Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!noao!ncar!gatech!mcnc!uvaarpa!haven!mimsy!nocusuhs!nmrdc1!minixug!uwalt!waltje
From: waltje@uwalt.nl.mugnet.org (Fred 'The Rebel' van Kempen)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: Tass: a fast, threaded newsreader
Message-ID: <9103212072@uwalt.nl.mugnet.org>
Date: 21 Mar 91 17:29:17 GMT
References: <91031623614@wiesje.hobby.nl>
Organization: MicroWalt Corporation, for MINIX Software Development
Lines: 44

baron@wiesje.hobby.nl (Wim `Blue Baron' van Dorst) wrote:
> Recently Rich Skrenta posted the new newsreader Tass in one of the
> sources groups on the Net.  I ported it to Minix, and now I have a
> great threaded, fast newsreader, which is much nicer to work with than
> Vn and Readnews.  As Rn and Nn have proven themselves too big (I tried
> it, but failed by hundreds of kB) to run on normal Minix I am now very
> happy to provide you Tass.

As long as you do not get lots of articles, eh?

> Some points for Tass (versus Vn) have come up in the beta test phase:
> 	Tass is much faster (it keeps index files for this)
> 	Tass can read already read articles
> 	Tass knows about .signature files.
> 	and more...... Try it for yourself

	Tass uses threads -> uses lots of memory in large groups
	Tass sometimes puges on non-standard terminals
	Tass does not have a manual :-)

> Tass runs fine on Wiesje, my 8088 XT with 640kB.  It is reported to run
> well on STs too.  It should run marvellous on 386 machines and other
> big ones without the 64k+64k barrier and lots of RAM.
Yes, and there's were the problem is.
Wiesje only gets a small number of (small) groups, so Tass seldom runs
out of memory.  On larger systems (like many systems in MUGNET-NL, which,
BTW, was the beta-test group for Tass), the number of groups and the
number of articles per group is much larger, so Tass goes berserk
(i.e. it tells you it is out of memory and simply exits :-(  ).

> Included in the package is now a Readme file with the straightforward
> explanations and installation notes (Tass is a real stack user, and
> therefore installation needs some special attention).  Also a very
> rough Tass.doc is provided for people who need yet more help.
Hmm.

> Below is an uuencoded, 13bits compressed shar file of all files of the
> Minix version of the Tass package.  Have fun, and drop me a line on
> what you think of it, especially when you like it of course :-).
:-(

Fred.
--
MicroWalt Corporation, for MINIX Development	waltje@uwalt.nl.mugnet.org
Tel (+31) 252 230 205, Hoefbladhof  27, 2215 DV  VOORHOUT, The Netherlands