STiNG 1.15If you're stuck with STiK why not get stuck into STiNG with Dan
Dreibelbis...
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To access Usenet newgroups, download files using the File Transfer
Protocol (FTP), chat to fellow Atarians on-line using Internet
Relay Chat (IRC) and to browse the World Wide Web you need an
internet account, available from any Internet Service Provider
(ISP), suitable client software and a TCP/IP stack.TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
and is a set of rules which keeps a network running by controlling
how information is sent and received. The TCP/IP stack acts as the
negotiator between the ISP and your client software.The first and best-known TCP/IP software is the STiK desktop
accessory. STiK uses the SLIP protocol, which is slowly being
phased out in favour of the more modern Point-to-Point Protocol
(PPP). Some ISPs no longer support SLIP connections so the need
for a TCP/IP which uses the PPP protocol became important. There
are currently several available options:
STiNG (STiK - the Next Generation) can also be used with just
- PPP-Connect
This is bundled with CAB v2.5 and later but unfortunately is
incompatible with all the internet client applications programmed
to work with STiK and, adding insult to injury, it also requires
the MagiC OS.- MiNTNet PPP socket solution
Compatible with STiK clients but requires more than casual
knowledge of MiNT and Minix to configure properly.- STiNG
Programmed by Peter Rottengatter, this package is rapidly
establishing itself as the TCP/IP stack of choice for PPP
connections. STiNG appears to 100% STiK compatible so it works
with existing clients including CAB, NEWsie, aFTP, AtariIRC and
the rest.
about every type of Atari setup including single TOS, MagiC and
Geneva. STiNG can also handle SLIP and CSLIP connections with Van
Jacobsen compression, so there's really nothing to stop any STiK
user switching programs.
STiNG is also designed to network machines together using the
various serial and MIDI ports of each machine but in this review
we're covering its Internet capabilities.STiNG installation
Proceed as follows:
- Install STING.PRG and STING.INF in your AUTO folder. STING.INF
is a configuration file which tells STiNG where its modules and
set-ups are stored.Ensure STING.PRG is towards the end of the running order in your
configuration file, especially after the HSMODEM serial patch
routines (recommended by Peter to obtain the best possible
performance with STiNG), NVDI, MiNT and any multitasking kernel
programs. Use AUTOSORT or other utility to change the actual
running order.
- Create a folder called STING and into it copy all the modules
(files with the STX file extender), DEFAULT.CFG, ROUTE.TAB and
CACHE.DNS.
The STING folder can be located anywhere but STING.INF expects to
find it in the root of drive C: so if you locate it anywhere edit
STING.INF using an ASCII text editor so STiNG finds it on booting.
- Install the three Control Panel eXtensions (CPXs) STING.CPX,
STINGPORT.CPX and STINGPROT.CPX into your CPX folder where your
Control Panel (XControl or equivalent) can find them.
- Locate DIALER.APP and its DIAL.SCR, DIAL.RSC, LOCAL.FEE and
LOGIN.BAT in the same directory. If you're running single TOS you
can place these files in the root directory of your boot partition
and rename DIALER.APP to DIALER.ACC so it runs as a desktop
accessory.
- Reboot to install STiNG and activate the CPXs.
Getting on-line
Choose your ISP carefully. Compare their rates, payment plans,
terms of use, including any long-term contracts and refund
policies. Consider selecting an ISP where Atarians are already
on-line or, where this isn't practical, ask for a trial period or
short term contract to see if it will work with your computer -
watch out for one-time setup fees and find out if this can be
waived if you subsequently take out a longer payment plan.Your chosen ISP should provide you with the necessary details to
access your account along with details such as the nameserver and
proxy server addresses (designed to speed up connection and
downloads for various services provided by your ISP.Ask your ISP for an example PPP login script - this should help
you figure out the necessary prompts and suitable replies for
STiNG's DEFAULT.CFG and DIAL.SCR configuration files. The
alternative way to obtain a login script is to log onto your ISP
using a terminal program, such as Connect or TeddyTerm, with an
active capture buffer. By following the server prompts you should
be able to figure out what each prompt requires.Thankfully, you won't need an ASCII text editor to configure
DEFAULT.CFG and DIAL.SCR because most changes can be made directly
from the Dialer program.
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With the Dialer disabled, you can access various sub-menus and set
up the mechanics of your connection, including your logon prompts
and responses, commands to your modem on starting the dialer,
nameservers, and which protocol you'll be using to log onto your
ISP. Hopefully my setup examples will set you on the right
track...
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You can also configure the Dialer to track how long you've been
online to monitor the cost of each online session - remember to
save your configuration if you make changes and once you have a
working setup make a backup!You do need to load the DEFAULT.CFG file into an ASCII text editor
to make one modification. There are a number of lines at the end
which set how CAB handles proxy servers. If your ISP offers a
proxy server add it here or alternatively disable these entries by
adding preceding hash "#" characters so they are ignored by STiNG.Next open the STiNG Internals CPX and make two modifications:
After saving and rebooting it's time to click on the dialer,
- Click on the box marked Active
- Drag the slider down to 10 - this sets the speed STiNG
- accesses your provider.
activate it, and select the Connect button.
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With a bit of luck the dialer will connect to your ISP, process
your replies to prompts, and ascertain your IP number - assuming
you have a dynamic IP address. Once you get a successful internet
connection you can check out the various internet client software
to see what happens and find programs you're happy with.Personal observations
I've been using STiNG since last October and, compared to STiK, I
find it much faster downloading to the various clients,
particularly NEWsie and CAB. However, mail uploads via NEWSie or
POPwatch take around 15 seconds or so to connect to my mail
server, whereas I remember StiK connecting near instantaneously.I have also found ftp clients including MGftp and aFTP which I
could never get working under STiK work fine with STiNG! Under
STiK these would either not connect to the server or bomb out on
my Falcon (anyone experiencing ftp problems with earlier releases
should try the current release because some problems have been
addressed in this release). AtariIRC (my preferred IRC client),
Forecast, a program which fetches weather information from US
airports works and Infitra, a recently released mail client all
work well.Overall I find STiNG an excellent TCP/IP stack for any Atari user
and best of all the author, Peter Rottengatter, is actively
supporting STiNG with a steady stream of upgrades available from
his web pages and he also takes the time to field questions in the
comp.sys.atari.st Usenet group. STiNG isn't the easiest program to
set but once up and running it's very stable - well worth the
effort.
STiNG v1.15Availability
Peter Rottengatter's web pages:
URL: http://www.stud.uni-hannover.de/~perot/index-e.html
Email: perot@pallas.amp.uni-hannover.deMille Babic's Channel Atari Page:
URL: http://hem1.passengen.se/atari/
Additional help:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/2034/
(this is a repository of tips, tricks, and scripts contributed by
users to help other users).Status
Freeware, but donations acceptedRequires
All Ataris, 1Mb memory minimum
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