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Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!beta!hc!ames!elroy!cit-vax!tim
From: tim@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (Timothy L. Kay)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ZCOMM is very buggy
Message-ID: <6216@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: 21 Apr 88 18:41:37 GMT
References: <2598@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu>
Reply-To: tim@cit-vax.UUCP (Timothy L. Kay)
Distribution: na
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Lines: 50

Tim Iverson writes:

>After reading the docs on ZCOMM, I thought that it looked liked a very
>promising program - not so.  Most of the time it doesn't even run (immediate
>hang on startup).  The times it does run, it hangs as soon as I try to
>connect (hang=time to *cold* boot).  Has anyone got this to run on your TRUE
>BLUE AT?  It sure doesn't work on mine.  For those of you who are wondering,
>yes my COM ports are configured correctly, and there were no TSR's or other
>resident handlers installed.

I am surprised to  hear this.  I  pulled ZCOMM off  SIMTEL20 about two
weeks ago.  I managed to get it working with  absolutely no trouble on
a  true  blue IBM XT  with a PCSG Breakthru/286  card.  I then got  it
running on my AT  10Mhz/0 clone.  Not  only has it  been *no* trouble,
but it even suggested that I change the way my modem is configured.  I
have never had  a  terminal package that  was able to suggest that  my
modem was misconfigured.

After  using Kermit all  these years,  it is  a   delite to use zmodem
protocols to do the transfers.  It is fast and *very* reliable.

I immediately  sent my $50   ($40 for  registration + $10  for a  nice
binder) because I see this program as solving many of my problems.

It is possible that you can't get it  to work because your 8250 serial
port chip is defective?  It has happened before.

>Now, about the "documentation": whoever wrote this seems to have a very
>large chip on his shoulder - the tone is defensive in the extreme and the
>poor organization just about renders the entire 150k manual useless.  The
>first four chapters are spent bragging about what a great product this is
>and why you should register it.  The rest is basically a scattershot
>description of minute details of various commands.  Why I would spend $40
>for a typeset copy of this tripe I can't fathom.

While the  manual  does  lack  in organization,  I  don't get the same
impression  about the defensive tone.  And  you aren't paying  $40 for
the  nice, typeset manual;  you are paying  $40 for registration.  The
nice, typeset manual comes as a bonus.

> [...]

It  is too  bad  that you had   bad experiences.  I  find  the package
delightful.  I plan to continue using it to the exclusion of all other
terminal packages.

I should  mention that I   have absolutely  no  affiliation with  Omen
Technology other than that of a satisfied customer.

Tim