HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: nevin@dtint.dtint.com
Subject: Re: 40MHz NeXTs?
Reply-To: nevin@dtint.dtint.com
Organization: Digital Technology, International
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 92 17:05:24 GMT

In article <1992Oct2.234927.14466@muddcs.claremont.edu>  
wfp@jupiter.claremont.edu (W. Frank Price III) writes:
> In article <1992Oct2.154830.26459@leland.Stanford.EDU> m@crito.stanford.edu  
(M  
> Carling) writes:
> > In article <1992Oct1.215859.28568@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>  
> > perkins@spot.Colorado.EDU (PERKINS TYLER R) writes:
> > > I sure don't want to spread misinformation, but I heard a rumour that
> > > NeXT will be comming out with a 40MHz NeXTStation sometime in October.
> > 
> > It's not true.
> > 
> > M Carling
> > Director, Bay Area NeXT Group
> > General Manager, NetForce Inc.
> 
> Could you be a little more precise?  I don't want to make an entire  
purchasing  
> decision based on one guy on the net saying it aint so.  I can wait a month  
to  
> buy my next NeXT, so if they are bringing a 40 MHZ one out I'd like to know.   
> And can I quote you? ;)
> 
> -- Frank
> __________________________________________________________________________
> Frank Price               | wprice@pomona.claremont.edu
>                           | "Nothing crashes like a Macintosh."
> NeXTMail appreciated      |      - Guy Kawasaki

While nobody is every 100% perfect, M Carling has been right on the money with  
good, accurate information so many times, that I would hesitate to ever  
disagree with him.  This is very refreshing considering the level of inaccurate  
information that exists in these groups.

Because of his position as the director of one of the largest NeXT user groups,  
I don't think it surprising to think that NeXT might key him in on priviledged  
information from time-to-time.  However, he is probably under non-disclosure.

I, too, would like to know more.  But I won't be upset if it is not  
volunteered.

Thanks, M Carling, for your net presence, and your good info.


--
NeXTmail preferred!
-- 
---
root	                               root@dtint.dtint.com
Digital Technology Int.                (801)226-2984	
500 W. 1200 South, Orem UT, 84057      FAX (801) 226-8438
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: ice@socrates.umd.edu (Fredrik Nyman)
Subject: NeXTdimension -- Why so pricey?
Organization: University of Maryland University College
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 23:16:57 GMT

I've been lusting for a NeXTdimension ever since I got my NeXTcube
a year and a half ago.  However, at ~$5,000 retail then and now,
it has stayed well beyond my financial reach.

Out of curiosity, I've been comparing the NeXTdimension's capabilities
with those of various PC and Mac boards.  It probably won't surprise
anyone, but the NeXTdimension is *quite* a bit more expensive than
anything for the PC or Mac.  Basic true-color boards for Mac and PC
wtart at about $300.  While they lack an i860, they usually have some
kind of graphics processor on-board.  A high-end board that can do
true color at megapixel resolution costs about $1,000.  For video, a
board like the VideoSpigot for Mac seems to have pretty much the same
capabilities as the NeXtdimension board.

So, why are NeXTdimension boards still ~$5,000 even though they don't
even contain all the wonderful stuff that was promised, such as
on-board JPEG compression?  Are i860s really *that* expensive?  Are
there any really fancy things on the ND board that drive up the price?

Thanks,
Fredrik
From: gr1c+@andrew.cmu.edu (Greg Howard Rhodes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: Re: Nitro
Date: 5 Oct 92 03:40:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.Yeo2b3C00WB3MFL1py
Organization: Senior, Physics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Jason C. Breckenridge (jake) writes:
>From article <1anj1tINNkjg@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, by rhino@r2d2.eeap.cwru.edu (Rhino Pr\
>oject):
>> In article <1992Oct4.190419.19772@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> coco@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (felix\
>.lugo) writes:
>>>In article <1992Oct4.133355.861@next.cambridge.ma.us> simsong@next.cambridge.ma.us w\
>rites:
>>>>
>[stuff deleted]
>>>--Felix
>>>
>> 
>> ADB compatibility is good because it allows NeXT users to use alot
>> of Macintosh products which are generally cheaper. If NeXT stuck 
>> with their non-standard keyboard architecture it would have been
>> awhile before we see graphics tablets and all the other great
>> input devices that have appeared on the macintosh.
>> CW
>>
>Does this mean we can get REAL Dvorak keyboards?  I don't know if any exist
>for the mac, but there has got to be a higher  probability on the mac.
>
>
>> -- 
>> Carlin E. Wiegner              | rhino@eeap.cwru.edu
>> Triumvirate Industries, Inc.   | aj681@cleveland.freenet.edu
>
>
>jake
>
>--
>Jason C. Breckenridge                           jake@skatter.usask.ca

Not to mention chording keyboards! ADB would be a good move. If
anything, I know what trackball I'd buy in a second...(I think it's
called the stingray...it's black...need I say more?)

Greg
From: bd053@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Joseph C. Wynn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: looking for a 35mm slide maker!!!
Date: 1 Oct 1992 03:30:19 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: bd053@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Joseph C. Wynn)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu


I am wondering if anyone could help me find some hardware that I can hook up 
to the NeXT to produce 35mm slides.  I know that there is an application called 
Slides and it is made by a U.K. company called Pixelution Limited.  They say 
something about an Agfa Matrix QCR.  Does anyone know where I can get info 
on either the Agfa or anything else that would do the job?

Thanks,

Joe Wynn
Duquesne University Computer Center
From: billabs@nic.cerf.net (Bill Romanowski)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: Nitro
Summary: Nitro Schmitro..
Keywords: nitro
Date: 2 Oct 92 04:46:38 GMT
Organization: CERFnet

Well I might as well be the first to initiate a useless
thread about the maybe new, maybe not "nitro" box.

So here we go...

I suspect that you could barely feel the diff in speed
from 33 to 40Mhz (if at all). I suspect the motivation is
more marketing glycerin than engineering nitro.

bill romanowski
vp of taking the garbage out on thursday before the truck gets here
prairie research
From: bohlkejh@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: Re: V.32bis modem on NeXT serial port slow...
Date: 29 Sep 92 15:45:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.1992Sep29.154555.20768
Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology


In article <1992Sep29.015608.6090@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> coco@cbnewsl.cb.att.com  
(felix.lugo) writes:
> 	Gee, you achieved 50Kbps even though your port was set at 38.4Kbps!
> 8^O
> 
> I've had a ZyXEL U1496 (the LCD model) and the throughput display has always
> topped at around 35-38Kbps.  Check your numbers, what you're saying is not
> possible!!!.  8^)
> 
> --Felix

I was looking at average bps on a rz session and it was > 50kbps.

Jon
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: spagiola@frinext.stanford.edu (Stefano Pagiola)
Subject: Re: Yet another confirmation of the demise of the '040 cube (was: Re: keyboard/mouse question)
Reply-To: spagiola@frinext.stanford.edu
Organization: DSO, Stanford University
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 22:34:57 GMT

J.B. Nicholson-Owens writes
> A NeXT announcement states:
> > Because of the advantages of the new ADB keyboard and mouse,
> > NeXT has decided to support this system enhancement across
> > the entire product family.  The NeXTstation, NeXTstation Turbo,
> > NeXTstation Color, NeXTcube Turbo systems along with the
> > NeXTstation Color Turbo system are now fully compatible
> > with NeXT's new ADB Keyboard and Mouse. 
> 
> I notice how NeXTcube non-turbo '040 machines are conviently
> left off the list of both being a part of the "entire product
> family" and being able to use ADB products.

Since the Cube is supposed to be the high-end system, why would you  
make a non-Turbo cube?  

> Is there going to be a method by which '040 NeXTcube owners with  
> original MegaPixel monitors and 2nd generation keyboards ...
> can use this ADB connectivity?

Doesn't sound like it.  But then it also doesn't sound like owners of  
older slabs (including older Turbo slabs) can use it either.  My  
understanding is that all _new_ systems will now come with the new  
keyboard, but that it cannot be retrofitted to existing systems.  Of  
course, I wouldn't mind if someone told me I was wrong.

--
-
Stefano Pagiola
Food Research Institute, Stanford University
spagiola@frinext.stanford.edu (NeXTMail encouraged)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: jscoggin@netcom.com (Jerry Scoggins)
Subject: Re: > 9600 bps
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 08:51:14 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

vhs@rhein-main.de sayz:
>In article <1992Sep23.064108.7652@unixg.ubc.ca> besler@geop.ubc.ca (Steve  
>Besler) writes:
>> 
>> 
>> 	I seem to remember from somewhere that NeXT serial ports can
>> not exceed 9600 bps.  Is this true?
>> 
>> 	Just wondering...
>> 
>> 	Steve Besler
>
>Wrong. I've been running kermit at 19.200bps for a year or so (on 2.1,
>obviously). I did have to hack kermit a *very* little to insert EXTA for
>19200bps and EXTB for 38400bps (which doesn't seem to work quite reliably).
>These values are defined in /usr/include/sys/ttydev.h
>Since they're non-UNIX-standard, they are not generally used.
>
>--
>Volker Herminghaus-Shirai (vhs@rhein-main.de)

Well, how about a little story...

I have a TurboColor running System 2.2   I use the SupraFax 14.4K with the 
hardware handshaking cable.  I originally had problems with IComm and 
TIP talking reliable at 38K.  I received transmit and receive errors on my 
modem with lousy recovery.  However, I had a temporary fix:  renice  
Yep, it worked.  Just giving it a higher priority was enough to get the data
when it interrupted.

However, I've upgraded my system RAM from 16Megs to 32Megs.  Now that my 
machine isn't having to swap/page memory, it doesn't miss those interrupts 
for the serial line.  Everything is peachy now.  :-)

++jerry(); // jscoggin@netcom.netcom.com
From: don@b62178.STUDENT.CWRU.Edu (Donald J. Siegel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: WANTED:   NeXT Null-Modem Cable (MiniDIN-8 to DB-25)
Date: 28 Sep 1992 22:27:14 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: b62178.student.cwru.edu

I'm looking for a NeXT Null-Modem Cable (MiniDIN-8 to DB-25) to connect a  
NeXTstation to an Apple Personal LaserWriter NTR.  When last I called,  
NeXT Connection had none avialable.  (I'm willing to cover all expenses  
involved in transport.)

Thanks,

Don Siegel
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: soward@slow.inslab.uky.edu (John Soward)
Subject: Re: Please tell me how to make a Mac Floppy automount...
Reply-To: soward@slow.inslab.uky.edu (John Soward)
Organization: University Of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 18:34:21 GMT

Nate Sammons writes
-> Please tell me how to make a Mac Floppy automount...
-> 
-> 
-> Todd,
-> 
-> in /usr/filesystems there should be a directory called mac.fs
-> 
-> Executor sometimes (usually) renames it to mac.fs.SAVE (or something
-> close to that) and put in another directory called macintosh.fs (or
-> something)...  to get mac floppies to mount, just remove the macintosh.fs 
-> dir and rename mac.fs.SAVE to mac.fs (you have to do this as su root)
-> 
-> this actually works, and I have not had any further problems mounting
-> Mac floppies after this.

I have only mac.fs and CDROM.fs and DOS.fs, but alas still can't seem to  
automount a mac floppy?
--
    ________________________________________________________________________
   /   'The midnight sun will burn you up" -The Cure, Piggy in the Mirror  /
  /         soward@ms.uky.edu | soward@inslab.uky.edu (NeXT Mail)         /
 /_______________________________________________________________________/
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: bmehlman@trirex.com(Ben Mehlman)
Subject: Re: Nitro
Reply-To: bmehlman@trirex.com
Organization: Trirex Systems Inc.
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 17:50:58 GMT

In article <1992Oct4.133355.861@next.cambridge.ma.us>  
simsong@next.cambridge.ma.us (Simson L. Garfinkel) writes:
> I don't know where you guys are getting this "Nitro" name from.

It's the name that at least one of the NeXT sales force is using to  
identify the machine.  Whether the name originated at NeXT or in the rumor  
mill is academic at this point (although I'd be curoius to know what NeXT  
DOES intend to call the machine upon release)...

The increase from 33 Mhz to 40 Mhz (apporx 20%): I agree it is not a big  
breakthrough.  But it will zip up performance a bit, putting a better face  
on the NeXT as it comes under the glare of publicity from those who may  
not judge the technology as fairly as we do.  For the same (marketing)  
reasons, 40 Mhz is much better than 33.  The average Mr. MIS sees 40 Mhz  
as hot stuff, 33 as old technology.  Forget electronics here.  Since when  
did marketing and reality have anything in common.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
    \|/        Ben Mehlman                      Indigo..
   ^   ^       Trirex Systems Inc      
   #   #       bmehlman@trirex.com                   Indigoing..
     @
   \___/       >NeXTMail Welcome<                           Indigone.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: glen@forestburg.cs.ualberta.ca (Glen Armstrong)
Subject: Re: Help! Exception 3 on power up.
Organization: /usr/forestburg/prof/glen/.organization
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 01:37:18 GMT

In article <GLEN.92Sep30175556@forestburg.cs.ualberta.ca> glen@forestburg.cs.ualberta.ca (Glen Armstrong) writes:

   I just installed 3.0 on my 25 MHz slab.  Things seem to be working ok, except
   that on power-up, I get the following message in the ROM Monitor

     Exception #3 (0xc) at 0x10002aa


Oops.  It turns out that I changed something with the ROM Monitor that 
I shouldn't have. Sorry.

--glen
From: dillon@overload.Berkeley.CA.US (Matthew Dillon)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: Re:  DSP chips are NOT dinosaurs
Distribution: world
Date: 2 Oct 92 11:29:21 PST
Organization: Not an Organization

>In article <1992Oct1.192347.17114@netcom.com> abell@netcom.com (Steven T. Abell) writes:
>>louie@sayshell.umd.edu (Louis A. Mamakos) writes:
>>> Serial ports don't have to interrupt on every character.  If there
>>> were a moderately intelligent serial controller, plus DMA support for
>>> the I/O transfers, then things could be quite zippy, thank you.
>>
>>The validity of this line of thinking depends on what you're doing.

    There are plenty of serial chips out there that take the pressure off
    the CPU that are not DMA, NeXT simply isn't using them (probably for
    cost reasons).

    For example, the signetics (now phillips) 26/68C94 is quad-uart with 8
    character transmit and 8 character receive FIFO's.  You can set the
    fill level for the receive FIFO before getting an interrupt and the
    chip has a dedicated watchdog timer for each channel to handle tail
    ends of data streams.  The chip also has a really wonderful interrupt
    subsystem.	You can do similar tricks with the transmit FIFO.  We can
    do 78.6 Kbps on one channel and 19.2 Kbps on the other three channels
    simultaniously in both directions with a 68HC000 based board running at
    10MHz.

    There really is no reason why NeXT can't go fast with their two serial
    ports, it's basically a matter of rewriting the serial interrupt to not
    go through umpteen layers of device drivers from INSIDE the interrupt,
    and to not disable processor interrupts for long periods of time in
    other parts of the kernel.

					-Matt

>Steve abell@netcom.com

--

    Matthew Dillon		dillon@Overload.Berkeley.CA.US
    1005 Apollo Way		uunet.uu.net!overload!dillon
    Incline Village, NV. 89451	ham: KC6LVW (no mail drop)
    USA 			Sandel-Avery Engineering (702)831-8000

Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: jeffo@uiuc.edu (J.B. Nicholson-Owens)
Subject: Yet another confirmation of the demise of the '040 cube (was: Re: keyboard/mouse question)
Reply-To: jeffo@uiuc.edu (J.B. Nicholson-Owens)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 21:29:15 GMT

A NeXT announcement states:
> Because of the advantages of the new ADB keyboard and mouse, NeXT has decided
> to support this system enhancement across the entire product family.  The
> NeXTstation, NeXTstation Turbo, NeXTstation Color, NeXTcube Turbo systems
> along with the NeXTstation Color Turbo system are now fully compatible with 
> NeXT's new ADB Keyboard and Mouse. 

I notice how NeXTcube non-turbo '040 machines are conviently left off the list  
of both being a part of the "entire product family" and being able to use ADB  
products.  Is there going to be a method by which '040 NeXTcube owners with  
original MegaPixel monitors and 2nd generation keyboards (not the ones shipped  
with the first NeXTs in existence, and not the most recent ADB keyboards, the  
ones that have the UNIX keys in a bad place for UNIX people) can use this ADB  
connectivity?
-- 
-- Jeff (jeffo@uiuc.edu)
-- NeXTmail ok
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: hybowie@sunvis2.vislab.olemiss.edu (Randy Bowie)
Subject: RE:  NeXTdimension -- Why so pricey?
Organization: Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 00:57:08 GMT

Well, my guess is this:  (only a guess)
i860's ain't expensive, so that ain't it.
you'd be hardpressed to find a similar board for a PC, if it had a processor that could do the graphics as quickly as an 860, and i didn't find many cheap boards that did decent SVHS output and fewer that could do PAL.  The I/O throughput on a NeXTDimension is usually better than on a PC or Mac.
and with a nice educational discount... sweet deal.


That Silly guy again,
Reagen B. Ward
(ward@hydra.cche.olemiss.edu... PLEASE don't reply directly.)

Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: rmcghee@fnma.com(Rich McGhee)
Subject: High Availability for NeXTs
Reply-To: rmcghee@fnma.com
Organization: Fannie Mae
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 21:00:10 GMT

Has anybody spent anytime thinking about or working on a High Availability  
solution for NeXT machines?  That is, redundant disk drives, two machines  
that switch over when one goes down?  Any ideas?

--
Rich McGhee
Federal National Mortgage Association
3900 Wisconsin Avenue, 4S-2H
Washington DC 20016
NeXTMail: rmcghee@fnma.COM
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: jscoggin@netcom.com (Jerry Scoggins)
Subject: Re: using /dev/cufa with Supra
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 08:24:10 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

dillon@overload.Berkeley.CA.US (Matthew Dillon) sayz:
>>In article <cekrHWm00VomI3qkMd@andrew.cmu.edu> ja2f+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jinmo Ahn) writes:
>>
>>I've narrowed my modem problems down further.
>>
>>It turns out all of my problems with tip, cu and kermit magically went
>>away when I switch to the /dev/cua (instead of /dev/cufa).

I use /dev/cufa with a SupraFax 14.4K with hard-ware handshaking cable.
If the suggestion below from the other person doesn't solve it, reply and 
I'll do a dump of my modem registers.  Here are the relevant lines from 
my /etc/remote

netcom|Dial-out on cua at 38400 baud:\
        :dv=/dev/cufa:br#38400:el=^C^S^Q^U^D:ie=%$:oe=^D:pn=2419760:pa=none:


>>So, everything is honky-dory when I'm using /dev/cua.  But, when I'm
>>using /dev/cufa, modem doesn't even recognize the terminal (the RD and
>>SD lights don't light up).  I also can't exit out of the kermit term by
>>typing the escape charater (^] followed by a c).  This hung kermit
>>process won't even go away with a kill -9.
>>
>>Only way I can kill this process is either by rebooting the machine or
>>by unplugging the cable.  I do have hardware flow control modem cable.
>>
>>This is really wierd.. anyone have a clue?
>>
>>Jinmo
>
>    Yes, check to make sure that the Supra is asserting CTS, both in
>    command mode and when carrier is detected.	Also make sure that the
>    Supra drops carrier when DTR goes away (and asserts CTS).
>
>    The problem is that /dev/cuf* requires CTS to be asserted (positive
>    voltage) not only to be able to send data, but also apparently in order
>    to disconnect.
>
>    The similar situation I was in:  I was TIPing to some hardware I'm
>    working on (that has a serial port) and the DIN->DB9 converter wasn't
>    passing CTS back.  When I manually wired CTS I was able to disconnect.
>    Note that my cable was setup to loopback the NeXT's DTR into it's DCD,
>    thus simulating a modem.
>
>					-Matt
>
>>jim+@cmu.edu
>
>    Matthew Dillon		dillon@Overload.Berkeley.CA.US

++jerry(); // jscoggin@netcom.netcom.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
From: bwilliam@iat.holonet.net (Bill Williams)
Subject: Re: How to use apple cd-rom drive?
Organization: HoloNet (BBS: 510-704-1058)
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 06:33:51 GMT

If you just want to temporarily (until SCSI bus reset, or powerdown) alter
the Sony 8002 CD-ROM device to enter a 512 or 1024 byte logical byte block
transfer mode you could do it via a simple program utilizing the generic
SCSI driver. The program would merely have to do a mode sense command "1A"
with 0 pages selected and then alter the bytes in near location 8 of the
returned data from a value of 800h to 200h. This data is then rewritten
using the SCSI command MODE SELECT (15h). At this point, assuming a CD-ROM
medium was inserted the device is fully addressable as a 512 byte device
(useful for some purposes, such as Mac HFS)

This is merley conjecture, since I haven't done this on a NeXT before, but
have done it on other computers.

Bill Williams
From: sasha1@cats.ucsc.edu (Lars Elias Pave)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: Which CD Players Work?
Date: 28 Sep 1992 07:22:18 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: si.ucsc.edu


 
                                                                                
        I remember seeing the question, but not the answer (I checked the FAQs) 
Any information, and experiences would be most helpful on which CD players      
work with the NeXT.                                                             
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                Thanks in advance,              
                                                                                
                                                Sasha Pave                      
                                                                                
                                                "computers of color"            
                                                                                
                                                                                
*I can summarize by request.
From: gr1c+@andrew.cmu.edu (Greg Howard Rhodes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.hardware
Subject: The new mouse
Date: 30 Sep 92 11:09:43 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.semThrO00WB44AoG1V
Organization: Senior, Physics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Sorry if this is old news, but I was playing around with a 3.0
machine here at school and I saw that one of the help files had a
picture of a mouse. It was weird. Kinda cool, though. Round like a DEC
mouse, but a bit smaller and with buttons that can not be explained
well. I think it looks pretty good--any other comments?

Greg Rhodes                             gr1c@andrew.cmu.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...I could not avoid seeing, clear before my eyes...the image of the girl,
beautiful and terrible as an army arrayed for battle." -- Umberto Eco, TNOTR.