Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale/Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso/fade into you/getting there/News/TheNews V2.36/README (please!)

Text File | 1994-07-04 | 11KB | 272 lines

TheNews V2.36 README file

So, you're checking out TheNews!  Well, I'm sure you're
anxious to try it out, but there a few points you'll need to
know before you can get started.  First, I need to get the
following legalize out of the way:


***************************************************
***************************************************

              L E G A L   A G R E E M E N T

This software is protected by the copyright laws of the United
States and by international treaty provisions.  It has been
released as "shareware" -- the author grants the right to use and
copy the software on a trial basis not to exceed 30 calendar days.
After such time, the right to use is revoked unless payment has
been made to the author.

The author hereby extends permission for reproduction of this
documentation by whatever means are at the disposal of the user.
Electronic modification of this document is permitted if the
author's copyright notice is maintained.

This statement represents the full and final expression of all
terms of the agreement.

                      *   *   *

             L I M I T E D   W A R R A N T Y

The author makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding
TheNews, its documentation, its performance, its merchantability,
or its fitness for any particular purpose. The author exclusively
limits all consequential and incidental damages to replacement
of the program or refund of the purchase price.  Because some
states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liabilty for
consequential or incidental damages, this limitation may not
apply to you.

This limited warranty gives you specific legal rights.  You may
have others, which vary from state to state.

**************************************************
**************************************************

Okay, enough said, let's get to the important stuff!  The
system requirements:

1. A Macintosh (no kidding!).  As far as I can tell, there
are no restrictions on what kind of Mac you can use with
TheNews -- I've tested the program on the Plus, SE, SE/30,
II, IIx, IIcx, PB140, and PB165.  I have no reason to believe that it
will fail on other models.

2. MacTCP.  This is the system software that lets your Mac
talk TCP/IP.  You can get this software from Apple.

3. A Network.  You have several options here.  You can use
an Ethernet card installed inside your computer, you can use
an external SCSI Ethernet device, or you can use a
LocalTalk<->Ethernet bridge (for example, a GatorBox).  Rumor
has it that the program also works over a phone line via
MacSLIP and MacPPP (I haven't personal tested this configuration).

4. An NNTP server.  This will be a computer running the
'network news transfer protocol'.

5. An SMTP server.  TheNews lets you respond to articles via
the 'simple mail transfer protocol'.  The SMTP server needn't
be running on the same machine as the NNTP server.

But wait, why can't the TheNews connect to a news server over
a dialup link?  And what about UUCP support?  Well, since you
asked...

If you've set up your Mac as a UUCP site, you can use TheNews
as a news reader if you have the following:

1. UUPC 3.0.  This program connects your Mac to the outside
world via a modem.  It handles the transfer of mail, news
feeds, and plain old file between your Mac and any remote
computer willing to talk to you.

2. ToadNews.  This program converts a "news feed" from a single
file into a standard news spool folder/file hierarchy.

If you don't want to set up your Mac as a UUCP site, and you
don't have an Ethernet line running into your home, TheNews
can also run over a standard phone line.  You'll need the
following:

1. The Communications ToolBox (CTB).  This Apple software is built
into System 7.  It is also available as an add-on for System 6 (but
I have not tested TheNews under System 6 with CTB -- this may be
a good excuse for you to upgrade to System 7!)

2. Apple Modem Tool.  This Apple software handles the interface
between the CTB and your modem.  It translates the high-level
CTB requests (eg, "call my server") into appropriate modem commands
(eg, "ATDT5551212").

3. An account on a remote computer.  TheNews pretends that it is
you, only faster -- it calls up the remote computer, sends your
user ID and password, and then executes a program called Telnet
to connect to the news and mail servers.  The remote computer, then,
must know how to run Telnet, and it must also have access to an
NNTP news server and (optionally) an SMTP mail server. (The news
and mail servers needn't be running on the computer where you have
an account, but they must be accessible via the internet).

One of the files included in this distribution is a user's
manual (cleverly titled 'TheNews User's Manual').  This
manual was written using Word 5.0; I apologize if you do not
have this program.  However, because I'm such a thoughtful
kind of guy, I've excerpted the 'Quick Start' section a bit
later in this note. (The excerpt only covers setup for MacTCP
operations -- if you want to configure for UUCP or CTB operations,
you'll need to read the manual.)

So, after you try out TheNews and find that you want to keep
it, what do you do next?  Well, obviously, you pay me for
it!  Base sticker price is $25, with hefty discounts available
for site licenses (see below).

Send your checks, praises, comments, and questions to:

  Bill Cramer
  504 Winterwood Drive
  Grapevine, TX  76051
  USA

You can probably reach me via email at

  [e-mail]

but I can't make any promises on how fast I'll return your message.

____________________

Multiple Copy Purchase Price

TheNews-CD costs $25 per unit.  For multiple-unit purchases
by educational groups, the following schedule applies:

   First 20:      $15/unit
   Next 20:       $10/unit
   Next 20:       $5/unit
   additional:    no charge

For commercial organizations, the following schedule applies:

   First 20:     $20/unit
   Next 20:      $15/unit
   Next 20:      $10/unit
   Next 20:      $5/unit
   additional:   no charge

Purchase of more than 60 units (80 for commercial purchasers)
constitutes a "site license".  The definition of a "site", for
purposes of such license, is any computer within 50 miles (80
kilometers) of the purchasing facility.  For educational
purchasers whose facilities involve multiple sites, the
following schedule applies:

   First site:    $600
   Next site:     $400
   Next site:     $200
   additional:    no charge

For commercial purchasers whose facilities involve multiple
sites, the following schedule applies:

   First site:    $1000
   Next site:     $800
   Next site:     $600
   Next site:     $400
   Next site:     $200
   additional:    no charge


__________________________________

A Note to Users of Previous Versions

If you're a previous user of TheNews, you may want to check
out the 'Changes' file included in this distribution.

__________________________________

Quick Start

Simply copy the application onto your hard disk (or onto another
diskette if you don't have a hard disk).  If you haven't already
installed MacTCP, you'll need to do so before you can run TheNews.

If you're new to the world of net news, please take a few minutes
and read the next chapter (it won't take long -- TheNews is a simple
program).  If you're familiar with news reader programs running on
other computers, you probably want to get started right away. (In
fact, you've probably started up the program already!) However,
have a little bit of patience and walk through the following
steps -- it won't take but a few minutes and you'll be on your way.

Start TheNews by double clicking on its icon; TheNews will present
you with its menu bar.  Under the entry "File" you'll find an item
called "Preferences." When you select this item, TheNews will
present you with a dialog made up of some checkboxes and text
fields (it's detailed in the user's manual).

For the time being, leave the checkboxes unchecked and the first
three blanks empty (being the experienced news reader you are, you
can probably guess their functions).  Move down to the "NNTP
Server:" box and type in the network address of your local news
server.  This address will be composed four sets of digits
separated by periods, for example, "192.42.98.1", or else a domain
name, for example, "penumbra.iex.com".  The address is significant
only to the IP-layer network software; check with your system
administrator for your server's address.   Now click on the "Save"
button--you're ready to open a session to the news server!

Now return to the menu bar and select "New" under the "File" entry.
You should see a message telling you that TheNews is trying to
connect to the news server, and then you should see a message
advising you that TheNews is getting a list of all news groups
available on the server.  (Note: If TheNews reports an error in
connecting to the server, verify that the server address is
correct.  If the address is correct, go have a chat with your
System Administrator to verify that the indicated machine is indeed
running NNTP.)

If all went well, TheNews now displays a window titled "New Groups
File". You'll note that the window is empty; before you can read
articles from a news group you'll need to "subscribe" to that
group.  To do so, select "Edit Group List" under the "Groups" menu.
This will bring up a dialog showing you a scrollable list of all of
the news groups available on the server.  To subscribe to a
particular group, select the group name and click on the
"Subscribe" button, and then click on the "Done" button. (For the
time being, just pick one or two groups; later, you can go back and
select more groups.  You'll also want to save your customized
groups list to a file--select "Save As" from the "File" menu)
When you return to the group list window, you'll see the group(s)
you have selected and the number of articles which you haven't yet
read and the number of articles available on the server.

To see what's available in a group, use the arrow keys to move the
highlight bar to the group name, and press <return>.  TheNews will
then ask the server for a list of the articles; since this is the
first time you've read from the group, this may take awhile-be
patient!  When it has completed, TheNews will display a list of the
article headers--on each line you'll see a "√" (which indicates
that you haven't yet read the article), some or all of the
article's subject, some or all of the sender's name, and the date
that the article was posted (if the window is big enough, you'll
see all of the information in each category).

To read an article, use the arrow keys to move the highlight bar to
the desired article and press <return>.  TheNews will fetch the
body of the article and pop up a new window displaying the header
and body.

That's all there is to reading net news.  Well, no, not really.
TheNews has a number of additional features to help you manipulate
existing news articles and post new ones.  Have a look at the
manual to get details on posting new and followup articles, mailing
responses to the posters of articles, saving and printing articles,
and setting up multiple group subscription documents. Enjoy!