¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢ PRO Rides Again!¢ by Alan Sharkis¢ Editor, OHAUG Newsletter¢¢ It isn't difficult to notice that the¢ number of BBSs running on Atari 8-bit¢ machines has been decreasing¢ steadily, and that networking on the¢ remaining BBSs has certainly dried¢ up. However, recent announcements¢ in the¢ comp.sys.atari.8bit¢ ¢ newsgroup and in the mailing list to¢ which I subscribe give me hope that¢ the trend may soon reverse itself.¢¢ First a little background. I began¢ calling BBSs in 1985 or so. At that¢ time, the BBSs ran on many hardware¢ platforms. Atari was heavily¢ represented, with software like BBS¢ Express and Express PRO, Carina,¢ FoReM and Oasis on the 8-bit side,¢ and Michtron, ST PRO and others on¢ the ST side. FidoNet, which ran¢ principally on PCs, and was the¢ biggest network of all, had several¢ "echoes" (their term for message¢ bases) devoted to Atari computing.¢ Networking soon began to be a reality¢ on boards running Atari 8-bit¢ software as well. In addition,¢ information services like Delphi,¢ Compuserve and GEnie saw great¢ expansions in the activity of thier¢ Atari-related message and file bases.¢ Certainly not to be overlooked were¢ the brave souls who wrote and ran¢ their own 8-bit based BBS software --¢ guys like BOB PUFF and our own FRANK¢ WALTERS. Frank's board, T.A.C.O.¢ Bell BBS, is still up and running¢ today, at (850) 785-2333.¢¢ Although the Internet, through its¢ various components predated many of¢ those Atari BBSs and their networks,¢ it didn't seem to make a dent in¢ their activity until the¢ popularization of the World Wide Web.¢ Ironically, while the Web really¢ doesn't compete directly with the¢ BBSs, its popularity brought Internet¢ e-mail, Usenet Newsgroups, mailing¢ lists and IRC to the point where¢ these components began to steal many¢ callers from the BBSs.¢¢ Ironically too, an older, more¢ primitive component of the Internet,¢ called Telnet, is the reason I'm¢ writing this column today. The idea¢ behind Telnet is simple. While¢ connected to your ISP, whether¢ graphically in a Web browser or¢ through a simple terminal program and¢ a Unix "shell" connection, you can¢ contact a "telnettable" bbs anywhere¢ in the world for the cost of a local¢ phone call. If you're using a PC¢ with a Web browser, a window with a¢ simple terminal program pops up when¢ you type in a telnet address. If¢ you're using a shell connection, you¢ type in the same thing, and the ISP's¢ PINE program will take you where you¢ want to go. For example, if you're¢ at the prompt for a URL and you¢ type:¢¢ telnet://bbs.docsplace.org¢¢ you're connected to Doc's Place¢ BBS in Clearwater, FL, which carries¢ all of the Fido echoes, including the¢ Atari 8-bit echo. I've been doing¢ that since my relatively local BBS¢ got disconnected from Fidonet¢ somehow, and I'm able to participate¢ in the echo.¢¢ The rights to PRO, until recently,¢ were owned by BOB KLAAS. Bob had¢ programmers working on a new version,¢ the so-called PRO GOLD, but tired of¢ the effort and sold the rights to¢ LANCE RINGQUIST of Video 61. Lance¢ got other programmers to work on a¢ number of projects, but was receiving¢ almost daily requests from people in¢ the newsgroup and the mailing list to¢ put some effort into reviving PRO. A¢ few days ago, there was a simple¢ announcement that a new incarnation¢ of TOM HUNT's PRO BBS -- Closer To¢ Home -- was up and running,¢ telnettable, and its telnet address¢ is:¢¢ telnet://cth.tzo.com¢¢ It turns out that this version is not¢ running on an Atari, but is running¢ in emulation on a PC. However, when¢ you connect to it, it looks and¢ responds just like a PRO BBS. Talk¢ about nostalgia! But this goes way¢ beyond a nostalgic look back. This¢ is a test version of what had been¢ called PRO Gold, but which Lance is¢ now calling version 6.0b. It will be¢ sold to Atari 8-bit sysops for $35¢ (new installs), and $15 as an upgrade¢ to an existing PRO node. Target date¢ for the release will be some time in¢ April. The modified versions of the¢ Atari800 and Atari800Win emulators¢ that can run it on a PC. will also be¢ made available. Since these emulator¢ programs are freeware, the modified¢ versions of them shoud also be¢ freeware.¢¢ So, who did the coding modifications¢ for the emulators? Tom modified the¢ code of Atari800 _AND_ is sysop-ing!¢ He'll often break in to chat with¢ you. If you can't connect, have¢ patience and try again. At this¢ time, the BBS is set for single-user¢ only, and if it doesn't connect to¢ you, it means that somebody else is¢ currently calling the BBS.¢¢ At this point, if you use an Atari 8-¢ bit to telnet to Closer To Home, your¢ session will look as if you were¢ calling a PRO BBS via the telephone.¢ One piece of advice, however. If you¢ call with a PC running Windows 95 or¢ 98, set your Telnet software to be¢ Hyperterminal and put Hyperterminal¢ in its ANSI emulation. You'll be¢ glad you did! If you are or ever¢ were a sysop, especially a PRO¢ sysop, you'll really get a thrill out¢ of this demo!¢¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢¢
