FastEcho
Encyclopedia
FastEcho is a message processing package for FTN (FidoNet
Technology Network) mail systems. It was written and released as shareware
by Tobias Burchhardt in 1991. The latest available version is 1.46.1 which was released in 1997. FastEcho was one of the fastest FTN mail processing packages available for FTN style messages. Available in three flavors, DOS
, DPMI and native OS/2
32bit, it offered numerous features that were desirable for leafnode systems as well as highend FTN mail distribution hubs.
v3.xx or IBM's OS/2 v2.x or v3.0 were the minimum required operating system platforms.
Some sort of archiver package was also needed to be able to open and seal the mail bundles. The list of supported archiver packages was PKZIP
/PKUNZIP 1.10/2.04g, ARJ
2.30/2.41a, LHARC 1.13c/LHa 2.13, PKPAK/PKUNPAK 3.61, ARC 6.02, ZOO 2.10, PAK 2.51, SQZ 1.08, RAR 1.5x, and UC2 2.00. Optionally, an extractor program that automatically coped with the different decompression programs could be used. The two supported ones were General Unpack Shell (GUS) 1.90 or later and PolyXarc 2.1a or later.
packages like RemoteAccess
, Maximus
, QuickBBS
, and T.A.G. Pretty much any BBS package could be used as long as it supported one of the three supported message base formats. They were the FTN MSG format, the HMB designed by Adam Hudson, and the JAM
format. You could also use FastEcho if you were a BBS user and did all your mail stuff offline like QWK and Blue Wave
users did. This method was a bit more complicated but allowed the BBS user to operate much like any other FTN mail system and reap the benefits of such.
The DOS version (including DPMI) has a limit of 64 KiB
per message, cutting any larger message down to that size. Worse, the default setting is 32 KiB. In OS/2 version, the maximum size is 512 KiB.
Since the release, many free (both as in speech and beer) alternatives emerged, but FastEcho was considered by some people one the easiest tossers to configure.
Online support for FastEcho is also available at the North American FastEcho Support (NAFES) forum.
Registration keys are nowadays available for free on request from the author.
FidoNet
FidoNet is a worldwide computer network that is used for communication between bulletin board systems. It was most popular in the early to mid 1990s, prior to the introduction of easy and affordable access to the Internet...
Technology Network) mail systems. It was written and released as shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
by Tobias Burchhardt in 1991. The latest available version is 1.46.1 which was released in 1997. FastEcho was one of the fastest FTN mail processing packages available for FTN style messages. Available in three flavors, DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
, DPMI and native OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
32bit, it offered numerous features that were desirable for leafnode systems as well as highend FTN mail distribution hubs.
System requirements
FastEcho's minimum system requirements were very easy to meet. It ran on IBM PCs, XTs, ATs or compatibles with optimized routines for 386, 486, and Pentium based and compatible machines. DOSMS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
v3.xx or IBM's OS/2 v2.x or v3.0 were the minimum required operating system platforms.
Some sort of archiver package was also needed to be able to open and seal the mail bundles. The list of supported archiver packages was PKZIP
PKZIP
PKZIP is an archiving tool originally written by Phil Katz and marketed by his company PKWARE, Inc. The common "PK" prefix used in both PKZIP and PKWARE stands for "Phil Katz".-History:...
/PKUNZIP 1.10/2.04g, ARJ
ARJ
ARJ is a software tool designed by Robert K. Jung for creating high-efficiency compressed file archives. ARJ is currently on version 2.85 for DOS and 3.15 for Windows and supports 16-bit and 32-bit Intel architectures.ARJ was one of two mainstream archivers for DOS and Windows during early and...
2.30/2.41a, LHARC 1.13c/LHa 2.13, PKPAK/PKUNPAK 3.61, ARC 6.02, ZOO 2.10, PAK 2.51, SQZ 1.08, RAR 1.5x, and UC2 2.00. Optionally, an extractor program that automatically coped with the different decompression programs could be used. The two supported ones were General Unpack Shell (GUS) 1.90 or later and PolyXarc 2.1a or later.
Supported software
Numerous FTN mailers like FrontDoor, D'Bridge, and BinkleyTerm were supported. Also supported were various Bulletin Board SystemBulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
packages like RemoteAccess
RemoteAccess
RemoteAccess is a DOS Bulletin Board System software package written by Andrew Milner and was published by his company Wantree Development in Australia. RemoteAccess was written in Turbo Pascal with some Assembly Language routines. RemoteAccess began in 1989 as a clone of QuickBBS by Adam Hudson...
, Maximus
Maximus (BBS)
Maximus is a bulletin board system, originally developed by Scott J. Dudley through his company, Lanius Corporation. The software was first written and released for both MS-DOS and OS/2, with later versions supporting 32-bit Windows operating systems. The MS-DOS version interfaced with the serial...
, QuickBBS
QuickBBS
QuickBBS was a bulletin board system application first introduced for MS-DOS by Adam Hudson.-External links:** at The BBS Archive...
, and T.A.G. Pretty much any BBS package could be used as long as it supported one of the three supported message base formats. They were the FTN MSG format, the HMB designed by Adam Hudson, and the JAM
JAM Message Base Format
The JAM Message Base Format was one of the most popular file formats of message bases on DOS-based BBSes in the 1990s. JAM stands for "Joaquim-Andrew-Mats" after the original authors of the API, Joaquim Homrighausen, Andrew Milner, Mats Birch, and Mats Wallin. Joaquim was the author of FrontDoor,...
format. You could also use FastEcho if you were a BBS user and did all your mail stuff offline like QWK and Blue Wave
Blue Wave
Blue Wave is a file-based offline mail reader that was popular among bulletin board system users, especially users of FidoNet and other networks that generated large volumes of mail...
users did. This method was a bit more complicated but allowed the BBS user to operate much like any other FTN mail system and reap the benefits of such.
Features
FastEcho had numerous features that were desirable on many systems. Mail distribution hubs looked for the ability to handle many downlinks as well as large numbers of message areas. FastEcho could handle up to 1024 downlinks and up to 3072 message areas.- Support for multitasking environments such as Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, QuarterdeckQuarterdeck Office SystemsQuarterdeck Office Systems, later Quarterdeck Corporation , was an American computer software company. It was founded by Therese Myers and Gary Pope in 1981and incorporated in 1982...
's DESQviewDESQviewDESQview was a text mode multitasking program developed by Quarterdeck Office Systems which enjoyed modest popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
and OS/2OS/2OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal... - Support for networking environments like Novell and LANtastic.
- Updating AREAS.BBS (BBS' message base configuration) with new message areas when they are created automatically.
- Transliteration of German non-ASCII characters in incoming messages when the option “Convert Umlauts” for the message area is enabled, using a certain popular character encoding as the source, although that causes messages in other encodings to get corrupted, which is a problem when the option is enabled inadvertently.
The DOS version (including DPMI) has a limit of 64 KiB
Kibibyte
The kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use...
per message, cutting any larger message down to that size. Worse, the default setting is 32 KiB. In OS/2 version, the maximum size is 512 KiB.
Since the release, many free (both as in speech and beer) alternatives emerged, but FastEcho was considered by some people one the easiest tossers to configure.
Availability
FastEcho is still available today. You can get it from any support site that is still in operation.- The author's support site
- The NAFES FastEcho file area
Online support for FastEcho is also available at the North American FastEcho Support (NAFES) forum.
Registration keys are nowadays available for free on request from the author.