Subject: MINI-REVIEW: Net & Web 2 communications package
From: [email-masked] (Adrian Japp)
Date: 27 Jul 1997 23:10:10 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

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: [email-masked]
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