html HyperText This is a WWW hypertext document. To
Markup view this file, you will need a WWW
Language browser of some kind. See Section 6.=
8
for more information on WWW.
.doc Document This file could be a word processing =
file
from a program like Word for Windows,=
Wordperfect, or any other word proces=
sor.
Also, some text files that contain
documentation use this extension.
.cvt GEOS file GEOS files use a special file format.=
The
files are called USR files, but they =
have
special information in the file that
normal files don't, so you cannot jus=
t
upload a GEOS file like any SEQ or PR=
G
file. You can pack all the extra
information and the data into a regul=
ar
Commodore SEQ or PRG file with a prog=
ram
Called Convert. It has a version 2.5=
and
a 3.0. The files that result from th=
is
conversion have the extension. The f=
ile
must be processed again by Convert be=
fore
it can be used with GEOS.
.N64 64NET file Since the 64NET system works by allow=
ing
an MS-DOS machine to be used as a lar=
ge
disk drive, a way was developed to ma=
p
CBM filenames into the MS-DOS limitat=
ions.
The .N64 filenames indicates such a f=
ile.
+ .D71 64NET GEOS File These are 64NET extensions used to
+ .D81 emulate a 1571 and 1581 disk drive,
+ respectively, under GEOS.
If the file type indicates an archive, there are many programs availabl=
e
that will handle most archival methods. One of these is called Omega-Q =
II,
which includes one-stop compression and decompression of many of the ab=
ove
archival types.
If you use a host system to download the files from, you may want to
decompress the files before downloading. Even though the files will be
larger to download, the time to decompress them offline will not be a
factor. However, those who pay by-the-minute for download time would
probably want the smallest possible file, which implies decompressing o=
n
the local machine, except in the case of a UU encoded file. These file=
s
are actually bigger in the 'UU' format.
=0C
--
Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)(offlin=
e sig)
j.brain@ieee.org "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my empl=
oyer"
Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times!=
-Me-
Jim Brain: BII, VR, and CBM info
#! rnews 33295
Path: pravda.aa.msen.com!conch.aa.msen.com!not-for-mail
From: brain@mail.msen.com (Jim Brain)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 5/9
Supersedes:
Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm
Date: 13 Aug 1996 00:47:27 -0400
Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc.
Lines: 744
Sender: brain@msen.com
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
Expires: 05 Sep 1996
Message-ID:
Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com
Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface=
in
comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your
computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This f=
ile
should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to th=
e
group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently
active in comp.sys.cbm.
Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem
X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/
X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.08
Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p5
Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part5
News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part5
Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part5
Version: 3.1
Last-modified: 1996/08/12
=09
-----------------------------------------------------------------------=
----
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
6.5. What is electronic mail?
6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one?
6.5.2. What is a Mail Server? How do I use one?
6.5.3. How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.?
6.6. What is USENET or NetNews? What is a USENET newsgroup?
6.6.1. What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
6.6.2. What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm?
6.6.3. Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly?
6.6.4. How do I post in comp.sys.cbm?
| 6.6.5. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through email?
+ 6.6.6. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through WWW?
6.7. What is a FidoNET echo?
6.7.1. What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
6.7.2. How do I post in an echo?
6.8. What is the World Wide Web?
6.8.1. What WWW sites have Commodore information?
6.8.2. What Sites have Telnet WWW Browsers?
6.9. What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)?
6.9.1. What FTP sites have Commodore Information?
6.9.2. What is an FTP Mail Server? How do I use one?
6.9.3. How do I send files to an FTP site?
6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)?
6.11. What else is available online?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------=
----
6.5. What is electronic mail?
Electronic mail is the online equivalent of post office mail. Although
email is a general term, its use is usually meant to mean "Internet ema=
il".
To use email, you must have access to an internet email program. On UN=
IX,
these programs are called mail, elm, or pine. BBS systems usually have=
a
special message area for Internet email. You address a message to a us=
er
by using his or her internet email address, which is usually of the for=
m
name@machine_name.doamin_name.type_of_institution_or_country. An examp=
le
would be brain@mail.msen.com, which would be user "brain" at machine "m=
ail"
in doamin "msen" and the type "com" which means company or commercial.
After addressing the message and choosing a sutiable subject, the body =
of
the message is written with information meaningful to the addressee.
Usually this information is textual in nature and reads much like a
personal letter.
It is possible to mail people binary files. To do this, you need acces=
s
to a program called uuencode. Most, if not all UNIX machines have this
command available, and there are versions available for IBM, Amiga, and
Macintosh. There is also a version of uuencode available for the
Commodore 64 and 128 as part of the ACE 128/64 OS replacement. (See sec=
tion
8.3) The uuencode program takes a binary file and expands it so that
it only contains 7-bit ASCII characters. This resulting file can then =
be
mailed to a recipient, who then uses a similar program called uudecode
that will transform the uuencoded file into the resulting binary file.
This encoding technique is a standard one used across multiple platform=
s.
If you want to send a file to another Commodore owner, you can use bcod=
e,
which is a Commodore-specific encoding available in ACE 128/64.
6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one?
A mailing list is similar to a USENET newsgroup like comp.sys.cbm, in t=
hat
it provides a place for people to talk among each other and ask questio=
ns.
The difference is that the mechanism used is mail. You mail a message =
off
to the list, the message then gets sent out to all members of that list=
,
they read and reply to the list, and the process repeats. It is used f=
or
topics that are considered temporary or topics that have a limited scop=
e and
may not sustain an entire newsgroup being devoted to them. It may also
be used when people want to privately discuss some issue.
There are a number of Commodore 8-bit mailing lists for you to join:
cbm-unix - This is a list devoted to the discussion of alternate operat=
ing
systems for the Commodore line that have the familiar UNIX
shell look-and-feel. You can join this one by sending mail t=
o
mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message:
subscribe cbm-unix Jim Brain