ANNOUNCEMENT

    Amiga IRC client software for DNET now available via FTP.

TITLE

    Amiga IRC (DNET Version)

VERSION

    1.0

AUTHOR

    Rick Kent
    Internet: rkent@sparc1.csubak.edu
    AOL: RickK32

DESCRIPTION

    What is IRC?  IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat.  The original IRC was
    designed under Unix for use on the Internet.  It allows people from all
    over the world to join in live discussion groups and talk to each other
    in a multi-user chat system.  Since its conception, the popularity of
    IRC has grown tremendously.  At present, there are usually hundreds of
    people online in IRC with well over a hundred live discussion groups.
    Although originally designed under Unix, there are now IRC clients
    written for other platforms including the PC and Macintosh, but until
    now there was no client package for the Amiga.

    With this package Amiga users with DNET can now run an IRC client
    directly on the Amiga without having to resort to using character
    based terminal emulation software.  Amiga IRC is written specifically
    for Workbench 2.0 and takes full advantage of the GUI.  Additionally,
    because it runs over DNET, you can run other DNET clients at the
    same time (eg. you can be downloading, reading Usenet News, and
    participating in an IRC discussion simultaneously).

FEATURES

    - Full GUI support (not simply just a character based emulation)

    - Easy to use.  Amiga IRC eliminates much of the difficulty of
      using IRC by allowing users to avoid complicated keyboard commands
      in favor of an intuitively designed windowed interface.

    - Retains keyboard command compatibility with many of the commands
      in the original Unix IRC command set.  Expert IRC users can
      continue to use keyboard commands and bypass the windowing system.

    - Capture file support

    - Printer support

    - Does not require your Amiga to be part of a network

    - Works with Matt Dillon's DNET (in fact it requires it)

REQUIREMENTS

    To run this IRC client package you need the following:

    - Workbench 2.0 (Version 37 or higher)

    - DNET Software (by Matt Dillon): For those of you who don't know,
      DNET is a serial network communications protocol which allows you
      to run a network connection between two Amiga's or an Amiga and
      a Unix station (similar to SLIP but less complex).

    - A Unix shell account which has direct access to the Internet
      (The Unix version of DNET must be installed on this machine).

    - The DNET INTERLINK module (included).

    - reqtools.library (included).  Note: Reqtools is Copyright (c)
      Nico Francois.

    - 1 Meg of RAM (This is not a requirement of IRC, but is a requirement
      for DNET and Workbench 2.0.  Amiga IRC by itself requires less than
      200K of free RAM)


    Why do I need DNET?

    In order to connect to an IRC server machine on the Internet you must
    have some sort of Internet access.  In a standard setup, to use IRC
    you would have to have your PC, Mac, Amiga, or whatever connected
    directly into the Internet.  The number of Amiga machines with this
    kind of direct access is extrememely low.  This is where DNET comes
    in.  DNET allows you to start up a serial network connection between
    your Amiga and a Unix machine.  If the Unix machine you connect to
    is on the Internet, then it becomes possible to access Internet
    services.  Once the DNET INTERLINK module is installed on the Unix
    side, your Amiga has a psuedo-connection to the Internet.  Properly
    written DNET clients can then open a socket-like connection to any
    site on the Internet.  Thus, the Amiga IRC client software simply
    opens a socket connection directly to an IRC server machine (of your
    choice) on the Internet.

HOST NAME

    Amiga IRC for DNET is available via FTP on the following site:

        wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4)

DIRECTORY

    The file name is "DNETIRC.LHA" and was initially uploaded to the
    following directory:

        /systems/amiga/incoming/comm/DNETIRC.LHA

    It will likely be moved to:

        /systems/amiga/comms/network/dnet/DNETIRC.LHA

DISTRIBUTABILITY

    Amiga IRC is presently public domain and freely distributable.


Rick Kent (Software Developer)                  __
Digital Concepts & Acropolis Development     _ ///    "May the fork() be
Internet: rkent@sparc1.csubak.edu            \XX/      with you!"
AOL: RickK32