The latest version of this read me file is available at http://www.douwere.com/shareware/tooldeamon.
ToolDeamon makes your MacOS computer remotely accessible to authorized users, from any platform, through any Telnet client.
Indeed, your MacOS computer becomes a true multi-threaded, multi-user environment, where logged users can simultaneously take *any* action on the system.
To achieve this, ToolDeamon needs some help from ToolServer, a very nice program available for free, on Internet, from Apple Computer, Inc.
Installation
The installer installs all required files in the “ToolDeamon folder” on the selected disk. To uninstall, just drag the folder to the trash.
 
To allow a user (defined in the “Users and Groups” control panel) to log in its own environment...
 
...open the “Users” subfolder, inside the “ToolDeamon folder”, make a copy of the “@ user session” item and, rename the copy with the user name.
 
Tip : to save RAM and disk space, you can choose to make an alias of the “@ user session” item. The specified user will then log in a shared environment... but this may bring confusion when such users are simultaneously logged in.
Security warning: the passwords entered during a telnet session are not encrypted; so you may consider it safer to only accept network users.
Logging in
Be sure you are connected to a TCP/IP network. Launch ToolDeamon on the Macintosh and remember the IP address shown in the status window.
Launch a telnet client and connect (with Echo Off) to the IP address. Of course, you can use the same computer to run ToolDeamon and the separate required Telnet client!
Enter your user name and password, as required.
Username:nonos
Password:****
If you are allowed to enter the system, and everything is ok, ToolDeamon and ToolServer welcomes you.
ToolDeamon 1.0. (c)1999, DouWere. Program by Frederic Blondiau.
If you want to quit the Finder, just enter {Finder} -quit . To restart the Finder, and make it open this file, enter {Finder} ':::ToolDeamon Read Me!' !
MPW users will feel at home... Other users may want to check the Help command output, as they are discovering a new world! The entire documentation of the MPW shell is also available on Internet, as other tools.
Advanced features
All commands are processed asynchronously. Multiple commands can be separated by ; as in
The ToolDeamon> prompt indicates that the last command completed... but you can enter new commands before the prompt returns. For example, if you enter this...
ToolDeamon>WhereIs 'my lost file'
...the ToolDeamon> prompt does not come back immediately, as the search may take a while. To know the status (i.e. the name of the executing command or script), just press enter.
WhereIs>
To abort a running command or script, enter a single dot followed by enter
WhereIs>.
### ToolServer - WhereIs aborted.
### ToolServer - Execution of MPW.Script terminated.
ToolDeamon>
Closing your current telnet session does not abort the pending commands, so you can initiate long batch processes running unattended.
Each user can have a custom login and/or logout. These behaviours are defined in the ToolDeamon logon and ToolDeamon logoff files, in the user’s folder.
Price
Feel free to evaluate ToolDeamon... but if you use it, please register.
One user license of ToolDeamon is 30$. Other multi-user licenses are available. Kagi handles registration.
The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software.
History
99 feb 05 : 1.0b2
ToolDeamon is now supported on AppleShare File Servers (where the administrator password is required to check user settings). Contact us for more information.
Added a logoff feature, similar to logon.
A rare memory leak is now solved. Some very large ToolServer output were not disposed properly when the matching Telnet session was closed anticipatively.
