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Chaos Corner, V01, N06, 04 September 1991
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X11R5
The big news, of course, is the pending release of X11R5 at 9 am EDT. Dr
Chaos has had difficulty sitting in one place he is so eager to LET THE
FTPs ROLL! The network people have distributed copies strategically
across the network and you can expect some interesting statistics will be
gathered as a number of sites try to FTP 100 MB of data from the
distribution site farthest from them (doesn't it always work that way?).
The newest version is supposed to be smaller, faster, better, easier to
maintain, and just more wonderful in every way. Dr. chaos is glad he
never quite got around to updating his RS/6000 to run X11R4, now he can
just skip to the next level and see how it works (or doesn't). Tune in
next time for the updated report on where things stand.
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NetNews on RS/6000
Speaking of putting things on his RS/6000, Dr. Chaos spent some real fun
time bringing up a Usenet newsfeed on his RS/6000. Many thanks go to
Mike Shappe of Network Resources in CIT for helping to find the
configuration file problems. Dr. Chaos used the excuse that he was
losing access to the Cornell Theory Center system as a reason to attempt
running the news feed himself. He doesn't where some of the more pungent
material is being archived, tho.
Mailbag (Send cards and letters to rdc@cornella.cit.cornell.edu)
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Unix script for accessing CWIS
Bob Blackmun at UNCCVM points out that there is a very nice Unix package
available for Internet access to Libraries, Campus Wide Information
Systems (CWIS), etc. In all, the shell script provides menued access to
over 200 libraries and databases. It does require that the Unix system
have tn3270 available and that it is running BIND on the same host. If
you want to take a quick look at the facilities offered, telnet to
bbs.oit.unc.edu. If you would like to get a copy of the package, it is
available on ftp.oit.unc.edu as file libtel.unix in the pub/docs
directory.
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HYTELNET - Library access and much more
Also from Bob Blackmun is information about a utility that gives a PC
user information on Internet accessible library catalogs, Freenets,
CWISs, Library BBSs, etc. The latest version (3.0) includes many more
libraries as well as info on the "Weather Underground" (where you can
get current weather forecasts for all major US cities), National Science
Foundation, Ham Radio Call Boos, and much more. Look for file
hyteln30.zip in the mirrors/msdos/hypertext directory of
wuarchive.wustl.edu, or in the library directory on vaxb.acs.unt.edu.
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Internet BBSs
Tom Boggess of CIT forwarded a listing of Internet BBSs and information
services that came originally from Richard Holbert at Texas A&M
(X075RT@TAMVM1.BITNET). Additions and expansions on the list in the last
Chaos Corner are (you should use the "telnet" or "tn" commands to
reach these sites):
CONRAD.APPSTATE.EDU (login as info) - Contains world news obtained by
monitoring short wave broadcasts from BBC and other global sources.
TECHINFO.MIT.EDU - CWIS for MIT provides menus of Boston area
restaurants and documents how to use the database of song lyrics.
PSUPEN.PSU.EDU (login as pnotpa) connects you to PENpages containing
reports, newsletters, and fact sheets on research based consumer-
oriented and agricultural reports.
Other BBS systems include: QUARTZ.RUTGERS.EDU (login as BBS - lots of
discussions), ISCA.ICAEN.UIOWA.EDU (login as ISCABBS - much public
domain software), and ATL.CALSTATE.EDU (login as LEWISNTS -
Electronic Journals and the Art World).
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Chaos Corner re-distribution
Walter Wehinger at Uni Stuttgart asks if Dr. Chaos allows posting of
Chaos Corner in their publication or infoserver. The findings are really
appreciated and Walter wishes to spread them out in his user community.
Dr. Chaos is pleased to have Chaos Corner carried by or quoted in other
publications. He only asks that the document be completely included, or
, if quoted, that information be provided on requesting complete copies
or subscriptions to Chaos Corner (send request to
rdc@cornella.cit.cornell.edu).
Random and Self-Similar Things
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PC Kermit
The next major release of Kermit for the PC is due out Real Soon Now
(RSN). Possibly at the end of this week or next week. From the early
information it appears that some nice features have been added,
including: TCP/IP network support; VT220 support; simplified dialing
directory; and improved help and status screens. If you want to try out
a test copy, get mstibm.exe from the kermit/bin directory of
watsun.cc.columbia.edu -- remember to specify "binary" before
transferring the .exe file. Look for documentation and in the
kermit/test/ms* files. Dr. Chaos asks you to send all bug reports
(and/or fixes) promptly to Dr. Joe R. Doupnik (he's probably a real
doctor) at Utah State (JRD@USU.BITNET with a cc to Info-
Kermit@watsun.cc.columbia.edu.
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OS/2 Kermit
Those of you looking for an OS/2 PM version of Kermit can find one (along
with a lot of other OS/2 software) at mims-iris.waterloo.edu stored as
(both source and binary) the of2/volume1/ckpm5xe/*.zoo files. There is
also a report of the file in /pub/of2/ckpm5xe.zip on ugle.unit.no (yes,
that machine is in Norway).
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German Word lists (other languages too)
Those of you interested in words may be interested in online dictionaries
that Henk Smit has made available in German (160,000 words), French
(138,000 words), Dutch, Italian, and English (53,000 words). Since Dr
Chaos is taking a German class, the German lists or words have already
been moved to his Unix home - pelican.cit.cornell.edu. The other lists
are on ftp.cs.vu.nl (Amsterdam) in the dictionaries directory.
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Words and more words
The BITNET group on which the above information appeared (WORDS-
L@UGA.BITNET) has been the location of an elaborate hoax that was
recently disclosed. It seems that some graduate students at the TIFR
(Bombay) University in India created a persona of Virupaksha Mokshagundam
that consisted of output from a knowledge-base-and-natural-language
program that had been developed at the University named Vagvilasini.
They had originally only meant to send one letter to the list, but it
turned out to be so funny that they sent some more. All but two of the
letters were entirely written by the computer except for some slight
"touch-ups" performed by the students. They are now leaving the
University and so told the list what had been happening. The number of
people who couldn't believe that it was a hoax was really interesting --
it looks like the discussion of that prank will go on for some time on
that list. Dr Chaos wonders how long it will take before any of you
suspect .....
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Freedom of speech and other paradigms
In the Usenet group alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk there is a hot discussion
about the policies/rationales for carrying or not carrying such
newsgroups as alt.sex. Glenn A. Malling of Syracuse University
(SYSGAM@SUVM) made a observation recently that the old paradigms about
communication (freedom of the press, freedom of speech, common carrier,
etc.) don't fit with computer communication because it is something new.
He asks, "What is this new thing? Should it be public, private, mixed,
regulated, unregulated? Who pays for it? And how? ... Who gets to use
it? And under what terms?" He rightly points out that the network we
have today is not the network we'll have tomorrow so we have to be
careful that our answers are equally applicable in the future.
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Security checking and crack
As a follow-up to an article from the last edition of Chaos Corner, the
new version of the password checking program, Crack. is available for FTP
from uxc.cso.uiuc.edu in the file named pub/crack-3.2b.tar.Z (don't
forget to specify "binary" before the transfer).
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Convert pictures for sending via fax
For those of you with Unix systems, fax boards, and a desire to fax your
favorite pictures (stored in almost any format), the recommendation in
the newsgroup comp.dcom.fax is to use a program called pbmplus. The
program is on sun.soe.clarkson.edu in pbmplus.tar.Z in the pub/src
directory. (It's over 500K uncompressed, so be sure you have plenty of
free space.) Many black&white, grayscale, and color image formats are
handled by the program.
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IMDISP to view satellite images on a PC
A new version of the IMDISP program for PCs is now available (Dr. Chaos
asks me to remind you that it is the program used to display the images
sent from the Voyager and Magellan spacecraft. The big enhancements seem
to be in the area of image processing (smoothing, edge processing, 3D
perspective, power filtering, etc.), and in support for the GIF image
format. You will need a screen that is at least 800x800 and several MB
of memory. The file can be obtained from ames.arc.nasa.gov in the
pub/SPACE/SOFTWARE directory under the name imdisp74.zip. Included in a
separate file, imdispd.zip, is a collection of images and batch files
used to perform a demo. Ron Baalke, one of the programmers, would
appreciate any feedback (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov).
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vi macros
Dr Chaos has real news for those vi-fans out there (for those of you who
don't know what vi is, don't worry, it's a text editor). Anthony Howe of
the University of Waterloo has been collecting vi macros and related
files ... and has now made his collection available. Take a look at
ftp.ai.mit.edu in the file pub/vi-macros.tar.Z (in Europe, check
alf.uib.no in the pub/lpf/misc and pub/lpf/misc/macros areas).
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Kerberos Version 5
For those interested in authentication and in obtaining a copy of the
most recent version of Kerberos (Version 5), Dr. Chaos reminds you that
it is available (as are the other athena software products) from athena-
dist.mit.edu. For Kerberos, look in the directory /pub/kerberos5. (Once
there, you will have to read the README file to get the real code --
either the USA version or the export version). A certain number of
clients for the Kerberos authentication services are provided as examples
to enable installations to add clients of their own. Discussions about
Kerberos take place on the mailing list kerberos@mit.edu (requests to be
added go to kerberos-request@mit.edu), and are reflected to the Usenet
newsgroup comp.protocols.kerberos.
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PC games
The big find for PC computer games is at ulowell.ulowell.edu. In the
msdos/Games/Apogee directory are the first in a series of a number of
games: Jump Man, Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, Artic Adventure, Pharaoh's
Tomb, Monuments of Mars, and Dark Ages. The distribution mechanism is a
new one that Dr. Chaos found intriguing. You get the first of a series
of games for free. If you like the action in the game, you can order
more of the games for a very reasonable amount of money (e. g. $10).
Apogee is betting that you will get hooked enough on at least some of the
games that you will want to get more. Dr. Chaos claims that the games
are worth trying out --- but he won't divulge which one is his favorite -
- any guesses?
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Sounds on a PC
If you would like your PC to say things to you, you need to get
playbwc.zip from wuarchive.wustl.edu (it's in the mirrors/msdos/sound
directory). Dr. Chaos was amazed at the sound quality that came from the
crummy internal speaker normally found on the PC or PS/2 family. A sound
editing system is also included, so you can do much more than just play
sounds.
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OS/2 Software
THE site currently (as Dr. Chaos reports) for OS/2 software is
novell.com. Lots of stuff in the /of2 directory. Please don't access it
during business hours (8am to 5:30pm). Once again, Dr Chaos promises a
more detailed report on OS/2 - huh, would you believe Real Soon Now?
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OS/2 beta test
Speaking of OS/2. The Early Evaluation Program is now open to all. It
appears that if you call the IBM BBS in Atlanta (404-835-6600) you can
type in "OS/2 BETA" at the main menu and place an order. There are a
limited number of copies, but Dr. Chaos thinks the program is still open.
Of course, the catch is as follows -- you pay $58.95 per version of the
EEP code you receive (that covers cost of diskettes and duplicating).
There is a new version due out in mid-September. Sooo..., you might want
to wait before ordering (but not too long)!
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FTP tricks
Ever want to look at a text file while you are in a FTP session and
wonder how to do it? The key is to specify the proper thing for the new
file name. On Unix, you would specify "-" or "|more" to read a text file
or "'|zcat - |more'" to read a compressed text file (notice that if there
are any blanks it must be a quoted string). On a PC you could issue "get
<filename> CON: to have the file written to your screen (or LPT1: instead
of CON: to send it directly to a printer).
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Satellite tracking
If you are interested in tracking satellites, the orbital information is
updated weekly (and some documentation and software is available) on
blackbird.afit.af.mil in the directory pub/space.
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Directory of people on Usenet
The nearest thing that anyone has come up with as a directory of people
on the Internet is a list of people who have contributed Usenet articles
and have an Internet mail address. The list can be accessed through a
mail server as follows: send mail to "mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu"
with the subject line or body of the mail file being "send usenet-
addresses/<name>" <name> is case-insensitive but you should leave out
nonalphabetic characters like apostrophes. A date on the response line
back will indicate how recently the address was found.
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Network reading list
As this issue winds down to a close ... take a look at the new version of
the document "Network Reading List: TCP/IP, UNIX, and Ethernet" now
available from the Network Information Center at the University of Texas
- Austin. Look for it on ftp.utexas.edu - the text version is in
/pub/netinfo/docs named net-read.txt and the PostScript version is in
/pub/netinfo/ps named net-read.ps. What you will get back is an
annotated list of books and other resources focusing on those three
networking technologies.
Read! - Dr. Chaos ... (I have a Masters Degree)