ATTENTION... THIS IS A DEMO VERSION OF A NEW PROGRAM CALLED Am_Nix. IT IS *NOT* PUBLIC DOMAIN. HOWEVER, THIS SPECIAL DEMO VERSION (SERIAL #1002) MAY BE FREELY DISTRIBUTED TO ANY BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM AND/OR NETWORK SERVICE (PEOPLE-LINK, GENIE, ETC) PROVIDED THAT SUCH SERVICES DO *NOT* ATTEMPT TO CLAIM ANY LEGAL RIGHT OR TITLE TO THE UPLOADED FILES. ADDITIONALLY, ALL FILES CONTAINED IN THE ARCHIVE MUST REMAIN INTACT. I'D ALSO LIKE TO REQUEST THAT SYSOPS AND NETWORK FORUM ADMINISTRATORS NOT ALLOW ANY VERSION TO BE POSTED OTHER THAN THE ONE CONTAINED IN THIS ARCHIVE. THE REGULAR FULLY FUNCTIONING VERSION OF Am_Nix SHOULD *NEVER* APPEAR ON ANY BBS OR NETWORK SERVICE. THANK YOU. Am_Nix Original Version 1.00 Dated October 21, 1988 Copyright 1988 Announcing Am_Nix 1.00... an automated City/BBS Dialer system for Telenet's PC-Pursuit. While this is by no means the final version and there are many improvements still to be made, I have decided to release Version 1.00 because of the great demand for a product of this type. Also, while there are probably a few "bugs" (gasp!) within the code, two BETA testers and I myself have been using Am_Nix with a good degree of success. You'll find these files in the archive: 1. amnix.docs this file 2. amnix.config sample of file to enter *your* PCP User ID and password 3. amnix.cities contains poop about all the outdial cities currently served by PCP. 4. AZPHO.0 sample of file to enter the name & phone number of BBS's you wish to call in various cities. Name is always city code with a '.0' appended 5. amnix the run file for Am_Nix 1.00. 6. readme_1.1 An update to this file for version 1.10. This version of Am_Nix does not have any provision for making the actual connection to the local T-NET pad (future versions will). Therefore, before running Am_Nix, use your favorite terminal program to make the connection. Connect at 8- N-1; The hunt/confirm sequence is D at 1200 baud or @ D at 2400 baud. Because you'll be exiting from the terminal program in order to run Am_Nix (Am_Nix 1.00 does NOT multitask), your modem must be set for continuous DTR. Otherwise it will drop carrier and hang-up the line before you can get Am_Nix started. Also, some terminal programs will send the hang-up command to the modem before exiting (Online 2.00 has this ugly habit). So, if your modem refuses to keep carrier up after you exit your terminal program, check your modem's DTR setting and also your terminal program's options. This version runs only from the CLI. So.... after putting all the above files in one directory, CD to that directory. Then (assuming you have already connected to your local pad correctly), enter AMNIX as the command. A couple of gadgets are non-functional in this release. They are Switch Sort and Add New Entry. Also, there are some invisible ones, namely, directly under each city code. Hit one or more of these to select/deselect the cities you want to try. But don't select any for which you've not defined any BBS's in an *.0 file. In version 1.00, this causes Am_Nix to exit to the CLI, while leaving you connected to the remote outdial. After you've selected all the cities that you want to try, hit the "start dialing" gadget. A CITY status window will be opened to keep you up to date on the progress of this session. If you select "Network Monitor" before you "start dialing", you'll be able to watch the actual dialogue going on between Am_Nix and the network in a special "Network Monitor" Window. The "Network Monitor" gadget is a toggle; if you hit it again the "Network Monitor" window will be closed. The two gadgets marked "Serial Port 12/24" and "Connect String 12/24" behave in the same manner. These two gadgets toggle the serial port and the connect string sent to PCP, between 1200 and 2400 baud, respectively. It should be noted that when they are set for the higher rate, the center of the gadget will be filled with an orange dot. When a city connects you'll get an audible notification and will be presented with a BBS list for that city. Select one or more BBS's by hitting the select/deselect gadgets directly behind the phone numbers. Then hit "start dialing" again. This time a BBS status window will be opened and Am_Nix will make repeated attempts to connect with the BBS's you have selected. When a BBS connects, you get the same audible warning as with CITY connect and Am_Nix will exit to the CLI. Bring up your favorite terminal program and start communicating. The select gadgets in the BBS selection window currently do not occupy the entire phone number (they're leftovers from the CITY selection window) so hit 'em on the left side in the prefix portion. Both the BBS dial and CITY dial loops are abortable (hit the abort gadget). If you abort a BBS loop, you can either select new BBS's in the same city or hit "Disconnect City" which will take you back to the CITY window after disconnecting from the current city. At this point, you can select new cities to try or exit the program by selecting the system close gadget. However, you'll still be connected to the pad at the @ prompt. The biggest warning right now is in the BBS definition files. Each BBS entry MUST be the correct length, don't take out any of the stuff 00/00/00 00:00, etc. There must be a line separator (hex 0A) after each line except the last one. The standard Amiga editor works fine to maintain these files. Use AZPHO.0 as a template. Another point is that currently you can't mix 1200/2400 baud cities in the CITY queue. In other words, if you set the "connect string" gadget for 2400 (it's highlighted), be sure to select only cities with 2400 baud available. Also make sure that the "serial port" gadget matches the baud rate that you were set to when you connected to the pad with your terminal program. At the end of each BBS entry in the *.0 files are five "AT" signs (@@@@@). The first one should ALWAYS be @. The second one can be an @ or 1. The last three may be @@@ or an area-code. Use these last four "AT" sign positions to dial BBS numbers that are not local to the outdial rotary locations. For example, for a prefix of 618- you would set these positions to @@618 while for 1-415- you would make them @1415 ... Comments, suggested improvements, bug-reports, etc can be sent to me via the Net Exchange on PCP or at one of the BBS's listed below. I have quite a few improvements/new features in mind for Am_Nix. Here are a few, listed by order of importance: Improved dialogue routines that do the actual conversation with the network. Right now Am_Nix will occasionally become confused and "out of sync" with the network. While this has been infrequent during BETA testing, it has happened once or twice. Unfortunately, when it does, there is no easy way out. Because of the nature of this item it will be the top priority. In fact, this item should easily be remedied within the next few days, so that by the time I recieve your registration fee, I'll be ready to ship the improved version(1.01). A smoother interface between Am_Nix and the user's terminal program. In other words, moving from the terminal program to Am_Nix and back again. The ultimate solution for this is to have Am_Nix multitask right along with your favorite terminal program. However, this will mean that both programs must open the serial port in the SHARED mode. Unfortunately, not all terminal programs currently do this. I'm open to suggestions from any of you technical gurus out there who may be taking a look at Am_Nix. A VERY dumb terminal mode so that when you connect to a BBS you can *immediately* begin talking and not miss any of the opening banner, etc. This feature should become unnecessary, however, if I can get the multitasking feature to work correctly. (See above). A 'prettier' interface, perhaps lots of colors. Since that takes more memory, it'll be a user option. Version 1.01 when released, should have some sample screens included to illustrate what I'm talking about. Internal maintenance (additions, changes, deletions) of the *.0, amnix.cities and amnix.config files. Throw away that editor!!! Support for PCP Direct Connects (DAFS) Support for more than one BBS file for a city. That's the reason for the .0 suffix. I plan to have up to 10 (*.0 thru *.9) BBS files for each city. Currently, you're limited to 50 BBS's per city (and also 50 cities, but the way PCP moves ahead that should not be a problem for a while). 8-) Automatic logins to the BBS's. The "I have made a connection" message will be improved to announce the actual City/BBS name to which you've connected. User statistics that will show the date and time of last connection to each CITY and also each BBS. Also, the number of attempts before connection during the most recent session and an average for all previous sessions. WorkBench Operation. Better support for multiple baud rates. Plus any other neat idea that I (or anybody else) might think of. A few final thoughts... I have *MANY* hours invested in Am_Nix. In fact, it has virtually consumed every spare hour I've had for the last two months. While it will most likely never be a commercial program, neither is it Public Domain. Therefore, I am classifying it as ShareWare. After considerable discussion with several other ShareWare authors, I've decided that if I'm to receive compensation for my work, I can *not* release a fully functioning version of Am_Nix to the BBS's and Networks. Therefore, this version will only dial the following cities: AZPHO, ILCHI and NYNYO. To the many fine upstanding Amiga users who would have sent the registration fee anyway, my humble apologies for the inconvenience that this action will cause. To those who would just use it free... Well, what can I say??? Until December 31, 1988, the registration fee is only $15.00. After that time, it will increase to $25.00. Anyone who places an order for Am_Nix at this reduced price will be entitled to the next major release (2.00) free. All of the items outlined above will be included in the the 2.0 release. If everything goes according to plan, the 2.0 version will be available around the end of the year. To order Am_Nix, send a check or money order (preferably the latter) for $15.00, along with a 3.5 inch floppy diskette to: Magna Systems P.O. Box 2426 Orange Park, FL 32073 If you send a money order, a fully functioning version of Am_Nix, personalized with your name in the opening window will be mailed to you the same day. Personal checks will be held for 3 to 5 days, depending upon your location. For those who have a People Link account, include your PLINK User ID and I will EMail your copy of Am_Nix to you. For purposes of answering questions, receiving bug reports, etc, I usually try to check into the Net Exchange on PCP at least once a day. I also check in regularly on: Amiga DOC ILCHI 351-8815 BBS-1984 ILCHI 484-1984 AmiHolics AZPHO 843-8486 My User ID at all four of these locations is Bill Fischer. As a final thought, I'd like to mention a couple of people who have been my capable BETA testers during this project. They are Harv Laser, Christopher Bailey and last, but certainly far from least, Bob Uhrick. Their help has been invaluable. Additionally, Bob is just putting the finishing touches on a program called Am_Convert. Am_Convert will read Captain Chet Solace's "The Final List" and select only those BBS's that are PC-Pursuitable. It then writes the CITY.0 files for input to Am_Nix. Presto... trouble-free use of PC-Pursuit for your Amiga. While Am_Nix is a super program, it's made even better by this nifty little 'add on' program. *PLEASE* consider mailing a donation to Bob Uhrick for his efforts. And from Bill Fischer... Thanks, Bob.