3.502 Hoelderlin, NB, Mac fonts (119)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Wed, 27 Sep 89 17:14:48 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 502. Wednesday, 27 Sep 1989.
(1) Date: Wed, 27 Sep 89 11:38:00 EDT (8 lines)
From: Osman.Durrani@durham.ac.uk
Subject: Re: 3.482 Ger. poetry
(2) Date: Wed, 27 Sep 89 10:29:23 PLT (76 lines)
From: "Guy L. Pace" <PACE@WSUVM1>
Subject: NB troubles, DOS
(3) Date: Wed, 27 Sep 89 11:24 EDT (10 lines)
From: <BURT@BRANDEIS>
Subject: Mac fonts
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 89 11:38:00 EDT
From: Osman.Durrani@durham.ac.uk
Subject: Re: 3.482 queries Ger. poetry, software, Brit. law, etc (162)
>Nah ist / Und schwer zu fassen der Gott.<
First two lines of version 1 of Hoelderlin's poem 'Patmos'
(January 1803). There are three subsequent versions of this text;
the last fragment begins >Voll Guet ist; keiner aber fasset / allein Gott.<
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------80----
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 89 10:29:23 PLT
From: "Guy L. Pace" <PACE@WSUVM1>
Subject: NB troubles, DOS
I felt the need to respond to Salzmann's complaint/query:
>From: Eldad Salzmann +972 3 472406 <ELDAD@TAUNIVM>
>Needless to say, there was nothing to do but to resort to word
>processors other than NB. The computer in question is, as I already
>noted before, a Toshiba 1200, with 20Meg hard disk and a 3.5" drive,
>with a connection to a 5.25" drive. It has 640K of RAM.
You may need to look at the number of memory resident programs loaded,
in addition to DOS. While you have 640K available when you turn it
on, once booted, the system be only have as little as 400K. This may
put a crimp in NB's style.
>Yet, the problem *I* mentioned apparently doesn't stem from this
>shortcoming of NB, since it's a matter of even a small file which is
>CAlled to screen after it has been STored and from that moment on the
>computer is stuck. The problem I was trying to allude to (as I see it)
>is related to a "bug", so to speak, which lies with this laptop (Toshiba
>1200), and this is what I am trying to verify with the help of other members
>of our list.
Actually, I don't think there is a "bug" in your laptop. It could be that
NB is looking for something the laptop does not have, or the installation
of NB is incorrect for your hardware (like it thinks you have more memory
to play with, or another disk drive available).
>We can well widen the scope of the discussion to include the question of
>how well the ordinary PC is capable of coping with the needs of our daily
>programs (programs like NB, WordPerfect etc.) in terms of memory, etc.
>We are all aware of DOS's ability to address only 640K of RAM. Has anyone
>tried to overcome this barrier? If we are put it bluntly, is there any
>generic" way to make NB or other wordprocessors (or any other program, for
>that matter) capable of using extended or expanded memory?
DOS really is limited to 1MB of memory. However, between 640K and 1MB is
reserved for special purposes like video, memory paging.
The problem isn't current hardware or current software. The problem is
the requirement for DOS to meet the needs of the lowest common denomenator.
The memory limitation is imposed on DOS by the 8088/8086 family of
microprocessors. The 80286, 80386 and on can directly address more
memory, however, with DOS they cannot.
An attempt at getting past the 1MB limit is OS/2. But, OS/2 needs 2 to
4 megs of RAM just to boot up.
The only hope of getting a cheap DOS that can use more than 640K
is if the 8088/8086 microchips die off (that means abandoning your XTs)
and DOS can be upgraded to handle the 80286 and 80386 instruction sets.
>I know Lotus is capable of accessing more than 640K, but as I heard it
>is then much slower than when it uses the ordinary maximum portion of
>the RAM (i.e. 640K).
When using additional memory, 123 runs _much_ faster than if it were swapping
to disk.
What it all means: Software is getting too large and sloppy (I used to handle
100+K files on a 64K, two-floppy CP/M system with no trouble). To most of
the HUMANISTS, this only means the software they are getting is inefficient.
To me, this means hours on the telephone helping customers resolve problems
created by large inefficient programs operating on systems with limited
resources (memory, hard disks, etc.).
OS/2 is not necessarily the answer. An operating system should not be ten
times larger than your application, and should not take up more resources
than are available in an off-the-shelf system.
We're at the mercy of the industry. Until the industry kills the XT,
and rewrites DOS for larger memory models, we're stuck with what we have.
That doesn't mean that new or better ideas aren't just around the corner.
Several have been discussed on HUMANIST and the industry news. The changes
in the next six months will be interesting to watch. Keep an eye out.
Now, if I can just get down off this soapbox without tripping, and me with
acrophobia!
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------14----
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 89 11:24 EDT
From: <BURT@BRANDEIS>
Subject: Mac fonts
I have recently heard of a package of many Mac fonts for the
Soviet Georgian alphabet. I can track down further info if there is interest.
John Burt
Brandeis University