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Chaos Corner v01 n01
Chaos Corner v01n01 25jun91
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A Beginning? or is it An Introduction?
This is the first in what is hopefully a series of reports on random
and (in my opinion) interesting things I have come across recently
that might be of interest to some of you. Since I spend a lot of my
time (when not in meetings) reading about or banging on new things, I
think it is important to pass along what I might have discovered.
Future topics will probably include such things as file transfer
software, compression utilities, graphics viewers, and whatever else
strikes my fancy. Comments, criticisms, and contributions can all be
directed to rdc@cornella.cit.cornell.edu.
One of the first resources that I am going to be pushing is the
network (Internet and BITNET) and the community currently using the
network to discuss almost any topic you might imagine (yes ... that
one too!). There are three major information transports: file
transfer, network news, and mailing lists.
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FTP
The most direct transport in terms of your actions is "anonymous FTP"
(where FTP means File Transfer Protocol). A large number of sites
maintain archives of computer software, graphical images, inane
discussions, and it is available to anyone with network access. The
standard list of "known" sites that make files available to anyone
across the network (anonymously) is normally accessible from a machine
named pilot.njin.net in the directory "/pub/ftp-list" in the file
"ftp.list". In case you want to try out getting the list, I have put a
copy of the June 24 list on pelican, the RS/6000 in my office. To get
the list for yourself enter:
ftp pelican.cit.cornell.edu
anonymous
(in response to request for userid)
<userid>@<machine>
(in response to request for password --
I would enter rdc@cornella)
cd pub
("change directory" to the "pub" directory)
get ftp.list
(retrieve the ftp list. In CMS the
file will be named FTP LIST)
quit
(end the FTP session)
The file is about 3200 lines long (a little over 160 Kbytes), so you
may want to be sure you have enough disk space to hold it. Remember,
when transferring compressed or executable files enter the "binary"
command before issuing the "get" command. If you want to list the
files available, use the "dir" command; use "cd <directory name>" to
move down in the directory tree, and "cd .." to move up one level in
the directory tree.
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Network News
Network News is a set of more or less formal discussion groups on any
number of topics (racism, fitness, french culture, movie reviews,
etc.). The more formalized discussion groups are moderated which
helps to remove a lot of redundant questions and answers. Since some
people want to see the "raw data" there are sometimes unmoderated
versions of the moderated newsgroups. Some number of the newsgroups
also exist as mail lists (see below) or carry postings from mail lists
in the newsgroup. If you want more information about getting access
to Network News you will need to ask around and/or get a userid on
Vax5.
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Mail Lists
The easiest way to get involved in network discussions is through mail
lists. There are both Internet mail lists and BITNET mail lists ...
sometimes there is a connection between these for the same group and
sometimes there isn t. For more information on BITNET mail lists that
are currently available, from CMS enter the following command:
tell listserv at suvm list global
and from Unix or other systems send mail to listserv@vm1.nodak.edu
where the text in the mail file consists of "list global". For CMS,
the file LISTSERV LISTS is returned to your reader in Card Dump format
(use the CARD LOAD command to read it in), for requests via mail, the
response is returned as a mail file. If you see a list you want to
subscribe to, just "tell" or send mail to a listserv "subscribe
<name-of-list> <your-name>". If I wanted to join the Macintosh News
and Information list I would enter (from the CMS userid where I wished
to receive the discussion list mail files):
tell listserv at yalevm subscribe mac-l Bob Cowles
and I would shortly receive messages back that my subscription had
been accepted. Alternatively, I could have sent mail to the listserv
that consisted of the line "subscribe mac-l Bob Cowles".
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Internet Interest Groups and Mailing lists
The Internet Interest Groups "List of lists" is available via
anonymous FTP from ftp.nisc.sri.com in the file
netinfo/interest-groups . The file is over 500,000 bytes long at this
time. To get the file in smaller pieces via electronic mail send mail
to mail-server@nisc.sri.com with the following line in the body:
Send netinfo/interest-groups
Requests to be added or removed from a mail list should never be sent
to the list itself. For listserv's you would "tell listserv at <site
-- suvm probably will work> unsubscribe <list name>" and for Internet
mail lists you send a mail file to <list
name>-request@<internet-site-name> requesting the desired action.
(Note the addition of "-request" to the name of the list.)
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Guided Tour of Internet for Mac Macintosh HyperCard
As I write this, I am transferring a file from a computer at U. Mich
that is a hypercard stack providing a guided tour of the Internet.
The file internettour.sit.hqx is located in the "pub" directory on
pelican.cit.cornell.edu. For a future issue, perhaps someone will be
kind enough to explain what the "sit" and "hqx" suffixes mean. Any
takers?
What's going on?
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Bug reports available from vendors
Borland bug reports for TC++ and BC++ are available via anonymous FTP
from sun.soe.clarkson.edu in the directory pub/Turbo-C++/bug-report
and the file is updated on the first of every month. I seem to recall
seeing that there are Apple bug lists available on apple.com, but I'm
not sure. For Microsoft bugs,the only thing I know about is available
on CompuServe and that gets expensive fast (has anyone been touched by
Microsoft's new outreach program? A kinder, gentler Microsoft --
except to IBM!). Hmmm, I just looked on apple.com and didn't find
anything but Unix stuff; I ll leave it as a puzzle until next time.
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Online PC Software
Extensive collections of PC software are available online. The
wuarchive.wustl.edu has copies of a number of PC archives (including
Simtel, PC-BLUE, and the Usenet contributions in comp.binaries.ibm.pc)
and I find I am more successful at getting software from the wuarchive
than from Simtel. I used to spend long periods just trying to get
connected to Simtel and not get bounced for too many anonymous users;
then there was a good chance of the connection getting dropped
somewhere between here and White Sands (yes, Simtel really is at the
White Sands Missle Range) in the middle of a transfer. In addition,
Simtel runs on an aging DecSystem 20 and there are some real strange
incantations for getting transfers of binary files to work between
that machine and an IBM system.
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Online Windows software
For Windows3 applications the best place I ve found is
cica.cica.indiana.edu. Look in the pub/pc/win3 directory. One of my
favorite applications is QVTNET in file qvtnet16.zip in the directory
pub/pc/win3/util. QVTNET runs under Windows 3 and allows you to
telnet (vt100 emulation only, no 3270 emulation) and ftp right from
within Windows. It comes with a special module that handles the
interface between the Ethernet packet driver (you have to get that
from Clarkson) and the Windows dispatcher so that packets don't get
lost while you're writing something like this in WinWord. QVTNET also
allows reading Network News (if you can find a systems administrator
who will give you access) and runs FTP server software that allows me
to move stuff between CornellA and my PS/2 at work when I am logged on
from home. If you try an anonymous ftp to puffin.cit.cornell.edu, the
software can be seen in action. The "world's largest BBS," Exec-PC in
Milwaukee, has all of its files mirrored at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu.
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Weather, space and other images
If you're looking for pretty pictures, ames.arc.nasa.gov has many
space-related images including ones from the Voyager missions and
current images being sent back from the Magellan mission to map Venus.
Daily satellite weather photos showing that we still aren't going to
get rain are available on vmd.cso.uiuc.edu (you will need to enter "cd
phil.515"). To the south of us, vmtecmex.cem.itesm.mx (yes, it's in
Mexico) has a lot of GIF image files but more importantly contains a
list of known GIF file archive sites on the Internet (I have a copy of
that file if you're interested). An alternative that I have seen
mentioned is to ftp to nic.funet.fi (yes, it's in Finland) where GIF
files are stored by subject. If you see a GIF file that you want,
write down the name and then retrieve it from wuarchive.wustl.edu (it
will probably be there) where they are stored alphabetically. Please
try to find the GIF you want at a US site before using the
international network links. Some warped minds spend time looking for
X and R rated GIFs, but by NSF policy they are not allowed to be
stored on a US site that is connected to the Internet. Of course,
CompuServe (the source of the GIF image format) has an extensive
library of images.
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Postscript viewer - Ghostscript
If you have ever wanted to view a PostScript file on your PC screen,
check out Ghostscript (available at Simtel or wuarchive among other
places). The latest version is 2.2.1 and comes with support for EGA,
VGA and Hercules displays and a number of fonts are also available (in
additional files). Look for GS22.ZIP for the executable and
GS22FNT*.ZIP for the fonts.
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Great Roads survey
Taking a trip this summer? The alt.rec.auto newsgroup has been
compiling a Great Roads Survey. The current list contains about 75
roads in the US and can be found at ftp.vitalink.com in the
pub/usenet/rec.motorcycles/Road-list file. You are also invited to
send in your own nominations for your favorite roads to be added to
the list. (I wonder if Cayuga Heights Road would qualify, it
certainly has enough dips!)
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The COPS security package
A package of programs that address areas of Unix security is
available: the Computer Oracle and Password System (COPS). Version
1.02 attempts to automate security tests that are often performed (or
should be performed) by a Unix system administrator. The files are
found at cert.sei.cmu.edu. Does anyone have experience with this
package?
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Online library card catalogs
A list and guide to the over 200 library systems that can be reached
across the Internet is available at vaxb.acs.unt.edu in the library
directory (in ASCII, PostScript, and WordPerfect 5.1 formats). FLASH!
The catalog is now searchable on-line. To access the catalog TELNET
to vax.sonoma.edu and enter LIBS to the prompt for a username. This
will not work well from CMS, but other versions of TELNET that can
emulate a VT100 terminal should be OK. The database search software
is available for evaluation only; they want you to run it on your own
VAX if you like it. I also have a crude PC Hypertext implementation
of a database that allows you to wander through the listing of the
library systems. Ask about it if you're interested.
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Archie
Along the lines of interactive access to search software, if you are
looking for something that might be available by anonymous FTP, try
TELNETing to quiche.cs.mcgill.ca and logging on as "archie". There is
extensive help available once you are on. This one even works OK from
CMS, but is bettwe from a emulator that understands VT100 terminals.
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X Window System software
For X Window System software, the place to look is export.lcs.mit.edu
in the contrib directory. The compressed file x-source-list.Z is a
growing catalog of the programs that are available (there is much more
available than is in the catalog). One example of a program available
is xmartin (in xmartin.tar.Z of the contrib directory) that allows a
number of options for decorating the background of your X display
(known as the root window). While I have no direct experience, there
appear to be options to generate some of the fractal patterns that you
can see in Clifford Pickover's new book published by St. Martin's
Press titled Computers, Patterns, Chaos and Beauty (Graphics from an
Unseen World). I met Pickover when I visited IBM Research at Yorktown
Heights last November and got to glance through a copy of the book
then; now I have my own copy.
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CD-ROM
Radio Shack now has a CDR-1000 CD-ROM drive they are selling for $399
that fits into a half-height slot and comes with an adaptor card that
goes into a short 8-bit slot. According to Byte Magazine, the
transfer rate is good (150 KB/sec) but the seek time is slow. Of
course, there is a headphone jack on the front of the drive and audio
output jacks on the back of the card if you really insist on playing
music. I called the local dealer at Pyramid Mall and he told me that
they are "order-only" items for right now, so don't expect to walk-in
and carry one out with you. He promised to get back to me with
information on the actual lead time to get a drive but I would imagine
that the blurb in Byte (July issue) won't make it any better.
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Macintosh help for a small screen
On the small Mac front (also from Byte Magazine) Technology Fusion,
Inc. has a TotalVision product that goes into a 9-inch display Mac
(Classic, SE, or Plus) and tricks it into thinking the screen is 1024
x 1024 rather than 512 x 342. As the mouse cursor touches the edge of
the screen, it pans across the virtual desktop at hardware speed.
"Hardware flex" and "hardware zoom" modes are also available. I'm
still trying to figure out if I should repair my Mac at home and get a
hard disk. The diagonal lines that go across the display suggest that
a "hardware zoom" from a height of about 6 feet might be the most
cost- effective option.
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Convertor from Fortran 77 to C
Finally, for those of you who could never quite master the C
programming language, help is here! At oak.oakland.edu you can get
f2c-exe.zip from the pub/msdos/fortran directory and it will convert
fortran 77 code into C (source is available too, if you want it for
other than a Intel platform). The really neat thing is that if you
have a C compiler, this effectively gives you a fortran 77 compiler
for free!
I'm amazed at how once I got started there seemed like no good place
to stop. Let me know what kinds of things you find most interesting
and what you really hate; that way I won't have to make up the letters
in the questions and feedback section.
Dr. Chaos (I have a Master's Degree)
rdc@cornella.cit.cornell.edu
