HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: DALL@hfrd.dsto.OZ.AU
Subject: bootstrap program
Organization: Association for the Prevention of Polar Bears and Kangaroos
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 20:41:16 GMT

daver!owner-pc532@uunet.uu.net writes:
 > >...
 > >best choice...  It's nice to have Suns read /vmunix or /usr/stand/foo
 > >from the ROM, but I've always thought that there should be a better
 > >way to do that than to bury all sorts of filesystem code in ROM...
 >  
 > Look at how the autoboot monitor does it...  It works with ALL operating
 > systems!  In fact, since it now uses the BSD disk labels, it will work
 > with Minix, Mach and BSD.

I am a little confused about what the current state of the art in rom
monitors is. We have the original WBC monitor, we have the "autoboot
monitor" and we have the forth monitor.

How would the people invloved in the two latter monitors like to
sumarize the current status (features and robustness I suppose). Also,
if anyone has written a standalone bootstrap loader which understands
the 4.3 BSD file system (you know, the equivalent of /boot on Suns) I
am interested. Currently my bootstrap loader is the kernel, but this
hardly seems like a good long term solution. It makes it difficult to
try new kernels for one.

Ian
From: snark@thistledown.img.COM.AU (Simon Burge)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.nsc.32k
Subject: hardware problems
Date: 3 Apr 92 13:25:00 GMT
Organization: Association for the Prevention of Polar Bears and Kangaroos

Howdy folks,

I've finally gone out and bought another 4 Meg for my pc532 to bring it
up to 8 Meg.  I got home, plugged it in and powered it up, and fired up
Minix.  I did a ps, and it tells me there's only 760 odd free pages,
not the 1700 odd I'd expected.  Back to the monitor, and I did a
	dump 3ffff0 20
and what it returned looks something like this:

03ffff0 | 00 00 00 00   00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 | ................
0400000 | 00 00 00 ff   00 00 00 ff  00 00 00 ff  00 00 00 ff | ................

So, obviously, there's something amiss with one bank of memory.  I've
tried replacing the SIMMs in a different order, but that didn't fix the
problem.  I've also checked the board closely for dry joints and
resoldered any that looked suspect.

Basicly, what I'm after is some pointers as to where exactly I should
be looking for the problem.  I've tried to isolate the problem looking
at the circuit diagram, but it was just a little too much for me, and
short of redoing all the solder joints, I'm at a loss at what to do.

I don't have a CRO available, just my iron and trusty DVM.  I'm also
running the autoboot EPROM, if that makes a difference (but I don't see
how).

Thanks in advance,
  Simon.

ps: While I'm here, does anyone have a solution to the abyssimally slow
    file system?  I work out that I'm getting roughly 50k/sec through
    the MINIX fs, but the monitor seems to get almost a meg/sec.  I
    realise that there's going to be some OS overhead, but...
--
Simon Burge, on an almost properly working pc532!
snark@thistledown.img.com.au
Newsgroups: comp.sys.nsc.32k
From: DALL@hfrd.dsto.OZ.AU
Subject: bootstrap program
Organization: Association for the Prevention of Polar Bears and Kangaroos
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 20:39:53 GMT

daver!owner-pc532@uunet.uu.net writes:
 > >...
 > >best choice...  It's nice to have Suns read /vmunix or /usr/stand/foo
 > >from the ROM, but I've always thought that there should be a better
 > >way to do that than to bury all sorts of filesystem code in ROM...
 >  
 > Look at how the autoboot monitor does it...  It works with ALL operating
 > systems!  In fact, since it now uses the BSD disk labels, it will work
 > with Minix, Mach and BSD.

I am a little confused about what the current state of the art in rom
monitors is. We have the original WBC monitor, we have the "autoboot
monitor" and we have the forth monitor.

How would the people invloved in the two latter monitors like to
sumarize the current status (features and robustness I suppose). Also,
if anyone has written a standalone bootstrap loader which understands
the 4.3 BSD file system (you know, the equivalent of /boot on Suns) I
am interested. Currently my bootstrap loader is the kernel, but this
hardly seems like a good long term solution. It makes it difficult to
try new kernels for one.

Ian
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
From: cgw@sol.acs.unt.edu (christopher williams)
Subject: Need help with HP28s machine code program
Originator: cgw@sol.acs.unt.edu
Organization: University of North Texas
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 04:05:39 GMT

I wrote a nice looking display hack that uses random characters to
display random patterns on the screen.

The algorithm I used to generate the string of random characters
is too slow, and I've never written a machine code program on 
the HP28s, so I'm wondering if someone could take the RPN code
I have and give me something that does what it does, or at least
similar.

Here's the code:

EW[E559]      (electric wallpaper. :-))
<< WHILE KEY NOT
   REPEAT 8 MKR DUP + 
   1 MKR + DUP + DUP + 
   DUP + 1 MKR + DUP + 
   DUP + ->LCD
   END DROP CLMF
>>

The odd arrangement of "DUP + "'s is to get a string of length 548, 
which is just long enough to cover the whole screen with randomness.

MKR[C48A]     (make random)
<< -> l
    << TM B->R RDZ "" 
        1 l FOR j RAND 255 * CHR + NEXT
    >>
>>
        
TM is part of Stuyevant's(sp) time/date procedures.

What I need is a machine code routine to do the work of MKR:
generate a string of n random characters, n taken from the stack.

If someone could write this, or help me write it, I'd appreciate it.

-cgw-

ps: it's funny what an afternoon of avoiding homework can produce, eh? :-)
i've got some other display hacks, but this is the most interesting one.

--
christopher williams   cgw@unt.edu  +1 817 565 4161  Just a guy
lead programmer/operator, university of north texas  made of dots and lines.
From: jsm@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (John Marvin)
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 23:46:49 GMT
Subject: Re: Armwrist watch with docking station
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds

In comp.sys.handhelds, smburke@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Sean M Burke) writes:

> I think Seiko made a watch exactly like this quite a few years ago.  It was
> very expensive, which is probably why it was discontinued.

I guess it depends on your definition of "very"  expensive. I got mine for 
around $130.00. Seiko made 2 or 3 different models with this capability. Mine
is the RC-4000. I think the others were the RC-1000 and RC-4400, but I am not
sure. These watches had both weekly repeat and scheduled (any time within
the next year) alarms. It also could keep phone numbers and other miscellaneous
information. It had the ability to be connected via RS-232 to a computer for
upload/download.  I much preferred this watch to various Casio models that
did not have the rs-232 capability. The Casio was much easier to enter data
with manually, but it looked very clunky and geekish. The Seiko has just
one button on each side, and three on the front (top).

Seiko has since discontinued the watch(es), but I believe some other company
bought out their existing stock, and is still selling them. I know someone
who has bought the watch from this other company, so I can probably get
this information if someone really wants it.

	John Marvin
	jsm@fc.hp.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
From: geary@cis.ohio-state.edu (Lord High Everything Else)
Subject: I need advice on a TI battery pack
Originator: geary@dorothy.cis.ohio-state.edu
Organization: The Ohio State University Dept of Computer & Information Science
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 16:58:25 GMT


    I got a TI-55 (maybe 57, the lowest programmable one) at a garage
sale a few years ago for $5. The battery pack has recently gone dead
and I'm not really interested in paying $11 for a new one for a $5
calculator. If I could just replace the batteries themselves for $2-3
that might be worth it. However when I opened up the battery pack, I
didn't see any markings on the batteries. So what I'd like to find out
is, can I replace these with standard nickle-cadmium batteries? 

Mark Geary
-- 
    "Build high for happiness."
From: diamant@hpfcbig.SDE.HP.COM (John Diamant)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Armwrist watch with docking station
Date: 15 Apr 92 19:02:17 GMT
Organization: HP SESD, Fort Collins, CO

In comp.sys.handhelds, Rob_Prior@mindlink.bc.ca (Rob Prior) writes:

> One thing to make sure you _don't_ do is use an IR connection to hook the watch
> to a PC.  On the hp48sx, the batteries die _very_ quickly if you use the IR
> port a lot.

Is this true even if the port is not left on for extended periods (if the port
is only used to transmit and receive data and then immediately shut off)?

>  On a watch, where the size is such that you are stuck with the
> small watch batteries powering it, I would think that they would die almost
> instantly... :)

With a serial port, only the transmit side uses a lot of power normally, and
it's unlikely that you'd be transmitting much from the watch to the computer
(most traffic if not all would be the other direction).  With an IR port, I
believe it needs power to receive as well as transmit.

>  Of course, an IR port would still allow the watck to be
> waterproof, unlike an intrusive connection like a serial port...

In fact, the Seiko RC-4000 watch with serial port is billed as water
resistant, though I don't remember the specs.  The port is no more (or
less) intrusive than a button, because it is nothing more than a
two-contact post (just like a metal button, but with an inner core and
an insulator between the inner and outer cores) and the backing plate of
the watch.


John Diamant
Software Engineering Systems Division
Hewlett Packard Co.		ARPA Internet: diamant@fc.sde.hp.com
Fort Collins, CO		UUCP:  {hpfcla,hplabs}!hpfclp!diamant

This response does not represent the official position of, or statement
by, the Hewlett-Packard Company.  The above data is provided for informational
purposes only.  It is supplied without warranty of any kind.
From: Rob_Prior@mindlink.bc.ca (Rob Prior)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Armwrist watch with docking station
Date: 8 Apr 92 17:21:03 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

One thing to make sure you _don't_ do is use an IR connection to hook the watch
to a PC.  On the hp48sx, the batteries die _very_ quickly if you use the IR
port a lot.  On a watch, where the size is such that you are stuck with the
small watch batteries powering it, I would think that they would die almost
instantly... :)  Of course, an IR port would still allow the watck to be
waterproof, unlike an intrusive connection like a serial port...

Rob
--
 _______________________________________________________________
|Rob Prior - President, Still Animation Logo Design, Burnaby, BC|
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|            Mail to: a634@mindlink.uucp                        |
|   ___  _        or: !uunet!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!a634         |
|  /__  /_\    "You must find us.... a shrubbery!!!!!!"         |
|____/ /   \____________________________________________________|
Xref: sparky comp.sys.handhelds:1302 comp.sys.hp48:2727
From: redel@shannon.ee.wits.ac.za (Dean Redelinghuys)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds,comp.sys.hp48
Subject: Re: Bye Bye HP 28S
Date: 14 Apr 92 14:20:15 GMT
Organization: Electrical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand

In <57289@cup.portal.com> sjthomas@cup.portal.com (Stephen J Thomas) writes:

>I haven't seen this mentioned here yet, so . . .
>  
>  According to EduCALC catalog #55, the HP-28S was dropped from HP's
>price list on April 1 .... service & support to continue for 5 yrs
>(as usual).

IT's TRUE!!!!!!!!

Here in South Africa, High Performance Systems (the people who sell HPs
in this country) NO LONGER HAVE ANY!!! Apparently the 48 is the flagship,
which means the 28 is obsolete. Pity, I have an HP28S, and I like the double
keyboard better than the single five-functions-per-key-in-normal-mode-and-
sixteen-billion-others-in-other-modes keyboard (flame away, I will admit
that those who grow up with 48's will find the 28's keyboard obsolete :-)


-- 
Dean Redelinghuys
|------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| Have another day.            |    redel@odie.ee.wits.ac.za.          |
|                              |                                       |
| ``There are no weird people  |  Postgraduate Student                 |
Xref: sparky comp.sys.handhelds:1306 comp.sys.hp48:2744
From: edp@MATH.zko.dec.com (Eric Postpischil)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds,comp.sys.hp48
Subject: Re: Bye Bye HP 28S
Date: 15 Apr 92 12:50:15 GMT
Reply-To: edp@MATH.zko.dec.com (Eric Postpischil)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

In article <redel.703261215@shannon>, redel@shannon.ee.wits.ac.za (Dean
Redelinghuys) writes:

>Pity, I have an HP28S, and I like the double
>keyboard better than the single five-functions-per-key-in-normal-mode-and-
>sixteen-billion-others-in-other-modes keyboard (flame away, I will admit
>that those who grow up with 48's will find the 28's keyboard obsolete :-)

I too preferred the 28-style; I especially like the fact that it does
not need a separate case -- opening it and putting it away are simpler
than with the 48.  However, I must admit that I quickly became familiar
with the 48's keyboard to the extent that I was pressing incorrect keys
when I tried to use the 28 again.


                                -- edp (Eric Postpischil)
                                "Always mount a scratch monkey."
                                edp@alien.enet.dec.com
From: Rob_Prior@mindlink.bc.ca (Rob Prior)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Bye Bye HP 28S
Date: 15 Apr 92 07:32:02 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

I agree that the HP28 series had a nicer keyboard layout than the 48 series has
now... But how many people here think that the 48 should have been constructed
in 'landscape' format as opposed to 'portrait' format?  (ie. like the 11c, 12c,
etc. and not like the 42s, etc.)  something like:

+-----------------------------------------------+
|              +----------------+               |
|              |                |               |
|              |                |               |
| Function     |   Display      | Numeric Key-  |
|  keys here   |                |  pad, */+-,   |
|  (SIN, e^x,  |                |  ENTER, etc.  |
    etc.)      |                |               |
|              +----------------+               |
|               User Menu Keys                  |
+-----------------------------------------------+

... would have been nicer, I think... I've recently started to use an 11c as my
'go-anywhere' calculator, and I think the format is sorely missed.

Rob
--
 _______________________________________________________________
|Rob Prior - President, Still Animation Logo Design, Burnaby, BC|
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|            Mail to: a634@mindlink.uucp                        |
|   ___  _        or: !uunet!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!a634         |
|  /__  /_\    "You must find us.... a shrubbery!!!!!!"         |
|____/ /   \____________________________________________________|
From: everett@hpcvra.cv.hp.com (Everett Kaser)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 16:10:44 GMT
Subject: Re: HP95 PROM card programming?
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, OR, USA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds

smith@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Greg Smith) writes...
>Can someone give me the rundown on methods and costs involved in 
>creating ROM cards of existing software to run on the HP95?

One alternative is to get a PCMCIA compatible card drive for your PC (such as
the Databook Thincard Drive) which is capable of programming RAM, FLASH, and
OTP (One Time Programmable) cards.  At that point, it's as easy to generate
custom "ROM" cards as copying all your files into a sub-directory, and then
running the card-programming program to shove the files onto the FLASH or OTP
card, at which point the card looks just like a ROM card to the HP 95LX.

Prices vary on the the PC drives (I think the Databook drive is in the range
of $400 - $600 somewhere).  I'm not sure what the price is for FLASH or OTP
cards.  Obviously, at some point the (based on volumes) the cost/profit lines
will cross for masked-ROMs vrs. FLASH/OTP's.

** Everett Kaser                   Hewlett-Packard Company
** ...hplabs!hp-pcd!everett        work: (503) 750-3569   Corvallis, Oregon
** everett@hpcvra.cv.hp.com        "Today is a good day for change."
From: REH113@psuvm.psu.edu (Robert Edward Hart)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: casio programs
Date: 11 Apr 92 04:37:19 GMT
Organization: The Undead
X-Subliminal-Message: Memory is Divine Punishment

I have written the following programs for the CASIO 7700G Programmable Calc.

1.  Draw Poker
2.  Blackjack
3.  Mastermind
4.  Towers of Hanoi
5.  Variety of small applications...Newton's Method, factoring, etc.

If you have the calculator, and would like the programs...just send me email
with your address.  Please specify which programs/games you would like.

Bob Hart
reh113@psuvm.psu.edu
rhart@wilbur.psu.edu
rhart@snafu.psu.edu
From: akcs.kenji@hpcvbbs.cv.hp.com (Kenji Fujita)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: HP48 REV E AND PERIPHERALS FOR SALE
Keywords: calc ram rom printer cables
Date: 14 Apr 92 20:40:05 GMT
Article-I.D.: hpcvbbs.29eb3c1f.4496.1comp.sys.handhelds.1

I might be interested in some of the items you listed. Please mail me
here or at fujita1@husc9.harvard.edu or call me at (617)-493-1769
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
From: Martin.Kunze@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de (Martin Kunze)
Subject: ramcards for sell
Organization: University of Oldenburg, Germany
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 19:22:30 GMT

Hy.
I am the developer of a cheap 128KB card.
We have just teated the beta version and it worked well.
But we had no low batt indcator.
Our gamma version is now ready for sell .
It brings to you:
1.) more momory
2.) low batt indicator
3.) compatibility to HP ramcards

Our Price is now lower as before.
Germany: 130DM +p&p  or 90$ +p&p

If you want to order call us ( me or Jens Kayser)
I am:
Martin Kunze
An den Vossbergen 3
2900 Oldenburg
Tel: 0441-42216      or  04421-32657

Jens Kayser
Wolfsweg 29
2900 Oldenburg / Hundsmuehlen
W-Germany

Comming soon :::::
512KB RAMCARD   we think the (HITACHI, SONY , .... ) will offer 512 KB chips
in the end of 1992.
Xref: sparky comp.sys.handhelds:1298 comp.sys.hp48:2694
From: sjthomas@cup.portal.com (Stephen J Thomas)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds,comp.sys.hp48
Subject: Bye Bye HP 28S
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 92 23:59:19 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)

I haven't seen this mentioned here yet, so . . .
  
  According to EduCALC catalog #55, the HP-28S was dropped from HP's
price list on April 1 .... service & support to continue for 5 yrs
(as usual).
  
Stephen J Thomas   sjthomas@cup.portal.com  or akcs.sjthomas@hpcvbbs.cv.hp.co
or  70222.37@compuserve.com
  
"There's only one person as intelligent as me within 30 parsecs of here,
 and that's me!" 
   -- Marvin, the Paranoid Android  -- THHGTTG
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
From: b645zjo@utarlg.uta.edu (Rick Homard)
Subject: HP28S   For Sale
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: The University of Texas at Arlington
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 18:32:00 GMT


I have an HP28S for sale.  The ROM version is 2BB (latest).
The calculator is in perfect condition as are the manuals.
Also included are:
- soft leather case 
- three books 
	"Customizing the HP28S" by Woldek Mier-J
	"Calculus for the HP28S and HP48SX"
	Vectors and Matrices Step by Step solution manual"
- 3.5" disk of programs downloaded from various FTP sites.
- extra set of N-cell batteries 

I would like $110 for everything (which includes shipping).
You can either respond via email or posting.  Email is preferred.

Regards,
Rick Homard
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds

>> ylisp : I get an error for DEFVAR (error: unbound function - DEFVAR).
>> This happens when I load object.lsp then graphics.lsp

In the initial posting of the ylisp95.zip there was ONE FILE missing
(ylisp.lsp). ylisp.lsp contains some LISP language extensions (like defvar).

I've sent an update of ylisp95.zip to Thierry, but I don't know if it ever
got installed since the ftp archive moved.

Since this file is the only update to ylisp95.zip you can also get it from a
response to my original posting.

In case you want to try ylisp again, make sure ylisp.lsp is loaded (just
put it into the directory where you installed ylisp.exe).

Regards, Peter

Xref: sparky comp.sys.handhelds:1276 comp.sys.palmtops:1544
From: cgw@sol.acs.unt.edu (christopher williams)
Subject: Sharp EL-5520
Originator: cgw@sol.acs.unt.edu
Organization: University of North Texas
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 03:47:01 GMT

I bought a Sharp EL-5520 this weekend at a computer swap meet (for $5 :-)),
and I was wondering if Sharp still makes the cassette/printer or cassette
interfaces for this handheld. Educalc has (in Catalog #52, the one
with the HP95lx on the cover), on page 34, a cassette interface, model
#CE124. Will this work with an EL-5520? Of course, I'd much rather have
a printer/cassette interface...

Also, do they still make RAM cards for the it? I've only got 4k RAM
right now... can't wait till I can get _16k_ ;-)

thanks,
-cgw-

--
christopher williams   cgw@unt.edu  +1 817 565 4161  Just a guy
lead programmer/operator, university of north texas  made of dots and lines.
From: jp07@gte.com (James Paschetto)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Wizard as a Mac terminal???
Keywords: Sharp Wizard
Date: 10 Apr 92 21:55:40 GMT
Organization: GTE Laboratories Incorporated, Waltham MA

Is it possible to use a Wizard as a dumb terminal, doing I/O to a Mac?
I'd like to skip the modem on each machine and just use a serial connection.
My aim is to run a HyperCard app on the Mac that will be controlled by
inputs coming in the serial port from the Wizard, and send response strings
to the Wiz from the Mac.

Has anyone out there done this sort of thing?  Do you just need the Sharp
Mac Link rig and use the Wiz in Terminal mode???  The Wiz manual is not
very clear about it.  Any help would be appreciated.
-- Jim
   jp07@gte.com
Xref: sparky comp.sys.handhelds:1296 comp.sys.palmtops:1564
From: agserve@ukmug.uk.mugnet.org (AgendA Mail Server)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds,comp.sys.palmtops
Subject: AgendA ABC Compiler Upgrade
Keywords: AgendA ABC
Date: 11 Apr 92 10:49:12 GMT
Organization: MUGNET UK Backbone (UKMUG)


   Apr 11th
   --------
   The ABC coompiler has had, not so much a bug as, a partial implementation
   of the conditional compilation mechanism enhanced.  Where a constant
   variable is used as the whole expression in the condition in an IF
   statement, the optimiser now correctly detects this and eliminates the
   redundant test and code arm.  This bug was intialli reported by Nick Day.

      CONSTANT dbg = 0
      IF dbg THEN ... ELSE ...

   This can be fetched from the AgendA Mail-Server by a simply message:

	send abc/abas.exe

   sent to the mail-server address:

	agserve@ukmug.uk.mugnet.org
From: peer@hpbbrd.bbn.hp.com (Peter Ernst)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 07:08:47 GMT
Subject: Re: ylisp, freyja 1.3, diet, DC95
Organization: HP Mechanical Design Division
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds

>> ylisp : I get an error for DEFVAR (error: unbound function - DEFVAR).
>> This happens when I load object.lsp then graphics.lsp

In the initial posting of the ylisp95.zip there was ONE FILE missing
(ylisp.lsp). ylisp.lsp contains some LISP language extensions (like defvar).

I've sent an update of ylisp95.zip to Thierry, but I don't know if it ever
got installed since the ftp archive moved.

Since this file is the only update to ylisp95.zip you can also get it from a
response to my original posting.

In case you want to try ylisp again, make sure ylisp.lsp is loaded (just
put it into the directory where you installed ylisp.exe).

Regards, Peter

PS: Be also aware of some undocumented order dependencies; When you want
    to use graphics.lsp, you have to load object.lsp and vector.lsp first
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds