This version of NetModem is a major rewrite, using none of the external librarys that previous one was built around. According to Dedrick this version will not only be crash-proof, but it will be loaded with many new features. Some of the features he mentioned today are:

An Internal Multitasker

True Comport Emulation (optional)

Emulates a 16550 DOS UART

Option to disallow duplicate connections

Opens Additional BBS nodes as needed on the fly

There will soon be an alpha version of NetModem/32 2.0 available to the public. Dedrick did not say how soon, as he is still finalizing some of the new features first. He has allowed us to display some screen shots of the new version. Click Here to see how the new configuration panel looks. Click Here to see how the server itself looks.

Dedrick also mentioned that there is a rumor going around about a backdoor in NetModem/32, which is totally untrue. He said this rumor was started by a rather immature young kid who is developing a DOS BBS, and he recently asked Dedrick for a copy of the NetModem source code to use in his BBS software. When Dedrick refused his request, the kid became upset and started the rumor to be spitefull.

RemoteAccess News:

Bruce Morse, the new developer of RemoteAccess BBS, announced recently that the next version of RemoteAccess will have structural changes. These changes will allow 4 digit dates to be stored in the userbase, filebase, and exitinfo.bbs files. This is part of his recent effort to make RA Year-2K compatible. Morse said that Third-Party utilities that write to these RA filese will have to be updated to work properly, but utilities that only read the files will not be affected. Bruce plans to release the new version around the end of the year.

Intrestingly the developers of the RA clones (tcRA32 and EleBBS) have included Year-2K compatibility without structural changes. Using the 2-digit date method will still work in the twenty-first century, as long as none of the BBS users are over 100 years old. It's currently unknown if they plan to support the 4-digit structures as well.

tcRemoteAccess32 News:

Speaking of tcRemoteAccess32, on October 1st 1998 it became possible to register tcRemoteAccess32 for the first time. This is a 32-bit Windows 98/NT clone of the original DOS based RemoteAccess BBS. The price for the 3 node non-commercial version is US $65, or $55 to upgrade from the original DOS version of RA, or for existing tcUE or tcFE keyholders.

tcRemoteAccess32 can be registered with Ed Meloan (of RA-USA) in the United States, as well as with Jeroen van de Leur (of Slash) in the Netherlands.

Tornado News:

Konstantin Klyagin is currently preparing to release Tornado v1.60gamma. It is now available in DOS, OS/2, And Windows32 versions. Konstantin says after this release his next step will be to make internal internet services (telnet, ping, finger, etc) in the Win32 version and perhaps in the OS/2 version as well.

Searchlight News:

Pat Clawson announced that he is currently looking for beta testers to test Searchlight 5.1 for Win32 and OS/2. Pat owns Telegrafix, the company that developed the RIP graphics protocol and several RIP related tools. Telegrafix recently purchased the Searchlight 5.0 source from Frank LaRosa, and is currently enhancing it's RIP support among other features.

Searchlight already includes it's own fossil-compatible telnet driver, allowing it to run all DOS doors that are fossil driven via telnet.

ProBoard News

Former ProBoard developer Philippe Leybaert has changed his mind about Selling ProBoard to the higest bidder by the end of September, as he originally announced. He now says he may wait up untill the end of October 1998 before he desides what to do with the code. The few remaining ProBoard supporters are not surprised, as history has shown them that that what Philippe says and what he actually does are rarely the same.