
                         The Universal VESA VBE
                         ----------------------

                               Version 4.3

                              20 March 1994


The Universal VESA VBE is a small Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program
that extends the video BIOS of SuperVGA video cards to make them compatible
with the Video Electonics Standards Association (VESA) recommended
Video BIOS Extensions (VBE).

By having a video card that has a VESA VBE compatible BIOS, or by
installing this small TSR, programs that support the VESA VBE programming
interface will work correctly for your SuperVGA. This helps to solve a
lot of problems with compatability between different SuperVGA cards on the
market. Note that this program will not take advantage of any of the
acceleration features that your video card may provide.

NOTE: When you unzip this archive, make sure you use the -d option to
      create the correct directory structure.

Where to get the latest version
-------------------------------

You can probably download the latest shareware version of the package from
your local BBS, or you via the internet using ftp from Simtel20 or garbo (and
their mirrors):

    oak.oakland.edu:    pub/msdos/graphics/univbe??.zip
    garbo.uwasa.fi:     pc/graphics/univbe??.zip

If you have access to CompuServe, you can download the file from the
IBMPRO VESA file library (12) as the file uvbe??.zip (CompuServe has
restrictive file naming conventions).

Corrections, updates and queries
--------------------------------

If you have any corrections or updates to the code in this package, or
you have any questions you would like asked, feel free to contact me
through one of the following methods.

Internet:       rcskb@minyos.xx.rmit.edu.au
Compuserve:     100237,2213

Snail Mail:     Kendall Bennett
                SciTech Software
                GPO BOX 4216NN
                Melbourne 3001
                AUSTRALIA

Credits
-------

Credits must be given where credits are due. Finn Thoegersen, the author
of the VGADOC package has provided me with results and corrections for
the code after testing it on more SuperVGA adapters than I could possibly
hope for. His VGADOC package along with John Bridges VGAKIT provided the
information without which this package would never have gotten started.
The whole PC graphics community is deeply in his debt.

Bob Pendleton must be thanked for originally suggesting that I try to
convert the routines in the first versions of the SuperVGA kit into
an installable VESA compliant TSR. Without his inspiration this thing
would probably never have gotten started.

Tom Ryan and Rod Dewell from VESA have also been an inspiration, and
provided me with the oportunity to get the Universal VESA VBE working
across the board through co-operation with the video card vendors
themselves.

Kevin Gillet from VESA has also been a great inspiration, providing
me with the help that I need in terms of getting access to the new
VBE specs and VBE directions.

David Penley from NCR Microelectronics has been a great help, providing
test video boards and abundant amounts of technical documentation and
advice.

Also a number of people on the net have provided feedback on the package,
and I thank them for their help (there are too many to list :-)


