Re: Caltech and Ground (was .... convert Mac to Apple // files)

[rubywand@aol.com]

In article <Edina1996Nov10.161052.10709@news3.idirect.com.compulink.com>,
misty@idirect.com (Sid Stulberg) writes:

>
>I've downloaded at least 2 dozen files from Caltech and when I try
>unpacking them, my GS always gives me the same message - "this is not a
GS
>shrinkit file."  How do you unarchive your files? 


     Usually, it's just a matter of using GSHK. The file un-Shrinks and
that's that. Sometimes a file has a .SHK suffix but is really inside a
binscii wrapper. Then, GScii (an NDA) is used first. The result is,
usually, a genuine ShrinkIt .SHK file which GSHK can unpack.

     Nathan Mates has a detailed FAQ which talks about downloading stuff.
It includes examples of file headers as viewed by a block-editing utility.
These examples can help you determine with what kind of file (e.g.
Shrinkit, binscii, ...)  you are dealing.  (Glen Bredon's ProSel has
included a good block-viewing/editing utility for some time. It was once a
stand-alone ProDOS 8 program known as "Block Warden". In ProSel-16 it is a
module called "Zap". Another such utility is "Block Work" by Mark Harris.
Copy II+ will also let you view blocks.)

     Possibly, a modemming guru will have some suggestions; for now, an
example of a system which usually works may help. I download stuff via a
PC through AOL's internet interface. It goes into a "Download" folder on
the PC hard disk.

     After exiting Windows, Xtree is started under DOS and used to move
files to a folder called Tempp. (Xtree is, roughly, the MS DOS equivalent
of Copy II+.)

     At this point, the PC's modem cable is disconnected from the Zoom
external modem and plugged into one side of a NULL modem "cable". The
modem cable from the IIgs is plugged into the other side of the NULL modem
cable. (The IIgs modem cable is a standard "high speed" cable.)

     Spectrum is started on the GS and Telemate is started on the PC.
(Both Spectrum and Telemate have defaults set for transfer at 19.2k baud. 
Spectrum's File Transfer Settings are un-checked except for "Binary II
Down". Port Settings are 19200 baud, 8-None-1 data format, 8k buffer size;
Hardware Hanshake, DCD valid, and Xon/Xoff flow are checked; Char delay
and Line delay are both "0". The default download target is /RAM5.)

     In Telemate, Send and Z-modem are selected and the contents of the
default folder, Tempp, are selected for sending. Telemate begins checking
for 'ready to receive'. In Spectrum, Receive and Z-modem are selected and
the transfer begins. Each file is sent from the PC to the GS and the
transfer ends.

     The process could be simplified. For example, you could do file moves
and modemming under Windows. (If you use a Windows program, like ProComm
Plus, make sure it is not sending a bunch of unwanted modem setup codes to
the GS.)  Even so, the actual work involved is small and the procedure is
pretty speedy.

     As for possible problem sources, some users have mentioned
difficulties at high speeds when trying to download to diskette or, even,
hard disk. Also, when downloading wares as "Text" files, some users report
problems when the telecom program or the internet service processes the
contents (e.g. adding CR's, spaces, etc.).

     Something else I'm wondering about is what happens when downloaded
"Text" files get written as ProDOS sparse files. Does Binscii or GScii
deal with downloaded binscii files as ProDOS "Text" files or do they,
really, try to treat them like binary files containing text? If so, there
could be problems with "Text" files containing lots of "0"'s.
      

       

Rubywand