Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!acns.nwu.edu!jln From: jln@acns.nwu.edu (John Norstad) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk Subject: Re: Looking for a Mac news reader Message-ID: <6177@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 9 Apr 90 14:34:20 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: Northwestern University Lines: 49 References:<15642@eagle.wesleyan.edu> <1990Apr5.194010.4207@intercon.com> <21713@cs.yale.edu> <2427@darkstar.ucsc.edu> In article <2427@darkstar.ucsc.edu> humtech@ucschu.UCSC.EDU (Mark Frost) writes: > I dunno. I've run the NewsStack on a IICX with 5.5Meg and it was unbelievably > slow. It's the only mac program I've ever run in which I've clicked on a > button and waited several seconds for a response. I think it's keen for a > demo stack, but it's just too slow for normal use. When given the choice, I'd > much rather read news from UNIX as it's much faster. While NetNews is definitely not the fastest program around, I found it quite serviceable on my old Mac II, and more than adequate on my new IIci. In both cases I can read news much faster than logging on to our slow UNIX box. And it's SO much nicer than either "notes" or "rn" that I'd use it even if it were much slower. I very strongly suspect that much of the slowness of NetNews is attributable to the NNTP protocol traffic, and is inevitable. I've seen similar slowness on UNIX boxes accessing the news over the network with NNTP. Some of the slowness is due to the complex HyperCard scripts, but not all of it. Amanda Walker's Mac newsreader is also very nice, and it's faster than NetNews. It's part of Intercon's commerical TCP Connect product. > What I've been hoping for is a solution using MacX - Apple's X-window > emulator (when/if it comes out). I would assume that someone has written > an X-window newsreader. Just pie in the sky, I guess... There is an X news reader called "xrn". My office partner uses it on his SPARC. It's nice, but I don't like it as much as Netnews. I think that the main reason I don't like it as much as NetNews is because I don't like X as much as the Mac. I'm a BIG fan of NetNews. You can get it for free via anonymous FTP from apple.com, I believe. (Well, it does require MacTCP, which is not free, but you can't have everything.) It's also available on AppleLink, and for a small fee from APDA. Look for the HyperCard TCP/IP XCMD package - NetNews comes with it as a demo of how to use the XCMDs. One of the neatest things about NetNews here at Northwestern is that it is being used by people who can't handle UNIX, but know and love their Macs. For example, my boss is now a news junky. John Norstad Academic Computing and Network Services Northwestern University jln@acns.nwu.edu