Hi Nancy,                                                            1/2

     About "TelNet File Transfers" of June 4:

BC> ...that it is not on Craig's end but on your end.
NB> Which telnet client is that?  And is it for DOS?
BC> I use Telix for Windows as my telnet client.  Windows not DOS.
NB} I'm looking for solutions for DOS-telnet.  Straight DOS, DOS 7.1...

     Your statement reads Loud and Clear over here.  :)  One wide-spread
expectation among SysOps is that the BBSers must live with technological
decisions made in their name and you're simply lost in the woods if that
arrangement won't work for you.  8-(  `ZMoDem', for example, comes right
out of a Ready-Made kit for most of us, SysOps or BBSers, and it happens
that the packages created after the DOS era are usually built better for
~TelNet~ use - which is why your typical remedy is to "UpGrade" toward a
`Win 32' system.  %-b,  The mouse/~GUI~ dependent people have a suitable
choice of terminal emulators and we don't.  Yet, i did write you about a
100 % plain DOS `{Commo}'/`ZMoDem' configuration capable of routine (and
decent) transfers in both directions;  i also pointed you at `MS-Kermit'
as a `ZMoDem' alternative, but then your SysOp must be "cooperative" for
this remedy to work at all, i shall confess.  There isn't much i can add
in this departement though i've got more thoughts to share with you.  :)

     Lets have your guru informed about a DOS-friendly class of HardWare
known as "Routers"!  ;^)  Such a device is unlikely to help anyone solve
the `ZMoDem' over ~TelNet~ problem but i believe it still can make one's
life easier.  :-)  This information was revealed to me when i considered
the possibility to "UpGrade" to High-Speed, eventually;  buying a router
should be in order, before anything else, and here's what i found when i
began looking for a perfect router:  most major brands have a model with
at least one ~RS-232~ Serial-Port besides the ~EtherNet~ outlets, euh...
              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                  8-o

     Hummm...  And now you must be wondering, what good is that ~RS-232~
Serial-Port found at the back of a router?  :^)  Well, it makes a DialUp
MoDem (or two!) work for ALL machines tied to a ~LAN~.  ~DSL~, Cable and
DialUp accesses combine in a variety of ways;  in general, the router is
configurable so that a DialUp ~ISP~ is called when activity is initiated
outside your ~LAN~ and/or the main High-Speed MoDem(s) fail...  In a few
models a 2nd DialUp ~ISP~ profile is tried when the 1st doesn't connect;
i saw a `Linux'-based router where even the DialUp script can be edited.

     Considering the expense, this may seem radical but i've got all the
PCs i need and not a single router yet.  If you're like me, relying on a
router instead of `Win 32' for ~PPP~ DialUp access sounds nice;  only, i
must also warn that there's a catch:  BBSers depending on some `W32' AOL
proprietary ~DUN~ application can't hope for relief (but those users are
stuck with 32 Bits OSes anyway), guys wishing to manage their own ~PPP~,
BBS/non-~PPP~ or Fax connections are in a similar situation because only
a few brands like Apple or 3Com dare to claim that their routers are AOL
friendly, etc.  It takes a Mac to configure Apple's router and with 3Com
there probably is no DOS support for a shared MoDem, most unfortunately.

     Should one happen to live in some area like mine, where there's not
one local BBS left to call, and should one have plans for a future High-
Speed "UpGrade", euh...  i wouldn't be worried that the MoDem(s) is(are)
managed by a router or not.  If, on the contrary, High-Speed access just
won't be available anytime soon in your area, i'd argue that a router is
capable of combining a set of MoDems together and it should bring decent
service even to those who depend on poor quality "rocky-type" lines (the
unlucky BBSers though need to be able to afford multiple phone lines and
~ISP~ expense$).  If your guru simply likes the idea of putting your DOS
system behind a HardWare FireWall he may end up reading a bit further...

                                  8-)

     I shown you, in my previous post, that i could connect via a router
and now here's how much LEGACY i can "DownGrade".  StarTech's `STNE2000-
2P' 8-16 Bits ~ISA~/~PnP~ NetWork Interface Card combined to `MS-Kermit'
gives me transfers as fast as 13K3 cps on a P-200 Mhz MMX, 10K9 cps on a
486DX-2/66 Mhz, 9K08 cps on a 386DX-20 Mhz, 3K55 cps on a 286-4 Mhz and,
finally...  2K36 cps on a 8088-4.77 Mhz!  Quite clearly, `MS-Kermit' has
outlived its share of PC generations and this broadens its lifespan even
more (provided one is not facing a `Kermit' basher at the other end).  I
wonder how it's like if a router boosts the 56 Kbps DialUp connection...

     When `Kermit' with ~FOSSIL~ and ~TCP~/~IP~ support was 1st released
(and their corresponding problems corrected) in the mid-nineties, euh...
users were already asked to "UpGrade" back then, business as usual!  The
decade after, it turns out even switching from DialUp access to ~DSL~ or
cable access won't require the typical "UpGrades" people suggest.  I can
BBS without ever having to deal with `ZMoDem' contraptions which bang on
the ~TelNet~ walls if i want:  LEGACY PCs CAN ~TelNet~ & D/L, after all.

     I find that `MS-Kermit' in a ~LAN~ environment can accomplish a lot
more than most of my past correspondants could ever admit;  when my only
remedy is to "UpGrade" the HardWare and/or SoftWare i'm tempted to reply
that there's no objective reason why DOS LEGACY BBSers should suffer for
a lack of alternatives as i know there ARE some!  If a guy doesn't sound
supportive enough remind him how vast the ~TelNet~ planet is and quit...

     For a limited time, mister Sean Dennis has offered `Kermit' support
which was the best around;  if the configuration has been saved it means
his `Maximus' fellows can resume course and then bring it forward.  I've
published some numbers, it's not a matter of who's end it is but of pure
will only and it may be time to remind your SysOp that i offered to help
with `Kermit' user-UpLoads on his BBS, awhile ago!  It might please him.

                                  ;^>

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