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From: nagel@paris.ics.uci.edu (Mark Nagel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Problems with Red Ryder
Message-ID: <6742@paris.ics.uci.edu>
Date: 4 Feb 89 20:44:55 GMT
References: <2301@uokmax.UUCP> <4284@hubcap.UUCP> <6528@paris.ics.uci.edu> <15770@mimsy.UUCP> <346@lakesys.UUCP>
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Reply-To: nagel@paris.ics.uci.edu (Mark Nagel)
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Organization: University of California, Irvine - Dept of ICS
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In-reply-to: macak@lakesys.UUCP (James Macak)

In article <346@lakesys.UUCP>, macak@lakesys (James Macak) writes:
|
|Red Ryder 10.3 has a well-known problem of performing extremely poorly during
|X-modem downloading.  (RR 9.4 was a reasonable performer!)  Unless one is
|running an INIT-less System on a Mac Plus, there is a considerable pause
|during the time that RR is doing the CRC check after receiving a packet.  This
|slows down transmission efficiency remarkably.  Surprisingly, using the same
|System but running RR under MultiFinder actually speeds up the download.

Yup, I just love watching my modem sit there for 5 seconds between 1K
blocks.  Makes me so glad I've paid all that money for Red Ryder over
the years...

|This problem has been discussed at length on the FreeSoft Roundtable of GEnie,
|where RR "support" is provided.  The moderator of that Roundtable has
|difficulty accepting the existence of this problem, but then again he is
|running a Mac II.  Scott Watson, RR's programmer, is well-aware of the
|download speed problem, but has seemingly ignored it while working on other
|software projects.

...especially when hearing about things like this.  "Red Ryder is
going *commercial* now, so send in all your money and it will be
supported just like a *commercial* product."  I'm thoroughly disgusted
with Red Ryder's download performance and FreeSoft's lack of
commitment to making the product work.

|A solution that I have found for the problem is to _not_ use RR's X-modem for
|downloading.  Rather, while still in RR, invoke the BackDown DA and use it to
|perform your X-modem download. You will note a _remarkable_ speed
|improvement.

I use a different method -- stay in Red Ryder until it's time to
download.  The quit and start up ZTerm (which is good *only* for
downloading) and then just blast everything over through sz.  Works
great!  I get about 235 cps throughput versus about 120 for Red Ryder
in 1K YModem.  

I wish I had the extra money to go out and buy a truly professional
communication program.  I seem to have blown it all on Red Ryder.

Mark Nagel @ UC Irvine, Dept of Info and Comp Sci
ARPA: nagel@ics.uci.edu              | Charisma doesn't have jelly in the
UUCP: {sdcsvax,ucbvax}!ucivax!nagel  | middle. -- Jim Ignatowski