ml> errrmmm... it has been my inderstanding, all these years, that the
 ml> ability to run external packages was a major feature for things like
 ml> this... something you would like to see? run an external that offers
 ml> it... for instance, there's one or two message area replacements that
 ml> i'm aware of... i know there are also a few file area replacements...
 ml> i don't get it?

 JS>      I guess I don't either then. If I had the choice of one piece
 JS> of software that was capable of doing a number of things (Pots,
 JS> Telnet, BinkP, Mail, Files, Ftp, Email, Etc.) I would be more apt
 JS> to go with the single package than I would trying to get a number
 JS> of differant programs to work together. 

ahh, i closet Wildcat! sysop, eh? O:)

 JS> Not all of them as you well know operate using the same standards.

yes... very much so... my hybrid setup is a bit of a bitch to work with and
if i ever get off my behind and complete the "integration"
package i've toyed with over the years, it'll make things a lot easier...
but i don't know if that will ever happen... i'm still dealing with coding
burnout unless something really takes my interest and even then, it is a
tough haul...

 JS> I think that is the reason packages like Winserver, Synchronet, 
 JS> MBSE, BBBS and the like are becoming more popular. Less work to 
 JS> get everything working correctly together. 

yes, i understand that but it seems to me that that was part of the
mystique of being a (real?) sysop...

 JS> As it turned out a ended up registering several copies of 
 JS> Winserver and one of BBBS since my RA days. I have also installed
 JS> and tested DB, Synchronet, and MBSE over the last year or so. 

the only thing i'm really looking for, myself, at this point in time, is
something linux compatible without all the BS... textfile configs are ok
but i don't really like them... i dunno why but i find it easier to fill in
the blank when i know what something is used for...

 JS>      Not too long ago for SnG's I tried to install IM 2.50 again.
 JS> It wouldn't even load without generating an error. I think the last
 JS> PC I had IM installed on was a 486-120 with 16-32 meg of ram. Some
 JS> of the PC's here currently have 2-4 gig of ram and run at 2-3.2Ghz.

IM has had its own share of problems... it was abandoned before FD, AIR...
FD did go thru a complete rewrite that enabled it to be ported to other
platforms easier but then real life with a wife and children appear to have
gotten in the way... one can't pay the bills or feed the family on barely
meager shareware sales...

 JS>      The lack of developement has kept many software packages
 JS> stagnent and in some cases even unable to run at all unless you
 JS> limit the hardware to the software's limitations.

or locate someone who can create a proper patch for them (ie: the division
by  zero errors)...

 JS>      Sadly, OS/2 is another example. I really enjoyed my OS/2 days
 JS> and recently tried to reinstall Warp4 on a PC here. First thing I
 JS> was reminded of was that it couldn't deal with an HD larger than 8G
 JS> and also had problems with the newer bios. Heck, I am not sure how
 JS> many working floppy drives I still have in these PC's. In fact
 JS> several never had a floppy drive installed 

it has been well known for a long time that the easiest way to upgrade
hardware with OS/2 was to move existing and working installations to the
new hardware... it Warp 3/4 won't install on 64bit boxes but will run fine
if moved to a 64bit machine...

 JS>>      Heck, I recently tried to register some Fidonet related
 JS>> software that is no longer being developed but is be managed

 ml> hunh? being managed? wottzat mean?

 JS>      The software is not being developed but is owned by someone
 JS> that is currently active and is offering support for the product.
 JS> But they are refusing any new registrations.

sounds like allfix... there was supposedly a coder who was looking at
things for that package so as to bring it up to current standards but i
never heard what happened there... i suspect that they simply gave up...
heck, they could have simply rewritten the thing and moved on ;)

 JS>> and my registration was refused. The unregistered version of the
 JS>> software is handicaped.

 ml> you pointed this out to them and explained why you needed to register?

 JS>      Yes I did. Actually I had registered the software some years
 JS> ago but couldn't find the original key file. I acquired the most
 JS> recent version from the year 2000 and decided to re-register the
 JS> program. I was informed by the current owner that they were not
 JS> currently accepting new registrations and did not know if or when
 JS> they might be doing so again. So, I decided to go the Husky
 JS> direction since this node is a MO system and I have no BBS
 JS> installed.

i hear ya... i guess you couldn't have gotten a replacement key?

i've thought about looking at the husky stuff but have found that there are
many things that it just doesn't do or done so differently that i'd have
problems trying to run it :(

)\/(ark