AT&T USER'S GROUP SAN FRANCISCO, CA NEWSLETTER FEB88 User Group member Bill Todd of Todd PC3 gave a demonstration of his AT&T PC6300 conversions. Bill has been an AT&T owner/user since September, 1985. He uses the computer for business, engineering and scientific applications. Through his business, Bill does computer conversions and sells accelerator boards. He has been working on several upgrades to the PC6300, which he has designated the Mark 8, Mark 10, and Mark 11.5. They were developed as inexpensive alternatives for increasing the performance of the 6300, using an integrated approach, combining both software and hardware changes. These include the installation of an NEC V-30 microprocessor; new DMA, bus controller and timer chips as necessary; and software that moves the ROM BIOS and hard disk BIOS into RAM, and also changes the memory refresh rate. Bill explained that the AT&T 6300 is assembled with parts that meet specification, but they are not "dynamically optimized". Some motherboards may have the same revision letter but still use different The systems are tested before conversion to check relative performance. The soldered-in chips are professionally removed, and sockets are installed. Then high speed componentry is installed. If it all meets spec, the software is added. The system is then tested for final benchmarks. As part of the conversion process, any deficiencies in hard disk setup are found and corrected, and several of the modifications are specifically designed to increase hard disk throughput. The Mark 8 conversion is available now at $225.00, and Bill claims a typical benchmark speed increase of about 20% with actual throughput approximately doubled (depending on application and hard disk). Both the Mark 10 and the Mark 11.5 conversions are under development, probably due in mid-March. The Mark 10 conversion, which is planned to increase throughput by a factor of approximately 7 times, will go for an estimated $500.00. The systems have a 1 year parts and labor warranty. The conversion can be done on site, but it normally takes 7-10 working days to do a conversion when you ship the unit to his shop. Contact Bill Todd for shipping details. In the near future the data can be downloaded from a the mailing list or for more information. Bruce MacKenzie from SOTA spoke about the SOTA Mothercard 5.0A. He briefly explained EMS, EEMS, and protected mode operation with an 80286 system, and how these hardware features will affect a user's ability to run new software and operating systems. The main features of the SOTA card are: 1) full compatibility with the AT&T 6300, standard DOS applications, and networks; 2) the ability to run OS/2 and other protected mode systems, such as ORACLE; 3) the ability to access up to 16 Mbytes of extended memory (non-paged) 16-bit RAM; and 4) a significant speed increase due to the 80286 microprocessor. The "A" version of the Mothercard 5.0 was designed specifically for the PC6300 to meet the requirements of several large government agencies. Installation involves the running of a specially designed 2.2 ft. impedance matched shielded cable from the SOTA card to the 8086 socket on the bottom of the 6300 motherboard, and transferring the 8086 to the new card. Bruce demonstrated the operation of IBM OS/2 on a 6300 with the SOTA card installed. One of the neat tricks that SOTA has come up with is a programmable AT ROM BIOS to keep up with whatever tricks machines. The card runs at 10 Mhz, with a 12.5 MHz version in the works. With a 10 Mhz SOTA card installed, a PC6300 runs about 20% faster than an 8 MHz IBM AT. At the moment, switching between 80286 and 8086 mode requires a re-boot. In 80286 mode, original PC6300 memory is used only by utility software -- normal program operation takes place in the SOTA card's own RAM. There is a spare connector on the card that SOTA intends to use for connection to a 16-bit hard disk controller card they will manufacture. List price: $895 for the 10 MHz card, $995 for the 12.5 MHz version (a 10% discount is available to User Group members through Todd PC3). SOTA Technology, Inc. 657 N. Pastoria Avenue, Sunnyvale, Ca 94086 (408) 245-3366 PRESIDENT'S BITS Joe Mahoney **************** We are looking for programs for meetings in June, July, August. Please call with your ideas. Your President is taking a close look at have a new subscription plan ($12/year) for out-of-state readers who are not members. Individuals will be contacted by letter before they are dropped from the mailing. The 13th West Coast Computer Faire is coming up April 7-10. We will participate in the event with a booth, and badges to see the Faire for members who help at the booth, as last year. Call the Joe, or Kevin Newman for details. We will have election of officers in June, with nominations starting at the May meeting. Consider taking a spot on the Executive (steering) Committee. Anyone interested in attending an Executive Committee meeting or having an item discussed at the meeting should contact me quickly. I hope to get the EC together before the March meeting. Scanning other user group's publications can be interesting and entertaining. The Sacramento PC Users is one of the largest in the West (2000+) and has an impressive publication, Sacra Blue. The Editor recently happened across an old, unopened, dust-covered box of Dysan DD/DD floppies at a Davis office supply store. The price? Only $85.00. This sort of believe-it-or-not is just the opposite of the kind of consumer action report I'd like to see shared here in the newsletter: if you find a good buy or exceptional service in an area shop, pass the word along to the readers! I can't resist a magazine subscription or the rack at Crown Books. Have you discovered PC RESOURCE yet? Not only have they plugged our group and reviewed the 6300 (Clone Report, Feb 88), they always have great do-it-yourself tips on hardware -- disk drive maintenance (Sep), drive alignment (Nov), installing a 3.5" drive (Jan), memory chip additions and the Mothercard from SOTA (Feb). This magazine has articles on software, new products, programming, applications, industry news -- written so that even a novice can get into the subject. There's DOS handbook reference cards bound into most issues. The photography is sharp and the overall layout quite appealing. Take a look! USER GROUP TECH-TIPS #6 L.J.(Larry)Risner AT&T Tech Staff *********************** A major concern of computer owners today is how to upgrade their current CPU and retain as much of their investment as is possible. In this article I will attempt to describe some of the benefits of "adding a system to a system" as well as some of the trade-offs one should consider. The boards being discussed here are the i80286 & i80386 processor boards that can be inserted into the bus in the CPU housing. First consider the starting point, your existing CPU. If it is an AT&T PC (I am assuming for this discussion that it is an AT&T PC), the basic CPU meets the first test with flying colors - an adequate power supply. The power supply in the PC6300 is rated at 170 watts, which will support even the most demanding peripheral. What board fits the bus? The PC6300 as well as the PC6300+ will accept PC/XT compatible boards, but not AT style boards. The 6310, 6312 and 6386 will accept PC/XT boards, and also AT style boards. Refer to your user's manual to determine your bus configuration. What will the board do for me? Perhaps the best way to think of an "add-on" board is to consider your original system as an input/output device for another computer. That is, all activity to and from the added CPU, regardless of how fast it is, will be to and from your existing system and peripherals (by the way, the biggest bottleneck for a CPU is it's storage media). So there you are. Adding a board will give you a much more powerful CPU that is "wrapped" by your existing hardware. This may not be at all bad depending on your reasons for adding the CPU. If all you want is more horsepower and you are using applications that don't utilize a lot of disk access then this may be for you. However, if you are into something that moves a lot of information around and through the bus, then you may want to consider a unit that is totally faster, a new machine - the decision is yours. Here is a small list of comparisons: ADD-ON BOARD Memory - Limited to on-board space (4-16M max - typical) Power Supply - Original PC unit Speed - Accelerator board increase only (not entire system) Peripherals - Limited by bus design NEW MACHINE Memory - Limited by bus slots (16-48M max - typical) Power Supply - Large capacity to support added memory and peripheral requirements Speed - Higher performance bus and peripherals are in support of CPU. Peripherals - Total adaptability (except 32 bit slots, which differ by manufacturer) FILE MANAGERS Kevin Newman ************* (editors note: At the time Kevin was writing this, things looked pretty sad for newsletter contributions from members. However, in the last several weeks, articles have started to come in, and we hope this is a trend. Otherwise, I heartily endorse what Kevin is saying here.) It's been 7 month since my last "monthly" article. The reason I have started this article in this manner (which is supposed to be about file managers), is that I am trying to show that I understand why so few of YOU have never sent in an article, come up with a program for the meeting, or offered to help with any of the many things which need to be done to keep the User Group going. It is a pain to try and write these things when you aren't a writer (7 months between articles indicates how difficult this is for me, and when compounded by inherent laziness -- poof! -- 7 months). - But try and think of what Ed has to go through to get the newsletter out by himself, and my laziness (and maybe yours) is rather a weak excuse. What I am trying to say is that I have been rather surprised at the lack of enthusiasm that people show when asked to volunteer for any type of position in the group (such as the "enthusiasm" we all showed when Joe asked for volunteers for group Secretary). Now, I am not the one to criticize. I volunteered all right, but have produced less than nothing when compared to the fact that just a few individuals are shouldering most of the work (we all know who they are). What I am trying to say is, we as a group will only survive if we work as a group. Now that I've said my piece, I'll get down off my soapbox and cover file managers. Have you ever looked at the multitude of files on your hard disk and thought to yourself "What a mess?". Well, if so, you are in need of a file manager. A file manager is a utility that allows you to do the basic and not so basic manipulations that we all have to do to keep our hard disks organized and have some space left over. One quick side note: so far I have only talked about using file managers on your hard disk, the reason being that with the current low price of hard disks I don't know of anyone other than laptop users - without a hard disk in their computer (and the 720k floppies in laptops could use a file manager). It is true that DOS gives us ways to keep everything organized, but what happens when you have a directory with 240 files in it and you only want to delete certain ones (and you have to decide which ones to delete)? This is where the file manager comes in. There are a large number of different file managers that are available, but all do basically the same things with some doing a bit more than others. In the next few paragraphs I will discuss the basic functions of most file managers. One of the most powerful feature included in almost all file managers is a concept known as "tagging". The idea behind tagging is to mark specific files within a group allowing you to manipulate all of these "tagged" files as you require (i.e. delete, copy, move). Since most file managers display all files in a directory in two, three, or more columns, "tagging" files as you move the cursor across the file listing is quite an easy task. Another powerful feature of file managers is the ability to sort files so that you may look at them in different ways, such as sorted by date, extension, attribute and other sort keys. - One feature that I use quite often is the "move" command. This command performs a pseudo file copy, but instead of actually copying the file to the destination (i.e. different directory), simply performs a rename in the File Allocation Table, effectively "moving" the file to the new location by assigning a new pathname to the file (the actual physical location of the data on the disk is unchanged). There is one limitation to this command: it can only move files on the same physical device (i.e. files can be "moved" to a different directory on one hard disk, or on a floppy, but not from a hard disk to a floppy). I realize that this has been a rather brief article but you can't imagine the agony of just getting this out. Hopefully as I continue to write, this will become easier. (Kevin Newman is our Public Domain software librarian, and a knowledgeable source on available programs that make life easier for computer users. I would like to add two of my favorite file manager functions to his list. The "look" function (or "browse", or "scan") allows you to make a quick check of the contents of a file without having to call up the application that created the file. Also, most file managers give you the ability to "rename" a file simply and easily from the file listing. -ed) COMPATIBLE HARDWARE Thomas Herzfeld ******************* KEYTRONICS KB5151 KEYBOARD. This keyboard is available as an alternative to the AT&T standard keyboard, which does not provide a separate numerical keypad and arrow keys. It is cabled to use the standard AT&T keyboard input port, and behaves exactly like the AT&T keyboard. The touch is excellent. Drawbacks include lack of a mouse port and a small carriage return key. The former makes it necessary to use the serial port for mice (see below) and the latter problem has generated more typos than any intoxicant. The function keys are placed across the top of the keyboard, which means that the standard templates provided with most programs will not fit. Special templates for the KB5151 are readily available for WordPerfect, and no doubt for other programs. LOGITECH C7 MOUSE. I just obtained the latest version of this best of all mice. Logitech has eliminated the external power supply, so all you have to do is plug it in to the serial port and load the software. The touch is excellent, and the editor provided continues to improve. The mouse can be configured to run on COM1 or COM2, which is more than can be said for the 6300's serial port. AST RAMPAGE BOARD (STANDARD VERSION). I was unable to obtain the AT&T version of this board, because no one would acknowledge its existence in 1986, so I bought the 8-bit bus version. It works perfectly, and I don't know how I got along without it. It may be slower than the 16 bit version, but I have not been bothered by any sluggishness using it as a virtual hard disk. A NOTE REGARDING THE 6300 SERIAL PORT. It is hard-wired as COM1. This becomes a major flaw when you have an internal modem which you want configured as COM1. As a result of this glitch, I now own both an internal modem and an external modem. The external modem is connected to the serial port via an A-B switch, so that I can use either the external modem or the mouse. Fortunately, I have not needed both at the same time. VIRUS EPIDEMIC? Joe Mahoney *************** A microbiologist, I read with interest the reports on virus problems with PC's. You've heard of these nasty items -- known also as Trojan Horses, worms, logic bombs -- tiny (a few hundred bytes) programs or segments that invade your diskettes or disks (!) and secretly replicate, eventually wrecking or erasing your data, interrupting entire systems, or perhaps only flashing a surprise message ("Peace or Earth" or the like, or worse) on the monitor. The San Francisco Chronicle (2-12-88) covered a MacIntosh virus that was spread through "infected" files on CompuServe and GEnie (hypercard application files, system files). The virus creator bragged that this group had worked on the virus for over a year! John Dvorak (PC Magazine) describes virus concerns and mentions the celebrated Lehigh University virus -- computing center students at that college found viruses widely spread throughout their public domain diskette library in December 87. Earlier, AMIGA users got an infection through altered boot or system files on application software diskettes. Publications and industry spokespersons have been reluctant to cover this area, fearing that publicity will invite problems and ever more diabolical and creative sabotage. Software developers and university researchers are scrambling to find ways to detect viruses and write utility programs, but the wicked hackers will always strive to outsmart 'em. Security and protection of data -- personal or corporate or government -- is at stake... part of our right to privacy, no? What do we do to protect ourselves? The choices now are few. First, wear your protect tabs ("safe- computing" as Dvorak calls it) to prevent unexpected program segments being written to your floppies. Viruses spread from machine to machine within a file on a floppy or perhaps through E-mail or BBS systems. Once programmed into a COMMAND.COM or other executable file, you may unknowingly replicate them -- a write protect precaution will alert you when a harmless copy, dir, or type command gives a write protect error. Back-up your files frequently. If you discover an infection you may still have "safe" files in reserve. (We do this routinely anyway, right?) Dvorak and others tell us to keep an eye on the date/time labels on files. COMMAND.COM, and other .COM or .EXE files do NOT get updated frequently...you could print-screen and save to refer back to this data periodically. Some writers say to keep an eye on file size (bytes) -- system files should not change size unexpectedly. Dvorak says size is not a good check as most viruses are small. Be a little reluctant to take personal diskettes into the workplace and chose your software carefully. Trading programs and diskettes is a popular but risky business. One peninsula computer store claims they got a virus when a customer brought a game disk in to try on some of their computers! Yes, "safe-computing": use prophylaxis, and know your files and friends! - Joe Mahoney APRIL MEETING (S.F.) Barry Newman ******************** There will be a presentation at the April meeting by D.R.I. (Digital Research Inc). They will be showing GEM, a mouse manipulated, icon based operating system quite similar to the Mac. In addition, they will be showcasing GEM Desktop Publisher and GEM Draw, both excellent graphics products plus other products in the GEM line. They have offered to supply some copies of a few of the products as door prizes. Be sure to attend as you'll have an opportunity to see some excellent, reasonably priced graphics presentation software. EQUIPMENT REVIEW Ed Ely **************** RAMSACK 16-bit Memory Board Computer Peripherals, Inc. I have been looking onto various upgrades for my PC6300 for some time, and I have found that while not all PC/XT compatible hardware will work with the AT&T machines, some of the best pieces of equipment work just fine, and many specifically support installation in AT&T computers. The Plus HardCard and Intel AboveBoard are two examples that come to mind. However, the fact that we sometimes have fewer choices in a given hardware category can mean that it is sometimes difficult to find an effective solution that is also inexpensive. For example, try to get two floppy drives and a hard disk operating on a 6300. Not an inconvenient arrangement for other machines, it is for the 6300. We must install a hard disk on a card, or an external unit, typically at greater cost than would be the case for a standard-mount hard disk of similar performance. If AT&T had decided to provide the PC6300 and PC6300+ with industry standard 16-bit peripheral slots, instead of the AT&T proprietary design, there would be a lot more 16-bit peripherals that would support the AT&T machines. As it is, there are very few products designed to take advantage of the wider data channels available on these computers. With AT&T's recent decision to discontinue the 6300, we can probably expect even fewer new products that will specifically support it. However, there are products out there that do utilize the special features of the AT&T machines, and we will continue to report them as they come to our attention. Memory cards are an interesting case study. AT&T sells an "Enhanced Memory Board", manufactured by AST, that uses the special AT&T 16-bit bus on the 6300 and 6300+, and has excellent performance. It is a good product, but it is relatively expensive, and it can only be used on an 6300 or the 6300+ (not even the 6310/6312 can use it). Memory boards that utilize AT compatible 16-bit slots are not compatible due to the bus design. Many PC/XT memory boards that use the standard 8-bit slot are compatible with the AT&T machines, but you are limited in performance due to the narrower data path and lower clock speed on the 8-bit peripheral bus (4MHz). Of course, many of us have opted for the AT&T board, or for one of the many 8-bit memory boards, and have been very happy with the results (big RAM-disks, print spoolers, disk caches, swapping programs in and out of EMS memory or even multi-tasking on a PC6300 with DESKview). Along comes Computer Peripherals, Inc. (CPI) and produces a memory board called RAMSACK. This is a hybrid product that has the standard 8-bit PC bus connector, the 16-bit AT bus connector, and the 16-bit AT&T bus connector. Therefore, it works in 8-bit mode on a PC/XT compatible machine, in 16-bit mode on an AT compatible machine, and in 16-bit mode on a PC6300. It was originally designed to work also on a 6300+, but that did not work out (CPI claims AT&T changed technical specifications on the 6300+ after it was too late for them to re- engineer their board). There are a minimal number of jumpers and DIP switches to check on the board, mostly of concern if you are going to install more than one RAMSACK board, but for the installation of one board, the entire installation setup is done through software that is run from a floppy disk. The setup information is then stored in non-volatile RAM. One unusual and necessary trick to the installation, that is not made clear anywhere in the manual, is that to install the RAMSACK for the 16-bit bus on an AT&T machine, you must run the installation program while the board is plugged into an 8-bit slot. When the installation program is complete, you then shut down the computer and transfer the board to a 16-bit slot. This information had to be obtained from a phone call to CPI technical support. They were very helpful, but such a major omission in the manual was not an encouraging omen. There were two main reasons that I wanted additional memory beyond the 640K already on the main board. The first was to be able to run a large disk cache without eating into DOS memory. With the RAMSACK memory board, this has worked out wonderfully. I use the cache program from MACE utilities (a licensed version of Golden Bow VCACHE), and it has resulted in a very substantial decrease in effective disk access times, as the cache program typically finds approximately 85% of requested data in the cache, and therefore only about 15% of disk reads actually go to the hard disk. There is also a smaller saving in disk writes, by ignoring duplicate data. The cache operates slightly slower using EMS memory, as compared to the same size cache in standard DOS memory. The "paging" requirements of EMS memory exact a slight penalty here. One important note: the newest version of MACE utilities uses a different cache program that does not recognize the EMS memory on RAMSACK (so far, neither MACE nor CPI has come up with a satisfactory explanation). The second reason for the extra memory was to be able to swap programs in and out of expanded memory -- allowing an entire application (and all its data) to stay resident in expanded memory while another application runs in DOS memory -- and then be able to switch back and forth between applications. There are several programs available that accomplish this -- the one I use is the shell program from WordPerfect Library. So far, the program recognizes the extra memory and utilizes it correctly when I manually "exit to shell" from an application -- that application is then swapped to expanded memory, and I am able to utilize the full 640K of DOS memory for another application (less any TSR programs, and the resident portion of the shell program and the disk cache). The actual swapping takes place in less than a second, which is tremendously quicker than saving your data, exiting one application and then starting up a new one. However, I have run into problems when I attempt to use a "hot-key" to switch applications, which is supposed to work, and works on other identical systems. When I contacted WordPerfect about the "hot-key" problem, they said they would obtain a RAMSACK board, put it in an PC6300 and try to find a fix. A plug for WordPerfect product support - - they are the best I have ever encountered -- they don't just mutter something about hardware incompatibility, they actually seem to have an interest in getting things to work right, and they are well acquainted with AT&T machines. The RAMSACK board with 2 MBytes sells for $450 to $600 retail (I don't have the actual list price), but I have seen it priced as low as $175 with 0K installed ($165 in quantity). The board comes with software for a print spooler, RAM-disk, and disk cache (for diskettes only). They do not provide a hard disk cache. CPI also includes a SIDEKICK- like collection of desktop utilities which I haven't tried because it duplicates many of the functions I am already using with WordPerfect Library. The RAM-disk can be varied in size, but I ran up against a 64 file limit, regardless of the amount of memory allocated for the RAM-disk. Fortunately, the DOS RAMDRIVE.SYS recognizes and uses the RAMSACK EMS memory, and can be set for a maximum of 1,024 root directory entries (DOS 3.2). The RAMSACK board come in various standard configurations with up to 4 Mbytes of memory (with a plug-in daughterboard). There are DIP switch settings to allow unique memory addresses for up to four boards (if you have the slots). The RAMSACK memory can be used to "back-fill" conventional memory up to 640K, or as LIM compatible expanded memory (paged), or as extended memory (non-paged) on an AT compatible system. CPI plans to have LIM 4.0 software emulation available sometime in the second quarter. The board comes with a two year warranty. Computer Peripherals, Inc. 2635 Lavery Court #5, Newbury Park, Ca (800) 854-7600 (outside Calif.) (818) 710-1717 (inside Calif.) SERVICE/PARTS EXCHANGE ********************** Last month, we reported some rather remarkable exchange parts prices available through the AT&T Service Center in San Leandro. Some members called, and received substantially different (and higher) price quotes over the phone. The problem was not that the prices were wrong -- the telephone number was wrong. We inadvertently published the number for the Data Services Organization (AT&T DSO) in Oakland, not the San Leandro Service Center. All the DSO service depots (there are several in the Bay Area) look up their prices on a common data base, and whatever price is shown is what they have to charge. The Service Center in San Leandro is a separate organization within AT&T and has a totally different pricing structure, and since the last newsletter, they have reduced their prices. The AT&T Parts Hotline will also arrange parts exchanges, and they have yet another pricing structure. As an example, to replace a PC6300 motherboard through the Parts Hotline, you will end up paying something like $1,100, depending on the model of the motherboard and amount of RAM installed (that price includes a small exchange value for your old board). If you were to make the exact same exchange through a DSO location, the cost would be in the neighborhood of $500, again depending on model and amount of RAM. If you take your old board to the counter at the San Leandro Service Center, the cost will be $101.00 plus a $10 handling charge, for any PC6300 model. Now this price does not apply if you bring in the whole computer and have them look for the problem, remove the board, make the repairs, and put everything back together again. That process could very well cost you around $500. Also, they do not just give you a new board in exchange. You need to leave your board there, and they will attempt to repair it. If it can't be repaired, you will be given an exchange board. Either way, it's the same price. And the board you get back will have all the latest revisions (including ROM BIOS updates). You won't get a 640K board back if you give them 256K, and you won't get a CPU-3 if you give them a CPU1-A, but otherwise it will be completely updated (unless you request that it not be). The Service Center is located at 2200 William Street, at the corner of Doolittle, in San Leandro. Their telephone number is (415) 678-1300 (that's the correct number this time). Business hours are 8 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. They will also accept UPS shipment, but you must contact them by telephone prior to shipping. So far, they are set up only for repairs on the PC6300 (and PC6300+). Here are some more examples of their exchange prices: Keyboard ($35.11 + $2.00 handling); ANY supported hard disk, 10 or 20 Mbytes ($95.56 + $10.00 handling); power supply ($42.11 + $2.00); video card ($89.38 + $2.00); HD controller card ($44.24 + $2.00). Thanks again to Dave Ralston, who is the supervisor for the computer repair group at the service center. In upcoming issues, we will look into the services provided by the DSO depots, and the various AT&T Hotlines. If you can pinpoint your computer problems down to the board level, and feel comfortable with removing and reinstalling components in your machine, the San Leandro Service Center prices can't be beat. If you need someone else to handle more of the job for you, the DSO depots may be more convenient and may be somewhat closer in price for the same work performed at the main service center. However, Dave Ralston and his group may be hard to beat. For more information, use your phone -- that's why God created AT&T. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS ************************* Some of you may have noticed that we managed to have two NEWSLETTER #11 issues (October/November, and December/January). That's just my way of pretending to be overworked. I sure could use a proof-reader, or other help on the newsletter. It would be nice if someone could take alternate issues. Give me a call, or come and talk at one of the meetings. I ain't gonna keep this up forever. -ed EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING POLICY ****************************** Display ads and classifieds, maximum 9 text lines (as above): $5.00 per issue, free to members. We will print articles, reviews and letters as they are submitted and as space and time permits. Modem or diskette preferred. First choice: Wordperfect. Or WordStar, MultiMate or ASCII text. (Please indicate which in the file name or on the diskette label, and include a printout for reference). Advice, help, comments and criticism are welcome. For now, we will combine articles on meetings in all locations in this newsletter. Copy deadline for the next issue of the Newsletter is March 21. Many thanks to those who have contributed to the newsletter. Please keep the information coming. BAY AREA AT&T PC USERS GROUP P.O. Box 410321 S.F. Ca 94141-0321 ********************************** PRESIDENT Joe Mahoney W:(415) 540-2219/540-3256 H:(415) 586-8376 371 Joost Avenue, San Francisco, Ca 94131 VICE-PRESIDENT Maurice Aranda (415) 972-0669 SECRETARY (position vacant) TREASURER Frank Davidoff (415) 237-3865 MEMBER-AT-LARGE Mark Almeida "The Wiz" Data:(707) 429-1035 W:(415) 823-9553 H:(707) 429-9122 LIBRARIAN Kevin Newman (415) 933-7391 504 Waterbery Dr. Pleasant Hill Ca 94523 DATABASE KEEPER Bill Goebner (415) 823-6931 NEWSLETTER EDITOR Edward Ely W:(415) 836-0910 H:(415) 641-1556 379 Day St. San Francisco Ca 94131 SOUTH BAY/SILICON VALLEY Bob Larsen (408) 224-4422 Joe Lipsig (408) 733-6522 EASY ACCESS BBS, WITH AT&T SIG (300/1200/2400 8/N/1) (415) 829-6027 Tony Waddell, Sysop RICK'S HIDEAWAY BBS, WITH AT&T USERS CONFERENCE (1200/2400 8/N/1) (916) 961-1042 AT&T USERS GROUP LIAISON Jim Keeton (415) 442-2692 AT&T PUBLIC RELATIONS Mark Dill (408) 995-3966 AT&T TECHNICAL CONSULTANT Hal Shields (415) 442-2740 AT&T TECHNICAL CONSULTANT Larry Risner (415) 464-4687 AT&T TECHNICAL CONSULTANT Syd Reid (408) 522-4802 AT&T TECHNICAL HOTLINE (800) 922-0354 AT&T PARTS ORDERING (800) 922-PART AT&T CUSTOMER INFORMATION CENTER (800) 432-6600. This following list of AT&T support boards and boards with an AT&T sub-board or conference was compiled by Ken Camp, who can be contacted via one of the boards shown in 415 area or via FIDO NetMail at 161/42 (The Records Department 415-426-0470) Flea Market 201-446-1665 (Merged with The Right Choice BBS) ( Please use 201-974-8317 ) AT&T Dev 201-658-5345 ITM Database 201-943-5419 The Right Choice 201-974-8317 AT&T Info. Exchange 201-980-2012 ASCII Neighborhood 203-934-9852 Deathstar 301-839-0705 Black Hole 305-260-6397 Florida Death Star 305-660-6300 INDY Net One 317-846-8675 CBM Computer Center 402-391-3102 THE SOQUEL BBS 408-462-6329 Easy Access 415-829-6027 The Unknown 516-486-4705 Ed Hopper's Board 713-782-5454 Software Safari 717-226-1943 So. Cal. AT&T BBS 818-954-0530 ***************************************************************