COMPUSERVE'S HPSYS FORUM AND THE FILES YOU CAN FIND THERE

This article covers recent changes in the HP Systems Forum, and discusses the most popular files you can get from the forum's libraries.

By Ted Dickens

There have been two significant changes in the HP Systems Forum since the last issue. First, we will add a second sysop to HPSYS. Miles Kehoe brings years of HP experience to the forum and will help with the behind-the-scenes stuff so vital to the forum's success. Second, we are starting a 95LX programming section to allow 95LX programmers and developers to focus on programming issues.

THE MOST REQUESTED FILES IN THE 95LX SECTION OF HPSYS

Now on to the meat of this month's article: the most popular 95LX files on CompuServe. The two libraries now contain 135 files occupying 2.5MB of disk space. These files are proving popular; there have been over 25,000 downloads since we opened the 95LX section in April '91. Here are the top 25 downloads, in order of popularity:

  1. 1. HP95LX.TXT -- uploaded by Scott Sprague [75410,337]. The most popular file is also the oldest -- a data sheet for the 95LX of passing interest even to those who already own the 95LX.

  2. 2. FAQ.95 -- uploaded by Gene Dorr [75156,3132]. A list of the twenty-three most frequently asked questions from the forum, along with answers. This ones a must for every new 95LX owner!

  3. 3. SW.95 -- by Scott Sprague [75410,337]. A list of 3rd-party packages for the 95LX. Given the rapid pace of development for the 95LX, it's hard to keep this file current. But between the forum and The HP Palmtop Paper, users should be able to keep up with developments.

  4. 4. RAMCRD.95 -- by Scott Sprague [75410,337]. Everett Kaser, one of the software engineers responsible for the 95LX, wrote an exceptional explanation of the ins and outs of RAM cards for the 95LX. Thinking of getting a RAM card? Get this file first.

  5. 5. HP95LX.ANN -- by Scott Sprague [75410,337]. The official 95LX press release. The press release and the data sheet were available on CompuServe on the day the 95LX was introduced.

  6. 6. HP95.HW -- by Gene Dorr [75156, 3132]. Another excellent file from Gene, this one details the hardware used inside the 95LX.

  7. 7. AG.ZIP -- by Andy Glaister [70023, 2176]. Two extremely fast games for the 95LX: CHESS and INVADERS. These shareware ($25) games are hand coded assembler using the 95 LX's inherent graphics abilities.

  8. 8. 910717.95 -- file from Ted Dickens [76701,272]. Just one of several conference transcripts. Conferences have guest speakers and attendees can ask questions. The whole thing is done electronically. When it's over, I clean up the transcript and upload it for others. In this one, guest speaker Ron Brooks of HP Corvallis talked about battery life, software for the 95LX, and service turnaround times.

  9. 9. POKER.ZIP -- by Mike O'Connor, CIS ID: [76004,1447]. The name pretty much says it all. This Poker is SYSMGR compliant.

  10. 10. JAGUAR.ACC -- by Scott Sprague [75410,337]. An earlier listing of the third-party products available for the HP 95LX.

  11. 11. WHY.LX -- by Gene Dorr [75156, 3132]. This file of Gene's explains what "LX" means.

  12. 12. TIWY.ANN -- by Marty Mankins [75300,1770]. "Take It With You, " a newsletter for palmtop users, will cover the Atari Portfolio, Sharp Wizard, Poqet PC, the 95LX, and others.

  13. 13. 910530.95 -- by Ted Dickens [76701,272]. Conference tran script with 95LX product managers. We talked about marketplace positioning and a wide range of design related questions.

  14. 14. HP95DM.ZIP -- by Gene Dorr [75156,3132]. If you're thinking of buying a 95LX -- get this PCbased demo of 95LX's features.

  15. 15. HPTRIX.ZIP -- by Yann Rouse [100010,3670]. *WARNING* This game can be hazardous to your productivity!! Yann has written a 95LX version of the game TETRIS.

  16. 16. 910619.95 -- by Ted Dickens [76701,272]. A conference transcript with Everett Kaser and Steve Harper from the HP lab as guests -- technical in nature.

  17. 17. 910627.PCM -- by Ted Dickens [76701,272]. A conference transcript with Terry Moore of Databook and Howard Honig of HP as guests. Terry and Howard are PCMCIA committee members (the group formulating standards for memory cards). We talked about version 1.0 of the standard, and what things are coming in the next version.

  18. 18. PAGER.ANN -- by Ted Dickens [76701,272]. A key Motorola NewsStream person (and forum regular) provides answers to technical questions about this intriguing pager.

  19. 19. 0.BAT -- by Larry Lefkowitz [76137,155]. This batch file turns off the serial port (opened each time you load FILER).

  20. 20. INTHE.95 -- by Gene Dorr [76156, 3132]. This file of Gene's lists the files and DOS commands you will find in the 95LX.

  21. 21. APNAME.LST -- by Ted Dickens [76701,272]. This file tells how to invoke Hearts & Bones and the SYSMGR-compliant version of TigerFox found on the 95LX English-language versions.

  22. 22. ACE.ANN -- by Andy Fu. This file gives the details of the ACE memory cards now available in 512KB, 1MB and 1.5MB versions. (Andy's president of ACE and a forum regular.)

  23. 23. ALBERT.PCX -- by Daniele Coliva [100015,2644]. A new .PCX image to replace the top card image in your 95LX.

  24. 24. 1701D.PCK -- by Alan Zeicheck. A .PCX graphic of the new Enterprise (from "Star Trek: The Next Generation") suit able for use as the top card display.

  25. 25. 95-GAM.ZIP, by Dennis Wiser. A collection of three 95LX games: GO, MINES, and SUBS. Pascal source code is also included.

FINDING & DOWNLOADING FILES

All of these files are located in the HP 95LX Palmtop library (library #14) of the HP Systems Forum. To get to the forum, type "GO HPSYS" at any CompuServe system prompt. To download files, you must be a forum member. If you haven't already done so, use the "JOIN" command to sign up. (There is no additional CompuServe charge for membership!) Once in the forum, type lib 14 to go to the 95LX library.

To download 95-GAM.ZIP, for example, use the "DOW 95-GAM.ZIP" command. (Most CompuServe commands can be abbreviated to three letters.) You'll need a file transfer program that supports Xmodem, Kermit, or CIS-B (CompuServe's own file transfer protocol).

It's also easy to "stroll through" the library by using the "BROWSE" command. Used by itself, BROWSE will show you the files one at a time from newest to oldest. At the prompt, you can download the file, Read the file, or simply go on to the next file by pressing <ENTER>.

CREATING A LIBRARY "CATALOG"

Alternately, you could download a directory and browse it at your leisure. The file HPSL14.LIS * contains descriptions of each file in the library. It's updated monthly and sorted by download count, the most popular files at the head of the list.

You can also create your own catalog listings by turning on file capture in your DataComm program and using one of these commands:

OTHER INTERESTING FILES

Mark Scardina [71551,467] has been doing a great deal of work on creating "loaders". These are programs that allow DOS programs to run alongside the resident applications. So instead of having to close all of your applications to run a DOS application, you can simply hot key into your DOS app -just as though it were a SYSMGR-compliant application. Use the command "BRO KEY:LOADER" to list all the current loaders.

CIS users have recently completed beta testing two shareware applications that have been modified to work on the 95LX. VDE is a very small but potent editor. If you need something more powerful than the built-in MEMO application, download VDE.ZIP (see Ed Keefe's comments on VDE on page 27, this issue). COMMO is a datacomm package with a powerful scripting language. Mark Scardina worked with the program's author to develop the 95LX version. Download COMMO .ZIP and COMMO9.ZIP (see Mark Scardina's comments on COMMO, page 24 this issue).

95IRP.ZIP, provided as an unsupported utility from HP, lets the 95LX do screen dumps to the HP infrared printer.

Last are two of my favorites: WINDOW.PCX and MACDT.PCX. These small picture files can be used to replace the top card display with excellent recreations of the Windows and Mac desktop displays. Most people are impressed with the 95LX to begin with, but when I show them the 95LX "running" Windows, their jaws tend to sag. And when I then switch to running the Mac OS... (Who needs a Powerbook?)

Well, that's it: The 25 most popular HP 95LX files from the HP Systems Forum on CompuServe. There are more than 100 others, with new ones added each week.

See you on-line!

INTERNET & BITNET

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