ÏMNI 128 ÏVERVIEW - ÕPDATED 20TH OF ÆEBRUARY, 1996
ÏMNI 128 ÃOLOR ÂULLETIN ÂOARD ÓYSTEM (C) IS A COMPLETE ONLINE DATA
STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL PROGRAM WRITTEN FOR THE ÃOMMODORE 128 ÐERSONAL
ÃOMPUTER. ÉT IS DESIGNED TO HOST ALL CALLING COMPUTER TYPES, WHETHER
ÁÎÓÉ, ÁÓÃÉÉ, OR ÃOMMODORE (C) ÃOLOR ÇRAPHICS, USING 40 OR 80 COLUMNS
SCREEN WIDTH. ÔHE BUILT IN OPERATING SYSTEM ALLOWS EASY PROGRAMMING OF
SIMPLE OR HIGHLY ADVANCED SPECIAL APPLICATIONS THAT A SYSOP (SYSTEM
OPERATOR) MIGHT WANT OR REQUIRE, USING THE POWERFUL ÃOMMODORE ÂÁÓÉÃ 7
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE, AND THE BUILT IN MACHINE LANGUAGE SUBROUTINES.
ÔHE COMPLETE SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY COMPRISED OF OVER 100 PROGRAM MODULES
THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR USE ÏÎ OR OFFLINE BY THE SYSOP OR CALLERS. Á
'ÎETWORKING' MODULE ALLOWS AUTOMATIC COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOUR ÂÂÓ
AND OTHERS WHO WISH TO EXCHANGE ELECTRONIC MAIL OR BULLETINS WITH YOU.
ÎETWORKING CAN BE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN YOUR ÏMNI SYSTEM AND
NETWORK-COMPATABLE ÃOLOR 64 (C) ÂÂÓ'S, OR OTHER ÏMNI 128 ÓYSTEMS (WITH
EXTENDED FEATURES). Á UNIQUE 'BATCH FILE' COMMAND IS AVAILABLE WHICH
ALLOWS AN ÏMNI SYSOP TO AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFER FILES TO ANY OTHER ÏMNI
SYSTEM. 'ÏMNI-ÌINK' IS INCLUDED FREE WITH THE ÂÂÓ.
ÔHERE IS ALSO AN EXTENSION OF THE NETWORKING SYSTEM NOW IN PLACE WHICH
IS CALLED "ÅCHONET". ÔHIS SET OF PROGRAMS ALLOWS ANY SYSTEM TO
PARTICIPATE IN A SELECTED GROUP OF PUBLIC MESSAGE BASES WHICH ARE
CARRIED ON ANY NUMBER OF OTHER ÏMNI SYSTEMS.
ÔHESE "ECHOED" MESSAGE BASE AREAS AUTOMATICALLY ADJUST AND UPDATE
THEMSELVES TO CONTAIN THE SAME NEW MESSAGES AS APPEAR ON ALL OTHER
SYSTEMS.
ÉN THESE TIMES OF DECLINING ÃOMMODORE ACTIVITY IN MOST AREAS, THIS
TYPE OF NETWORK ALLOWS ANY SYSOP -ÅÖÅÎ ONE WITHOUT CALLERS- TO HAVE
PLENTY OF ACTIVITY CONSISTING OF THE LATEST NEWS AND DISCUSSIONS OF
ALL TYPES. Á SYSOP CAN ALSO SET THEIR ÂÂÓ UP AS A "POINT" WITHOUT
USING AN INCOMING PHONE LINE AT ALL, AND HAVE IT OPERATE AS THEIR OWN
PERSONAL OFFLINE ÅCHONET READER! ÔHE SYSOP AND/OR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSIONS GOING ON BETWEEN PEOPLE IN WIDELY
SEPARATED AREAS.
ÕPDATES FOR THE ÂÂÓ ARE AVAILABLE EITHER ONLINE, VIA THE ÅCHONET, Õ.Ó.
ÍAIL, OR DIRECT TO YOUR OWN INTERNET MAILBOX (IF YOU HAVE ONE).
ÔHE SYSOP OPTIONS ON ÏMNI ARE EXTREMELY FLEXIBLE AND CAN RIVAL OR
SURPASS THOSE OF OTHER ÂÂÓES, REGARDLESS OF COMPUTER TYPE. ÅACH CALLER
CAN AUTOMATICALLY OR MANUALLY BE GIVEN ONE OF TEN CUSTOMIZED 'GENERAL'
ACCESS LEVELS, WHICH DEFINES SAID CALLERS ABILITY TO ACCESS UP TO 120
SEPARATE ÂÂÓ AREAS (SUCH AS MESSAGE BASE AREA #4, E-MAIL, TRANSFER
AREA #14, ETC). ÃURRENTLY, 91 OF THESE ARE IN USE. ÔHE REMAINING OFFER
ROOM FOR EXPANSION, AS THEY ARE NEEDED. ÉNDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS CAN ALSO
BE TAILORED TO ANY COMBINATION OF THESE 120 AREAS, IN EFFECT GIVING
YOU 14,400 POSSIBLE ACCESS LEVELS. ÉN ACTUAL PRACTICE, YOU WOULD MOST
LIKELY ONLY DESIRE OR REQUIRE ONE OF THE TEN CUSTOMIZED GENERAL ACCESS
LEVELS WHEN VALIDATING NEW CALLERS.
ÏTHER UNIQUE FEATURES OF INTEREST TO THE ÓYSTEM ÏPERATOR OR ÃALLER...
- ÖIRTUAL ÍEMORY ÅDITOR -
Á SYSTEM TEXT EDITOR WHICH CAN HOLD OVER 43,000 BYTES OF TEXT IS
AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR THE SYSOP.
- ÚMODEM ÂATCH ÒECEIVE -
ÏMNI 128 IS THE FIRST ÃOMMODORE 128 PROGRAM TO IMPLEMENT A ÚMODEM
BATCH RECEIVE OPTION. ÁLTHOUGH NOT ALL THE FEATURES OF ÚMODEM ARE
CURRENTLY SUPPORTED (NO RESUME FUNCTION YET) IT IS PERFECTLY
FUNCTIONAL, AND PROVIDES A WAY FOR ÁMIGA, ÐÃ OR OTHER ÚMODEM CAPABLE
COMPUTERS TO SEND MULTIPLE FILES TO YOUR ÂÂÓ. ÔHIS CAPABILITY
PERFECTLY COMPLIMENTS ÏMNI'S OTHER FIRST -
- ÙMODEM-G -
ÏMNI IS THE FIRST 128 ÂÂÓ TO SUPPORT ÙMODEM-G FOR DOWNLOADING, A
PROTOCOL WHICH IS ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE THE FASTEST TYPE OF STREAMING
PROTOCOL. ÔHIS WORKS WITH MOST TERMINALS TESTED, INCLUDING ÊÒÃOMM,
ÂAUDÂANDIT, AND ÔERMINUS FOR ÁMIGA, AND ÐROÃOMM, ÔELIX, AND Ñ-ÍODEM
FOR ÉÂÍ.
- ÈIGH ÓPEED ÍODEM ÓUPPORT -
ÔHE NEWEST VERSION OF ÏMNI SUPPORTS UP TO 38,400 BPS TEXT TRANSFER
RATES VIA THE ÓWIFTÌINK-232 SERIAL CARTRIDGE, OR UP TO 9600 BPS
THROUGH SOFTWARE. ÓWIFTÌINK-232 IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR HIGH SPEED
OPERATION.
- ÈUGE ÍESSAGE ÂASE ÃAPACITY -
ÏMNI SUPPORTS UP TO 20 ROOT AREA MESSAGE BASES, WITH THOUSANDS OF
BRANCHES CALLED "LATTICES". Á TOTAL OF 990,001 SEPARATE SUB-BOARDS
COULD THEORETICALLY BE CREATED, HOLDING UP TO 99,000,100 SEPARATE
POSTS, EACH WITH UNLIMITED RESPONSES.
- ÅXTERNAL ÐROGRAM ÃAPABILITY -
ÉN ADDITION TO RUNNING MODULES DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SYSTEM,
ÏMNI CAN AUTOMATICALLY CALL OFFLINE PROGRAMS WRITTEN IN ÂÁÓÉÃ 7,
EITHER COMPILED WITH ÂÁÓÉÃ 128 OR PLAIN ÂÁÓÉÃ, AND EVEN ÃÓ-ÄÏÓ
AUTO-EXEC SCRIPTS. ÔHESE PROGRAMS RUN OFFLINE, AND THE ÂÂÓ CAN BE
CALLED AUTOMATICALLY AFTER THEY ARE FINISHED. ÔHIS OPENS UP A LOT OF
POSSIBILITIES FOR BEGINNING AND ADVANCED PROGRAMMERS ALIKE, WHO WANT
SPECIAL THINGS DONE AT MIDNIGHT, FOR INSTANCE. ÏFFLINE PROGRAMS CAN BE
RUN AT ANY TIME OR DATE, DETERMINED IN ADVANCE BY THE OPERATOR. ÎO
HUMAN INTERVENTION IS REQUIRED ONE THIS IS SET-UP.
- ÖIDEO ÍODE ÃONTROL -
ÁLLOWS LOCAL SCREEN PRINTING TO BE DISABLED FOR MAXIMUM MODEM
INPUT/OUTPUT SPEED.
- 40 ÃOLUMN ÒÇÂ -
ÌETS YOU SELECT A VERY VIVID 40 COLUMN DISPLAY ON THE 80 COLUMN
SCREEN. ÅSPECIALLY USEFUL FOR CREATING AND EXAMINING 40 COLUMN COLOR
GRAPHICS.
- ÓCREEN ÃAPTURE -
ÉN THE SYSTEM TERMINAL, AND SOME OTHER PROGRAMS, AN INTELLIGENT 80
ÃOLUMN ÆÕÌÌ ÓÃÒÅÅÎ CAPTURE OPTION IS AVAILABLE, ALLOWING THE MOST
EFFICIENT METHOD OF SAVING A SCREEN OF TEXT ÏÒ ÃOMMODORE ÃOLOR
ÇRAPHICS BEING VIEWED, TO DISK. ÔHE FILE PRODUCED IS VERY COMPACT,
WITHOUT LOSING ANY OF THE COLOR CHANGES OR SPECIAL 80 COLUMN CONTROL
CODES (FLASHING, UNDERLINE, ETC). ÅSPECIALLY USEFUL FOR 'FREEZING' ÂÂÓ
LOGON SCREENS OR OTHER TEXT OR GRAPHICS.
- ÐRINT ÓPOOLER -
ÁLLOWS CONTINUOUS SIMULTANEOUS PRINTING OF WHATEVER YOU ARE SEEING
ON-SCREEN, IN EITHER ÃOMMODORE GRAPHICS MODE OR ÆILTERED ÁSCII MODE.
ÕSEFUL FOR MAKING HARDCOPY OF ALMOST ANYTHING! ÏNE AREA OF THE ÂÂÓ
REQUIRES AN EXTRA COMMAND BEFORE SPOOLING CAN BEGIN.
- ÐRINTÆILE
ÁLLOWS OUTPUT THAT WOULD HAVE GONE TO THE PRINTER TO BE DIRECTED TO A
DISK FILE ON ANY UN-USED DEVICE. ÖÅÒÙ USEFUL!
- ÆAST ÁCCESS -
ÔO ONLINE FEATURES, I.E. QUICK LOCAL LOGIN, SYSOP OPTIONS, E-MAIL,
SYSOP PROGRAM MODULES, TERMINAL, ETC. WITHOUT HAVING TO FULLY LOG IN.
- ÆAST ÓERIAL ÓUPPORT -
ÓINCE ÏMNI RUNS IN THE Ã-128'S NATIVE MODE, DISK DRIVES THAT SUPPORT
FAST SERIAL COMMUNICATION WILL OPERATE AT THEIR TOP EFFICIENCY. ÔHESE
INCLUDE THE ÈÄ-ÓERIES DRIVES, WITH OR WITHOUT ÊIFFYÄÏÓ, THE 1581,
1571, AND 'CLONES' THAT EMULATE THESE DRIVES. ÔHE ADDITION OF ÊIFFYÄÏÓ
ADDITIONALLY INCREASES THE WRITE AND READ SPEED OF ANY SERIAL DRIVES.
- ÅNHANCED ÈÄ ÓUPPORT -
ÁLLOWS FULL USE THE ÈÄ-ØØ SERIES POWERFUL PARTITIONING CAPABILITIES,
AS WELL AS ÒÁÍÌINK AND ÒAMÄRIVE'S OWN PARALLEL AND ÒÌ-ÄÏÓ MODES.
ÒÌ-ÄÏÓ AND ÈÄ-ÄÏÓ BOTH SUPPORT ANY COMBINATION OF 1541, 1571, 1581,
AND TRUE ÎATIVE ÍÓ-ÄÏÓ (C) TYPE SUB-DIRECTORIES.
- ÓTABILITY -
ÔHE SYSTEM HAS PROVED TO BE VERY STABLE, AS DEMONSTRATED RECENTLY BY A
TWO-WEEK UN-ATTENDED RUN. Á ÂUILT IN 'SAFETY NET' ROUTINE CATCHES
ERRORS THAT CAN'T NORMALLY BE TRAPPED BY ÂÁÓÉÃ 7.
- ÓEPARATE ÌAST ÃALL ÄATE/ÔIMES -
ÔHE SYSTEM MAINTAINS THREE SEPARATE 'LAST CALL DATE-TIME' (ÌÃÄÔ) FOR
EACH CALLER. ÏNE RECORDS THE LAST VISIT TO THE SYSTEM PROPER, ANOTHER,
THE MESSAGE BASE VISIT, AND THE LAST, THE TRANSFER AREA. ÔHE CALLER
CAN EDIT BOTH THE MESSAGE BASE AND TRANSFER ÌÃÄÔ WHILE ONLINE, TO MAKE
DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF MESSAGES OR FILES APPEAR AS ÎÅ×. ÔHIS IS VERY
USEFUL WHEN A CALLER HAS NOT BEEN ON IN A LONG PERIOD, AND DOESN'T
WISH TO READ LARGE NUMBERS OF MESSAGES ACCUMULATED DURING THE
INTERVAL.
- ÃALL ÂACK -
Á FEATURE THAT IS USEFUL FOR THOSE CALLERS WHO EXPERIENCE 'NOISY'
PHONE LINES, BUT ONLY IN ONE DIRECTION IS THE ÃÁÌÌ ÂÁÃË MODULE. ÔHIS
PROGRAM CALLS THE PERSON BACK, USUALLY BYPASSING THE SAME PHONE-LINE
THAT WAS CAUSING THE NOISE. ÁFTER THIS HAS BEEN USED ONCE, IT WILL
PRESENT ITSELF DIRECTLY AFTER LOGIN, UNLESS THE CALLER TOGGLES THE
OPTION OFF IN THEIR PERSONAL PARAMETERS.
- ÁUTO-ÃALL ÂACK ÖALIDATION -
ÁT THE SYSOP'S OPTION, THE SYSTEM WILL CALL A NEW USER BACK TO VERIFY
THEIR PHONE-NUMBER. ÉT DEFAULTS TO NON-LONG DISTANCE PHONE NUMBERS,
BUT CAN BE ADJUSTED TO PROVIDE LONG DISTANCE CALL BACK IF DESIRED.
- ÍULTIPLE ÌOGIN ÍODULES -
ÔHE SYSOP CAN ARRANGE CUSTOMIZE PROGRAMS TO EXECUTE BEFORE THE CALLER
REACHES THE MAIN MENU. ÔHESE CAN BE CHAINED IF DESIRED.
- ÍIDNIGHT ÕPDATE -
ÉN ADDITION TO MANY STANDARD TASKS THE SYSTEM PERFORMS AT MIDNIGHT,
CUSTOMIZED APPLICATIONS CAN ALSO BE RUN AND CHAINED. ÆOR INSTANCE, A
SYSOP MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A CERTAIN GROUP OF FILES COPIED FROM ONE
LOCATION OR DEVICE, TO ANOTHER, EVERY NIGHT, OR ONLY ON CERTAIN DAYS,
ETC.
- ×AITING ÃALL -
ÆROM THE ×AITING ÃALL SCREEN, THE SYSOP CAN PERFORM MANY OPERATIONS
WITHOUT HAVING TO LOG ON. ÔHESE INCLUDE ENTERING THE TERMINAL, FORCING
WAITING NETWORK MESSAGES OUT, SELECTING VIDEO ON OR OFF MODE, CHECKING
ON FREE MEMORY, ACCESSING THE MAIN ÓÙÓÏÐ ÍÅÎÕ, LOGGING ON QUICK,
ENTERING THE SYSOP PROGRAM MODULES AREA, VALIDATING THE MAIN SYSTEM
DRIVE/DISK, ENTERING THE E-MAIL SECTION, ENTERING THE NETWORK SECTION,
AND PUTTING THE MODEM OFF OR ON HOOK. ÁLSO AVAILABLE AT WAITING CALL
IS A FULL SCREEN EDITOR FOR WRITING OR LAUNCHING STACKED COMMAND
STRINGS. ÔHESE STRINGS CAN CONTAIN UP TO 159 CHARACTERS EACH, WHICH
WILL CARRY OUT ANY OPERATIONS YOU WISH AUTOMATICALLY. ÆURTHERMORE,
THESE STACKS CAN BE STORED PERMANENTLY ON-SCREEN FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE
USE. ÁDDING TO THE POWER OF THIS ARRANGEMENT IS THE ABILITY TO RUN AN
UNLIMITED NUMBER OF 254 CHARACTER SCRIPTS, CHAINED TOGETHER IN ANY WAY
YOU SEE FIT, PROVIDING A NICE WAY TO SIMPLIFY ANY REPETITIVE TASK YOU
WOULD LIKE TO AUTOMATE.
- ÓYSOP ÍENU -
ÁN EXCEPTIONALLY COMPLETE SET OF OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE HERE: ÁCCESS TO
THE MESSAGE BASES, THE ONLINE ÃÏÎÆÉÇ ÅÄÉÔ PROGRAM, ÄÏÓ COMMANDS, THE
ÕÓÅÒ ÅÄÉÔÏÒ, THE NEW CALLER ÆÅÅÄÂÁÃË READER, THE ÇÒÏÕÐ ÁÃÃÅÓÓ EDITOR,
THE ÏÎÅ-ÌÉÎÅÒ EDITOR, THE ÓÙÓÏÐ ÐÒÏÇÒÁÍ ÍÏÄÕÌÅÓ, THE SELECTIVE SYSTEM
ÌÏÇ READER, THE ÔÒÁÎÓÆÅÒÓ AREA, A 1000 LINE SEQUENTIAL FILE ÅÄÉÔÏÒ, A
VERY POWERFUL ÆÉÌÅ-ÃÏÐÉÅÒ WITH MANY OPTIONS INCLUDING A BUILT IN
DIRECTORY ALPHABETIZERS, ASCII-PET TRANSLATOR, FILELIST OR TRANSFER
AREA LIST OPTION FOR SOURCE FILENAMES, THE ABILITY TO SKIP THROUGH THE
FILES INSTEAD OF STEPPING ONE AT A TIME, FULL SUPPORT OF ALL STANDARD
AND DEVICE SPECIFIC PATTERNS, SUCH AS THE TIME AND DATE STAMP USED IN
ÃÍÄ'S DEVICES AND MORE. ÃONTINUING TO OTHER SYSOP MENU FEATURES: AN
ENHANCED 296 FILE TAILORED ÄÉÒÅÃÔÏÒÙ WITH MULTIPLE PATTERN CAPABILITY,
FILE-COUNTER, BLOCKS USED BY MATCHED FILES, BLOCKS REMAINING AND
SCREEN FORMATTING, A SEPARATE FAST ÄÉÒ WHICH DISPLAYS UNLIMITED FILES
AND PROVIDES FULL SUPPORT OF ÃÍÄ'S TIME AND DATE STAMP SYSTEM, A SMART
ÄÅÖÉÃÅ ÓÅÌÅÃÔÏÒ THAT DETECTS THE PRESENCE OF THE SELECTED DEVICE ÁÎÄ
PARTITION OR SUB-DIRECTORY. ÁLSO ACCESSED FROM THIS MENU IS A ÕÓÅÒ
ÓÅÁÒÃÈ UTILITY THAT ALLOWS SEARCHING THE CALLER ACCOUNTS FOR PATTERNS.
Á ËÉÌÌ OPTION IS AVAILABLE FOR SELECTIVE WEEDING OUT OF CALLERS THAT
HAVE NOT CALLED SINCE A CERTAIN DATE. ÍÏÖÅ IS USED IF YOU WANT TO MOVE
A CALLER ACCOUNT TO A NEW LOCATION. ÁNY E-MAIL, SIGNATURE, AND NETWORK
ACCOUNT INFORMATION IS ALSO MOVED. ÓIMPLE ENGLISH ÄÒÉÖÅ ÃÏÍÍÁÎÄÓ ARE
AVAILABLE FOR QUICKLY SELECTING THE FOLLOWING DEVICE/PATH
COMBINATIONS; ^^ OR ÍÁÉÎ, ÍÅÎÕ, ÂÁÓÅ, ÓÉÇÓ, ÐÆÉÌÅ, ÎÅÔ, AND ÇÁÍÅÓ. Ð$
CAN BE USED TO PRINT OUT A DIRECTORY, INCLUDING A PATTERNED ONE. ÓÓ
ALLOWS EDITING OF THE ÓYSOP ÓTATEMENT, A SMALL STRING THAT APPEARS
AFTER LOGIN. ÐÒÉÎÔ ALLOWS PRINTING OF ANY SEQUENTIAL TEXT ÏÒ SYSTEM
DATA FILE. ÒÍ WILL LOAD THE FILE TRANSFER AREA ÒÅÍÏÔÅ ÍÁÉÎÔÅÎÁÎÃÅ. ÎÍ
LOADS THE COMPLETE ONLINE ÎÅÔ×ÏÒË ÍÁÉÎÔÅÎÁÎÃÅ MODULE.
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ÍESSAGE ÂASE
ÏMNI'S MESSAGING SYSTEM IS THE PRODUCT OF OVER THREE YEARS OF
REFINEMENT, AND PROVIDES THE USER WITH QUICK AND EASY ACCESS TO ANY
DESIRED MESSAGE, WHILE PROVIDING THE LARGEST POTENTIAL STORAGE
CAPACITY OF AND STANDARD ÓÅÑ FILE SYSTEM THAT É AM AWARE OF. ÅACH
MESSAGE HAS AN INTERNAL ÔÉÍÅ AND ÄÁÔÅ STAMP WHICH THE PROGRAM USES TO
DETERMINE WHETHER IT WILL APPEAR AS ÎÅ× TO YOU (WHEN USING THE
POWERFUL ÒÁ (READ ALL NEW MESSAGES) COMMAND). ÔHE CALLER CAN SHIFT
THEIR OWN 'ÌAST ÃALL ÄATE' AND/OR 'ÌAST ÃALL ÔIME' FORWARD OR
BACKWARDS TO PRECISELY CONTROL VIEWING OF 'NEW' MESSAGES FROM THAT
DATE/TIME! ÔHIS IS SOMETHING THAT CAN COME IN HANDY IF YOU ONLY WANT
THE NEWEST RESPONSES, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVEN'T CALLED IN A LONGER
PERIOD. ÉT ISN'T USED IF YOU CALL EVERY DAY OR TWO (UNLESS YOU ARE IN
A HURRY!).
Á CALLER CAN RE-READ A MESSAGE 'CHAIN' OVER FROM ANY RESPONSE! ÔHIS
ALLOWS RANDOM ACCESS TO ANY RESPONSE, EVEN SKIPPING FORWARDS, IF
DESIRED. Á CALLER CAN EDIT ANY MESSAGE, PROVIDING THAT THEY ORIGINALLY
ENTERED IT. Á MAINTENANCE HELPER OR OTHER PERSON WITH 'WRITE/EDIT'
FILE ACCESS CAN ALSO EDIT ANY MESSAGE, REGARDLESS OF WHO WROTE IT.
ÁN 'AUTO-WEEDING' PROGRAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FOR SYSOPS WHO WISH TO
MAINTAIN SMALLER MESSAGE CHAINS. ÉT CAN RECOGNIZE AND SKIP SUB-AREAS
THAT THE SYSOP DOES NOT WANT TO BE AFFECTED. ÁDDING TO THE FLEXIBILITY
OF THIS OPTION IS THE CHOICE TO WEED AN AREA BY A PERCENTAGE OF
RESPONSES, OR SIMPLY CUT TO A SPECIFIC NUMBER OF NEW RESPONSES.
ÔHE MESSAGE BASE HAS A MAXIMUM CAPACITY OF 20 'ROOT' SUB-BOARDS, 19
WITH A POSSIBLE 99,999 'LATTICE' SUBS IF DESIRED, GIVING A MAXIMUM OF
990,001 SEPARATE, INDEPENDENT SUB-BOARDS (FOR MOST SYSOPS 15 TO 30
SHOULD BE ENOUGH!). ÅACH OF THESE SUB-BOARDS CAN HOLD UP TO 50
'POSTS', EACH WITH UNLIMITED RESPONSES. ÄURING A READ ALL NEW MESSAGES
CYCLE, ALL ROOTS AND DECIMAL LATTICES ARE AUTOMATICALLY SCANNED (1,
1.1, 1.2 - 1.9, 2, 2.1 ETC UP TO 20).
ÃALLERS CAN TAILOR THEIR OWN READING METHOD BETWEEN THE SEVERAL
AVAILABLE MODES, (PAUSING ÏÎ BETWEEN MESSAGES, ÓCREEN CLEARING ÏÎ OR
OFF, AND 'ÓÐ'EED CONTROL). ÔHE SYSTEM DEFAULTS TO A READING SYSTEM
WHERE THERE IS A PROMPT BETWEEN EACH MESSAGE ALLOWING SEVERAL OPTIONS
(REPLY, PRIVATE MAIL, EDIT, ETC.) WHICH MOST NEW CALLERS ARE
COMFORTABLE WITH. ÍANY PEOPLE LIKE THE ÏMNI ÎATIVE MODE, WHERE THE
MESSAGES SCROLL WITH NO BETWEEN MESSAGE PROMPT (FASTER) BUT THE
BETWEEN MESSAGE OPTION PROMPT CAN BE INVOKED BY HITTING A '/' WHILE
THE MESSAGES ARE DISPLAYING. ÁFTER USING ONE OF THE PROMPT OPTIONS,
THE SYSTEM WILL REVERT TO YOUR NATIVE MODE READING METHOD. ÔHESE MODES
ARE SAVED IN THE CALLERS PERSONAL STATS, AS IS VIRTUALLY EVERY
PERSONAL PARAMETER THAT IS ADJUSTABLE ON THE SYSTEM.
(ÓÐ)EED CONTROL IS ANOTHER UNIQUE ÏMNI 128 FEATURE, AND ALLOWS THE
TEXT OF A MESSAGE TO BE SLOWED DOWN TO THE PREFERENCES OF THE CALLER.
60 DIFFERENT SPEEDS ARE AVAILABLE FROM '0' (NO DELAY) TO '60' (VERY
SLOW OUTPUT). ÁNOTHER FEATURE USUALLY FOUND ONLY ON ÂÂÓ'S WRITTEN FOR
OTHER HIGHER POWER ÐÃ'S IS THE ABILITY TO DE-SELECT SUB AREAS THAT YOU
HAVE NO PARTICULAR INTEREST IN. ÔHESE AREAS WILL BE SKIPPED WHEN USING
THE 'READ ALL NEW MESSAGES' MODE.
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ÎETWORK ÂASE
(ÎOTE: ÔHIS AREA IS STILL AVAILABLE BUT MOSTLY SUPERCEEDED BY THE NEW
ÅCHONET.)
ÁT THE END OF A READ ALL NEW CYCLE, THE SPECIAL ÐÕÂÌÉÃ ÎÅÔ ÂÁÓÅ IS
AUTOMATICALLY LOADED AND SCANNED FOR ALL NEW NETWORKED BULLETINS. ÔHIS
AREA IS UNIQUE IN THAT A SEPARATE AREA IS MAINTAINED FOR EACH ÂÂÓ THAT
YOU ARE NETWORKED WITH, MAKING IT EASY TO SEE WHERE A GROUP OF POSTS
CAME FROM. ÉF NEW POSTS ARE PRESENT, THEY ARE RAPIDLY LOCATED AND
READ. Á REPLY TO A MESSAGE IS SENT BACK THROUGH THE NETWORK TO THE
ORIGINAL SENDER'S LOCATION. ÙOU CAN EVEN CHOOSE TO REPLY PUBLICLY OR
PRIVATELY. Á PRIVATE REPLY TO ANOTHER ÏMNI ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO ENTER A
SUBJECT, SIMILAR TO THE E-MAIL SECTION COVERED BELOW. ÔHE SYSOP CAN
SELECTIVELY DELETE OUT-DATED NET MESSAGES IN ONE EASY OPERATION.
_________________________________________________________________
Å-ÍAIL
ÔHE Å-ÍAIL SECTION ALLOWS SENDING MAIL BY NAME OR ID NUMBER. Á 'SMART'
ROUTINE PREVENTS SENDING OR REPLYING TO AN ACCOUNT THAT DOESN'T EXIST
OR HAS A DIFFERENT USER THEN IT DID WHEN THE MAIL WAS SENT. ÏMNI'S
EMAIL SECTION IS FULLY NETWORK COMPATABLE, AND ALLOWS REPLYING
DIRECTLY TO THE SENDER ON THE NODE WHICH THEY SENT FROM. ÙOU CAN
SELECTIVELY DELETE INDIVIDUAL PIECES OF EMAIL AND RETAIN THE REST.
ÒEADING MAIL IN ORDER IS AS SIMPLE AS HITTING RETURN, ALTHOUGH YOU CAN
READ OUT OF ORDER TOO. ÂEFORE LEAVING THE AREA, YOU CAN RECOVER OR
'ÕÎ'DELETE THE DELETED EMAIL IF YOU HAVE MADE A MISTAKE. ×HEN LEAVING
THIS SECTION, YOU CAN DELETE ÁÌÌ OF YOUR MAIL AT ONCE. ÒECENTLY ADDED
TO THE EMAIL SECTION IS THE OPTION TO DOWNLOAD YOUR MAIL PACKET
DIRECTLY, USING THE UNIVERSAL STANDARD XMODEM CRC OR CHECKSUM.
ÕPLOADING OF PREPARED TEXT FOR USE IN THE SYSTEM EDITOR IS ALSO
PROVIDED (ASCII OR PETASCII). ÏTHER NEW FEATURES INCLUDE OFF-LINE
SORTING OF YOUR MAIL SELECTED FOR DELETION. É TRY TO KEEP ONLINE TIME
TO A MINIMUM BY PERFORMING THESE TYPE OF OPERATIONS OFFLINE, SAVING
THE CALLER TIME AND/OR MONEY .
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ÔRANSFERS
ÏMNI'S FILE TRANSFER SECTION PROVIDES THE FASTEST DOWNLOADS OF ANY Ã=
ÂÂÓ SYSTEM AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME, USING THE ÙMODEM-G PROTOCOL.
ÄOWNLOAD PROTOCOLS INCLUDE: 1) ÓINGLE FILE TYPES, ÐÕÎÔÅÒ, ØMODEM ÃÒÃ,
ØMODEM ÃHECKSUM, ØMODEM 1K ÃÒÃ, ØMODEM-G (ÉÂÍ OR OTHERS). 2) ÂATCH
FILE TYPES (MULTIPLE FILES), ÐÕÎÔÅÒ, ÙMODEM STANDARD (128), ÙMODEM 1K
ÃÒÃ, AND ÙMODEM-G. ÕSING ÙMODEM-G FROM AN ÉÂÍ OR ÁMIGA TYPE COMPUTER
HAS ACHEIVED DOWNLOAD SPEEDS UP TO 1600 OR MORE CHARACTERS PER SECOND
AT 9600 OR 14400 BPS, WHICH IS EQUAL OR FASTER THAN ÚMODEM. ÁLTHOUGH
NO 1K UPLOAD PROTOCOLS (EXCEPT ÚMODEM!) ARE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME, É
AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON AN ØMODEM 1K UPLOAD MODULE. ÔÒÁÎÓÆÅÒÓ SUPPORTS
SEARCHING OF SOME OR ALL AREAS FOR PATTERNS OF FILENAMES, UPLOADERS
NAMES, DATES, ETC. THROUGH THE USE OF THE MODULE ÔÒÁÎ ÓÃÁÎ (TS).
ÄESCRIPTIONS FOR FILES CAN BE WRITTEN BEFORE OR AT ANY TIME AFTERWARDS
BY THE UPLOADER. ÏMNI ALSO COMES WITH AN "EXCHANGE" TYPE TRANSFER AREA
WHICH ALLOWS DIRECT READING OF DIRECTORIES ON ANY TYPE OF DISK
DIRECTORY, AND UNRESTRICTED UPLOAD OR DOWNLOAD TO THESE AREAS. ÉN THE
INTEREST OF KEEPING THIS DOCUMENT SHORT, É WILL FINISH WITH HARDWARE
INFORMATION, AND ASK THAT ANY DETAILED QUESTIONS BE DIRECTED TO ME BY
EMAIL ON MY ÂÂÓ. É ANSWER ALL EMAIL WITHIN 48 HOURS (VOLUME IS
SOMETIMES HEAVY AND É AM WORKING ALONE ON THE MAIN PROJECT).
_________________________________________________________________
ÍINIMUM RECOMMENDED HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
1 ÃOMMODORE 128 OR 128Ä ÃOMPUTER
1 ÃÍÄ ÒÁÍÌINK WITH 4 OR MORE MEGABYTES, AND/OR A ÃÍÄ ÈÄ-ØØ ÓERIES ÈARD
ÄRIVE OF ANY SIZE, AND/OR 1 OR MORE OF ÃÍÄ'S HIGH-DENSITY ÆÄ FLOPPY
DISK DRIVES, AND/OR 5 OR MORE ÃOMMODORE ÄÏÓ COMPATABLE FLOPPY DISK
DRIVES (5 OR MORE 1581'S PREFERRED). ÃÍÄ'S ÊIFFYÄÏÓ IS AN IDEAL
ADDITION TO ANY OF THE ABOVE COMPONENTS. ÔHE 1581 DRIVE SHOULD ONLY BE
USED IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, BECAUSE THE ÒÁÍÌINK AND ÈÄ UNITS ARE
MUCH MORE DURABLE AND RELIABLE. ÔHE ÌÔËERNAL HARD DRIVE SYSTEM IS NOT
DIRECTLY SUPPORTED, BUT CAN BE CONNECTED TO A ÃÍÄ HARD DRIVE VIA A LOW
COST CABLE CALLED THE ÌÔËONNECTOR, (AVAILABLE FROM ÃREATIVE ÍICRO
ÄESIGNS AT 800-638-3263).
1 ÈAYES ÃOMPATABLE ÍODEM (14,400 Õ.Ó. ÒOBOTICS ÓPORTSTER IDEAL, 9600
BPS ÓUPRAÆÁØÍODEM TESTED, ÂOCA/ÆAST×IN 28.8K TESTED, OTHER HIGH SPEEDS
NOT RECOMMENDED YET). É WILL ACCEPT NON-SUPPORTED MODEMS BY SPECIAL
ARRANGEMENT FOR EVALUATION AND POSSIBLE USAGE IN THE SYSTEM.
ÔHROUGHPUT OF UP TO 38,400 BPS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE USE OF THE
ÓWIFTÌINK-232 HIGH SPEED SERIAL CARTRIDGE (AVAILABLE FROM ÃÍÄ) OR UP
TO 9600 BPS THROUGH SOFTWARE. ÕSE OF ÓWIFTÌINK-232 IS HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED.
1 80 ÃOLUMN ÒÇÂ MONITOR (COLOR RECOMMENDED)
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ÏMNI 128 IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING. ÆOR THE LATEST INFORMATION, DROP BY
ÏMNI ×ORLD 128 AND SEE WHAT'S COOKIN'!
Á COMPLETE PRINTED TEXT OF THE THIS ARTICLE AND REGISTRATION
INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE BY MAIL TO THOSE WHO LEAVE E-MAIL OR
NETWORK-MAIL TO ID#1 ON ÏMNI ×ORLD 128 ÂÂÓ (206-536-9353 - 1200-28,800
BPS, Ö.34/Ö.32/Ö32BIS,Ö42/Ö42BIS,ÍÎÐ2-5). ×ITH THE RECENT AQUISITION
OF MY OWN INTERNET MAILBOX, É PREFER BEING E-MAILED AT
"OMNI@WOLFE.NET".
ÃLICK HERE TO E-MAIL ME AT: OMNI128@WOLFE.NET
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