Re: Dialup Shell accts (was Re: Pros and Cons)

[Mike Pfaiffer <mike@digitalcivilization..ca>]

Thomas  Kelly wrote:

> I am interested in setting up  a system like Mike describes below
> Does anyone have details how to do so?

        You can take a look on the web for the various howto documents. The
terminal, dialup, and ppp ones are a good place to start. Take a look at
the answers to your other questions first...

> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++.
> What is  *NIX?

        The "*" is what's called a wildcard character. This means it referrs to a
varient or workalike of UNIX. Some examples are UNIX, Solaris, XENIX,
Linux, QNX, and the various flavours of BSD (including Mac OS X). The
majority are free to download and install. Some are better than others. You
may choose to go with a commercial product.

> How would implementations on Mac and PC differ?

        For the most part the differences would be with the packages you choose to
install. Naturally there are hardware differences as well, but that all
comes down to choosing the correct cable. All the programs you need are
either available when you install the operating system or you can download
the source code (usually free) and compile it for your system.

> Exactly how would I  install *NIX on my computer and connect my Apple II
> to it?

        All this is covered in depth with the HowTos. Here is a quick example... On
my home system I run Linux. It comes on three CDs. Most of the programs on
the CDs are not necessary and don't get installed unless I want them. I
have a PC (A Mac, Sun, or DEC would do too). In my case I boot the PC from
the first CD (I could easily make a boot floppy with the utilities on the
first CD and boot from that if I had to). At first I describe some of the
hardware on the PC. Then I set up the partitions on the harddrives. Next I
choose what packages I want on my machine. After everything is installed
the computer performs some post-install configuration. Somewhere along the
way the root (god account) and a non-root (regular user) account are
created. When the machine reboots there may be some individual
configuration necessary (eg. what e-mail accounts do I make available under
Mozilla). When the Linux system is up and running (and connecting to the
net) I can go about making it available for other machines. I could connect
via a regular LAN (again there are HowTos for this), Parallel cables,
nullmodem cables (serial ports), SCSI ports, and possibly USB. The last
time I did this was on a 486 and I used a nullmodem cable to connect a
terminal and later an Apple IIGS. The only thing I had to do was to make
sure the serial ports were communicating at the same speed and edit the
inittab file to allow connections through a local serial port.

        On the GS side all I had to do was run a modem program and tell it not to
dial. I told the GS I was online. Pressing the <Return> key got me to the
login prompt. From there it was a breeze. Uploading and downloading is the
same as in the old days. The "sz" and "rz" commands are still there.

        The only problem I see is learning how to use which *NIX you choose. It is
no more difficult than any other operating system. It just has a lot of
detail. I think I recall reading something in rec.humor.funny which said
something like "DOS allows you to shoot yourself in the foot. A regular
user account under UNIX allows you to shoot off your toes one by one then
it allows you to shoot yourself in the foot. Windows allows you to shoot
off your entire leg in slow motion." Perhaps someone can find the file and
post it here...

> I have old PCs (286, 386, 486) as well as Macs.

        I don't think the 286 will work. The 386 would work with older versions of
the programs. The 486 should do the job if you keep it relatively light in
terms of what goes on your machine (ie. do you really need a GUI?).

        As to the Macs, the choice depends on what you have available for memory,
and hard drive space. If these machines can't run OS X then look at NetBSD
or a Mac distribution of Linux (eg. SUSE or Yellowdog). I've heard the
problems the Macs are having with Linux are becoming less bothersome. I've
heard little about NetBSD. One person who runs it loves it.

> I currently have my PC (Celeron) connected to a 4 port router (D-Link
> DI-604) that is connected to my DSL modem.

        A NIC in one of your other PCs or Macs will do.

> I suspect connecting my one of my other PCs running  *NIX to my existing
> LAN would be easier than connecting my Macs to my network since I have not
> connected any of my Macs to LAN yet.

        Getting a Mac running on a LAN is easy (assuming you are running a version
of the Mac system software). My experience goes up to System 7.6. There are
two possibilities. With System 7.1 and earlier you have the MacTCP control
panel. After 7.1 (I suggest minimum 7.5.5 if you can manage it) there is
the OpenTransport control panel. Check your router to determine if you are
using DHCP on the LAN side. If so then tell the Mac you allocate your
address dynamically. Also you need to tell it you are running TCP/IP and
not Appletalk.

        FYI, any of the newer *NIX packages will autodetect what you have and
configure itself automatically.

        You may want to contact a local *NIX usergroup in your area. This way you
might be able to get some firsthand advice. If you're in Winnipeg I can
point you to a couple of groups.

                                Later
                                Mike



> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Pfaiffer" <mike@digitalcivilization..ca>
>>
>>         The other messages in the thread are good alternatives. Here is
> another.
>> If you have a spare PC or Mac you can install some form of *NIX on it.
>> From there use a nullmodem cable from your Apple to your *NIX machine and
>> voila... A shell account under your control. If you want net access you
>> can connect your *NIX box to the net and access it that way. Some ISPs
>> are nasty to people running "servers". Ask them first (nicely) and they
>> may give you a hand.
>>
>>                                 Later
>>                                 Mike
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Ned Ludd" <spam@luddite.ca> wrote in message
> 1g3o5rs.5cicwm1wljebsN%spam@luddite.ca">news:1g3o5rs.5cicwm1wljebsN%spam@luddite.ca...
>> Ben Yates <anoneds@netscape.net> wrote:
>>
>> > DOES ANYONE ANYWHERE OUT THERE KNOW WHERE ONE CAN FIND A LIST OF
>> > DIAL-UP SHELL ACCOUNTS?
>>
>> Edmonton Freenet at 780-669-2199 VT100 8N1
>>
>> You can login as "guest" for limited service, but it doesn't allow
>> direct URL connections -- the workaround is to go to their search
>> engines page and enter URLs in google, which will kindly furnish you
>> with a working hyperlink.
>>
>> Annual membership is $35 (Canadian) plus your long distance charges.
>> I've found it absolutely invaluable for downloading files from the
>> net... I pay 5 cents a minute for l/d, so I can grab half a dozen files
>> for under a buck -- not too bad :)
>>

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