This HyperCard stack was programmed to ease the lack of offline newsreaders that run over SLIP on the Mac.
It is however just a downloader in its present version that saves the articles into digest text files, but you can use the excellent EasyView (by Akif Eyler) to read the news that you have fetched with NewsFetcher conveniently. I have added a template ("view") for EasyView, the news-files are dropped automatically in their folder and you can read them at your leisure.
Posting has also been added recently.
Sorry, it's a HyperCard stack, but I don't have so much experience in C or C++ (and besides I don't have a compiler...) - I hope it will still be useful to all you SLIP-Folk out there.
Please use Balloon-Help, I *really* tried hard to balloonify everything I could.
Configuration:
1. Enter an NNTP-Server in the supplied field (ask your sysadmin if you don't know what NNTP is - but since you bothered to download this stack you probably know ;-) ... )
2. Click "Fetch List of all groups" and wait... Get a cup of coffee! :-)
(or live with the groups I have provided ;-)
3. Click on groups to subscribe to them (max. 10).
4. Enter information about your time zone. (Required for posting!)
5. Click on the subject sorting if you want it. (Recommended)
6. Click on the header stuff, if you want full headers. (Recommended)
7. Go back by clicking the return button (upper right).
Unsubscribing groups:
You can unsubscribe a group both from the Configuration Card and from the Subject Fetching card by Option-clicking on the groups name.
Daily Use:
After startup, get your SLIP connection running and then click on Subject fetching. When that is done, disconnect SLIP. Click on the right arrow. Now you have time to browse through the subjects on the "Selection" cards and mark those you would like to download.
If you have Subject Sorting activated, *please* be patient while going to an yet unsorted card! The sorting takes a while (especially if you have lots of article subjects in a group)!
When you have finished choosing, go to the "Fetching" card by using the right arrow, start up SLIP again and click on "Article Fetching". All the selected articles from each group will be transferred to a disk file that is named like this: <group-[timestamp]>. If the groupname is too long, NewsFetcher will make it shorter so it fits with the 31 character limit. When transferring has finished, turn off SLIP, quit the stack and run Easy View for convenient reading. (Use the supplied "Jörg's News" template for reading in Easy View.)
Posting:
Fill in all the information and the text you wish to post. Start up SLIP and click on the letter icon. After posting, disconnect SLIP again. If there was an error during posting, you are notified.
What is EasyView?
EasyView is a text browser that can be used to read structured text conveniently. It was programmed by Akif Eyler and is available from the standard Mac archives (i.e. sumex-aim. stanford.edu and its mirrors where it can be found in the "text" directory).
Thats all folks.
Hope you like it.
Disclaimer and legal stuff:
You use this piece of software at your own risk. I will not be held liable if anything goes wrong... By using this software you agree to these terms.
It's freeware - you don't have to pay me anything, but if you really like it drop me a note via email.
I retain all rights to it!
You may freely distribute this stack as long as you do not modify it and as long as no profit is made out of it - CD ROM publishers who wish to include this stack on a Shareware/Freeware CD must contact me for permission first.
Credits
must go to (in no particular order):
Georg Gollman, whose StackedNews inspired me.
Akif Eyler, for Easy View.
Adam C. Engst, for his nice book and arranging some beta-testing.
The entire HyperCard team, you know who you are.
The entire MacTCP team, for the great implementation of TCP/IP.
Apple Computer - for letting us have Macs! ;-)
To all beta testers - without their nitpicking this program would have been finished several months earlier ;->
