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1997-01-30
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Internet Pager 0.04
=====================
By Thomas Down
Introduction
------------
Internet pager provides a simple method of quickly sending text messages
between two RISC OS computers connected to the internet, or any other network
running TCP/IP protocols (sometimes referred to as Intranets). The pager
itself is a small (64k) multitasking application, which handles both sending
and receiving of pager messages.
Paging messages are sent directly from one machine to another, without
any processing or queueing by intermediate servers. This means the Pager is
most useful when the receiving machine is permanently connected to the
network. Unlike electronic mail, paging message cannot be held up at any
stage---when the application tells you that a paging operation is complete,
the message will already have been displayed on the recipient's screen.
Status
------
Version 0.04 (dated 30/1/97) has status PRE-RELEASE. A release version will
be available in a few days time.
Installation
------------
Internet pager can be run on any RISC OS 3 machine running Acorn Internet
4.00 or later (but NOT the InternetA module supplied with some versions of
Acorn Access). It is believed to work with the Freenet TCP/IP stack, but this
has not been fully tested.
If you are running the pager on a machine with a version of RISC OS
earlier than 3.70, you will need to install the CallASWI module, supplied.
Copy this into your !System.Modules directory.
To install the Internet pager, simply copy it to a suitable directory on your
hard disc. You may want to run it in your boot sequence---if so, ensure that
it is run after the Internet module has been initialised.
Before using the pager, you should ensure that it is configured correctly...
Configuration
-------------
To configure the pager, run !Pager then open the Choices dialog box from the
icon bar menu. There are currently two options in this dialog box:
User:
This should be your name---it will be given to anyone who receives a
paging message from you. Normally, it should be an address that will reach
you by pager (e.g. name@host.net). However, if this is not possible (e.g.
you use a dynamically addressed dialup internet connection) you should
normally give an email address instead.
Keep window open after paging:
If this option is ticked, the send window will always remain open after
sending a message.
Once you have set the configuration correctly, you should click Save.
Paging a remote user
--------------------
To page a user on another machine, open a pager window by clicking select on
the pager icon. Enter a suitable pager address (of the form user@host.net),
and a message then click on the `Send' icon.
Normally, the pager window closes once paging is complete. If you are likely
to want to send a followup message to the same user, click ADJUST on the Send
icon instead. Alternatively, tick `Keep window open after paging' in the
Choices dialog box.
You can test the pager by paging yourself
Setting user aliases
--------------------
The internet pager allows you to maintain a list of aliases (shortened forms
of addresses). To page a user who has an alias set, simply enter the alias
instead of their full address when you page them.
To edit the aliases database, click on the Aliases... button in the Choices
dialog box. The aliases database is a simple text file containing a list of
aliases. Note that when you edit the aliases database, any changes will not
be recognised until you reload !Pager.
Security
--------
The !Pager application provides no known mechanisms whereby users on other
machines can introduce foreign code, or execute unauthorised commands on your
machine.
Paging messages are sent across the network as unencrypted text, using the
TCP protocol. You should be aware that such messages are subject to
interception by techniques such as packet sniffing. However, IPP (internet
paging protocol) is no less secure than the SMTP protocol used for
routine transmission of electronic mail.
There is currently no method of authenticating the sender of an IPP message.
This may be rectified in future versions of !Pager.
Licence
-------
The !Pager application is Freeware by Thomas Down, and may be freely
distributed so long as it remains unmodified, and it is always accompanied by
this file.
This software is supplied in good faith, in the hope that it will be
useful. However, the author accepts no liability for any loss or damage
caused by the use of this software.
Contacting the author
---------------------
Bug reports and suggestions of upgrades for future releases of !Pager
are always welcome, to any of the addresses below. Although !Pager is
freeware, if you use it regularly, I would appreciate it if you could
contact me, to give me an estimate of the user base.
I can be contacted by the following means...
Electronic mail:
thomas.down@trinity.ox.ac.uk
thomas@h-dean.demon.co.uk
Snail mail:
Thomas Down
Heatherdean
Dean Road
West Tytherley
Salisbury, Wilts
SP5 1NR
ENGLAND
By Internet pager (university term time only)
Thomas@arilinn.trinity.ox.ac.uk