Web-browser and PPP for PC-Transporter?

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

    With the public release of GS/TCP being highly questionable at
this point, and Marinetti still very early in the development stage
(just SLIP with a telnet application) another option just hit me.
Many Apple II and Apple IIgs users own PC-Transporter cards (myself
included) and a few weeks ago I was kind of surprised to learn about
the existence of graphical web-browsers and PPP support for obsolite
IBM XT's. Well the PC-Transporter, as obsolite as it may be, may
just be suitable enough to run some of these browsers. As an example,
look at "Arachne" at this URL:  http://www.naf.cz/arachne

A blurb from that page mentions:

-------
WWW browser for DOS

   Arachne is graphical WWW browser for DOS compatible operating systems.
   It requires i8086 compatible CPU, 480 kB (550 with PPP) of DOS memory
   and SVGA or VESA vido card. In lower quality runs even on standart
   VGA,EGA and CGA cards. Arachne supports HTML/3.2. Developed by xChaos
   software. The package includes freeware PPP dialer, MPEG and WAV
   players, etc.
--------

    I'm several miles away from my PC-Transporter at the moment so
I haven't been able to test it, but it sounds like it may just be
able to function. The serial port emulation limited to 2400-4800
bps on the PCT would be a major limitation (as would be running
the browser in CGA with 640K of memory) but it would open more
options in the meantime. This might be something interesting to
look into until GS/TCP and Marinetti are completed (though *not*
to take the focus away from them, not everyone has a PCT board).

    If this Arachne is incompatible, there are actually several
more MS-DOS browsers and PPP stacks that work on 8086's with just
CGA and 640K (what the PCT does). Just do a search on Yahoo and
you'll find them. Just an idea I thought would be worth tossing
around... :)

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca