Amiga Mag HDD Backup/Amiga Mag HDD Backup.zip/Amiga Mag HDD Backup/Alexander.img.bin/Alexander.img/******10.10 etc./On Line 10-95

Text File | 1995-09-12 | 10KB | 207 lines

Subj:  On Line 10-95
Date:  Mon, Sep 11, 1995 7:54 PM EDT
From:  [e-mail]
X-From:    [e-mail] (Rob Hays)
To:    [e-mail]


Hi Don,

Here is On line for Oct. 1995.


On Line October 1995 Rob Hays
    For years the telephone companies have been urging us to "reach
out and touch someone" by phone. With a modem and connection to the
Internet, you can go this one better by reaching out and grabbing. Use FTP
to grab some new programs for your Amiga.  The ABC's of FTP
    FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and enables you to copy
files from far off computer systems to your local Internet provider. From
there you use a standard file transfer method, such as ZModem, to download
the files to your home computer.  There are even ways to skip this last
step, and FTP the files directly to your Amiga from that far off system,
which we will be discussing at a later time.
    Like many Unix command structures, the commands used during a FTP
session will be familiar to users of the AmigaDos Shell.  To change
directories use the cd command, and dir works just as you would expect.
You can also substitute the Unix command ls to obtain a directory listing.
Unlike AmigaDos, you can move up one level in the directory structure with
the command cdup.
    Ordinarily, you would expect to be refused access to computer
systems that you do not own or belong to. Thankfully, many systems on the
Internet allow what is known as anonymous FTP. This means that anyone that
can connect to the system, is allowed to download or upload files. When
prompted for a username, just enter anonymous, and when asked for a
password, enter your actual e-mail address for the system you are FTP'ing
from.
    The FTP process is fairly straightforward, but does contain a few
pitfalls for the unwary. The best way to illustrate this is through an
actual FTP session. For a first taste, probably the best thing to get is
found at a site called ftp.eff.org, and here is some of what you will see
as the process unfolds. To get started, you will need to go to the area of
your Internet provider that allows access to the FTP, and open a
connection to the site.
  ftp> open ftp.eff.org
  Connected to ftp.eff.org.
  220 ftp.eff.org FTP server (Version wu-2.4(16)
  Name (ftp.eff.org:rhays): anonymous
  Password (ftp.eff.org:anonymous): [e-mail]
  331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as
  password.
  230-******** Welcome to the EFF Online Library **********
  230-Electronic Frontier Foundation files & info: /pub/EFF
    Note that the commands you type in are preceded by ftp> .  This is
a prompt to remind you that you are using FTP, and the system is ready for
another command.
 ftp> dir
 200 PORT command successful.
 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
 total 492
 -rw-r--r-- 1 brown doc 0 Oct 17 1991 .notar
 -rw-r--r-- 1 brown doc 1327 Apr 26 14:23 00-INDEX.ftp
 lrwxrwxrwx 1 brown doc 8 Jul 27 07:29 00-MASTER.FILELIST.gz
 lrwxrwxrwx 1 brown doc 7 Jul 27 07:28 EFF -> pub/EFF
 -rw-rw-r-- 2 mech doc 32412 Aug 15 13:55 README
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 brown doc 1793 Apr 25 19:40 README.incoming
 -rw-rw-r-- 3 106 doc 42705 Aug 14 21:16 about.eff
 drwxrwxr-x 2 brown doc 512 Jul 27 07:28 bin
 lrwxrwxrwx 1 brown doc 7 Jul 27 07:29 eff -> pub/EFF
 drwxrwxr-x20 brown doc 1024 Aug 15 14:49 pub
 drwxrwxr-x 3 brown doc 512 Jul 27 07:29 usr
 226 Transfer complete.
    Looks pretty imposing doesn't it? Each line is a directory or a
file, with the group of letters on the left indicating who is allowed
various privileges. The number to the left of the date is file size in
bytes, with the file name on the far right.  The fourth line down
indicates a short-cut route to the subdirectory pub/EFF is available by
typing cd EFF. Because Unix commands are for the most part case sensitive,
the sysop of this system has kindly duplicated this short-cut in the ninth
entry for anyone who types cd eff.
    When working your way through a FTP site looking for interesting
files, one of the first places to examine is the pub directory. So, we
will type cd pub, then either ls or dir for a directory listing. Among the
files and subdirectories listed is:
 drwxrwxr-x 10 brown doc 1024 Aug 11 14:09 Net_info
    Change directories again to this one, get another listing, and you
will find:
 drwxrwxr-x 6 brown doc 512 Aug 17 00:40 EFF_Net_Guide
    Go into this directory, and you will find:
 drwxrwxr-x 8 brown doc 1024 Aug 17 00:40 Other_versions
    Inside this final directory (and you thought your directory
structure was convoluted!) you find this unassuming-looking prize:
 -rw-rw-r-- 1 brown doc 312813 Feb 17 00:28 eegtti-2.3.amiga.lha
    Now comes one of those pitfalls. Up to this point, we have been
dealing with ASCII text. In order to actually transfer this file, we have
to tell the FTP system to switch to binary mode, like so:
 ftp> bin
 200 Type set to I.
    To initiate the actual transfer, type get, followed by the file
name exactly as it appears in the directory listing. You will get a
message like this:
 ftp> get eegtti-2.3.amiga.lha
 200 PORT command successful.
 150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for eegtti-2.3.amiga.lha
 (312813 bytes).
 226 Transfer complete.
 312813 bytes received in 10.5 secs (29 Kbytes/sec)
    The file we wanted is now in your home directory on your Internet
provider, and we can leave here. Type:
 ftp> bye
 221 Goodbye.
    You should now be back to your provider with everything looking
like it did before you opened the FTP connection. After downloading the
file to your Amiga, and unarchiving it with LHa, what you have is the
AmigaGuide version of EFF's (Extended) Guide to the Internet. This is the
electronic version of what used to be known as The Big Dummy's Guide to
the Internet. Assuming you have AmigaGuide, or Multiview, you are now
armed with a document touching on everything from the history of the
Internet, to a Smiley dictionary. Studying this document will give you an
excellent basic understanding of the community of users that calls the
Internet home.
    If you want the ASCII text version instead of the AmigaGuide
version, once you are logged onto the FTP site, type:
 cd /pub/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide
    Make sure the system is in ASCII mode by typing:
 ascii
    Then grab the ASCII version:
 get netguide.eff Which Way to the Aminet?
    Aminet is a vast collection of Amiga files of every conceivable
type. Currently it is approaching two gigabytes in size, and like the
Internet itself, it is growing larger daily as authors upload new
programs, and new versions of old favorites.
    The main Aminet site is available as ftp.wustl.edu. Because it is
a favorite site of many people, when you log on, you will often see this
message:
 ftp> o ftp.wustl.edu
 Connected to wuarchive.wustl.edu.
 220 wuarchive.wustl.edu FTP server (Version wu-2.4(1)
 95) ready.
 Name (ftp.wustl.edu:rhays): anonymous
 Password (ftp.wustl.edu:anonymous):[e-mail]
 530-Sorry, there are too many anonymous FTP users using the system at
this
 530-time.  Please try again in a few minutes.
 530-
 530-There is currently a limit of 300 anonymous users.  Yes, there REALLY
are
 530-that many users on wuarchive -- this message is not the result of a
bug.
 530 User anonymous access denied.
 Login failed.
 421 Service not available, remote server has closed connection
    At this point you can either wait and hope for better luck later,
or try one of the Aminet mirrors. Mirrors are alternate sites that
maintain copies of the Aminet file. Quite often these sites are less busy
than wustl.edu and you can get right in.  While most mirror sites will
delete older files to make room, there are several that maintain complete
copies, updated three times a day. Some of these are, ftp.netnet.net,
ftp.livewire.com.au, ftp.luth.se, ftp.eunet.ch, kelly.uni- opaderborn.de,
ftp.uni-paderborn.de, and ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk.  Although distance is mostly
irrelevent with the Internet, it is best to try the sites closest to you
first. You will save a little time, and more importantly, save a distant
connection for someone who perhaps needs one.  Who Ya Gonna Call?
    Here are some more Amiga BBS's you may want to check out.  NAME:
ICON BBS PHONE: [phone] SPEEDS SUPPORTED: Up to 28,800 bps CONTACT:
Marcie Hansen
                [e-mail] NAME: Cleveland Area Amiga Users Group (CAAUG)
PHONE: [phone] SPEEDS SUPPORTED: up to 16.8kbps
CONTACT: CAAUG
                C/O Carl Skala
                18813 Harland Dr.
                Maple Hts., OH 44137-2239 NAME: The Catacomb PHONE: [phone]
SPEEDS SUPPORTED: up to 28.8kbps CONTACT: Geoff Sloan NAME: Mystic Places
PHONE: [phone] SPEEDS SUPPORTED: up to 14.4kbps CONTACT: Don Talbot
Where To Find Me
        R.Hays5 on GEnie
        RHAYS on Delphi
        72764,2066 on CompuServe
        Rob Hays on Portal
    Internet users, I now have a new email address:
[e-mail].
    For U.S.Mail:
        Rob Hays
        P.O.Box 194
        Bloomington, IN 47402
    Please include a SASE if you need a personal reply.
    If you run an Amiga specific BBS, send me the information callers
will need to access your system. Phone number(s), modem speeds, software
settings, etc. As a service to the Amiga community I will include the
information I receive in this column from time to time. Send the info to
any of my addresses above.
    That's all for now. See you On Line!



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Subject: On Line 10-95
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