Re: Apple II Email (The Challenge)

[Jack Friess <jfriess@wctc.net>]

[This message is being posted to csa2, csa2.programmer, and 
csa2.comm.]

In an excellent article (that won't be quoted her) outlining the
challenges and possible solution for emailing for an Apple II, 
pubpc1@library.ucla.edu wrote:

> Instead of trying to use the Linux box as a hard disk and print
> spooler, it would be cheaper to equip the Apple IIs with this
> capability.  Alltech Electronics makes a 20MB internal hard disk
> drive for Apple //e and IIGS computers for $89.  With the allocated
> funds, each Apple II can have a hard disk to run applications
> such as AppleWorks on.

This idea has lots of merit.  The A2 is woofully low on resources,
one being storage space.  This certainly would give more flexibility
to not only the ultimate email/network solution, but also to every
day use of the A2 in the classroom or lab.

One consideration is that no mater what we do to the A2 to make it a
more viable machine now, in 5 to 7 years it will be dead.  Rightly or 
wrongly, schools are already dumping their A2 for Mac or PCs for 
obvious reasons that we may or may not agree with.  Putting $100 into 
a machine that can not be recovered or reused in another machine 
might not be a well spent investment in eyes of some.  When the 
add-ons are more than the value of the computer itself, things don't 
add up.

> More importantly, this will give them enough
> space to run METAL.  METAL is a telecommunications programming
> language.  Although Kidterm dosn't exist, it could easily be
> programmed in METAL.  METAL has the capability to extract and send
> email and usenet through a UNIX or Linux box.  The advantage of
> programming Kidterm in METAL is that the task would be trivial.
> METAL already has pre-written serial drivers and email and usenet
> modules, now used with the FV BBS system.  These could easily be used
> as modules for Kidterm.  It is also 100% free.

A major concern for our group has been getting mail in IP format 
to the LAN server.  If you are saying that the "email and usenet 
modules" have incorporated TCP/IP stacks and functions that can 
run on 128K, then METAL really should be investigated.  [Actually 
it is!!  I was sent a copy of it on Monday and hope to find the 
time to investigate, or find someone with more time than I. :-)]

> The networking hardware can simply be super serial cards (or
> equivalent serial cards) in each Apple II, linked by serial cables
> to the Linux server.

Yes.  See Apple II Email (Update 3) for details on how this will 
work.
 
> Kidterm can be written in the METAL programming language.  The
> source code for METAL is available.  It should be possible to
> modify it to boot into a startup program (much like BASIC.SYSTEM
> launches STARTUP) when the METAL run time environment is launched.
> Kidterm would be a front end program written in METAL that sends
> and retrieves email and usenet through the Linux box.

Does METAL communicate to WinNT also--that is the planned LAN server 
and POP mail server in _our_ school system?

I have more questions, comments, but no time now.  We should continue 
this discussion, right?


Jack Friess
Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA