clrk@unm-ivax.UUCP (07/15/83)
To: Dave Selkowitz Tektronix Wilsonville, OR
Subject: Apple Terminal Emulation Programs
I have not used ASCII Express but SOFTERM gets my vote. (I take it for
granted that anyone using an Apple II as a terminal to UNIX will have a
good 80-column card and a good lower case adapter.)
When I got SOFTERM I had just obtained a Microbuffer II-S from Practical
Peripherals; the printer would not work with any of the SOFTERM printer
drivers (they did not have one specifically for the Microbuffer, either
serial or parallel). I phoned Softronics and upon explaining my problem
the man gave me the name of one of their programmers. I called him. He
said he hadn't seen the Microbuffer yet - could I send him a copy of the
specs to see if he could produce a driver for it. I did and in a couple
of days he called me back. He thanked me for sending the specs, said the
driver was ready, and asked if I'd like to get it now over the phone.
Sure, I said, but I haven't tried the file transfer functions on SOFTERM
yet. No problem. He told me exactly how to set the parameters then told
me to hang up and connect the phone to the Apple. I did and in another
10 minutes had the file on my configuration disk. It worked fine.
I use SOFTERM with an Apple II with Videoterm and Videx Keyboard Enhancer
to dial up UNIX. I have tried the emulations for adm-3a, adm-5, vt-100,
vt-52, Televideo 910 and (the most useful of the lot) Televideo 925. (My
Videoterm doesn't have inverse but that doesn't cause me any problems.)
The manual is extremely complete, has an extensive and useful index, and
is relatively easy to use. If anything, this program is over-documented.
Every section has all the information needed, resulting in repetition and
a real THICK book. The configurations include drivers for MANY 80-column
cards (including Apple IIe), printer drivers, modems, etc.
Two possible disadvantages to SOFTERM. First, the program disk is copy-
protected. There is a copy on the reverse side for backup, but I don't
think this is a suitable backup scheme. (The new version is supposed to
be unprotected.) Second, many things you may need to do fairly often
require multiple keystrokes. E.G., to toggle the printer on/off you do
ctrl-v p and to send a BREAK you do ctrl-v b. To send a control character
you have to do ctrl-c then the letter key. It can be a pain to do any-
thing that requires control characters, such as trying to do full-screen
editing on a VMS system while emulating a vt-100.
In summary, SOFTERM is an outstanding Apple II program in every way, the
company has provided extraordinary support, and the new version (unless
Softronics' reach exceeds their grasp, as so often happens in this game)
should be even better.
Jim Pittman University of New Mexico Computing Center
Albuquerque, N.M. 87131 505-277-2764
ucbvax!lbl-csam!lanl-a!unm-ivax!casapolish@lexington.columbia.edu (Nathaniel Polish) (08/24/86)
I must admit that I am a little mystified by this discussion of emulation stuff for the Apple. Kermit makes a very nice VT52 emulator -- for free. The only problem with Kermit is that the file transfer is a bit slow but for the price, who cares. Further, UNIX systems support lots of dumb terminals. The Apple is quite hard pressed to do full VT100 emulation so why not go with something more modest? Like VT52. Also, if you are going to spend more than $200 for a program, don't do it, buy a cheap terminal instead and use Kermit for file transfer. Also, sorry if I only included ARPA addresses before. My address is ...seismo!columbia!lexington!polish. To reach Peter Trei (mother of Apple Kermit) try seismo!columbia!cu20b!oc.trei (not absolutely sure of this one). Nat Polish@cs.columbia.edu (ARPAnet)