Test reports

Test reports

1. Little helpers for everyday Amiga usage (by Christian Aichinger)

Welcome to the latest issue of "Little helpers". First I want to thank all those people who sent nice emails after reading the last issue. Bear with me for a correction and an addition.

Correction to "MMULib" by Thomas Richter: I wrote: "There is no comfortable installer-script available, and with the myriad Amiga configurations surely it is not possible. The only installation-help is a little ARexx-Script which can be used to create a config-file." I got it all wrong. In fact, there is an installer-script in the archive, but the files "s:user-startup" and "s:startup-sequence" should be tested manually after the installation. (Some "MuTools" will be started in the "s:user-startup", which could cause problems, but not if they are started in "S:startup-sequence" after "Setpatch"). My apologies for this oversight. There is the new version 42.4 of the MMULib-Distribution available on aminet.

Addition to "DosTrace":

A reader has sent me a newer version of the system-monitor "DosTrace". My thanks for that. It is version 2.20, which is a little different from the previous version 2.13. It can be downloaded from my homepage (http://members.surfeu.de/68kfreak).

With those out of the way, back to the latest stuff, hopefully correct this time. In this issue, I want to review the tools "MemIcon", "MainPrefs", "VirusExecutor" and "RxTD".

MemIcon:

The name implies it all: MemIcon consists of a little AppIcon, which handles all its functions. MemIcon keeps it simple: it only displays the amount of free memory, the OS-version and the screen size. Seems inconsequential....unless you want to do a switch with the screenbar on Workbench 3.9, which lacks this info. And this is the reason for MemIcon.

MemIcon can be configured via tooltypes. You can set the font and its size, the colours, position, the information to be displayed and a few other things. MemIcon lets you create a little Info-Box which displays your favourite information.

On the other hand, owners of Amiga systems with a gfx-card won't be interested in the exact amount of free chipmem, or the exact number of free fastmem bytes, as shown in the screen's titlebar. Rounded values like "15.5 MB" would be better.

Installation is very easy. The archive consists of a short description and the executable file.

MemIcon should be copied to "WBStartup", to be loaded after the boot process. The tooltypes are well documented, and some of them are self-evident. You should be aware that the author has released the program as "alpha", which normally means a very early, untested version.

On my Configuration (OS3.9/040/CGFX) the program worked fine. The only worry I ran into was shifting the AppIcon around the screen: the background wasn't restored correctly. (note of the english renderer: Not unknown late at night on NT4.) Crashes/memory fragmentation refused to appear.

MainPrefs:

It's the price of progress!!?? With every new OS update the number of preferences increases. After installing new Datatypes and Tools, each with its own configuration manager, the chaos grows. So you try to increase the font size, to save your eyesight, but in a screen full of Preferences, where is the damned Font-Preference...?

Martin R. Elsner, the author of "MainPrefs", seems to have run into this problem ahead of most of us, and has written a main configuration program.

His solution is really nice. Mainprefs uses a ReAction-GUI and doesn't restrict itself to the ordinary functions like collecting all Preferences into one program. It also sports an assign editor: all actual assigns and their state are displayed (normal, path, multi assign, later).

The tab files captures a table of all important system files like "user-startup", "startup-sequence" or "mountlist". With a double-click on a file, a previously defined texteditor will be started. Changes can be made very quickly.

The tab programs contains probably the most important part of MainPrefs. All usable Preferences can be added here. Of course preferences from other applications can be inserted, too.

But MainPrefs should not be seen as a mini-toolmanager. The configuration is a bit complicated, and MainPrefs doesn't provide any AppWindow-functions. Adding about 50 preferences would be just another soporific piece of work on my system. I decided to add just the important preferences. This way, the listview stays simple, too (how often does one change to time zone or the preferred language? My girl-friend doesn't work at UPS! ;) ).

Very useful also is the final editor MainPrefs provides - the variables-editor. With this editor, environment-variables can be changed easily. On the left side the name of the variable is displayed, on the right side the content.

New variables can't be created and Amigans running "HappyEnv" have their own special problem. Mainprefs only displays the variables found in "ENV:", and the main point of "HappyEnv" is to keep variables out of "ENV:" until a program wants them........

The installation a snip via amiga-installer. MainPrefs is localized and supports german, english, italian, french, spanish and turkish. The documentation is available via amigaguide in german, english and italian.

VirusExecutor:

Thank god it's not often that the Amiga gets influenza - or any other virus. But if it should happen, VirusExecutor could be your salvation.

VirusExecutor uses xfdmaster.library and xvs.library. For protection against the latest virii, you must always have the latest versions of these two libraries on your system or bootdisk.

Xfdmaster.library lets VirusExecutor decompress various compressed files (e.g.

StoneCracker, Imploder, PowerPacker, etc.) and test them for all known virii. The latest xvs.library keeps VirusExecutor up to date with a definitive virus-database. Get in the habit of checking Aminet for updates of both libraries if you regularly engage in internet intercourse of the download kind.

VirusExecutor has all the important condom functionality a virus-scanner should have nowadays. It checks all system vectors for reset-resident programs or virii, has access to an archive of disc-bootblocks, regularly checks freely definable files and directories, and can scan whole partitions and archives for link-virii or trojans.

Most system patches (changed Library Vector Offsets) will be detected by VirusExecutor and displayed. If unknown LVOs are displayed, the user should panic, it could be a virus. On the other hand there is no need to jump out of the window, the unknown LVO could be a new system patch VirusExecutor doesn't know about, because the author hasn't added the new patch to the patches-database.

Users can look into a database (menu "Show/Patches") and compare the database's patches with whatever patches are installed on own system. If you find a patch which VirusExecutor doesn't know, download the latest VEPatchBrain-file from the VE-homepage. If that does not help, an extensive viruscheck is recommended, and you should send off a quick email to the author.

The user interface is more functional than user friendly - distinct echoes of 1992. On the other hand VirusExecutor doesn't gobble system resources and fits on the OS3.5+ emergency disk. Users should create a bootdisk complete with VirusExecutor to be able to check for a virus without booting from hd in case of emergency. Of course, this disc should be writeprotected.

VirusExecutor can be installed without problems via the amiga-installer. There are catalogs for german, english, dansk, french, italian, norsk, polish, portuguese, slovak and svenska. Unfortunately, not all parts of VirusExecutor are localized. The documentation is provided as amigaguide in german and french.

RxTD:

AmigaOS 3.9 has several system patches to upgrade OS2.x/3.1/3.5 with system friendly code. Unfortunately the odd man out is ToolsDaemon by Nico François. On OS3.9-systems ToolsDaemon can crash the system. Some OS3.9-users have not struck problems with ToolsDaemon but they should know that this once-splendid hack could be undermining the stability of their system. At worst this leads to desperate postings in different mailinglists, accusing OS3.9 of being the problem, when 3.9 is innocent.

Those who can't use ToolsDaemon under 3.9 or even those who don't have problems, should look at RxTD on aminet. It is a program that generates the familiar ToolsDaemon-menus using system friendly ARexx-ports. This whole package is ingenious. Unfortunately the installation is problematical and in parts incorrect.

Installation doesn't use the standard amiga-installer, but a little custom script. There is no version-checking - newer files won't be copied.

After installation, you should manually compare the versions of "libs:wbstart.library", "l:wbstart-handler" and "c:wbrun" with those in the RxTD-distribution. All other files will be correctly copied to the system. ToolsDaemon MUST be moved out of the wbstartup-directory, if you haven't already done that. The ToolsDaemon-preferences should not be deleted, as TxTD uses them.

After rebooting, the Workbench-menus will be displayed as usual by RxTD, but system friendly this time. RxTD may have problems with hotkey-definitions saved with ToolsDaemon. If you get an error message like...

"7 *-* KEYBOARD ADD NAME "RxTDMIHotKey1" '"Ctrl+LALT+S"' CMD ...
+++ Command returned 10"

... on start up, the corresponding hotkey-entry must be removed from ToolsDaemon-prefs. Changes will only take effect when starting ToolsDaemon-Prefs out of Tools-menu. When started from WB, changes won't work unless you reboot.

The english documentation in amigaguide-format says that the alternative ToolsDaemon-Preferences "TDPrefs2" on aminet can be used. But on my system it was not possible to delete menu-entries with TDPrefs2. They weren't displayed by TDPrefs, but it didn't produce a difference with RxTD.

The author of RxTD has promised a full replacement of ToolsDaemon on his homepage. Till then, you'll have to work around the installation problems and handicaps of RxTD v1.2 and then wave goodbye to ToolsDaemon.

So, that's it for this month. If you find any errors, have suggestions or any comments, send me an email. Deadline calling....... ;)

Christian Aichinger <christian@aakt.de>«