<Heading>TeleFinder - MacContent (Affiliated with Arizona Macintosh Users Group "AMUG" - The Melbourne Branch)
<Body Text>For those of us familiar with communications on the micro we have become used to the TTY format of doing things. That is, we are used to a text interface on remote BBS’s which offer menu driven options when we log onto them. In the main this has proved vastly successful, but it has had its disadvantages - especially for those who are new to comms.
Well, there’s now a new boy in town ... and it’s called TeleFinder. TeleFinder BBS’s are a relatively recent phenomenon, and until lately the only way you could try out the TeleFinder experience was by ringing the nearest BBS in Sydney. However two public spirited guys (Paul Liu and Paul Chow) have now set up a TeleFinder board, called MacContent, in Melbourne ... with a CD-ROM attached and close to 1 gigabyte of PD software available.
<Subhead>Icon Driven
<Body Text>What’s so different about TeleFinder you ask? Icon’s and a standard Mac interface is what. Yes dear readers, (I was a Kipling freak in my younger days) connecting to TeleFinder is like connecting to your hard disk. You get a Finder-like interface, from which you can view files, enter message areas, play with graphics and generally operate as if it were your own Mac.
Naturally it’s slower than the stand alone Mac ... cos it runs at a 2400 baud (bits per second) rate. But what comms package isn’t? However, if you stand it up against the performance of the normal comms packages (ZTerm, White Knight, Microphone et alia) it offers comparable performance despite the graphics overheads ... and those overheads are substantial.
Yes, guys ... you can actually see the remote hard disk/CD-ROM mounted on your desktop. Yes ... you can actually open folders and see the icons normally used for representing applications on your disk. Yes ... you can drag those icons onto your hard disk and watch as they are copied onto it. And all this with the source hard disk being miles away from where you are sitting. The same applies for uploads to the BBS. It’s just a matter of dragging the icons.
The messaging and chat systems are also really nifty and elegant (once you get used to them). Chatting with the sysop is a real experience. Whilst he is messaging you, you can be drafting your reply in a text box provided for the purpose.(Remember to cut your previous messages out of the text entry box after you’ve sent them ... I was a real nerk on my first attempt.)
The normal facility for spontaneous message sending and receipt is also available. But messaging can also be planned and scheduled. Step 1 : pick up all your messages, log off after your session is complete, and read them. Step 2 : draft replies in the TeleFinder package offline and tag them for the next connect session. Step 3 : dial back on your next session and quickly upload all your messages and replies. The software can automatically schedule this for you as part of the next login and connect procedure. Simple .. and very time efficient.
(Subhead>A PD feast
<Body Text>The sysops of MacContent haven’t stinted with setting up the board. (Thanks also to help from Choice Systems)
As stated, they have a CD-ROM attached which can give access to up to 600 megabytes of PD software at any one time. And they have got some nifty disks of software.
From what I was told we’re looking at most of the PD software released to date, the Apple Developers CD ROM (I could be wrong about that one) and a heap of miscellaneous software which totals 1 gigabyte (1000 megabytes). Due to the fact that they have (only!) one CD-ROM drive at the moment they are limited (!) to the capacity of a single CD-ROM at any given time (600 megabytes) ... but if you manage to catch one of the sysops when you log on they might mount the desired CD for you.
Note : the coming upgrade to the AUSOM BBS is also going to provide CD-ROM access to members .... if I remember correctly from what Ross Sheehy told me. A heap of other goodies should also become available as the upgrade progresses. Ross did mention 1 gigabyte of disk space - CD and conventional hard disk.
<Subhead>TTY if you want it.
<Body Text>If you’re more comfortable using a TTY BBS then you can log onto MacContact using ZTerm, White Knight or any of the normal comms packages. In such case the BBS acts like a normal TTY bulletin board. Simply set your modem at 2400 baud (V22bis), and dial 848-2915. Once connected you’ll get pretty much the same response as on the AUSOM BBS for example.
The first thing I’d suggest you download is the TeleFinder software for MacContent ... because TeleFinder is the real experience. (The TeleFinder software for MacContent is also available on the AUSOM BBS if you wish to make your first connect a TeleFinder contact.)
<Subhead>BBS Networking
<Body Text>There’s always a downside isn’t there? At the moment the BBS isn’t linked into any of the major networks (FidoNet etc.) like the AUSOM BBS. I’ve been told that this is on the agenda for the future, but due to time constraints hasn’t been implemented yet. Despite this, the board offers a lot not presently offered on current BBS’s in Australia ... and at a VERY reasonable cost.
<Subhead>Cost and Registration.
<Body Text>The guys aren’t in it for the money ... that’s for sure!
To register on MacContent download the requisite forms from the board, and fill them out, uploading them on your next session. The cost of registration is presently only $5 per annum ... and is basically necessary to cover the software licensing. The address for the cheques is on the registration form.
Registration entitles you to 45 minutes connect time per loggon. Your user priveleges can be upgraded for about $30 and/or the service you provide to the BBS ... by answering messages and requests for help from other users, uploading files and doing all the normal things a public spirited BBS user does. This is a hell of a lot better deal than Sydney’s TeleFinder BBS ... for a hell of a lot more in service and facilities.
<Subhead> Conclusions
<Body Text>MacContent is an exciting addition to the BBS’s in Melbourne, and deserves user support for both its innovation and general concept.
TeleFinder is a BBS system which points the way to communications on the Mac in the future. With ISDN we may be able to direct connect over thousands of miles about 15 years in the future, accessing the remote system with the same speed as if it were our own ... but for now, TeleFinder offers the closest approximation of what this will be like. It is truly communications ‘The Macintosh Way’.
