Xref: utzoo comp.sys.att:3508 unix-pc.general:832
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pacbell!att!mtunx!icus!limbic!gil
From: gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att,unix-pc.general
Subject: Re: ph .phinit .phclr phupd ya ba dee ya ba dee yub
Summary: More than time for a new phone manager...
Message-ID: <137@limbic.UUCP>
Date: 16 Jun 88 04:46:11 GMT
References: <293@uncle.UUCP>
Reply-To: gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Organization: ICUS Computer Group, Islip, NY
Lines: 56

In article <293@uncle.UUCP> jbm@uncle.UUCP (John B. Milton) writes:
|>Well, I got tired of the phone junk crashing my system all the time, so
|>I took drastic measures:
|>
|>I removed (deinstalled): phone manager, ate (async_main)
|>

Me too... see below...

|>I think its about time for us to write a replacement phone manager.
|>
|>John Bly Milton IV, jbm@uncle.UUCP, {ihnp4|osu-cis}!n8emr!uncle!jbm
|>home: (614) 294-4823, work: (614) 459-7641; talk to me about fractals

Yes...but even more important -- examine the operation of the /dev/ph*
phone DRIVERS.  In the middle of an OS already stranger than many of the
unices out there is a piece of bug-laden code which can and should be
fixed once and for all.

So far, the bugs I have experienced simply because either the driver or
the phone management/uucp software (I believe it is the driver) is brain-
damaged is:  1. sometimes the line that the handset becomes connected to
misteriously becomes line2 (my data line) and reaks havoc with incoming
calls, 2. my internal speaker will somehow remain (become) connected to
my data line (line 2) and incoming modem signals will be heard (loudly)
through the internal speaker.  This usually happens when I am not at home,
and annoys the folks in the apartment below,  3. processes associated
with phone management die or become confused.

I'm sure that there are more problems from various folks out there.

One more point of clarification -- a lot of folks have been beating the
OBM (on-board modem) to death on the net, as well as port tty000.  Please
folks, the hardware is not at fault.  In fact, the hardware as I've seen
it (through schematics, of course) is very flexible and has the capability
to do what you want without problems.  The problem as I see it is the
SOFTWARE (ie. the OS).

My belief (perhaps incorrect, anyone care to modify/add to this?) is that
the /dev/ph* and the i8274 driver bugs need to be collected and fixed.
Fixed means that they are debugged, no bugs.  After these are fixed, I think
that many folks would see a marked improvement in the performance of the
phone management software.  Of course, let's not stop here -- the net has
been a good source of bugs which need to be fixed.

If nobody else wants-to/is-able-to fix these bugs, I'd be the first volunteer.
Send me the source code to unix :-).

Can you believe that the OS in this machine is really written to act as a
"safe" interface between user and hardware?

+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Gil Kloepfer, Jr.                  | Net-Address:                           |
| ICUS Software Systems              | {boulder,talcott}!icus!limbic!gil      |
| P.O. Box 1                         | Voice-net: (516) 968-6860              |
| Islip Terrace, New York  11752     | Othernet: gil@limbic.UUCP              |
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