Article 62367 of comp.sys.cbm: From: j.brain@ieee.org (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 1/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 7 Nov 1996 00:03:11 -0500 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 645 Sender: brain@msen.com Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 05 Dec 1996 Message-ID: Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This file should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/ X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.08 Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p1 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part1 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part1 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part1 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/11/06 Disclaimer: | This file is maintained by Jim Brain (brain@mail.msen.com, j.brain@ieee.org, | brain@acm.org). It is composed of information gleaned from articles in the | USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm, the FidoNET echoes CBM and CBM-128, | electronic mail messages, World Wide Web pages, and other mediums. All | the authors have either directly or indirectly given their consent to use | their work in this FAQ. All of the information in this file has been | gathered and checked if possible for errors, but I cannot guarantee the | correctness of any statement in this file. If in doubt, please bring up | the subject in one of the Commodore forums. | If you have suggestions, comments, or criticisms, please let Jim Brain | know by sending electronic mail to brain@mail.msen.com. If, you find that | address no longer available, please try the forwarding accounts | j.brain@ieee.org or brain@acm.org. Keep in mind that new questions appear | on a daily basis, so there is a finite time between a new question | appearing in comp.sys.cbm, and its inclusion in this file. The latest version of this file may be obtained from the following places: ftp sites: ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/comp.sys.cbm/cbm-main-faq.3.1 ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/faq/cbm-main-faq.3.1.gz ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part* ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/commodore/main-faq/part* ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.answers/commodore/main-faq/part* ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/comp.sys.cbm/faq.zip ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/spectre/TEXT-ARCHIVE/comp.sys.cbm.faq.3.1.gz World Wide Web sites: http://www.msen.com/~brain/faqhome.html Bulletin Board Systems: | COMMODORE CEE BBS (916) 339-3403, FIDONET address: 1:203/999 | VGA Cologne BBS +49-221-9808007 (19.2 ZyXel/ISDN) | -9808008 (28.8 V.FC/ISDN) | FidoNET address 2:2450/140 Mailservers: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu. First nine lines of message: send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part1 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part2 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part3 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part4 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part5 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part6 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part7 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part8 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part9 brain@mail.msen.com (Jim Brain's Mailserver - always has latest copy) Subject: MAILSERV send faq.p* Mailing List To receive any major updates to the FAQ, mail: To: brain@mail.msen.com Subject: MAILSERV Body: subscribe cbm-main-faq Firstname Lastname quit See Section 6 for directions on how to use these services to retrieve the FAQ. This file is posted to the groups comp.sys.cbm, news.answers, and | comp.answers once every month around the 5th of the month. _Notes for this release_: ----------------------- + Still left to add. Maybe next time.... rewrite of section 13.8. a section devoted to downloading software (maybe) changes to section 12.3 to detail hooking up monitors. I am gathering a list of Commodore reference books together. If you have a book, please send me the ISBN, Author, TItle, short description, number of pages, whether it has illustrations, and whether it has any code samples. Thanks. ----------------------- Lines preceded with a '|" have been modified since the last version of this file was posted. Lines preceded by a '+' have been added since the last version was posted. If readers of this FAQ wish to make changes, please precede formatted lines sent to me with a 'C' so that I can see the changes even if you enclose header and trailer text to show context. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ----------------- 1. Introduction 1.1. What is a FAQ 1.2. What topics does this FAQ cover? 1.3. Who decides what goes in the FAQ? 1.4. How do I retrieve updates to the FAQ? 2. Overview 2.1. Do people still use Commodore 8-bit machines? 2.2. How many Commodore machines are there? 2.3. What do people do with Commodore 8-bit machines? 2.4. What Commodore 8-bit machines are most widely used? 2.5. What is the economic status of Commodore? 3. The BASICs 3.1. How do I format a Commodore disk? 3.2. How do I transform a BASIC program to a text file? 3.3. How do I transform a text file into a BASIC program? 3.4. How can I change my drive device number through software? 3.5. Can I get my 1581 drive to change its device number on startup? 4. Publications 4.1. What paper publications are available? 4.2. What paper publications have disappeared? 4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them? 4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them? 4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of? 4.6. How do I know which magazines to subscribe to? 5. Connecting Up 5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world? 5.2. What services can I use to get online? 5.3. What hardware do I need? 5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist? 5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64? 5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128? 5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio? 5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers? 6. The Online Information Reservoir 6.1. How do I download? What is a transfer protocol? 6.2. What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII? 6.3. Where can I find Commodore programs? 6.4. What is a file extension, and what do they stand for? 6.5. What is electronic mail? 6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one? 6.5.2. What is a Mail Server? How do I use one? 6.5.3. How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.? 6.6. What is USENET or NetNews? What is a USENET newsgroup? 6.6.1. What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines? 6.6.2. What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm? 6.6.3. Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly? 6.6.4. How do I post in comp.sys.cbm? 6.6.5. How can I access comp.sys.cbm through email? + 6.6.6. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through WWW? 6.7. What is a FidoNET echo? 6.7.1. What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines? 6.7.2. How do I post in an echo? 6.8. What is the World Wide Web? 6.8.1. What WWW sites have Commodore information? 6.8.2. What Sites have Telnet WWW Browsers? 6.9. What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)? 6.9.1. What FTP sites have Commodore Information? 6.9.2. What is an FTP Mail Server? How do I use one? 6.9.3. How do I send files to an FTP site? 6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)? 6.11. What else is available online? 7. Exchanging Data 7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines? 7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore? 7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore? 7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore? 7.5. How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore? 7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore? 7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers? 8. Operating Systems 8.1. What Operating Systems are available? 8.2. What is GEOS? 8.3. What is UNIX? 8.4. What is CP/M 9. Demonstrations 9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo? 9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean? 9.3. Where do I get demos? 9.4. What is a demo competition? 9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean? 10. Emulators 10.1. What is an emulator? 10.2. What platforms do 64 emulators exist on? 10.3. What platforms do 128 emulators exist on? 10.4. Are any other Commodore computers emulated? 11. Troubleshooting 11.1. What do I do for my ill disk drive? 11.2. What do I do for my ill computer? 11.2.1. What do I do for my ill Commodore 64? 11.2.2. What do I do for my ill Commodore 128? 11.3. What do I do for my ill keyboard? 12. Modifications and Cabling 12.1. How can you alter which side a 1571 reads from? 12.2. How do I open a C128 power supply? 12.3. How do I make a cable to hook my CBM 1902A to my 64 or 128? 12.4. How do I build a simple RS-232 interface cable? 12.5. How do I build a 2400/9600 bps RS-232 interface cable? 12.6. How can I determine how much VDC video memory is in my C128? 12.7. How do I build a GEOCable interface? + 12.8. How do I connect my Commodore printer to an IBM PC? 13. Enhancements 13.1. How do I increase my disk drive's transfer speed? 13.1.1. What is a Fastloader? 13.1.2. What is a ROM replacement? 13.1.3. What are the disadvantages to using a drive enhancement? 13.1.4. What other things can I do to speed up the drive? 13.2. How do I expand my disk drive's capacity? 13.2.1. What is a Hard Drive? Who sells them? 13.2.2. What is 64NET? + 13.2.3. What is SERVER64? 13.3. How do I expand my computer's RAM capacity? 13.3.1. What is a Ram Expansion Unit? 13.3.2. What is a geoRAM Unit? 13.3.3. What is battery backed GeoRAM (BBGRam)? 13.3.4. What is a RAMLink? 13.3.5. What is a RAMDrive? 13.3.6. How do I expand my C128 Video RAM? 13.3.7. How do I expand my C64 internally? 13.3.8. How do I expand my C128 internally? 13.4. How do I increase my computer's speed? 13.4.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's speed? 13.4.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's speed? 13.4.3. Can I speed up other Commodore computers? 13.5. How do I increase my computer screen's resolution? 13.5.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's screen resolution? 13.5.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's screen resolution? 13.5.3. How do I increase other CBM computers' resolutions? 13.6. How do I increase my computer's serial transfer speed? 13.7. How do I increase my computer's sound quality? 13.8. What other ways can I expand my Commodore computer? 14. Programming 14.1. What Programming Languages are available? 14.2. What is a Cross Assembler? How do I use one? 14.3 What is an "undocumented opcode"? 15. User Groups 16. Sales and Service 16.1. Where do I purchase Commodore Equipment and Software? 16.2. Where do I get equipment serviced? 16.3. How do I know who to buy from or request service from? 17. Miscellaneous 17.1. How fast does a Commodore 64 run? 17.2. How can a turn my NTSC-M 64 into a PAL-B 64 or vice versa? 17.3. What does this IC number mean? + 17.4. What are the differences between C64 ROM Revisions? 18. Credits --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction Welcome to the comp.sys.cbm "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) file. Many news groups maintain a FAQ file which is posted monthly, and is a repository for general interest and common information that many readers of the news group, or new readers of the news group, might be interested in. 1.1. What is a FAQ FAQ is an acronym that stands for "Frequently Asked Questions". Shortly after the introduction of USENET, many people noticed that certain questions were repeatedly asked in newsgroups. To minimize the posting of answers to already answered questions, USENET developed the idea of FAQ files. After a question has been asked a number of times in the USENET newsgroup, it is added to the list of answered questions in the FAQ. Then, readers are encouraged to read the FAQ to cut down on posts of repeated questions. A FAQ file is not solely for newcomers. Experienced users are encouraged to glance over the FAQ every so often to check for errors and add items. Also, it seems that everyone gets a question answered by reading the FAQ, new user or not. 1.2. What topics does this FAQ cover? This FAQ answers questions on just about any topic concerning Commodore computers. Obviously, given the nature of the FAQ file, it is impossible to answer every question here, and some topics are too broad for discussion in the FAQ. However, when the FAQ cannot adequately answer a question, it does provide pointers to relevant people or materials. Even though a large number of people use their Commodore computer to program, the topic is much too broad for adequate coverage in the FAQ. For those interested in programming, however, please see Section 14, "Programming". 1.3. Who decides what goes in the FAQ? Typically, a FAQ file is editted by a single person or small group of people. These editors decide what should go into the FAQ. Obviously, for the FAQ to fulfill its intended purpose, any question that has been asked repeatedly should be included, as should updates to any questions already in the FAQ. The FAQ maintainer should try to provide as up-to-date information as possible in the FAQ. Above that, the FAQ maintainer can include any other information he or she deems or interest or value to the readers. For this FAQ, the FAQ maintainer is Jim Brain, brain@mail.msen.com, j.brain@ieee.org, or brain@acm.org. If you have information that you feel should be included, please mail it to Jim. Please be aware that it does take time to include new information. 1.4. How do I retrieve updates to the FAQ? | The FAQ is posted on the 20th of the month to the USENET newsgroup | comp.sys.cbm. It is automatically archived on the FTP site | rtfm.mit.edu and automatically archived on Jim Brain's mailserver. Most Bulletin Board Systems and User Groups have a recent copy of the FAQ, and numerous magazines and other publications have included parts or all of the FAQ on disk or in print in recent months. This FAQ is called the "COMP.SYS.CBM General Frequently Asked Questions List". The latest version of this file may be obtained from the following places: ftp sites: ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/comp.sys.cbm/cbm-main-faq.3.1 ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/faq/cbm-main-faq.3.1.gz ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part* ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/commodore/main-faq/part* ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.answers/commodore/main-faq/part* ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/comp.sys.cbm/faq.zip ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/spectre/TEXT-ARCHIVE/comp.sys.cbm.faq.3.1.gz World Wide Web sites: http://www.msen.com/~brain/faqhome.html Bulletin Board Systems: | COMMODORE CEE BBS (916) 339-3403, FIDONET address: 1:203/999 | VGA Cologne BBS +49-221-9808007 (19.2 ZyXel/ISDN) | -9808008 (28.8 V.FC/ISDN) | FidoNET address 2:2450/140 Mailservers: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu. First nine lines of message: send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part1 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part2 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part3 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part4 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part5 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part6 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part7 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part8 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part9 brain@mail.msen.com (Jim Brain's Mailserver - always has latest copy) Subject: MAILSERV send faq.p* Mailing List To receive any major updates to the FAQ, mail: To: brain@mail.msen.com Subject: MAILSERV Body: subscribe cbm-main-faq Firstname Lastname quit See Section 6 for directions on how to use these services to retrieve the FAQ. 2. Overview Obviously, we must walk before we run, and this principle applies to FAQ files as well. Here are some general questions we often receive in the Commodore community. 2.1. Do people still use Commodore 8-bit machines? Yes, people still do. Newer machines may have appeared and taken over the corporate world, but the Commodore 8-bit machines live on. 2.2. How many Commodore machines are there? If you are asking the quantity of Commodore machines sold, the simple truth is that we do not know. Commodore never officially released any such numbers for all models. It has been estimated that Commodore sold over 10 million Commodore 64 machines, but that has not been proven, as far as I know. So, if you ever determine exactly what quantity of each model was produced, please pass the information along. If you are asking the number of different models Commodore sold, we have a slightly better idea. Jim Brain has compiled a list of all known CBM products, marketed or not, into the "Canonical List of Commodore Products". This include all of the Commodore line, including the PCs and the Amiga systems. As it is much too large to fit in the FAQ, it can be requested from Jim Brain's mailserver as file cbmmodel.txt (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to access the mailserver). Alternately, the file is posted to the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm on a periodic basis. 2.3. What do people do with Commodore 8-bit machines? People use their machines for very different purposes: Game Console. Home Computer. Experimentor's machine. Small Business Computer. No matter what purpose they use them for, they use them because there is a wealth of programs available for the Commodore computer systems. The Commodore line of computers has a seemingly endless supply of quality programs available for it, and more are being created daily. 2.4. What Commodore 8-bit machines are most widely used? Well, it is a fact that all types of Commodore 8-bit computers are still in use, but the following machines get the most use: Commodore 64 (include SX64, DX64, and PET64) Commodore 128 (includes 128D and Euro 128D) The following systems manufactured by Commodore still have a devout following: Commodore VIC-20 Commodore PET series Commodore B series Commodore Plus 4 and 16 Commodore C65 + The Commodore 65 (64DX) The Commodore 65 is a recent addition and is the result of a liquidation of some ALPHA stage test machines. A number of people have purchased these test units, and they have a FAQ devoted just to this machine. Much information on this machine is available at ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/c65 In spite of rumors, No company is considering manufacturing the C65. | If you own a Commodore C65, the following people are compiling lists of people who own them. Robin Harbon 542 West Donald Street. Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7E 5Y6 Canada + Gary Pearson + gpearson@mistral.co.uk + The Commodore PET Series If you currently use a PET series Commodore computer or just want to know more about them, one person is trying to start a magazine devoted to these machine. For more information or to submit articles for the magazine, please get in touch with: Mark J. Kingsbury 25 Latta Battle Creek, MI 49017 Mark_J_Kingsbury@fc1.glfn.org + If you own a Commodore VIC-20, the following individual is planning to + create a list of owners: + Jeff's Ink Press & Deli + P.O. Box 477493 + Chicago IL 60647 2.5. What is the economic status of Commodore? On April 29, 1994, Commodore International announced that it had been unable to renegotiate terms of outstanding loans and were closing down the business. In the months that followed, the liquidation process dragged on, owing to the large far-reaching size of the corporation. In addition, the fact that the company was incorporated in the Bahamas while a large share of the creditors were from the US made legal proceeding tense and drawn out. On April 20th, 1995, almost a full year later, Commodore was sold to a German company called ESCOM for approximately 10 to 12.5 million dollars. + In early 1996, ESCOM announced plans to sell the Amiga technology to a + U.S. company called VISCorp, while reatining the Commodore name. Then, in + July 1996, ESCOM announced that its was filing for bankruptcy protection + as it undergoes a reorganization process. At present, the holder of the + CBM 8-bit technologies is unknown. Of course, since Commodore hasn't served the Commodore 8-bit community for quite some time, most Commodore owners are only interested in what will happen to Commodore Semiconductor Group (CSG), the fabricator for many of the special ICs in the Commodore 8-bit line. Below is the current status of CSG as of April 6, 1995: Commodore Semiconductor Group liquidated in December, 1994. The vast majority of the operational material and the real estate was purchased by GMT Electronics, a company formed by CSG's management. GMT has paid the $1 million lien that the EPA had levied against CSG, and is now operating as a for-hire chip production plant. CSG/GMT is holding approximately $5 million in Commodore parts. 3. The BASICs These are some questions we receive about "BASIC", the built-in programming language in all 8-bit Commodore computers, and the "basics" of using the machine. 3.1. How do I format a Commodore disk? To format a disk in drive 0 (older PET drives had drive 0 and 1) on disk device #8, you issue the following command from BASIC: open1,8,15,"n0:16char_name,12":close1 | The name can be 16 characters in length, and the disk id (12 in this example) can be any two alphanumeric characters. For more information on how to use the 1541 disk drive or compatibles, a complete manual is available at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/documents. (See Section 6.9 for direction on how to use ftp.) 3.2. How do I transform a BASIC program to a text file? As you may know, Commodore BASIC stores programs in "tokenized" format, so they are unreadable from a standard text editor. To fix that, load up you BASIC program, and then type the following in direct mode: open1,8,2,"listing,s,w":cmd1:list The text listing will be placed on drive 8 in a file called listing. After the listing is finished, your cursor should return. Type the following in: print#1:close1 You now have an un-"tokenized" copy of your program, which you can edit with any text editor. 3.3. How do I transform a text file into a BASIC program? Since Commodore BASIC stores its programs in "tokenized" format, one cannot simply load text files containing BASIC statements and run the file directly. However, there is a solution. In direct mode, type in the following: C64: open1,8,2,"filename":poke781,1:poke812,73:sys 65478 C128: open1,8,2,"filename":sys 65478,,1 This will read in each line of the text file and try to execute it (or store it if the line is preceded by a number). The screen will go blank (scroll upwards) while the file is retrieved and will likely end up printing an error message, which is normal. When the last line of the program is entered, hit RUN/STOP-RESTORE, and type in the following: close1 The file will now be loaded into memory. Immediately save the file to disk as a BASIC program. If the above sounds too complicated for you, check out the seq-to-basic program that is posted to comp.binaries.cbm every month. It will perform the translation for you, after you answer a few simple prompts. 3.4. How can I change my drive device number through software? To change the device number on Commodore drives, follow these steps: In the following examples, 'olddn' is the drive's current device number, and 'newdn' is the new number you wish to change it to. 1) Turn off all drives except one you wish to change device number of. 2) Type the following in, depending on drive type: 1540/41/42/4040/Most Compatibles: open 15,olddn,15 print#15,"m-w"chr$(119)chr$(0)chr$(2)chr$(32+newdn)chr$(64+newdn) close 15 MSD SD-1 (Old ROM): open 15,olddn,15 print#15,"m-w"chr$(117)chr$(0)chr$(2)chr$(32+newdn)chr$(64+newdn) close 15 1551/70/71/81 open 15,olddn,15 print#15,"u0>"+chr$(newdn) close 15 3) Turn back on other drives. The change is only temporary. It will revert back if the drive is turned off. 3.5. Can I get my 1581 drive to change its device number on startup? When the 1581 is initialized, as well as checking the boot sector of the disk, it also looks for a file "copyright cbm 86". This file, if found, can specify a device number for the 1581 disk. Whenever the 1581 is booted or initialized with this disk inserted, its device number will be changed to the specified number. The utility 1581-auto-dev by David W. Tamkin (can be found on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in the utilities directory) will create this file. It can also do other stuff, so check it out. -- Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)(offline sig) j.brain@ieee.org "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my employer" Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! -Me- Jim Brain: BII, VR, and CBM info Article 62371 of comp.sys.cbm: From: j.brain@ieee.org (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 2/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 7 Nov 1996 00:09:23 -0500 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 597 Sender: brain@msen.com Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 05 Dec 1996 Message-ID: Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This file should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/ X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.08 Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p2 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part2 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part2 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part2 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/11/06 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 4. Publications 4.1. What paper publications are available? 4.2. What paper publications have disappeared? 4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them? 4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them? 4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of? 4.6. How do I know which magazines to subscribe to? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Publications Commodore users are always wanting more information about their computer. They want to see articles about how to use it, program it, care for it, and expand it. Some use publications to gain knowledge, while others use them to find other people who have knowledge. 4.1. What paper publications are available? | The Underground + (see LOADSTAR LETTER) Commodore World Creative Micro Designs, Inc. P.O. Box 646 East Longmeadow, MA 01028 (800) 638-3263 (Credit Card Orders) cmd.sales@the-spa.com (Information and Pricing) cmd.cw@the-spa.com (Questions or Comments) cmd.cac@the-spa.com (Charles Chistianson - Marketing) doug.cotton@the-spa.com (Doug Cotton - Editor) This is a new magazine that supersedes the RUN magazine. It is packed with info about Commodore computers. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US Canada/ EC All Others Mexico one year subscription (8 issues) $29.96 $35.95 $45.95 $57.97 sample issue + shipping $6.95 $6.95 $8.95 $8.95 Twin Cities 128/64 (TC128/64) Twin Cities 128/64 (TC128) Parsec, Incorporated P.O. Box 111 Salem, MA 01970-0111 (508) 745-5855 Twin Cities 128 is (as of issue #29) published by Parsec, Inc. It features Commodore 128 iand 64 specific information, and attempts to cater to readers at all levels of experience, not just novices. Additionally, starting with Issue #31(February/March 1991), Twin Cities 128 comes with a companion disk. Subscription rates: (All checks or money order in US funds) Type of Subscription US Canada/ International Mexico one year subscription with disks $24.00 $24.00 $36.00 Commodore Network Commodore Network Magazine Warren Naismith 9 Wadeson St Cobram Victoria Australia 3150 In U.S.: COMMODORE CEE | 5443 College Oak Drive #26 | Sacramento, CA 95841 Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact) ceejack@crl.com (Contact) Jack Vanderwhite, editor. Fidonet: 1:203/999 | (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System) Starting 1/95 subscriptions will be available in the U.S. from Jack Vander White at $40.00 per 12 issues. This is the same as the local price in Australia. Back issues and Compendium volumes will be advertised in the near future for U.S. subscribers. Subscription rates: (From Jack Vander White) Type of Subscription US one year subscription (12 issues) $40.00 64'er (German) 64'er Magna Media Post Fatch 1304 D-85531 Haar bei Munich Germany +49 89 4613192 (Voice) +49 89 46135001 (Fascimile) mmatting@cube.net (E-mail Address) +49 89 4613266 (Bulletin Board System) Subscription rates: Type of Subscription Germany/ Others Austria/ Switzerland one year subscription DM105.00 DM129.00 (12 issues @ 64 p each, 12 disks) Atta Bitar (8-Bit) SUBSCRIPTIONS ]tta Bitar (]=Å) c/o Anders Reutersw{rd ({ = ä) Runsav{gen 44 S-161 53 BROMMA Sweden andersr@dmz.medstroms.se (Internet Contact) EDITOR ]tta Bitar c/o Erik Paulson (Editor and Contact) \stantorp Fridhem (\ = Ö) S-590 90 ANKARSRUM Sweden http://www.mds.mdh.se/~dat95pkn/8bitar/ (WWW URL) This is a Swedish magazine that caters to Commodore 64 and 128 users. Subscription rates: (Subscriptions fees should be payed to postal giro account no. 82 66 75-1) Type of Subscription Sweden Scandinavia one year subscription (6 issues) 75.00sek 100.00sek The Commodore GEOS Publication The Commodore GEOS Publication 713 East Main Street Independence, KS 67301-3726 User oriented magazine. The Commodore 128/64 Power User Newsletter Power User GosserGamesLtd. Incorporated c/o Thomas Gosser P.O. Box 1817 Shelton, WA 98584 (360) 426-0750 (Subscriptions and Information) (360) 426-2406 (Bulletin Board System) 128POWERUSER@delphi.com (Email Contact) http://www.msen.com/~brain/guest/GGL/cpu.html (WWW URL) The Power User newlsetter is a small format (8.5" x 5.5") publication that contains Commodore 128 and 64 pertinent information. + Subscription rates: + Type of Subscription US + one year subscription (6 issues) $15.00 + bulk 1 year sub. (6 issues) $10.00 + LOADSTAR Letter + SOFTDISK PUBLISHING + P.O. BOX 30008 + SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008 + Jeff Jones (Associate Editor) + EMAIL: loadstar@softdisk.com (Internet Contact) + (800) 831-2694 (Phone) + (318) 221-8870 (Fascimile) + (318) 425-4382 (Bulletin Board System) + Formerly the printed 8 page insert bundled with every copy of LOADSTAR + and LOADSTAR 128, this small magazine is now offered as a separate product. + Editted by Scott Egglestone and Jeff Jones,the ads will be replaced + with Commodore information. + Subscription rates: + Type of Subscription US + LOADSTAR Letter $ 12.00 4.2. What paper publications have disappeared? Although the following magazines are no longer in print, most of the information is still timely. Some of these publications, such as Transactor, are highly sought after for their technical content. Since some programs and information is not republished in newer magazines, these old magazines might have the only article about a given topic or problem. Ahoy! RUN Creative Micro Designs, Inc. P.O. Box 646 East Longmeadow, MA 01028 (800) 638-3263 (Credit Card Orders) ISSN: 0741-4285 Jan 1984 - Nov/Dec 1992 Creative Micro Designs offers back issues of RUN magazine. Commodore Microcomputing-Power/Play GeoVISISON The Transactor Transactor Publications ISSN: 0827-2530 (or 0838-0163?) Apr 1978 - 1989 Sure, it's dead, and has been for a few years, but this one was a classic. Calling itself the magazine for Commodore programmers, this magazine was enough to make any C64/C128 programmer drool. Featuring in-depth technical information and programming tutorials, as well as "out-of-the-way" topics (things along the line of Richard Curcio's 256K and 512K articles that appeared in TC128). If you are a programmer and can get your hands on back issues of this magazine, do so. + An HTML index of Transactor issue is at: + http://vanbc.wimsey.com/~danf/cbm/transactor.idx Micro-Bytes (Original) + Paul McAleer, editor + hijinx@xnet.com (Internet Contact) + This is the original Micro-Bytes, as published by Paul McAleer. + Copies of all issues are available from Paul for the cost of shipping. + CHeck out the following URL for more information: + http://www.xnet.com/~hijinx/news/mb.htm COMPUTE'S Gazette COMPUTE'S Gazette P.O. BOX 3244 HARLAN, IA 51593-2424 (800) 727-6937 (Subscription Number) tomnetsel@aol.com (Gazette Editor, Tom Netsel) ISSN: 0737-3716 Jul 1983 - Feb 1995 Yes, the Gazette is finally shutting down. They are trying to clear out old inventory, so give them a call for back issues. GEOJOURNAL COMMODORE CEE Publications | 5443 College Oak Drive #26 | Sacramento, CA 95841 EMAIL Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact) Jack Vanderwhite, editor. Fidonet: 1:203/999 | (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System) COMMODORE CEE has taken over publication of back issues of GEOJOURNAL. dieHard dieHard subscriptions P.O. Box 392 Boise, ID 83701-0392 (208) 383-0300 (Information) Magazine devoted to all 8-bit Commodore computers. After the October, 1994 issue was published, LynnCarthy Industries has not produced another issue. The latest information, asz per a press release issued to many of the competing magazine, indiciates that the decision to cease publication is effective October 4, 1994. More information can be read in the actual press release, commented by Jack Vanderwhite of Commodore CEE Magazine, on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server. The file is named dieHard_Press_Release.txt. COMPUTE! COMPUTE! Publications ISSN: 0194-357X TPUG (Toronto PET User Group) Magazine TPUG Publications ISSN: 0825-0367 Info 64 The Northwest User's Guide Commander Optimizer 64 + Illegal + In the June issue 1988 of Britain's largest Commodore magazine "Commodore + User", Mike Pattenden wrote about "Illegal": "Basically it revels in its + downright naughtiness, but at the same time it reaffirms the reasoning + behind hacking". "Illegal" was beyond reasonable doubt the most popular + underground European "cracker" fanzine of the 80's, and a cornerstone of + European outlaw hacking. Editor Jeff Smart was busted in 1989 and was told + never to publish a cracker fanzine again. Some may think this was just as + good, others may call it violation of the freedom of press. You can judge + for yourself by browsing the back issues at: + The Triad "Illegal" archives: + http://www.df.lth.se/~triad/Illegal_Archives.html + The Electronic Frontier Foundation Computer underground Digest: + http://www.eff.org/pub/Publications/CuD/Illegal/ + ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Publications/CuD/Illegal/ | Random (64/128 Magazine) | Random | 7161 North Maine | Clovis, CA 93611-8200 | random-mag@genie.geis.com (Contact) | random-mag@delphi.com (Contact) | random-mag (GEnie Contact) | (209) 323-7841 (VoiceMail/Fascimilie) + The Underground + The Underground + 4574 Via Santa Maria + Santa Maria, CA 93455 + egglest1@cougarnet.byu.edu (Contact) + Scott Eggleston (Editor) + Effective August 11, 1996, The Underground will merge with the newly + announced LOADSTAR LETTER. All remaining subscriptions to The Underground + will be fulfilled with LL subscriptions. Scott will still offer back + issues for $2.50, and Tom Adams (tom.adams@neteast.com) will copy + back issues of the "Underware" disk. + The Underground was a publication which covered all sorts of Commodore + topics. Each issue usually had two feature articles and two reviews, + as well as regular columns on GEOS, telecommunications, programming, news, + commentary, and Public Domain and Shareware. One unique feature to + the Underground was "Underware", which was all the PD/SW software + mentioned in each issue The Underground was produced using geoPublish + and a TI Laser printer, and reproduced on a high-quality copy machine. + BBS Magazine + Caller's Digest, Inc. + 701 Stokes Road + Medford, NJ 08055 + Discontinued 1996. + This magazine, while not wholly Commodore oriented, covered all issues of + BBSing and included the "Commodore Connections" column by Gaelyne Moranec. 4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them? A disk magazine is a publication that comes out as a text file(s) on a diskette. You load the reader program on a computer and view the magazine on the computer screen. COMMODORE CEE (was CEE-64 Alive!) COMMODORE CEE | 5443 College Oak Drive #26 | Sacramento, CA 95841 Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact) Jack Vanderwhite, editor. Fidonet: 1:203/999 | (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System) The magazine covers all the Commodore computer systems Also, a distibutor of both PD and original software in a catalog with magazines and demo issue. Distributes the Australian Commodore Network magazine. The magazine operates a Bulletin Board for subscribers. However, anyone can log on or download on first access. Speeds range from 300-14400 bps. the bulletin board maintains over 2000 files for the C64 and C128. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US Europe Australia one year subscription (6 issues) $36.00 $48.00US Order from Commodore (18 disks) Network demo issue $ 3.00 $--.-- Back Issue Information: Volume 1/1992 5 issues $20.00 Volume 2/1993 6 issues $25.00 Volume 3/1994 6 issues (15 disks) $30.00 LOADSTAR 64 Monthly and LOADSTAR 128 Quarterly SOFTDISK PUBLISHING P.O. BOX 30008 SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008 Jeff Jones (Associate Editor) EMAIL: loadstar@softdisk.com (Internet Contact) (800) 831-2694 (Phone) (318) 221-8870 (Fascimile) (318) 425-4382 (Bulletin Board System) Two disk magazines that feature C64/C128 programs, articles, news, music, and graphics. Available on 3.5" and 5.25" disks. The 64 magazine is currently offering a risk-free issue. Just call and sign up. Cancel if you are not satisfied. LOADSTAR pays a premium price for programs and is looking for good C64 and 128 programmers. LOADSTAR also pays for articles. Call for a risk-free issue. Each issue contains programmer's guidelines in a file called LOADSTAR BRIEFS. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US Other | LOADSTAR 64 (12 issues) $ 69.95 $ 89.95 | LOADSTAR 128 (4 issues) $ 39.95 $ 49.95 | LOADSTAR 64 and 128 $ 99.95 $129.95 Driven Driven Steve Akers, steve@uunet.uu.net (Editor) Roger W. Lueck, coolhand@kaiwan.com (Editor) Driven is a publication in a single disk file that can be downloaded and run on a Commodore 64. The aim of each issue is to strengthen and unite the North American (NTSC) demo scene through dissemination of information about the scene, its participants, and the demos they make. The overall goal is to add yet another means of keeping the C64 alive as a whole. Each issue contains news about the demo scene (including what demos, utilities, etc. get released), contact information for scene members, interviews with demo authors, and demo reviews. In addition, the magazine offers general interest articles describing C64 resources available on Internet, commercial products, online services, and software developers. Driven is FREE. Distribution is unlimited and encouraged. It can be found at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/c64/magazines/ and on IRC channel #c-64 on one of the many bots. In addition, the magazine can be retrieved from Corrosion of Conformity at (905) 385-8014. The editors can also uuencode and email each issue to you if wanted. As a last resort for people unable to find Driven by one of these preferred free routes, you can "subscribe" for $2 an issue (maximum of 3 issues at a time, please). Send subscription requests to: Threshold Productions 17730 15th Ave. NE Suite #229 Seattle, WA. 98155 (Each disk will include a few demos and Threshold Production new game previews along with each issue on one disk) Vision Rick Mosdell, rick.mosdell@canrem.com (Editor) Saul Bottcher (Editor) Founded in the summer of 1993, Visions is an all-original and constantly improving magazine including not only articles, but also graphics of high, medium, and low resolution, as well as fonts and music of all styles. A wide variety of information comes on every issue, ranging from high-level technical research to social commentary to poetry. The graphics and music in each issue are high quality original work, with the occasional classic picture or song. The musical varieties available in the magazine range from classicla to contemporary, including the Vision theme song. All these elements are packed into a compact, efficent, and fast reader program. Each issue's articles, music, and graphics are tweaked to provide as much effect as possible. Vision accepts nearly any subject matter, making it an open forum for writers and reporters of all styles and genres. Vision is FREE and can be acquired locally in the Toronto Ontario Canada area on Electric City at 905-793-9699 (C/G board at 1200 8/N/1) or on the Internet at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/c64/magazines/Vision/ + The Commodore Zone + Binary Zone PD + 34 portland Road + Droitwich + Worcestershire, + WR9 7QW + England Subscription rates: Type of Subscription All 5.25" Disk Issue UK$3.00 Tape Issue UK$3.00 + Commodore Online Information Network (COIN!) + Commodore Online Information Network (COIN!) + c/o Robert Akins (Editor) + CYNRCR@delphi.com (Internet Contact + Occasionally produced disk magazine that caters to those who don't have + online access. 4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them? An online magazine is one which exists in a text file format and can be downloaded like a regular file off the network by the user for browsing and/or printing. | Commodore Hacking Electronic Magazine (E-Zine) An on-line magazine written by denizens of comp.sys.cbm, this features in-depth technical programming information on C64 and C128 computers. The creator and editor of the first 10 issues was Craig Taylor (duck@nando.net), and the new editor is Jim Brain (brain@mail.msen.com). The issues of C= Hacking can be found on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in the directory /pub/cbm/hacking.mag. Back issues can be retrieved from Jim Brain's mail server (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to use the mail server). If you have World Wide Web access, C=Hacking is at: http://www.msen.com/~brain/chacking/ http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/hacking/ http://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/~csbruce/HACKING/Hacking.html http://www.saturn.uaamath.alaska.edu/~adersoc/c-hacking/ 4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of? No library of publications is complete without some reference materials, like programmer reference guides, user's guides, machine language tutorials, and BASIC tutorials. Also, don't overlook the many fine Commodore User's Groups in the world. These groups typically publish newsletters with timely information and help for troubled machines or users. See Section 15 for a list of Commodore User's Groups. + Although not a monthly magazine, Donald Ayers publishes GRASSROOTS #1, a + 2 sided 5.25" disk compendium of history, help, tips, and information. The disk + costs $3.00 and is available from: + GRASSROOTS #1 + c/o Donald Ayers + 75 State Road 270W + Sturgis, KY 42459 The following publications are not "Commodore" publications, but do contain Commodore information periodically. Historically Brewed Historical Computer Society 2962 Park Street #1 Jacksonville, FL 32205 "Historically Brewed" is the magazine put out by the Historical Computer Society. From time to time, they have articles on Commodore equipment. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US one year subscription (6 issues) $18.00 demo issue $ 2.00 4.6. How do I know which magazines to subscribe to? This list of magazines is included for informational purposes only. No attempt by the FAQ maintainer has been made to validate the information contained in this list. Also, the list is organized in a first-come, first-served order. The ordering does not imply the rating of the magazines by the FAQ maintainer, nor does it indicate the past or present business status of each magazine. Due to the somewhat dynamic nature of magazines, it is highly recommended that the prospective subscriber verify this information before subscribing. -- Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)(offline sig) j.brain@ieee.org "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my employer" Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! -Me- Jim Brain: BII, VR, and CBM info Article 62376 of comp.sys.cbm: From: j.brain@ieee.org (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 3/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 7 Nov 1996 00:11:47 -0500 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 464 Sender: brain@msen.com Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 05 Dec 1996 Message-ID: Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This file should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/ X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.08 Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p3 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part3 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part3 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part3 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/11/06 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 5. Connecting Up 5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world? 5.2. What services can I use to get online? 5.3. What hardware do I need? 5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist? 5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64? 5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128? 5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio? 5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Connecting Up 5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world? First, we need to define what "outside world" means. In this sense, we are referring to the process of connecting the Commodore computer up to another computer or computers and exchanging textual, binary, or graphical information. To connect to another computer, one must have a Commodore computer system, a modem, a phone line, and a telecommunications program (called a terminal emulator or terminal emulation program). While you can use this to connect to other individuals, to access great stores of online information you need to subscribe to an "online service", which can take many forms. This type of service allows you to correspond with many people with a single phone call, and may permit you to contact people out of your area without a long distance phone call. 5.2. What services can I use to get online? The following services can be accessed by a Commodore computer and allow the user to access online information. Bulletin Board System (BBS). - Small system usually with one phone line operated by an individual. Fees are optional. For a list of BBS systems in your area, contact Myles Skinner for a listing at mskinner@julian.uwo.ca. Compuserve Information Service. - CompuServe has two Forums designed specifically for Commodore 8-bit computer users. CBM Applications Forum (GO CBMAPP) deals with programming, geoProgramming, applications software, telecommunications, CP/M, utilities and | hardware. In addition, it also includes support for GEOS in general, music (including SidPlayer and MIDI), games, | graphics and graphics utilities. The Forum has full message | boards and extensive data libraries, and it have weekly | real-time conferences on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST. The CompuServe network is available virtually world wide. The Commodore Forums are attracting increasing membership from Europe and Australia, and have begun to tap into the vast variety of Commodore files available around the world (some of the best new Commodore programs are coming in from Europe these days). CompuServe has an extensive network of local numbers throughout the United States and Canada and is also available through supplemental networks such as SprintNet and DataPac. The number of direct CompuServe connect numbers in Europe is beginning to expand. While there is no standalone CompuServe navigator program available for Commodore users, CBMAPP has the CIS.EXE script set that automates Dialogue 128 on CompuServe, and also VIDAUT.BIN which will virtually automate Vidtex (which is available again through Software Support International). In addition there is OFFLIN.HLP, a text file in CBMAPP, that provides a method for semi-automating access with any standard comm program and word processor. CompuServe's rates are as follows: STANDARD PRICING PLAN Membership Support Fee: $ 9.95/month PLAN BENEFITS For $9.95, your CompuServe membership entitles you to five free hours on the service. This includes forums, mail, and Internet access. After your first five hours, additional hours are billed at the rate of $2.95/hour. For an additional $15 a month, our Super Value Plan adds 15 free hours (for a total of 20 hours each month) and each additional hour is just $1.95. Premium ($) services carry additional surcharges, however, during your free hours, you are not charged for connect-time. Any communications surcharges apply. INTERNET ACCESS Direct Internet Access (Dail PPP) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Remote Login (Telnet) USENET Newsreader ASCII USENET Newsreader CIM For additional information on the listed services, GO INTERNET. MAIL CompuServe Mail is billed for connect time. This includes reading mail and viewing classified ads. Surcharged areas, such as fax, telex and CongressGrams carry additional charges. For a complete list of mail services and rates, including hardcopy deliveries through the postal service, GO MAILRATES. CONNECT-TIME RATES Connect-time is billed in one minute increments, with a minimum of one minute per session. Partial minutes are rounded each log-in session to the next full minute for our billing purposes. Compuserve Information Systems P.O. Box 20212 Columbus, OH 43220 (800) 848-8990 (Information) | GEnie - GEnie is a general interest + online service that was previously run by General Electric. There + are four different subscription packages from which a member can + choose: + GenieLite + This is a subscription for the occasional user -- someone who + primarily uses e-mail but likes to take occasional journeys into + Genie's RoundTables. + Monthly subscription*: $7.95/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + *GenieLite monthly subscription includes 5 free hours of e-mail use. + Genie + This is our standard membership plan and is a tremendous value + for any of our members who use more than 6 or 7 hours a month. + Monthly subscription**: $23.95/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + **Genie monthly subscription includes 9 free hours of Genie + services. Monthly subscription is reduced to $18.95 for anyone who + had a Genie account prior to February 1, 1996. + GenieNet + Internet. There are two different plans under the GenieNet banner: + Option 1 + The GenieNet Option 1 plan gives unlimited access to the Internet + but without a graphical interface. This is total, unrestricted, + 28.8Kbps access to the Internet, WWW, FTP, and Newsgroups. + Monthly subscription***: $15.00/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + *** GenieNet Options 1 & 2 provide UNLIMITED Internet usage. + Option 2 + The GenieNet Option 2 plan gives unlimited access to the Internet + but this time with a graphical interface. In addition to the + features offered under Option 1, you'll also get free Netscape + Navigator software and the ability to create a personal web page. + Monthly subscription***: $29.00/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + *** GenieNet Options 1 & 2 provide UNLIMITED Internet usage. + Note: Two separate e-mail addresses, one on Genie and one on + GenieNet, are issued when you select either GenieNet subscription + option. The Commodore support area on GEnie is known as the Flagship Roundtable. While there are a few premium services on GEnie that charge an extra price, all of the Flagship is available at the basic rate. The Flagship RT includes some "Real-Time Conferences" (RTCs) featuring classes or discussion of issues associated with Commodore computers. Additionally, there is a BB (Bulletin Board), which works much like Usenets comp.sys.cbm (only the discussion is broken down into categories and topics). Finally, the Flagship has an extensive library of Commodore files. The BB messages can be read economically by capturing all the new messages in a terminal programs capture buffer, and reading the messages off-line. Wizard, the C= GEnie fron end, supports this. Because GEnie is a general interest service,it supports many different computers, and you can use any ASCII terminal program to connect to GEnie. Wizard is available, but not required. GEnie operates normally | at 300 - 28,800 bps. There are local access numbers across the country. GEnie 401 North Washington Street Rockville, MD 20850 (800) 638-9636 (Information) Delphi Internet Services. - Delphi is a commercial system that, while small in comparison to other systems, is growing rapidly. It has a large forum dedicated to Commodore computers, as well as access to the Usenet and the comp.sys.cbm newsgroup. Delphi has two plans. One, called the Standard Plan, costs $10.00 a month and gives the user 4 hours of non-prime time (6PM-7AM) free each month. Each additional hour is $4.00. The other plan, called the Advantage Plan, costs $20.00 a month and gives the user 20 hours of non-prime-time free each month. Each hour over 20 is $1.80. Access to the Internet via Delphi costs an additional $3.00 for both plans each month. Delphi Internet Services 1030 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 (800) 695-4005 (Information) Internet - The largest online service. The Internet is a collection of 4 million machines interconnected using a common protocol called TCP/IP. This service is the result of a U.S. defense experiment started in the late 1960's. Due to its distributed nature, the Internet is unlike most other online services. In some cases, as in universities, there is no cost to access the "net", as it is called, and some other online services offer access to the Internet. This is the home of all the FTP sites, the USENET and the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm, Internet email, and the World Wide Web. When you use these services you are utilizing the Internet. QuantumLink - Q-Link was a Commodore specific telecommunications service. This service, while booming in the late 1980's, has now been discontinued. There was an effort to retrieve as many of the QuantumLink files as could be retrieved. Email Brenda G4 at b.gann1@genie.geis.com | for more information. Also, a list of ex-Qlink-ers is being | maintained. If you want to be on the list, send email to | steward@pobox.com or sirfitz@kaiwan.com. 5.3. What hardware do I need? To access online services you will need a functional Commodore computer that is physically able to have a modem of some kind attached to the computer. The more common C64 and C128 are able to be used with a modem, but computers like the Commodore C16, C116, some PETs and some older CBM business machines may require significant investments in order to be used. With a functional computer, you will need a modulator/demodulator (modem) unit of some kind. There are two basic kinds that can be used on the Commodore computers: A standard RS-232 (EIA-232) external modem. These modems are very common in today's market, as they are usable on all computer systems. They usually are constructed in a small rectangular box, have lights across the front, and have either a standard 9 or 25 pin D-style connector on the back of the unit. Speeds range from 300bps to 28,800 bps and above. This modem requires an interface cable of some kind to connect to the Commodore computer. A Commodore compatible external modem. These modems are much less common in today's market. Originally manufactured only by Commodore, some examples include the C1600 (300bps manual dial), C1650 (300bps, pulse dial), C1660 (300bps, DTMF dial), and C1670 (1200bps, AT commands, DTMF/Pulse dial). Although other companies manufacture compatible modems, it seems that the maximum speed is 2400bps for all models. This modem style plugs directly into the Commodore user port. Please note that all speeds marked are maximums. Most modems will operate at any speed up to the maximum. Most users agree that buying a Commodore compatible modem these days is an unwise move, except for special circumstances. The suggestion is to purchase a standard modem and an interface to use the modem with the CBM machine. If you chhose to purchase a standard external modem, you must also purchase or build a suitable interface. There are two major types of interfaces: Simple Cable Interface. This type of interface merely converts the nonstandard RS-232 pinout on the Commodore user port to the standard RS-232 pinout and performs voltage level translation as required by RS-232 specifications. This interface can be purchased for $20 to $40 new or built by the user. There are a number of homemade interfaces available. The TRANSACTOR published an interface in the Nov 87 issue (V8iss3) and Commodore Hacking Online Magazine published plans for one in issue 4 (See MailServer section for retrieval instructions. These are both supposed to emulate the VIC1011A that C= put out many years ago, and you might find one at a computer "flea market". Another version is designed by Stephen Coan. | Send email to Fred Mueller (fred.mueller@lucent.com) for a copy of | the schematic in ASCII format. The differences between the two is the | Transactor one has switchable options for some of the leads and the | Coan one is hard wired. (See Section 12.4 and 12.5 for interface designs) UART interface. To use a modem, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) is needed. When Commodore designed the CBM VIC-20, C64 and C128, they emulated a UART in software to keep costs down. Although this works for slower speeds, there is a limit to how fast the software UART can function. For faster access, a real UART is needed. This type of interface provides a complete UART in a cartridge that plugs into the expansion port. To utilize it, all software must be written to take advantage of the real UART. UART interfaces can be purchased from CMD (Swiftlink), HART (HART Cartidge), or built from plans (DataPump). (See Section 13.6 for addresses and further information on UART cartridges.) The decision of which interface to buy depends on the speed of your modem and the software you are using. The software UART on the Commodore 64 can handle speeds at up to 2400 bps. The software UART of the Commodore 128 can handle speeds at up to 4800 for all software and 9600 bps for some very well-written software. If you are under these maximum limits for your system, the simple interface cable will suffice, and most terminal programs can be used. For speeds between 2400 and 9600 bps (4800/9600 and 19200 bps on a C128), a number of options are open. Some programs can use the simple interface cable to allow this faster access. Newer terminal software may be written to exploit Daniel Dallmann's 9600 bps access technique, which requires some small modifications to the simple interface cable (see Section 12.5 for more information). Finally, some programs allow the use of a UART cartridge. For speeds above 9600 bps (19200 on a C128), a UART interface and an appropriate terminal program is your only option. 5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist? There are many types and versions of telecomunications programs (referred to as terminal emulation programs or terminal programs). Some are better than others, but individual users will ultimately decide which they like best. Most terminal programs available today are Shareware, but some are still sold commercially, and some new commercial terminal programs are being sold. All of these programs include emulations of the popular terminals such as DEC VT100, VT102, VT52, and ANSI. Also, each includes a number of file transfer protocols (See Section 6.1 for more information on transfer protocols). 5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64? Novaterm Novaterm 9.6 Nick Rossi 10002 Aurora Avenue North #1159 Seattle, WA 98133 This program, previously marketed as shareware, is now commercial, | and can be ordered from Mr. Rossi for $29.95 US. | voyager@eskimo.com (Contact) + http://wwweskimo.com/~voyager/novaterm.html | The 9.5 version is available as shareware at ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/voyager/Novaterm/nova9.5-?.sfx Kermit Kermit 2.2 Kent Sullivan 16611 NE 26th Street Bellevue, WA 98008 $12.50 US for the program, now at version 2.2. Note that Columbia University holds the copyright for the Kermit Terminal Software. You can get a copy of the Commodore version by ftp: ftp://ftp.cs.columbia.edu/archives/kermit/c64* (for speeds up to 1200 bps) ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/telecomm/KERMIT/kermit-Notes.txt kermit-v2.2a.sda kermit-v2.2b.sda (for 1660 modem users) kermit-c1660.sda (for Swiftlink/DataPump modem users) kermit-v2.2s.sda 5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128? Desterm Desterm 2.0/2.1 Matt Desmond | mdesmond@ionline.net + http://www.ionline.net/~mdesmond/desterm.html For more information on DesTerm or to get a copy by mail, contact Matt. Bob's Term Pro Dialogue 128 Wave Click Here Software Maurice Randall ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/INCOMING/telecom/ A GEOS 128 high speed terminal program. Demo available at above address. 5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio? Yes you can. If you want to use your CBM system as a terminal for a standard RS-232 compatible packet radio Terminal Node Controller (TNC), you can hook it up in the same way as a modem. See Section 5 for more information on how to connect your Computer to a modem. In addition, the ICHPUG User Group (see Section 15 for address) has an extensive library of files for the C64/128 relating to Amateur Radio. If you would like to use the Commodore 64 as a Amateur Radio repeater controller, Engineering Cosulting manufacturers such an item: Engineering Consulting 583 Candlewood Street Brea, CA 92621 Robert Blumenkranz (Contact) radiobob@earthlink.net (Contact) http://www.earthlink.net/users/engcon/webdocs/ 5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers? Unfortunately, there is none at this time. However, the following information is available: Jim Brain has performed tests that demonstrated the ICMP and IP protocol layers. Daniel Dallmann has now verified these tests and both of them, as well as Cameron Kaiser, are independently working on a TCP/IP protocol stack for the Commodore 64. -- Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)(offline sig) j.brain@ieee.org "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my employer" Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! -Me- Jim Brain: BII, VR, and CBM info Article 62377 of comp.sys.cbm: From: j.brain@ieee.org (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 4/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 7 Nov 1996 00:13:05 -0500 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 430 Sender: brain@msen.com Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 05 Dec 1996 Message-ID: Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This file should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/ X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.08 Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p4 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part4 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part4 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part4 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/11/06 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 6. The Online Information Reservoir 6.1. How do I download? What is a transfer protocol? 6.2. What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII? 6.3. Where can I find Commodore programs? 6.4. What is a file extension, and what do they stand for? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. The Online Information Reservoir How true this is. There is information everywhere online, just waiting to be accessed and used. Hoever, getting at the information can be a time consuming process. 6.1. How do I download? What is a transfer protocol? To transfer files for another computer (another 64 or 128, UNIX, OS/2, DOS, MVS, VMS, Amiga, Atari, or other), you should use a transfer protocol. Although it is possible to transfer files by turning on the terminal program's capture buffer and receiving the file, this is not very reliable and is prone to errors. When transferring any sizable amount of data, one should use some sort of error-correcting file transfer protocol. A file transfer protocol splits a file into many pieces, or "packets", and send a number of them at a time. It then waits for an acknowledgement from the receiver that the received received the packets correctly. At this point, the sender send the next batch of packets. This process is repeated until the entore file is transmitted. Each packet contains computed checksums and other error detection bytes to ensure the received data is not corrupt. Below are descriptions for some of the more popular protocols: C1 (commonly called Punter Protocol) C1 is a Commodore specific transfer protocol that used to be the standard for file transfer. However, with the increase in IBM-based bulleting board, it has been replaced by other protocols. Most Commodore BBS systems still offer C1 (usually called Punter in the list) as an option, but almost no other BBS systems have support for it. There is, however, a C1 protocol transfer program for MS-DOS called puntr104.zip. KERMIT KERMIT is the name of one of the oldest file transfer protocols. KERMIT is unique in that it can encode the file being transmitted so that it does not contain any bytes greater than 128 and does not contain any special control bytes that terminals use to perform special actions. As such, this protocol is the most robust, but it is also the slowest. A common statement is, "if you can't KERMIT it, you can't get it" XMODEM XMODEM comes in several varieties. Standard XMODEM sends files in 128 byte packets. There are two standard error-correction methods with XMODEM checksum and CRC. CRC is the more modern of the two. There is also a version of XMODEM which supports 1K-byte packets. This version is most commonly known as XMODEM-1K, but is sometimes erroneously called YMODEM. YMODEM YMODEM is a "batch" XMODEM protocol, allowing you to transfer multiple files in one operation. ZMODEM A new file transfer protocol is ZMODEM. ZMODEM is theoretically the fastest transfer protocol, but only shows a speed gain over the others on noise-free telephone lines. It achieves this speed increase by only replying to the sender about the bad packets. Most terminal programs support PUNTER, XMODEM, XMODEM-1K, YMODEM, and KERMIT. The Kermit terminal program only supports KERMIT, and Novaterm, as of version 9.5, supports ZMODEM receives, but not sends. 6.2. What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII? (Note that the Amiga line of computers uses the ISO 8859-1 character set, so this does not apply to Amiga computers) When Commodore designed the PET line of computers, they chose for the character set encoding a special encoding called PETSCII. This set is similar but not the same as the American Standard Code for Information Intercahnge (ASCII). Now, this does not cause any problem when transferring information between or among Commodore computers (except the Amiga, which I believe uses ASCII), but causes problems when exchanging information with othe computer types. The obvious solution is for all Commodore users to translate incoming information into PETSCII from ASCII when talking to another type of computer. However, this effectively ruins binary files, which have no concept of character codes. Therefore, the rules are: Do not translate when exchanging binary files with any computer Translate all textual information exchanged with non-Commodore computers. Translate textual information exchanged with Commodore computers only if they are translating it as well. If a text file you retrieve looks like the uppercase letters should be lowercase and vice versa, then the file is in ASCII and needs to be converted to PETSCII. 6.3. Where can I find Commodore programs? Commodore programs are available from a number of sources. For commercial software, please see Section 15.1 for a list of software dealers. For shareware and public domain, you can use FTP (Section 6.9), electronic mail (Section 6.5.2), and bulletin board system in addition to the software dealers to download or buy programs and other software. 6.4. What is a file extension, and what do they stand for? A file extension is a 1 or more letter suffix appended to the end of a file name to indicate the type of file it is. The extension usually indicates the contents of a file. The list below describes some more common file extensions, what they are used for, and how to use the file. Please note that these file extensions are not Commodore-exclusive. Many computers use file extensions. Also note that some file extensions are cumulative. IF a file is named "filename.tar.gz", this indicates that the file is of type "gz", and the file(s) inside the gz file are of type "tar". To use this file, one would note that both extension are archival extensions. One would undo the "gz" archival method to restore the "filename.tar" archive, then undo the "tar" archival method to restore the original file. Extension: Meaning: Notes: ----------------------------------------- .txt Text File This file is not compressed, so it needs no decompression step. However, the file may be in either ASCII or PETSCII format, so a conversion step may be necessary. Most terminal programs can do this conversion, and there are stand-alone programs that do the necessary conversion also. .sda Self-Dissolving Just load and run the .sda file to Archive dissolve the archive. Will dissolve itself into its constituent files. C64 and C128 .sda files are not compatible with each other. .sfx Self-Extracting Load and run just like a .sda file. Archive The same archive can be extracted on either a C64 or a C128, memory permitting. .arc ARChive Use the program arc250.4 or earlier for the 64 or arc128 for the 128 to dissolve the archive. arc128 is available as part of the CS-DOS package. Other de-archive programs may exist. .lzh LHArchive Use the program lhx in CS-DOS on the 128 to dissolve this archive. These are not very common. This archive uses the same format as .sfx files, but is not self-extracting. It is a standard format also used by Amiga (and MS-DOS) computers. This format originated on the PC. .lnx Lynx Archive The above formats all compress files when storing them; Lynx just stores them. There are many different versions of Lynx out there, so good luck dissolving these. .lbr Library Archive A format similar to lynx. Library dissolving programs exist for both the 64 and 128 to dissolve these. .uue UUEncoded file UUencoding is a process whereby a binary file can be converted to an all-text file, transferable by E-mail. This encoded file can later be UUDecoded back to the original binary file. Unix has uuencoding/decoding utilities. A program "uuxfer" for the C64 (by Fuzzy Fox) will both uuencode and uudecode. Note that the contents of uue file could be another archived file. .uua UU archive An extension of uuencoding, a uuarchive file is a concatenation of one or more UUEncoded files. So far as I know, this was introduced by Craig Bruce in his ACE shell for the C=128, and the utilities included with that shell create and dissolve uuarchives. .kar Kevin's Archive Another text archive format that seems to have originated with Craig Bruce, this is a proscription for concatenating a series of text files (which can include uuencoded files) into one file. More information can be found in C. Bruce's documentation for his ace shell. x! ZIPCoded file ZIPCode is a program that takes an entire disk and "compacts" it into 4 files that have a number followed by a '!' and then a filename. Also, ZipCode can compress files, in which case the x is a letter (a,b,c,d) and there need not be 4 files. If ZipCode has compressed individual files, there will be an "i!" or "x!"-prefixed file on the disk that holds the directory of the file compressed. To make things even more confusing, there are two versions of ZipCode (v1 and v2). The newer version will accept v1 archives, but not vice-versa. Use ZipCode v2 to unpack such archives. + _x.z64 ZIPCoded file These are ZIPcode compatible files + created by a DOS program called Star Zip x!! ZIPCode 6-pack This is a ZIPCode archive that takes an entire disk and puts it into 6 files, | each file containing GCR codes and header info for the tracks. This is basically a nybble copier that stores the data it receives from the disk into files. .bco BCODEd file BCODing is very similar to UUencoding in that a binary file is converted into an all-text format that is 33% larger than the original. The difference is that the BCODE format provides additional information for error detection and automatic data segmentation and reordering. C-code versions of "bcode" and "unbcode" are available via FTP and Commodore versions are provided with ACE-128/64. .zip ZIP archive Zip is a file format used on IBM platforms and is created by the PKZip program that is available for some platforms. There are two forms of zip files that have the same extension. Both are created by different versions of PKZip. The first, version 1.01, can be dissolved on a 64 by using the program UNZIP64. The second, newer format is version 2.04, which cannot be dissolved by UNZIP64. Your best solution when in doubt is to dissolve the files on another platform. For the 128, there is a version of the UNZIP64 program, called UNZIP128 that has been modified to run in 128 mode. It is in a file called NZP12817.SFX. This archive also has a 64 version. ]x Compression Kit x = 4,7,8, cmd, or c(xx) to denote type Archive of media that was compressed. The files can be extracted only with The Compression Kit, from Mad Man Software. .tar TAR Archive UNIX Tape ARchiver. This program can be used to archive files as well. The file must be decoded using tar. .Z Compress archive Compress is a program on UNIX that will shrink a single file. It is usually used on .tar files in UNIX to reduce their size. The file must be decoded by the uncompress program, available on UNIX, PC, Mac and other platforms. Also, a very old version of GNU Zip used this extension, although the file is not fully compatible with the compress format. .gz GZIP Archive GZIP is a free program developed by the Free Software Foundation to freely shrink their software. the resulting file must be decoded by GUNZIP, available on many platforms, before using. .taz Compressed TAR This is a file that should have the extension "tar.Z", but has been shortened for MS-DOS. Run uncompress, then tar on this file. .tgz Gzipped Tar File This is a file that should have extension tar.gz, but has been shortened for MS-DOS Run gzip or similar on the file, then tar. .gif Graphics This is a compressed graphics format Interchange created by Compuserve. To view this file, | Format one must find a GIF viewer program: + GEOGif.SFX - Converts GIF to GEOPaint. + VGIF.SFX - 64 mode viewer. + GDS.SFX - 128 mode viewer. .jpeg Joint This graphics format can use one of two Photographers compression algorithms. One, called DPCM Expert (Differential Pulse COde Modulation) Group retains all of the information in the original file, which is usually a picture. The more common algorithm, called DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform), relies on the inability of the human eye to distinguish among some colors. DCT "throws away" some information in the file (picture), while still retaining the essence of the picture. To view these pictures, one must either obtain a JPEG veiwer or convert them to GIF format. .jpg JPEG This is an MS-DOS named .jpeg file. .tiff Tagged This is a graphics format used on high Image performance workstations. To view this File graphics format, you will need to convert Format something else. .pcx IBM Picture This is graphics format used in DOS on IBM machines. Convert this file to a GIF file to view. .pict Mac PICTure This is a graphics format used on Apple Macintosh machines. Convert this file to a GIF file to view. .d64 1541 Disk Image This file stores an image of one entire .x64 disk, for use with Commodore emulator programs. Several programs exist to extract the image onto a disk or place a disk onto an image. The only difference between the .x64 and .d64 file types is an added 64 byte header on a .x64 file. .t64 DataSette Image This file is analogous to the .d64 file type, but for tapes. .p00 PC64 (Emulator) This file encapsulates a Commodore program Program File Image or data file. To extract the original file, remove the first 26 characters. In addition to .p00, there is .s00 (SEQ), and .u00 (USR) files, but are very rare. .bmp Windows Bitmap This is a format used for graphics in Microsoft Windows and OS/2. Convert this file to a GIF to view. .pbm Portable Bitmap .xbm X bitmap This is a format used for graphics on the X windowsing system. Convert this file to a GIF to view. .html HyperText This is a WWW hypertext document. To Markup view this file, you will need a WWW Language browser of some kind. See Section 6.8 for more information on WWW. .doc Document This file could be a word processing file from a program like Word for Windows, Wordperfect, or any other word processor. Also, some text files that contain documentation use this extension. .cvt GEOS file GEOS files use a special file format. The files are called USR files, but they have special information in the file that normal files don't, so you cannot just upload a GEOS file like any SEQ or PRG file. You can pack all the extra information and the data into a regular Commodore SEQ or PRG file with a program Called Convert. It has a version 2.5 and a 3.0. The files that result from this conversion have the extension. The file must be processed again by Convert before it can be used with GEOS. .N64 64NET file Since the 64NET system works by allowing an MS-DOS machine to be used as a large disk drive, a way was developed to map CBM filenames into the MS-DOS limitations. The .N64 filenames indicates such a file. + .D71 64NET GEOS File These are 64NET extensions used to + .D81 emulate a 1571 and 1581 disk drive, + respectively, under GEOS. If the file type indicates an archive, there are many programs available that will handle most archival methods. One of these is called Omega-Q II, which includes one-stop compression and decompression of many of the above archival types. If you use a host system to download the files from, you may want to decompress the files before downloading. Even though the files will be larger to download, the time to decompress them offline will not be a factor. However, those who pay by-the-minute for download time would probably want the smallest possible file, which implies decompressing on the local machine, except in the case of a UU encoded file. These files are actually bigger in the 'UU' format. -- Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)(offline sig) j.brain@ieee.org "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my employer" Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! -Me- Jim Brain: BII, VR, and CBM info Article 62378 of comp.sys.cbm: From: j.brain@ieee.org (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 5/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 7 Nov 1996 00:17:01 -0500 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 784 Sender: brain@msen.com Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 05 Dec 1996 Message-ID: Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This file should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/ X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.08 Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p5 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part5 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part5 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part5 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/11/06 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 6.5. What is electronic mail? 6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one? 6.5.2. What is a Mail Server? How do I use one? 6.5.3. How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.? 6.6. What is USENET or NetNews? What is a USENET newsgroup? 6.6.1. What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines? 6.6.2. What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm? 6.6.3. Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly? 6.6.4. How do I post in comp.sys.cbm? | 6.6.5. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through email? + 6.6.6. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through WWW? 6.7. What is a FidoNET echo? 6.7.1. What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines? 6.7.2. How do I post in an echo? 6.8. What is the World Wide Web? 6.8.1. What WWW sites have Commodore information? 6.8.2. What Sites have Telnet WWW Browsers? 6.9. What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)? 6.9.1. What FTP sites have Commodore Information? 6.9.2. What is an FTP Mail Server? How do I use one? 6.9.3. How do I send files to an FTP site? 6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)? 6.11. What else is available online? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.5. What is electronic mail? Electronic mail is the online equivalent of post office mail. Although email is a general term, its use is usually meant to mean "Internet email". To use email, you must have access to an internet email program. On UNIX, these programs are called mail, elm, or pine. BBS systems usually have a special message area for Internet email. You address a message to a user by using his or her internet email address, which is usually of the form name@machine_name.doamin_name.type_of_institution_or_country. An example would be brain@mail.msen.com, which would be user "brain" at machine "mail" in doamin "msen" and the type "com" which means company or commercial. After addressing the message and choosing a sutiable subject, the body of the message is written with information meaningful to the addressee. Usually this information is textual in nature and reads much like a personal letter. It is possible to mail people binary files. To do this, you need access to a program called uuencode. Most, if not all UNIX machines have this command available, and there are versions available for IBM, Amiga, and Macintosh. There is also a version of uuencode available for the Commodore 64 and 128 as part of the ACE 128/64 OS replacement. (See section 8.3) The uuencode program takes a binary file and expands it so that it only contains 7-bit ASCII characters. This resulting file can then be mailed to a recipient, who then uses a similar program called uudecode that will transform the uuencoded file into the resulting binary file. This encoding technique is a standard one used across multiple platforms. If you want to send a file to another Commodore owner, you can use bcode, which is a Commodore-specific encoding available in ACE 128/64. 6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one? A mailing list is similar to a USENET newsgroup like comp.sys.cbm, in that it provides a place for people to talk among each other and ask questions. The difference is that the mechanism used is mail. You mail a message off to the list, the message then gets sent out to all members of that list, they read and reply to the list, and the process repeats. It is used for topics that are considered temporary or topics that have a limited scope and may not sustain an entire newsgroup being devoted to them. It may also be used when people want to privately discuss some issue. There are a number of Commodore 8-bit mailing lists for you to join: cbm-unix - This is a list devoted to the discussion of alternate operating systems for the Commodore line that have the familiar UNIX shell look-and-feel. You can join this one by sending mail to mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message: subscribe cbm-unix Jim Brain review cbm-unix help you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to: cbm-unix@lists.funet.fi. old-cbm - This is a list devoted to discussions of older Commodore equipment. Typically, this list discusses issues concerning PETs, the VIC-20, Plus 4 and C16, and other lesser used machines. You can join this one by sending mail to mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message: subscribe old-cbm Jim Brain review old-cbm help you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to: old-cbm-unix@lists.funet.fi. c64-hackers - I do not know much about this list other than it is used to discuss issue realting to timing and special opcodes used in Commodore programs. You can join this list by sending mail to mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message: subscribe c64-hackers Jim Brain review c64-hackers help you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to: c64-hackers@lists.funet.fi. commodor - This is a list that is for all Commodore 8-bit computer discussion. This list mirrors most of the discussion on comp.sys.cbm, so I would post to both places. You subscribe by sending a mail msg to: listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu with the message: subscribe commodor Jim Brain review commodor help you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to: commodor@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu c65 - This is a list that discusses the various aspects of the Commodore C65 Prototype system. There are files and information available through this list to C65 owners. Note that this is NOT the list to ask where a C64 can be purchased from, since the C65 is not a product, per se, as all available units were in-house prototypes liquidated at a warehouse. You can subscribe by sending a mail msg to: c65list-request@dce.vic.gov.au with the subject: subscribe You can then send mail to the list by address it to: c65@dce.vic.gov.au c=hacking - This list is set up to automatically mail out the latest copy of Commodore Hacking Online Magazine upon publication. It is run through Jim Brain's mailserver. You can subscribe by sending a mail message to: brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of: MAILSERV with a message of: subscribe c=hacking Jim Brain help trivia - This list is set up to automatically mail out the latest copy of the Commodore Trivia as soon as it is published on USENET. through Jim Brain's mailserver. You can subscribe by sending a mail message to: brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of: MAILSERV with a message of: subscribe trivia Jim Brain help cbm-main-faq - This list is set up to automatically mail out any major updates to this Frequently Asked Questions List. It is run through Jim Brain's mailserver. You can subscribe by sending a mail message to: brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of: MAILSERV with a message of: subscribe cbm-main-faq Jim Brain help c64coders - This list is for Commodore 64 coders. Not much is known about the list, but here is how to join. Send a mail message to: c64coders-request@uclink2.berkeley.edu with a subject line of: subscribe. 6502 C compiler - This list is set up to discuss writing a C compiler for the 6502. To subscribe send a message to: majordomo@solar.miya.cs.it-chiba.ac.jp with subject of: subscribe 6502cc You can send messages to the list by addressing them to: 6502cc@solar.miya.cs.it-chiba.ac.jp + 64europe - This list is for Commodore 64 users who live in Europe or + would like to stay current on European developments. To join, + send a mail message to: + + listserv@lentil.demon.co.uk + + with a subject of: + + MAILSERV + + and a body of: + + subscribe 64EUROPE + END + + You can then send messages to the list by addressing them to: + + 64europe@lentil.demon.co.uk + + supercpu - This list is for Commodore 64 users who own or want to + stay current on the SuperCPU market. To join, send a mail + message to: + + listserve@giga.or.at + + with a subject of: + + subscribe super-cpu + + and a body of: + + subscribe super-cpu + + You can then send messages to the list by addressing them to: + + super-cpu@giga.or.at 6.5.2. What is a Mail Server? How do I use one? A couple of people are running servers that will respond to email requests. Each have a limited amount of files available. To access them send the following email: To: brain@mail.msen.com Subject: MAILSERV Message Body: help quit That will return a list of commands. Currently the following commands are supported: help retrieves a list of available commands. catalog retrieves a list of files currently available. send retrieves the file subscribe list_name Firstname Lastname subscribes the user to a mailing list. 6.5.3. How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.? These online services have gateways to the Internet. To send a message to someone on the following services, make sure they can receive Internet mail and address the message as follows: Service Username Internet Address Compuserve 12345,678 12345.678@compuserve.com GEnie j.smith2 j.smith2@genie.geis.com Delphi jsmith jsmith@delphi.com FidoNet is special, since there are many fidonet nodes, so you need the specific node information for the system that the recipient is on. Assume that Jim Brain is on a fido BBS that is node 115 on network 233 in zone 1. (denoted in FIDO as 1:233/115) The address would be: FidoNet Jim Brain Jim.Brain@f115.n233.z1.fidonet.org If the fido address is a point on a FIDO network (denoted as 1:233/115.200), then the address would be: FidoNet Jim Brain Jim.Brain@p200.f115.n233.z1.fidonet.org 6.6. What is USENET or NetNews? What is a USENET newsgroup? USENET is a service on the Internet that presents the user with a variety of forums in which to place messages. It can be viewed as the online equivalent of a set of bulleting "corkboards", like those in a hallway. Each corkboard or "newsgroup" caters to a different topic. Users can place or "post" messages to the newsgroup for others to read, or followup to posts on the newsgroup. 6.6.1. What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines? The first thing to discuss here is the dividing line between Commodore models. All Commodore computers up to, but not including, the Commodore Amiga or the Commodore line of IBM PC Compatible computers, are discussed in comp.sys.cbm, which is what this FAQ covers. The Amiga line of computers is covered in the separate newsgroups comp.sys.amiga.*, where the '*' indicates that there are a number of groups that match that name. The IBM PC Compatible computers are discussed in comp.sys.ibm-pc.*. comp.sys.cbm - This unmoderated newsgroup discusses all topics concerning Commodore 8-bit machines, including everything from the KIM-1 to the Commodore 65. This is the flagship USENET newsgroup. comp.binaries.cbm - This moderated groups permits the distribution of uuencoded binary files for the Commodore 8-bit computers. The moderator is Mike Miller (mmmiller3@gac.edu). If you have a favorite program you wish to put up for distribution, please download and read the comp.binaries.cbm FAQ (posted in its respective group). comp.emulators.cbm - This unmoderated newsgroup was created in 1994 for those who wish to run one of the many emulation programs available on other machines that emulate the C64. This forum seems to be more appropriate for questions concerning operation on "foreign" hardware and file types. zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.allgemein - This is a German newsgroup that discusses much of the same topics as comp.sys.cbm. "allgemein" = general. zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.binaer - This German newsgroup parallels the function of comp.binaries.cbm. "binaer" = "binary". zer.t-netz.c64 - This is a general discussion group for the c64 computer. It has the description 'Der am weitesten verbreitete Rechner', which means "The most widely used/most popular computer." zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.hardware | This German newsgroup discusses hardware topics relating to the C64 and C128. + zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.programmieren - + This german newsgroup discusses programming, mostly demo stuff. + zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.spiele - + This german newsgroup discusses games, high scores, tips, new releases, + old scores, etc. + zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.virus - + This german newsgroup discusses the very few viruses that have been + created for the 64. 6.6.2. What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm? Any discussions about Commodore machines excluding the Commodore Amiga line, the Commodore IBM PC Clone line are encouraged in comp.sys.cbm These machines are commonly referred to as the Commodore 8-bit line, whereas the Amiga and PC line is not 8-bit. Please make sure any question you intend on posting is not already answered in this FAQ. Also, when posting a troubleshooting question about inoperative equipment, please give as much detail as possible. Be considerate of others in the group and keep questions not pertaining to some aspect of Commodore 8-bit machines and peripherals out of comp.sys.cbm. The group does realize, however, that a large percentage of Commodore 8-bit owners also own another computer system and might have questions about interfacing or emulations. Just use your own good judgement. 6.6.3. Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly? Although comp.sys.cbm discusses all Commodore 8-bit machines at times, the C64 and C128 get most of the attention. An overview of the subjects discussed in comp.sys.cbm is available at http://qiclab.scn.rain.com/pub1/overview/comp/sys/cbm/.overview 6.6.4. How do I post in comp.sys.cbm? You first need to access the newsgroup comp.sys.cbm through the use of newsreader. There are many available in UNIX with names like rn, nn, tin, and trn. I can't begin to tell you what command each uses to construct a posting, but your machine administrator should be able to tell you. All posts should contains relevant Summary and Keyword info, as well as a descriptive title. If you are posting a followup to an existing article, and are quoting the article, please only quote the relevant portions of the existing article. If you find that you cannot post to a newsgroup via your newsreader, but do have Internet electronic mail capabilities, you can post to the newsgroups via e-mail. For example, to posts a message to COMP.SYS.CBM, simply mail the message to either comp.sys.cbm@anon.penet.fi , comp.sys.cbm@news.demon.co.uk, comp.sys.cbm-news@newsbase.cs.yale.edu. It is probably best to use the latter two addresses, since the other is an anonymous posting service, so people won't know who originated the post. Such disguises are unnecessary in the CBM newsgroups. | 6.6.5. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through email? If you do not have access to the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm and do have access to Internet email, Allen Smith has graciously set up a list server that will mail each day's postings to you. To use this service, email listserv@compsmth.soonet.ca with NO subject and ONLY SUBSCRIBE comp-sys-cbm in the body (no leading spaces, no signature) to use this service. + Jim Brain has graciously set up a server for those without USENET access + to read the three main CBM newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm, comp.emulators.cbm, + and comp.binaries.cbm. Again, this service is ONLY for those without + other means to read USENET. To use this service, email brain@mail.msen.com + with the subject of MAILSERV and the following in the message: + subscribe comp.sys.cbm Firstname Lastname msglen* + msglen is the maximum number of lines you can receive in an email message. + All fields MUST be filled in. + To subscribe to one of the other 2 CBM newsgroups, substitute the + newsgroup's name for comp.sys.cbm in the above line. | 6.6.6. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through WWW? + (See Section 6.8 for a definition of WWW) + You can view articles and articles titles through the DejaNews service: + http://dejanews.com/ 6.7. What is a FidoNET echo? FidoNET is a "grass roots" network that originated to link bulletin board systems across the country together. Unlike the Internet, which uses dedicated phone lines at high speeds to implement its network, FidoNET uses regular phone lines at normal modem speeds that are not dedicated to providing networking to link the machine on FidoNET together. FidoNET allows the exchange of messages in message bases called "echoes" among various boards. To use the FidoNET echoes, you must connect to a system that has FidoNET access. It is not possible to describe all the features of FidoNET in this FAQ, so you should consult your local User Group or BBS sysop for more info. The FidoNET echoes are similar to USENET newsgroups, although the echoes have more strict rules about content and topics. 6.7.1. What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines? The relevant echoes for Commodore users are: CBM Commodore 64 and 128 News and Discussions | CBM-128 Commodore 128 specific News and Discussions | CBM-GEOS GEOS News and Discussions PCWRITE Cross Platform Computing, including C64 emulators CBM.GER German Fido area for CBM discussion. R20_8BITAR Sweden echo for all 8-bit CBMs. 6.7.2. How do I post in an echo? Echoes are usually posted in the same way that you would mail a BBS message in any other area, although the BBS may operate differently. It is best to follow any online directions or consult the local BBS sysop for more details. 6.8. What is the World Wide Web? The World Wide Web (WWW or W3) is a Internet-wide Hypertext document retrieval and display system. To use WWW, you must have access to a WWW HyperText Markup Language (HTML) browser. Typical examples include lynx, which is a ASCII browser available on UNIX, and Mosaic, a GUI browser available for UNIX, Windows, Mac, and other platforms. There are others, but these are a few. Once in a browser program, point it at some of these WWW "pages". If you do not have WWW access to the Web, you can request pages be mailed to by sending mail to webmail@curia.ucc.ie with the subject help. The return mail should tell you how to request a WWW page. However, if you do have access to telnet on the Internet, you can access the Web. Instructions on how to do this, in a file called wwwtelnet.txt, can be retrieved from Jim Brain's MAILSERV server. See Section 5.X for information on how to access the server. 6.8.1. What WWW sites have Commodore information? There are a number of WWW sites that provide Commodore content. Most of these sites are tailored to the Commodore 8-bit community as well. A complete listing of sites is available at http://www.msen.com/~brain/cbmlinks.html. 6.8.1. What Sites have Telnet WWW Browsers? If you do not have access to a WWW browser program, but do have access to Internet telnet, you can access the WWW through the following sites: fatty.law.cornell.edu www.njit.edu lynx.cc.akans.edu login: www 6.9. What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)? to access some machines, the special user "anonymous" or "ftp" is used to log into another machine for ftp. These machine, which hold public domain (PD), shareware, and freeware files, are called "anonymous ftp" sites. To get files from these sites, you use (on most systems) a program called ftp. A typical ftp session (assuming you are running from a Unix system) would be as follows: SAMPLE SESSION: %ftp ccnga.uwaterloo.ca Connected to ccnga.uwaterloo.ca. 220 punisher FTP server (SunOS 4.1) ready. Name (cco.caltech.edu:rknop): anonymous 331 Guest login ok, send ident as password. Password: 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply. ftp> cd /pub/cbm/utilities <"cd" changes directory> 250 CWD command successful. ftp> dir z* <"dir" alone lists whole directory> 200 PORT command successful. 150 ASCII data connection for /bin/ls (131.215.48.57,2084) (0 bytes). -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 15427 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.070 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 14107 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.doc 226 ASCII Transfer complete. remote: z* 134 bytes received in 0.44 seconds (0.3 Kbytes/s) ftp> binary 200 Type set to I. ftp> get zed-128.070 200 PORT command successful. 150 Binary data connection for zed-128.070 (131.215.48.57,20) (15427 bytes) 226 Binary Transfer complete. local: zed-128.070 remote: zed-128.070 15427 bytes received in 0.1 seconds (1.5e+02 Kbytes/s) ftp> quit 221 Goodbye. % To submit files to an ftp site, you use the command "put". Again, make sure to first specify "binary" for programs and other binary files. Typically, ftp sites will only accept submissions in an "INCOMING" directory. To download software (files) from an anonymous ftp sites, one has to be aware that there are two connections to be concerned about. The first connection is from your Commodore to you host computer and then the connection from your host to the ftp site. In addition you need to be be aware of the nature of the information in the desired file, particularly if you are downloading programs. If the file is not known to be in printable ASCII form, consider it a binary file. It may also be be in an archived form, i.e. a form where it is packed with many files or in a shortened format. Consider these to be binary unless it is of the "uu" type which is an ASCII format. 6.9.1. What FTP sites have Commodore Information? A number of sites on Internet have areas for Commodore files. The list of current Internet FTP sites can be retrieved from the Jim Brain's mail server as file cbm-ftp-sites.MM.YY where MM is the Month and YY is the year that the list is for. (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to use the mail server). The FTP List is maintained by Howard Herman and a copy of the latest file can be obtained from him at 72560.3467@compuserve.com. 6.9.2. What is an FTP Mail Server? How do I use one? If your service provider does not allow access to FTP directly, there are some systems that will perform the FTP session on your behalf. These systems are called "ftp mail servers". These allow the user to request files to be retrieved by electronically mailing a message to the server. To use the service, you must first learn how the service works. This is done by mailing the server address with the word "help" in the body of the message This will result in the directions being sent in a message to you. Then, following the directions, you can request files from any FTP sites through the server. The server will send both the retrieved files and a message detailing the execution of your request. Here is a sample request message: To: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com Subject: Body: connect ccnga.uwaterloo.ca anonymous brain@msen.com chdir /pub/cbm/comp.sys.cbm ls -l quit Please note the following: This service is only for retrieving files. Binary files will usually be uuencoded. They must be decoded before use. Large files may be split into smaller pieces. The resulting pieces must be editted back into one piece, and decoded if necessary. Potential ftpmail servers include: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu + ftpmail@ftp.sunset.se + ftpmail@census.gov Craig Bruce has set up a ftp mail server off his regular email address. Here is how you would utilize it: To: csbruce@little.uwaterloo.ca Subject: ftpmail Body: help bcode ftp ccnga.uwaterloo.ca cd /pub/cbm/os/ace dir get ace12.doc quit All of the regular FTP commands are supported, with the addition of the following commands: help - gives help information. bcode - requests the data be sent as bcoded files. hexcode - requests the data be sent as hexcoded files. + replyto - gives email address to reply to for broken email clients. + maxlines n - Returns files in messages of at most n lines. 6.9.3. How do I send files to an FTP site? If you have the Commodore 128 .sfx creator, use it. It is part of the CS-DOS public-domain software package, and it requires a Commodore-1700-compatible RAM expansion unit. If you can't make .sfx archives, upload the files as straight binaries. Text files which you include in .sfx archives should be PETSCII. Separate text files should be ASCII or ISO 8859-1. If you are uploading GEOS files, use William Coleman's Convert 2.5 program to transfer the files to standard Commodore format before including them in the .sfx archive. You can make .sfx archives on a Unix machine by first compressing the files into an .lzh or .lha archive, then using Marko Makela's LZHconvert package on the LHarchive. This technique may work on some non-Unix computers. LZHconvert is on ftp.funet.fi in directory /pub/cbm/archiving. Upload a .readme file separately from your program or archive. In your readme file, give a one-sentence description of each of your program(s). List the lengths, starting addresses, and CRC32s of the files. Look on ftp.funet.fi in /pub/cbm/archiving for CRC-32 software. People should be able to make sure easily that they have all the parts of your software package. Put a complete file list in the readme file. Make a directory on the FTP site if you can, and put all your files in that. E-mail the maintainers right before you post your data. Your message can be just the .readme file with an introductory comment. The following is a list of valid FTP sites as of 26 Sep 1995. In the directory names below, replace "..." with the existing name closest to the purpose of your files. "Dir" indicates whether the FTP site allows you to create your own directories. Destination: ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/... Uploads: ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/INCOMING/... E-mail: csbruce@ccnga.uwaterloo.ca Dir: Yes Destination: ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/... Uploads: ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/incoming/... E-mail: cbm-adm@nic.funet.fi Dir: No Destination: ftp://pitel_lnx.ibk.fnt.hvu.nl/pub/c64/... Uploads: ftp://pitel_lnx.ibk.fnt.hvu.nl/pub/c64/incoming E-mail: cba@pitel_lnx.ibk.fnt.hvu.nl Dir: No Destination: ftp://dhp.com/pub/c64/... Uploads: ftp://dhp.com/pub/c64/pub/c64/incoming Email: rotox@dhp.com Dir: No Destination: ftp://ftp.giga.or.at/pub/c64/... Uploads: ftp://ftp.giga.or.at/pub/c64/INCOMING (no read access here) E-mail: spockie@giga.or.at Dir: Yes (difficult to delete, though) Destination: ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/... Uploads: ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/incoming E-mail: playboy@bbs.cc.uniud.it Dir: No 6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)? Internet Raley Chat (IRC) is an online version of citizen's band radio or BBS chat rooms. The service is worldwide and is available on the Internet. To use IRC, one would normally use a client program (typically called irc on UNIX machines) to access the service. Although the program used to access IRC varies, the commands are pretty much standard. All commands are entered on the text line and begin with a "/" character. Here are a few important ones: /join #c-64 Join the #c-64 channel, which discusses topics concerning Commodore hardware and software. /msg Commbot help will get you info on Commbot which carries C64/128 software to download. /msg Filebot help another C64 bot with software to download from. /msg coolhand xdcc list if he is online, this user has many c64 files which can be downloaded via this command. /quit leave. /names * List names of all people in current channel. /dcc send (nickname) (filename) Send a file to person (nickname). /dcc receive (nickname) or /dcc get (filename) REceive a file from someone. If you need more info on how IRC works, there is a file available on Jim Brain's email file server called irc-info.txt that explains IRC in more depth. (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to use the mail server) 6.11. What else is available online? If you are looking for other places on the Internet to talk Commodore, there is the Commodore forum on CoSy, a system accessible from the Internet. To access this service, you must have access to a telnet program. Here is the relevant information: telnet cosy.softwaords.bc.ca login: cosy CoSy: j commodore This will bring up a list of topics pertaining to Commodore. The forum moderator is Robert Todd and his email address is robert.todd@bbs.serve.org. This forum is ideally suited to discussions about the Color64 BBS system and other Commodore BBS systems. If you wish to post in the forum, please send email to that effect to Robert Todd. -- Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)(offline sig) j.brain@ieee.org "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my employer" Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! -Me- Jim Brain: BII, VR, and CBM info Article 62373 of comp.sys.cbm: From: j.brain@ieee.org (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 6/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 7 Nov 1996 00:19:12 -0500 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 721 Sender: bra