Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!b.gp.cs.cmu.edu!ralf
From: ralf@b.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Ralf Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Automated news reading software for IBM-PC
Message-ID: <3872@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Date: 14 Dec 88 19:51:20 GMT
References: <239d4b73@ralf> <1884@loral.UUCP>
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 73

In article <1884@loral.UUCP> jcb@loral.UUCP (Jay C. Bowden) writes:
}In article <239d4b73@ralf> Ralf.Brown@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU writes:
}
}To paraphrase his thoughts: Why buy something when you can build it
}yourself?  Because your TIME is worth something (well, mine is,
}anyway :-).  
}
}>In article <1880@loral.UUCP>, jcb@loral.UUCP (Jay C. Bowden) writes:
}>}In article <KPETERSEN.12452025035.BABYL@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL> dmocsny@UCENG.UC.EDU (daniel mocsny) writes:
}>}>.....assists PC-based CompuServe subscribers. .....
}>}>... The TAPCIS user tells TAPCIS to get the article titles
}>}>in the ``forum'' (CompuSpeak for newsgroup) of interest. TAPCIS logs into
}>}>the CompuServe host, grabs the titles, and then logs off. 
}>}
}>}Now, all you need for for complete automation is a device that turns
}>}your PC on every day at 3AM, gets this list, and prints it for your
}>}perusal the next morning.  Real Electronic Newspaper!
}>}
}>}(Ref: LATER-ON, $139.95, from
}>}                  Kenmore Computer Technologies
}>}                        30 Suncrest Drive
}>}                   Rochester, New York  14609
}                           (716) 654-7356
}>
}>Why spend $140 when a ten-dollar appliance timer and two-three dollar
}>three-plug cube (or five-ten dollar cube with spike protection) will do just
}>as well?                                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^
} ^^^^^^^^
}  So I lose the grounding on my computer because I need the 3 prong
}  adapters to use the appliance timer.

So you buy a 3-prong timer and adapter, like I did.

}  But how do I turn the PC on when I am sitting in front of it? Just
}  reach down and turn the squirly little knob on the timer, right?

My timer has a nice big flat plate on the front that I can press on to turn
the computer on/off.  Admittedly, the timer was $20, but I didn't exactly
shop around, and it uses a digital LCD clock (which doesn't make for a rock-
bottom price).

}>   Then put in a timed ask program in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, so that it
}                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
}  Do you write this, or buy it?  If it is bought, where and how much?

It's public domain, on SIMTEL20 in PD1:<MSDOS.SYSUTL>BATUTL2.ARC, if I 
remember correctly.

}>I'm afraid my package is a terrible kludge, though it does work about 97% of
}>the time 
}
}  It is a hell of a clever kludge, and I'm sure it serves you well.

The kludge part is the news download, not the dialup or even the automatic
power-up.  The news download works by running a program which creates two
pipes to RN and controls RN, saving everything to files.  It usually hangs 
when there's something unusual happening, such as no new news (when netnews
goes down).  Lately it has actually been better than 97%.

}  So if you had it to do over again, wouldn't ya buy the gadget?  Please?
}  Oh and it comes with the (external) modem power-on section, too, if you
}  want to call IN to your PC!

If I had need to call IN to my PC, probably.  But I don't, and I would still
have to spend most of the time setting up everything else, not just the 
automatic power-up (which took less than half an hour to set up, including
the AUTOEXEC.BAT mods)....


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