tmab+@andrew.cmu.edu (Thomas Mok) (10/02/90)
Oct. 1, 1990 I am a graduate student at CMU. I want to know whether there is any ftp sites where I can obtain software for the Next computer. It looks like there aren't that many commercial software products for the machine yet. I am also curious to know whether there is any way to network a Next and a PC or a Mac. I am thinking of using them as "dump" terminals, and let a few people have access to the machine at the same time. Tom Mok Information Networking Institute Carnegie Mellon University tmab@andrew.cmu.edu
azure@portia.Stanford.EDU (Lai Heng Chua) (10/02/90)
True, not much commercial software yet. A lot of what is available costs big bucks. Fortunately, some software is reasonably priced and there are cool programs that might be had from universities which have been actively developing on their machines. These university guys do things you won't see on the market yet. Someone was looking for a program to plot data. Well there is one called Reason from Stanford Linear Accelerator Center devised precisely for visualizing data from nuclear physics experiments. Contact Paul Kunz, Physicist pfkeb@ebnextk.slac.stanford.edu. Pretty neat. There is also GraphView from Gregory Shannon of Indiana University. Many many more programs (speech syn., SPASM - Stanford speech understanding - Sphinx at cmu, Underwater sound analysis - U. of Washington, Animation Production Environment - Ohio State University). Unpolished software, but state-or-art function. Sometimes source code is also available, and you can hack the code to do whatever you like. To talk to PC or Mac, you can use Kermit and run a cable over from the serial ports (haven't tried because I use the ethernet) or connect via ethernet (ethernet card on PC or Mac needed). To connect to Appletalk you need additional hardware such as Gatorbox and corresponding software (a similar one for PC). To connect to IBM mainframes, there is Connextions software. But why do you want to make students suffer with command line and a tiny screen, seeing new NeXT machines are $3000 a piece now? Unless they are only reading mail or something. Get a copy of NeXT on Campus. Lai Chua Stanford U. chua@cive.stanford.edu
asmith@questor.wimsey.bc.ca (Adam Smith) (10/02/90)
tmab+@andrew.cmu.edu (Thomas Mok) writes: > I am also curious to know whether there is any way to network a Next and a > PC or a Mac. I am thinking of using them as "dump" terminals, and let a few > people have access to the machine at the same time. > Isn't one of the nExT's selling points its "ethernet-ability"? As for use Macs and PCs as dumb terminals, I'm way over my head as it is, I assume someone else will be able to answer that one. ======================================================================== Adam Smith Genius - Graphic Artist - Bad Mood Guy The Chameleon Papers Vancouver, BC CANADA "Human beings are a great disappointment to me and it doesn't help one bit that I am one." (Deko 64) ========================================================================
verket@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM (Paul Verket) (10/02/90)
From article <4b1vCe_00Voh466EVm@andrew.cmu.edu>, *** by tmab+@andrew.cmu.edu (Thomas Mok): > I am also curious to know whether there is any way to network a Next and a > PC or a Mac. I am thinking of using them as "dump" terminals, and let a few > people have access to the machine at the same time. I use NCSA Telnet from zaphod.ncsa.uiuc.edu for both the Mac and PC to get vt100 sessions on the NeXT. It supports a number of network options including localtalk (assuming that you have a localtalk to ethernet gateway). As a bonus NCSA Telnet has FTP so you can transfer data to/from floppies for those sneakernet uses.