|
|
|
Meets 4th Sunday of each month, 6.30 pm...
Note change of times below.....
Veteran's Memorial Building....
Room 1613A,.....
Corner of Robie and Jubilee Road.
A short note on the Veterans Memorial Building, An item in the Canadian Armed Forces in house publication , the "Warrior" , The VMB will be renamed The Camp Hill Veterans' Memorial Building. The Camp Hill name is part of a tradition dating back to 1758. Here is a link to Canada's Veteran's affairs web suite where one can browse information related to Canada's fallen. and links to other sites related to Canada's military traditions.
In an other item in the press the Queen has entered cyberspace and the link is The British Monarchy-The Official web Site. It is worth checking out.
The next general meeting will be April 27th at 6.30 at the Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Building on Jubilee Rd. The beginners corner topic will be a look at the internet and will be presented by David Potter. The topic will be Usenet. The Usenet was conceived in 1979 by two graduate students at Duke university. It was a spin off of the military ARPANET and linked universities, collages and companies that did not have access to the military system, operating on a UNIX system called User's Network or Usenet. There will be a Q&A session and the main topic will be on cable modems by Mathew Dufresne from Access Cable.
The HAPCS has two kinds of meetings. There is the regular Sunday night meeting which most members attend regularly, and there is the monthly (approximately) Planning meeting which organizes the business of the Society, including what happens on the Sundays. The planning meeting is held on Monday , a week after the regular meeting in Room 1602 of the Camp Hill Veteran's Memorial Building on Jubilee Road. (the same building as the regular meetings; different room). All members of the Society are urged to attend.
At the planning meetings, we discuss feature speakers for regular meetings, finances, membership, training, and other computer related subjects.
Articles can be submitted in almost any format, ASCII text, AMI Pro, MS Word, Windows Write, WordStar and of course WordPerfect. If you are on the Chebucto FreeNet, Internet, or any type of e-mail system that has a gateway to the Internet, you can send something to me via the internet to where I work - hlfxtrad.educ.stuartce@gov.ns.ca. And to assist in posting a news letter on the Chebucto net a copy can be forwarded to hhhil000@cycor.ca.
Announcements
Disk Care, Really...????.............. Operating Systems............
The Newsletter, a few notes about what goes into this document
Meeting schedule for the upcoming year
This document is mailed to all paid up members and to anyone who has attended a meeting within the past three months. Yearly membership dues are $15.00.
Society Mailing Address -
P.O. Box 29008, Halifax N.S., B3L 4T8.
Executive:
Chairperson - David Potter
Vice-Chair - Bill Marchant
Secretary/Newsletter Editor - Colin Stuart
Disk Librarian - Thayne MacLean
and but not least Norman DeForest, Henry Hill, Arthur Layton, Rob MacCara, Andy Cornwall, George Richards, and Diane Smith.
We have only a few announcements for this month's issue.
For those of you who are not already aware, the membership expiry dates are printed in the upper right corner of your newsletter mailing label. If you wish to continue to receive this newsletter and know what interesting meetings are coming up, you either have to renew ($15 per year) or come to the meetings and put your name on the list that is passed around.
The Delphi User's Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month. The meetings are held at the CCL Group building 2669 Dutch Village Road in Halifax, at 7:00PM. For more information call Carey Rolfe at 462-4551 or on e-mail crolfe@fox.nstn.ns.ca. or Dave Hackett at 835-3894.
We don't charge for small individual want ads like the one above. That is any Society member or other interested person with some computer related item that they wish to sell, trade, or give away can contact the editor to place an ad in the newsletter. We would expect that more commercially oriented advertising provide the Society with some remuneration for carrying the ad.
An ad will normally only appear once but let me know if you reed it repeated. Ads can be given to me at meetings or give me a call two weeks to ten days before the next general meeting(newsletter deadline)
1. Never leave diskettes in the disk drive, as data can leak out of the disk and corrode the inner mechanics of the drive. Diskettes should be rolled up and stored in pencil holders.
2. Diskettes should be cleaned and waxed once a week. Microscopic metal particles can be removed by waving a powerful magnet over the surface of the disk. Any stubborn metallic shavings can be removed with scouring powder and soap. When waxing the diskettes, make sure the surface is even. This will allow the diskette to spin faster, resulting in better access time.
3. Do not fold diskettes unless they do not fit into the drive. 'Big' diskettes may be folded and used in 'little' disk drives.
4. Never insert a diskette into the drive upside down. The data can fall off the surface of the disk and jam the intricate mechanics of the drive.
5. Diskettes cannot be backed up by running them through the Xerox machine. If your data is going to need to be backed up, simply insert two diskettes into the drive. Whenever you update a document, the data will be written on both diskettes.
6. Diskettes should not be inserted or removed from the drive while the red light is flashing. Doing so could result in smeared or possibly unreadable text. Occasionally the red light remains flashing in what is known as a 'hung' or 'hooked' state. If your system is 'hooking' you will probably need to insert a few coins before being allowed access to the slot.
7. If your diskette is full and you need more storage space, remove the disk from the drive and shake vigorously for 2 minutes. This will pack the data enough (Data Compression) to allow for more storage. Be sure to cover all the openings with scotch tape to prevent data loss.
8. Data access time can be greatly improved by cutting more holes in the diskette jacket. This will provide more simultaneous access point to the disk.
9. Diskettes may be used as coasters for beverage glasses, provided that they are properly waxed beforehand. Be sure to wipe the diskettes dry before using.
10. Never use scissors and glue to manually edit documents. The data is stored much too small for the naked eye, and you may end up with data from some other document stuck in the middle of your document. Razor blades and scotch tape may be used, however, provided the user is equipped with an electron microscope.
11. Periodically spray diskettes with insecticide to prevent system bugs from spreading.
When the first digital computers were built (going back to the 2nd World War), the method of controlling how they worked was all part of the hardware design. They were, after all, single purpose machines. As they developed, and stored-program-computers with random access memory (RAM) came into being, it was obvious that some of the program was being used to run the machine while some was used for solving the problem in hand. Thus there was a distinct division between the program that calculated the answers, and the programs that accepted the input data and sent the answers to a printing machine.
Since it was inefficient to duplicate operations with every program, the concept of an Operating System (OS) was born. the OS for each computer model was unique, and, given the amount of programming required, and the relatively few machines using each one, were generally very expensive. They also began to include many items not strictly required to run the computer, such as trigonometric functions which would be used by application programmers, and utility programs for computer and system maintenance. Needless to say, the size of OSs started to grow, and that trend has not yet stopped.
OSs include a class of programs that all computer users will be aware of, called DRIVERS. These programs are usually unique to a particular model of hardware. Drivers for printers are typical. At some point every computer user has to specify what printer he or she is using. Drivers however are not restricted to printers. There are drivers for displays, disk drives, hard drives, tape units, sound cards CD-ROMs etc. Of course, drivers are not the only thing included in operating systems.
The first OS to have a large impact on micro-computers (like the ones we use ) was CP/M (Computer Program / Micro-computers). It was the immediate predecessor to DOS (Disk Operating System), and basically ran the keyboard, display and disk drives for the computers of the day.
In 1981, IBM needed a new OS for its PC, and Bill Gates (Microsoft) was contracted to write it. This became PC-DOS and in spite of the relatively cost of developing it, IBM virtually gave it away with every machine sold. The makers of CP/M tried to keep in the game but found the economics against them, and eventually CP/M faded.
Program developers began to write all their applications for use with DOS and soon IBM clone makers discovered that DOS was mandatory for all their machines. Microsoft, in order to satisfy this market produced MS-DOS ( which was virtually the same as PC-DOS) and licensed clone makers to use it.
Now, let's examine how the various elements of a computer link themselves together:
1. At the bottom is the hardware, starting with a central processing unit (CPU). In an IBM PC clone the CPU is an Intel xx86 family member. There are also disk drives, displays,video monitors and keyboards. Printers, scanners, modems and other optional devices complete the list.
2. Just above (figuratively speaking) the hardware, is a built-in program called the Basic Input Output System (BIOS). In older computers, the BIOS could be changed only by replacing the BIOS chip or chips. In more recent machines advantage is taken of Erasable Read-Only Memory to allow the user to select preferred options. If you see a reference to EPROM in computer literature, this is generally the entity which is being referred to. It is surprising to realize that when IBM sold the first PCs, the BIOS code was published in the Technical Manual which accompanied each machine. While it was not legal to copy this code, there is no doubt that revealing the code led to a rash of IBM clones, and to the loss of PC sales by IBM. Most PC makers today if they do not write their own BIOS code, use code produced by companies such as AMI and Phoenix. It must be pointed out that BIOS makers do not copy code. They study the input and output actions of the code, and develop their own code to duplicate these actions. Anyone who copied code in the past has been sued out of business.
3. Since the BIOS is nothing more than a series of computer programs, buried in the hardware, it is possible to write other programs which interact with it and use it. This third level interaction is the role of the Operating System. Thus using DOS as an example; a keyboard driver permits a DOS command to be typed into the computer. A display driver causes the typed material to be displayed on the monitor. The BIOS causes the lower case letters to be interpreted as upper case before the command is passed on to another part of the OS. When the command is finally passed, it is executed. Thus DOS users have the ability to ignore case, when they type commands. The same sort of action, although much more complex takes place when a mouse is used to start a program under a graphical system.
4. On top of the operating system we have the applications. These are the programs which you bought the computer for. Businesses bought IBM PCs in the early days to use Lotus 123 spreadsheets. (The guy who wrote Lotus 123 has a very special place in the history of the PC). Applications today include spreadsheets, word processors, data bases, as well as programs for communications, drafting, industrial machinery control and games. To summarize the hierarchy then, it looks like this:
APPLICATIONS
... use an ...
OPERATING SYSTEM
... which uses the ...
BIOS
... which controls the ...
HARDWARE.
It should.
It should also be noted that while the above is basically correct, it is an over-simplification of the real world. There are for example, applications which access the BIOS directly, and there are many functions of an OS which are applications in themselves.
Computer users, pushed by the computer industry, pushed in turn by users, began to develop hardware and software to produce graphics; both for business and pleasure. The first graphical interface which received wide acceptance was Windows in its versions 3.0, 3.1 and 3.11 (3.x stands for all these). Windows 3.x is not a true operating system, since DOS is still required for it to run, although most people think of it as an OS. Microsoft, which produced Windows 3.x has combined the features of Windows 3.x and DOS (and added a lot more) to produce Windows 95, which is a true OS.
There are many different operating systems. Many of them have specialized uses, and are not commonly known to micro-computer users. Some, however we should know about, since with the importance of the Internet, we will often be in communication with systems other than the one on our own machine.
Windows NT is a Microsoft product designed for use as an industrial strength OS. It is used principally in file servers on networks and by some home users who want more than Windows 95 can deliver.
OS/2 is IBM's candidate for a graphical system. It has wide use in PCs where main frame computers (particularly IBM's) are in use. It is also used in networks as a file server. For anyone who wishes an alternative to Windows 95 it is more than acceptable, although it does not have the same level of support among hardware or software suppliers that Windows 95 gets. Those who use it praise it highly as a steady solid OS.
UNIX and many of its variants are used in university settings where it can ,due to the nature if its license, be adapted for study and development. Commercial versions are also widely used as network servers, and industrial control machines. Unlike DOS, UNIX commands are case sensitive, so if you use a text based communications program, and you access a UNIX based server you will find that 'This' is not the same as 'this'.
Many people believe that Apple's Mac computer does not have an operating system, since it is all sold as a single piece of equipment. This is far from the truth. the latest Mac OS is known as System 7. The organization for a Mac is the same as for any other computer.
Finally another word about drivers. You may purchase a new hardware component for your computer, and find that you also get one or two floppy disks with it. These disks almost certainly contain a program needed to drive the component. If your OS already knows about the component, you may find that all you need to do is install the hardware, however, the component may be so new, that the OS was written before it was built, in which case the new driver needs to be added to the system.
Operating Systems have to be written for specific hardware. Thus, although Windows 95 has been written for IBM clones using Intel CPUs, and for DEC computers using DEC CPUs, the internal details of the OS are different, even though the appearance to the user is the same.
In addition, the applications have to be written for a particular OS. Applications written for Window 95 will not run under the current version of OS/2, and vice versa. There is an exception to this with DOS programs. Most DOS programs will run under both OS/2 and Windows. This is because both Microsoft and IBM recognized that no-one would buy a new OS if the programs for their old OS could not also be run on the new. This "legacy programming" is likely to be a feature of most new OS developments. In fact the current OS/2 (Warp4) will run Windows 3.x applications, but not Windows 95. Of course Windows 95 will run Windows 3.x applications.
Why do we have an Operating System? Because without one your computer, no matter what you paid for it would be just another expensive door stop. IBM Works OS/2.
Newsletter Articles
We are almost always in need of good articles. If anyone has something that they feel would make a good article, an interesting story to tell, or even a good meeting topic, please don't hesitate to pass it on.
Articles can be submitted in almost any format, ASCII text, AMI Pro, MS Word, Windows Write, WordStar and of course WordPerfect. How does one get an article to me? Various ways are available. You can bring it to a meeting or give me a call and upload it to me. If you are on the Chebucto FreeNet, Internet, or any type of e-mail system that has a gateway to the Internet, you can send something to me via the internet to where I work - hlfxtrad.educ.stuartce@gov.ns.ca.
It does work, that is how a number of articles in previous month's editions were received, but if you are sending a file attachment to your message, it should be UUencoded and not a mime attachment.
Newsletter Production Notes
As usual , for those who may be interested, the newsletter was formatted this month with WordPerfect for Windows 6.1 running on either a 386SX-25 or a 486DX-33 (each has 8mb of RAM). Much of the clipart used is from Novell (formerly WordPerfect)Presentations 3.0.
The original was printed at 600 dots per inch resolution on a HP Laserjet 4M. If I don't have access to this printer then we print it on an Okidata 850 at Bits and Bytes on Queen Street in Dartmouth where they allow the Society to print the originals at no charge.
The main body of the newsletter is set in 10 point Palatino with the article headings being 14 point bold. The title on the first page is ITC Zapf Chancery Medium Italic 19.2 and 16 points.
There was about the same number of copies made this month as compared with the last few months, with about 80 copies produced of which around just under 50 were mailed out. Any extra copies from the previous few months issues that I have will be brought to the next meeting for those who are new to the group or may not be in regular attendance.
I do have a complete set of all the previous newsletters and if someone wanted to look through these, let me know and I can bring them to the next meeting.
We decide on the meeting dates for upcoming year at the last planning meeting. The dates for these are listed below:
23 March
27 April
25 May
22 June
As in previous years, the December meeting is moved to the early part of January due Christmas Eve being the fourth Sunday of the month.
The planning meetings are normally held on the second Monday (8 days) after the general meeting. They are also located at Veterans Memorial Building. Anyone is welcome to assist in the planning of future meetings or events.
Any changes to the scheduled dates will be announced where possible at the regular monthly meetings and/or in this newsletter.
