Path: kernighan.cs.umass.edu!barrett From: ajapp@spectrumlabels.demon.co.uk (Adrian Japp) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: MINI-REVIEW: Net & Web 2 communications package Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.datacomm Date: 27 Jul 1997 23:10:10 GMT Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 93 Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Distribution: world Message-ID: <5rgkgi$d52@kernighan.cs.umass.edu> Reply-To: ajapp@spectrumlabels.demon.co.uk (Adrian Japp) NNTP-Posting-Host: knots.cs.umass.edu Keywords: networking, datacomm, TCP/IP X-Review-Number: Volume 1997 Number 13 Originator: barrett@knots.cs.umass.edu I picked up Net & Web 2 at the World of Amiga show at the Novotel in Hammersmith, London on 17th May. here is my little review. Mainly focussing on Termite TCP and iBrowse. The Net & Web 2 package contains the following: iBrowse 1.10 TermiteTCP Termite MUI 3.8 Net & Web Amiga Surfin (Book - aimed at beginners) My Amiga is an A2000, with a GVP 68030 with 16MB installed, A2058 RAM board 4MB installed, Multiface 3, A2032 Multi-serial board, A2320 display enhancer, Picasso II 2MB. 2GB SCSI hard disk, Iiyama Vison Master 17" monitor, Supra Fax 14.4K modem, Hayes Accura 28.8K modem. So it is well capable of being a decent Internet machine. Firstly Net & Web is installed. This takes the form of the stable and well proven Commodore installer utility, and installs easily and seamlessly. A few bits of information are needed to set up the software. All of which will be provided by your IAP (Internet Access provider). Secondly Termite TCP requires installation. Again, the Commodore Installer is used. Some of the information that was required for the Net & Web installation is also required for the Termite TCP installation. The user is taken through the installation step by step and the software is installed easily. The modem needs to be set up when the software has been installed., This takes the form of recording a script in order that the TCP stack can automatically dial and login at the press of a button without the need for the user to type in his login name and password every time. This is where a modem list would be nice. If you are like me and you are fairly familiar with your modem and it's various settings then it will be no problem, but for the new user it would be nice to be able to select your modem from a list and have the program enter your init strings automatically. Anyway, once you have selected your modem, you dial your access provider, type in your user login name, password and protocol (normally ppp). You then disconnect from your access provider and the script has been recorded. At this stage you can modify the script as needed. As long as you logged in correctly, there will be no need to do this. Termite TCP is now set up and ready to go. Next iBrowse is installed. Out comes the Installer again. Again, this is readily installed, with the user prompted for more information, some of which has been typed in for Termite TCP and Net & Web. At this point it is worth mentioning that a rudimentary understanding of what the software does is useful to have. The TermiteTCP manual provides this in an easily understandable and humerous format, with Reggie's guide to the Internet. It is a nice change to see a manual present it's information in this format as all too often manuals are very dry and prompt the user use it as a coffee mat rather than a guide! Once iBrowse and MUI have been installed, you are ready to connect. To connect to the Internet all that is required is to click on the Termite TCP icon, and when the small window appears, click on connect. Termite then dials your IAP, and logs on. When this is done, the screen flashes and the word 'Connect' appears in the Termite window. You can now click on iBrowse and launch your web browser. If iBrowse is launched before Termite, you will get an error, as iBrowse needs to see an active TCP/IP stack before it can communicate with the Internet. Once running, I have found iBrowse to be very quick and extremely stable. That is until I changed the configuration of my machine, after which I have had numerous crashes! This, however, is not down to iBrowse, but to my system! I haven't actually read the Amiga Surfin book yet, as I do not need to! Glancing through, it looks like a well put together book, aimed at the first time user, I cannot comment on it further than this. All in all I am very impressed by the quality of this software package. With Termite, there is an FTP and Telnet client, but no IRC client. AmIRC is a good choice of IRC client, if IRC is what you are into. This can be found on Aminet. An iBrowse 1.11 update is now available from Hisoft's web site. this is supposed to cure a couple of minor bugs in v1.10. I haven't come across any of these bugs yet. Adrian Japp Member - Team Amiga Email: ajapp@spectrumlabels.demon.co.uk --- Accepted and posted by Daniel Barrett, comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews Web site: ftp://math.uh.edu/pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews/index.html