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1995-03-26
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CONTENTS
========
1. Getting started
2. Finding out what's new
3. Finding a specific file
4. Directory structure
5. Mirror sites of Aminet
6. Accessing Aminet on the Internet
7. Accessing Aminet without Internet
8. Copyright status and disclaimer
9. Background information
1. Getting started
------------------
Welcome to Aminet. Aminet is a set of interconnected FTP sites and other
file accessing services for Amiga software. It is structured differently
from most other FTP sites so please read below instructions carefully. Even
more important: Read new/README.BEFORE.UPLOAD before uploading anything, or
your upload is in danger of being deleted. Wherever not mentioned otherwise,
pub/aminet/ is the path for the files described.
If you are new to FTP, you'll find most of your questions answered in the
text info/start/FTP-Help.txt here which is also posted to the newsgroup
comp.sys.amiga.introduction bi-weekly. The archivers needed to unpack the
files stored here can be found in util/arc/, the archivers themselves are
self-extracting (in .run format) in most cases, ie. start them and they'll
unpack automatically when you run them.
2. Finding out what's new
-------------------------
Once you're in pub/aminet/, you can receive the file RECENT for a list
of the last seven day's uploads. The newest files are on the top of the
list. In FTP, you can type 'get RECENT -' or 'get RECENT |more' to see
the new files. Interesting files also found in CHARTS.
Once you see a file that interests you, cd to the appropriate directory
and have a look at the according .readme file. There you'll usually find
a more extensive description. Based on that you may choose to download
the file (but never forget to type 'bin' in FTP before you start!). Also,
a copy of all recent files can be found in the directory recent/.
3. Finding a specific file
--------------------------
Before you start looking, you should be aware that not all Aminet sites
are complete. Most delete older files. So if you don't find something at
your 'home' mirror, use one of the big sites that keep everything online
like ftp.wustl.edu, ftp.uni-paderborn.de or ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk
To do a search, download the file INDEX.Z, uncompress it and search for
the name or description you've been looking for. Under UNIX, you'd hit
CTRL-Z in FTP after the download, type 'zcat INDEX.Z | fgrep -i foo'
in order to look for 'foo' and then type 'fg' to return to FTP. Note:
Files with an asterisk * in front of the description are not available
on that site, refer to one of the complete sites.
You may use the version from info/index/ if your terminal is capable of
showing more than 80 characters per line. This one doesn't truncate the
short descriptions and includes an age column.
Better search mechanisms exist through WWW, gopher and email (see below).
If you were looking for something on Aminet but only found it elsewhere,
please do everyone a favor and upload it to Aminet to make the file easier
to find for the next ones.
4. Directory structure
----------------------
Sometimes you are looking for a certain category of file without knowing
a name. You then best go by directory. The directories within /pub/aminet/
are:
new/ New files, upload here. (See new/README.BEFORE.UPLOAD)
priv/ Private uploads. (See new/README.BEFORE.UPLOAD)
biz/ Business software hard/ Hardware related
comm/ Communications info/ Site information
demo/ Euro style demos misc/ Miscellaneous
docs/ Text documents mods/ Music modules
dev/ Developer software mus/ Music software
disk/ Disk tools pix/ Pictures
game/ Games software text/ Text related
gfx/ Graphics software util/ Utilities
A complete list of the sub-directories can be found in the file TREE.
A local INDEX with descriptions is in each subdirectory, however it only
lists the files that exist on that site, not the ones available elsewhere
on Aminet.
5. Mirror sites
---------------
These are the members of Aminet and have the files from here. All mirrors
have the new files but most delete old files, however ftp.wustl.edu,
ftp.uni-paderborn.de and ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk keep all files. Whenever
possible, use the mirror that is the closest to your place. Most mirrors
get updated three times a day.
Location Name IP Address Path Files
USA (MO) ftp.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 pub/aminet/ ALL
USA (CA) ftp.cdrom.com 192.216.222.5 pub/aminet/ 9000
USA (TX) ftp.etsu.edu 192.43.199.20 pub/aminet/ 5000
USA (WI) ftp.netnet.net 198.70.64.3 pub/aminet/ 10000
Scandinavia ftp.luth.se 130.240.18.2 pub/aminet/ 10000
Switzerland ftp.eunet.ch 146.228.10.16 pub/aminet/ 5500
Switzerland ftp.math.ethz.ch 129.132.104.6 pub/aminet/ 1000
Switzerland litamiga.epfl.ch 128.178.151.32 pub/aminet/ 300
Germany kelly.uni-paderborn.de 131.234.128.206 pub/aminet/ ALL
Germany ftp.uni-paderborn.de 131.234.2.42 pub/aminet/ ALL
Germany ftp.uni-erlangen.de 131.188.3.2 pub/aminet/ 7000
Germany ftp.uni-oldenburg.de 134.106.40.9 pub/aminet/ 2500
Germany ftp.uni-kl.de 131.246.9.95 pub/aminet/ 1500
Germany ftp.uni-stuttgart.de 129.69.18.15 cd aminet 4500
Germany ftp.uni-siegen.de 141.99.128.1 pub/aminet/ 1500
Germany ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de 130.149.17.7 pub/aminet/ 4000
Germany ftp.stud.fh-heilbronn.de 141.7.1.41 pub/aminet/ 600
Germany ftp.tu-chemnitz.de 192.108.33.193 pub/aminet/ 4000
Germany ftp.rz.uni-wuerzburg.de 132.187.1.2 pub/aminet/ 700
UK ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk 155.198.1.40 pub/aminet/ ALL
UK micros.hensa.ac.uk 148.88.8.84 pub/aminet/ 8500
6. Accessing Aminet on the Internet
-----------------------------------
There are many other ways than FTP to access Aminet. On the Internet:
- ADT. This is a front end for FTP that allows easy access to Aminet. Get
it from misc/unix/adt*.c and compile it on your UNIX box by typing
'sh adt.c'
- WWW. Mosaic or Lynx are a very decent way to access Aminet. Try the
URLs http://ftp.wustl.edu/~aminet/ or http://ftp.eunet.ch/~aminet/
where you can also find pointers to other Aminet sites with WWW
support.
- FSP. Aminet Files can be downloaded from the FSP site ftp.luth.se at
port 6969 and from disun3.epfl.ch port 9999. ftp.wustl.edu and
ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk have FSP on port 21, but can't be reached from
everywhere (just try). Uploads are accepted at wustl and luth.
- Telnet. ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk strikes again. You can telnet to 146.169.2.1
and log in as 'sources', which gives you a UNIX account where you can
download the files on src using commands like 'sz' and 'kermit', or
just browse around.
- NFS. The only Aminet site that allows NFS mounting of the archives is
ftp.wustl.edu. FTP there and read the details in /README.NFS
- IRC. On Internet Relay Chat, you can talk to various server robots like
Mama, LitBot and MerBot, to do queries and retrievals. Find out more
about them using '/msg mama help', for example.
- Finger. To find out what's been uploaded to Aminet within the last
week, enter 'finger aminet@ftp.wustl.edu', 'finger aminet@ftp.eunet.ch'
or 'finger aminet@ftp.etsu.edu'
- Gopher. Gopher is specially supported by several Aminet sites. Just
type 'gopher <sitename>' or 'gopher -p <startpoint> <sitename>'.
USA (MO) ftp.wustl.edu 1/pub/aminet/info/goph
USA (TX) ftp.etsu.edu 1/AmigaArchives/Aminet
SWITZERLAND ftp.eunet.ch 1/pub/aminet/info/goph
GERMANY ftp.uni-paderborn.de 1/Service/FTP/Direct/ftp-server/aminet
UK ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk 1/pub/aminet/info/goph
7. Accessing Aminet without Internet
------------------------------------
- Get internet access. Certainly the most comfortable way to access
Aminet but sometimes expensive. Some Internet providers are:
USA Portal Voice 1.408.973.9111 Modem 1.408.973.8091
Netcom Voice 1.408.554.UNIX
GERMANY EUnet Voice +49.231.972.00 Fax +49.231.972.1111
SWITZERLAND EUnet Voice +41.1.291.45.80 Fax +41.1.291.46.42
UK Demon Voice +44-81-349-0063 Fax +44-81-349-0309
- Aminet mailserver. The Aminet mail server can do various things for you,
like doing finds and accepting uploads, but it does not send out
binaries. Send HELP to aminet-server@wuarchive.wustl.edu to find out
more.
- Bin mailserver. The Aminet site src.doc.ic.ac.uk has an email server
that sends out uuencoded binaries. Send a message with HELP in the body
to ftpmail@doc.ic.ac.uk or ftpmail@ftp.luth.se . You can also use
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com to retrieve files from any Aminet site, but
please use an American one to save bandwidth. Send HELP there for
information, too. Germans try ftpmail@uni-paderborn.de .
Also, the RECENT and CHARTS files are available from an automatic
e-mail server. Send mail to announce@cs.ucdavis.edu with the single
word "help" (no quotes) in the body to find out how to use the server.
- Modem. The following BBSes carry up-to-date Aminet files. Most have
more phone numbers than we can mention here, call to see a list of
the others. List sorted by phone number.
Country Name FIDO Phone ISDN
------- ---- ---- ----- ----
USA (OR) CryoCafe (+1)503 257 4823
USA (MS) The Gateway 1:3604/60 (+1)601 374 2697
USA (CA) Heavy Metal 1:202/1112 (+1)619 232 4919
USA (NC) The C: Dir (+1)919 787 6211
Canada RCN Networks (+1)418 653 3099
Canada TunnelVisio 1:153/910 (+1)604 535 9826
Canada Intuition (+1)905 569 1482
France Ramses 2:320/104 (+33)1 60037015
Italy Glass Globe 2:332/118 (+39)577 959054
Switzerland Amiga Micro 2:301/819 (+41)1 3001008 (+41)1-3001009
Switzerland Helvetica 2:301/723 (+41)1 3130879 (+41)1-3101016
Switzerland Dolphins (+41)1 8450936 (+41)1-8846028
Switzerland AmiCall 2:301/722 (+41)1 9804297
Switzerland Turicum (+41)1 9918501 (+41)1-9918503
Switzerland Dive-Inn 2:301/325 (+41)22 7518103 (+41)22-7518105
Switzerland Alphanet (+41)38 414081
Switzerland Amiga Magic 2:301/707 (+41)61 9716843 (+41)61-9730019
Austria Amiga World 2:310/72 (+43)1 5044269 (+43)1-5047701
Denmark Scala BBS 2:230/418 (+45)44680300 (+45)44861540
Germany Surprise (+49)201 329761 (+49)201 8315005
Germany T.O.M. (+49)202 595267
Germany SMachine (+49)203 4061447 (+49)203 9940127
Germany Future Line (+49)2041 686829
Germany Blue Moon (+49)2065 66407
Germany PD-STAR (+49)2065 51509
Germany Delvinor (+49)2131 549457 (+49)2131 951253
Germany Debuwi (+49)2236 83233
Germany Darkness (+49)2273 1096 (+49)2273 910062
Germany CBonn (+49)228 666588
Germany Fantasie (+49)2381 675700
Germany Stingray (+49)2385 6542 (+49)2385 910031
Germany ASBM (+49)251 791650
Germany Circus (+49)281 24001
Germany Amiga Mbx (+49)30 3739293
Germany TERM (+49)30 4537288 (+49)30 45470171
Germany Quick (+49)40 5479638
Germany ITHH (+49)40 6064098 (+49)40 60680341
Germany DOOM (+49)4223 8355 (+49)4223 95004
Germany Cosmos-L (+49)4232 8009 (+49)4232 94040
Germany Flight (+49)4442 72138 (+49)4442 920362
Germany Delbox (+49)5250 53785 (+49)5250 99952
Germany MultiCom (+49)5321 45440 (+49)5321 305373
Germany Black-Z (+49)6142 46278 (+49)6142 924080
Germany SLTO (+49)615 264898
Germany TecMania (+49)6157 87427 (+49)6157 910121
Germany 48'er 2:2468/6020 (+49)6203 180293
Germany WestCoast 2:2468/9718.0 (+49)6221 761304
Germany RudisBox (+49)6253 86677 (+49)6253 972100
Germany HIT (+49)681 399426 (+49)681 372552
Germany Groenland (+49)6824 8444
Germany Titan (+49)6826 800391
Germany Outworld (+49)6831 52995 (+49)6831 995003
Germany Outside (+49)6838 84739
Germany BrainWave 2:246/2006.0 (+49)7071 78729 (+49)7071 971213
Germany Amiga Univ. 2:246/1416.0 (+49)7195 179383
Germany Uplink 2:246/2320 (+49)751 96217
Germany Fairytale 2:246/2300 (+49)7541 24362 (+49)7541 930232
Germany Predator 2:2490/1140 (+49)9131 14439
Germany LSD (+49)9133 9591
Germany Turtle 2:2490/1092 (+49)911 3241044 (+49)911 3241055
Germany Lizard (+49)911 476948
Germany Incubus (+49)931 781464 (+49)931 7900200
Germany Candys --- (+49)221 462138
Australia Continental (+61)2949 4256
- Anonymous UUCP. In Germany, you can access the Aminet files at the
phone numbers of Brainwave BBS (see above) using the following entry.
Download the file "Aminet:INFO" for more information.
anarchy Any SER 38400 ATD<Phone> BBS. ..\c ogin: uanon sword: uanon
In Switzerland you can use the Alphanet BBS, ~/archives/aminet
- FIDO. If you want to file-request Aminet files, you can do so by
requesting the file INFO from 2:246/2006.0. The BBSes which have
a FIDO node number mentioned above allow file requests.
- Mailing lists. If you want to get the list of new uploads mailed every
week, send a mail with 'SUBSCRIBE aminet-weekly foo@bar.edu' in the
body to listserv@wunet.wustl.edu or if you want daily updates, just use
'SUBSCRIBE aminet-daily' instead. Replace foo@bar.edu with your email
address, of course. Keep the welcome mail in case you forget how to
unsubscribe...
- Usenet. A list of recent uploads is posted every week to the newsgroups
comp.sys.amiga.misc and de.comp.sys.amiga.archive.
- EZINFO. This is an internet BBS in Switzerland. Here you can download by
Kermit or ZMODEM, but you need to be verified to become user. Modem dial
01 251 20 02, then type 'call b050' to connect to EZINFO. Also try
telnet kometh.ethz.ch and 'call b050' from internet.
- CD-ROM. Aminet CD 3 and up are available from Stefan Ossowski, Germany
(stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de) or Fred Fish (fnf@amigalib.com). For
details, see docs/misc/CD-Orders.txt. Aminet CD 2 should still be
available from Walnut Creek, talk to orders@cdrom.com
- Aminet-on-disk. You can order single Aminet files (3 DM per disk)
or per-directory subscriptions (2 DM per disk) from Martin Schulze,
Parkstr. 14, 66806 Ensdorf, Germany. Phone: +49 (0) 6831 506171,
email masc@coli.uni-sb.de . Send 3 DM in stamps or $2 to get an
index disk with instructions.
Aminet-on-disk is available on Amiga-Floppy (880k: 3DM, 1.76MB: 5DM),
SyQuest 88/105/270MB and 128MB-Magneto-Optical. (DM 0.40 per Megabyte
without media costs)
8. Copyright status and disclaimer
----------------------------------
While the files from Aminet are freely distributable, the collection as a
whole is copyrighted. Making a CD-ROM of it or mirroring it on a regular
basis requires permission from the administrators. That permission will
be granted to mirrors if they provide an upload facility. If you as an
uploader do not like this policy, don't upload or have your uploads removed.
The administrators of Aminet give no warranties concerning the files
stored. Use at your own risk. Specifically, we cannot guarantee that the
programs are virus-free, uncorrupted, freely distributable or even useful
in any way, although we do our best to ensure the above.
9. Background information
-------------------------
- History
Aminet was founded by members of ICU (computer science students' club) in
Zurich, Switzerland, using an A3000UX donated by Commodore Switzerland. In
the beginning it was one FTP site among many, but when the formerly biggest
site (ab20.larc.nasa.gov) shut down, people started adopting amiga.physik
as the replacement. In order to share the burden both performance- and
network load wise, two mirror sites were installed. The new 1GB harddisk
donated by Walnut Creek and the user community allowed us to keep all old
files, while at the same time number of mirror FTP sites increased
constantly to currently 10. Today, Aminet is the leading Internet source
for Amiga software, giving authors a far-reaching distribution medium and
the user community a place to look for both new and old freely
distributable software.
- Contact addresses
Please direct reports about corrupt, illegal or infected files immediately
to aminet@ftp.wustl.edu (do not rely on someone else doing it!). People
who report a copyrighted file on Aminet get a free CD. For problems local
to one mirror, check the local README's to find out about the administrator
there. Some of the the people involved:
Moderators
Urban D. Mueller umueller@wuarchive.wustl.edu
Matthias Scheler mscheler@wuarchive.wustl.edu
Default contact address:
aminet@wuarchive.wustl.edu
We hope you enjoy the service.