Rants

[CP/M User]

Has anyone got a computer they could rant on about?

I suppose ranting on about some machine could be either a good thing or
a bad thing, depending on the nature of the rant.

I'd guess that for myself that outside my interests with Amstrad CPC
computers the next machine I would rave on about is the Jupiter ACE.

It's just an interesting system because it uses Forth (instead of BASIC),
as it's Built-In language! :-)

Cheers.

[mbbrutman]

Most of my ranting about computers is negative. It's ranting, as opposed to raving.

I normally work with big iron - IBM iSeries, which ranges from 1 to 32 processors, gigabytes of RAM, hundreds of disk drives, etc. So when I get stuck with cheap PC hardware, it's hard not to rant about the shortcomings:

- cheap cases that are likely to cut you and your cables
- cheap parts that don't last long - where is the quality control!
- Crappy BIOS design from 20 years ago ...
- Crappy OS design (Especially Windows ...)
- Lack of simple parity memory ...

Some of these things are correctable - buy high quality parts, use a good OS (Linux), and things get better. However it's hard to recognize and buy quality items in the last few years. So much has been commoditized and optimized for low cost, not serviceability.

Why is it my old iron last for *decades*, but machines at work about 18 months old die because the capacitors are crappy? ARGH!!!

Now that's a rant ...

[CP/M User]

"mbbrutman" wrote in message:

> Most of my ranting about computers is negative. It's ranting,
> as opposed to raving.

Yes, since I've used the term 'rave' about the Jupiter ACE, then
yeah a rant is the downside to rave.

> I normally work with big iron - IBM iSeries, which ranges from
> 1 to 32 processors, gigabytes of RAM, hundreds of disk drives,
> etc. So when I get stuck with cheap PC hardware, it's hard not
> to rant about the shortcomings:

Yes well I would rant about that too. In the end my thinking into
this has changed my career path. I don't think I could get sick of
it. But using a computer is different. Sure my past work history
involved computers hooked to networks & using Windows, but it's
an ever changing thing. I decided against it since I'm not too
keen on it & my hobby stuff can be just that, a hobby I like to do.

> - cheap cases that are likely to cut you and your cables
> - cheap parts that don't last long - where is the quality control!
> - Crappy BIOS design from 20 years ago ...
> - Crappy OS design (Especially Windows ...)
> - Lack of simple parity memory ...

> Some of these things are correctable - buy high quality parts,
> use a good OS (Linux), and things get better. However it's
> hard to recognize and buy quality items in the last few years.
> So much has been commoditized and optimized for low cost,
> not serviceability.

And it's the trouble of going to finding the good parts which
disinterests me.

> Why is it my old iron last for *decades*, but machines at work
> about 18 months old die because the capacitors are crappy?
> ARGH!!!

Well even look at an old computer, people still have machines
like PDPs from the '60s-mid 70's that work. My Amstrad is only
a baby compared to them & I might have taken it to a repair
centre & changed the Disk drive Belt, but so far it's been
running well! However anyone who might of have a PDP may
tell you that they needed to fix it at one time or another, but
as long as the end result is a working computer that's all
that counts.

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

I think that a lot of Newer computer problems are heat dissapation related
i.e. insufficient cooling.I've noticed that newer video cards with heat sinks
last much longer if you put a fan on it for cooling .As for Microprocessors I usually put 2 fans on top of the heat sink instead of one.
I'm looking at Water cooling kits because they are 3 times more efficient as air cooling and less noisy.There are two kinds of Water cooling kits generally.The cheap water cooling kits merely cool the Miroprocessor on the Motherboard whereas the more expensive ones have cooling adapters for Graphic Accelorator cards,Hards drives,Microprocessor and more.
It is well known that Electron Transmigration etches and erodes Semiconductors over time and that better cooling slows electronic component degradation.Cryogenic cooling is better in a hermetically sealed inert environment.However special material components are necessary to be safely superconducted.

Better component cooling will give longer service life

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> I think that a lot of Newer computer problems are
> heat dissapation related i.e. insufficient cooling.I've
> noticed that newer video cards with heat sinks
> last much longer if you put a fan on it for cooling .As
> for Microprocessors I usually put 2 fans on top of the
> heat sink instead of one.

> I'm looking at Water cooling kits because they are 3
> times more efficient as air cooling and less noisy.
> There are two kinds of Water cooling kits generally.
> The cheap water cooling kits merely cool the
> Miroprocessor on the Motherboard whereas the
> more expensive ones have cooling adapters for
> Graphic Accelorator cards,Hards drives,
> Microprocessor and more.

Really I haven't heard of these type of cooling kits
before now. Would they operate the same way a
Cooler which uses Water does?

> It is well known that Electron Transmigration
> etches and erodes Semiconductors over time
> and that better cooling slows electronic
> component degradation.Cryogenic cooling is
> better in a hermetically sealed inert environment.
> However special material components are
> necessary to be safely superconducted.

The first time I remember hearing about the cool
being good for the computers was from my
teacher at school. We had a whole network of Macs
in this room which was probably not as cold as a
meat locker, but pretty cold! :-)

> Better component cooling will give longer service life

My poor ol' Amstrad has a Z80 in it & some say that
even that can warm up. I know in the Summer it can
be, so I generally go for my Emulator. Winters a good
time to strike her up! :-)

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi CP/M user yes I've heard those cooling kits use water as the coolant similar to a radiator in a car.In fact the kit comes with a fan cooled radiator.I've only those kits in retail computer stores recently however they have been around for a couple of years.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M user yes I've heard those cooling kits use
> water as the coolant similar to a radiator in a car.
> In fact the kit comes with a fan cooled radiator.
> I've only those kits in retail computer stores
> recently however they have been around for a
> couple of years.

Wow! What will they think of next? :-)

I suppose it's good, since the ol' fans are just getting
too big. Well at least I suppose they won't have to
worry for a couple of years.

[Jon Jarmon]

If YOU or I ever get a Water cooling kit,you should notice that your PC Compatable computer will have far fewer lockups and other glitches because of better heat transfer.In addition your system will have a MUCH longer lifetime.In the United States a complete water cooling kit that cools
many different parts of the PC runs around $500 U.S. A cheaper system that only cools the Microprocessor is around $175 U.S. retail.They are probably cheaper on the internet.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> If YOU or I ever get a Water cooling kit,you should notice
> that your PC Compatable computer will have far fewer
> lockups and other glitches because of better heat
> transfer.In addition your system will have a MUCH longer
> lifetime.In the United States a complete water cooling kit
> that cools many different parts of the PC runs around
> $500 U.S. A cheaper system that only cools the
> Microprocessor is around $175 U.S. retail.They are
> probably cheaper on the internet.

Well, it might be a while until I get another computer, so
it may some as standard when I do. I was also thinking
of buying a Mac PC next time around (this Windows thing
just drives me nuts!). So at least if the Mac OS is no better
I can start complaining about that one.

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hello CP/M user.I don't think that these cooling kits will become standardized in most PC's because of the substantial added cost.
However when your custom built PC becomes obsolete you can re-use the cooling kit in a newer machine.Some of the more expensive kits come with their own CASE and special power supply.
PC Component builders are constantly in competition with each other to produce faster Microprocessors,new and faster hard drives,much more powerfull Accelerated Video Graphics Cards etc.Manufacturers are constantly pushing the envelope to the verge of instability(Because of excess heat transfer).That is one of the major problems with PC Compatables.
Since systems are designed for air cooling by fans,water cooling would bring a lot of system stability back.
I want to get a new Macintosh too.I have 2- 5 year old Power Macintoshes.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

<snip!>

> I want to get a new Macintosh too.I have 2- 5
> year old Power Macintoshes.

Well I'm perhaps further off getting an iMac,
or something. While I have a fairly old Pentium
now, it still does what I need.

It's only when I have the rest of my life sorted
out :-)

Cheers!

[Jon Jarmon]

Pentiums are inexpensive in my part of the U.S. I regularly see Pentium 1 Class Machines going for $10 to $30 U.S.,Pentium 2 Class Machines going for $60 to $120 U.S. and Pentium 3 Class Machines for around $225 U.S.

This is the average price for Used P.C.'s here

You can still do a LOT with a Pentium 1.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Pentiums are inexpensive in my part of the U.S. I
> regularly see Pentium 1 Class Machines going for
> $10 to $30 U.S.,Pentium 2 Class Machines going
> for $60 to $120 U.S. and Pentium 3 Class
> Machines for around $225 U.S.

> This is the average price for Used P.C.'s here

> You can still do a LOT with a Pentium 1.

Generally, I've found the states to be much cheaper
in terms of everything there. But becuase us Aussies
have a weaker currency to the American Dollar it
tends to work like that (I think).

For a Pentium 1 machine to be priced between $10
to $30 US, are we talking about a complete system
? Generally I think a complete Pentium system
here is around $150.

Cheers!

[Jon Jarmon]

Yes CP/M user A complete Pentium 1 system.
I see Pentium 166's Socket 7's with 32mb RAM,4 GB hard Drive,CDROM.Soundcard,Modem etc going for $30.
I picked up a Complete Pentium 75 at a thrift store for $10.
At another thift store I got a really nice Pentium 120 socket 5 system
for $20.All these I bought last year
I have around 6 Pentium 1's.I think that I should check out the thrift stores again.The Pentium 2's might show up.I've seen Pentium2 Motherboards with Pentium 2 processors & fans for $20 here in a computer store sold as surplus junk.

[Erik]

I can pick up Pentium and Pentium 2 class machines with most of what you need (i.e. case, PS, RAM, video, a drive or three, etc.) for next to nothing. Monitors are dirt cheap too up to 17" and even the older big monitors are coming down fast.

If I tried, I could probably find a salvage place willing to sell pallates of P1 and P2 machines for scrap weight - i.e. under a buck a pound.

Of course, I'm in the Silicon Valley area and the dot bomb hit hard. We've got a lot of bankrupt companies dumping warehouses full of old office supplies on the market for whatever people will pay.

Erik

[Jon Jarmon]

That's GREAT Eric.Wow your area sounds better than mine.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Yes CP/M user A complete Pentium 1 system.
> I see Pentium 166's Socket 7's with 32mb RAM,4 GB hard
> Drive,CDROM.Soundcard,Modem etc going for $30.
> I picked up a Complete Pentium 75 at a thrift store for $10.
> At another thift store I got a really nice Pentium 120 socket
> 5 system for $20.All these I bought last year
> I have around 6 Pentium 1's.I think that I should check out
> the thrift stores again.The Pentium 2's might show up.I've seen
> Pentium2 Motherboards with Pentium 2 processors & fans for
> $20 here in a computer store sold as surplus junk.

Wow! You could just make more memory out of them by buying
them & seperating the parts in them & then sell them back! :-)

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi CP/M user .I've made profits selling old computers for 4 or 8 times the price .Good pocket change.
One friend of mine found a nice Pentium 60(It did have the infamous Pentium FPU bug) in a trash bin and resold it for $240 to someone who did not know its actual worth.
Hey a lot of Pentium PC's did not have a fan to cool the Microprocessor.
Instead they had just a large heatsink on the processor.Lots of socket 5 systems were built this way.If you have one of these put a fan on the heatsink and your system should run a lot better.If you have a PCI video card like a Voodoo Banshee or Voodoo 2 with a heat sink on the video card mound a fan on it.Generally I've found that Microsoft Windows 9.x versions run pretty well on a Pentium 1 unless you have insufficient cooling.Guarenteed to solve a lot of instability problems

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M user .I've made profits selling old
> computers for 4 or 8 times the price .Good
> pocket change.

As long as they were working...

> One friend of mine found a nice Pentium 60
> (It did have the infamous Pentium FPU bug)
> in a trash bin and resold it for $240 to
> someone who did not know its actual worth.

That's a bit naughty!

> Hey a lot of Pentium PC's did not have a
> fan to cool the Microprocessor.
> Instead they had just a large heatsink on
> the processor.Lots of socket 5 systems
> were built this way.If you have one of
> these put a fan on the heatsink and your
> system should run a lot better.If you have
> a PCI video card like a Voodoo Banshee
> or Voodoo 2 with a heat sink on the video
> card mound a fan on it.Generally I've
> found that Microsoft Windows 9.x versions
> run pretty well on a Pentium 1 unless you
> have insufficient cooling.Guarenteed to
> solve a lot of instability problems

Yes, my Pentium has a fan on the CPU. I
believe even a 486 needs a fan. I got some
486s a few years ago with 66Mhz processors
& all they had some heatsink on them. I was
able to go to the computer market & get a
couple of fans for them. Have run well ever
since.

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Yes CP/M user I guess that is quite a bit naughty
selling a trashbin found computer for $240.
I guess my friend was a overzealous capitalist(I don't blame him)
I really like the Pentium Overdrive processors either 83Mhz or 63 mhz that go in socket 2 or 3 486's(Upgrades a 486 to a Pentium Class Machine).I have one 486 that was upgraded to a Pentium at 83Mhz.I also like the AMD X5 133Mhz 486 Processors and the Intel DX-4 100 Mhz Processors.I really like superfast 486's.I have about 7 of these.
I REALLY have an affinity somehow for 486's

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Yes CP/M user I guess that is quite a bit naughty
> selling a trashbin found computer for $240.

Still the person who chucked it out probably should
have realised there was some money to be made.

Buying a second-hand computer IMO requires some
study. Anyone who has the time could just as well,
find out what is a good price for that machine by
comparing it with similar systems.

When I brought some memory for my 386 laptop I
knew I was paying too much, when I could have just
got another 386 laptop with as much memory for
less. But I was determined to expand on the
perfectly good computer (which I knew was good)
by getting the memory. It costed me a little over
$300 aussie dollars (think it was about $200
American at that time) for 4Mb of memory. But it
was the only place I knew which had it & were
able to ship it overseas to me.

> I guess my friend was a overzealous capitalist
> (I don't blame him). I really like the Pentium
> Overdrive processors either 83Mhz or 63
> mhz that go in socket 2 or 3 486's
> (Upgrades a 486 to a Pentium Class Machine).
> I have one 486 that was upgraded to a
> Pentium at 83Mhz.I also like the AMD X5
> 133Mhz 486 Processors and the Intel
> DX-4 100 Mhz Processors.I really like
> superfast 486's.I have about 7 of these.
> I REALLY have an affinity somehow for 486's

I really like 386s! cause they are not too fast!
I got more of the faster 486 systems though
(since that's what people gave me).

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Thi CP/M User I think that you would REALLY like this URL
about 386's Its called the 386 experience.It does have a few popup ads though

http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/the386experience/index.html

I still like going on the internet occasionally using Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.2

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

Hi Jon,

> Hi CP/M User I think that you would REALLY like this URL
> about 386's Its called the 386 experience.It does have a
> few popup ads though

> http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/the386experience/index.html

It's a nice site, but the popup ads drive my computer & me
crazy. 10/10 for the idea, 1/10 for the execution of it.

> I still like going on the internet occasionally using
> Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.2

I don't even use Windows 3.1 for the Internet on my
386. I use Arachne under DOS instead. I did have the
internet on Windows 3.1 at one stage, but since the
dialer was crippleware I didn't use it once it time to
register it. So I found DOS had some freeware
dialers & while Arachne isn't quite freeware, it free
to use for personal use. My only concern with it is
it seems to have been a little while since it was
last updated! :-(

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi CP/M user.What acoin coincidence i've used arachne in DOS mode too.
I've noticed that it is kind of slow though.

Yes the Pop-ups are kind of annoying on the 386 experience page however they have some great downloads and a little forum there.
They even have a mac section too.

Here is another site.I think that YOU will like this one a lot better.

K Semlers Webpage http://k-semler.filetap.com/

Shhhhhh.......

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M user.What acoin coincidence i've used arachne
> in DOS mode too.I've noticed that it is kind of slow though.

Not on my computer. A webpal of mine in the was after a
copy of it & when he got it, he thought it was slow too. But
after fine tuning it (like I did) we got it to run quite nicely.
As I said it runs on my 386 laptop with 4Mb (I did have it
running with 640 -> 1mb until I expanded my 386, but it was
just too slow) & my 386 only runs at 16Mhz.

So it's really a question of fine tuning it. Having some
memory (perhaps 8Mb) to play around with can also
mean you can setup a Ramdisk for Arachne. That really
gets it going. But generally I have the pictures disabled
(but can load them in if I need them) because I only have
a 14.4Kbps modem connected.

> Yes the Pop-ups are kind of annoying on the 386
> experience page however they have some great
> downloads and a little forum there.

Those angelfire sites used to be great, unfortunately
they deleted the site I really liked. The reason why
they are like that is because they provide them to
users free of charge. Lots of people say that with the
pop up windows, you should just leave them up,
but if I do that more will just open & stuff up my
computer. If you close them down they also too just
come back. angelfire sites nowadays are horrible
(well that's my rant for this column!) :-)

> They even have a mac section too.

Yes, I noticed that, when my computer was busy poping
up pop up boxes, I need something to look at.

> Here is another site.I think that YOU will like
> this one a lot better.

> K Semlers Webpage http://k-semler.filetap.com/

> Shhhhhh.......

What's the secret, doesn't he want anyone to look at
it. That's what webpages are for! ;-)

Cheers.

P.S. Maybe I should notify Google of a new site! ;-)

[Jon Jarmon]

Sorry CP/M user a lot of K-Semlers webpage is lately missing its download hyperlinks.It used to have a lot of cool links especially a download for Microsofts biggest flop of all time Microsoft Bob.
Also they used to Have Windows Chicago prototype(later became Windows 95)

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Sorry CP/M user a lot of K-Semlers webpage is
> lately missing its download hyperlinks.It used to
> have a lot of cool links especially a download for
> Microsofts biggest flop of all time Microsoft Bob.

Oh well, it's not your fault someone can't keep
their site up to date (it's not your page is it?).
I haven't even heard of Microsoft Bob (a flop
explains why I haven't heard of it). What was it
in particular?

> Also they used to Have Windows Chicago prototype
> (later became Windows 95)

Didn't know about that either. I was suprised to see
Windows 3.11 came out in 1994 didn't it? (which was
just Windows 3.1 with additional hardware support
for it).

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi CP/M user. Microsoft Bob was a graphic interface designed for computer novices as an application that ran on top of either Windows 3.1,3.11 or Windows 95(It works on 98 too).It was made by Melinda Gates (Bill's wife).Bob was withdrawn in disgrace about a week after introduction.It's extremely hard to find a copy.It took me around 2 years of searching to find one. Windows 3.11WFW has built in networking support and supports workgroups.Windows Chicago was the 1994 prototype of What became Windows 95.It came out in beta versions for testing.Windows Chicago at the time was also called Windows 4.x and even sometimes Windows 94.The install works on Windows Chicago but is has different command.com,io.sys and msdos.sys file sizes than Windows 95(the first edition).Chicago also will not run 9.x applications either.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M user. Microsoft Bob was a graphic interface
> designed for computer novices as an application
> that ran on top of either Windows 3.1,3.11 or
> Windows 95(It works on 98 too).It was made by
> Melinda Gates (Bill's wife).Bob was withdrawn in
> disgrace about a week after introduction.It's
> extremely hard to find a copy.It took me around
> 2 years of searching to find one. Windows
> 3.11WFW has built in networking support and
> supports workgroups.Windows Chicago was the
> 1994 prototype of What became Windows 95.
> It came out in beta versions for testing.Windows
> Chicago at the time was also called Windows 4.x
> and even sometimes Windows 94.The install
> works on Windows Chicago but is has different
> command.com,io.sys and msdos.sys file sizes
> than Windows 95(the first edition).Chicago
> also will not run 9.x applications either.

It's interesting they would have called Windows
Chicago Windows 4.x. Windows 4.x I though
was Windows NT? Or was it Windows For Work
groups?

Basically, I first started using Windows on a 386
which would have been Windows 3.1. That even
seem pretty easy to use. Windows 95 was even
easier to learn, since I'd used Mac OS (which
were very simular) the year before (in school).

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

There was Windows 3.1, a Windows 3.1 WfW(Windows for Workgroups),
Windows 3.11 and Windows 3.11WFW(Windows for Workgroups).
Also there was an Upgrade diskette that upgraded Windows3.1 to Windows 3.11 too.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> There was Windows 3.1, a Windows 3.1 WfW
> (Windows for Workgroups), Windows 3.11
> and Windows 3.11WFW(Windows for
> Workgroups).

Oh okay, now I remember it being like that! :-)

> Also there was an Upgrade diskette
> that upgraded Windows3.1 to Windows 3.11
> too.

I suppose the whole kit would have been
available if anyone didn't have Windows 3.1
already.

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi CP/M user I'm sure your very use to the GEM GUI and there are some
other GUI's for the PC that are pretty decent .I really like Tandy's deskmate and PC GEOS which later became New deal(Looks a lot like windows 95 or the Mac yet ran on top of DOS)
I like collecting old OS's and old GUI's myself.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M user I'm sure your very use to the GEM
> GUI and there are some other GUI's for the PC
> that are pretty decent .I really like Tandy's
> deskmate and PC GEOS which later became New
> deal(Looks a lot like windows 95 or the Mac yet
> ran on top of DOS)

Yes, GEM seize it all! :-)

> I like collecting old OS's and old GUI's myself.

So you'd have GEM then. I'd really like to see
someone develop some really decent programs
for that (you know some movie players & DVD
players, some attempt at providing some
internet browser is available for it, don't know if
it's functional). I'd like to see the face of a
Pentium 4 user when they discover someone
can do all that on a XT! :-)

"640Kb is enough!" - Bill Gates

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Oddly enough some people have made a lot of add ons to Windows 3.1.
There is Calmira which makes windows 3.1 look like Windows 95 because of a task bar and explorer in Calmira.Now I know of both a DOS and Win 3.1 .mpg player and there IS a DVD player for 3.1.

PC GEOS became for a while New Deal(Which was quite nice) but now it's been bought up by someone else(you can find out at Nathans toasty technology page).There are quite a few add ons for this GUI.

I have a internet friend who loves GEOS.I'm trying to get him to sign up on Erics message board because he really remembers the old days.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Oddly enough some people have made a lot of add ons to
> Windows 3.1.

> There is Calmira which makes windows 3.1 look like Windows
> 95 because of a task bar and explorer in Calmira.Now I know
> of both a DOS and Win 3.1 .mpg player and there IS a DVD
> player for 3.1.

Calmira is a shell (written in Delphi for Windows 3.1), which
simply replaces the Program Manager Shell (I know because
I've tinkered with Windows 3.1 a bit). I've got an early
& later version of it, the later being more demanding &
using Icons found in Windows 95! I read somewhere along
the way a mpg player needs at least a 486 to go (I was
hoping I'd get one for my 386!). Where's this DOS .mpg
player? Sounds like a few are still working on Win 3.1
(well it is better than the later versions!).

If your also familar with the DOS box in Windows 95, you
maybe familar with some buttons to copy/paste, select full
screen & select text. The DOS box in Win 3.1 doesn't have
this, but there is a program or two out there which provides
one. The one I had called DOSBAR I think wasn't as good
as the real thing in Win 95, but was usuable for the simplier
things! :-)

> PC GEOS became for a while New Deal(Which was quite nice)
> but now it's been bought up by someone else(you can find out
> at Nathans toasty technology page).There are quite a few add
> ons for this GUI.

Oh okay! :-)

> I have a internet friend who loves GEOS.I'm trying to get him
> to sign up on Erics message board because he really
> remembers the old days.

Good on you. Signing up is no big deal, tell your friend it's
easy! :-)

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi CP/M user I can't really remember where I got the DOS .mpg player.
It's shareware and has command line options to display lower resolutions,
screensizes etc.I know that it works pretty well on a 486.I don't think that it will run on a 386 though unless it is one of those extremely fast 386's that run at 40 mhz.I've seen a 50 mhz 386DX but I'm not sure who made the processor(I've never seen a 50Mhz 386DX before).AMD came out with the 40MHZ 386 DX processor

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

> Hi CP/M user I can't really remember where I got the
> DOS .mpg player.

> It's shareware and has command line options to display
> lower resolutions, screensizes etc.I know that it works
> pretty well on a 486.I don't think that it will run on a
> 386 though unless it is one of those extremely fast
> 386's that run at 40 mhz.I've seen a 50 mhz
> 386DX but I'm not sure who made the processor
> (I've never seen a 50Mhz 386DX before).AMD came
> out with the 40MHZ 386 DX processor

Yes, I think you might be right about it being Shareware.
It's probably at simtel. I usually don't like to get involved
with Shareware, unless it's free to personal use! :-)

If I find it I'll try it as a trial! :-) I do have a fast 386
running at 40Mhz, but it's not installed in the box,
ready to go! I stuffed up my 386DX 33Mhz computer
(which was virtually stuffed). It's just a matter of taking
it out & using the other Mainboard. I've never seen a
386 running at 50Mhz (only a 486), I've always assumed
that 40Mhz was it's top speed. However, I've seen a
486 running at 120Mhz (which is quite rare), before that
I just thought that 100Mhz was it's top speed.

Cheers.

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi CP/M user. I switched over to my DOS and win3.1 486 to find out the name of the DOS .mpg player.

It's called MPEGone-DOS MPEG 1 and VideoCD player(I love making my own VideoCD's! kind of like a poor mans DVD player).
It's located at
http://multimediaware.com/mpeg/

I've also seen a CD-RW drive that has as its minimum requirements
a 486 at 33Mhz.Unfortunately it Only supports Win9.x code and does not have DOS or Win3.1 support.

I have 3 133 Mhz AMDx5 486 machines
a intel DX4 at 100mhz and a 486 upgrade to a Pentium OD processor
at 83 Mhz.The AMDx5 133mhz machines
are equivalent to a Pentium 75Mhz Machine.

I think that the 50 Mhz 386DX
might be a overclocked 40Mhz system
because I could not find a AMD or Intel 50Mhz 386 Processor.Still not sure though.

[CP/M User]

"Jon Jarmon" wrote in message:

Hi Jon,

> Hi CP/M user. I switched over to my DOS and win3.1 486 to
> find out the name of the DOS .mpg player.

> It's called MPEGone-DOS MPEG 1 and VideoCD player(I love
> making my own VideoCD's! kind of like a poor mans DVD
> player).
> It's located at
> http://multimediaware.com/mpeg/

Thanks. Yes, from what I understand the VideoCD is quite old,
but it wasn't really successful here in Australia due to the
dominance of the VHS Video Player.

> I've also seen a CD-RW drive that has as its minimum
> requirements a 486 at 33Mhz.Unfortunately it Only
> supports Win9.x code and does not have DOS or
> Win3.1 support.

Oh Well, maybe one day. It might take one person to
figure out that the 3.5" floppy is on the way out & write
themselves a driver for the CD burner under DOS! :-)

> I have 3 133 Mhz AMDx5 486 machines a intel DX4 at
> 100mhz and a 486 upgrade to a Pentium OD processor
> at 83 Mhz.The AMDx5 133mhz machines are equivalent
> to a Pentium 75Mhz Machine.

Oh okay. AMD took their processor one stage further
(maybe they thought the 486 had more life in it). I was
referning to the Intel 486 processor. Intel made a 586
processor which ran at 120Mhz & 133Mhz I think but
the Intel 486 running at 120Mhz sounds like a rare
processor.

> I think that the 50 Mhz 386DX might be a overclocked
> 40Mhz system because I could not find a AMD or Intel
> 50Mhz 386 Processor.Still not sure though.

AMD started making processors for the 486 (as far as I
know). It probably is possible to get 50Mhz out of a
40Mhz processor, but I wouldn't try it since it's a good
way of Cooking your CPU.

Cheers.

[Terry Yager]

It's called MPEGone-DOS MPEG 1 and VideoCD player(I love making my own VideoCD's! kind of like a poor mans DVD player).
It's located at
http://multimediaware.com/mpeg/


Hi Jon

I checked the link and found what seems to be a video cd player only. What program do you use to create video cds? Is it free? Where can I get it?

--T

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi Terry Yager.It's been a while since I've visited this forum.Yes It is only a dos MPEG and Video CD Player.What I do to create my own video CD's
is to get a ATI TV Wonder TV tuner card for my PC,or get a ATI All in Wonder Video card(I own a ATI All in Wonder 9700 Pro card).There are other makers of TV tuner cards too that come with Digital VCR recorders that record in MPEG format(as well as other formats).Then I use a CD RW
to create a Video CD in Video CD format.It's a lot cheaper than DVD's or
using VCR format tapes.I can generally record a decent quality Movie
with 1 hour recording time on 1 CD.However if you require much greater quality you might want to get a DVD RW drive.I've seen a ATI TV Wonder card on sale for $29.95.I recorded the Pirates of Silicon Valley(The movie has a lot of errors in it as well as being a big simplification) onto only 1 CD.

[Terry Yager]

Thanx Jon, but I was hoping for a solution that:

a) Doesn't cost $250.00 and

b) Allows you to rip DVDs and re-record them as VCDs.

Anyone know of such a program?

--T

[Jon Jarmon]

Hi Terry.There is only one problem with trying to copy DVD files.
Generally the .dat video files are over 1 gigabyte in size so copying the individual files onto CD's is not practical(because they only hold up to 700 to 800mb).However there are solutions to get smaller video file sizes with some loss in quality.Windows Media encoder is Free from Microsoft however to convert the video takes a extremely long amount of time(not practical for large files).I'm sure that there are commercial
video converters from around $60 or so.

[Terry Yager]

Jon,

Thanks for the info...my son has found a "free" program that woks, but it blows after 5 days, and must be reinstalled at that time. Are there other programs out there that we may experiment with?

-T

[Jon Jarmon]

O.K. here is one of my BIG complaints against the computer industry.
Actually I'm aiming it against the BOZOS.
First of all I see a LOT of Flaws in how a personal computer operates.
I mentioned earlier about the electron transmigration effect and how most PC's(even Macs but not as bad) have insufficient cooling.There is such a competition to obtain higher MicroProcessor Speeds, MB bus speeds,Hard drive transfer rates,RAM speeds,graphic card frame rates,memory etc that stability,correct digital operation and component life are getting closer to becoming a more likely casualty.Notice how Hard drive transfer rates have increased due to the new Serial ATA standard which is double that of the 133 ATA standard.Having special raid controllers and multiple hard drives can increase transfer rates or provide for data correction(If desired).Due to the mechanical nature of hard drives and the prohibitive cost of having massive numbers of hard drives in a PC system(If it ever came to that but I doubt it),A replacement or adaptation must be made
in how a personal computer operates, otherwise Hard drive transfer rates will prevent any real major advancement in Processor speeds from becoming usefull because transfer speeds of this mechanical beast are soon creating limitations.The hard drive SHOULD(O.K. I meant MUST!)become a relic similar to utilizing mechanical relay logic circuitry in year 1917 A.D. computers.Now we all remember how the early 8 bit computers worked not using a hard drive but rather applications ran in RAM.I had a HP-41c programmable calculator that stored programs in non-volitile memory that received a trickle charge to keep programs in memory when the calculator was shut off.It's possible to use this non-volitility principle of that HP41c example(from 1979 I believe), to advocate using monstrous amounts of non volitile trickle charge RAM to store applications and other data on this memory rather than using much slower mechanical hard drives (with amazing speeds at present) but limitations soon to limit quantum leaps in computer speeds.Using multidistributed circuitry of non volitile RAM similar in principle to utilizing parrallel and serial arrays electronic wize, or another example using distributed microprocessors on Server Mboards (Like 4 Processors) can vastly increase memory transfer speeds, and should more importantly, be utilized to make any excessive memory chip overheating problems corrected( We have to stop the financeer businessman suit obsessive profiteer obstructionists
interfering with conservative engineers designing equipment that should be built to critical system standards(I believe any manufactured component should last at least 100 years. I poo poo unreliability.Show no tolerance to non engineer BOZO's who make crappy products)BUILD BETTER, make SEVERAL QUANTUM LEAPS leaving the old school behind, be concerned with QUALITY and PRODUCT SUPERIORITY. Screw mediocrity.PEOPLE WILL BUY AN AWESOME AMAZING NEVERBEFORESEEN SUPER PRODUCT.PLEASE COMPUTER FOLKS HELP CHANGE HOW COMPUTERS WORK.We got rid of Gears,relays, and vacuum tubes.Someone should beat the stupidity out of Intel,AMD and many others.O.K I'll get off the rhetoric diatribe.Back to components now.It would be possible to have a huge operating system in a massive ROM rather than stored on a hard drive to speed up the starting of the computer as well as making the OS incorruptable.An example was Apple Computers Mac Classic which had a System 6 Operating system built onto a ROM chip.We all know that the Basic Operating system(the version by Microsoft) was built into APPLE 2's PC's and many other computers. Now a person might think well hey you have to have hardware drivers and other enablers in addition to the OS as to be customized for different hardware like graphics cards,modems, network adatpters, TV tuners,CDROMS,DVD's,CDRW's DVD-RAM's etc.Hardware drivers could be built into the adapter card components or DVD's etc. using a ROM chip with the software on each component and its customization(Modification) of the OS on the Personal computer.It might seem prohibatively costly to have a huge 1.5 gig or bigger OS on such monstrous never before built ROM's.
One advantage is that each computer would have its OS built in thereby
preventing software piracy.Such a propritary Monster OS ROM would make it difficult for many to counterfeit.Any clandestine factory trying to duplicate such a unique montrous OS ROM would number in the few and counterfeiting ring could be easily quashed and the illicit duplicators imprisoned as well as any clandestine high tech rare factory shut down.I'm trying to explain how using this method of having the OS in a massive ROM COULD prevent piracy as well as being superstable,amazingly fast too.Prices always come down on components so a 1.5 Gig or larger never seen before hypothetical OS ROM is possible(Who know maybe even cheap if mass produced on a very large scale).


O.K now here is my gripe against the Microprocessor manufacturers(Actually I hope some startup overthrows and bankrupts the current ruling
Microprocessor manufacturer establishment unless they start producing some REAL noticable Quantum LEAPS).Why Intel and AMD(YES even I.B.M. for the Mac crowd), why do you make all these little hundreds of microprocessors on silicon wafers and cut them out only using 1 Microprocessor for each CHIP? DAMN you cheapo thrift CA$H mongers.
You should take pride not in IMMEDIATE PROFIT(which in a way is similar to the difference between being smart and being WISE).TAKE PRIDE.THINK Of Others who took PRIDE in their work like the research folks at Peenemunde(V2 Rocket),Manhatten Project,Y12 facility,Inertial Laser Fusion Project etc.Be superior.Be inventive.

O.K Processor manufactures here is my COMPLAINT now -USE the WHOLE FRICKEN SILICON WAFER with Hundreds of Microproccessors etched on it.
Modify the schematic design so that Hundreds of these Microprocessors will
be wired (With Massive superfast cache) in a Monstrous multi CENTA Distributed Microprocessor system.OH IT WILL COST TOO much,you lame O's Carny immediate profiteers will say.Screw you, someone could do this and have a massive multiprocessor monster chip that could make your present Pentium 4 simpleton processor seem as slow to it as the P4 is to a 4001.Ouch hurts doesn't it?Who knows some Processor manufacturer might say WOW thats a COOL idea lets bankrupt the Business BOZO carny's who merely are content to double speeds every 18 months or so.

Now my other complain has to do with electronic components.This competition to outsell the other maker in Processor speeds,Graphic card speed etc is ridiculous folks.These Smart but in the Longterm Unwise profiteer carny Bozos are making components that run too unstable,erratic and with short life.I talked about this before yes I know.
I'd rather that a Processor,Graphic card,Memory other components etc ran with super way better than critical system reliability,EXTREMELY Long life and without the multistaged sometimes 5 or even 8 multistaged fans
using specialized heat sinks (You Bozo's are making PC's cheap and trashy like 1950's japanese tin toys).Sorry don't mean to insult any Japanese they've done awesome stuff and believe in a Superior Quality product now.Water cooling kits might help correct the bozo's design for a PC,although expensive semi cryogenic cooling would bring the lost reliability back.I'd rather seen a P4 run at 200mhz without a fan and heat sink(Barely slightly warm to the touch) than a P4 running super erratically
with many digital code flaws produced by the insufficient heating.
Slow the crap down so that the Microprocessor lasts a SLICK,CLASSY 20
collectable year age at the least without the noisy mutistaged fans or even having to use exotic water cooling.Hey at LEAST slow it down so that the computer calculates correct answers reliably PLEASE! If you want to increase the Power of a Computer compete using multidistributed arrays of Processors like my wafer idea.Maybe standardized reliable water cooling would work in addition but MAKE the Processors super stable.The motorized cooling fans HAVE to go the way of the Vacuum tube.

O'K my points simplified.Personal computers in my Opinion should have
The OS built on a massive ROM.Drivers for specific hardware should be built in ROM on that hardware.Mechanical Hard drives are reaching transfer speed limitations,Utilizing Massive banks(COULD be inexpensive if mass produced in the furure)of NON-VOLITILE trickle charged multidistributed hyper speed RAM could replace the Hard drive for data storage(At least it COULD be used for storage needed at extremely high transfer rates that a hard drive couldn't task).Microprocessors should use multidistributed arrays of processors rather than greedy fool processor manufacturers giving us just one dinky sliver of a chip on a el-cheapo wafer(GREED! what a wasteland).All components should use multidistribution electronic design to vastly increase speed or bit architecture as well as to enable components to run at much greater than mission critical reliability,longer component life and erratic system behavior eliminated.Many mechanical components in computers have great limitations and should be replaced by newer technology(Noisy Dust building fans etc.Anove all we dont't want merely a doubling of Processor Speeds you lazy MicroProc Manufac SLOBS.WE DEMAND that your processors be a hundred fold faster or a hundred fold the Bit architecture.
LETS make the Wright Patterson AFBase Super Computer seem like a
Powerfull machine, but the local Computer retailer down the street has 10 times the computing power in his small store and the Air Force wants the New home PC's to replace the outdated slug AF mil spec systems.Reliable but better cooling if by water or by semirefrigeration(which I think is more reliable) should replace mechanical cooling fans.Above all system must run ULTRA stable.

O.K. we can all see the limitations brought by CD's and DVD media because it's 2 dimensional.Variable spread tunable laser can be used to read data in 3 dimensional Optical Holographic Media.Later this technology will replace CD,DVD 2 dimensional media in the future.

[Terry Yager]

Yeah, but...What have ya got against carnys?

--T

[Jon Jarmon]

Sorry Terry -Carny's have a lot more ability,education and class.I guess I used a bad example