Hello again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once more I have to say a huge thank you for the amazing quantity of
submissions. I write this on 4.12.95. Issue 46 is finished. All the discs sent
to me so far are backed up and ready to go. This issue disc is already half
full, despite the fact that issue 46 was a double issue for DFS users. ADFS
users (without personal messages) will find their issue 46 disc full to 0 bytes
free, this without the usual 'ADFS Extra' menu. Fantastic. Who knows what I am
going to have to do in the coming weeks to handle everything that comes in for
issue 47. Keep the submissions flooding in though!
Thanks to everyone that helped cover the 8BS walls with Christmas cards. I had
a very quiet Christmas at home with the wife and kids. No work and no
computing. Must be the first for a lot of years. I cannot say the same for the
New Year though. I was at work on New Years eve, not too pleasant out there,
what with murders and general mayhem going on. Anyhow, back to the light
relief.
Changes to The TBI Pool Since Last Time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDU-03 Educational Compilation. ADFS only. Paul Clucas, K6X has spent a lot of
time gathering together nearly 40 educational programs for the 5 to 11 year age
group. Collected together from all over, subjects covered are: Letters and
Words, Numbers and Maths, Shapes and Colours, Spatial/Coordinates.
TBI-74-2 View Professional Manual now available in ADFS. Printout the whole
thing in one go facility added.
TBI-90 Music. 1D. A selection of music put together by O.Debus.
TBI-91 The Jargon File. 7D. A compendium of Hacker slang.
A brand new section from Jon Ripley. Jon has promised loads of software, so I
have created the JJR section. He reckons that there will be well over 100 discs
eventually.
JJR-01 BBC Music Disc. 2D.
JJR-02 Electron Music Disc. 1D
JJR-03 Graphics Disc 1. 1D
JJR-04 Graphics Disc 2. 2D
JJR-05 Graphics Disc 3. 1D
JJR-06 Graphics Disc 4. 1D
JJR-07 BBC Fonts. 2D
BBC 118 Now 3DA (ADFS conversion). Thanks to Jon Ripley.
512-3-6-A Unzipped Boxer from 512-3-6. Thanks L.J.Fowl. DOS+ 800K
Janny Looyenga always sends plenty of PD software each time she writes to 8BS.
She is sending in 512 discs faster than people can keep up with them. Keep it
up Janny. Here are the new ones she has sent:
512-40 Memoirs 3. Encrypt/decript. Private Diary. 360K DOS
512-41 Bakers Dozen. DOS Utilities. 360K DOS
512-42 Crossword Creator. 360K DOS
512-43 Text Adventure. Under The Ice. 360K DOS
512-44 PC-Flow. Budgeting System. 360K DOS
512-45 Languages. 360K DOS
512-46 Tarot, Coin Toss and Yarrow. 360K DOS
512-47 Cantonese. 360K DOS
512-48 Japanese. 360K DOS
DFS users who want to see the extra software and articles on the ADFS version
of 8BS issues are welcome to send for it on DFS. I will do a straight copy of
the ADFS extra directory/ies to DFS. The copy will not run as intended, but
you will be able to pick the bits out of it you are interested in. For
instance, the ADFS article by K2O on the ADFS version of this issue may be of
interest to DFS users when considering whether to 'upgrade'.
We are on the Internet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Acorn Technical Support Specialist Dave Walker is putting 8BS issues onto
the Internet. TBI-00 and 8BS-46 are now available in the new
/pub/8bit on ftp.acorn.co.uk area. Apparently ftp.acorn is mirrored by a
number of bulletin board systems, so 8BS will also be available to
non-internet modem connections too.
A few boring points.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When sending discs for software, please verify them first. Please send clean,
undamaged discs. Please check the format available (DFS or ADFS) and quote the
format. Please do not ask for "ADFS if available" and send an ADFS formatted
disc when the catalogue clearly states 'D' only.
Rogues Gallery.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am compiling a 'Rogues Gallery' of photographs of the members. It is my
intention to scan them all in and feature it sometime. Please send a photo of
yourself so that I can continue compiling the 8BS mugshot collection.
If you want the photo back, please tell me and I will return it with your next
issue. Go on, get down the photo booth!
Further to this. If you want to impress your friends with a scanned photo of
your computer setup, why not sent it to me so I can digitise it?
Questionnaire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The new 8BS questionnaire is available on TBI-00. There was no room on this
issue for the questionnaire program. Maybe next time. You are invited to send
in a completed questionnaire. Please do so as it does help me quite a lot.
TBI-00.
~~~~~~~
Why not update your version of TBI-00 by sending it to me? It is free after
all.
Stats.
~~~~~~
Catalogue.
~~~~~~~~~~
808 Entries in the 8BS library. Count the discs in the drawers of the 8BS desk
and there are more than 900 due to different versions of the same entry.
Post.
~~~~~
I dealt with exactly 1400 items of post related to 8BS in 1995. As far as I
know, no items went missing in transit. Good old Postman Pat.
Deng.
~~~~~
At the moment, the funds are looking more healthy than they ever have, despite
all the rash giveaways over the Christmas period we are at last out of the
red, I can now let Gill know that the club costs nothing to run. Anyone
wanting to see the 8BS accounts is welcome to send return postage and ask, I
will send a printout.
Membership.
~~~~~~~~~~~
There are 211 active members in 8BS with another 90 on the books.
Phonecalls.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Last year I started counting the post that came through the door for 8BS, in
addition this year, I am going to count the telephone calls. Today is 18.1.96
and there have been 249 so far! Gill has answered quite a lot of them.
First Aid.
~~~~~~~~~~
Don't keep them warm as it makes them bleed more.
Don't make them comfortable if they are not talking to you as it invariably
means you are compromising their airway.
Me.
~~~
Once more for the newcomers I will repeat the standard stuff:
I am an Ambulance Paramedic. I work 12 hour shifts at a nearby Ambulance
Station. You are welcome to ring me at home, but please do not ring any later
than 8pm as I go to bed around that time when I am on a day shift. Do not worry
about ringing during the day as the phone will not disturb me if I have been
on nights.
ShiFt Rota.
~~~~~~~~~~~
M T W T F S S
1 - - - N N N N
2 - - D D D - -
3 FLOAT 1. 4 Shifts
4 N N N - - D D
5 D D - - - - -
6 - - - N N N N
7 - - D D D - -
8 FLOAT 2. 3 Shifts
9 N N N - - D D
10 D D - - - - -
D = 0600-1800
N = 1800-0600
- = day off
Float could be anything anywhere for that week for the number of days stated.
I start on shift 5 on Monday January 22nd.
Occasionally, I have to attend training courses to be taught how to finish
off unsuspecting 'customers' in new and more modern, highly technical ways.
From this, if you are a serious 8BSser, you can work out what shift I am on
unless it is a float week.
Thassit again. Thanks for all your support. See you next time.
Oh, by the way, who put the advert in Micro Mart?
Chris