ARM Club 3/TheARMClub_PDCD3.iso/hensa/internet/arctic/arctic_2

Text File | 1999-04-27 | 13KB | 269 lines

================================= ARCTIC =================================

ARChimedes Terminal Interface to Compuserve is the access program for
Acorn computers running Risc-OS to access Compuserve.  PCs have TP,
TAPCIS, etc MACs have Navigator, ARCTIC is the program for the Arc.

Arctic is produced (as a sideline) by:-

 WAVENEY GAMES
 28 Diprose Road
 Corfe Mullen
 Wimborne
 Dorset
 BH21 3QY
 England.
 Tel [phone] (International [phone])
 Compuserve : Richard Proctor 100031,604
 GO UKCOMP (section & library 8)

This file is meant as an overview of ARCTIC.  There is much more information
embedded in the programs extensive Help capabilities.

============================== REQUIREMENTS ==============================

Arctic will run on any Acorn Archimedes Computer running Risc-OS :- A4,
A310, A410, A440, A3000, A3010, A3020, A4000, A5000, A540, RISC-PC ...

Memory - Arctic may run on a 1M machine if nothing else is loaded, 2M is
more realistic.  Arctic needs a base 640K wimpslot and will flex above this
for another 200K during some operations.

Discs - Arctic is quite happy on a single floppy machine, (it was developed
on a 1 floppy machine) use one disc to load Arctic and a second disc for
your forums.  A hard disc is not needed, though it will make life faster for
some operations.

Risc-OS - Arctic runs on any :- Risc-OS 2, 3, 3.1, 3.5 ...  Please contact
me for use with RiscOS 2, to obtain workable files.

Modems - Arctic should work with all "Hayes" compatible modems and may work
with some others, it supports operation at 1200, 2400, 9600 and 14400.

Screen modes - Arctic works in all modes at least 80 chars wide.

Arctic can be obtained either from the library in UKCOMP or on many BBSs and
from HENSA and tried before registering, or directly by post but you have to
pay first see the end of this file.

Files - In library 8 of UKCOMP there are two main files, ARCTIC.ARC and
RUNIMG.ARC there may also be newer not fully tested versions from time to
time, you are welcome to use them but no guarantees are offered.  Having
obtained the files follow the instructions below under "GETTING STARTED".

ARCTIC.ARC - This is a !sparked application directory for Arctic, this
contains the command files, the templates, sprites and helpfile.  It does
not contain the !RunImage as this does not compress well and is updated more
often.

RUNIMG.ARC - This is the RunImage for ARCTIC.  This needs to be placed
inside the application directory in ARCTIC.ARC and renamed !RunImage
for the program to run.  Don't worry about the file type, the !Run file
fixes it before running the program.

============================= WHY USE ARCTIC =============================

Why use Arctic?  What does it do for you?

Compuserve can be great fun there are hundreds of forums with thousands of
subjects to discuss, programs to try, pictures to look at, and friends to
make and chat to.  But if you are not careful the charges made by
CompuServe may discourage you, which is a shame.  So what Arctic does is it
allows you to get the most from CompuServe for the minimum of charges.  By
operating as fast as your modem and disc can supply the data, the online
activity is kept to an absolute minimum.  Offline you can write, look at and
reply to messages and mail, look at or request files from libraries, and
many other offline operations.  Then in one fast operation ARCTIC logs onto
CompuServe goes through each forum you have asked and does the actions you
want.

Arctic allows you to take your time when looking at messages composing
replies at your leisure with out incurring any charges.  The embedded editor
will familiar to all Arc users as it is a derivative of !edit.  You can look
through the messages in many ways using keys, menus or mouse clicks, this
area is rich in features to allow you freedom to use Arctic in many ways.

Will Arctic lower your CompuServe bill?  Probably not!  Arctic can do the
same work a lot cheaper and faster than by any other method.  These
significant savings are likely to be offset by higher and much more
productive use of many more forums and CompuServe's vast network, so you
will get much more for your time and money.

Arctic switches to Online operation buy a simple mouse click, you do not
have to any actions while Arctic is online (unless you want to).  However
should you wish to operate online either within conferences or other parts
of CompuServe, Arctic supports a full feature split screen online operation
allowing you to type in one window while conferencing takes place in the
other window.  You can also program a set of context sensitive hot keys to
perform actions you may wish to perform often or quickly without having to
remember complex CompuServe instructions.

I wrote Arctic for my own use originally, after trying TAPCIS and CIM under
emulation and realising what terminal programs would cost me in CompuServe
charges.  I liked the way TAPCIS reduced costs but found the user interface
dreadful and it did not work well on a machine with only 1 floppy drive and
no hard disc.  Having written it, I am now sharing it with the Acorn
community so that others may benefit from it.

================================ FEATURES ================================

Arctic is VERY rich in features, these are growing fast such that it now out
performs most other access programs in most areas.
------------------------------- Appearance -------------------------------
  * Window driven, with meaningfull icons and lots of menus.
  * Many actions through keys, menus or mouse clicks.
  * Fully Risc-Os compliant, filetypes issued by Acorn
  * Many features can be customised

----------------------------- Message Handling ---------------------------
  * Navigate through downloaded messages by Forum, session, section, thread,
    Parents, Replies, Your own marks, Search on subject or whole text
  * Actions may be driven by keys, mouse clicks or menus
  * Messages or whole threads may be read, printed or saved in general
    subject files or a file of your choice for later use
  * Editor uses split screen operation to allow you to look at a message
    while writing a reply
  * Editor based on !edit with enhancements to swap case, insert previous
    message, signature files and a few other things.
  * Address book - capture user ids from messages with comments if wanted,
    searched and simply selected when writing messages, a recent history
    maintained on each forum to allow quick selection of frequently used
    entries.
  * Reply to a message via mail or any other forum and or section
  * Look at most recent sessions messages only (for speed) or all sessions
    (to track back or look at old messages) or last 2,5,10,20 or 50
    sessions.

------------------------------ Mail Handling -----------------------------
  * Read, write and reply to mail in the same way as for forums
  * Mail to many, receipts if wanted
  * Send and receive files by Mail
  * Support of Internet, and other gateways
  * Mail may be sent from within forums
  * redirected replies if wanted

-------------------------------- Libraries -------------------------------
  * B+ protocol for file uploads and downloads
  * Full offline support for catalogue browsing, uploads and downloads
  * Automatic file type handling
  * Request library information by keyword, age, library or name
  * Files may be read and printed directly from the browser
  * A log is maintained to relate library files with files you have
    downloaded
  * File format conversion for text files.
  * Automatic scanning of forums for new files and downloading if required.

------------------------------- Conferencing -----------------------------
  * Split screen operation
  * Context sensitive "Hot Keys"
  * Scrolling of the from CIS window back 50000 characters
  * Fast access to the conference room of your choice on logon

------------------------------- Forum Support ----------------------------
  * Supports unlimited forums
  * Forums may be grouped for administration and access
  * Can be selected for online operation by a simple mouse click
  * User handles for every forum
  * Read announcements, section, library, and conference names
  * Sections can be read, scanned or ignored
  * Sections can be read by keyword
  * Messages to you can be read what ever the section state
  * Incoming private messages automatically deleted
  * Support for gateways to non CompuServe forums eg Zifnet
  * Delayed message release
  * Support of common Sysop message actions for sysops

------------------------------- Communication ----------------------------
  * Operates at 1200, 2400, 9600 and 14,000, allows automatic rate selection
  * Supports six phone numbers with meaningful names
  * A log may be kept of your sessions and forum use
  * Several different access methods supported through scripts.
  * Works with serial podules and standard serial port
  * Can operate automatically at set times

------------------------------- Other Features ---------------------------
  * Can be used by 3 different users with a single CIS id
  * Different user levels by the 3 users in each forum
  * Separate address book histories for each user
  * Very extensive context sensitive help, on most windows and menus
  * Scripts (limited)
  * Many features can be customised including tool bars, log formats
  * Support for many sysop actions

============================= GETTING STARTED ============================

Unspark the application directory (ARCTIC.ARC), copy the runimage into the
directory (from RUNIMG.ARC) and ensure it has the right name.  You do not
have to worry about file type.

Click on the application, it should then load.  It will ask you for your
your CIS identity, your name and password.  It is set up with a default
phone number for the London CIS node.  And with modem commands that will
work with most modems.

When the program is used for the first time it will try to set certain
system defaults to suit its operation.  This has been tried in many initial
settings, but there have been some problems if the program hangs up try
pressing return.  If this happens let me know where it hung up, and I can
improve the program.

There are problems in choosing the right set of parameters for you modem,
and I wish I could suggest a set of settings that would work for all but
this is currently elusive, the default set are suitable for very basic
operation with Hayes compatible modems, you may need to change these.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

There is a (120+ page) user guide available.  There is also a VERY extensive
helpfile with lots of context sensitive help throughout the program which is
hopefully self explanatory.  There is a help button on most windows and a
help entry the last on most menus.

COMPATIBILITY

Arctic can read and use message, catalogue, scripts and address book files
from TAPCIS, the converse is not necessarily true.

================================ SHAREWARE ===============================

Arctic is shareware.  The distributed version will work, and perform all
functions.  BUT If you don't register it, it will remind you (frequently)
that your copy is unregistered.  You can register either by sending me a
cheque or go through CIS's Shareware registration service at a cost of 40
dollars this includes the user guide.

Costs                      UK        Europe         ROW        Online
Registration            15 pounds    15 pounds    15 pounds    40 dollars
User Guide               5 pounds     6 pounds     7 pounds    included
Copy on Disc             5 pounds     5 pounds     5 pounds    N/A
Disc + registration     17 pounds    17 pounds    17 pounds    N/A
Disc, Reg + user guide  20 pounds    21 pounds    22 pounds    N/A

REGISTRATION BY POST may be made by sending a cheque to payable to
Richard Proctor to Richard Proctor, Waveney Games, 28 Diprose Road,
Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 3QY.  PLEASE indicate what your
CompuServe user id is, as this is encoded in the data.

I will accept payment in dollars (cash), or in DM (cash) please contact me
for details.  I can also accept payment by credit card (indirecly) please
contact me for details.

REGISTRATION USING COMPUSERVE'S SHAREWARE REGISTRATION SYSTEM.  Go online
interactive and type GO SWREG then go through the menus to register Arctic
which has a registration ID of 877.  This will cost 40 dollars.

Once you have registered I will send you as a private message in UKCOMP or
via MAIL a very small 20 line program which sets up the registration data in
a way that is unique for your CompuServe user id. This registration program
is useless to anybody else anyway as it only works for one CompuServe id.

Please address problems and queries to me preferably via section 8 of the
UKCOMP, my CompuServe id is 100031,604.  I am more than happy to answer
queries and I am open to suggestions for improvements.

Have fun - that's what CompuServe is all about

Richard Proctor