the newsletter. Contributions and
forms may also be sent via modem to a participating BBS, but a
signed copy of the submittal form must be received before the
program can be distributed. This protects all of us from
copyright problems, and assures a consistent method of program
documentation and cataloging.
UPCOMING RELEASES
The NYACC S-100 users' group has published a directory of
public-domain software. It contains the catalogs and abstracts
from all current CPMUG and SIG/M releases. The directory is
available for $5 (subject to change) from NYACC.
Digital Research has released the first version of CP/NET,
their distributed-processing system. This release allows up to
16 modified CP/M systems to share disks and printers residing on
an MP/M system. Each disk drive may be either locally supported
or mapped into the network (controlled by the MP/M system). The
communication method is left up to the installer, making this a
very general and powerful tool for applications requiring too
much "crunch" per terminal to be served with a single processor.
The cost is $200, and the license is linked to a single MP/M
system license.
A new version of MP/M is scheduled for release before the
end of the year. The main enhancement will be the inclusion of
file interlocks between users, making multi-terminal file updates
much easier to implement. This version of MP/M will also
support the next release of CP/NET, which allows the inclusion of
slave processors that do not contain any local disk storage. A
further update of MP/M and CP/NET, which allows MP/M systems to
function as slaves to other MP/M systems, is expected at the
beginning of next year.
Questions about the much-delayed release of CP/M-86 were met
with a reply that it should be released "any week now". It will
consist of 8086/8088-resident versions of all the standard CP/M
programs, plus a cross-assembler that will allow the installer to
use an existing 8-bit CP/M system to bring up the 16-bit system.
CP/M TIP-OF-THE-MONTH
This "department" will hopefully appear on a regular basis.
Its purpose is to provide answers to common technical questions
about CP/M and MP/M. Please send your questions, ideas and tips
to Bruce for inclusion in this column.