BEASON@GENESEO.BITNET (Bob Beason) (02/12/91)
From: GENVA::MEISEL "David D. Meisel" 30-JAN-1991 08:34:26.39
To: GENVA::BEASON
CC:
Subj: RE: Apple /// question
Answer to questions on Apple II/III
1) Any external modem that works through serial port...AIII has built in
serial port..AII will need serial card like Superserial plus modem. The AII
should have serial card in slot 2 if printer already in slot 1
should have serial card in slot 2 if printer already in slot 1. For the AII
there are a variety of programs...we have used Kermit with success. Ask
your local computer center to get for you.
For the AIII there is little choice...Apple had one and there was one
called XMODEM plus a crude Kermit. (I am office now and can get details
when I am at home where my AIII is setup)
The stuff I have was not originall PD but the company that handled is
PAIR Software and may be out of business so it may not matter.
The AIII interp file is a compiled application or language file. There
has to be an interp file because it translates AIII code to 6502 code.
There used to be a AIII bulletinboard, but it is probably defunct.
If you don't get any other response get back to me and I will see
what I have among my AIII software files. -DD Meiselreid@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (Reid Trimble) (02/14/91)
> BEASON@GENESEO.BITNET (Bob Beason) / 5:50 am Feb 12, 1991 / > Answer to questions on Apple II/III > For the AIII there is little choice...Apple had one and there was one > called XMODEM plus a crude Kermit. > The stuff I have was not originall PD but the company that handled is > PAIR Software and may be out of business so it may not matter. The "crude Kermit" program was just that - pretty much unusable. It was sold by an outfit called Pair Software that went defunct many years ago. The best Apple /// communications program is The Communication Manager, available (still!) from On Three for about $25. Call them at (206) 334-8001. It supports Xmodem and Compuserve Bin II formats and does a good VT-52 emulation. > The AIII interp file is a compiled application or language file. There > has to be an interp file because it translates AIII code to 6502 code. Gads. All this time and *still* nobody understands how the Apple /// worked. The A/// was the ultimate "soft" machine. All it had was a 4K rom with some simple diagnostics and boot code. Everything else had to be loaded from the disk every time it powered up or changed application. Every A/// boot disk needs 3 files: SOS.KERNEL - the main, lowest level operating system software. This included the file manager, memory manager, interrupt/event manager and some other stuff I've forgotten now. It's written in *Very* tight 6502 machine code. SOS.DRIVER - the I/O drivers. Completely configurable device drivers, years before MS-DOS had them. You at least needed the console and rs232 drivers, but you could add and configure at will. This moved all the A][ driver code out of ROMs on the individual boards. SOS.INTRP - the so-called "interpreter" file. It was NOT an interpreter - it's the actual application you are running, written in 6502 machine code with "SOS extensions". Some INTRP files were: BASIC, Pascal, VisiCalc, WordJuggler and 3EZ Pieces (the AppleWorks prototype). There is *NO SUCH THING* as "AIII code", unless you consider the operating system calls which looked like a 4 byte 6502 op-code. Unfortunately, there never was a true compiler for the A///. Pascal was an adaption of the UCSD system that compiled to P-Code (Pseudo-code). The SOS.INTRP file found on the pascal system disks is the P-Code interpreter (itself written in 6502 machine code.) > There used to be a AIII bulletinboard, but it is probably defunct. Try 804-747-8752. Used to be the best Apple /// BBS in the world. The Apple /// was a great machine, probably years ahead of its time. Doomed by poor marketing and poorer documentation. ******************************************************************** All opionions expressed here are purely my own. <Insert all std. disclaimers...> ********************************************************************
c60b-1eb@web-4c.berkeley.edu (Ivan K Choi) (02/14/91)
First, I would like to apologize for the two blank articles I have possibly posted to this newsgroup--I'm still trying to figure out how to correctly post news. Anyway, I have been thinking of buying a new computer so that I can log in to the university network from my dorm room. However, since I'll only be using it as a terminal, I've decided to use my old IIe. However, I haven't been keeping up with the news about the IIe lately (the last piece of hardward I bought for it was the Imagewriter II about 4-5 years ago). My IIe has 128K/80 column, a super serial card for the Imagewriter, and 2 5.25" drives---no modem, hard drive, etc. What will I need to hook it up to the network besides the modem and an emulator program? Can you guys recommend any 2400 baud (or better?) modem? How about the emulator program? How and where should I get them? Thanks for your time and patience. Again, I apologize for those "null messages." P.S. Please e-mail your reply to ichoi@cory.berkeley.edu--THANKS!!!
THROOP@GRIN1.BITNET ("Throop,Henry B") (02/14/91)
[Ivan K Choi writes about getting modem for IIe] To hook up to your school's network, you should need just the modem (+cable) and a term program. As far as a modem, there are internal modems available (Datalink 2400 from Applied Engineering, $249?), but especially since you already have a serial card, an external modem is probably cheaper and might work better (status lights, compatibility if you change computers, etc.). I have a Supra 2400 which you can get for around $100 mail order; it works great for me and I never get any garbage from line noise, but friends have had an inordinate number of Supras bite the dust. I've heard good things about the Zoom 2400 external ($100 +/-); there are also a lot of no-name or company brand modems for about the same price around from mail order. (If you get an external, most modems don't come with cables. You can make your own for about $5 or buy one for $15-$25.) From my experience, the most reliable and useful term program available is Kermit, which includes a robust vt100 emulator as well as xmodem and kermit transfer protocols. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it works, and it's free. I'm sure that The Unknown User will come on and start telling everybody how wonderful ProTerm is, but its vt100 emulation has problems and I don't like it that much. Its kermit transfer (the only one I can use) doesn't work, which makes it kind of useless. It also costs around $100, which is $100 more than Kermit. This should get you started. 2400 bps is cheap now; you can get a 9600 pbs modem for around $400, wihch you might consider if you are doing a lot of big file transfers. If you are using your Super Serial Card, you must have interrupts turned on on the card, which you can set with the DIP switches. Otherwise you will probably drop characters when the screen scrolls, which can be annoying. Henry -- Henry Throop THROOP@GRIN1.BITNET throoph@jacobs.cs.orst.edu