Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/newsgroups/misc.19950329-19950528/[e-mail]_Wed Apr 26 14:21:15 1995.msg

Internet Message Format | 2020-01-01 | 4KB

Received: from apakabar.cc.columbia.edu by watsun.cc.columbia.edu with SMTP id AA18936
  (5.65c+CU/IDA-1.4.4/HLK for <[e-mail]>); Wed, 26 Apr 1995 10:21:25 -0400
Received: by apakabar.cc.columbia.edu id AA11434
  (5.65c+CU/IDA-1.4.4/HLK for kermit.misc@watsun); Wed, 26 Apr 1995 10:21:23 -0400
Path: news.columbia.edu!watsun.cc.columbia.edu!fdc
From: [e-mail] (Frank da Cruz)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.kermit.misc
Subject: Re: Kermit for Winsock
Date: 26 Apr 1995 14:21:15 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Lines: 59
Message-Id: <3nlksr$[e-mail]>
References: <[e-mail]>
Nntp-Posting-Host: watsun.cc.columbia.edu
Apparently-To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>,
Mark H Pearson <[e-mail]> wrote:
>I am sure that this question has been asked a zillion of times
>already, but ...
>
Yes, more times than can be counted, each and every day.

>I'm an avid user of Kermit and support it on all PCs at our College.
>However, once on the network and using Windows, DOS Kermit becomes a
>pain in the botty department. I have to load a Packet Multiplexor,
>then a packet driver for Winsock, and WINPKT etc etc. You know the
>score - with ODI in there too, it's as stable as a house of cards and
>uses up acres of precious DOS memory. Sooooo ....
>
Everybody wants Kermit for Windows but nobody is willing to pay for it.
This is a massive development effort, and we presently do not have the
funds or programmer time to do it.

We could not possibly be more aware of the demand.

>I gather there's a beta of Kermit for WIndows and I was wondering what
>the 'official' line on this is.
>
There is no Beta Kermit for Windows from Columbia.

>It's my humble opinion that even
>though we're in the Web age, there's still a need for rock solid VT220
>/ VT320 terminal emulation, pass throught printing support,
>scriptability, etc and Kermit has it all.
>
We have put 15 years into developing MS-DOS Kermit.  It does everything
you want.  It has the best VT terminal emulator around, scripting,
character sets, etc etc.  It even has its own incredibly fast and compact
built-in TCP/IP protocol stack.

But that's got good enough because now there is Winsock, and because of
the rules of PC networking, we can't have Winsock and another TCP/IP
stack active at the same time, nor can MS-DOS Kermit "use" Winsock
because Kermit is a DOS application -- a "Windows-aware" DOS
application, but still not a "native" Windows application.

Here is the official response from Kermit headquarters: as much as we
do NOT appreciate being jerked around by the Microsoft "standard" du
jour, we do appreciate that millions of PC users are hostage to it, and
we will do our best to accommodate -- until the next time the rug is
pulled out from underneath us.  In the meantime, sites that have
thousands of MS-DOS Kermit users that are suffering grievously because
Kermit is not "Winsock compliant" should feel free to send money to
help fund the work that would be needed to solve this problem.  The
situation now is that we have much more work on our plates than we can
ever do, and less income to pay for it because of the rapid expansion
of the Internet and the universal perception that the Internet is a
giant bag of free goodies.

If you don't like that suggestion, then spring for the $70 or so for
a second Ethernet board and give one to Winsock and the other to
Kermit.

- Frank