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- Connecting to the World Wide Web with OS/2
- ------------------------------------------
-
- Timothy F. Sipples
- IBM Personal Software Marketing
- Chicago, Illinois
- Internet: tsipple@vnet.ibm.com
-
- Revised July 1, 1994
-
- The World Wide Web (WWW or 3W for short) is a system of distributed servers
- spread across the Internet. These servers are interconnected using
- hypertext documents and scripts written in a language called HTML.
-
- WWW is an exciting technology, because it enables Internet users worldwide
- to obtain information in a user-friendly way. Graphics, text, sound, and
- even motion video can be sent across the network and viewed on your
- desktop or notebook computer.
-
- To access the World Wide Web you need a WWW browser. Popular browsers
- include Mosaic, Lynx, and Cello. Unfortunately none of these browsers are
- available in a native OS/2 version. Right now, at least two companies are
- working furiously to create a native WWW browser for OS/2. (OS/2 has
- tremendous advantages for WWW browsing. With current browsers, for
- example, the user must wait until an entire audio or graphics file is
- downloaded before playing or viewing it. Since OS/2 supports threads, it
- would be possible to design a browser which started playing an audio file
- immediately, downloading the remainder of the audio file in the
- background.)
-
- In the meantime, as an OS/2 user you can access the World Wide Web using a
- browser designed for Windows. Cello is probably your best choice, and the
- instructions below explain how to get up and running with that software.
-
- This document assumes that you are already connected to the Internet using
- IBM TCP/IP Version 2.0 for OS/2. While WWW browsing can be done over a
- dial-up telephone connection (using SLIP), a high speed direct connection
- to the Internet (over Token Ring or ethernet) is recommended for sound,
- graphics, and especially motion video browsing.
-
- You should also obtain and install the DOS/Windows Access Kit for IBM
- TCP/IP Version 2.0 for OS/2. Cello requires this add-on kit since it is
- "Winsock" compatible. (If you use another TCP/IP product for OS/2, it may
- support the Winsock interface as well.)
-
- Make sure you apply all the most recent Corrective Service Diskettes for
- both the Base TCP/IP Kit and the DOS/Windows Access Kit. Make sure that
- the VDOSTCP.VDD file in the DOS/Windows Access Kit Corrective Service is
- dated February 9, 1994, or later. Make sure the WINSOCK.DLL file in the
- same Corrective Service is dated January 28, 1994, or later. If that is
- not the case, you may have to obtain APAR PN52335. This APAR is available
- via anonymous ftp from ftp-os2.cdrom.com as filename pn52335.zip.
-
- The following software is recommended but not required:
-
- Graphics/Image viewer. Examples include PMJPEG, PMView, Image Archiver,
- JoeView, and Galleria. These viewers will handle both GIF (Graphics
- Interchange Format) and JPG (JPEG) formats used commonly throughout the
- World Wide Web.
-
- Sound file conversion utility. Examples include Sox for OS/2 and
- PMsndX (Presentation Manager Sound Exchange). Such utilities can convert
- audio files (such as those in Sun .au format) into OS/2 (MMPM/2) playable
- .WAV format. (If you wish to listen to audio files, you should install
- and configure MMPM/2 for your sound card.)
-
- MPEG player. Most software motion video files available through the
- World Wide Web are in MPEG format. An OS/2 MPEG player, such as PMMPEG,
- is useful here.
-
- All of the software mentioned above is available via anonymous ftp from
- ftp-os2.cdrom.com. Much of it is shareware. If you use shareware, please
- register it and support the authors who wrote it.
-
- To install Cello for use under OS/2 (assuming you have properly installed
- and configured IBM TCP/IP for OS/2 with the DOS/Windows Access Kit, all
- necessary Corrective Service, Win-OS/2, and, optionally, MMPM/2), do the
- following:
-
- (1) Create a directory (such as \Apps\Cello).
-
- (2) Unzip all the Cello files into this directory and CD to it.
-
- (3) Use the COPY command to replace the file DEFAULT.HTM with either
- EXTERNAL.HTM or INTERNAL.HTM. For example, if you are using Cello while
- connected to the internal IBM network, issue the following command:
-
- COPY INTERNAL.HTM DEFAULT.HTM
-
- Use EXTERNAL.HTM if you are located outside the IBM internal network.
- The DEFAULT.HTM file is the original homepage distributed with Cello.
-
- (3) COPY the appropriate style file to CELLO.STY. So, for example,
- if you are using a display with a resolution of 1024x768 (or greater),
-
- COPY 1024-768.STY CELLO.STY
-
- (4) Modify the file CELLOOS2.INI using a text editor (such as the OS/2
- System Editor). At a minimum, you should modify the file as follows:
-
- EMail=yourname@vnet.ibm.com
- Replace yourname@vnet.ibm.com with your e-mail address.
- MailRelay=your-relay@vnet.ibm.com
- Replace your-relay@vnet.ibm.com with the mail relay you use.
- NNTPServer=your-server@vnet.ibm.com
- If you have a network news (NNTP) server, add the name of the
- server here.
- Editor=epm
- If you wish to use another editor (besides the OS/2 Enhanced Editor),
- modify this line.
- DLDir=c:\data\cello
- Replace c:\data\cello with the path to the directory you use to hold
- downloaded files. Create this directory if it does not already exist.
-
- In the [Extensions] section, you should modify the lines for each file type
- you expect to encounter when WWW browsing. Some reasonably sensible
- defaults for OS/2 are provided.
-
- (5) When you have finished editing CELLOOS2.INI, COPY CELLOOS2.INI to
- CELLO.INI.
-
- (6) If you have referenced PMView.Cmd and/or Sox.Cmd in the [Extensions]
- section of CELLO.INI, edit those batch files to correct any path names or
- viewer/utility names, if needed. You can greatly enhance the operation of
- Cello by using "smart" batch files. (The examples provided are
- utilitarian.)
-
- (7) Modify CELLO.SIG so that your unique signature is included.
-
- (8) Create a program object for Cello. Drag a program object from your
- Templates folder to the desktop or another folder. Make sure the working
- directory is pointed to the directory where Cello is located.
-
- When you are done making these changes, Cello should be ready to run.
-
- Cello is not an IBM product. These configuration files have been added to
- the original Cello distribution merely for the convenience of OS/2 users.
- If you need assistance with Cello, please refer to the sources listed in
- either INTERNAL.HTM or EXTERNAL.HTM, as appropriate. If you need help with
- Cello under OS/2, specifically, and you do not access the World Wide Web
- through the IBM internal network, you should subscribe to the newsgroup
- comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip.
-
- In the near future, when a native OS/2 WWW browser is available (hopefully
- a multithreaded browser), Cello will no longer be necessary. Please keep
- an eye on comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip (or, for IBMers, the WWWIBM FORUM
- on the IBMPC conference disk) for OS/2 WWW news.
-
- Enjoy Cello!
-
- Timothy F. Sipples
-