WinFossil v1.04, release date 01/01/96

Thank you for trying WinFossil.  WinFossil is a 32-bit FOSSIL driver
for Windows 95.  It enhances the performance of existing MS-DOS 
communication applications such as many bulletin board programs
and terminal emulation packages.  WinFossil provides a fast path
from the applications interface to the 32-bit communications drivers
of Windows 95.

WinFossil is SHAREWARE, you are granted a 30-day trial period after
which you are expected to pay the license fee (US$ 10.00) if you 
continue to use this product.  Additional shipping charges for
overseas orders may apply. See the LICENSE.TXT for more information. 

To install, run the SETUP program included in the distribution files
and the driver and supporting control panel applet will be installed.
Context senstive help is available in the control panel applet, 
press F1 in the fields if you need assistance.  To uninstall, use 
the Application Wizard in the Control Panel to remove WinFossil.

Also, be sure to remove existing FOSSIL drivers from your CONFIG.SYS.
WinFossil will always override the existing FOSSIL drivers, but to
avoid potential conflicts, it is strongly recommended that you remove
your existing real-mode FOSSIL drivers from the CONFIG.SYS.  

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Known issues in v1.04:

- Configuring WinFossil for ports for parallel modems (e.g. Microcom 
  Deskporte FAST Parallel) requires too much knowledge of the
  underlying driver architecture for the VCOMM port driver.  For
  example, port name would be set to LPT1\ppm.vxd.  This information
  can be displayed in "user-friendly" fashion and managed directly by
  WinFossil.  This support is slated for the next release.

What's new in v1.04:

- Fixed deadlocks with FrontDoor and InterMail.

- Added support for enabling FOSSIL control on a port by port basis.

What's new in v1.03:

- Return proper codes on port reactivation, enhanced timeout handling
  for receive character routine.

- Investigated reported issues regarding FrontDoor.  I have successfully 
  configured FrontDoor 2.02 to work as a front-end to my Maximus system.  
  See the compatibility/configuration notes below for further
  details.

What's new in 01.02:

- Fixed performance and timeouts with Function AH=01h,
  WriteCharWait().

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Compatibility and Configuration Notes

FrontDoor 2.02  

    FrontDoor 2.02 does not like modems returning a DTE connect rate
    greater than 38400.  It also does not like modems returning DCE 
    connect rates other than the expected rates which map to errorlevels.  
    Thus, if the modem connect string returns CONNECT 28800, FrontDoor 
    becomes confused and waits in a loop for a proper connect string.  
    This may pose a problem when using locked baud rates.  To work 
    around this, I forced WinFossil to lock my DTE rate at 57600.  I 
    also configured the modem to return the DTE rate and then changed 
    the CONNECT 38400 string to CONNECT 57600.

Maximus 3.00

    When running under Windows 95, change the MAX.CTL Multitasker
    entry to "Multitasker None" and allow Windows 95 to properly
    time-slice the BBS virtual machine.  When this change is made, 
    performance for both the system and the BBS is improved.

ISDN FOSSILs

    Some ISDN boards also include their own FOSSIL drivers. 
    WinFossil will let port specific requests fall-through to
    existing FOSSIL handlers.  This pass-through mode should allow
    the vendor specific FOSSILs to take over for those ports.
  
    However, if the vendor has a Windows 95 VCOMM port driver, 
    WinFossil will be able to communicate directly with the port 
    driver and you can remove the real-mode FOSSIL driver.  
 
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The latest release of WinFossil can always be found on:

ftp://ftp.halcyon.com/local/woodruff/WinFossil
http://www.halcyon.com/woodruff/www
fido net: 1:343/9 (Ballderdash +1 206 603 0354) (F/Req: WNFOSSIL.ZIP)

Special thanks to Dave Ball who has encouraged me to produce this
product and has been especially dedicated to assisting with testing
when necessary.  Thanks Dave!

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Automated registration is available on CompuServe, GO SWREG.
WinFossil's shareware registration ID is 9117.



