OS/2 Shareware

July OS/2 Shareware

Internet Special IV: Telnet Clients.
Continuing our in-depth look at PM Internet applications.

By Christopher Relf

Although most of us use standalone PM FTP, IRC and email programs, we often have to get into a shell to configure, or to do things that you just need the command line to do. In these cases you need to Telnet — and this month we look at a couple of the available Shareware PM Telnet programs available.

Section Index

Products in this section:

Windows: Audiograbber 1.41, MusicMatch Jukebox 3.1, Pam 1.26, MP3 Manager 32 4.73 , Cool Edit 96

OS/2: A REXX Telnet API, TelnetP v1.0, Term/2 v2.54b, ZOC v3.11

Mac: Solitaire Till Dawn 3.4.1, Game of the Winds 2.1, Sokoban 2.4.2a, Skat 1.1.2, X-Words Deluxe 1.0, System's Twilight 1.0.5

Linux: Treeps, SmallEiffel, Tcl Developer Studio, Xfstt, Qstat

Other Workshop Files: Windows Workshop, C++ files, Java files

NB: Before you install a shareware program that you have downloaded from the Internet, you should always check the version information. Often you could be downloading an old version, with limited features, or even an experimental one that could crash your workstation. Generally, the first release version is v1.00 -- there may be versions before this one, but they are usually 'under construction' versions. When the author makes a minor improvement, the version number is incremented to the right of the decimal point (for example: v1.00 becomes v1.01), but when a major change occurs (a lot of extra functionality, or a new PM interface for example) the version number increments to the next whole integer (for example: v1.54 becomes v2.00). A word of warning: if the version number is suffixed with either a or b, beware! An alpha version (eg: v1.32a) is a rough version that's hardly been tested at all, and a beta version (eg: v2.46b) has been tested only at a base level, and has usually been released for others to test it in general use. If an alpha or beta falls over and you lose data, or even experience hardware damage, you have used the program at you own risk!

A REXX Telnet API

A bit of work has gone into this REXX Telnet API, and if anyone is considering writing their own PM Telnet application or utility then this can help them with the building blocks. A REXX Telnet API, written by the very talented Ben Ravago, is a fully functional Telnet API -- there really isn't much that needs to be worked on. Ravago has provided a dynamic link library (DLL) to handle everything, and both REXX and C callable functions are used. A number of scripts are included to demonstrate how easy it is to use the API -- try XNVT.CMD, it's pure REXX, and it works. Although the author notes that the API was not intended for commercial use, it is inherently stable, because there's really not much to it -- it's both simple and strong.

Those of you that have noticed my tendency to lean towards programs that use the old command line will enjoy this one! I honestly would like to see a GUI written using this API, so if you're a programmer, get on it and I'll feature your program in an upcoming edition of APC.

Download the version for your operating system here:

OS/2

Publisher:

Ben Ravago

Price:

Freeware

Requirements:

OS/2 Warp 3, 486DX2 66, 4M RAM, 800 by 600 (256-colour) video card, supported mouse

Install instructions:

Download to your local drive, then unzip it (for help click here) and run the EXE file.

Links online:

http://ftp.uni-heidelberg.de/inline/index/ftp/pub/os2/rexx/rxTelnet.zip/

Rating:

TelnetP v1.0

The author of TelnetP v1.0 originally wrote it as a replacement of the TelnetPM program that is bundled with OS/2. Those people who still use IBM's WebExplorer may have noticed that TelnetPM is launched automatically to handle Telnet clienting, but it's not really that functional. TelnetP feels very much like TelnetPM, but provides extra features, including Zmodem file transfers (one of the most popular Telnet file transfer protocols), IBM extended ASCII handling, and the ability to write quite complicated scripts to automate mundane processes.

It's another command line thing (script), so a few people mightn't like it -- but it is still quite functional. A few other scripts are included to allow you to call other Telnet applications or utilities (one example, ZOC, is reviewed below). TelnetP v1.0 is just another example of an unhappy OS/2 user replacing what they didn't like instead of whining about it. Try it out, you might like it.

Download the version for your operating system here:

OS/2

Publisher:

Thacker Network Technologies

Price:

Postcardware

Requirements:

OS/2 Warp 3, 486DX2 66, 4M RAM, 800 by 600 (256-colour) video card, supported mouse

Install instructions:

Download to your local drive, then unzip it (for help click here) and run the EXE file.

Links online:

http://www.dAvid@tHacker.com

Rating:

Term/2 v2.54b

Term/2 provides a "terminal server capability for OS/2 machines". I hear you ask, "What does that mean, exactly?" Well, let's say that you're a school, church, government agency or even a business, and you want an inexpensive way to provide many users with an entry point to the Internet through your local area network and an OS/2 server. Asynchronous terminals can be purchased quite cheaply these days, and Term/2 can let such a terminal have DEC VT100, VT220 or ADM-3A access to a Telnet session from your OS/2 machine. Your terminal can then Telnet to either the OS/2 machine that it's connected to, or even some other Telnet server on your intranet or the Internet (I hope I haven't confused you too much!) If you have the right hardware, this may provide a very cost-effective way for your people to have Internet access.

Please note the version warning above, as Term/2 is in beta testing. Not all of the final features have been included, but the author has listed some of the extras to come. As Control-C will generate a Interrupt Process to the server; there will possibly be the ability to shell to a file transfer program (that sounds very useful), and of course a PM interface, logging, and general bells and whistles are also planned. Again, you can help the author by trying Term/2 out and sending in suggestions to the email address below.

Download the version for your operating system here:

OS/2

Publisher:

T Fry

Price:

Freeware (it's only a beta!)

Requirements:

OS/2 Warp 3, 486DX2 66, 4M RAM, 800 by 600 (256-colour) video card, supported mouse

Install instructions:

Download to your local drive, then unzip it (for help click here) and run the EXE file.

Online:

email: tfry@universe.digex.net

Rating:

ZOC v3.11

I was first introduced to ZOC through a university colleague, while he was studying for his PhD at UTS. An avid OS/2 user, he was so enthusiastic about ZOC that I just had to give it a try. ZOC is an all-round multipurpose communication program that can be used to access BBSes through modem or ISDN, Telnet hosts via a LAN or the Internet, and special character-based services through named pipes. It's not often I get to write this, but ZOC is one of those programs that has too many features to mention. ZOC is a true 32-bit multithreaded program that is (thankfully) available for OS/2, Windows NT and Windows 95, so you can use it at home and at work!

ZOC can emulate TTY, VT52, VT100, VT102, VT220, AVATAR, ANSI, and, through a third party, QNX terminals. Supported file transfer protocols include ASCII, Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, CompuServe-B, Kermit, and interrupted Zmodem and CompuServe-B transfers can be resumed. The online help is nothing less than extensive, with help for both intermediate and experienced OS/2 users. In case you're in the habit of surfing for images, you can show GIF/JPEG pictures while downloading them (you don't have to wait for them to download completely) and, if you're worried about your ISP bill, there's telephone cost monitoring depending on daytime, weekends and holidays. If you enjoy it, there's the ability to use REXX for scripting (yes, you can program in REXX for OS/2, Windows NT and Windows 95 as well). If you want a communication server, ZOC is happy with Dynamic Data Exchange, and there's support for external OS/2 protocols and external DOS protocols under OS/2 and Windows. As well as all that, there's a phone book with up to 500 entries (with a full option set for each), logging sessions to printer, file and scrollback buffer (all very easy to use), clipboard support, a user defined toolbar with over 60 functions, a status line with modem LEDS and quick access to important options. ZOC is definitely the leader when it comes to OS/2 PM terminal programs.

Download the version for your operating system here:

OS/2

Publisher:

EmTec

Price:

$69

Requirements:

OS/2 Warp 3 or above, 486DX2 66, 4M RAM, 800 by 600 (256-colour) video card, supported mouse

Install instructions:

Download to your local drive, then unzip it (for help click here) and run the EXE file.

Links online:

http://www.emtec.com/zoc/index.html

Rating: