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Birmingham Telecommunications News 015
BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News
COPYRIGHT 1989
July 1989 Volume 2, Issue 7
Table Of Contents
-----------------
Article Title Author
Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Mark Maisel
Editorial Column...............................Randy Hilliard
From The Halls Of Comdex.......................Doug Reinsch
PCBVerify Door.................................Joe Kearley
Insights.......................................Ron Albright
The World Of MIDI Part 1: MIDI History........Keith Cahoon
Transfer Protocols Part 2......................Tom Egan
Profile: Gary Godsey..........................Chris Mohney
From The Kitchen...............................Chez Stephan
Message Board..................................Barry Bowden
Known BBS Numbers..............................Mark Maisel
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Disclaimer and Statement of Policy for BTN
We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
information in our publication. We assume no responsibility for
damage due to errors, omissions, etc. The liability,if any for BTN, its
editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
of such damages occurring.
With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles. We publish
monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
publication. If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any
time but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear
in a particular issue. It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise
harm a person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the
content of the articles prepared by our writers. Our writers own their
work and it is protected by copyright. We allow reprinting of articles
from BTN with only a few restrictions. The author may object to a
reprint, in which case he will specify in the content of his article.
Otherwise, please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as
the source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
article's original title are retained. If you use one of our articles,
please forward a copy of your publication to:
Mark Maisel
Editor, BTN
221 Chestnut St.
BHM, AL 35210-3219
We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
you like it. We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
all of this and not get too serious about it.
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A M E R I C A O N L I N E
America OnLine's phone numbers are now
Node 1 323-2016 --\
Node 2 323-2031 \on rotary from 2016
Node 3 323-2032 /(300/1200/2400)
Node 4 ???-???? --/
NODE 5 251-2344 -- USR HST 9600
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S P A R T A P C B O A R D
Tentative move date is now set for July 17th. New numbers have been
reserved in Monroe, LA., as follows:
US Robotics 9600 Callers - (318) 396-0764
Hayes 9600 V Series - (318) 396-0870
The board should not be down over a couple of days during the move.
However, I am moving into an area where cable facilities are very
sparse and South Central Bell is working to clear a couple of extra
cable pairs to accommodate the BBS lines. Bear with us during the
move!
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Editorial
by Randy Hilliard
I'd like to begin this editorial by letting all of you fine folks
out there how happy I am to be here...
...
... no I'm not.
Actually I am a little happier about offering the editorial for BTN
this month since Mark has promised me a 15% pay raise. I haven't taken
the time to figure out exactly how much the increase will come to yet
because the batteries in my calculator died and I'm too lazy to do the
math in my head. Can anyone out there tell me what 15% of zero is?
Anyway, Doug Reinsch has a very nice article this month on Comdex.
Comdex is sort of like the candy store for us tech freaks and if we go
into the display areas we usually come out with a severe case of
schizophrenia trying to decide what we want the most.
A new type of automated verification system is in use on at least
three local BBS's and Joe Kearley was gracious enough to take the time
to write and let us know what to expect when we use this mode of
verification.
Ron Albright is back again (two issues in a row; takes a lot to
scare this man) and this time he is writing about on-line information
retrieval systems.
There is a special treat this month for the computer oriented
musicians in this issue. Keith Cahoon has a very nice article on the
need for the MIDI interface.
Here is another surprise; Mark managed to sucker... I mean entice
Tom Egan into writing his second article on transfer protocols. Watch
this space next month to see if Mark can pull three rabbits out of his
hat...
The ProFile victim this month is Gary Godsey. So far Mark has
managed to turn down all of Gary's monetary offers to A) select another
victim or B) tell him who nominated him for this honor.
Chez Stephan declined to pull his grill out this month (I think due
to the negative scarcity of rain) but he has gifted us with some very
thoughtful suggestions for a breakfast spread.
Barry Bowden's Message Board is here again this month as is Mark's
Known BBS listing.
I'd like to take the time to personally thank the authors of this
months articles for two reasons: A) I think they have done both
themselves and BTN proud with their creative efforts and B) by the sheer
volume of their creative output this month, they have edged our
Idiot-in-Cheif out of an article slot in this issue. Keep up the good
work fellows! If you continue at this rate and quality I'm sure that you
can finagle Mark into a 15% raise the same way I did. Let's see, 15% of
zero dollars is...is.. Whaddaya mean ZERO! This calculator is obviously
broken or something. Mark wouldn't do that to me... would he...?
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From the Halls of COMDEX
by Douglas A. Reinsch
Flying to Chicago is not my idea of a good time, but we must all
pay the price of our addiction. My addiction is technology, and as a
veteran of Spring Comdex I had boundless expectations and unbridled
enthusiasm for Comdex Spring '89. Though this year's Spring Comdex
lacked some of the landmark introductions of Comdex-Past, it was still
filled with a wealth of information and ideas, a parade of the best and
most wonderful aspects of computer technology.
A word to the wise: Comdex is not for the weak of heart. Imagine
spending four days on your feet in a strange city, with no companions,
eating questionable food (at best), in a building with precious few
water fountains, surrounded by hundreds of obnoxious technophiles, and
to top it all off, there weren't any decent malls nearby (in fact I
didn't find any at all). Now, if you still feel like you would have
wanted to be there, then you are probably about as crazy as I am.
Comdex had an interesting flavor this year. This was the year of
the side-show. Most of the major exhibitors hired varied talent to
entertain the masses. Between Hewlett Packard with "Accompany Success!"
and WordPerfect's talk show motif I was dazzled by how much talent a few
dollars can buy. Sony actually hired a juggler, who at the peak of his
performance juggled odd items (including an ax!) while balanced on a
rope three feet off the floor. Boy, that sure has a lot to do with
computers. It was fun to watch though. Even more fun was seeing the
full color VGA LCD monitors that Toshiba, Mitsubishi and a couple of
others displayed. Seeing is believing, and those babies are even
sharper than full blown VGA monitors.
Intel was mildly disappointing with a limited seating movie that
looked like 2030 - A Space Odyssey, but then what do you expect from a
chip manufacturer? Are they going to give a demonstration? Intel did
announce the coming 80486 chip, but we were all expecting that soon
anyway.
A total surprise was a relative newcomer to the high-tech arena,
Vendex. Evidently Vendex has been around for a long time (or so THEY
told me), but recently they have decided to market under their own name.
While I have seen quite a few ads for Vendex machines, their huge
display complete with an open movie theater was all but devoid of life,
which is hard to accomplish in a large, crowded room.
One of the more interesting exhibits was by another newcomer to
Comdex, Kyocera. Some of you may have seen Kyocera involved with video
equipment, but they are into printers and scanners in a big way. They
have low-end laser printers (if several thousand dollars can be
considered low-end) that deftly put the HP Laserjet II to shame. They
come standard with more memory and more paper trays than an HPII,
optional collating trays and a new sort of font cartridge. A
traditional HP II font cartridge is about four by six inches and is
about half an inch thick. Kyocera doesn't really have cartridges. They
have font cards. These cards are about the size of a credit card (in all
dimensions) and can contain printer fonts (type styles) or even
graphics. For a small fee, they will load company logos, letterheads,
unpopulated forms or any other graphic onto one of their cards, and that
graphic will be immediately usable by the printer.
If you're not impressed by credit card sized font cartridges, you
may be impressed by the Kyocera flat-bed scanner. Yes friends, for a
mere $2000.00 you can be the proud owner of an 800 DPI (dots per inch)
flat-bed scanner that will blow the socks off of just about any other
scanner in that price range (and a couple of price ranges above). If I
weren't already poor, they would have had a sale right there. (Note:
Technojunkies should never attend Comdex without first acquiring
considerable debt.) Comparing this scanner to the MicroTech MSF300 isn't
fair. The Kyocera wins hands down. I wonder if they would consider a
trade-in...
Haven't you always wanted a Mickey Mouse watch? I always did, but
now I have the latest -- a Logitech Mouse watch (they just couldn't
resist). Otherwise, Logitech had only their new form factor mouse to
show off along with increased resolution on the mouse (Hi-Res, 320 DPI)
and hand scanner (ScanMan, 400 DPI).
Off in a dusty corner of the same room where Logitech, Sony, HP
and even IBM were displaying their wares was a sad little place called
MacDex. With high hopes I had scheduled a fair amount of time for
MacDex, thinking it to be a smaller version of Comdex. At the gates of
MacDex I discovered why town criers had been dispersed into the mobs of
Comdex to generate interest in the "sister show". Only a handful of
companies had booths in MacDex, leaving most of the reserved floor space
empty. It takes very little to draw my attention in a convention like
this, but I walked through MacDex in less than five minutes. In all
fairness I should note that many companies who sell products for
MacIntoshes (or any other type of micro) had very interesting and
successful displays in Comdex. After all this wasn't a PC Expo.
Back to the lighter side, there were a number of very interesting
products introduced at Comdex. One which comes to mind is a chassis the
size of a 5 1/4 inch, half height disk drive which is designed to mount
a 3 1/2 inch hard drive. The chassis has a sturdy plastic handle on the
front with clever plug-in connectors on the back and a key-lock as well.
You guessed it. East Asian ingenuity has turned a simple 3 1/2 inch
hard drive into an expensive 5 1/4 inch removable hard drive. The
design was very attractive, and the low cost of their chassis will
probably compete very well with "show-nuff" removable hard drives. If
only such ideas could grow on trees.
There were a number of "new" products centered around sound.
Speech synthesizer boards were talking up a storm under PC control, and
Voice recognition products were displayed also. Some of these were
quite good. In at least one instance, a combined speech
recognition/voice synthesizer product was being billed as a user
interface for blind people. Maybe one day we really will talk TO
computers instead of AT them. Imagine... User: "You #$@^%& computer, why
did you do that!?!" Computer: "Because you told me to ____Head, and now
I simply don't feel like working for you any more." Oh boy.
Zenith was one of a couple of vendors who displayed new 33 MHz,
80386 based machines. I might have been truly impressed if I thought
that this plateau might remain standard for more than a few weeks.
Zenith deserves credit though, since they were the only vendor who
openly displayed support for the coming EISA standard (they gave out
campaign buttons). I firmly believe that IBM is close to breathing its
last in the micro arena, but it makes you wonder when Compaq doesn't
even deign to show up for Comdex. Is that over-confidence or what?
Another most interesting display was put on by Brother. Believe
it or not, they conducted a running ping-pong tournament throughout
Comdex. Aside from that, they displayed their new HL-8e Laser Printer.
Even if you choose to ignore the fairly recent reviews showing the HL-8e
to be superior to virtually all Laserjet II type printers, take it from
my personal experience, they are hot. Just to give you a taste, the
HL-8e has 7 internal fonts, 5 of which also have bold and italics
included and all of which may be printed in portrait or landscape mode
(regular or sideways). It will emulate the HP Laserjet II, the Diablo
630, the IBM Proprinter XL, the Epson FX-80, the Brother Twinriter and
(icing on the cake) a generic HP Plotter (HPGL plotter language). To
cap it all off, the HL-8e has 1 Megabyte of memory standard. Nothing
short of brain surgery will make an HP Laserjet that good.
My personal favorite of the Brother display was a full color
photocopier. "Sure," you say, "I've seen those advertised on TV." Well
all I can say is that the output from these things is fantastic, and it
isn't produced with colored wax like most high-end color printers.
Special paper (translation: expensive paper) is used which has tiny
containers of dye embedded in it. Different colored dye is placed in
different little containers in the paper. When the paper is exposed to
varied frequencies of laser light, certain of the little containers
weaken. The paper is then passed through a crusher which uses several
thousand pounds of pressure to burst the various weakened containers
leaving a stunning color photocopy (Rube Goldberg would be proud).
Tectronix and QMS were among the few displaying high-end color
printers. Don't get me wrong, colored wax makes a beautiful printout as
I will gladly show if you are interested, but colored wax also has a
tendency to melt when exposed to high temperatures. That doesn't seem
to be a very reliable method to print lasting color images.
Another interesting product I saw for the first time at Comdex is a
keyboard with a built-in graphics tablet. Though several vendors showed
versions of this idea, Keytronics seemed to have the most durable
design. If you decide to replace your old keyboard with a new one, you
might consider paying an extra couple of bucks for the graphics tablet
(assuming you want such a thing).
For the AutoCad users out there, there is a neat little Cad drawing
utility that allows you to view and file AutoCad drawings without
starting up AutoCad. The images are smaller, but are really quite good
representations of the actual drawings, and access is extremely fast.
On the subject of graphics, there were three companies showing new
graphic overlays for Microsoft Windows. These products effectively
remove the remaining differences between MS Windows and the MacIntosh
(except that these are in color). Icons can be used to manipulate
programs without ever typing on the keyboard. Did someone say
"Lawsuit"?
Out of deference to the aging giant "Big Blue", I have saved IBM
for last. Many of you have probably never seen a real, full-blown IBM
display, but as usual IBM did itself proud. IBM's exhibit spanned the
largest hunk of real-estate in the middle of a Comdex hall (there were
two). Row upon row of computers, peripherals and software were on
display with more-than-eager salespeople standing next to each and every
piece. I find it amusing that despite this huge show of force, IBM
commanded less attention than many of the small booths at Comdex. Many
attendees seemed to intentionally avoid walking by the IBM display for
fear that they might be sucked into a heavy discussion on Token Rings or
some such. I, unfortunately, have never exercised enough caution and
typically seek arguments where I ought to remain silent. This
propensity for combat placed me in a head-to-head dual with an IBM Rep
about the merits of Token Ring architecture. After a short sermon I
decided that it wasn't fair to pick on the poor guy, so I moved on.
All in all, this year's Spring Comdex did not show as many new
products as in the past, but enthusiasm was not lacking. Comdex mirrors
the power that microcomputers have become in our world, and I can only
hope that it will continue to do so for years to come. Maybe next year
you can spare a day trip to Atlanta for Spring Comdex 1990. Hope to see
you there!
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PCBverify Door
by Joe Kearley
PCBverify is a door program that lets new users gain instant
access to a BBS by establishing callback verification.
Why I, as a SysOp, like PCBverify
PCBverify allows callers to to gain verified access to my
bulletin board without me having to voice verify each one. Because of
past experiences with a few obnoxious callers, I set up my system to
allow only partial access to the board until I had voice validated each
user. This rapidly became a royal pain in the neck. Some of my
callers were having to wait about one or two weeks before I found the
time to call and voice valedate them. I also kept getting a lot of
busy signals or no answers.
With Call back verification, the user can gain instant access and
does not have to wait a week or two be validated. It also allows more
users to get on the board and build up the user base. As all SysOps
like a large user base, I think they will like this program. They will
have more control over who their users are because you will have an
accurate record of their phone number and can call to check if they see
a problem developing.
Why you, as a user, would like PCBverify
Have you ever called a new board to see what it had to offer only
to find out that you could not do anything on it until you had been
validated? Now you have the opportunity to gain instant access with
the call back verify door. No more waiting to get a phone call
validating you for the board. You will be able to check out what the
board has to offer right away. Then you can decide if you like the
board and will continue to call it or don't like what you see and
never call back again.
PCBVerify also has a nice feature called "call back mode". If you
are a validated user, call the board, and happen to get a noisy line,
you can enter the door in the "call back mode". Pcb Verify auto-
matically detects a user level above new-user status and switches to
a call-back mode. The door will accept your phone number (same
as in the verification process) and call you back in hopes of getting
a clean line. I know it works because I had a user do just that the
other night. He was having a hard time on the board because of line
noise. He used the call back feature and got a clean line.
How call back verification works
When you call a board that is using the PCBverify door you enter
the door, read the instructions, and enter your phone number. The door
will ask if the number you entered is correct. If you answer yes, it
will then ask if the number is long distance otherwise it will begin
asking for the phone number again. The SysOp can elect to allow or
disallow long distance calls and the time frame to allow them (when
rates are cheapest). If the number is long distance, (again depending
on the SysOp), the door will drop carrier and call the phone number you
entered. When you enter the number and see the board dropping carrier
you will need to set your terminal mode so you can answer the call. When
you see a ring you will need to answer by typing ATA (in capital
letters) or use your auto-answer mode if your communication program
supports one. You will then see "This is (the boards name) looking for
(your name)." After a few seconds, It will ask for your password. If
you type in your password correctly (and you are long distance) the door
will update your security level and hang up. You then can call back and
enjoy full access to the board. If you make a local call (answer no to
the long distance question) the door will reconnect you to the board,
update your security level, and give you full access.
If your verification was successful your phone number will then
be put into what is called the "trashcan" file and cannot be used
again for verification. If more than one user lives in the same
household and shares the same phone number, you will need to leave
a comment to the SysOp or fill out a Script Questionnaire, if there
is one available, in order for the second user to be validated.
Personally, I think the PCBverify door is a great program. I have
used it for the past few weeks and it is working very well. I have had
a dozen or so users gain access to the board using the door so far.
Although some users have tried without success (did not know how to
answer the call or gave a wrong phone number or entered their password
incorrectly) they have called back and filled out the script
questionnaire. The PCBverify door has saved me from having to call
quite a few users to have to voice validate them.
If any of you users out there are using a communications program
other than Procomm Plus and know how to answer a call, I would
appreciate it if you would leave some comments on a few boards
explaining how to do so. This would help some of the users that are
unfamiliar with their communications program to be able to use the
PCBverify door.
The latest version of PCB Verify can be downloaded from
Premier BBS
(615) 675-3244
2400/1200/300 N,8,1
24 hours a day
Curtis Kowolski, Sysop (and author)
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INSIGHTS
by Ron Albright
For some time now, I have been sermonizing about the benefits of
being "connected," electronically, to my friend Alan. Alan, is a busy
cardiologist who, like many in his profession, has more money than time.
Alan is burned out by medicine (it happens, trust me) and is looking for
a way to branch out into something new. Namely, a business venture. He
has the dream of becoming an entrepreneur and developing some product or
service that will bring some challenge and excitement back into his
life. He doesn't have a clue as to what that enterprise might be, but he
knows it's out there - waiting.
Back to the story at hand. I have long been expounding on how, if
Alan used a PC and got into communications and information access by
modem, he could really have a better way of selectively looking for what
is hot and what is not in business. I have told him about information
services and how he can search for data about virtually anything. He can
use the medium to screen for what he is interested and quiet the noise
of "information overload" that deafens even those with enough time to
read the Wall Street Journal and Business week.
Alan has been skeptical all along. Finally, after my latest
discourse, he challenged my hypothesis.
"OK, Ron, I have a test for you. I am going to call your bluff. I
want you to find some facts for me with your computer."
There was almost a snarl in his voice as he gave me the challenge.
"I want you find out the following:
- where, when, and by whom was the Subway Sandwich franchise
started
- what is their growth rate and projections
- how much does a franchise cost
- and what is their best selling sandwich
and I want you to call me back when you have the results."
He gleefully barked out the order, said goodbye and left me alone
to deal with the problem.
Now picture yourself trying to deal with this in a traditional way.
You would go to the library, fumble through a dozen or so dusty indexes,
write down what you found on index cards, and pray that the library had
the journals you needed. Seldom were all of the processes simple much
less fast or efficient.
I, on the other hand, leaned back in my office chair, and thought
about where best to look for the information. The possible resources
were myriad. I could log on to the Dow-Jones News/Retrieval and scan
their full-text coverage of the Wall Street Journal (since January,
1984), Baron's (from January, 1987), their "Business Library" (covering
7 national magazines - like Inc., Forbes, and Fortune - and 2 news
wires), or their "Business dateline (covering 140 regional business
publications since 1985). I could call up NewsNet and scan their
collection of over 300 newsletters covering 30 industries, including
food services. A smile (or was it a snicker?) came to my face as I
diabolically accessed just how I was going to handle the dare.
I settled on using a service called "InfoMaster" available on
Western Union's EasyLink electronic mail service. InfoMaster is an
incarnation of Telebase Systems' "EasyNet" information bank. It is also
available on CompuServe as "IQuest." Regardless of where you use the
network, you get the same thing. Specifically, a simple, fast "gateway"
to over 700 different electronic databases.
A "gateway," in electronic vernacular, is a single inlet to several
different systems. It works this way. InfoMaster maintains accounts on
almost all the available database providers - including Dialog, BRS,
Mead Data General's LEXIS/NEXIS, and others. Instead of you subscribing
and maintaining accounts on all this hosts (an expensive proposition, to
say the least), you only use and pay InfoMaster. You need not learn the
multiplicity of interfaces for these information giants. You only work
through a single set of prompts on InfoMaster. Unless you are a search
specialist, it's the easiest way to go.
After hooking up to Western Union, I chose InfoMaster from its
menu. I was then carried to the main set of selections on the system.
InfoMaster allows you to chose the specific database you want (if you
happen to know the name of it - there are some 700 to choose from) or,
based on your response to several menus, it will pick what it thinks is
the appropriate database for your search. Usually, it is right. You
simply tell IM if you want to look for a specific topic (business,
science, medicine, etc) or for a company or product. After narrowing
down your area of interest, you are asked for the word or phrase you
want to search for. Completing that, you sit back and relax. IM goes
through the process of calling the appropriate network, sending in your
search, collecting the results, disconnecting and returning to you with
the treasures. You can then browse through the ones that appear
worthwhile. You only get the articles' titles, authors, and journal
reference to start. If any appear particularly "hot," IM will go back
and get the full-text of the paper if available. You get the ten most
recent titles IM finds and 1 full-text article for a flat $8.00. If
nothing was found, you get billed nothing. Sounds fair enough to me.
Back to the "Alan Challenge." I gathered just what I needed on IM
and all within ten minutes of hanging up with Alan. Loading my guns, I
called him back.
"Alan, I have some information for you. Fred DeLuca, a college
student in Connecticut, opened the first Subway Sandwich and Salads
store in Milford, CT in 1965. He was 17 at the time. His current
franchise fee is a modest $7500 with an 8% royalty. They currently have
3000 stores and the company goal is to have 5000 in place by 1994.
DeLuca won the 1988 "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from Venture
Magazine..."
Alan and, I hope, you, got the point. That being, and I will defend
it to the death, if you need information, if it is important to you, and
you are willing to pay for it, "computer-assisted information retrieval"
(or "C.A.I.R.", pronounced "care") is the best way to go. Information
access by PC is one of the most underutilized but, potentially, valuable
capabilities of computers.
Once the sacred haunt of those skilled few sporting a Masters
Degree in library science, information networks are constantly improving
the ease with which "Joe Sixpack" - you and I - can pinpoint useful
data. Rather than having to weed through stacks of journals, we can sit
back, content in knowing that, when we need something, we can find it.
Not only are the providers, themselves, moving away from stark, cryptic
command-driven system to simple, menu interfaces, there is a growing
number of communications packages that do most of the work for you.
Offline, while the meter is not running.
Lest you think I am howling at the moon, check these figures out.
Based on a $1750 report filed by Frost & Sullivan, a New York-based
consulting firm, online databases are "the premier glamour industry in
the information field." They add that the industry should "continue to
boom at an annual growth rate of 18 percent or more." The report
outlines the industry's growth from overall revenues of $469 million in
1978 to an estimated $2.2 billion in 1986. "Assuming a moderate 18
percent average annual growth rate," it concludes, "projected revenues
will exceed $4.2 billion in 1990."
The point of all this is a simple one. Let me put it in computer
terms: if your information input exceeds your processing speed, you need
C.A.I.R. With a little study and dedication, you can start using your
computer and modem for more than just a way to download software. You
can use it as a magical library providing you with all the selectivity
you need to stem the "Information Flood."
Alan was convinced. I hope you are as well. Think about it. Oh
yeah, I am still looking for Subway's best-selling sandwich. Nothing is
perfect.
Comments to this series are solicited. You can reach me on the
following networks:
Compuserve 75166,2473 GEnie RALBRIGHT
Delphi INFOINC
Services Discussed:
DIALOG
Services: DIALOG, DIALOG Business Connection, Knowledge Index
Address: DIALOG Information Services, Inc.
3460 Hillview Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94304
1-800-334-2564
TELEX: 3344999 (DIALOG)
TWX: 910-339-9221
BRS
Services: BRS, BRS/After Dark, BRS/Colleague
Address: BRS Information Technologies
1200 Route 7
Latham, NY 12110
1-800-227-5277
TWX: 710-44-4965
Dow Jones News/Retrieval
Address: DJNR Service
P.O. Box 300
Princeton, NJ 08540
1-800-522-3567
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The World Of MIDI
by Keith Cahoon
Part 1: MIDI History
An Introduction To MIDI
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a specification
which enables various manufacturers to design equipment that is
basically compatible with that of other manufacturers. This is most
beneficial for the owner, whose equipment is thereby protected from
obsolescence. As MIDI-compatible equipment is introduced, one will be
able to freely choose keyboards, sequencers, and rhythm units from a
variety of manufacturers with confidence that they will work together as
one programmable system through which complete pieces can be composed
and realized.
The problem of instrument compatibility is not new. It can
probably be said of any two keyboards, that someone has desired if not
actually tried to interconnect them. Keyboard couplers were developed
for both pipe organs and harpsichords. In the heyday of electric organ
technology this interest occasionally led to the installation of thick
cables wiring keyboards in parallel. The first synthesizers were easier
to interface, because of the nature of the modular equipment. However
modules from different manufacturers might have incompatible control
voltage, trigger, gate and output levels or polarities. These
differences have been promulgated in scores of synthesizer, keyboard and
effect devices, ultimately giving rise to an entire industry devoted to
modifications and interfacing. And though they provide the best
opportunity for interface so far, even microcomputer-based synthesizer
equipment has been developed along independent, incompatible lines.
Like many other defacto "standards", the MIDI has risen primarily
from the activities of those concerned that the incompatibility of
current equipment discourages wider availability of the kinds of complex
systems which can be envisioned utilizing even current technology. (The
S-100 microcomputer buss evolved for similar reasons.) The popularity of
the home computer has forced music manufacturers to finally address
the issue of compatibility. For the musician, the keyboard interface
to the computer terminal offers the possibility of multi-track
sequencing and editing, score display and printing. In this light,
the usefulness and need for a standard computer keyboard interface is
obvious. Only with some such standard can these musical tools be developed.
The following explains how the MIDI specification resulted from
this industry-wide consensus. The MIDI specifications neither possesses
nor claims any authority over equipment design. Rather, it is merely an
informal agreement on some simple interface circuitry and the "grammer"
of a non-proprietary language which can carry meaningful information
between instruments. The incorporation or support of the MIDI facility
in a product remains entirely a decision for each manufacturer.
The SCI Digital Interface
SCI first became interested in microcomputer interfacing in
conjunction with the design of the Prophet-10 polyphonic synthesizer and
it's internal polyphonic sequencer. The Prophet and its sequencer each
were based on Z-80 microcomputers. To record, as notes were playing,
every few milliseconds the Prophet would send its complete keyboard
"status" to the sequencer. The sequencer had to figure out which notes
were going on and off, and record these events in the reference clock
count. On playback, the sequencer computer also sent the complete
keyboard status every clock pulse, with events as counted out by the
clock. The Prophet would play these notes just as if they came from its
own keyboard. Later, this sequencer was made available as an accessory
for the Prophet-5. The Prophet-5 Remote Keyboard was also developed
which used this interface. SCI published the data protocol upon which
this interface was based, in the hopes that the programming public would
be encouraged to develop their own interfaces for the Prophet-5.
This did not occur, apparently because in being conceived for a
specific application, the interface was very fast but too clumsy for the
general-purpose use. It was criticized as requiring too much
programming "overhead", in the constant transmission of meaningless
keyboard information. As a result of this experience, SCI resolved to
pursue a more streamline interface that would be easier for programmers
to work with.
The Universal Synthesizer Interface
In the meantime, occasional discussions between the president's of
Sequential Circuits (SCI), Oberheim Electronics, and Roland also
revealed a shared interest in the interface problem and development of
an interface widely acceptable to the industry.
Smith then outlined a specification for a "Universal Synthesizer
Interface" (USI). It was developed with the assistance of SCI's Chet
Wood and the president at the Fall, 1981 convention of the Audio
Engineering Society (AES).
The USI differed markedly from the earlier SCI Digital interface in
that rather than being polled at the sequencer clock rate, information
was only sent when an event actually occurred - for example, a note
going on or off. The USI was proposed to be a serial, operating at 19.2
kBaud, with TTL levels, and connected through phone jacks.
After incorporating changes in response to comments from AES, Smith
sent a questionnaire to all manufacturers and industry consultants he
could find, asking for their suggestions and any special requirements.
There was a strong response to this initiative; some saying, for
example, that it would not be possible to do it serially, that a
parallel interface was necessary. Others thought the proposed serial
speed too fast for operation with home computers. Many other issues
were raised.
All respondents were invited to a conference in coincidence with
the January, 1982 Western National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)
convention in Anaheim. This meeting was attended by representatives
from SCI, Roland, Oberheim, CBS/Rhodes, Yamaha, E-mu, Unicord (Korg),
Music Technology Inc., Kawai, Octave Plateau, Passport Designs and
Syntauri. Other manufacturers seemed to be maintaining a "wait-and-see"
policy. At this meeting the chief changes which occurred to the USI
were to add opto-isolation to prevent audio ground loops, and to
increase the speed to 31.25 kBaud.
The Japanese Interface Proposal
Following the USI discussions at Anaheim, an alternative
specification was presented by some of the Japanese companies which had
grown out of their own research. Whereas the USI was basically content
to specify note on/off codes, this new proposal went on to define many
more complex operations. It also offered a different data structure,
with status and data bytes being flagged by bit 7 (1=status, 0=data).
This greatly simplified the protocol by eliminating all the checks which
were otherwise needed to distinguish the data category. With the most
significant bit now defined as a "flag," data is thereby limited to 7
bits, but this is sufficient for most synth data, and when not, can
simply be sent as multiple 4-bit nibbles.
The MIDI
After the Anaheim meeting, Smith and Wood integrated the USI and
Japanese proposals, forming the first MIDI specification. This was sent
to all of the meeting participants but, curiously, provoked no further
comment from this continent. The final document was therefore arrived
at after several exchanges between SCI and Roland, which is serving
as liaison with Yamaha, Korg, and Kawai.
The development of MIDI was first made public by Robert Moog, in
his October, 1982 column in KEYBOARD magazine.
In December of 1983, SCI began shipping the Prophet-600, the first
commercially available instrument to include the MIDI.
This is part 1 of a series. This section was about the history around
the MIDI and it's development.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOLS PART 2
by Tom Egan Sysop [Remote]
America Online
MEGALINK
Megalink is a relative newcomer to the file transfer protocol
scene. It provides several of the advantages of XModem, YModem, and
ZModem in one package. It is not compatible with them, but does utilize
several of their features.
Megalink uses 512 byte blocks for transfer. This is 4 times the
size of XModem, but only half that of XModem-1K and YModem. It is whats
known as a FULL-STREAMING protocol, and therefore eliminates the back
and forth hand-shaking required by XModem and YModem type protocols.
Full Streaming means that it sends a block of data, then a CRC check
block. If the data was received without error, nothing is done, and
transmission continues. If an error IS received, then the receiving end
sends a NAK signal back to the transmitter signifying a need to re-send
that block of data that was in error. XModem and YModem require an
acknowledge signal after each block, regardless of whether the transfer
was successful or in error.
Megalink also uses the CRC-32 error correction method used by
ZModem, and developed by Chuck Forsberg, which is theoretically more
accurate than either XModem or YModem CRC methods.
JMODEM
JModem is a very new protocol, the newest one I am aware of. JModem
has several features that are of interest to the BBS user and others who
communicate via computer.
JModem uses 16 bit CRC error correction. It features variable size
transmission blocks, as does ZModem, ranging from 512 up to 8192 byte
blocks if few errors are detected, making it VERY efficient on clean and
noise free phone lines. These are determined automatically by the
program and changed as the need arises.
JModem also supports communication Ports 1 through 4, while most
of the protocols only support Com1 or Com2 ( if they support them at
all, some rely on the program using them to set the Com Ports ).
A surprising feature, JModem also has built-in data compression.
Although I am not familiar with the method used, data compression is
like what you get with ARC and ZIP compression programs. I don't know if
JModem's compression is needed or used when transferring these type
files, but is very useful when you need to send files that are not
compressed already, saving much time spent on transmission.
The stated probability of an error slipping through and getting
into your file without being caught and corrected automatically is 1
error in 54,445,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes of
transmitted data. By the way, if you get this in a CRC 16 bit mode, just
think what CRC 32 gives you !!!!! I doubt that most of us would send
this much data in a lifetime ( maybe 10 lifetimes even ), so
effectively, these protocols are error-free when received.
I've run short on time this month, 3 or 4 more protocols will
follow next month.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PRO FILE
by Chris Mohney
The Pro File is a short, half-serious biographical sketch given to
various computer telecommunications personalities around Birmingham.
Victims are selected randomly from a group of names put into the
notorious Hat. Anyone who thinks himself brave or witty enough may
petition for admittance to the Hat by leaving E-Mail to me (Chris
Mohney, most boards around town) to that effect. Anyone who wishes to
suggest more questions or sneakily nominate someone without their
knowledge may take the same route ....
PRO FILE: Gary Steven Godsey
---------
Age: 36
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama
Occupation: Funeral Director
My hobbies include: Computing, Music, Watching TV, Safe Sex
Years telecomputing: I bought my first computer in 1978
Sysop, past/present/future of: I would like to run a board that would
use professional people to help others
with emotional and spiritual problems. I
said spiritual not religious.
My oddest habit is: Touring cemeteries when I go on vacation
My greatest unfulfilled ambition is: A trip on the Space Shuttle
The single accomplishment of
which I am most proud is: My work. It is most fulfilling to be able
to help people in a time of true need.
My favorite performers are: Micky Rourke, Kim Bassinger, John Lennon,
Prince
The last good movie I saw was: "Cannibal Women of the Avocado Jungle"
The last good book I read was: "The Road Less Traveled"
by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
If they were making a movie of my life, I'd like to see my part played
by: Micky Rourke
My pet peeves are: Whiners. People that want to legislate my morality.
When nobody's looking, I like to: Read "Mad" magazine.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Kitchen
by Chez Stephan
Hello dudes and dudettes. It is thyme for the old round-up.
Seems that some of you guys are wanting to sleep in on weekends rather
than get out there and work in the yard or get in an early round of
golf. Well hey, that's all right buckeroos. Just when you do get up
let's have one hell of a breakfast. It's the most important meal of the
day you know. Gets the body systems working and the brain in the go
mode. Anyway here it is.
Lets have French Toast: 2 Eggs beaten
1 egg yolk beaten
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If you can find it, use
fresh baked un-sliced bread for toast. Cut bread in 1 inch slices. Heat
an iron skillet over medium high heat. Melt 2 to 3 table spoons of
butter in pan. DO NOT let butter brown. Dip bread slices in mixture
and place in buttered pan and cook. Cook to desired crispness. Serve
hot.
What, breakfast without Ham???
Select a good country ham from your local grocer. There are
usually packages back in the meat department somewhere around where they
keep the 4 year old turkeys and frozen white fish. Make sure that you
select ham that is of a deep red color as this shows the length of the
curing process. The deeper the color the longer the curing process.
Take the ham out of the package and wash under cold running water for at
least 5 minutes. This washes the salt out of the ham. Cut all the fat
away from the ham. Heat an iron skillet to hot and use the fat to
release the grease needed to fry the ham. After the fat has been
rendered, remove the fat and cut the heat down to medium. Place the ham
in the skillet and brown. After the ham has been browned then add 1 cup
of cold water to the skillet (PLEASE BE CAREFUL. IT WILL SPLATTER AND
STEAM) and cover. Let cook 15 to 20 minutes on low heat. For those of
you that want it; Red Eye Gravy can be made by removing the ham when
done and adding a small amount of black coffee to the juices in the pan.
This is good stuff over hot buttered homemade buttermilk biscuits.
Poach a couple of eggs. Have a couple of glasses of fresh
squeezed orange juice. Add the ham and the French toast to the plate.
Grab the morning paper and have at it. After you've finished off
breakfast have a couple of cups of good dark coffee and enjoy your day.
Catch you guys and gals Later,
Ciao and hearty eating.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MESSAGE BOARD
by Barry Bowden
JULY 1989
S M T W T F S
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
July 1 BIPUG
July 8 BCCC
July 11 CCS (C64)
July 17 CCS (Amiga)
July 21 BEPCUG
July 22 BCCC
July 25 CCS (C64)
BEPCUG CCS
Birmingham East PC Users Group Commodore Club South
Jefferson Sate Jr. College Springville Road Library
Ruby Carson Hall, Rm 114 2nd & 4th Tuesday (C64/C128)
3rd Friday, 7-9 PM 3rd Monday (Amiga)
Paula Ballard 251-6058 (after 5PM) 7:30-10 PM
Maurice Lovelady 684-6843
BCCC BIPUG
Birmingham Commodore Computer Club Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group
POB 59564 UAB Nutrition Science Blg
Birmingham, Al 35259 RM 535/541
UAB School of Education, Rm 153 1st Sunday (delayed one week
2nd and 4th Sundays, 2 PM if meeting is a holiday)
Rusty Hargett 854-5172 Marty Schulman 967-5883
If you belong to or know of a user group that is not listed,
please let me know by sending E-Mail to me thru EzNet or on
The Bus System BBS. Please leave the group name and a contact
person/phone number.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Known BBS Numbers For The Birmingham Area
NAME NUMBER BAUD RATES SUPPORTED MODEM TYPE
America Online Nodes 1-4 323-2016 300, 1200, 2400
America Online Node 5 251-2344 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 HST
*American BBS 674-1851 300, 1200, 2400
*Byte Me 979-2983 1200, 2400
*Bus System BBS 595-1627 300, 1200, 2400
*Channel 8250 744-8546 300, 1200, 2400
Club Phoenix 942-0252 300, 1200, 2400
*Crunchy Frog 956-1755 300, 1200, 2400
D3 Systems BBS 663-2759 300, 1200, 2400
Duck Pond BBS 822-0956 300, 1200, 2400
Gizmo's Atari BBS 854-0698 300, 1200
Fortress BBS 664-9040 300, 1200
I.S.A. BBS 995-6590 300, 1200, 2400
Jim's Place 787-5512 300, 1200, 2400
*Joker's Castle 744-6120 300, 1200, 2400
LZ Birmingham 870-7770 300, 1200, 2400
*Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 HST
ProSoft Systems BBS 853-8718 300, 1200, 2400
Radio Free TROAD 592-2545 300, 1200, 2400
*Role Player's Paradise 631-7654 300, 1200, 2400
Smitty's BBS 849-7349 300, 1200
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 Hayes
*ST BBS 836-9311 300, 1200, 2400
*The Connection Node 1 854-9074 1200, 2400
*The Connection Node 2 854-2308 1200, 2400
*The Outer Limits 969-3262 1200, 2400, 9600 HST
The Islands BBS 870-7776 300, 1200
*The Professional's Board 856-0679 300, 1200, 2400
Twilight Zone 856-3783 300, 1200
Willie's DYM Node 1 979-1629 300, 1200, 2400
Willie's DYM Node 2 979-7739 300, 1200, 2400
Willie's RBBS 979-7743 300, 1200, 2400
Ziggy Unaxess 991-5696 300, 1200
Boards with a "*" before their name are members of our local network,
EzNet, and public messages left in the EzNet Conferences of any of these
boards will be echoed to all members.
