 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The Modem and I: Part 4 Jean D'Andrea jad@melbpc.org.au |
It is not considered good form to message online (it ties up a line when others could be trying to dial in) so an offline reader is necessary. I select BlueWave and unarchive it with no problems, much to my surprise. "Don't get complacent," I tell myself, "You'll only make mistakes."
I decide to print out the manual. "I'm sure to need it," I think. A stack of paper is fed to the printer, which gobbles it greedily. Time passes - the manual is printed and read. Twice, just to make sure I have an idea of what I am doing. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to follow the setup of BlueWave, and the online help is quite good. With everything set up for my chosen areas, I download my first mail packet, using QWK. I don't yet feel quite confident enough to attempt using the BlueWave Door.
"Using this reader is easy," I think, pressing the keys that will enable me to respond to a message. BlueWave politely informs me: "We seem to have lost the editor." "Oh, no! Now what do I do?" Back to Setup. Checking the command lines, I discover the editor's section is blank. Error corrected, I return to the message and try again. BlueWave now accepts my instructions, and I attend to the mail.
After a couple of mail packets are sent and received, I cannot imagine managing without BlueWave, it's great! And I have still to learn the more advanced features.
Before long, I'm receiving personal messages. "Why are these people saying these things to me?" It takes a few days before I realise the messages are not to be taken too seriously! The general area is full of strange threads and comments. I join some of the threads, and exchange flames with an assortment of people, who shall remain nameless!
After having used Windows Terminal for my first few calls into the BBS, I've decided it is time to upgrade my communications program. Something with a faster transfer protocol is needed.
A program called Comit for Windows came with the modem, but there is no documentation. I load it onto the computer and do battle with the configuration, leaving most of it at the default. The main attraction of this program is that it contains the Z-modem protocol, faster than the X-modem supplied with Windows Terminal. Comit works well, but as I'm not much of a Windows user, I decide to try something else.
One of the first areas I discovered on the BBS was area 11, Help with computing. A request for recommendations as to which communications program is best produces three main contenders. They are: Terminate, Telix, and Telemate. I select Telix, the DOS version, on the highly technical grounds that it has the shortest name. Finding it in the files section of the BBS, I notice that it consists of four files. "Do I really need all four files?" I ask myself. "It'll take forever to download."
All four files are downloaded (it takes about 30 minutes) and I unzip them into a new directory. The hard drive I thought I'd never fill when I bought this PC is filling fast. "Better print this manual also," I think, and feed another stack of paper into the printer. Several hours later (slow printer!), with manual read, I approach the configuration, which turns out to be pretty straight-forward. The big test, of course, will be when I call the BBS using Telix.
No problems, Telix works fine, until No Dial Tone is received. "It's locked up, nothing's happening!" I scowl at the screen. The system requires the three-finger-salute before it consents to continue. This happens every time the NDT signal is received. Very frustrating. I tear my hair, and mutter under my breath in a quite unladylike manner. No easy solution is forthcoming, so I despatch an SOS message in the Telix echo. Within a few days, several replies are received, offering advice. I try all the suggestions in turn. The solution? Take out the space between "Dial" and "Tone" in the configuration. "Who would have thought that one little space could cause so much trouble?" I wonder. Telix now works perfectly.
Dialling into the BBS and exchanging flames with the assorted people there is highly addictive. Insults fly thick and fast, and the humour is contagious. If you haven't yet joined in, now's the time. Where else could you stir El Presidente and get back better than you gave? Where else could you be hunted by the Great Lurker Hunter, or stirred by experts? Even if you're of a more serious inclination, there are areas that cater for you. I promise not to be in them, although even I have been known to send the occasional serious message! All this is waiting in the slightly surrealistic world of the BBS! Hope to talk to you there!
... Get a life - buy a modem!
Reprinted from the March 1995 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
