*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%* *% _______ ___ _____. ._. ._. _______ ._____. %* %* | ____| / _ \ / ___| | \| | | ____| |_. ._| *% *% | __| | | | | | | ._. | | | ._| | | %* %* | | | |_| | | |_| | | |\ | | |____ | | *% *% |_| \___/ \_____| |_| \_| |_____| |_| %* %* *% *% (C)Copyright 1994 The Falcon Owners Group %* %* *% *%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%* %* FALCON OWNERS GROUP, 10 OAK DRIVE, PORTISHEAD, BRISTOL, BS20 8QS *% *%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%* WHAT ON EARTH? ============== You may be wondering just exactly 'what' FOGNET is. Well, I wouldn't blame you! It was created in the early months of August 1994 to try and get members of the Falcon Owners Group (FOG) to place some feedback into the club, ask a few questions, perhaps supply some answers, etc.. In general to get a mini network established and all you have to do in order to participate in this network is to own a copy of our disk magazine FALCON UPDATE. Each issue we will publish the latest FOGNET files so you can (hopefully) read about the plights and comments the other members put forward, contribute yourself and generally enjoy a slightly different system than a normal 'letters page'. YOUR PERS FILE ============== The FOGNET program will check the current directory for a file called FOGNET.PRS. This file should contain a few pieces of information about yourself so as to avoid you having to type it in every time you run the program. If this file does not exist you will be prompted to create a new one. The different between having your alias and your real name tagged on your messages is like having anonymous messages for whatever reason. If you ever wish to change anything in the PRS file simply delete it from disk and let the FOGNET software make you a new one. GROUPS ====== As I type there are currently 6 main groups, these have names such as COMP.FALCON.DEMOS In this particular group I am hoping for members to discuss any new demos they have seen, comment on them, compare them and generally talk-demos. Another group such as FOG.FILMS is a much more casual affair, nothing to do with computers at all, it is an open arena for your comments and mini reviews of any films you may have seen recently. I feel this mix of computer and entertainment related topics will be successful. MAKING A NEW GROUP ================== The FOGNET software was written to be flexible so as to allow for a new group to be created within a matter of minutes, not hours. If you have any suggestions for titles of new groups then please send them to me with few sample messages to get the group started. If it proves popular it will stay, otherwise I'll stop it after a few months. Like everything in life it depends on feedback from other users. FOGNET SOFTWARE =============== The software used to read the FOGNET files and enter your own messages is rather basic at the moment. This is because I have a lot of other work to do right now. However if this scheme proves popular then I will update the software considerably with a nice GEM interface and various search and print options. But you will have to pester me (or leave me a message in COMP.FALCON.GENERAL) if you want to see this happen. The software as it stands will work on ANY Falcon set-up, from TOS 4.01 machines up to 4.04 with 1 meg of memory or 14 meg. With a hard drive or without. Please note if you are running this from disk you MUST make sure the disk is write enabled (ie you can't see through the little hole) or else the program will crash when trying to save your own messages. The best resolution on a VGA is 16 colour, 80 column, Double Line Off. The best resolution on a TV or RGB is 16 colour, 80 column, Interlace Off. I would recommend having a directory called FOGNET on your hard drive and copying the software and message updates to it as required. FOG-ED v1.1 =========== FOG-ED is the small program built into the FOGNET shell that lets you enter your own messages. It is invoked when you either {e}nter a new message or {r}eply to one already posted. Using FOG-ED is very simple (not least of which because it's a simple program!). You are request for the person you wish to send your message to if you have {e}ntered a new one, this can be a persons full name or 'All' which means it is addressed to everyone. If you have replied to a message this section will already be filled in for you. Next you can enter a Subject to talk about, this can be anything and you one line in which to enter it. You don't want to write too much here really. If you have {r}eplied to a message then the subject field will adopt that of the original message. Once these details are complete you will be prompted with a > symbol on the left hand side of the screen. This is your cue to start entering the text. You _MUST_ press RETURN at the end of each line or it will cause problems for both you and the editor. Once you have finished your message all you have to do is enter a single fullstop (.) on a blank line to save the message. It will be appended to a file called FEEDBACK.XXX (where XXX is the group number you have contributed to). Once you have read all the messages in all the groups and finished your replies you must send us all the FEEDBACK.XXX files that have been created in order for us to add them to the message base for the next issue. You can either email us the files, compile them all into one text file and make sure they are compiled in order (ie 001,002,003 etc..) and send them to: requiem@armory.com with the subject as 'FEEDBACK'. Or you can send them on a disk (preferably along with some other new PD software) to the usual FOG Bristol address, if you enclose a stamp we will return your disk full to the brim with new PD software. THAT'S ALL FOLKS ================ Well that really is all there is to it. Go on, give it a try for a few issues at least and see what happens. You never know it could become massive and you could learn a lot from the issues raised in FOGNET. But it will *only* succeed with your help. It doesn't take long to place a disk in an envelope and post it to us and like I said if you send a stamp you'll send a huge bundle of free PD back again. Thanks to the beta-testers (and ones who I hope have started FOGNET off) including :- Xenon, Colin FisherMcAllum, Chris Holland & John Knight. DISCLAIMER ========== The FOGNET software has been extensively tested and should work fine in most Falcon set-ups. It is known to work under NVDI without any hassles and also with programs like DeskTracker playing music in the background. We have done everything possible to make it as friendly as we could, of course we will update it as time goes on, but only at your request. The FOGNET software is (C)Copyright 1994 The Falcon Owners Group and MAY NOT be sold in any public domain library or placed on any BBS system or Internet FTP site without our written permission. FOGNET was developed in HiSoft Basic 2.10 on a 4meg Falcon030 with 85 meg IDE hard drive and VGA monitor.