Here is a list of some other freeware programs I have written
which you may be interested in. The latest versions can always
be found somewhere in the msdos directory of the Simtel archive
on the internet. The primary site for this is oak.oakland.edu,
but there are mirrors sites all over the world. In the
following file names I have represented the version numbers by
the string "nn" since they may change by the time you look for
them.
BIGTXTnn - This program takes its command line argument and
magnifies the characters so that they are 4 to 8 or more times
larger. It uses several font sources, including any screen
font and can be used for batch files, text file headings and
banners. If you remember bigecho, this does a similar function
but has many more options and features. It can be found in
directory msdos/textutil.
NVLTFNTS - This archive contains a screen font loader and 12
unusual screen fonts. The loader produces fonts which are
persistant but which can be overridden any time you wish. The
screen fonts are compatible with BIGTEXT. It can be found in
directory msdos/screen. Here's a sample of using the Olde
English font with BIGTEXT:
▄▀▀█▄ ▀█▄ ▀█▄
██ ██ ██ ██▄ ▄▄▄
██ ██ ██ ▄▀▀ ██ ▄█ ██
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██▀▀▀
▀█▄▄▀ ▀█▄ ▀█▄▄▀ ▄█▄▄▄▄
▄▀▀█▄ ▀█▄ ██ ▄█
██ ▀ ▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄ ██ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ██
██▄▄▄ ██ ██ ▄█ ▀█▄ ██ ██ ▄█ ██▄▄██
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ▀▀▀█▄▄ ██ ██
▄█▄▄▄▄▄ ▄█▄▄ ▀█▄▀█▄▀██▄ ▀█▄ ▀█▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▀ ▄█▄▄ ██
▄▄▄ █▀ ▀
▀▀▀
FLPKITnn - This archive contains a set of 8 utilities to help
you speed up and test your floppy disks and drives. It can
be found in directory msdos/diskutil. In particular you get:
FLOPPARM - Speeds up drive operation by modifying DOS
parameters.
TESTSTEP - Determines the maximum step rate which can be
used with a particular drive.
FLOPTEST - Tests drive for proper operation. Also does a
quick readability check for every sector of a
floppy disk.
SEEKBNCH - Performs a seek benchmark for three different
types of seeks.
FLOPSKEW - Determines optimal skewing for proper formatting.
By using the findings of this program and
FDFORMAT you can speed up reading and writing
by 30% every time you use a floppy disk.
Formatting is faster, too.
FLOPRPM - Checks a drive's rotation speed for accuracy and
consistent operation.
FLOPINFO - Displays a floppy disk's formatting parameters.
FLOPSCRB - Used with a cleaning disk to clean a drive's head
RUNTIMnn - This utility can measure the execution time of DOS
programs, commands and batch files with a resolution better
than one thousandth of a second. The measurement can be
saved in a file or displayed on your screen. The output format
and accompanying text can be specified. It can be found in
directory msdos/sysutil.
S48Vnn - S48 is a software simulator of the 8048/49/50 micro-
processor. All registers, flags and RAM are visible contin-
uously on the screen. Instructions are disassembled and
displayed as they are simulated. Cheaper and more colorful
than an MDS! It can be found in directory msdos/emulators.
LJLPTnn - This program prints text in landscape oriented pages
at 177 columns by 75 lines on a Laserjet. Great for getting
fast, quiet, compact program listings. Initial banner page,
page headers, line numbers, multiple copies and graybar row
shading are available as options. Source included. It can be
found in directory msdos/laserjet.
WASTEDnn - This program shows you the effects of different
cluster sizes on the efficiency of file storage on your system.
If you're upgrading to a larger hard disk, the information
displayed may affect the size of the partitions you choose for
your hard disk and save you megabytes of wasted space. In
directory msdos/diskutil.
P5BUGnn - A simple test for the Pentium FDIV "flaw". Source
included. In directory msdos/sysutil.
In addition there are some programs which I have made some
contribution to, even though I didn't write them.
TODIRnn - Change to any subdirectory just by specifying the
first few letters of its name, no matter which drive it is on
or how deep it is in the subdirectory tree. An approximate
string search is also available if you're really lost. Source
included. In the directory msdos/dirutil.
UARTTYnn - This program identifies which type of UART chip is
used by all of the COM ports in your system. Source included.
It can be found in directory msdos/io_util.
O-CONTRL - This archive contains a TrueType symbol font useful
for preparing orienteering clue sheets. If you're not an
orienteer, just think of it as a collection of vaguely
cartographic dingbats. I converted this from Macintosh Type 1
format and spend a lot of time touching up the characters. In
directory win3/font.
BCF7713B - This is a really buggy Fortran compiler but it's the
only public domain Fortran compiler that I'm aware of. It may
be useful for some small jobs. I translated the documentation
from German into English. It can be found in the directory
msdos/fortran.
Quite a mixed bag, eh? There should be something here you can
use.
You are encouraged to pick up these programs from a convenient
Internet ftp site but if you don't have Internet access you can
get a disk with the latest versions of all these programs plus
other related freeware, like FDFORMAT and 2M, directly from me.
Just send me $10 ($12 in US funds if you live outside the US).
Inquiries and other correspondence which requires a reply
should include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
William Luitje
2677 Wayside Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
USA
internet: luitje@m-net.arbornet.org (much preferred) or
luitje@cyberspace.org
