To find out more information on Open Transport, Classic Networking and where to download relevant files and software updates, see Useful Internet Information below.
What software do I need to connect to the internet?
You have two choices, Classic Networking (CN) or Open Transport (OT). Both require certain Control Panels and Extensions, as listed below:
CLASSIC NETWORKING...
Control Panels: MacPPP = ConfigPPP (see picture 7.1, picture 7.2, picture 7.3 and picture 7.4); or FreePPP (see picture 7.8), MacTCP (see picture 7.5).
OPEN TRANSPORT...
Control Panels: Open Transport's PPP (see picture 7.6 and picture 7.7), or FreePPP (see picture 7.8); Modem (see picture 7.9); and TCP/IP (see picture 7.10 and picture 7.11).
Open Transport v1.1 Extensions: Open Tpt AppleTalk Library, Open Tpt Internet Library, Open Transport Library, OpenTptAppleTalkLib, OpenTptInternetLib, OpenTransportLib.
How do I get my modem 'on-line'?
You will find that Classic Networking will work much better than Open Transport, but only on some early versions of MacOS. For example, System 7.5x likes Classic Networking, while MacOS 7.6 to 8.1 will tend to like using Open Transport better than CN. It all depends on what works smoothly for you!
Go to the PPP Control Panel (whatever it is you're using), and press the Connect button. Now you can use your internet browser, email or newsgroup program, that's it! Assuming of course that you have setup the PPP Control Panel correctly, ie. you've supplied all the relevant data into it.
Also make sure that the modem port is free, as in, the printer is not currently setup to use that port at the moment - if it is, switch off the printer and plug in the modem and switch it on, then retry connecting via the PPP Control Panel.
Where do I type in the settings for internet access?
The two Control Panels you'll need to setup are the TCP/IP (Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and PPP (Point of Presence Protocol). All settings are saved in these two, however in OT, it has a modem Control Panel, which stores information on the exact modem you're using.
Please note that FreePPP will work with both CN and OT standards, except that it will be a little slower under OT, due to it not being fully OT optimised.
Don't forget that in MacOS 8, it has a program that will take the hassle out of setting up internet access, it is called Internet Setup Assistant, and can be found in the Apple menu (or do a search via the Find command in the File menu, in the Finder). You still need to know information about your Internet Provider and your modem etc, so that you can type it in the relevant boxes.
What type of files can I download from the internet?
You have two choices; as an archive, or as 'is' (unarchived and unencoded). There are many different types of archive that are pretty much standard on Macs: HQX, MacBinary, Zip, Compact Pro, Stuffit, UUencoded and Disk Doubler being the most common.
Some files can be transported as they are, because they do not have a resource fork, only a data fork, therefore they cannot be damaged when transported onto different platforms. The type of files I've managed to download from the net, onto my Amiga, and then onto my Mac, are: PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files; SIT (Stuffit), GZIP, ZIP and LHA archive files; all types of image files (they really need a 3 character extension on the filename, for file type recognition). There may be others, but you're best sticking to these file types, and archiving any files your not sure about, before you upload them.
See General File Problems for further information on transferring files to/from a foreign platform, and about archive types that are used on the Mac today.
Downloadable Software
FreePPP and MacPPP can be obtained from here: download.
* FreePPP can be obtained from any shareware web sites, eg. Tucows.
* MacPPP & ConfigPPP is on the System 7.53 CD (v1.1).
* Most of the CN Extensions/Control Panels can be found at Apple's web site, or in the System 7.0/7.01 disk image sets.
Open Transport can be found at/in
* The System 7.53 CD (v1.1).
* The System 7.6 CD (v1.11).
* The System 8.0/8.1 CD (v1.2).
* Open Transport v1.x installer + associated files from Apple's web site.
* Open Transport updaters to v1.11 & v1.12, can be obtained from Tucow's web site.
Internet browsers
* Internet Explorer - version 5 onwards is for PPC Macs only.
* Netscape Navigator.
* Netscape Communicator. All can be downloaded from many Mac internet sites, and from mag CDs.
Emailers
* Outlook Express - free to download from most shareware sites, it's very good.
* Endora Lite - from most internet sites, this is the shareware version (I think).
* Endora - is the commercial version, much more features than Endora Lite.
Other commercial email software:
* CE Quickmail Pro (£53) - commercial only.
* CE Quickmail LAN (£116) - commercial only.
* Claris Emailer v2 (£45) - commercial only.
Modem Compatibility
Download an updater program called Modem Updater v1.3, this contains the profiles of all modems known modems (v1.21 is for USA users), however you need the updater for your particular country. Use this web address to find the installer for your language: ftp://ftp.info.euro. apple.com/Apple_Support/ Area/Apple.Software.Updates/English-British/Macintosh/Modem/ - the last few parts is obviously for us Brits!
Open Transport PPP
System requirements: Open Transport v1.11 or above, and Systems 7.1, 7.11, 7.12, 7.53 or later (Systems 7.5, 7.51 and 7.52 are not compatible), and only TCP/IP Control Panel with work with OT PPP.
Open Transport PPP can be downloaded from Apple's web site, or from Tucows web site.
Internet Config Extension
This Extension comes as part of System 8, it is also freely downloadable from many Mac shareware sites. What this useful utility does (comes with a small program to setup your preferences) is to allow access to your personal internet setup to all other internet applications, saving you the hassle of having to setup each program individually. Most browsers, email etc, accept Internet Config as standard now a days.
