psu@mtuni.ATT.COM (Paul Siu) (03/16/90)
Here is the summary of all of the response from the Net on Macintosh
telecommunication software. I like to thank all of the people who replied.
Versaterm! Best VT100 emuluation around, and you get TEK4014, etc.
emulation thrown in if you need it. I wouldn't use anything else
for accessing mainframes. Version 4.1 is just coming out, and is
already compatible with Apple's Communication Manager package, which
allows add-in file transfer protocols, etc.
Microphone II has somewhat nicer scripting facility, but not much
else to recommend it.
I do not recommend Red Ryder at all. If you decide you want it, I'll
see you my version 10.3 at a substantial discount, but I think you'd
be making a mistake.
--
Barry Eynon
barry@playfair.stanford.edu -ARPA
...!decwrl!shasta!playfair!barry -USENET
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An excellent shareware communication program is ZTerm (currently 0.85) by
Dave Alverson. This has X, Y, & ZModem, and has ANSI graphics emulation.
Fairly fast display rate, queue redialing, rudimentary macros, and some
excellent features for doing Mac<-->IBM transfers (an excellent program
for calling BBSs, especially because of its ANSI emulation and binary
file detection).
As far as commercial software goes...
White Knight, marketed by FreeSoft, is one of the overall best comm. programs
out there. It is an extremely powerful program, and almost every feature of
it can be customized. It supports X, Y, ZModem, Kermit, and a "Flash"
protocol. VT52/100/102 and TTY emulation, a POWERFUL procedure language,
excellent macro abilities, ability to "remember" scrollback buffer between
sessions. This is my personal favorite.
MicroPhone (I'm not sure who makes it) is also relatively powerful, and has
many of the same features as White Knight. It has a scripting language,
implemented differently than that of White Knight - I don't like it as much.
However, some people find the MicroPhone interface more friendly than White
Knight's - it's basically personal preference, and a small trade off in
power.
If you're going to be using a mainframe that uses tek graphics, then you'll
definately want VersaTerm Pro, the best Tek terminal emulator available.
There are several other communication programs, both shareware and commercial,
but I consider these the "cream of the crop."
Lars Kellogg-Stedman
kellogg@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu
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A lot of people here swear by Versaterm due to its excellent vt100/102/220
emulation. It also has a passable Tek4014 emulator. ~$80 from
MacConneciton. Versaterm Pro is much more expensive, but does a good job of
4014 emulation (picts, ...) and had tek4105 emulation (in color).
Lonnie Abelbeck (the author) is a former BTL employee from Reading.
When you call for tech support, you talk to HIM!
My wholehearted recommendation. If it would only do layers...
---
Richard Straka AT&T Bell Laboratories, IH-6K311
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UUCP: att!ihlpf!straka MSDOS: All the wonderfully arcane
ARPA: straka@ihlpf.att.com syntax of UNIX(R), but without the power.
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I recommend without reservation Microphone II 3.0 from Software Ventures.
It does VT100 emulation, but I use it as a VT200 with Quickeys emulating the
function keys (Microphone handles the keypad). It has a VERY powerful
scripting language; you can even create dialog boxes by using Hypercard, and a
supplied stack. It supports XMODEM, ZMODEM, Kermit, and text transfers. A
scrollback buffer, cut/paste, capture, etc., are also available. A very nice
package, indeed, and I've always found Software Ventures pleasant to deal
with.
One of the best features, though, is the ability to support
non-Hayes-compatible modems by writing modem scripts. These are simply
written in MP's nifty scripting language, and define how to do various things
like dialing a number, hanging up, or waiting for a call. I use a Scholar
Plus in non-Hayes mode, and MP works great with it (I wrote my own modem
scripts).
One of the developers, Leonard Rosenthol, is on the net. You might try
contacting him; he's been very helpful to me.
A satisfied customer,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/'') /'~ / | long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com | Ramparts are parts of a
/''\ /,, /,, | ...!decwrl!mcntsh.enet.dec.com!long | ram. People used to
Richard C. Long | long%mcntsh.dec@decwrl.enet.dec.com | watch o'er them.
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A number of PMUG officers recommended Haye's Smartcom II because its interface
was more straightforward than Red Ryder 10.3, and it was cheaper than
Microphone.
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Summary
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Microphone II has the best interface, and all the features you need plus good
scripting ability. Support is good, and some of the developers are actually on
this net. The program is however, the most expensive.
White Knight 11 does everything Microphone II does, but with a less elegant
interface, but it is at half the price of Microphone.
Veraterm Pro has the best and most terminal emulation, this is the best program
if your main goal is connect to mainframes.
Zterm is shareware, it has all the necessary transfer protocols such as Zmodem,
but is not so rich in features. It is also the cheapest. It's good for people
who just want a simple telecommunication program to call BBS, or null modem
transfer, but don't need all scripting features.
Hayes Smartcom II also looks pretty good, but appears to have fallen behind
times, but don't take my word for it. I haven't gotten too much info on it
(couldn't get through to Hayes, they're always busy!!!).rterry@hpcupt1.HP.COM (Ray Terry) (03/17/90)
>I do not recommend Red Ryder at all. If you decide you want it, I'll >see you my version 10.3 at a substantial discount, but I think you'd >be making a mistake. Fine, and why should you. RR 10.3 is rather old. Go with White Knight 11.06. (I'm sure everybody knows by now that White Knight is the new name for RR.) White Knight is far better than RR and [IMHO] better than the new MicroPhone and at only 1/2 (or is it 1/3) the price. WK 11.06 has great VT52/100/102 emulations (as well as TTY, of course). Ray -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Ray Terry Hewlett Packard Company /HP4700/M2 GEnie : R.Terry CONNECT: Ray Packet: N6PHJ @ N6IIU UUCP : sun!hpda!hpcupt1!rterry Domain: rterry%hpda@hplabs.hp.com SysOp : MacScience BBS (408) 866-4933 IPaddr: 44.4.0.214 N6PHJ.norcal.ampr CIS : 71150,735 #include STANDARD_DISCLAIMER -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
rterry@hpcupt1.HP.COM (Ray Terry) (03/19/90)
>>I do not recommend Red Ryder at all. If you decide you want it, I'll >>see you my version 10.3 at a substantial discount, but I think you'd >>be making a mistake. > >Fine, and why should you. RR 10.3 is rather old. Go with White Knight 11.06. >(I'm sure everybody knows by now that White Knight is the new name for RR.) >White Knight is far better than RR and [IMHO] better than the new MicroPhone >and at only 1/2 (or is it 1/3) the price. > >WK 11.06 has great VT52/100/102 emulations (as well as TTY, of course). Well, to paraphrase our OLD friend Ronnie, "There I go again...". After re-reading my above comment (the second one) I realized that I must have been typing while thinking about something/someone else. I do _not_ think that; "White Knight is far better than RR and [IMHO] better than the new MicroPhone and at only 1/2 (or is it 1/3) the price." What I meant to say is that WK is far better than RR and [IMHO] the EQUAL to MP II 3.0. WK and MP II are both fine software packages. WK is quite a bit cheaper (still not sure if it is 1/2 or 1/3 the price), but MP II does take a more standard approach when it comes to product support. Ray -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Ray Terry Hewlett Packard Company /HP4700/M2 GEnie : R.Terry CONNECT: Ray Packet: N6PHJ @ N6IIU UUCP : sun!hpda!hpcupt1!rterry Domain: rterry%hpda@hplabs.hp.com SysOp : MacScience BBS (408) 866-4933 IPaddr: 44.4.0.214 N6PHJ.norcal.ampr CIS : 71150,735 #include STANDARD_DISCLAIMER -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-