Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!udel!oscar.ccm.udel.edu!johnston From: johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Need Mac COMMUNICATIONS s/ware for unattended file transfers: WHICH ONE? Message-ID: <40225@nigel.ee.udel.edu> Date: 29 Dec 90 17:12:44 GMT Sender: usenet@ee.udel.edu Distribution: usa Organization: Univ. of Delaware, CCM Lines: 74 Nntp-Posting-Host: oscar.ccm.udel.edu In article <1835@blackbird.afit.af.mil>, lriggins@blackbird.afit.af.mil (L. Maurice Riggins) writes... >In article <1990Dec29.080136.6707@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> ia4@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu (Imran Anwar) writes: >>I am urgently looking to buy a Mac communications package that allows file >>transfers unattended....i.e. I should be able to transfer batches of archived >Both White Knight and Microphone II will do this. They are both terminal >emulation applications with a sort of "temporary use only" BBS capability. > >White Knight's version is called Host Mode and expects MS-DOS like commands. >Not very sophisticated, but it works. About $85 mail-order. >Microphone II has a "mini-BBS" capability. Although it isn't a full-up bbs, >it's much more sophisticated than White Knight. About $215 mail-order. One thing that wasn't mentioned is the Mac-to-Mac file transfer program Okyto which ships FREE with each copy of White Knight. Okyto is AMAZING ... just leave it running in the background on the unattended Mac, and you can initiate a contact with the other Mac, transfer files back and forth, inspect directories -- all with a fully intuitive, point-and-click Mac simplicity. No MS-DOS-like commands whatsoever. You can SEND and RECEIVE files simultaneously! Works over Appletalk or via modem. Read on if your are interested in some of the things that can be done with Okyto ... this is probably the only problem that really got me to sit up and say WOW! since HyperCard ... Both-ends-attended operation offers many of the the most-frequently-used features of Timbuku Remote and Carbon-Copy Mac. Say you want to call a friend or a client with a Mac problem. Just call him/her up and tell them to start up their Okyto. You can then connect with the other Okyto, send files, receive files, AND maintain a running (typed) conversation in another window, all at the same time. Example: You find that your friend has an init conflict by getting a directory on his System folder, then checking his inits with your 'InitInfo' stack ... Okyto is fully Multifinder background compatible, so you just jump to HyperCard without worrying about any file transfers in progress. Say you find a likely explanation for his problem -- just type "Hey Joe, get that damn 'Zippy the Pinhead' init out of your system folder ...". Another example: you are collaborating on a project and want to send proofs and get feedback. Begin transfering the files with Okyto; as soon as the first one arrives you can tell your partner to open it up, have a look, and type back his/her comments. You can do all this without interupting the rest of the file transfers, adding or subtracting files from the transfer queue as you see fit. (The other person doesn't need to know anything about telecommunications, and you only need to know his/her phone number. Much easier than bbs'ing. The transfer efficiency also beats that of a bbs -- because you have two Macs and two Okytos negotiating the transfer.) I forgot to mention that it is also just plain fun! Say you just finished a silly HyperCard stack and your friends want a copy -- tell them to "come and get it" themselves. It's their phone call, and Okyto chugs away happily in the background; if you get bored you can switch over to Okyto and see what they are up to, and type friendly insults ... >Or, you could go with a full-up BBS system. Second Sight from Scott Watson >is about $100 if I recall correctly. Also there is Hermes, FBBS, and WWIV >which are shareware applications, as well as HyperBBS, a HyperCard stack. >I'm not sure of the shareware fees on these, but I'm thinking < $100.00. Indeed. Bottom line: you don't need to spend alot of money to do unattended file transfers. BBS's are fun, but its a lot of work to set up a BBS for one user (that just happens to be you). You'll feel kind of silly accessing the remote mac as if it were a BBS, which will have to be configured to place everything of interest in the upload/download sections. Microphone, Timbuktu Remote, and Carbon-Copy Mac provide a some of these features at a hefty price. Do your pocketbook a favor and try White Knight/ Okyto first. -- Bill (johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu)