Re: Help for a new IIgs owner

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <504pmi$eec@vccnorth06.its.rpi.edu>,
James Frankel <frankj3@rpi.edu> wrote:
>I recently was given a IIgs, and as of two days ago I had no knowldge
>the system, except that I once used one in highschool.  The GS.OS that
>was given to me wouldn't load, but other applications worked fine.  In
>searching for a copy of the OS to download, I learned a lot.  I have a
>ROM 3 gs, and I now have GS.OS 6.0.1 running just fine.

   6.0.1 is the latest and greatest version. That's just fine.

>	Okay, so my intentions are to connect this puppy to the unix
>network here at school.  My friend (who was the one who actually did all
>of the worktracking stuff down for me), says that all I need to do this 
>is a terminal emulator, and the box that the school supplies (slip
>connection??

   SLIP/PPP and oddball variants (Slirp, etc) are not yet supported on
the GS. However, a comm program running in 'vt100' mode works great as
a terminal on the net. To set this up, you need a cable from the local
serial box in the dorms to your GS, or a modem and the number of the
dialups at your university. Then, a comm program set up to talk to the
modem and/or serial line. If it's a serial line, you'll need to figure
out how to start the serial connection. [The NIUs at Caltech used
control-V; other systems may use other variants.]

   The comp.sys.apple2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) lists a number
of serial programs and ftp sites on where to get the free/shareware
versions. Take a look at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html
It also has links to the rest of my Apple II info www site, where you
can find serial pinouts and the like.

>* a good terminal emulater.... a free one preferably.

   ProTERM is by far the best, but commercial. If you want a more GUI
interface, try Spectrum 2.1 from Seven Hills software. The FAQ lists
the free/shareware ones.

>* Where to find the following items cheap, or at least pretty cheap
>	*Ram card (I don't even know what sizes exist)
>	*Hard drive (something to hold the OS)
>	*SCSI Hard drive controller (my buddy has a SCSI HD, and he said
>		he thought it might work)

   Try reading the newsgroup comp.sys.apple2.marketplace. People
occasionally sell off systems, in whole or in part. Alternatively, you
can still buy the Ram card and SCSI HD Controller (called the RamFAST)
new from Sequential Systems (http://www.sequential.com) or Alltech
Electronics. For a list of Apple II companies, try
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/com/index.hml

>	Do I even need any of this stuff?  I just know that it exists,
>so I thought I might try to locate it.

   A HD and Ram card will really speed up the system. An accelerator
card will speed up programs that are in memory. (All 3 are the best for
overall performance)

>  And while I'm asking, are there
>any other cool system software anyone wants to recomend?  Like maybe a
>graphical e-mail program, or some cool accesories.  

   No graphical email program. If you're connected via straight
serial, all you'll get is a vt100 interface to a unix or vms box, and
you run the email/news/www software over it. For a bit of showoffs,
you could download various demo programs from FTP sites and watch
those. [Or, just download a whole ton of programs and play around with
them for months.]

>	Have I given you all the impression that I'm looking for
>any advice at all that you feel like giving?  I want IT ALL.  I want to dive
>into the world of the APPLE IIGS!!!!!!!!!  woo, woo.

   If I haven't plugged my Apple II WWW site enough this message, let
me do so again. :) I've got roughly 800K of archived info on all sorts
of Apple II stuff, plus links to plenty more sites. Go to
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/index.html

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
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