Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!MITRE-BEDFORD.ARPA!jhs
From: jhs@MITRE-BEDFORD.ARPA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: vt100 emulators
Message-ID: <8803290303.AA02847@mitre-bedford.ARPA>
Date: 29 Mar 88 03:03:28 GMT
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 38

Harlan Wolper asks:
>   Does anyone know if there is any software available
>   for the 8-bit Atari to emulate a VT100 type terminal?
>   Or any other type of standard terminals for that
>   matter? If so, where can these be obtained?

As long-term readers of these postings are well aware, there are several.
The two most popular, so far as I know, are kermit65 and OmniCom.  kermit65
is Public Domain, and includes not only true 80-column vt100 emulation but
plain 40-column Atari emulation and an 80-column "scrolling" mode that
displays only half of the 80-column screen at one time.  This program does
kermit file transfer but does not currently support key macro definitions
or keypad emulation.

The other game in town is OmniCom, which is a "shareware" product, i.e.,
you are asked to send in $10 for an "official" disk and documentation if
you decide to continue using the program after seeing what it does.
I've been using OmniCom for over a year now and find it the best solution
for my needs, because it DOES support keypad emulation and key macro
definition, and because it has xmodem and plain ASCII capture and "Print
Screen" functions, all of which I find extremely useful.  With OmniCom, the
only significant difference between logging in from my 800XL at home and
the "real" vt103 at work is the 1200 baud line speed.  And of course the
ability to store and retrieve files and do local processing on the 800XL.

With either of these programs, you should use a monochrome monitor if at all
possible, because 80-column emulation on an 8-bit Atari pushes the graphics
resolution to the limit.  Next best would be a composite monitor that has a
separate chroma input, or an RGB monitor with an external NTSC decoder
(or just drive the Green input with the Atari luminance signal).  Finally, if
you HAVE to, you can use some monochrome TV sets with acceptable results.

If you have the capability of downloading a file to your Atari, I can e-mail
you a copy of either emulator in uuencoded form.  If you need a disk, you
might as well mail in your $10 to C. David Young, 421 Hanbee, Richardson
TX 75080.

-John Sangster / jhs@mitre-bedford.arpa