Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!LL.LL.MIT.EDU!SAGE From: SAGE@LL.LL.MIT.EDU Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm Subject: (none) Message-ID: <9005250812.AA16192@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: 24 May 90 19:48:16 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 48 Jim Gonzales asked about sources for CP/M software. I had also misunderstood Frank Wancho's message about the status of SIMTEL20 and was glad to see the clarification. I know lots of places to get the latest software but very few places to get archival material. There are hundred of remote access systems in North America that can be contacted by modem. Every month a listing is published in a file called RCPMyymm.LST. [This and other files listed here may appear in compressed forms of various sorts, so don't look for the exact file type that I give.] Of course, you have to know of a RAS to start with to get this list, but then you will have access to a great number of systems. Two special telephone data services can help keep phone bills under control: PC-Pursuit and StarLink. Both of these services provide off- hours access to commercial data communications channels. With PC- Pursuit, for example, you pay a flat rate of $30 per month, for which you are allowed 30 hours of access at speeds up to 2400 bps to about 40 cities served by PCP. StarLink costs less per month but charges for each hour of access, but much less than standard voice phone rates. It offers access to far more cities than does PCP. Two other important sources of public-domain CP/M software are GEnie and CompuServe. Both maintain extensive archives, and both work quite hard to maintain current listings. For sources of commercial CP/M software, people should consult either of two listings that are posted from time to time on remote access systems. They have names like CPMSRC-#.LST (CP/M Sources) and CPMSVL-#.LBR (CP/M Software Vendor List). The number symbol here stands for a version letter. The people who compile these lists try hard to verify periodically that the vendors are still in business and still offering the products listed. SIG/M (Special Interest Group / Microcomputers) used to compile public-domain software into disk volumes for regular release. People without modems could purchase these diskettes. However, SIG/M ceased activities a couple of years ago. Recently, Chris McEwen, Bill Tishey, and I have teamed up to offer a similar service for Z-System software. The service is called Z-SUS (Z-System Software Update Service). It offers several special collections of files (for example, one comprises more than 300 programs in executable form, i.e., COM files) and a regular subscription service that brings you the latest releases that appear on Z-Nodes. Five or six volumes have now been released. You may contact me for further information. If you leave a mailing address, I will send you some material about Z- SUS.