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-
- This is the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) list for comp.sys.mac.comm
-
- This list of frequently asked questions and answers is intended to help
- reduce the number of "often asked questions" that make the rounds here
- in comp.sys.mac.comm. Since comp.sys.mac.comm is intended as a forum to
- discuss telecommunication (and related issues) that are specific to the
- Macintosh, most questions about modems, telecommunications in general,
- and other non-Macintosh specific communication questions are not listed
- here. The proper newsgroup for such questions is usually comp.dcom.modems.
-
- This list is posted periodically (about once a month) to the Usenet
- groups comp.sys.mac.comm, news.answers, and comp.answers. The FAQ can be
- retrieved via anonymous FTP from the following sites:
-
- Site Directory File(s) {Parts}
- ------------------------ ---------------------------- -------------------------
- rascal.ics.utexas.edu mac/faq communications.FAQ
- sumex-aim.stanford.edu info-mac/report comp-sys-mac-comm-faq.txt
- pit-manager.mit.edu pub/usenet/comp.sys.mac.comm c.s.m.c_FAQ_[1_4] {4}
- mac.archive.umich.edu mac/misc/documentation compsysmaccommfaq.txt
-
- It also available in the Macintosh SIG on Delphi for Delphi members.
-
- This FAQ is purely a volunteer effort. Although every effort has been
- made to insure that answers are as complete and accurate as possible,
- no guarantee is implied or intended. The editor and contributors have
- developed this FAQ as a service to Usenet. We hope you find it useful.
-
- Please send your corrections, questions, and comments to the editor,
- Eric Rosen, at eric@cse.ucsc.edu.
-
- SHARE THIS INFORMATION FREELY AND IN GOOD FAITH.
- DO NOT DISTRIBUTE MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THIS FAQ.
-
- ================================================================================
-
- **** TABLE OF CONTENTS: ****
-
- [1] Modems and Cables
-
- [1.1] What kind of modem will work with my Macintosh?
- [1.2] What kind of cable do I need to use my external modem with my
- Macintosh? (Includes cable pinouts)
- [1.3] What do V.32, V.42, bis, MNP, etc mean?
- [1.4] How fast can the Macintosh serial ports really go?
- [1.5] How can I disable call-waiting when using my modem?
-
- [2] File Formats and Conversion
-
- [2.1] What is a resource (or data) fork?
- [2.2] What is MacBinary?
- [2.3] What is BinHex? What is uuencode? What are atob/btoa ?
- [2.4] What is Apple-Single/Double ?
- [2.5] What do file suffixes like .hqx, .sit, .bin, etc ... mean
- and how can I convert such files back to normal Macintosh
- applications and documents?
-
- [3] Macintosh File-transfers
-
- [3.1] What program(s) do(es) Kermit, FTP (client), and/or
- X,Y,Z-Modem and where can I get them?
- [3.2] What is the latest version of ZTerm?
- [3.3] What is the Communications Toolbox (CTB)?
- [3.4] Are there any public-domain or shareware Communication
- Toolbox tools that support Kermit, and/or X,Y,Z-Modem?
- [3.5] How can I transfer Macintosh files to/from my Macintosh and
- other non-Macintosh computers (eg: mainframes, Unix boxes,
- PCs)?
- [3.6] What's the best compression program to use when uploading
- files to an archive or BBS? Are there any other guidelines
- I should follow?
- [3.7] How can I use the programs that are posted to
- comp.binaries.mac?
-
- [4] Introduction to AppleTalk (and Remote AppleTalk)
-
- [4.1] What kind of hardware do I need to set up an LocalTalk
- network?
- [4.2] How can I change the Chooser "user" and name of my
- Macintosh? Also: Why can I no longer change the name of
- my hard-disk?
- [4.3] What is AppleTalk Remote Access ?
- [4.4] Where can I get a Remote Access script for my modem?
-
- [5] Networking, MacTCP, Telnet, SLIP
-
- [5.1] What is MacTCP and what kind of hardware and software do I
- need to use it?
- [5.2] What is the difference between AppleTalk, LocalTalk,
- EtherNet, EtherTalk, TCP/IP, etc?
- [5.3] What is Telnet, and is there a Telnet program for the
- Macintosh?
- [5.4] Is there a FTP (server) program for the Macintosh?
- [5.5] What are SLIP, CSLIP and PPP?
- [5.6] How does MacTCP resolve names into IP addresses?
-
-
- [6] MacX and Other Ways to Interface With Unix
-
- [6.1] Can I run X-Windows on my Mac?
- [6.2] How can I run MacX over a modem? Is it feasible?
- [6.3] What is MacLayers and what do I need to use it?
- [6.4] What is UW and what do I need to use it?
- [6.5] Is there a program that will convert between BinHex and
- MacBinary for Unix?
- [6.6] How can I create LaserWriter PostScript printer files and
- print them on an PostScript printer connected to a Unix
- network?
-
- [7] Sending and receiving Mail and Usenet News with your Macintosh
-
- [7.1] How can I send/receive Internet mail with my Macintosh?
- [7.2] How can I read/post Usenet news with my Macintosh?
-
- [8] Miscellaneous
-
- [8.1] I don't have FTP --- How can I access the various archives
- through e-mail?
-
- Appendix
-
- [A] List of Common File Suffixes and Abbreviations
-
- [B] List of Macintosh archive sites available through the Internet
-
- [C] Vendor Information
-
- [D] Contributors
-
- ================================================================================
- [1] Modems and Cables
-
- [1.1] What kind of modem will work with my Macintosh?
-
- Any *external* Hayes compatible modem will work with your
- Macintosh. See comp.dcom.modems for more information about
- the many different external Hayes compatible modems. Such
- modems can be used with any computer (Macintosh, Unix box,
- MS-DOS PC, Amiga, etc) with a serial port (eg: Macintosh modem
- port) interface. However, there are modems that are designed
- specifically for use with the Macintosh. Internal Powerbook
- modems, ADB modems, and internal NuBus modems are all examples.
-
- Assuming you wish to use an external modem, your only other
- hardware consideration is to find an appropriate cable to connect
- it to your Macintosh. Especially at higher baud rates (9600 baud
- and up), a hardware-handshaking cable is recommended (see [1.2]
- for details). There are many non-hardware-handshaking cables
- being sold at reputable computer accessory stores, so it's
- recommended that you ask before buying.
-
- Various special modems exist with unique features; the most
- notable type is the dual FAX/modem. For more information,
- visit comp.dcom.modems or your local dealer: there are simply
- too many products to describe here.
-
-
- [1.2] What kind of cable do I need to use my external modem with my
- Macintosh?
-
- Most modems have a female DB-25 (25 pin) connector labelled
- RS-232C on their backsides. All Macintoshes since the Mac Plus
- use a mini DIN-8 (8 pin) connector for the two serial ports
- (modem and printer). Earlier models use the larger DB-9 (9 pin)
- connector. Finding a generic cable for any configuration should
- not be very difficult at most computer accessory stores. They
- are typically sold for around $25.
-
- However, especially at the higher baud rates (9600 baud and up),
- a hardware handshaking cable is highly recommended. Attempting
- to transfer files at high baud rates using a non-hardware-
- handshaking cable will likely result in repeated transmission
- errors, a drop in the transfer rate, and possibly an aborted
- transmission. Since many non-hardware-handshaking cables are
- still being sold, it's a good idea to ask before buying.
-
- If you want to "roll-your-own" or are having problems getting
- your modem and your Macintosh to communicate, read on. The
- serial ports on the Macintosh are not actually RS-232C ports
- but are instead RS-422 compliant, a similar but better standard.
- This explains some of the difficulty in implementing hardware-
- handshaking.
-
- One way to wire your cable is as below:
-
- Macintosh (DTE) Modem (DCE)
- DIN-8 DB-25
-
- Pin Signal Signal Pin
- 1 HSKo --------------------------- RTS 4
- 2 HSKi --------------------------- CTS 5
- 3 TxD- --------------------------- TxD 2
- 4 GND --------------------------- GND 7
- 5 RxD- --------------------------- RxD 3
- 6 TxD+ (nc) .-- DSR 6
- 7 GPi (nc) '-- DTR 20
- 8 RxD+ --------------------------- GND 7
-
- shield --------------------------- shield
-
- Figure 1.2.1
-
- If your modem cannot be configured to ignore DTR, or if you
- are using an old 1200 baud or 2400 baud modem, the pinout in
- Figure 1.2.1 is probably best. However, if you are using a
- high-speed modem that can ignore DTR, and/or Remote AppleTalk,
- you should instead use the pinout in Figure 1.2.2, which is
- the pinout recommended by Apple:
-
- Macintosh (DTE) Modem (DCE)
- DIN-8 DB-25
-
- Pin Signal Signal Pin
- 1 HSKo ----------------------+---- RTS 4
- '---- DTR 20
-
- 2 HSKi --------------------------- CTS 5
- 3 TxD- --------------------------- TxD 2
-
- 4 GND ----+---------------------- GND 7
- 8 RxD+ ----'
-
- 5 RxD- --------------------------- RxD 3
- 6 TxD+ (nc)
- 7 GPi --------------------------- DCD 8
-
- shield --------------------------- shield
-
- Figure 1.2.2
-
- Note: You can find a pretty picture of this PICT by using
- ResEdit to open the 'Apple Modem Extension' CTB. This PICT
-
- Note: Be careful! Although technically, you should not be able
- to damage either your modem or computer by using an incorrectly
- wired cable, you should always perform a connectivity test to
- double-check your wiring before using your homemade cable.
- Some serial devices place auxiliary voltages on non-standard
- pins.
-
- Note: If you are having trouble finding or soldering a mini DIN-8
- connector (they can be expensive and are rather small), Dave
- Alverson suggests purchasing a DIN-8 to DIN-8 cable (often sold
- as an Imagewriter printer cable), cutting it in half, and wiring
- each end to a DB-25 that can plug into your modem (resulting in
- *two* cables). However, before slicing, Jon Spear notes that
- it is a good idea to check for continuity between all the pins
- (otherwise you will not be able to wire each signal).
-
- Note: If you are running A/UX and are having difficulties
- controlling your modem from software, see the comp.unix.aux FAQ
- for the latest information on an A/UX specific cable.
-
-
- [1.3] What do V.32, V.42, bis, MNP, etc mean?
-
- Because these topics are universal telecommunications issues,
- they are more fully discussed in comp.dcom.modems. However, a
- short description of some of the more common abbreviations and
- buzzwords is given below.
-
- An excellent article on the subject of modems, including
- a guide to buying high-speed modems, is available from
- InfoMac (sumex-aim) and its mirror sites as the file
- info-mac/report/modem-guide-10.txt.
-
- Buzzword What it typically means
- --------------- ----------------------------------------------
- bit : binary digit; amount of information necessary
- to distinguish between two equally likely
- events (such as the value of a binary digit)
- byte : eight bits; size of a single ASCII character
- bps : bits per second
- baud : one analog signal state change; people usually
- use baud and bps interchangeable although most
- modern modems can encode multiple bits per baud
- Bell 103 : 300 bps U.S. Standard
- Bell 212A : 1200 bps U.S. Standard
- LAP/M : Link Access Protocol/Modem.
- MNP : Microcom Networking Protocol (Proprietary)
- MNP5 : MNP extension; 2 to 1 data compression.
- V.32 : 9600bps, 4800bps
- V.32bis : 14.4Kbps, 12Kbps, 9600bps, 7200bps, 4800bps
- V.42 : MNP 4 and LAP/M modem to modem error correction
- V.42bis : LAP/M and 4-to-1 data compression.
-
- Table 1.3.1
-
-
- [1.4] How fast can the Macintosh serial ports really go?
-
- The Macintosh operating system supports data rates up to 57600 baud,
- but the Macintosh serial hardware can support transfer rates that
- are much higher if they are externally clocked. Serial port
- sound-input-devices such as the Cedar Technologies SID and
- Farallon's MacRecorder, as well as AppleTalk boxes, use this trick
- to achieve transfer rates greater than 100 Kbps.
-
- Note: Powerbooks are known to have problems at extremely high
- data rates. These problems are caused by Power Manager overhead.
- System 7.1 is supposed to solve these problems.
-
-
- [1.5] How can I disable call-waiting when using my modem?
-
- This varies depending on your local phone company, but often,
- if you preced the phone number you wish to tone dial
- with "*70," (omit the quotes but not the comma), you can
- disable call-waiting FOR THAT CALL ONLY.
-
- If you have a strictly rotary dial line, try preceding the
- phone number with "1170".
-
- ================================================================================
- [2] File Formats and Conversion
-
- [2.1] What is a resource (or data) fork?
-
- A Macintosh file has two parts: a data fork and a resource fork.
- Text files and GIF image files are examples of Macintosh files
- that are usually stored completely in the data fork, and have
- an empty (or nonexistent) resource fork. Applications, as a
- a counter-example, store most if not all of their information
- in 'resources' in the resource fork and usually have an empty
- data fork.
-
- Because this two-forked organization of files isn't very common,
- transferring Macintosh files that have non-empty resource forks
- to non-Macintosh machines (such as Unix boxes, or MS-DOS machines)
- requires special encoding, described below.
-
-
- [2.2] What is MacBinary?
-
- MacBinary is a standard way of taking a Macintosh file (both
- resource and data forks) and creating a new file with just
- a data fork. This new file can then be transferred through
- machines which know nothing about the native Macintosh file
- system, without losing the information stored in the resource
- fork.
-
- MacBinary also stores other information (such as the filename,
- creation and modification dates, file type and creator) about
- the original file.
-
- If you want to store some Macintosh files on a non-Macintosh
- computer, one way is to convert them to a MacBinary format file
- before transferring. Note that MacBinary files are useless to
- people who are not using Macintosh computers. MacBinary's
- purpose is to encapsulate *all* information contained in a
- Macintosh file for transport over a non-Macintosh medium. For
- this reason, you should not use MacBinary and/or BinHex to
- post GIF images, for example, to Usenet because (1) GIF images
- contain no Macintosh specific information and (2) doing so will
- make it impossible for most non-Macintosh users to display your
- image.
-
- Although a Macintosh program (called MacBinary) does exist
- to do the converting to and from MacBinary, almost all modern
- Macintosh telecommunications programs have the capability of
- converting and unconverting MacBinary files for you. ZTerm,
- for example, can be configured to automatically detect when
- a MacBinary file is being received and to convert this file
- to its original representation; or, if you are uploading,
- ZTerm can optionally encode the file into MacBinary before
- sending. Fetch, White Knight, and most other commercial and
- shareware products have equivalent or similar capabilities.
-
- Dennis Brothers designed the original MacBinary standard many
- years ago. Yves Lempereur incorporated this standard into
- his Binhex 4.0 program (see [2.3]), solving a major problem
- on Compuserve. About a year later, around the time the Mac Plus
- came out, group discussions on Compuserve led to an enhancement
- of the original MacBinary standard. Since then, BinHex 4.0 and
- the new MacBinary have become the standard way of encapsulating
- Macintosh files for transferring over foreign systems throughout
- the Internet, Usenet, and elsewhere.
-
- MacBinary I is the name given to the old MacBinary standard.
- MacBinary II is the name given to the new MacBinary standard
- which everybody uses today; in common usage, MacBinary means
- MacBinary II.
-
-
- [2.3] (a) What is BinHex? (b) What is uuencode? (c) What are atob/btoa ?
-
- (a) A "binary" file is usually intended to describe a file which
- does not always have the high bit in each byte set to zero.
- Text and BinHex files are the most common examples of non-binary
- data. Programs and images are common examples of binary data.
- MacBinary files are specially encoded binary files (see 2.2]).
-
- Unfortunately, many network e-mail and Usenet gateways are only
- receptive to non-binary files. To make it possible to send
- binary files such as Macintosh MacBinary files through e-mail
- or Usenet, it is necessary to convert these files to a text-
- compatible form. BinHex and uuencode are two different ways
- of doing this. Both BinHex and uuencode result in files that
- are larger than the original binary version.
-
- BinHex 4.0, by Yves Lempereur, is a binary to text translator
- that can directly encode any Macintosh document (ie: it knows
- how to convert information in both the resource and data forks).
- BinHex files can be easily recognized since they begin with the
- line:
-
- (This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)
-
- and are followed by a line starting with a colon, ':'. The
- BinHex encoding of the file follows, and is ended with another
- colon.
-
- There is in fact a program called "BinHex 4.0" in various
- archives, but you don't have to use it to convert files to and
- from BinHex. Many programs, including the popular compression
- programs "Compact Pro" and "StuffIt" allow you to convert BinHex
- files on your Macintosh. There are even various Unix utilities
- (see [6.5]) that manipulate BinHex, MacBinary, and other types
- of Macintosh files. Just about every Macintosh program posted
- to Usenet appears in BinHex 4.0 format. Most FTP sites also
- store their Macintosh archives in BinHex format to allow users
- who don't have (or forget to use) binary mode in FTP to
- successfully transfer files. BinHex files are usually denoted
- by the suffix ".hqx". The specifications to BinHex, should you
- be interested, are available at InfoMac archives (retrieve
- the file tech/binhex-40-specs.txt).
-
- Useful utility programs for converting to and from BinHex 4.0
- include:
-
- o Binhex 4.0 -- the original BinHex 4.0 application; free.
- o Stuffit Expander 3.0 -- a much more powerful utility
- which can encode and decode BinHex, Stuffit, Compact Pro,
- and Applelink archives. Also free.
-
- Note: On Unix (and other non-Macintosh machines), you can use
- the programs described in [6.5] to manipulate BinHex files.
-
- There is also a program/format called "BinHex 5.0"; it is NOT
- a more advanced version of "BinHex 4.0" but rather a separate
- _binary_ format (it uses the entire eight-bit ASCII character
- set and is thus not suitable for Usenet postings or e-mail)
- that was the precursor to MacBinary (see [2.2]). Converting
- a file with BinHex 5.0 and then using BinHex 4.0 is another way
- of converting a native Macintosh files with data and resource
- forks into a format that can be e-mailed or posted (and then
- reconstructed). MacBinary, however, is almost always used in
- preference to BinHex 5.0.
-
- (b) "uuencode" is a binary to text translator that serves the
- same purpose as BinHex, except that it knows nothing about the
- Macintosh resource/data fork structure. uuencode was designed to
- allow Unix binary files to be easily transferred through text-
- only interfaces, such as e-mail. Every uuencoded file contains
- a line similar to:
-
- begin 644 usa-map.gif
-
- followed by a series of lines of ASCII text characters (which
- are normally 60 characters long and begin with the letter 'M').
- The file ends with a line containing the word 'end'. There may
- be other special keywords included. Usually, one won't find
- Macintosh files in uuencode format; however, most non-Macintosh
- specific binary data posted to Usenet is uuencoded, so if you
- wish to use any of this data (such as the images posted in
- alt.binaries.* and elsewhere), you will need to deal with
- uuencode. The programs 'uuencode' and 'uudecode' exist on most
- Unix systems. If not, ask a local expert to find them. Several
- programs allow you to convert to and from uuencode using your
- Macintosh; among these are UULite 1.4 and Tiger 1.11. uuencoded
- files are usually denoted by the suffix ".uu".
-
- There is a StuffIt translator to handle uuencode conversion.
-
- (c) atob and btoa are programs typically found on Unix systems
- that also convert between binary and ASCII-printable character
- sets. Although not as popular as uuencode, btoa produces smaller
- text-compatible versions of binary files that can be e-mailed or
- posted on Usenet. Check your local man pages for details.
-
- There are StuffIt translators to handle atob/btoa conversion.
-
- [2.4] What is Apple-Single/Double ?
-
- AppleDouble is another means of storing Macintosh files on
- non-Macintosh computers or filesystems, particularly on Unix
- filesystems that also allow files to be mounted under the
- Macintosh operating system via AppleShare (or an equivalent
- product).
-
- AppleDouble files are actually two files. The data fork
- of the corresponding Macintosh file is stored in a single
- file just as it exists on the Macintosh using the original
- filename. The resource fork is stored in a second file whose
- name is obtained by prefixing the original filename with '%'.
- More extensive documentation is available at ftp.apple.com.
-
- A few Macintosh programs decode these files; one such utility
- is Tiger 1.11. The macutils Unix utilities [see 6.5] may also
- be useful.
-
- If you are trying to figure out how to access the files in
- the 'mac.bin' directory at ftp-archive maintained by the
- University of Michigan, don't bother; all those files exist
- in .hqx format in the 'mac' directory.
-
-
- [2.5] What do file suffixes like .hqx, .sit, .bin, etc ... mean and how
- can I convert such files back to normal Macintosh applications
- and documents?
-
- Most files available by FTP or posted to Usenet are modified
- twice to allow them to more easily pass through foreign computer
- systems. Files may be compressed to make them smaller, and/or
- they are almost always translated to either BinHex (.hqx) or
- MacBinary (.bin) format (see [2.2] and [2.3] for an explanation
- of these formats).
-
- How a Macintosh file has been translated and compressed for
- transmission is indicated by its suffix. Normally a file will
- have a name similar in form to: filename.xxx.yyy, where:
-
- .xxx indicates how it was compressed
- .yyy indicates how it was translated
-
- Usually, .xxx is one of: .cpt, .dd, .sea, .sit
- Usually, .yyy is one of: .bin, .hqx, .image
-
- To convert a file back to its native Macintosh format, you will
- typically need to go through one step per suffix. For example,
- the filename "Swatch.cpt.hqx" indicates that a Compact Pro
- archive (.cpt) "Swatch" has been translated to BinHex (.hqx).
- To recreate the file(s) in the original archive, you must
- first 'undo' the BinHex transformation, creating a Compact Pro
- archive, and then open the Compact Pro archive and extract
- the file(s) in the archive.
-
- You can use the following table to determine what Macintosh
- programs decode which formats. For a more complete description
- of the various Macintosh archival programs, see the excellent
- FAQ for comp.sys.mac.apps.
-
- Suffix: .sit .cpt .hqx .bin .pit .Z .image .dd .zip .uu .tar
- Extractors
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- StuffIt 3.0 | X X X X X X X ! ! !
- $ Expander | X X X
- Compact Pro | * X X
- UULite 1.4 | X
- MacCompress | X
- SunTar | X X X X
- BinHex 5.0 | X
- BinHex 4.0 | X
- DiskDoubler | * X X
- UnZip | X
- DiskCopy | X
- Packit | X
-
- Table 2.5.1
-
- ! Note: StuffIt Deluxe 3.0.3 includes translators for .tar, .uu,
- MacBinary, atob, btoa, AppleLink packages, AppleSingle, DiskDoubler,
- and Unix compress. These translators can also be used with StuffIt
- Lite. .arc and .zip translators are also distributed with StuffIt
- Deluxe, but remain part of the commercial package.
-
- $ 'Expander' refers to Stuffit Expander 3.0 which can decode BinHex,
- Stuffit, Compact Pro, and Applelink archives. It supports drag-
- and-drop under System 7. Stuffit Expander is distributed free by
- Aladdin Systems Inc.
-
- * Not all of the various StuffIt formats are recognized.
-
-
- The following file suffixes indicate formats that are native
- to the Macintosh and which can be manipulated using the indicated
- programs:
-
- .bin MacBinary files; see [2.2]
- .cpt Compact Pro archive files; [see 3.6]
- .dd DiskDoubler archive files; [see 3.6]
- .hqx BinHex files; see [2.3], [3.7]
- .image Apple DiskCopy disk image file (typically used for
- distributing system software); latest version available
- via anonymous ftp from ftp.apple.com
- .pit Packit files; [see 3.6]
- .sea Self-extracting archive files; this usually denote an
- application which can be double-clicked upon to create
- a decompressed version of the archive
- .sit StuffIt archive files; [see 3.6]
- .sitd mistakenly used to indicate files created by StuffIt
- Deluxe; *all* StuffIt files should be given the .sit
- extension (says the author!)
-
- Table 2.5.2
-
-
- The following file suffixes indicate formats that are not native
- to the Macintosh, but in most cases, files of these types can
- be manipulated on the Macintosh using the indicated programs.
-
- .arc MS-DOS PC archive file; ArcPop, MacArc
- .arj MS-DOS PC archive file; unArjMac
- .gif Compuserve Graphics Interchange File; many programs,
- free, shareware and commercial exist to display and/or
- modify these images; some of the popular shareware ones
- are: QuickGIF and GIFConverter.
- .lzh MS-DOS PC archive file; LHarc or MacLHa
- .shar Unix shell archive file; Unshar 1.5
- .uu Unix uuencoded files; see [2.3]
- .Z Unix 'compress' archive file; MacCompress 3.2
- .zip MS-DOS PC archive file; UnZip, ZipPop
-
- Table 2.5.3
-
- ================================================================================
- [3] Macintosh File-transfers
-
- [3.1] What program(s) do(es) Kermit, FTP (client), and/or X,Y,Z-Modem
- and where can I get it?
-
- The following programs are the more popular free, shareware, and
- payware terminal and file-transfer programs currently available
- (Last revised: 1/93).
-
- CM: Comet, free, Kevin Eric Saunders
- saunders@nmc.cit.cornell.edu or comet-comments@nmc.cit.cornell.edu
- FTP from comet.cit.cornell.edu or ftp.cit.cornell.edu
- GT: GrafTerm, $50 shareware, Infrastructure Software
- MK: MacKermit, free, source code is available,
- fdc@watsun.cc.columbia.edu
- ML: MacLayers 1.20, free, UNIX source included, Eric C. Rosen and
- David W. Trissel, layers@rascal.ics.utexas.edu
- MP: MicroPhone II, $175, cheaper sidegrades often available, Software
- Ventures Corporation, (510) 6441325, microphone@svcdudes.com
- Also, MicroPhone Pro, a slightly more capable package.
- PT: PacerTerm, $159, Pacer Software, (619) 454-0565,
- support@pacersoft.com
- QV: QVT, $50 shareware, QPC Software
- SC: Smartcom II, $84, $59 upgrade from Smartcom, Hayes,
- (404) 441-1617, BBS: 800-US-HAYES
- TM: Term, free, Peter DeCamillo and Jon Gilbert
- cmsmaint@brownvm.brown.edu
- TL: Terminal, free, source code included, Erny Tontlinger
- 73720.2200@compuserve.com
- TR: Termulator, $25 shareware, Brad Quick
- TY: Termy, free, Ice Engineering, termy@ice.com
- VP: VersaTerm Pro, $177, Synergy Software, (215) 779-0522,
- D2296@applelink.apple.com
- VT: VersaTerm, $90, Synergy Software, (215) 779-0522
- D2296@applelink.apple.com
- WK: White Knight, $85, Freesoft, (412) 846-2700
- ZT: ZTerm, $30 shareware, $40 with disk, Dave Alverson,
- davea@cbos.uc.edu
- 5P: 5PM, $370, Advanced Software Concepts, US Distributors,
- adv.soft@applelink.apple.com, (33) 93 24 76 00
-
-
- The archive sites described in the Appendix are the best place
- to look for free or shareware file-transfer programs. Other
- commercial but non-shareware ("payware") products must be
- purchased from a dealer.
-
- Table 3.1.1 summarizes file transfer capabilities of various
- Macintosh telecommunications programs.
-
- Programs: ZT SC MP MK VT VP WK TR PT GT ML QV TM TL TY CM 5P
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- Protocols |
- __________|
- Xmodem | X X X X X X X X X X X X X
- Ymodem | X X X X X X X X
- ZModem | X X X X X X X X
- Kermit | X X X X X X X X X
- QuickB | X X X X
- B Plus | X X
- FTP | X X X X
- TFTP | X
- rmac/wmac | X
- Flash | X
- FT3270 | X
- CTB | X X X X X
-
- Table 3.1.1
-
-
- Table 3.1.2 summarizes the terminal-emulation capabilities of
- various Macintosh telecommunications programs:
-
- Programs: ZT SC MP MK VT VP WK TR PT GT ML QV TM TL TY CM 5P
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- Terminals |
- __________|
- TTY | X X X X X X X X
- VT52 | X X X X
- VT100 | X X X X X X X X X X X X X
- VT102 | X X X X X X X X X
- VT220 | X X X X X X
- VT320 | X X X X
- VT420 | X
- PC/ANSI | X X X
- IBM3270 | X X X X
- IBM5250 | X
- Tek 4010 | X X X
- Tek 4014 | X X X
- Tek 4105/7| X
- TVI950 | X
- DG210/211 | X X
- Prestel | X
- Controls | X X X
- CTB | X X X
-
- Table 3.1.2
-
-
- Table 3.1.3 summarizes the scripting capabilities of various
- Macintosh telecommunications programs:
-
- Programs: ZT SC MP MK VT VP WK TR PT GT ML QV TM TL TY CM 5P
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- Scripting |
- __________|
- Recording | X X X X
- If/Else | X X X X X X X
- Loops | X X X X X X
- XCMDs | X X X X X
- FileOps | X X X X X
- Arithmetic| X X X X X X
- Variables | X X X X X X X X
- User Input| X X X X X
- Key Remaps| X X X X X
- Arrays | X X X
-
- Table 3.1.3
-
-
- [3.2] What is the latest version of ZTerm?
-
- ZTerm is currently at revision level 0.9. Other released
- versions were 0.7, 0.75 and 0.8, and 0.85.
-
- A "fake" version 1.0 of ZTerm circulated briefly in the past.
- This was a doctored version of 0.85.
-
-
- [3.3] What is the Communications Toolbox (CTB)?
-
- The Communications Toolbox is a Macintosh operating system
- interface that provides a standard interface for programmers
- writing communications programs. Rather than make calls to
- control the modem serial port, for example, a programmer can
- call an equivalent CTB routine. This allows the operating system
- to manage the serial port(s) just like any other limited
- resource. In addition, specific "tools" that interface with
- modems, provide terminal emulation, or handle file transferring
- can be implemented as external add-on features to CTB-aware
- programs.
-
- The CTB requires System 6.0.4 or later. The CTB is built into
- System 7. Tools can be added by placing them in the Extensions
- folder; rebooting is not necessary. Under System 6.0.X, CTB
- tools belong in the Communications folder.
-
-
- [3.4] Are there any shareware or freeware tools that support Kermit,
- and/or X,Y,Z-Modem?
-
- Termy 1.0, freeware from Ice Engineering, is the only CTB-aware
- application that can be obtained via anonymous FTP. Termy has
- no built-in support for any connection methods, file transfer
- protocols, or terminal emulation, so you will need to obtain
- Communication Toolbox tools for each of these.
-
- Tim Endres has written and released TGE TCP Tool, a Connection
- Tool for the Communications Toolbox. It provides TELNET and
- transparent TCP connections. The tool is free for personal use.
-
- Several modem Connection tools are available from the various
- FTP sites. These include the Apple Modem Tool 1.11, the Hayes
- Modem Tool 1.02, the CCL Modem Tool 1.0, and the Zoom Modem
- Tool 1.11. After recently releasing his CTB File Transfer tool,
- Kermit Tool GH (which supports MacBinary, RLE compression,
- and other features), Glenn Howes has gone on to release a YModem
- tool.
-
- The Basic Connection Tools Disk is available from ftp.apple.com
- as /dts/mac/sys.soft/netcomm/basic-conn-set-1-1-1-image.hqx .
- You will need DiskCopy or MountImage to decode the image file.
- This disk includes VT102 and TTY terminal tools, XModem and Text
- File Transfer tools, and Modem, Serial, and Appletalk
- Connection tools (10/92).
-
- Advanced Software Concepts has demonstration versions of
- several CTB tools at InfoMac sites in the demo directory.
- Demo versions of a TCP/IP Connection tool, an FTP File Transfer
- tool, as well as VT420, IBM3270, and IBM5250 Terminal tools
- are being distributed (10/92).
-
- New free and shareware CTB tools inevitably get posted to Info-
- Mac where they appear in the info-mac/comm directory and also
- to mac.archive.umich.edu in mac/system.extensions/commtoolbox.
- If you give the command "ls *tools*" in these directories
- through an anonymous FTP connection, you can get a list of
- all the free and shareware CTB tools currently available.
- As of 10/92, there are *NO* free or shareware Zmodem
- or FTP File Transfer tools, *NO* free Tektronix, 3270, or VT320
- Terminal Tools, and *NO* free SLIP Connection Tools. There is
- no point in posting frequent queries on the subject, so please
- don't. If you discover that this paragraph is in error, however,
- please feel free to yell at me through e-mail ...
-
- There are, however, a number of available *payware* tools that
- provide various levels of functionality:
-
- o MicroPhone Pro includes a Telnet tool (along with some FAX
- support software). MicroPhone II does not include the Telnet
- tool, unfortunately.
-
- o PacerTerm ships with a broad collection of tools, including:
- Xmodem, Zmodem, Kermit, and FTP file transfer tools; Telnet,
- LAT, ADSP, and serial connection tools; and TTY, VT102, and
- VT320 terminal tools.
-
- o 5PM ships with a Telnet Tool and the Apple Basic Connectivity
- Set (Xmodem, ADSP, serial, modem, TTY, VT102, VT320). Other tools
- are available from Advanced Software Concepts : FTP, VT420,
- IBM3270 and IBM5250.
-
- o Seaquest Software has released XModem, YModem, and Kermit file
- transfer tools. You can contact the company at the following
- address or see the e-mail contacts in the Vendor Info appendix:
-
- Pete Mackie [USA] (503) 531-0252
- Seaquest Software [USA] (503) 629-8442 {FAX}
- 4200 N.W. Columbia Ave.
- Portland, OR 97229
-
- o Versaterm and Versaterm Pro include FTP client and server file
- transfer tools and Telnet, LAT, SLIP, and ADSP connection
- tools.
-
-
- [3.5] How can I transfer Macintosh files to/from my Macintosh and other
- non-Macintosh computers (eg: mainframes, Unix boxes, PCs)?
-
- If your telecommunication program supports MacBinary (they
- almost all do), turn MacBinary on. This usually involves
- selecting a menu option or clicking a radio button in a
- 'preferences' type dialog box. Then, transfer your file
- normally. Your Macintosh file will be sent as a MacBinary file
- that can be treated as an ordinary binary file.
-
- If your telecommunication program does not support MacBinary,
- get a copy of the MacBinary program and use it to make a
- MacBinary version of your Macintosh file. Then send this
- MacBinary file. Meanwhile, look around at the various shareware
- and commercial telecommunications programs that do support
- Macbinary. See [3.1].
-
- Note: Not all files need to be transferred as MacBinary files.
- In particular, most text and non-Macintosh specific binary files
- (like GIF/JPEG images) do not. See [2.2] for more information.
-
- To actually "download" a file (eg: transfer it from a remote
- host computer to your Macintosh), you must first instruct the
- remote computer to send the file by issuing a command. For
- example, to download a file from a Unix machine using Xmodem,
- you would first have to give a command similar to:
-
- % sx filename
-
- where 'sx' is the local Unix program to send a file using Xmodem
- and 'filename' is the name of the file you wish to send. Then,
- locally, you must start the file transfer by typically choosing
- a menu option in your terminal program. The process is similar
- for Kermit transfers. Terminal programs that support Zmodem
- should recognize the start of a Zmodem download automatically.
-
- Note: Not all systems are alike. The command to start Xmodem
- may not necessarily be 'sx'; another possibility is 'xmodem'.
- Ask your local system administrator if you cannot find the
- right program; most sites support something. Also, see the
- listing below.
-
- To upload, first issue the appropriate receive command on the
- remote host computer; then, select the local send option in your
- terminal program. Good Zmodem packages can start the remote file
- transfer automatically.
-
- If you experience multiple CRC errors when downloading with
- Zmodem, especially after backgrounding the download, try sending
- your file using a fixed window size, eg: 'sz -w 1024 filename'.
- If errors persist, also try escaping control characters,
- eg: 'sz -ew 1024 filename'. Depending on your setup, you may
- be able to use a larger window size (eg: use 4096 or 2048
- instead of 1024) which can slightly reduce transfer time.
-
- Typical Unix programs that support transfering files via a
- serial (modem) link:
-
- Kermit Xmodem Ymodem Zmodem
- ------- ------ ------ ------
- kermit sx sb sz
- ckermit xmodem
-
- If you are trying to transfer a lot of information between
- a Macintosh and an MS-DOS PC, and your Macintosh has an FDHD
- disk drive (also known as a SuperDrive), using Apple File
- Exchange, or any of the various shareware and payware programs
- that allow you to access (or even mount) MS-DOS formatted 3.5"
- HD diskettes, can greatly speed up the transferring process.
- Apple File Exchange even provides for automatic translation
- of certain types of files. If you are transfering a lot of
- information between a Macintosh and a Unix system, you can
- use the (free) Macintosh program suntar to read 1.44 MB Unix
- tar floppies.
-
- Note: On most Sun Microsystems' floppy drives, the appropriate
- formatting command is "fdformat -ev /dev/rfd0c". This will
- verify and eject the disk after formatting. Then use tar to
- copy files to the device /dev/rfd0c.
-
-
- [3.6] What's the best compression program to use when uploading files
- to an archive or BBS? Are there any other guidelines I should
- follow?
-
- Best Compression:
-
- As of (9/92), there is no specific answer to this question.
- StuffIt Lite 3.0 and Compact Pro 1.33 both have loyal users
- who insist that one is just a little bit faster or provides
- better compression performance than the other. Previous
- to the introduction of StuffIt Lite 3.0, most people agreed
- that Compact Pro was the easiest to use and gave the best
- performance. Now, it appears that StuffIt Lite 3.0 gives
- better compression performance overall. I suggest you try
- using both and choose the one you like best. Note that
- StuffIt 1.5.1 and Stuffit Classic are *not* the same as, nor
- as good as, StuffIt Lite 3.0.
-
- Posting Macintosh Programs:
-
- You should use either Compact Pro or StuffIt Lite 3.0 to
- compress Macintosh files you send to an anonymous FTP site
- or BBS. Do not post PackIt, Disk Doubler, SuperDisk, Zip,
- or any other type of archive (including self-extracting
- archives -- see below). Compact Pro and Stuffit Lite 3.0
- have evolved as the standard archive formats for posting
- Macintosh files for good reasons.
-
- Regardless of which archiver you use, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE AN
- AN ARCHIVE YOU ARE POSTING SELF-EXTRACTING! The extra code
- added to the file to make it self-extracting is NOT insignificant
- in size. The convenience of self-extracting archives is not worth
- the space they waste at anonymous-FTP sites and BBS's (where
- literally thousands of compressed files are stored). Self-
- extracting archives are useful in other contexts, but should be
- discouraged as a medium for posting to archives. Also, don't
- rely on the archive maintainer having the time to extract your
- self-extracting post and re-archiving it; these volunteers are
- simply too busy to take on this additional burden.
-
- Avoid using strange punctuation marks in filenames that you
- will distribute. Characters such as exclamation points, spaces,
- dollar signs, etc, are legal characters in Macintosh filenames
- but can be difficult to work with on non-Macintosh systems
- (where most Macintosh archives are stored). Since BinHex and
- MacBinary store your original Macintosh filename, removing
- strange characters from a BinHex'd or MacBinary'd file before
- distributing will not affect the original filename. As an
- example, MyFile-215.sit is a perfectly acceptable filename.
-
- After you have created the archive and named it appropriately,
- BinHex encode it (see [2.3]). Edit the resulting text file
- and include a short description of the archive you want to
- distribute, including any system requirements and problems.
- If you include a signature, limit it to a single line.
-
- Finally, upload the text file (if necessary) and e-mail it
- to macgifts@mac.archive.umich.edu. Your subject line should
- specify a suggested name and location for your submission,
- eg:
-
- To: macgifts@mac.archive.umich.edu
- Subject: app/myfile-215.sit.hqx
-
- Mailing your archive to macgifts automatically submits it
- to the InfoMac archives, mac.archive.umich.edu, and the
- Usenet group comp.binaries.mac.
-
- Thanks for complying with these guidelines.
-
-
- [3.7] How can I use the programs that are posted to comp.binaries.mac?
-
- The files posted to comp.binaries.mac are in BinHex 4.0 format.
- Long files are split into several postings that must be
- concatenated IN THE PROPER ORDER (and usually with headers
- and signatures removed) before converting.
-
- First, read the man page or other documentation for your
- newsreader. A little time spent here can save you a lot of time
- doing repetitive tedious work later. Find out how to save an
- article to a file.
-
- Next, save all the posted articles for a given program posted to
- comp.binaries.mac to a single file. Don't combine postings that
- are for different programs, but do save multi-part postings to
- the same file, in increasing order of part number. For example,
- if you are using the Unix newsreaders 'rn', 'trn', or something
- similar:
-
- ***** 15 unread articles in comp.binaries.mac--read now? [=ynq]
- 2761 Great Icon Editor (part 1 of 2)
- 2762 Great Icon Editor (part 2 of 2)
- 2764 Hypercard Resource Tools
- 2765 Idea 1.2 (part 01 of 11)
- 2766 Idea 1.2 (part 02 of 11)
- 2767 Idea 1.2 (part 03 of 11)
- 2768 Idea 1.2 (part 04 of 11)
- 2769 Idea 1.2 (part 05 of 11)
- 2770 Idea 1.2 (part 06 of 11)
- 2771 Idea 1.2 (part 07 of 11)
- 2772 Idea 1.2 (part 08 of 11)
- 2773 Idea 1.2 (part 09 of 11)
- 2774 Idea 1.2 (part 10 of 11)
- 2775 Idea 1.2 (part 11 of 11)
- What next? [npq] 2761 s iconeditor.hqx
- 2761 Saved to mailbox /u/joe/News/iconeditor.hqx
- What next? [npq] 2762 s iconeditor.hqx
- 2762 Saved to mailbox /u/joe/News/iconeditor.hqx
-
- At this point, download the file "iconeditor.hqx" (it will be
- automatically placed in your "News" directory) to your Macintosh
- and use a text editor to remove all Usenet headers and signature
- data. Then use a program like BinHex 4.0, Compact Pro, or StuffIt
- to convert the .hqx file to a Macintosh file. Alternatively,
- you can avoid removing headers, etc, and use DeHqx to convert
- the .hqx file, which has other useful features (such as batch
- processing).
-
- The Macintosh file you create may in fact be an archive that you
- then need to unarchive with the appropriate program. See the
- list of file suffixes to determine which program(s) to use.
-
- Note: You can streamline the process by:
-
- --> using the Unix program 'mcvert' or 'hexbin' (see [6.5]) to
- convert the .hqx file to a MacBinary file on your Unix host.
- Since the .hqx file is usually 30% to 40% larger than the
- MacBinary file, this saves download time. These utilities
- are also smart enough to handle stripping headers and
- signatures, although you must still save the postings in the
- proper order.
-
- --> using one of the many utilities that exist to reorder
- postings automatically before you convert them from
- BinHex
-
- --> learning enough about your newsreader program to save more
- than one article at once in a particular order
-
- --> checking out the program DeHqx
-
- ================================================================================
- [4] Introduction to AppleTalk (and Remote AppleTalk)
-
- [4.1] What kind of hardware do I need to set up an LocalTalk network?
-
- Be sure you have read section [5] and understand the difference
- between LocalTalk and PhoneNet. Setting up an AppleTalk network
- based on either LocalTalk or PhoneNet requires purchasing a box
- that connects to your Macintosh's serial (printer) port with the
- appropriate mini DIN-8 or DB-9 connector and provides, in the
- case of LocalTalk, two mini DIN-8 connectors for Apple's
- (expensive) multiwire AppleTalk cables, or, in the case of the
- less expensive PhoneNet, two standard RJ11 (modular telephone)
- jacks. Both boxes look similar to Figure 4.1.1.
-
- .................
- to/from <------>| |
- rest of | |<--------> to Macintosh or
- network <------>|.................| printer
-
-
- Figure 4.1.1
-
- Computers and printers should be connected serially; that is,
- chain the devices in any convenient order, with either
- a single AppleTalk cable (LocalTalk network) or telephone
- cable (PhoneNet network) connecting neighboring machines.
- Do *not* connect the ends of a LocalTalk or PhoneNet
- network --- this is not a ring (eg: TokenRing) network.
-
- It should be noted that Apple is "strongly encouraging"
- new AppleTalk networks to be Ethernet-based.
-
-
- [4.2] How can I change the Chooser "user" and name of my Macintosh?
- Also: Why can I no longer change the name of my hard-disk?
-
- To change the owner and name of your Macintosh under System 7,
- select "Controls Panels" from the Apple Menu and double-click
- on the "Sharing Setup" Control Panel.
-
- The Chooser "user" is the "Owner name:". Change it like any
- standard edit field.
-
- The name of your Macintosh is the "Macintosh name:".
-
- Also on this Control Panel is a button to turn File Sharing
- on and off. When File Sharing is on, you cannot change the
- name of shared disks. If you are trying to change the name
- of your hard disk but cannot get the name to turn into an
- edit field, File Sharing is probably on. Use the Sharing
- Setup Control Panel to turn File Sharing off, change your
- hard disk name, and then turn File Sharing back on (unless
- you have no need for it).
-
-
- [4.3] What is AppleTalk Remote Access ?
-
- Apple's AppleTalk Remote Access is a software package that
- allows you to dial-in to an AppleTalk network (or to create
- an AppleTalk network between two Macintoshes via dial-up
- modems) from a remote Macintosh. Remote Access requires
- at minimum:
-
- o a Macintosh (possibly connected to an AppleTalk
- network) designated as the host with a dedicated
- high speed modem
-
- o one or more remote Macintoshes with modems
-
- o a phone line connecting the host Macintosh with
- the remote Macintosh
-
- o copies of the Remote Access software running on the
- designated host as well as on all remote machines
-
- Once configured, connecting the remote machine to the AppleTalk
- network is as simple as clicking a button. Modem control is
- handled automatically (assuming one of the many included modem
- scripts works with your modem; see [4.4]). Passwords and call-
- back facilities are provided.
-
- Once connected, the remote machine can use the AppleTalk
- network normally. One can print remotely, send messages,
- access remote filesystems, monitor network traffic, etc.
-
- Throughput, even when using 9600 baud modems, will be
- significantly lower than through a LocalTalk or PhoneNet
- connection; however, except for program launching and file
- copies, the added delay is small.
-
- You CAN use slower 2400 baud modems, including the internal
- Powerbook modems, but you will probably not enjoy the
- experience.
-
-
- [4.4] Where can I get a Remote Access script for my modem?
-
- If none of the (many) included modem scripts work with your
- modem, try:
-
- o searching the InfoMac archives for a script for your
- modem; several scripts have been posted recently
-
- o making a copy of the script that works best with
- your modem (the scripts are in the Extensions Folder
- which is in the Systems Folder), opening it up with
- a text editor, and experimenting; this assumes you
- have a copy of your modem's manual and know the
- basics about the Hayes command set. If you are
- succesful, post your script so others can benefit!
-
- ================================================================================
- [5] Networking, MacTCP, Telnet, SLIP
-
- [5.1] What is MacTCP and what kind of hardware and software do I need
- to use it?
-
- MacTCP is Apple's implementation of the Defense Advanced Research
- Projects Agency (DARPA) TCP/IP Protocols (see [5.2]). MacTCP's
- software interface is a Control Panel, which means that it loads
- when your Macintosh boots. Under System 6.0.X, MacTCP will reside
- in the System Folder; under System 7.0, it should be placed in
- the Control Panels Folder.
-
- MacTCP accomplishes two important tasks: it is a tool that lets
- programmers who wish to develop TCP/IP based applications do
- so without "reinventing the wheel". By providing a standard
- interface to TCP/IP network hardware, MacTCP also makes it
- possible for more than one TCP/IP based application to run on a
- Macintosh at any one time. For example, you can simultaneously
- use a Telnet program, an FTP program, and share a filesystem
- via NFS when you use MacTCP to provide the interface to your
- TCP/IP network.
-
- The latest version (11/92) of MacTCP is MacTCP 1.1.1. It requires
- a Macintosh Plus or later model, System 6.0.5 or later, a direct
- connection to a Ethernet or TokenRing network (typically a
- Ethernet or TokenRing card or a SLIP dialup connection), or a
- connection to a LocalTalk network with a DDP-IP router such as
- a Shiva FastPath, Cayman Gatorbox, Webster Multigate, or
- Compatible EtherRoute TCP. If you are using System 7.1, you should
- use MacTCP 1.1.1.
-
- As indicated above, MacTCP is an Apple product. The official
- way to obtain it is to purchase it from APDA (look for address
- and ordering information in the Appendix). It is a licensed
- product and is officially NOT free. Many universities
- have campus site licenses; your site may also have such an
- arrangement --- check before buying. Educational discounts are
- available, when appropriate. Otherwise, expect to pay about $100
- for a single copy (less if you've owned a previous version).
- An internal-use license agreement for MacTCP is $1000 for
- universities and $2000 for commercial firms.
-
- Note: A recent (11/92) MacWEEK article suggests Apple intends
- to change the way it distributes and licenses MacTCP. In short,
- prices for MacTCP would increase and license fees would have to
- be renewed annually. Stay tuned ...
-
- For more detailed information regarding setting up a Macintosh
- to connect to a TCP/IP network using MacTCP, see Eric Behr's
- report on MacTCP which is archived at the various FTP sites
- as mac-tcp-info.txt. At InfoMac mirror sites, it can be found
- in the report subdirectory. This report provides a lot of
- useful information for first-time Macintosh networking
- administrators.
-
-
- [5.2] What are AppleTalk, LocalTalk, EtherNet, EtherTalk, TCP/IP, etc?
-
- When attempting to describe networking terms, a distinction
- should be drawn between networking _protocols_ (such as
- AppleTalk and TCP/IP) and networking _hardware_ (such as
- LocalTalk, Ethernet, and TokenRing). In most cases, a specific
- protocol can be used over more than one hardware medium.
-
- In order to help understand the interaction of these disparate
- parts in a real-world network, we can adopt the useful analogy
- of multi-layer cake with the physical wire at the very bottom
- and the software which you are running at the very top.
-
- Thus, we can think of LocalTalk, Ethernet and TokenRing as being
- the layers at the bottom, AppleTalk and TCP/IP in the middle and
- programs like NCSA Telnet, NFS/Share and MacX at the top.
-
-
- The following terms describe protocols (software descriptions)
- common to the Macintosh networking world:
-
- * AppleTalk: A proprietary suite of protocols developed by Apple
- Computer, Inc. that provides for near-transparent network
- connections between Macintosh computers. However, within the
- last few years AppleTalk has been ported to operating systems
- other than the Macintosh OS, including UNIX, VMS and DOS.
- Questions about the AppleTalk protocol are probably best posed
- in the newsgroup comp.protocols.appletalk .
-
- * TCP/IP: A suite of protocols developed by the Defense Advanced
- Research Projects Agency (DARPA) whose purpose is multi-platform
- connectivity. TCP/IP drivers are available for almost all of the
- computer platforms in use today, including micros, minis, main-
- frames and supercomputers. TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control
- Protocol/Internet Protocol, because these are the two most widely
- used protocols in the suite. However, TCP/IP includes the User
- Datagram Protocol (UDP), Address Resolution Protocol (ARP),
- Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) and others.
-
- * EtherTalk: The driver which allows AppleTalk protocols to be
- transported by Ethernet.
-
- * TokenTalk: The driver which allows AppleTalk protocols to be
- transported over IBM TokenRing networks.
-
-
- The following terms describe hardware (the physical link such
- as the wire(s) connecting computers) common to the Macintosh
- networking world:
-
- * LocalTalk: One type of hardware over which AppleTalk protocols
- can be transported. LocalTalk has a throughput of 230.4 Kilobits
- per second, or roughly a quarter of a Megabit per second.
-
- * PhoneNet: Another type of hardware commonly used to transport
- AppleTalk packets. PhoneNet mates LocalTalk hardware with
- ordinary (unused) telephone wire. PhoneNet is probably the
- cheapest way to connect widely separated Macintosh computers
- within a single building.
-
- * Ethernet: A network medium over which AppleTalk, TCP/IP and
- other protocols travel. Ethernet's maximum throughput is
- 10 Megabits per second.
-
- * TokenRing: A network medium developed (and patented) by IBM
- based on a topology of a ring of nodes connected serially by a
- single cable. Each node, or computer, speaks on the cable only
- when it has posession of a token. TokenRing technology can
- demonstrate throughputs of ranging from 4 to 16 Megabits per
- second.
-
-
- [5.3] What is Telnet, and is there a Telnet program for the Macintosh?
-
- Telnet is a high speed terminal connection protocol designed
- with TCP/IP in mind. A Telnet program allows you to connect
- to computers that accept Telnet sessions (such as Unix boxes)
- with interactive full-screen console input and output
- capabilities in mind.
-
- There are several Telnet programs for the Macintosh. The first
- and most widely used is NCSATelnet, which is free and can be
- found via anonymous FTP from ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu (as well as
- elsewhere). The latest version is 2.5 and supports TEK 4105
- graphics, provides both an FTP server *and* client as well as
- a built-in SLIP driver, and can do session logging. Unlike most
- TCP/IP programs for the Macintosh, it does not require (but can
- use) MacTCP.
-
- Comet, the Cornell Macintosh Terminal Emulator, is a Public
- Domain communications program which offers multiple VT102 and
- IBM 3278 emulator Telnet sessions (using MacTCP) as well as
- serial VT102 connections. A TFTP server is provided for TCP/IP
- file transfer; in addition the "ft3270" file transfer protocol
- supports file transfer with IBM VM hosts over Telnet and serial
- connections. Comet is available via anonymous FTP from the
- pub/comet/ directory of comet.cit.cornell.edu.
-
- Hytelnet is a Telnet program available for various personal
- computers including the Macintosh. The Macintosh version is
- based upon Hypercard 2.x. Contact Charles Burchill at
- <burchil@ccu.umanitoba.ca> for more information about Hytelnet.
-
- InterCon Systems has a fully-functional Telnet Connection Tool
- for us with the CTB). InterCon's TCP/Connect II includes
- facilities for Telnet as well as a FTP (and a host of other
- features).
-
- Versaterm 4.6.2 ships with a Telnet Connection Tool (in
- addition to MacTCP). However, this tool seems to be intended
- to be used only with Versaterm and does not support all
- Telnet features.
-
- Advanced Software Concepts distributes 5PM with MacTCP, a
- Telnet Connection Tool and a FTP server. 5PM includes a
- HyperTalk-like scripting engine and allows the user to create
- "palettes" which are similar to HyperCard cards.
-
- Stanford University Networking Systems distributes a package
- known as SU-Mac/IP that includes Telnet, FTP, tn3270, printing
- facilities and other MacTCP based capabilities. The package
- can be licensed *ONLY* by "degree-granting institutions of
- higher education". For information, either send e-mail to
- macip@jessica.stanford.edu or call [USA] (415) 723-3909.
-
-
- [5.4] Is there a FTP (server) program for the Macintosh?
-
- Yes, you can choose from freeware, shareware and payware
- varieties:
-
- * NCSATelnet (see [5.3]) includes both FTP client and server
- capabilities.
-
- * Fetch 2.1 (from Dartmouth) is a free FTP application for
- educational institutions. Otherwise, it requires a license.
-
- * FTPd, $5, by Peter Lewis <peter@cujo.curtin.edu.au>, is a
- recently released shareware FTP server with many features
- (described below by the author):
-
- o Multiple simultaneous users.
- o Honours System 7 Users & Groups (in fact depends on them!).
- o Supports BinHex and MacBinary transfers, including the MACB
- command.
- o Allows login to other AppleShare servers on the local
- network.
- o Allows different formats of a file to be fetched.
- o Pattern matching in change directory command.
- o Individual initial directory for any user.
- o FTP site descriptions sent after login.
- o Directory descriptions sent after CD command.
- o Supports the CatSearch feature to allow very fast volume
- wide searches.
- o Quite slow.
-
- * HyperFTP, a Hypercard-based FTP client.
-
- * Versaterm 4.6.2 also ships with an FTP CTB Tool.
-
- * Advanced Software Concepts sells FTPShare, a commercial FTP
- server product and has posted a demo to InfoMac. Main features
- (according to authors) are:
-
- o Operates very similar to System 7 FileSharing.
- o Also works under System 6.
- o Quite fast.
-
-
- [5.5] What are SLIP, CSLIP and PPP?
-
- SLIP stands for Serial Line Internet Protocol. SLIP is a
- "non-standard" for framing IP packets and shipping them over
- a serial line (e.g. a cable, or a pair of modems), thus
- allowing a home machine to dial up and become part of the
- Internet. Effectively, SLIP turns a serial port into a logical
- ethernet port.
-
- Many workstations and terminal servers can support SLIP. On
- the Macintosh side, several vendors offer SLIP modules for
- MacTCP. (These vendors and products are summarized below).
- Macintosh software which communicates with the outside world
- via MacTCP will continue to work over SLIP, albeit somewhat
- more slowly due to the relatively low bandwidth of modem
- connections.
-
- CSLIP stands for Compressed SLIP. CSLIP reduces the size of
- the headers in IP packets by eliminating a certain amount of
- redundancy. This improves interactive performance.
-
- PPP stands for Point-to-Point Protocol. PPP can support both
- synchronous and asynchronous connections and protocols that
- are not IP-based. It provides specifications for error
- correction, feature negotion, escaping control characters, etc.
- Nearly all modem users continue to use SLIP or CSLIP, and PPP
- seems to be popular only over synchronous high-speed (56 Kbps
- or greater) connection. However, as dedicated high-speed
- connections become more common, PPP is likely to become
- more popular. PPP is probably more appropriate for the
- average user who only requires a temporary Internet connection.
- MacPPP, a PPP extension for MacTCP, has just been released (1/93)
- and can be obtained via anonymous FTP from merit.edu in pub/ppp.
-
- Recently, several vendors have provided SLIP LAPs for MacTCP.
- What is a "MacTCP SLIP LAP"? To quote Steve Dorner, "It's an
- extension that allows MacTCP to work over a phone line, allowing
- you to use any MacTCP application over your modem, if you have
- the right dialins." LAP stands for Link Access Protocol. You
- choose the LAP you want to use via the MacTCP Control Panel.
-
- Currently, the following SLIP products for the Macintosh are
- readily available:
-
- o MacSLIP from Hyde Park Software is a MacTCP extension that
- supports SLIP and CLSIP and a scripting language for
- session. Individual copies sell for $49.95.
-
- Contact: info@hydepark.com, [USA] (800) 531-5170, or write:
- TriSoft
- 1825 East 38 1/2
- Austin, Texas 78722
-
- Reports of transfer rates as high as 1500 bytes/sec have
- been posted to comp.sys.mac.comm by users of MacSLIP on
- V.42bis 9600 baud modems. Transfer rates as high as 3 KB/sec
- are possible through a 38400 baud connection.
-
- o InterCon Systems is shipping a MacTCP extension with their
- networking product (TCP/Connect II), and as a separate
- package (InterSLIP).
-
- Contact: sales@intercon.com, [USA] (703) 709 9890
-
- o Synergy Software offers a SLIP/CSLIP MacTCP extension with
- its Versaterm/Versaterm-PRO packages. If you already own
- Versaterm, SLIP is a $20 upgrade. If you buy the complete
- Versaterm 4.6.2 package (about $90), you will also get an
- FTP server and client, a Telnet connection tool, and MacTCP.
- Performance is comparable to that of MacSLIP.
-
- Contact: [USA] (215) 779 0522
-
- o If you are only interested in Telnet and FTP capability,
- you may want to examine NCSA Telnet (see [5.3]).
-
- For a review of Macintosh SLIP products, see the November 16th
- issue of "Open Systems Today". Benchmarks are included.
-
- Information about setting up SLIP on Sun Unix boxes, as well as
- some reviews and Unix SLIP programs, can be found via anonymous
- FTP from ftp.bio.indiana.edu in util/slip, among other places.
-
-
- [5.6] How does MacTCP resolve names into IP addresses?
-
- If you are having problems configuring MacTCP to use dynamic
- Domain Name Service entries, the following empirical description
- of the behavoir of MacTCP's name resolution protocol may be
- useful.
-
- The description assumes some familiarity with IP addressing.
-
-
- Step 1. Expand the target name.
-
- If the target name contains a ".", the target name is the expanded
- target name. Otherwise, prepend the name to the domain marked with
- the "Default" button in the MacTCP control panel. The
- concatenation of the name and this domain becomes the expanded
- target name. Proceed to Step 2.
-
- Examples:
- Assume "slcs.slb.com" is the default domain for MacTCP.
-
- "valhalla" expands to "valhalla.slcs.slb.com".
- "cayman.com" expands to "cayman.com".
- "apple." expands to "apple."
-
-
- Step 2. Check the Hosts file in the System Folder of this Macintosh.
-
- If there is an exact match between the expanded target name from
- Step 1 and a name in the Hosts file, the corresponding IP address
- from the first such match in the Hosts file is the target IP address;
- otherwise proceed to Step 3. Trailing "." characters on either the
- expanded target name or Hosts file name are ignored for this test.
-
- Examples:
- Assume "slcs.slb.com" is the default domain for MacTCP.
-
- "linus" expands and matches "linus.slcs.slb.com" in Hosts.
- "apple." matches "apple" in Hosts.
- "apple" expands and does *not* match "apple" in Hosts.
-
-
- Step 3. Find the domains that contain the expanded name.
-
- Search through the domains from the MacTCP control panel entries,
- and build a list of the domains that contain the expanded target
- name. A domain contains the expanded target name if the domain is
- a final string of the expanded target name. A "." by itself in the
- MacTCP control panel is a domain containing any expanded target
- name. The default domain is always added as the last domain of
- the list, whether it contains the expanded target name or not.
- Proceed to Step 4.
-
- Examples:
- Assume "slcs.slb.com" is the default domain for MacTCP.
-
- "valhalla" is expanded and contained in domain "slcs.slb.com".
- "apple." is *not* contained in domain "slcs.slb.com".
- "apple" is expanded and contained in domain "slb.com".
- "anyhost" is contained in domain ".".
-
-
- Step 4. Consult the name servers of the containing domains.
-
- Consult the Domain Name Servers, in the order found, based on the
- corresponding IP addresses from their entries in the MacTCP control
- panel. The servers are given the expanded target name to translate.
- If a MacTCP is unable to contact a server, or if the server returns
- a non-authoritative negative reply, the next server in line is tried.
- Otherwise, the result from the server just contacted, either a
- successful translation, or an authoritative "unable to resolve", is
- the final result.
-
-
- ================================================================================
- [6] MacX and Other Ways to Interface With Unix
-
- [6.1] Can I run X-Windows on my Mac?
-
- Yes. For Macintosh OS users (not using A/UX), two possibilities
- exist.
-
- MacX is an X-Windows server for the Macintosh, developed by
- Apple. With MacX running, your Macintosh can serve as a display
- server for any X-Windows client program (such as xterm, xbiff,
- etc). The client programs must be running on a separate
- machine running Unix (unless you are also running A/UX, Apple's
- brand of Unix for the Macintosh).
-
- MacX's technical capabilities, as described by Alan Mimms
- in "X for the rest of us" (2/91) and paraphrased in the FAQ
- for comp.windows.x are as follows:
-
- MacX runs on MacPlus or newer machines with >= 2MB of memory
- and system software 6.0.4 or later. Version 1.1 is fully
- X11R4-based. It supports full ICCCM-compatible cut and paste
- of text AND graphics between the Macintosh and X11 worlds,
- the SHAPE extension (including SHAPEd windows on the Macintosh
- desktop), an optional built-in ICCCM-compliant window manager,
- X11R4 fonts and colors, a built-in BDF font compiler, and
- built-in standard colormaps.
-
- To connect your Macintosh to a network of machines capable of
- running X-Windows clients, MacX uses MacTCP. For the best
- performance, you will want to access this network through
- LocalTalk or normal Ethernet. However, it is also possible
- to make the connection over a high-speed modem and use MacX
- to run X-Windows clients on remote machines; you will need
- a SLIP LAP module for MacTCP to do this --- see [6.2] for the
- details.
-
- MacX can be purchased from official Apple retailers, such as
- most university campus stores, for about $300 (less if you
- qualify for an educational discount). MacX is also bundled
- with A/UX 3.0.
-
- The FAQ for comp.windows.x also describes another product,
- eXodus, as follows:
-
- eXodus from White Pine Software (603-886-9050) runs on any
- Mac with at least 1MB of memory and runs the X server within
- a standard Macintosh window. Version 3.0 [6/91] supports
- intermixing of X and Mac windows and the ADSP protocol. The
- version supports the SHAPE extension and includes DECwindows
- support.
-
- For information regarding using MacX with A/UX, see the FAQ
- for comp.unix.aux and/or ask questions in that newsgroup,
- and/or investigate wuarchive.wustle.edu:/systems/aux/X11R5.
- You _can_ run X11R5 under A/UX 3.0.
-
-
- [6.2] How can I run MacX over a modem? Is it feasible?
-
- Now that several SLIP LAP modules for MacTCP are available,
- it is possible to run MacX over a modem. You are advised that
- performance will be significantly poorer than you may be
- expecting, especially if you are not using a high-speed modem
- (eg: 9600 baud or higher with compression and/or error-
- detection). With high-speed modems, using MacX to bring up
- xterms and other text-oriented clients is usable; however,
- any sort of graphics-intensive program (eg: xdvi) is going
- to require some patience (but should be bearable).
-
- Thus, in addition to MacX, to be able run MacX over a modem
- you need:
-
- 1. A modem. A high-speed modem with v.32bis and v.42
- is *STRONGLY* recommended.
- 2. A terminal-server at your site that offers dial-up
- SLIP connections. You'll have to ask your site or
- system administrator about this one. There will
- likely be some paperwork to fill out.
- 3. A SLIP (or CLSIP) LAP module for MacTCP. See [5.5]
- for details on such products.
-
- If you are specifically interested in just having multi-window
- connections to a Unix box that you connect to over a modem,
- other options include using a Telnet program with SLIP (see
- [5.3]), or MacLayers or UW [which do not need SLIP] (see [6.3],
- [6.4]).
-
-
- [6.3] What is MacLayers and what do I need to use it?
-
- MacLayers allows you to logon to a Unix host and open more than
- one window over a single (serial) connection. Each window
- can correspond to a (login) shell or program running on your
- choice of host(s). Up to seven full-screen resizable VT-100
- windows are allowed.
-
- In addition, MacLayers provides a primitive (but useful
- anyway) mechanism to download binary files "in the background",
- allowing you to work in other windows while you download.
- No upload facility (except for text pasting) is provided.
- At this time, MacLayers does not support the CTB. However,
- it is freely distributable (but may not be sold).
-
- MacLayers requires:
-
- 1. A Unix host which supports sockets.
- 2. A Macintosh with 128 KB ROMs or larger.
- MacLayers does not work with the old 64 KB ROM
- machines.
-
- MacLayers comes in two parts: a program you run on your
- Macintosh and a set of C source files that you compile
- on your Unix host (a Makefile is provided). When you login
- to your host while running MacLayers on your Macintosh, you
- simply run one of the Unix-side programs to start up the
- windowing system (similar to running a windowing-environment
- like X-Windows at the console, except that everything is
- character based -- no graphics).
-
- MacLayers is currently at version 1.20. As of 1 January, 1993,
- Eric C. Rosen took over MacLayers from the original author,
- David W. Trissel who unfortunately can no longer support
- the program. Eric is working hard to improve and extend
- MacLayers. Major plans include better terminal emulation,
- faster downloading, uploading, and support for a .layersrc
- file.
-
- Please send all electronic correspondence regarding MacLayers
- to the address layers-reply@rascal.ics.utexas.edu. The
- latest version of MacLayers is available via anonymous FTP
- from rascal.ics.utexas.edu in mac/communications/MacLayers.
- Other sites usually carry it also.
-
- If you are using System 7, be sure to get the latest
- version, since previous versions have a few incompatibilities
- with System 7.
-
-
- [6.4] What is UW and what do I need to use it?
-
- UW (short for Unix Windows) is a program similar in style and
- intent to MacLayers (see [6.3]) --- that is, it provides a
- multi-window interface to a Unix hosts. UW has been around a
- lot longer than MacLayers but, as far as I know, hasn't been
- updated in quite a long time. It offers most of the same
- features as MacLayers, but no facility for downloading
- is provided. UW does have the advantage of working with the
- older 64 KB ROM machines, but in general, MacLayers is the
- superior program.
-
-
- [6.5] Is there a program that will convert between BinHex and MacBinary
- for Unix?
-
- Yes, there are at least two that will handle BinHex 4.0, MacBinary,
- and other conversions. macutil and mcvert are distributed as
- Unix shar archvies and can be found in the unix directory at
- InfoMac sites. Source code is included (of course) so you will
- need a C compiler to build the programs:
-
- * macutil
-
- macutil is a collection of utilities for manipulating Macintosh
- files in MacBinary [see 2.2] or BinHex [see 2.3] format, or over
- AppleDouble, AUFS, or CAP servers.
-
- As of (8/92), macutil includes three programs:
-
- o hexbin - a program to convert BinHex 4.0 to MacBinary;
- it also converts uuencode (and UULite) files to their
- native binary format; support for .dl, .hex, and .hcx
- formats (all predecessors of BinHex 4.0) also exists
-
- o macsave - a MacBinary filter program to convert
- between various MacBinary representations, including
- a single .bin file, three separate .data, .rsrc, .info
- files, and AUFS format. macsave also allows one to
- "peek" inside MacBinary files
-
- o macunpack - a program to unpack PackIt, StuffIt,
- Diamond, Compactor/Compact Pro, most StuffIt Classic
- and StuffIt Deluxe, DiskDoubler, Zoom and LHarc/MacLHa
- archives.
-
- It also decodes BinHex 5.0, MacBinary, uuencode, and
- Unix compress (ie: .Z suffix) files (as well as variants
- of compress implemented by various Macintosh compress
- programs).
-
- Support for password protected and/or multi-segment
- archives of various types is minimal or non-existent.
-
- The various authors of the macutil utilities are too numerous
- to list here; consult the README files that come with the package
- for the details.
-
- * mcvert
-
- mcvert allows you to convert BinHex files to MacBinary files
- and vice versa. In addition, you can create MacBinary files
- with empty resource forks from normal files, as well as perform
- other transformations. mcvert can also decode PackIt
- archives.
-
- mcvert was originally written in 1987 by Doug Moore; since 1989,
- mcvert has been independently updated by volunteers who have
- also posted their source.
-
- There are some known minor bugs with some of the earlier
- versions mcvert; for example, mcvert 1.65 fails to decode
- BinHex files that end with a single colon, ':', on the last
- line. On the other hand, many people have had difficulties
- compiling later versions on non Sun-like Unix systems.
-
- mcvert needs an official author to avoid confusion
- with independently derived versions. Volunteers can
- contact the editor of this FAQ to coordinate their efforts.
-
-
- [6.6] How can I create LaserWriter PostScript printer files and print
- them on an PostScript printer connected to a Unix network?
-
- First, make sure there is no way you can find a Macintosh
- connected to a LaserWriter which you can use to print
- your document normally.
-
- If this definitely is not an option, determine whether 'macps'
- is installed on your Unix system. If 'macps' is not installed
- on your system, get the latest version from an InfoMac archive
- (look for it in the Unix sections) and follow the included
- directions to install it. You may need the assistance of
- your site's system administrator.
-
- 'macps' is a Unix program that prepends a modified LaserPrep
- file to a PostScript file created by a Macintosh application
- (such as Microsoft Word). The result can be spooled directly
- to a PostScript printer.
-
- To generate the PostScript on your Macintosh, make sure the
- appropriate LaserWriter Chooser item is selected in the
- Chooser. Print your document using the normal print option
- of your application. On System 7 systems, click the "PostScript
- File" radio button when the standard Printer Manager dialog
- box is displayed. On pre-system 7 systems, hold down Command-F
- immediately _after_ clicking on OK in the dialog box; timing
- is crucial here --- Apple obviously did not originally intend
- users to take advantage of this "feature" (see note below).
-
- If you are running System 7, you will be prompted to select
- the destination folder and name for the PostScript file.
- Otherwise, it will be named "PostScript' (or 'PostScript#'
- where '#' is a digit) and placed either in the System folder,
- the application's current folder, or the root folder on the
- startup disk. You may rename the file.
-
- Upload (or otherwise transfer) the PostScript file to your
- Unix system, treating it as a text file, unless you are
- including graphics or fonts in your output (in which case you
- should be safe and take the extra steps and treat the file as
- an eight-bit binary file). Then, use 'macps' to spool the file
- to your printer. For example, if you had named the PostScript
- file 'report.ps' and normally print files on Unix with the
- command 'lpr -Pryon', you would issue the command:
-
- % macps report.ps | lpr -Pryon
-
- This will print the file on your Unix printer. The documentation
- included with 'macps' includes a man page that provides more
- information on the process.
-
- 'macps' was written by Edward Moy and is copyrighted by
- the Regents of the University of California. It can be freely
- distributed; check its ReadMe file for details.
-
- Note: Under System 7, _all_ fonts (including information needed
- to decode TrueType fonts if you use any TrueType fonts) you use
- your document are included in the PostScript file. As a result,
- even the smallest documents can produce very large (hundreds of
- kilobytes) PostScript files. If the fonts you use in your
- document are automatically downloaded to the laser printer
- you will be using to print, you can significantly reduce the
- size of your PostScript file (and thus save time transmitting)
- by removing the font definitions. You can do this manually,
- but it is safer to use a utility, such as Trimmer, StripFonts,
- or the DMM-LW utilities (which includes other capabilities
- as well), all available at InfoMac sites.
-
- Note: If you are a pre-System 7 user, you are encouraged to
- read the file tips/generating-postscript at InfoMac archives.
- This file gives explicit directions for generating PostScript
- files using pre-System 7 machines and also describes how to
- enable a check box in the LaserWriter Dialog box that allows
- you to redirect the PostScript output to a file without having
- to type Command-F or Command-K.
-
- ================================================================================
- [7] Sending and receiving Mail and Usenet News with your Macintosh
-
- [7.1] How can I send/receive Internet mail with my Macintosh?
-
- There are a variety of ways to do this depending primarily
- on how you connect your Macintosh to the rest of the world.
- The most popular and practical methods are summarized below:
-
- Note: Methods of sending and receiving e-mail that are specific
- to A/UX are not discussed; see the FAQ for comp.unix.aux.
-
- * UUCP
-
- Perhaps the most practical way to interact with Usenet for most
- is to use UUCP (Unix-to-Unix-Copy). UUCP is a protocol intended
- to be used to transfer files between Unix machines over
- telephone lines. Various UUCP programs exist for the Macintosh,
- from freeware to shareware to payware. In addition to the UUCP
- software, you must find a host machine connected to the Internet
- (or equivalent) that is willing to send and receive your e-mail
- (and news, if you wish [see 7.2]). There are commericial
- services that provide this capability in various regions of
- the country. Once you have identified such a machine, you need
- to register your site with a unique name in the UUCP maps.
-
- -> Mac/gnuucp is a port of the GNU UUCP sources to the Macintosh.
- Sources are included. The interface uses the standard Think C
- command-line substitute. A Hypercard mail reader is provided.
- Usable, but not recommended if you intend on transfering a lot
- of files.
-
- -> UUPC 3.0 is a substantially better freeware implementation of
- the UUCP protocol for the Macintosh. UUPC 3.0 includes support
- for various flavors of UUCP that provide better performance
- with high-speed error-correcting modems. Full source code
- is provided. UUPC 3.0 was implemented by a coalition of
- programmers led by Dave Platt. Thanks!
-
- -> uAccess, a payware product (about $300) from Ice
- Engineering supports the CTB and can be used to send and
- receive both e-mail and USENET postings via a UUCP link.
- See [7.2] for more information.
-
- * MacTCP: SMTP, POP
-
- SMTP (Simple-Mail-Transfer-Protocol) and POP (Post-Office-
- Protocol) are two protocols for transfering electronic mail
- between machines that have a TCP/IP interface or equivalent.
- Usually, on the Macintosh, such an interface is provided via
- MacTCP and/or the Communications Toolbox.
-
- -> Eudora is one of the best written and most popular free
- programs available for the Macintosh. Eudora is a complete and
- versatile e-mail package which can send e-mail via SMTP (either
- through the CTB or a serial connection) and receive e-mail via
- a POP server. It can even be used with UUPC 3.0 (as a mail
- reader and message generator, not a transport agent). Eudora
- can also be used to transfer arbitrary Macintosh files between
- computers through its BinHex 4.0 attachment features. Many
- accolades go to the author, Steve Dorner, who continues to
- support Eudora. As of (7/92), the latest version of Eudora can
- be FTP'd from ftp.cso.uiuc.edu in mac/eudora. Please send all
- e-mail inquiries about Eudora to eudora-info@qualcomm.com .
-
- -> LeeMail is a shareware ($10) MacTCP-based SMTP mailer for
- the Macintosh. LeeMail allows you to send and receive Internet
- mail directly from your Macintosh --- if you have a fixed IP
- address (manual addressing). Otherwise, if your Macintosh uses
- dynamic addressing to determine its IP address, you can use
- LeeMail to send mail from your Macintosh but should use a
- different Reply-To address. LeeMail supports various enclosures.
- Author: Lee Fyock <laf@mitre.org>
-
- -> TCP/Connect II, from Intercon Systems, includes support for
- both SMTP and POP based e-mail.
-
-
- * Other:
-
- -> Fernmail, a shareware program ($20), can be used as a stand-
- alone mailer program to read and compose e-mail messages. It can
- also be used to send e-mail between different users of the same
- Macintosh but has no built-in facility to transfer messages
- between machines. It is most useful as a front-end for UUCP
- mailers that lack a sophisticated mail management program.
- Author: Dave Platt <dplatt@snulbug.mtview.ca.us>
-
-
- [7.2] How can I read/post Usenet news with my Macintosh?
-
- Again, the various options depend primarily on how your
- Macintosh is connected to Usenet. The various ways to
- connect your Macintosh to outside networks are summarized
- elsewhere in this FAQ. What follows is a brief description of
- the more popular software packages, according to connection
- method.
-
- Note: Methods of sending and receiving news that are specific
- to A/UX are not discussed; see comp.unix.aux instead.
-
- * UUCP
-
- -> uAccess, a commericial product (about $300) from Ice
- Engineering (and the product from which uATerm and Termy were
- derived) is a well-designed product that works well enough to
- allow you to use your Macintosh as a Usenet node (if you have
- enough disk space). uAccess supports the CTB and comes with a
- terminal emulator. It was reviewed in the July, 1992 issue of
- _UnixWorld_.
-
- * MacTCP - NNTP
-
- Most (if not all) MacTCP-based newsreaders for the Macintosh
- will require access to a NNTP news server. NNTP (Net News
- Transfer Protocol) is a protocol used to transfer articles
- between a central news server and many client machines over
- TCP/IP or a serial link.
-
- -> NewsWatcher is a free MacTCP-based NNTP news client. It
- supports a graphical "point and click" interface for browsing
- and reading news. The program was featured in Apple's technical
- "d e v e l o p" magazine (#6) with source; you can also FTP the
- source from ftp.apple.com. The application itself is available
- at other archives.
- Contact: send e-mail to <newswatcher@phil.ruu.nl>
-
- Note: An *early* *development* version of the next release of
- Newswatcher has been made available for anonymous FTP at
- ftp.acns.nwu.edu [129.105.113.52] in the directory
- pub/newswatcher. IF YOU FTP THIS, PLEASE READ THE ACCOMPANYING
- README FILE FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION. John appreciates hearing
- bug reports, but he is also being beseiged by e-mail; don't
- forget that NewsWatcher is being supported and extended by
- a group of volunteers.
-
- -> Nuntius is a thread-based, MacTCP-based NNTP news reader with
- a graphical Finder-like user interface. It is actively supported
- by its author.
- Author: Peter Speck <speck@dat.ruc.dk>
-
- -> TheNews is a shareware ($25) MacTCP-based NNTP news reader.
- You can respond to articles via a local SMTP server also.
- Author: Bill Cramer <70322.3412@compuserve.com>
-
- -> TCP/Connect II, from Intercon Systems, includes an NNTP based
- news reader, as well as e-mail (and other) facilities.
-
-
- * Serial - NNTP
-
- --> NetFeed is a NNTP newsreader designed to communicate with
- a NNTP server via modem. It includes an article reader and
- a simple scripting language to facilitate dialing the modem.
- NetFeed is shareware, but the authors seem to only ask for a
- postcard if you use their software.
- Authors: Bill Burns <WDBURNS@MTUS5.bitnet>
- Brad Boyer <BRBOYER@MTUS5.bitnet>
-
-
- ================================================================================
- [8] Miscellaneous
-
- [8.1] I don't have FTP --- How can I access the Macintosh FTP archives
- through e-mail?
-
- First, look in the Appendix of this FAQ. Descriptions on how
- to access mailservers that mirror the InfoMac archives are
- provided there.
-
- For more general help on accessing FTP sites through e-mail,
- send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu and include a line
- containing "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the
- message body. You will be mailed instructions on how to use
- FTP sites via e-mail.
-
- ================================================================================
- Appendix
-
- [A] List of Common File Suffixes and Abbreviations
-
- Suffix Description
- ------- ------------------------------------------------------
- .bin MacBinary files; see [2.2]
- .cpt Compact Pro archive files; see [3.6]
- .dd DiskDoubler archive files; see [3.6]
- .gif Compuserve Graphics Interchange File;
- .hqx BinHex files; see [2.3], [3.7]
- .image Apple DiskCopy disk image file; see [2.5]
- .sea Self-extracting archive files
- .shar Unix shell archive file
- .sit StuffIt archive files; [see 3.6]
- .uu Unix uuencoded files; see [2.3]
- .Z Unix 'compress' archive file
- .zip MS-DOS PC archive file
-
- Abbrev-
- iation Description
- ------- ------------------------------------------------------
- A/UX Apple Unix
- ADB Apple Desktop Bus
- AFE Apple File Exchange
- ARA AppleTalk Remote Access
- bps bits per second
- csmc comp.sys.mac.comm
- CTB Communications Tool Box
- CTS Clear-To-Send
- DSR Data-Set-Ready
- DTR Data-Terminal-Ready
- FTP File Transfer Protocol
- IP Internet Protocol
- LAP Link Acess Protocol
- MNP Microcom Networking Protocol
- NNTP Net News Transfer Protocol
- RTS Request-To-Send
- SID Sound Input Device
- SLIP Serial Line Internet Protocol
- TCP Transmission Control Protocol
- uw Unix Windows
-
-
-
- [B] List of Macintosh archive sites available through the Internet
-
- All shareware or freeware programs described in this FAQ are available
- from one of the many archives that mirror the InfoMac archives at sumex
- and at other Macintosh FTP sites described below.
-
- Of course, since almost all files are distributed in BinHex format,
- the first program you need to get hold of is "BinHex 4.0" or one of
- the programs described in [2.3] that has the capability to decode
- BinHex files. If you have FTP access, try to FTP the file
- info-mac/util/binhex4.bin from sumex-aim.stanford.edu with 'binary'
- mode set (issue the command 'binary' to the FTP server). This file
- is a MacBinary version of BinHex 4.0. If you don't have a binary-
- capable FTP, or if you forget to use binary, you will get a corrupted
- file when you transfer the file to your Mac. Alternatively, you can
- FTP a MacBinary version of StuffitExpander from wuarchive.wustl.edu
- in mirrors/rascal.ics.utexas.edu/compression as the binary file
- StuffIt_Expander_1.0.1_SEA_bin .
-
- If you don't have FTP access or binary FTP doesn't seem to work for you,
- try to friend who has BinHex 4.0 (or equivalent) on a disk that you can
- copy. Or, if you have a Pascal compiler handy, you can download the
- Pascal source from sumex and compile it. But your best bet is to ask
- around.
-
- Unless otherwise indicated, the following FTP sites are all anonymous
- FTP sites available through the Internet. Logon as "anonymous" or "ftp"
- and give your e-mail address as the password. Remember that the use of
- anonymous FTP at these sites is a privelege, not a right, so please act
- accordingly. Type 'ls' to get a directory listing. Use the command 'cd'
- followed by a directory name to move to a specific directory. USe the
- command 'cd ..' to move back "up" to the previous directory.
- Issue the command 'binary' to change to FTP BINARY mode. Give the command
- 'get' followed by a filename to retrieve a specific file.
-
- Sites are grouped by geographical location. North American users are
- strongly encouraged to use the North American sites. Practically
- everything found on other continents can also be found somewhere in
- North America. Similarly, non-North American users are advised to check
- out their local sites first. Ftp.apple.com is the notable exception.
-
-
- NORTH AMERICA:
-
- ** ftp.apple.com **
- This FTP site is maintained by Apple. You can FTP System 7, TuneUp,
- various Developer Technical Support items (including all the Tech
- Notes), QuickTime, and much more. You will need the Apple DiskCopy
- program (available online) to make floppy-disk versions of the disk
- images.
-
- ** mac.archive.umich.edu ** (141.211.182.23)
- University of Michigan's Macintosh Public Domain and Shareware Archive.
- All files are in the mac directory (mac.bin is a directory useful only
- to local University of Michigan users). Has lots of Macintosh files that
- don't seem to be available anywhere else. Announcement of recent
- additions to the archives are routinely seen in comp.sys.mac.apps. Read
- the file '00introduction' for details on submitting.
-
- ** microlib.cc.utexas.edu **
- The University of Texas Computation Center maintains a large and useful
- Macintosh archive in microlib/mac (Archives for other personal computers
- are also available here). Submissions can be e-mailed (in BinHex form)
- to macgifts@mac.archive.umich.edu (which are then rebroadcasted
- elsewhere; this is the easiest way to distribute public-domain or
- shareware stuff throughout the Internet).
-
- ** sumex-aim.stanford.edu ** (36.44.0.6)
- The Macintosh Archive site. This site is heavily used and has anonymous
- FTP connections limited during local working hours, so you are STRONGLY
- encouraged to use one of the many sites which mirror the sumex archives.
- All Macintosh files are stored in the directory info-mac in a tree
- structure by generic file type. You should read the file in the
- help subdirectory called 'posting-guidelines.txt' for details on
- submitting files to the archive.
-
- ** wuarchive.wustl.edu ** (128.252.135.4)
- Washington University maintains a mirror archive of sumex-aim and also
- mac.archive.umich.edu (among others). Look in mirrors/infomac and
- mirrors/archive.umich.edu respectively. This site is also useful for
- other reasons and can be mounted via NFS (see the README files in the
- top level).
-
-
- If you don't have FTP access, you can access the sumex-aim InfoMac
- archives by using the LISTSERVer at Rice University in Houston, TX.
- For example, to retrieve the file UTIL/CPT-EXPAND-10.HQX, send a message
- containing the line "$macarch get UTIL/CPT-EXPAND-10.HQX" to
- listserv@ricevm1.rice.edu. Unix users may also find the following script
- useful:
-
- #!/bin/csh -f
- # macarch.get
- if test $# -ne 1
- then
- echo Usage: $0 archive-name-of-file-to-retrieve
- exit 1
- fi
- echo \$macarch GET $1 | mail LISTSERV@ricevm1.rice.edu
-
- The files HELP/ALL-FILES.TXT, HELP/ACCESSING-FILES.TXT, and other
- files in the HELP hierarchy are useful files to try retrieving
- initially.
-
-
- EUROPE:
-
- ** ftp.funet.fi ** (128.214.6.100)
- The Finnish University and Research network (FUNET) archive site.
- Macintosh files are in pub/mac. Read the README file in the top level,
- especially if you are FTP-ing "long distance".
-
- ** nic.switch.ch ** (130.59.1.40)
- The Swiss Academic and Research Network (SWITCH) maintains an info-mac
- mirror on nic.switch.ch. Files are in the directory /mirror/info-mac
- and are updated daily.
-
- ** src.doc.ic.ac.uk ** (146.169.2.1)
- Archive site maintained by UKUUG Software Distribution Service,
- Department of Computing, Imperial College, London, UK. Macintosh
- files are in directory packages/mac. Mirrors of sumex-aim.stanford.edu
- and mac.archive.umich.edu are in mac/sumex and mac/umich respectively.
- Some files are compressed using Unix compress (.Z); see the README
- file.
-
- ** irisa.irisa.fr ** (131.254.254.3)
- Archive site maintained by Institut de Recherche en Informatique et
- Systemes Aleatoires in Rennes, Brittany, France. This site maintains an
- archive of various comp.binaries.* group, including comp.binaries.mac.
- Files are in News/comp.binaries.mac. Warning: Files in this directory
- are numbered and numerous so avoid asking for a directory listing;
- that is, don't type 'ls' or 'dir'. Rather, change to this directory
- and download the file 'index' which maps the "Subject:" line to
- a number which you can then 'get'.
-
-
- If you don't have FTP access, you can access the InfoMac archives
- by sending e-mail to the mirror archive kept on fileserv@irlearn.ucd.ie.
- Files must be requested by their (14 digit) number, so first send
- a message containing only the line "get macfile listing" for a full
- index, or ask for the most recent additions by sending "index newmac".
-
-
- AUSTRALIA:
-
- ** archie.au ** (139.130.4.6)
- AARNet Archive Server, Melbourne, Australia. Macintosh files are
- in micros/mac. This site also mirrors sumex-aim.stanford.edu (look in
- micros/mac/infomac) and mac.archive.umich.edu (look in micros/mac/umich).
-
-
- JAPAN:
-
- ** utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp ** (133.11.11.11)
- University of Tokyo archive site. Macintosh files are in pub/Mac.
- This site also mirrors info-mac at sumex-aim.stanford.edu; check
- the pub/Mac/info-mac directory.
-
-
- [C] Vendor Information
-
- These vendors are either mentioned in this FAQ or provide products
- relating to Macintosh networking. Neither the editor of this list
- nor any of the contributors necessarily endorse any of the vendors
- or their products. The following information is provided for your
- convenience only. It was compiled from sources obtained from Usenet.
- Please bring any errors or additions to the attention of the editor.
-
- Vendor Contact Methods:
- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------
- Advanced Software Concepts e-mail:
- adv.soft@applelink.apple.com
- anonymous FTP at 192.70.34.153
-
- Alverson Software e-mail: davea@cbos.uc.edu
-
- Apple Developers Association (APDA) [USA] (408) 974 4667
- e-mail: APDA@applelink.apple.com
- MacTCP orders and information:
- [USA] (800) 282-2732
- [USA] (408) 562-3971 {FAX}
- [CANADA] (800) 637-0029
- [WORD] 562-3910
-
- Cayman Systems [USA] (800) 473 4776
- e-mail: info@cayman.com
- e-mail: sales@cayman.com
- anonymous FTP at ftp.cayman.com
-
- Compatible Systems [USA] (800) 356 0283
- e-mail: support@compatible.com
- anonymous FTP at ftp.compatible.com
-
- Freesoft [USA] (412) 846-2700
-
- Global Village [USA] (415) 390-8300
- e-mail: GLOBALVILLAG@applelink.apple.com
- America Online: GlobalVill
- CompuServe: 75300,3473
-
- Hayes [USA] (404) 441-1617
- [CANADA] (519) 746-5000
- [USA/CANADA] (800) US-HAYES {BBS}
- [USA/CANADA] (404) HI-MODEM {BBS}
- [UK] 081-848-1858
- [UK] 081-569-1774 {BBS}
- [HK] 852-887-1037
-
- Hyde Park Software (TriSoft) [USA] (800) 531-5170
- e-mail: info@hydepark.com
-
- ICE Engineering, Inc. [USA] (313) 449-8288
- e-mail: info@ice.com
- e-mail: time@ice.com
-
- InterCon Systems [USA] (703) 709-9890
- [USA] (703) 709-5500
- e-mail: sales@intercon.com
-
- Pacer Software [USA] (619) 454-0565
- e-mail: support@pacersoft.com
-
- Seaquest Software [USA] (503) 531-0252
- e-mail: seaquest1@aol.com
- e-mail: peterm@cs.pdx.edu
- CompuServe: 73217,3460
- America Online: Seaquest1
-
- Shiva [USA] (800) 458-3550
- [USA] (617) 621-0190 {BBS}
- e-mail: info@shiva.com
- e-mail: sales@shiva.com
- e-mail: support@shiva.com
- anonymous FTP at shiva.com
-
- Smartcom (Hayes) [USA] (404) 441-1617
- [USA] (800) US-HAYES (BBS)
-
- Software Ventures Corporation [USA] (510) 644-1325
- e-mail: microphone@svcdudes.com
-
- Synergy Software [USA] (215) 779-0522
-
- Webster Computer Corp. [AUSTRALIA] 61 3 764 1100
-
- White Pine Software [USA] (603) 886-9050
-
-
- [D] Contributors
-
- The editor of this FAQ would like to graciously thank all of the
- following individuals who have contributed in some form or another
- to the answers provided above, and to the many others who have
- encouraged and corrected me along the way.
-
- Dave Alverson (ZTerm, Powerbooks)
- Jack Brindle (BinHex, MacBinary)
- Eric Behr (MacTCP)
- Josh Cole (Networking, MacTCP, AppleDouble)
- Bill Coleman (Smartcom)
- Steve Dorner (Eudora, SLIP)
- Don Gilbert (SLIP)
- Tom Gewecke (European E-Mail, Archives)
- Elliotte Rusty Harold (General, File Transfer Programs)
- Greg Kilcup (MacX, SLIP, CSLIP, PPP)
- Andy Y. A. Kuo (Networking)
- Peter N Lewis (General, FTPd)
- Bill MacGregor (MacTCP Name Resolution)
- Leonard Rosenthol (StuffIt)
- Kevin Eric Saunders (Comet)
- Eric P. Scott (General)
- Jon L. Spear (General, Baud Etymology)
- Werner Uhrig (Official Archive Site Maintainer)
- Rick Watson (MacSLIP)
-
- sbb@panix.com (Versaterm)
- ================================================================================
-