Advanced Guide to ThinkDOS

Understanding the fundamentals of ThinkDOS will better allow you to understand how to fix things when someone messes up the station horribly, figure out how to send and observe network traffic, and use advanced programs.

Peripherals

When you construct your computer, you can fit up to 3 peripherals on the computer mainboard. One of these should always be an ID scanner module or you won't be able to even log into the computer. The ThinkDOS command periph view will tell you what peripherals you currently have installed, their slot number, and their status. Certain peripherals are capable of special commands. To issue a command, enter periph command # [blah], where # is the slot number and [blah] is what you want it to do.

ID Scanner Module

Necessary for logging into a computer.

• eject Ejects the card.
• checkaccess Checks the access level of the current card.

Floppy Drive Module

Adds a second floppy drive to the computer (default name sd0).

ROM Cart Reader Module

Allows the computer to read PDA carts. Bear in mind that you cannot directly run PDA programs on ThinkDOS as they are a different file extension.

Sound Synthesizer Module

• beep Beeps.
• speak sig Speaks [data] with the name [name] in a signal file.

Printer Module

• print file Prints a file, one at a time.

Prize Vending Module

• vend Pops out a random goody that could otherwise be won at the arcade. Takes about 45 seconds to recharge.

Limited Wireless Module

A wireless network card that is stuck at one frequency.

• ping Pings the network.

Wired Network Card

If the computer is on a valid data terminal, it will give the computer a numerical address and allow you to see and communicate with other devices on the same network. This is not limited to computers, for instance, the communications array is a device on the main network.

• ping Pings the network.
• transmit sig Transmits the specified signal file.

Wireless Network Card

A wireless card that allows the computer to send and receive on a specified radio frequency. There are many systems operating on many different frequencies, and you may need some experimentation to figure out what is what. A good starting point is 114.9, the frequency for PDA text message.

• ping Pings the network.
• mode_free Switches to free mode. The wireless card will pick up all radio traffic on its current frequency, whether or not it is specifically directed at the computer's network address. The card can also send packets without its sender ID. The trade-off is that the computer can only broadcast on a limited radius (about 8 tiles) in this mode.
• mode_net Switches to net mode. The wireless card will only receive traffic specifically addressed to it, and must specify its sender ID in outgoing packets. Its range is effectively infinite in this mode.
• # will set the wireless card to that frequency.
• transmit sig Transmits the specific signal file.

CompTech

The vending machine in tech storage, which dispenses much of the equipment needed to build ThinkDOS computers. When hacked, will also provide prize vending modules and wireless modules.

---