Copyright (c) 1995, Joe DeRouen
All rights reserved                                                    


[This column originally appeared in the August 1995 edition of the
Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas monthly Computer Currents Magazine]


QUICK TIPS AND FIXES
by Joe DeRouen

Having problems with your computer?  Want to throw DOS out the Windows? 
You've come to the right place.  While we can't print all questions, we
do read them and will reply personally when the situation warrants it. 
Keep those cards and letters coming, folks.  But enough already with the
fruitcakes and canned hams.



Q: Dear Joe,

   I just bought a new 28.8k modem with my Pentium machine.  I noticed
   all the BBS's in the back of Computer Currents.  I've started calling
   some of them, including yours.  I'm enjoying getting into the
   "boards" very much!  The problem is, I have call waiting.  I've been
   knocked off several BBS's and even had one angry SysOp write me a
   nasty note telling me to stop dropping carrier on his system or I'd
   be deleted.  I don't want to get rid of call waiting.  Is there a way
   to turn it off or make my modem ignore it? 

   Sincerely,
   Johnathan Edwards
   Lewisville, Texas


A: Dear John,

   The solution to your dilemma is relatively simple and painless, and
   it's a common question most of us (myself included) have had at one
   time or another when starting out BBSing. 

   Most telephone companies provide a way for you to temporarily suspend
   call waiting.  The most common way is to dial *70 before dialing the
   number you want to call.  People trying to call you will then hear a
   busy signal while you're BBSing and won't cause your connection to
   crash. 

   Note that the actual command required to turn off call waiting varies
   from company to company.  If it isn't *70 (or 1170) contact your
   phone company for the correct code. 

   To remove call waiting on a per-call basis, just add *70 to the phone
   number of the BBS you're calling.  Separate it from the phone number
   by a comma to give your modem the correct amount of "pause time"
   before dialing the number.  Something like this:

     *70,620-8793

   If you want to remove call waiting altogether when using the modem,
   you'll have to alter your  dialing command string.  This should be
   relatively easy to find in the setup for your communication package;
   it'll most likely be the simple command "ATDT".  Change it to:

     ATDT*70

   From that point onward, whenever you're calling a BBS with that
   terminal program, you won't get any interfering calls from anyone
   trying to sell you aluminum siding or a newspaper subscription. 

   Note that you do not need to use both these options.  It really won't
   hurt anything if you do; it's just not necessary. 

   Note also that, when you're not BBSing, you'll still be able to use
   call waiting.  Canceling it via either of the two above methods is a
   purely temporary thing.  Of course, you can also cancel call waiting
   when using the telephone for voice calls by dialing *70 before you
   place your call.  If you want to cancel call waiting after receiving
   a voice call, and you have three-way calling, you can click over to
   the other line and dial *70.  You'll then hear a quick beep and find
   yourself back on line with your voice call, free from the
   interruptions of call waiting. 

   If you can afford it, you might consider getting a dedicated modem
   line that doesn't have call waiting on it.  If you're like the rest
   of us, you'll soon be spending many hours into the wee night looking
   for shareware word processor programs, DOOM add-ons, and obscure text
   files on the mating rituals of the fruit fly.  Have fun! 



Q:  Dear Joe,

    My Internet address ends in ".com".  I've seen others addresses that
    end in all sorts of other things.  What do these mean? 

    Confused, 
    Felicity Aiken
    via Internet    


A:  Dear Felicity,

    ".com" means that the Internet provider that you use is a Commercial
    business.  Since yours ends in ".com", I can probably guess that
    you're using the Internet via a commercial account rather than a
    government account or through a university. 

    Below you'll find a little chart listing the most common types
    you're likely to run into:

     .com = Commercial   
     .edu = Educational Institution
     .gov = Government
     .org = Organization

    You might also run into country codes such as ".au" for Australia,
    ".ca" for Canada, ".dk" for Denmark, etc.  Thus, the address
    "jderouen@madeupname.edu.au" would signify that the user jderouen is
    using the Internet through a university called "Madeupname" in
    Australia.  See, these things aren't so complicated after all.  


Q:  Dear Joe,

    I know that when using MS-DOS and wanting to see what's in your
    directory, you can use the command DIR in a variety of ways.  The
    same goes for COPY and some other DOS commands.  Besides looking it
    up in the manual (I hate my DOS manual, I really do) is there any
    easy way to see what options there are for a DOS command? 

    Thanks,
    Art Williams
    Dallas, Texas


A:  Dear Art,

    There are two ways, actually, and neither of them requires you to
    crack open that dusty DOS manual or call tech support. 

    If you type /? after almost any DOS command at the DOS prompt,
    you'll be given a fairly clear and concise list of what options that
    command supports.  Proper syntax for this would be:

     DIR /?

    You can also try "HELP DIR" (or whatever command you want to know
    more about) at the DOS prompt to jump into the DOS help index. 
    You'll find all the options you seek plus a little more indepth
    information about the command in question.  You can even type "HELP
    /?" for options to use when using the HELP command. 

    You can now safely leave those DOS manuals at the bottom of the dark
    closet in your basement where, if you're like me, they've probably
    been all along.  Thanks for writing!



Are you having a problem with your computer?  Write to Joe at Computer
Currents, via Sunlight Through The Shadows BBS at 214/620-8793, on the
internet at jderouen@crl.com, or through CompuServe at 73654,1732.  Be
sure to stop in and check out Joe's new World Wide Web Home Page at
http://www.crl.com/~jderouen/index.html while you're traversing the Web!

(c) 1995 Joe DeRouen.  All rights reserved.

