🚀 go-pugleaf

On Saturday, in article <931601548snz@dendarii.demon.co.uk>
     mike@dendarii.demon.co.uk "Michael Bernardi" wrote:

> Does anyone know if the current (7 Feb 97) version of the DIS suite
> DIS22.EXE is Y2K compliant? Is anyone at Demon willing to maintain it?
> Or is anyone ELSE able to do so? At worst all the documentation needs
> updating, as phone numbers are all out of date, the TZ CFG is also in
> error, and of course the ACTIVE.ZIP is VERY out of date. That's without
> making any changes to the programs contained within.
> With the web being more important now than in the past perhaps the
> inclusion of a DOS web browser (Arachne) might be in order?

I'll tell you upfront that I abandoned the DIS front end some years ago
(It's also my belief that Demon have effectively done likewise) so you 
can ignore the rest of this if you like. I think that DOS users are 
increasingly on their own so they'd better get used to making their own 
arrangements.

DIS is only a front end to the suite which actually does the work, in 
essence, a fancy face for batch menu. I wouldn't have thought that Y2K 
impinged upon it at all.
As for the TZ and ACTIVE, they were always out of date virtually from 
the moment they were incorporated. I think they should be treated as 
examples, not the final word.
The problem with stand-alone DOS web browsers is that they all need 
packet drivers to run and use completely different setup files to KA9Q 
(some variation on the WATTCP theme), which means that you'd need to 
write a new batch section to drive them and you couldn't switch from 
KA9Q to browser online unless you abandoned the KA9Q PPP/dialer in 
favour of using the packet interface.
Frankly, compared to Windows browsers, DOS browsers (including my own 
pathetic effort in my YAN flavour of KA9Q) are *very* limited and 
somewhat buggy. If the web is your thing, DOS isn't a very good platform 
to use for actual browsing except for those who, for whatever reason, 
favour a text-only interface, in which case Lynx is probably your man.
     
Ian.
-- 
  |  Ian Smith             |  "The Moving Finger writes;
  |  ian@isis.demon.co.uk  |   and, having writ, Moves on."

allegedly Ian Smith wrote <19990711.0639.7292snz@isis.demon.co.uk> :
>On Saturday, in article <931601548snz@dendarii.demon.co.uk>
>     mike@dendarii.demon.co.uk "Michael Bernardi" wrote:
>
>> Does anyone know if the current (7 Feb 97) version of the DIS suite
>> DIS22.EXE is Y2K compliant? Is anyone at Demon willing to maintain it?
>> Or is anyone ELSE able to do so? At worst all the documentation needs
>> updating, as phone numbers are all out of date, the TZ CFG is also in
>> error, and of course the ACTIVE.ZIP is VERY out of date. That's without
>> making any changes to the programs contained within.
>> With the web being more important now than in the past perhaps the
>> inclusion of a DOS web browser (Arachne) might be in order?

Have a look at webspyder from caldera.

[snip]
>DIS is only a front end to the suite which actually does the work, in 
>essence, a fancy face for batch menu. I wouldn't have thought that Y2K 
>impinged upon it at all.

Having checked with the last person to work on it, there where Y2K
issues, the most glaring where fixed but there are probably numerous
others. The source code is available on demons ftp site for those that
want to have a look.

[snip]
>write a new batch section to drive them and you couldn't switch from 
>KA9Q to browser online unless you abandoned the KA9Q PPP/dialer in 
>favour of using the packet interface.

If you like the pain, you can run a packet driver to do the dial-up
and then swap between ka9q and your web browser withinin one session
according to what you want to do, memory clashes allowing.

>Frankly, compared to Windows browsers, DOS browsers (including my own 
>pathetic effort in my YAN flavour of KA9Q) are *very* limited and 
>somewhat buggy. If the web is your thing, DOS isn't a very good platform 

Have you looked at Caldera's offering of late? Last time I played with
it it was getting quite usable although somewhat of a memory hog.

>to use for actual browsing except for those who, for whatever reason, 
>favour a text-only interface, in which case Lynx is probably your man.

Indeed.


-- 
Robm
873
  "Ask not what I can do for the stupid, 
         but what the stupid can do for me" - Graeme Garden