Re: Older Equiptment

[Michael A Hamblin <michaelh@utdallas.edu>]

On Sat, 12 Dec 1998, Micah Yoder wrote:

> Roman Suzi wrote:
> 
> > - DOS computer with TCP/IP stack and good enough (by Linux
> >   standards) telnet.
> > 
> >   Is there any TCP/IP (or IPX? can IPX be used to telnet?)  stack
> >   which could be boot from ONE 1.44/1.2 floppy? (diskless station)
> > 
> >   That is, without bootROM and HardDrive?
> > 
> >   (The target computer has as little as 1 MB RAM)
> > 
> >   What other  protocol could be used over ethernet to
> >   make terminal connection? Any solutions?
> 
> I believe a DOS TCP/IP stack exists, but I don't know anything about
> it.  I hear Lynx runs on it, and I immagine telnet does also.  But since
> DOS does not have any kind of IPC, I think the TCP/IP stack has to be
> linked into the program statically.  Crappy, yeah, but it would work.
> 
> > - serial cable (null-modem) to the Linux server.
> >   Which terminal program is best (makes better terminal) ?
> 
> Telix!

I like Telix myself, but the immediate problem is licencing.

> As for null modems, they would limit the distance the terminals could be
> away from the server.  I think it's something like 75 feet, but maybe
> it's less.

I'm trying to find more info about this magic networking component called
"bridge", which apparently allows several serial connections to be
gathered into an ehternet connection.

> Also, you'd have to have a multiport serial board on the server, and
> those things aren't necessarily cheap.  How much do 16 port boards run?
> 
> If those two issues aren't a problem, serial would probably be
> preferrable to ethernet.

Same story.  I'm just trying to find out where the resources are for
setting this sort of stuff up, and identify the pros and cons. I'm tossing
a web page with the ideas I've gotten so far together.  Let you know when
I've got something together :)

> Another issue... if we do either of these, we'll need character mode
> educational apps!  Do any exist?  Are we going to write them?  Is it
> worth writing them when almost everyone wants a GUI?

I thought that was one of the issues that came up when yall were
discussing interfaces :) I would like to see apps that could be run
through Gnome, KDE, plain X, Java, CGI, and text mode myself because that
would give a lot of options for ppl trying to integrate software.
Obviously though there is no way that's going to happen! :) That's just
too much work for a small group.  I look at it this way, you should
support the lowest common denominator, and the popular thing. In this case
that means writing a text based interface and a Gnome app. But I have
coded a little of both, and text based interfaces are a lot easier to
build than GUI's so I don't think that this would be asking a lot :)

Am I wrong?

--
Michael Hamblin            http://www.utdallas.edu/~michaelh/
michaelh@utdallas.edu      http://www.ductape.net/
UTD Linux User Group       TCS HelpDesk (x2911, assist@utdallas.edu)