Amiga ISO Collection/AmigaDemoCD2.iso/ASCII/TEXTE/MISC/HowToGetAminetFiles.LHA/Info/Aminet-README

Text File | 1994-10-03 | 17.1 KB | 378 lines

CONTENTS
========

1. Getting started
2. Finding out what's new
3. Finding a specific file
4. Directory structure
5. Mirror sites of Aminet
6. Accessing Aminet on the Internet
7. Accessing Aminet without Internet
8. Copyright status and disclaimer
9. Background information



1. Getting started
------------------

Welcome to Aminet.  Aminet is a set of interconnected FTP sites and other
file accessing services for Amiga software.  It is structured differently
from most other FTP sites so please read below instructions carefully.  Even
more important:  Read new/README.BEFORE.UPLOAD before uploading anything, or
your upload is in danger of being deleted.  Wherever not mentioned otherwise,
pub/aminet/ is the path for the files described.

If you are new to FTP, you'll find most of your questions answered in the
text info/start/FTP-Help.txt here which is also posted to the newsgroup
comp.sys.amiga.introduction bi-weekly.  The archivers needed to unpack the
files stored here can be found in util/arc/, the archivers themselves are
self-extracting (in .run format) in most cases, ie. start them and they'll
unpack automatically when you run them.



2. Finding out what's new
-------------------------

Once you're in pub/aminet/, you can receive the file RECENT for a list
of the last seven day's uploads. The newest files are on the top of the
list. In FTP, you can type 'get RECENT -' or 'get RECENT |more' to see
the new files. Interesting files also found in CHARTS.

Once you see a file that interests you, cd to the appropriate directory
and have a look at the according .readme file. There you'll usually find
a more extensive description. Based on that you may choose to download
the file (but never forget to type 'bin' in FTP before you start!). Also,
a copy of all recent file can be found in the directory recent/.



3. Finding a specific file
--------------------------

Before you start looking, you should be aware that not all Aminet sites
are complete. Most delete older files. So if you don't find something at
your 'home' mirror, use one of the big sites that keep everything online
like ftp.wustl.edu, ftp.luth.se or ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk

To do a search, download the file INDEX.Z, uncompress it and search for
the name or description you've been looking for. Under UNIX, you'd hit
CTRL-Z in FTP after the download, type 'zcat INDEX.Z | fgrep -i foo'
in order to look for 'foo' and then type 'fg' to return to FTP.

You may use the version from info/index/ if your terminal is capable of
showing more than 80 characters per line. This one doesn't truncate the
short descriptions and includes an age column.

If you were looking for something on Aminet but only found it elsewhere,
please do everyone a favor and upload it to Aminet to make the file easier
to find for the next ones.



4. Directory structure
----------------------

Sometimes you are looking for a certain category of file without knowing
a name. You then best go by directory. The directories within /pub/aminet/
are:

new/     New files, upload here. (See new/README.BEFORE.UPLOAD)
priv/    Private uploads.        (See new/README.BEFORE.UPLOAD)

biz/     Business software       hard/    Hardware related
comm/    Communications          info/    Site information
demo/    Euro style demos        misc/    Miscellaneous
docs/    Text documents          mods/    Music modules
dev/     Developer software      mus/     Music software
disk/    Disk tools              pix/     Pictures
game/    Games software          text/    Text related
gfx/     Graphics software       util/    Utilities

A complete list of the sub-directories can be found in the file TREE.
To show the descriptions of all files in hard/, download the index
file and perform a search on hard/ using fgrep.



5. Mirror sites
---------------

These are the members of Aminet and have the files from here.  All mirrors
have the new files but most delete old files, however ftp.wustl.edu and
ftp.cdrom.se keep all files.  Whenever possible, use the mirror that is the
closest to your place.  Most mirrors get updated three times a day.

USA (MO)     ftp.wustl.edu            128.252.135.4   pub/aminet/
USA (CA)     ftp.cdrom.com            192.216.222.5   pub/aminet/
USA (TX)     ftp.etsu.edu             192.43.199.20   pub/aminet/
USA (WI)     ftp.netnet.net           198.70.64.3     pub/aminet/
Scandinavia  ftp.luth.se              130.240.18.2    pub/aminet/
Switzerland  ftp.eunet.ch             146.228.10.16   pub/aminet/
Switzerland  ftp.math.ethz.ch         129.132.104.6   pub/aminet/
Switzerland  litamiga.epfl.ch         128.178.151.32  pub/aminet/ (*)
Germany      ftp.uni-paderborn.de     131.234.2.32    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-erlangen.de      131.188.3.2     pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-bielefeld.de     129.70.4.55     pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-oldenburg.de     134.106.40.9    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-kl.de            131.246.9.95    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-stuttgart.de     129.96.8.13     pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-siegen.de        141.99.128.1    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de      130.149.17.7    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.stud.fh-heilbronn.de 141.7.1.41      pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.tu-chemnitz.de       192.108.33.193  pub/aminet/
UK           ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk         146.169.2.1     pub/aminet/
UK           micros.hensa.ac.uk       148.88.8.84     pub/aminet/

   (*) closed 6:30am to 4pm weekdays



6. Accessing Aminet on the Internet
-----------------------------------

There are many other ways than FTP to access Aminet. On the Internet:

- ADT. This is a front end for FTP that allows easy access to Aminet. Get
  it from comm/misc/ and compile it on your UNIX box.

- WWW. Mosaic or Lynx are a very decent way to access Aminet. Try the
  URLs http://ftp.wustl.edu/~aminet/ or http://ftp.eunet.ch/~aminet/
  where you can also find pointers to other Aminet sites with WWW
  support.

- FSP. Aminet Files can be downloaded from the FSP site ftp.luth.se at
  port 6969 and from disun3.epfl.ch port 9999. ftp.wustl.edu and
  ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk have FSP on port 21, but can't be reached from
  everywhere (just try). Uploads are accepted at wustl and luth.

- Telnet. ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk strikes again. You can telnet to 146.169.2.1
  and log in as 'sources', which gives you a UNIX account where you can
  download the files on src using commands like 'sz' and 'kermit', or
  just browse around.

- NFS. The only Aminet site that allows NFS mounting of the archives is
  ftp.wustl.edu. FTP there and read the details in /README.NFS

- IRC. On Internet Relay Chat, you can talk to various server robots like
  Mama, LitBot and MerBot, to do queries and retrievals. Find out more
  about them using '/msg mama help', for example.

- Finger. To find out what's been uploaded to Aminet within the last
  week, enter 'finger [e-mail]' or 'finger [e-mail]'

- Gopher. Gopher is specially supported by several Aminet sites. Just
  type 'gopher <sitename>' or 'gopher -p <startpoint> <sitename>'.

  USA (MO)    ftp.wustl.edu        1/pub/aminet/info/goph
  USA (TX)    ftp.etsu.edu         1/AmigaArchives/Aminet
  SWITZERLAND ftp.eunet.ch         1/pub/aminet/info/goph
  GERMANY     ftp.uni-paderborn.de 1/Service/FTP/Direct/ftp-server/aminet
  UK          ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk     1/pub/aminet/info/goph


7. Accessing Aminet without Internet
------------------------------------

- Get internet access. Certainly the most comfortable way to access
  Aminet but sometimes expensive. Some Internet providers are:

  USA         Portal  Voice 1.408.973.9111  Modem 1.408.973.8091
              Netcom  Voice 1.408.554.UNIX
  GERMANY     EUnet   Voice +49.231.972.00  Fax [phone]
  SWITZERLAND EUnet   Voice +41.1.291.45.80 Fax [phone]
  UK          Demon   Voice [phone] Fax [phone]

- Mailserver. The Aminet site src.doc.ic.ac.uk has an email server that
  sends out uuencoded binaries. Send a message with HELP in the body
  to [e-mail] or [e-mail] . You can also use
  [e-mail] to retrieve files from any Aminet site, but
  please use an American one to save bandwidth. Send HELP there for
  information, too. Germans try [e-mail] .
  Also, the RECENT and CHARTS files are available from an automatic
  e-mail server.  Send mail to [e-mail] with the single
  word "help" (no quotes) in the body to find out how to use the server.

- Modem. The following BBSes carry up-to-date Aminet files. Most have
  more phone numbers than we can mention here, call to see a list of
  the others. List sorted by phone number.

  Country     Name        FIDO          Phone            ISDN
  -------     ----        ----          -----            ----
  USA (OR)    CryoCafe                  ([phone]
  USA (MS)    The Gateway 1:3604/60     ([phone]
  USA (CA)    Heavy Metal 1:202/1112    ([phone]
  Canada      TunnelVisio 1:153/910     ([phone]
  Canada      Intuition                 ([phone]
  France      Ramses      2:320/104     ([phone]
  Italy       Glass Globe 2:332/118     ([phone]
  Switzerland Amiga Micro 2:301/819     ([phone]   ([phone]
  Switzerland Helvetica   2:301/723     ([phone]   ([phone]
  Switzerland Dolphins                  ([phone]   ([phone]
  Switzerland AmiCall     2:301/722     ([phone]
  Switzerland Turicum                   ([phone]   ([phone]
  Switzerland Dive-Inn    2:301/325     ([phone]  ([phone]
  Switzerland Alphanet                  ([phone]
  Switzerland Amiga Magic 2:301/707     ([phone]  ([phone]
  Austria     Amiga World 2:310/72      ([phone]   ([phone]
  Denmark     Scala BBS   2:230/418     ([phone]    ([phone]
  Germany     Surprise                  ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     T.O.M.                    ([phone]
  Germany     SMachine                  ([phone] ([phone]
  Germany     Future Line               ([phone]
  Germany     Blue Moon                 ([phone]
  Germany     Delvinor                  ([phone] ([phone]
  Germany     Debuwi                    ([phone]
  Germany     Darkness                  ([phone]   ([phone]
  Germany     CBonn                     ([phone]
  Germany     Fantasie                  ([phone]
  Germany     Stingray                  ([phone]   ([phone]
  Germany     ASBM                      ([phone]
  Germany     Circus                    ([phone]
  Germany     Amiga Mbx                 ([phone]
  Germany     TERM                      ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Quick                     ([phone]
  Germany     ITHH                      ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Flight                    ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Delbox                    ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     MultiCom                  ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Black-Z                   ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     SLTO                      ([phone]
  Germany     TecMania                  ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     48'er       2:2468/6020   ([phone]
  Germany     WestCoast   2:2468/9718.0 ([phone]
  Germany     RudisBox                  ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     HIT                       ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Vyper                     ([phone]
  Germany     Groenland                 ([phone]
  Germany     Titan                     ([phone]
  Germany     Outworld                  ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Outside                   ([phone]
  Germany     BrainWave   2:246/2006.0  ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Amiga Univ. 2:246/1416.0  ([phone]
  Germany     Uplink      2:246/2320    ([phone]
  Germany     Fairytale   2:246/2300    ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     LSD                       ([phone]
  Germany     Incubus                   ([phone]  ([phone]
  Germany     Candys                    ---              ([phone]
  Australia   Continental               ([phone]

- Anonymous UUCP. In Germany, you can access the Aminet files at the
  phone numbers of Brainwave BBS (see above) using the following entry.
  Download the file "Aminet:INFO" for more information.
  anarchy Any SER 38400 ATD<Phone> BBS. ..\c ogin: uanon sword: uanon
  In Switzerland you can use the Alphanet BBS, ~/archives/aminet

- FIDO. If you want to file-request Aminet files, you can do so by
  requesting the file INFO from 2:246/2006.0. The BBSes which have
  a FIDO node number mentioned above allow file requests.

- Mailing lists. If you want to get the list of new uploads mailed every
  week, send a mail with 'SUBSCRIBE aminet-weekly [e-mail]' in the
  body to [e-mail] or if you want daily updates, just use
  'SUBSCRIBE aminet-daily' instead. Replace [e-mail] with your email
  address, of course. Keep the welcome mail in case you forget how to
  unsubscribe...

- Usenet. A list of recent uploads is posted every week to the newsgroups
  comp.sys.amiga.misc and de.comp.sys.amiga.archive.

- EZINFO. This is an internet BBS in Switzerland. Here you can download by
  Kermit or ZMODEM, but you need to be verified to become user. Modem dial
  01 251 20 02, then type 'call b050' to connect to EZINFO. Also try
  telnet kometh.ethz.ch and 'call b050' from internet.

- CD-ROM. Aminet CD 3 and up are available from Stefan Ossowski, Germany
  ([e-mail]) or Fred Fish ([e-mail]). For
  details, see docs/misc/CD-Orders.txt. Aminet CD 2 should still be
  available from Walnut Creek, talk to [e-mail]

- Aminet-on-disk. You can order single Aminet files, per-directory
  subscriptions or a whole month of Aminet from

  Martin Schulze                or    Thomas Strauss
  Parkstr. 14                         Josefstr. 64
  D-66806 Ensdorf                     D-66809 Nalbach
  Germany.                            Germany.

  Phone: [phone]          Phone: [phone]
  email: [e-mail]          email: [e-mail]


  Send 3 DM in stamps or $2 on to get an index disk with instructions.
  The index disk is available on Aminet, too: info/index/AminetOnDisk.lha

  Aminet-on-disk is available on Amiga-Floppy, SyQuest 88/105/270MB
  and 128MB-Magneto-Optical. See prices below.
  Important note: all prices in DM (Deutsche Mark)  DM 1.6 = US$ 1


  media type                    fee for copying  media costs
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  Magneto-Optical Disk 128 MB:    30                 49

  SyQuest 5.25 ", 88 MB:          30                129

  SyQuest 3,5", 105 MB:           30                 99

  SyQuest 3,5", 270 MB:           50                129

  DAT Streamer Tape, 2 GB:        50                 29



8. Copyright status and disclaimer
----------------------------------

While the files from Aminet are freely distributable, the collection as a
whole is copyrighted. Making a CD-ROM of it or mirroring it on a regular
basis requires permission from the administrators. That permission will
be granted to mirrors if they provide an upload facility. If you as an
uploader do not like this policy, don't upload or have your uploads removed.

The administrators of Aminet give no warranties concerning the files
stored.  Use at your own risk.  Specifically, we cannot guarantee that the
programs are virus-free, uncorrupted, freely distributable or even useful
in any way, although we do our best to ensure the above.



9. Background information
-------------------------

- History

  Aminet was founded by members of ICU (computer science students' club) in
  Zurich, Switzerland, using an A3000UX donated by Commodore Switzerland.  In
  the beginning it was one FTP site among many, but when the formerly biggest
  site (ab20.larc.nasa.gov) shut down, people started adopting amiga.physik
  as the replacement.  In order to share the burden both performance- and
  network load wise, two mirror sites were installed.  The new 1GB harddisk
  donated by Walnut Creek and the user community allowed us to keep all old
  files, while at the same time number of mirror FTP sites increased
  constantly to currently 10.  Today, Aminet is the leading Internet source
  for Amiga software, giving authors a far-reaching distribution medium and
  the user community a place to look for both new and old freely
  distributable software.


- Contact addresses

  Please direct reports about corrupt, illegal or infected files immediately
  to [e-mail] (do not rely on someone else doing it!). People
  who report a copyrighted file on Aminet get a free CD. For problems local
  to one mirror, check the local README's to find out about the administrator
  there.  Some of the the people involved:

  Moderators

    Urban D. Mueller   [e-mail]
    Matthias Scheler   [e-mail]

  Default contact address:

    [e-mail]

We hope you enjoy the service.