Subject: Re: The Net on a 64 Date: 23 Sep 1999 21:49:01 GMT From: mwalters@news.hunter.apana.org.au (Marc Walters) Organization: APANA Hunter Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm References: 1 DJ Barber (c64@mailandnews.com) wrote: : For those who know this, how do you get on to the internet with a 64/128? : D. Barber Your end: 1) modem 2) C64 3) modem interface (rs232) for the userport, or a Uart cartridge for the cartridge port. CMD sells the Turbo232 cartridge which provides a decent (and fast) PC-style 9-pin serial port. 4) Terminal emulation software (with at least VT100 term emul). One of the best for the 64 is Novaterm. Version 9.5 is shareware, the better v9.6 can be purchased from CMD. The ISP's end: 1) Unix shell access. This is available if the ISP uses unix OS for their server. 2) Useful unix utilities for handling email (pine), news (tin, nn), text editing (pico, vi, emacs (ho ho), WWW (lynx). If they offer shell access but for some idiotic reason don't offer anything more useful than telnet, then you can still use their telnet service to connect to a decent ISP which DOES offer the good stuff (pine, lynx, etc). A decent book would help too, such as Gaelyne Gasson's "The Internet for the C64/128". Check out http://www.videocam.net.au/ for more info on that publication, which is pretty much essential for those new to accessing the Internet with their C64 or C128s. For the record, I use a C64, CMD Turbo232, Novaterm 9.6 and 28.8Kbps modem. My ISP offers a unix shell account will pine, tin, lynx, etc. Marc mwalters@bombadil.apana.org.au --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: The Net on a 64 Date: 24 Sep 1999 13:41:02 GMT From: prof90@hotmail.com.nospam Organization: Chebucto Community Net Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Like a previous poster, I am on the net with a 28.8 modeem and a Swiftlink interface. However, when I instead use my 1670 C= modem at 1200 bps, there is not a significant drop in on screen speed. I agree that Novaterm is excellent- a synthetic c80columns on the c64 that is actually usable- and a real 80 columns on the 128. So: You can get on the Net with a 300 bps C= modem, and a free ware version of Novaterm and a c64, if you can find a shell provider. Or spend $2000 for a pc. John Elliott --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: The Net on a 64 Date: 26 Sep 1999 01:09:21 GMT From: prof90@hotmail.com.nospam Organization: Chebucto Community Net Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm To reply to the previous post: Novaterm creates 80 columns I think by drawing each letter- but it is much faster than Geos in doing so. In any event, it does not use the built in screen font, but delivers 80 columns on a normal screen- no horizontal scrolling required. Depending on your monitor, the letters are _very slightly_ flakey. Colour adjustment can fix most of that. I think there might be also one other word processor for the c64 that gives 80 columns without horizontal scrolling. Not sure which one. If you have a 128, the programme runs in the 64 portion, but uses the rgb 80 column screen with true screen fonts- looks much better. Note: there is a beta 128 Novaterm in development. I use an old 386 sx 20 mhz with Netscape 3 to look at pictures or attached Wordperfect format documents. I prefer my c64 at 28.8 with Novaterm and my 2 meg non-volatile ram disk. Speed of access, use, and ability to quickly grab text, turn off the computer, and use later. John Elliott --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: The Net on a 64 Date: 26 Sep 1999 00:07:01 -0500 From: Cameron Kaiser Organization: Eight Bit Subversives Planning To Replace All PCs with C64s, Inc. Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm References: 1 , 2 kragen@dnaco.net (Kragen Sitaker) writes: >>I agree that Novaterm is excellent- a synthetic c80columns on the c64 that >>is actually usable- and a real 80 columns on the 128. >Does it scroll left and right? Is that what you mean by 'synthetic'? No. It uses what's commonly called "soft 80" where 80 columns are simulated on the high res screen with 4x8 characters and a custom driver. It's visible 80 columns, but it's subject to the limitations of high res (i.e. being 4x8, two characters in the same 8x8 cell must have the same foreground and background colours, etc.), so it's not the 80 columns with individual, 8x8 characters you would get out of the VDC or a PC. Soft 80 is not uncommon on the 64. COMPUTE! released two drivers for it that I know of (Screen-80 and 64 Eighty, the former being more common but the latter is far more superior and functional). I think ACE now supports it, and just about every modern terminal program does too. I use Kermit 64 as my terminal program and it also has VDC and soft-80 modes, just like Novaterm. >>So: You can get on the Net with a 300 bps C= modem, and a free ware >>version of Novaterm and a c64, if you can find a shell provider. >> >>Or spend $2000 for a pc. >Actually, you can get a decent low-end PC for $299 now without a >monitor (and a rather poor monitor costs around $150), at least in the >US. See e.g. http://www.buypogo.com/products/dekaf.html (300MHz K6-2, >32MB PC100 SDRAM, 4.3GB HDD, no CD-ROM, no sound, no monitor) for >one example. Sure, but that's no fun. Part of keeping my net connection on the 128 is getting to watch my friends say, "you read your mail with *what*?" PCs are coming down in prices, sure. But who cares? (Besides, I want a G4. >:-) -- Cameron Kaiser * ckaiser@stockholm.ptloma.edu * posting with a Commodore 128 personal page: http://calvin.ptloma.edu/~spectre/ ** Computer Workshops: games, productivity software and more for C64/128! ** ** http://www.armory.com/~spectre/cwi/ **