This is the 'official' successor to the SD releases of MacPPP. It's still based on Merit's MacPPP 2.0.1 release but there have been several bugs fixed and features added hence the new name. It is also intended to eliminate the confusion over what version of MacPPP does what (one of the reasons for the new name). Since I hate to write (Dammit Jim, I'm a programmer, not a writer!) and FreePPP 1.1 will have extensive documentation changes this document just describes the changes from the MacPPP 2.1.2SD release. Consider this file to be a supplement to the accompanying MacPPP 2.1.2SD docs and be sure to read them also.
•Warnings and Known Problems•
FreePPP currently requires Color QuickDraw which limits it's use to 68020 or better processors (this may be addressed in a future release). It also requires System 7.1 or later.
Do not keep more that one copy of the PPP extension (be it FreePPP's or one of the MacPPP derivatives) on your boot volume. This is because the PPP extension needs to find itself by it's file signature when opening a connection but all MacPPP derivatives currently share the same file signature. If FreePPP mistakenly opens the wrong file bad things will happen.
PowerBook 500 models with internal Global Village Mercury modems (are there actually any other internal modens for these machines?) will lose modem feedback on connection attempts after the first one. Even though there's no modem audio and the GV menu doesn't appear the connection will be made. Re-booting between connections will restore modem feedback. The cause of this problem has not yet been determined.
Both Aaron 1.1.1 (the faux Copeland look extension) and Aladdin's Magic Menu extensions may conflict with FreePPP. If you have them installed and FreePPP crashes while opening a connection, try disabling these extensions first when trying to determine what the conflict is.
Some PowerMac 7200s and 7500s with Virtual Memory turned on have problems with FreePPP crashing - despite the VM changes in the code. What's very strange is the 8500 doesn't seem to have this problem. If this problem happens to you please report if the machine crashes when the connection is opened or if the problem occurs when an application that access the Internet is launched.
The combination of the GeoPort Telecom Adapter/Express Modem software and FreePPP is very unstable on machines with Virtual Memory turned on. At this time it's recommended you turn off VM if you are using a GeoPort TCA.
Be sure to look at the accompanying MacPPP 2.1.2SD docs for other warnings and known problems as well as some common FreePPP/MacPPP FAQs.
•Open Transport Notes•
See the accompanying MacPPP 2.1.2SD docs for OT configuration details but note the following change for Open Transport 1.0.7 - leave the subnet mask field blank. OT 1.0.7 is capable of determining the proper subnet mask when opening a connection. Unfortunately this only happens the first time a connection is made so you may have to re-boot after a closing a session before another one can be succesfully opened.
•Eudora, FreePPP and Open Transport•
Even with FreePPP and OT 1.0.7 you still won't be able to reliably send mail with Eudora due to a bug in OT. This will be fixed in the next release of OT which will either be OT 1.1 or 1.0.8. Watch the comp.sys.mac.comm newsgroup for OT news. It has been reported by some folks that turning on Balloon Help and/or Logging in Eudora will slow it down enough so that messages can be sent so you may want to give it a try.
•What's Fixed in 1.0.1?•
Failure to establish communication problem - John Stephen
The problem with FreePPP 1.0 (and MacPPP 2.1.2SD) where it would get to the "Establishing Communications" phase and then drop the connection for some folks has been fixed.
Password display during connection - Steve Dagley
Due to popular request the text being sent by the connect script is no longer displayed in the FreePPP status window. This should make the folks that got upset seeing their password flashing on the screen happy.
•What's New (since 2.1.2SD)?•
CHAP authentication support - Jim Browne
For service providers that require CHAP authentication for dial-up PPP connections, such as InternetMCI. This feature is enabled by setting the Authentication want/will flags in the LCP Options dialog when setting up your PPP Server configuration in the Config PPP control panel.
New Connection Status window - Rick Reynolds
The Connection Status window is now moveable and allows switching to another application while opening a connection.
Improved Virtual Memory compatability - Alec Carlson, Yan Arrouye, Steve Dagley
FreePPP should be much more stable when Virtual Memory is turned on.
Disable Automatic Connect - Steve Dagley
There is now an option in the Config PPP control panel that prevents automatic connections when a TCP/IP packet is detected. This is analogous (sp?) to the Hard Close command but it's persistant across re-starts. This change also resulted in the elimination of seperate Hard and Soft close buttons. If this option is on then a Close acts as a Hard Close, off and it acts like a Soft Close. This feature still needs some work but should solve >90% of the 'ghost' dialing complaints. If you are using one of the 3rd party utilities to open and close PPP sessions they will probably require an update before they will be able to open a connection with this feature turned on. If you leave it turned off, the utilities should work as before.
Long Re-dial Delay - Steve Dagley
For countries where the phone system requires a delay between re-dials there is now an option in the Config PPP control panel that sets the re-dial delay to 1 minute instead of the default 3 seconds.
Port Speed selection changes - Since most modems don't support a DTE rate (the connection rate between the modem and the computer) of 14400 or 28800 these speeds have been removed from the Port Speed popup. You should always set the DTE rate to at least twice the modem's DCE rate (the connection rate between modems) to allow the modem's data compression feature room to operate. This assumes of course you have a modem that supports data compression but I doubt you'd be surfing the Internet if you didn't.
•What's Next?•
FreePPP 1.1 should be out towards the end of October or first part of November. Definitely planned for this release is support for name and password prompting in a connect script based on Cliff McCollum's work for MacPPP 2.0.1cm4.
•Where can I find updates?•
Check your favorite InfoMac ftp mirror site. All new versions of FreePPP will be posted to the /comm/tcp/ directory. Also watch the comp.sys.mac.comm newsgroup for announcments.
