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VK2TV  > LINUX    20.07.09 04:56l 145 Lines 6505 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 200033VK2TV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Re: Best packet prog ?]
Path: IZ3LSV<IK3GET<IW2OHX<OE6XPE<DB0RES<F8KFY<CX2SA<VK2DOT<VK2TV
Sent: 090720/0229Z @:VK2TV.#MNC.NSW.AUS.OC #:262 [Kempsey, QF68JX] $:200033VK2T
From: VK2TV@VK2TV.#MNC.NSW.AUS.OC
To  : LINUX@WW


G0TEZ wrote:-
> From        : G0TEZ
> To          : LINUX@WW      
> Type/status : B$
> Date/time   : 20-Jul 04:22
> BID (MID)   : A10080G0TEZ
> Message #   : 245
> Title       : Best packet prog ?]
> 
> Path: !VK5ZAR!VK2DOT!VK6ZRT!VK6HGR!GB7ESX!GB7FCR!
> 
> From: G0TEZ@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
> To  : LINUX@WW
> 
> 
> I have recently installed Ubuntu and it was just as easy as all the people
> gave me advice told me it was e.g. automatically partitioning my HDD and
> setting itself dual boot. Apart from having to re-install it because I
> hadn't noticed the screen asking for username and password, all is well.
> 
> I would like to know the best packet prog available and where it can be
> downloaded from. The version is Ubuntu 9.04 BTW.
> 
> I have tried WINE to try to run Winpack and I wasn't surprised to find it
> didn't want to know.
> The aforesaidn packet prog must have a Telnet option as I am not allowed
> AEs as I have said before.
> 
> My conclusions are that it is still quite fast, though not as fast as the
> early distros were but there is not the headache caused by, say, setting
> up your monitor with frame rate, bit depth etc. only to find that it
> didn't work because you have missed something.
> 
> I have dug out a book for Slackware 3, the first version I ever tried.
> Somewhere I have a big book for SuSe 5; both have a lot of commands which
> are still in use.
> 
> I have only loaded it as an excercise to keep senile dementia from the
> door as it is very good brain excercise, as were TNOS, JNOS etc but, if
> all goes well I will keep it as my main O.S. only descending to Winpack XP
> when forced.
> 
> Any advice, especially on a packet prog: will be welcome. Ideally
> something like TPK under DOSEMU (if it still exists) would be nice but,
> sadly TPK doesn't have Telnet and it never ran well under DOSEMU any way.
> 
> 
> Thanks in advance. Ian.
> 
> 
> 
> 73 - Ian, G0TEZ
> Msg timed: 13:53 on 2009-Jul-19
> Message sent using WinPack-Telnet V6.80
> 
> --- End of messsage #245 to LINUX from G0TEZ ---
> 
Hello Ian,

'Tis good you have Ubuntu working. 

Having spat the dummy with the Gnome Desktop about 10 years ago, I use
KDE. I don't know what the standard package installer is with Gnome. With
KDE it's Aptitude, which I find only marginally better than working at the
bottom of the ladder with dselect, the native Debian package installer.
For both Kubuntu and Debian I install Synaptic which is probably the most
user friendly package installer you'll ever meet. If it didn't install
with the Ubuntu installation you can get it with sudo apt-get install
synaptic. Sooner, rather than later you'll be glad you did.

The Debian package manager deals with packages with a .deb extension. The
base level package handler is dselect, which provides users with a good
way to grow old prematurely! I now use it as a last resort whereas I once
had no choice. A front-end to deslect is apt which is quite good provided
you know the package name, such as synaptic in the example above. Synaptic
provides another front-end, with search facilities to facilitate finding
the right package.

Having thrown that lot in for free, now to your question about packet
programs.

I am also unable to get Winpack to install under wine, but I'll get back
to it one day. I've also not had a lot of joy with TPK under dosemu, but
the versions of TPK I tried didn't handle Windows well either. Another
project for another day. I have had TSTHOST working with dosemu and I've
had TSTHWIN working under wine, but the unproto mail handling didn't work
because I couldn't get the registration to install under wine. All of the
preceding was done in the last year.

There is a program that comes from the UK that is designed for Linux, it's
a Winpack work-alike, and it has telnet. It's called Xarpm, by Ian Haver
G6VEY. Ian changed ISP maybe over a year ago and his site never returned.
There is a group, however, who may be able to provide links to the
software. It does require a special library that's available as a .deb
package. Start here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xarpm/

(To install a stand-alone .deb package it's dpkg -i <full_package_name.deb>
)

I found the installation procedure a bit "different" but once figured out
the program worked quite well, although I experienced it doing strange
things at time with bulletin lists. It's definitely  worth a try if you
want a natve Linux Winpack replacement.

There's a TPK look alike (sort of) called Linpac that works in a console
(or Xterm) but support was dropped in about 2002, and the program
certainly has some quirks with mail handling. There's also an
experimental, unfinished java version but I had no joy at all with it.
Look here http://linpac.sourceforge.net/

LinKT is a native Linux terminal program that doesn't support Winpack
style message handling. All message handling is done whilst connected to
the BBS. I'm not even sure if the .deb package is available any more but
that's hardly relevant because there were library dependency issues 5
years ago. I have managed to compile LinKT from the source files but it
needed some jiggery pokery in the makefile. Like Linpac, support for LinKT
has dried up, although the source files can still be had online. Start
looking here http://linkt.de/
LinKT was intended for the KDE desktop but I seem to recall reading about
it being used with other desktops. LinKT also required QT widgets.

If I may revisit Winpack and TSTHWIN again, there is an option I used for
OTSDJ, an audio playback program that wouldn't install under wine. It got
so far and stalled. Comparing with a Windoze installation, it looked like
it stalled at the point where it was writing to the registry. So, I
installed to Windoze and then exported the registry entry for the program,
imported it into the registry in wine, and the program now works. I can't
say that's the cure for all programs but it's worth storing the
information in a safe place, just in case. And if you're using Win XP it
normally saves exported registry files in compressed format. Save as Win98
for a text version. Having related that information, I believe Winpack's
issues are related to api problems. Mmm, I wonder if installing, say,
Win98 under wine would offer a solution.

One member of the NOS family is available for Linux, TNOS, I think. For
anyone who has mastered JNOS under DOS, Linux is a picnic, hi.

Another long answer, as usual.

Cheers ... Ray vk2tv


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