January 12, 1996

LineBusy 1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, Lee Grey
All rights reserved.


WHY I WROTE IT:
I work in an office where we have a LANtastic network and about 15 workstations.  About five
of us have modems that share the same telephone line.  This means that if someone is using
their modem on, say, Compuserve, and someone else decides to access some BBS at that moment,
the person on Compuserve will get disconnected when the second modem goes off-hook.  Having
been the disconnectee more than my share of times, I decided to write LineBusy.

BE MOST EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER:
LineBusy relies on cooperation to be successful.  It is not difficult to log someone off, if you
simply close LineBusy and then start up Windows Terminal, for instance.  But if everyone who is
sharing a telephone line simply runs LineBusy at all times, you can be sure that you will never
again be rudely disconnected in the middle of a download, a chat, or a surf.

HOW DOES HE DOES IT?!:
Every five seconds, LineBusy checks two things: (1) The availability of the local ComPort, and
(2) the existence of a semaphore file on the network.  LineBusy then decides whether the phone
line is in use by someone else, in use by you, or available for use.  LineBusy will display,
either as a tiny window in the bottom right corner or as an icon, the status of the line and who
(if anyone) has it.  Also, if the phone line is in use by someone else, LineBusy will allocate
your local ComPort, so that you cannot use your modem to interfere with someone else's good time.

THE DEAL:
Here's the deal.  This is a short and sweet little utility that I wrote for my own use.  It
came out pretty nice, so I thought I'd share it with you.  Feel free to use and distribute it.
All I ask is that you always keep this LINEBUSY.TXT file with LINEBUSY.EXE.  Is that so much
to ask?  After all I've done for you kids?!

NERD STUFF:
LineBusy takes up about 3k of memory and less than 1% of your Windows resources.  It's written
in Delphi.  I am surprised (distressed?) by how large it is.  I've removed all debugging info, 
and there is no database stuff in there.  So, I guess all that's left is Delphi overhead.  Seems
like a lot for a program of under 300 lines!  Go figure...

INSTALLATION:
Copy LINEBUSY.EXE and this LINEBUSY.TXT file anywhere you like.  (I have a UTIL directory for
this kind of stuff.)  I strongly suggest that you add a LINEBUSY icon in your Windows StartUp 
group, so that it will always be running.  The command line needs three parameters:

	Your name
	The number of your modem serial port
	The network directory everyone will use

Your name will be used to show other people when you have the phone line.  The number of your
serial port is used to see when are on the modem and to prevent you from breaking in on
someone else's modem time.  (If your modem is on COM1, this parameter would simply be 1.)
The network directory tells LINEBUSY where to read and write the phone line status.  If
everyone does not use the same directory, LINEBUSY cannot work!  Also, everyone must have
Read, Write, and Delete privileges on the network directory.  The file read, written, and
deleted by LINEBUSY is named LINEBUSY.WHO.

The command line from my Program Item Properties in my StartUp group reads:
	C:\UTIL\LINEBUSY.EXE Lee 1 Z:\


THE UBIQUITOUS DISCLAIMER:
This is simple, innocuous software.  It works for us.  But I cannot take any responsibility
for how appropriate or safe it will be in your situation.  I make it available for use as
FreeWare and As Is.  I disclaim any responsibility for damages, loss of income, etc.  Please
enjoy it, use it in good health, and don't make me regret uploading it.  Amen.

THERE'S NO FREE LUNCH:
I really don't expect money for this program, but it would be kind of neat and a little
rewarding to get some feedback from you if you end up using this program.  Of course, I can
take some criticism and suggestions, too, as long as it's nothing involving body cavities.

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION:
I graduated with highest honors in 1983 from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical
and Computer Engineering.  I've done lots of work in computer graphics, real-time, embedded
systems, databases, client/server, networking, etc.  I'm as good a software engineer as
you will find (just ask my mother!).  I've done consulting and even started a fractal greeting
card business (nice cards, going cheap!).  I am gainfully employed, starting a business (again!),
have an eight-month-old daughter, a wife, and a house.  I don't need a job.  Nonetheless, I'm
always open to good opportunities.  If you need software written and want to make me a millionaire,
please call anytime.


Lee Grey
d/b/a Grey Matter
Atlanta, GA
72540.1641@compuserve.com (soon to be LeeGrey@compuserve.com)
