A brief guide to installing and reading Internet news from a networked Macintosh: Macs that are connected to a network that includes tcp/ip links to the Internet can be set up to let you easily read and post network news, including the bionet.* newsgroups for research biologists. The netnews reader stack is easy to use, but requires some network knowledge to install. Requirements: * Macintosh with an appletalk or ethernet connection * MacTCP software to provide the Mac with the tcp/ip communications link * Harry Chesley's netnews reader hypercard stack * A local area NNTP netnews server computer Does your mac have an appletalk or ethernet connection to the internet? If you are using NCSA Telnet for logins to mini or mainframe computers then you probably have the right connections. Do you have a local netnews server computer? This is probably a Unix computer which runs netnews software and serves out news messages following NNTP protocols. You need to check with your campus computer administrators for the IP address of a local server that you can read news from. The NNTP server must support the XHDR command. How to get and install MacTCP software: This is Apple Computer software that provides the underlying tcp/ip communication connection. A new version 1.0.1 is due for release about the end of March. It is currently available in a single-user licence thru Apple Prog. and Developers Association (APDA) as part M0230LL/B for $100, or as a university (about $1000) or commercial site license. APDA sells only to individuals or groups who have an account, for an annual fee is $20. APDA can be reached at APDA, Apple Computer, Inc. 20525 Mariani Ave, M/S 33G, Cupertino, CA 95014-6229 Applelink: APDA Internet : APDA@applelink.apple.com A site license can be obtained thru Apple Computer Software Licensing 20525 Mariani Ave., M/S 380I, Cupertino, CA 95014-6229 MacTCP is best installed with help of a network administrator. You need to be assigned an IP address for your mac (something like 123.45.67.89 where 123.45 is your campus network address, 67 is your building subnet address, and 89 is your mac's address), and to know some technical details of your network configuration (is the address dynamic or static? What is the ip mask? What are your local nameserver addresses?). If you are using NCSA Telnet, this is essentially the same configuration info. How to get and install the newsreader stack: This hypercard stack and complete xcmd source code is available thru APDA for $20 as part M0228LL/A. It is also available thru anonymous ftp to apple.apple.com, in directory pub/dts/mac/stacks/. The newsreader stack by itself can be obtained by anonymous ftp to iubio.bio.indiana.edu, in diretory [archive.util.mac]netnews-reader.hqx. Once you have the stack, directions for installing and using it are contained in the stack. You need to know the IP address of your local netnews server at this point, and have MacTCP installed. Don Gilbert biocomputing office / archive for gilbertd@iubio.bio.indiana.edu / molecular & general biology biology dept., indiana univ., / ftp iubio.bio.indiana.edu bloomington, in 47405, usa / (129.79.1.101) user anonymous ---------- the word from Apple ----------- Article 52942 of comp.sys.mac: Path: iuvax!cica!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio- state.edu!mips!apple!mjohnson >From: mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Mac netnews stack -- free or thru APDA? Message-ID: <39499@apple.Apple.COM> Date: 15 Mar 90 17:47:23 GMT References: <615@cica.cica.indiana.edu> <39485@apple.Apple.COM> Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA Lines: 29 In article <39485@apple.Apple.COM> blob@Apple.COM (Brian Bechtel) writes: >In article <615@cica.cica.indiana.edu> GilbertD@IUBio.Bio.Indiana.Edu (Don Gilbert) writes: >>The Netnews Reader hypercard stack written by Harry Chesley is of interest >>to many netnews readers. It is bundled with a HyperTCP developer's kit >>from APDA, which sells for about $30 and requires MacTCP to operate. I >>cannot find anything in the docs with it that comment on the copyright or >>distribution status of this stack. Is the news reader stack available >>for free distribution or do users need to purchase the developer's kit >>thru APDA (many of whom have no interest in C source code for TCP or in >>joining APDA) ? > >I walked down the hall and asked Harry. He says that the stack is >free, redistribute it as you will. Note that MacTCP is *NOT* free; >there is either an individual charge or site license fee which must be >paid. You also need to set up an NNTP server with which the netnews >reader stack can communicate. > If you already have MacTCP at your site, you can download the HyperCard MacTCP Toolkit which includes the Netnews stack from the Apple FTP site (IP 130.43.2.2). Look in ~ftp/pub/dts/mac/stacks/ -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_