"A review of two comms boards by tomorrow morning, with pictures
please."
However, you can't have this, as I've discovered. Here's why - all boards take at least 24hours to validate new users. I tried hundreds, and none of the sysops were available for hassling. Sigh.
So what you get is:
"The return of the Comms column, with lots of numbers to try and stuff like that. With pictures."
Sorry. If you don't like it, by all means use the comms article written by IMoran that Green should have told you about. Since you didn't call back about IMoran's article, I've assumed that you need this particular article, so I've stayed up half the night to do it.
p.s.
There are three IFF pictures as illustrations, and one JPEG for general artwork if you need it.
Comms
------
It's back! The return of the column that connects you to the real world. Join John Armitage as his makes the connection.
DON'T READ THIS
Apparently you aren't interested in the subject of this article. In fact, statistically, you aren't even reading this sentence. Why? Because all the answers to our readership surveys show us that Comms is a subject of "minority interest", and basically no one could give a monkeys about it.
I find this very strange, because if you are reading this magazine you have at least a passing interest in the Amiga beyond games. You may be interested in graphics, programming, sound and music... the kind of stuff that makes the Amiga different from a Sega or a Nintendo.
So what do you when you want to get hold of the latest news on your specialist subject? Well, there's CU Amiga of course - but unfortunately, we can only produce one magazine a month. Apparently there are other Amiga magazines available too, but the less said about them the better.
What you need is an up-to-the-second source of news, a wealth of free software and a forum where you can meet other like-minded Amiga users. In short, you need to get into comms.
COMMS
Comms has a strange aura about it: something dark, mysterious and probably featuring a lot of anoraks. Perhaps there was a time when this was true, but now anyone who knows how to use a telephone can get on-line. In fact, getting on-line is even easier than using a telephone, because you don't even have to dial a number by hand.
There are two things you need before you can join in the hidden world of Amiga comms: software and hardware. The software you need is all in the Public Domain or is Shareware, so next time you order some disks from a PD library, ask for a copy of NComm or JRComm as well.
Beside the Amiga, the hardware you need is a modem - the device which interfaces your Amiga to the telephone network. Practically all modems connect to a computer via the serial port, and as the Amiga uses the RS232 standard you can be sure that any modem will work, be it for the Amiga or a PC. Before you open yor wallet, perhaps the best way to get started is to borrow a modem from a friend. Once you get hooked you can buy your own, and you'll be pleased to know they the simplest units cost little more than external floppy disk drives.
DIAL IN
So with hardware connected and software in the drive, what next? Nothing could be simpler - run the software, and you'll be greeted with a standard terminal-like display. Try typing ATZ and return - if your modem is operating correctly it will reply OK. If it doesn't work, try altering the BAUD rate settings from the Comms software's pull-down menus.
(figure 1 - com1.iff - here, please)
Caption "Altering the comms software to use a suitable Baud rate is only a matter of using a pull-down menu. Here the rather pedestrian value of 2400 has been selected."
Now you're ready to try a Bulletin Board. For this example, I'm dialling a board called 'Lightfingers Place'. I've never used this board before, I simply picked up the telephone number somewhere and decided to give it a try.
After instructing the software to dial 0202 485723, in a few seconds and some strange whining tones we're greeted with a display like figure 2.
(figure 2 - com2.iff - here, please)
Caption: "After logging on to Lightfingers Place, you're terminal software will hopefully produce a display such as this.
Lots of text and instructions will appear on the screen. Don't panic, think logically and you'll be able to answer all the questions (about the most taxing is 'what is your date of birth'). The information you enter is for the Systems Operator's eyes only, and by providing it you are registering as a potential user of the board. Don't worry - you won't receive junk mail or bills, it's nothing more than a precaution.
You'll also be asked to pick a password - pick an obscure one, but don't forget it. This Bulletin Board will also provide you with a special log-in number. Make a note of it, and use it next time you log in to speed up the process.
IN THE SYSTEM
Now that you are inside the system, you should see your options displayed on a menu screen, like this:
(figure 3 - com3.iff - here, please)
Caption: "Each feature of the Bulletin Board is reached with a single keypress from menu screens like this one."
As you are a first time user, you will not have been registered and several important options will not be available to you. However, by the same time the next day you'll have been given your security clearance and will be granted access to the deeper areas of the board.
Next Month (if you want)
Access granted: deeper and deeper into the Bulletin Board system with John Armitage. Free software is only one of the many things he finds there.
Box out:
NUMBER, PLEASE.
Want to try out some more Bulletin Boards? Here's a list of other boards for you to try.
