Re: not there yet (FAQ info)

[Toby Reiter <treiter@cs.oberlin.edu>]

On 25 Mar 1997, Nathan Mates wrote:

> There's probably a logical base explanation for
> all the *very* annoying inconsistencies, and it'd be nice to figure
> out what and why Macs are making it so hard to download files without
> messing them up.

Nathan,
Here are the steps involved in downloading a file on  a Mac and bringing 
it to an Apple II.

a) Download a copy of ProType from a Mac ftp site
b) Put that on the desktop
c) Download any files wanted
d) Drag them into the ProType app
e) Place them on a ProDOS disk
f) put the disk in the Apple II
g) Unshrink the files

Here are the steps involved in downloading a file on a PC and bringing it
to an Apple II

a) Buy or Download Terminal Software for the PC
b) Buy (since you cannot download) Terminal Software for the Apple II
c) Buy or build a null-modem
d) Download any files wanted
e) Configure both terminal programs
f) Place both computers together so that the null-modem line will reach
(if you can't do that, you will need to use a modem on the Apple II, and
either use two phone lines or save the files to a unix account)
g) Start zmodem sending on the PC
h) Start zmodem receiving on the Apple II
i) Save the files onto disk, somewhere (hopefully you have more than one
3.5" drive or a hard disk)
j) Un-binscii the files
k) Unshrink the files

As you can see, Nathan, even though the Macintosh may do some action on
files which makes it momentarily more difficult to download them to an
Apple II, overall, using a PC is at least twice as difficult.

I hope this will end this war, now. What should be done is to place a copy
of ProType in the mac folder at ground, note this in the FAQ, and then let
this matter be.  I request someone with access to the file upload it to
ground in Stuffit form, and write an email to the ground administrator
requesting him to place it in the mac folder.

Thanks, and hopefully, good riddance (at least to this thread),
Toby Reiter