Dream 42/Amiga_Dream_42.iso/RiscPC/Internet/Connexion/SPak.spk/Docs_StarterFAQ

Text File | 1994-12-07 | 11.2 KB | 304 lines

          ************************************************************
          * An Internet Starter Pack - For ACORN RISC OS 3 Computers *
          ************************************************************


FAQ & Starter Pack Version 1.01 December 1994
---------------------------------------------

Legalities & Disclaimer
-----------------------
Copyright 1994 Dr Alan Hassey. ([e-mail])
This document is freely distributable in unmodified form.

The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of information
contained in this document. It is provided without express or implied
warranty or guarantee and its contents may be changed without notice.

If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements or
alterations, then please contact me at [e-mail]
                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Guide / FAQ / Manual
========================

Introduction
------------
This Guide is a short and friendly introduction to The Internet for
Acorn RISC OS 3 computer users. The Guide is written primarily for those
connecting to the Internet via Demon. Most Acorn users seem to have a found
a home of sorts at Demon and most of the help, advice and software you
will need is there. (Though not from Demon Support!).
The main aim of the guide is to get you up and running with your
Acorn computer in the minimum possible time and with the minimum fuss.

The guide is not comprehensive and will not tell you everything you
always wanted to know about the net...but it will tell you enough to
configure your computer and a basic set of software. You will not need
any special technical skills to follow the guide or configure your
system. If I can manage it, then so can you!

This guide can be posted to Demon, Hensa, Stuttgart, Arcade BB, TWOC BB
and anywhere else it might prove useful. (Pass-it-on!)

The Starter Pack software & guide will only be posted to Demon & Arcade BB

(ref ftp.demon.co.uk - in directory /pub/archimedes/acorn-starter-pak)
                       (files are HelloDemon, sparkplug & StarterPak)
(ref ARCADE BBS = 0181 654 2212)

initially. Once you are connected, all the software, help and support you
need is available via the Demon Internet FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site;

ftp.demon.co.uk - in directory /pub/archimedes

Unfortunately, Demon Support seem to know almost nothing about
Acorn computers. The best place to get help and advice is probably via
the newsgroups (see below). The group demon.ip.support.archimedes is
particularly helpful.

Starter Kit Software
--------------------

The software described below may not be the "best" or most elegant
way of accessing Demon Internet, but it all works and is fairly simple
to configure. New software for accessing the Internet apears nearly
every week. I will make no attempt to keep the Starter-Pack up-to-date
with every version change etc, but will review it with major version changes
and when important new software is released, stable and documented.

I would welcome your comments about the Starter-Pack and how it could
be improved. If you have specific comments about the software, then please
address these to the appropriate author.

You will need;

!TCPIP
!NewsDir
!TTFN
!NewsBase
!Slipdial
!SerialDev
!SparkPlug

!Sparkplug is a great little program for unpacking files. It is supplied
as a self-extracting basic program in the starter-pack. Double-click over
the basic program Spark to extract, it will unpack itself and place itself
in your root directory.
Double-click on the !SparkPlug icon to load it onto the icon-bar. To unpack
everything else, drop their icons onto !SparkPlug on the icon-bar. You will
use this program time and again to unpack archives from the Internet. The
latest version can be found by ftp in /pub/archimedes/utils.

Let's Go !!!
------------
Before you start, you MUST know;

1. Your nodename (mine is midwife)
2. Your IP address (mine is 158.152.38.98)
3. Your password (keep it a secret!)

Create a directory to store all your Internet applications in;
eg. ADFS::IDEdisc4.$.Internet
    SCSI::HardDisc5.$.Comms
Unpack (use !Sparkplug for this) the programs into your
Internet directory.

When you have finished, your directory structure should look like this;

ADFS::IDEDisc4.$.Internet (directory)

!TTFN               application
!NewsBase                "
!TCPIP                   "
!TCPIPUser               "
!Slipdial                "
Documents             the FAQs

!SerialDev & !Sparkplug may reside in this directory if you wish, as may
any other files or directories. When you have connected to the Internet
you may wish to add other applications (eg !gopher & the various World-Wide
-Web fetchers) so this directory could become quite large quite quickly.


1. !TCPIP (KA9Q) & !TCPIPUser
-----------------------------

TCP = Transmission Control Protocol, IP = Internet Protocol = TCPIP

TCPIP is your interface with the Internet. It receives and sends messages
to and from the Internet and RISC OS applications. TCPIP must be carefully
configured before you can use it. The programs share information - so be
wary of making changes anywhere! If you want to experiment, then keep a
COMPLETE backup of your Internet directory somewhere safe...you have
been warned!

Double click select over !TCPIPUser to run the application configuration
program. You need to alter !Setup with your own details (see egSetup).
When done, double-click on !Config & the !TCPIP suite should be right
for you. You have now done the most difficult bit!

(ref !Setup = !TCPIPUser.Install.!Setup & egSetup)
(ref !Config = !TCPIPUser.Install.!Config)

For more detail - see the help files etc written by Adam Goodfellow and
enclosed in the Starter-Pack tcpip201 directory (!ReadMe, History & Notes).

2. !NewsBase
-------------
NewsBase works with TTFN to process news and mail. The NewsBase program
basically splits the downloaded news file into separate messages.
The news file is often referred to as a "news batch", and the process
of splitting it up is often referred to as "debatching".

Double-click on !NewsBase to load it onto the icon bar. When you run
this program for the first time it will open the setup/config options
automatically. The main setup screen is available by clicking menu
over the NewsBase icon on the icon-bar. 6 sub-options are available;

1. Site
2. General
3. Transports
4. Groups
5. Configure Users
6. Filters

The detailed documentation with NewsBase describes the setup and
functions in great detail and is well-written.

(ref !NewsBase documentation = !NewsBase.!Help & !NewsBase.Docs &
                               !NewsBase.Support.nesbase.welcome)

I have listed below a few newsgroups you might want to subscribe to;

demon.ip.support.archimedes
demon.announce
demon.archives.announce
demon.news
comp.sys.acorn*             (This will give you all the acorn groups)
news.announce.newusers

A full list of newsgroups available via Demon can be obtained by ftp to;
ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/news/active.zip (or active.Z)

3. !TTFN
---------

This is the news & mail reader provided to work with NewsBase. Its
setup screen is accessed via adjust from the icon-bar. Setup is very
easy and the documentation provided is very good.

(ref !TTFN documentation = !TTFN.Docs.UserGuide)

4. !Slipdial
-------------

Slipdial is your dialler program. It will run a script (default is
demon) which will connect you to the Demon PoP of your choice, then
autoboot !TCPIP to connect you to Internet. When you disconnect from
Internet, the default script will load !TTFN & !NewsBase, commence
debatching news & mail and advise you when your news and mail is ready
to read.

The first time you run !Slipdial, you will be asked for basic configuration
information in a series of dialogue boxes as follows;

1. Enter serial Block Driver Name - type internal
      (or sp_dual if you have the dual serial card or sp_dualpc with
       standard PC-style modem cables.)
2. Enter serial Port Number (if relevant) - type 0
3. Enter Your Modem>Computer Speed (bps) - type 57600 (eg. for Sportster)

   For more information on modems & modem-speeds, see the accompanying FAQ
   (AcornFAQ) section 8a,b & c. In general, any V32bis 14400 modem could be
   set to 57600. If in doubt, set it to 0 - which always works, and ask for
   detailed advice from Demon Support or via the newsgroups.

4. Enter your Demon Nodename; - (eg. mine is midwife)
5. Enter your password - type it in (never send this to ANYBODY else)
6. Enter Your Mercury PIN - type 131,xxxxxxxxxx (plus 10-digit No.)
                         or type 132 if using the newer 132 service.

   This is only relevant if you have a Mercury account, otherwise press
   return & leave the dialogue-box empty. You can always amend the
   demonconfg file (see below) later if you get a Mercury account.

This information will be used to create a file called demonconfg,
which you can view/edit in the scripts subdirectory.

(ref demonconfg = !Slipdial.Scripts.demonconfg)

To check or change the !Slipdial default script, click menu over the
!Slipdial icon & select choices. The default script will appear in the
dialogue box in the format;

Slipdial:demon

The Auto-run button should be ticked. You can choose to run other scripts

eg. Slipdial:myscript

or you can deselect the Auto-run facility.


5. !SerialDev
--------------

The serial device drivers should be unpacked and the application
!SerialDev placed in your root directory (eg ADFS::IDEDisc4.$.!SerialDev).

(ref !SerialDev = SerialDev.!SerialDev)

You should always use the latest version of the drivers which are
available from demon in /pub/archimedes/blockdrivers
They are a resource used by other applications which need to be able
to "see" them - hence put them in your root directory, or if this is too
untidy for you - then in your comms directory.

The serial port on your computer can cause problems, especially if you
have an early RISC OS 3 machine. Various patches and modules are available
to help remedy these problems - please refer to The AcornFAQ in the
documents directory sections 8a & b.

That's it - you are now ready to go!!!

Have fun and please let me know how the ACORN RISC OS 3 Internet
Starter-Pack could be improved :-)


Acknowledgements
-----------------

To all the s/w authors who agreed to the inclusion of their programs
in the Starter-Pack;

1. Robert Orwin for !TTFN
2. Graham Allen for !Slipdial & !NewsBase
3. Adam Goodfellow, Anthony Frost & Jonathan Naylor for !TCPIP
4. David Pilling for !SparkPlug
5. Hugo Fiennes for !SerialDev
6. Alan Fitch for the !Slipdial Demon script

To Kevin Quinn for the Acorn FAQ.
To everybody who reviewed it and to you for using it.


Comments & queries about specific software should be addressed to the
authors as follows;

1. !TTFN                     [e-mail]
2. !NewsBase                 [e-mail]
3. !Slipdial                 [e-mail]
4. !Slipdial scripts         [e-mail]
5. !TCPIP & !TCPIPUser       [e-mail]
6. !SerialDev                [e-mail]
7. AcornFAQ                  [e-mail]
8. StarterFAQ                [e-mail]



                             Alan Hassey
                             ===========

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