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2021-04-15 11:31:59 -07:00
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>ͻ
<EFBFBD> Software Review <20>
<EFBFBD> <20>
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<EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>ͼ
<EFBFBD> Outstanding Telecomm <20> ProComm... what a find it is!... I
<EFBFBD> by Merv Adrian <20> have reviewed communications packages
<EFBFBD> <20> before, notably QMODEM. I have used a
<EFBFBD> Merv Adrian has written reviews <20> number of them starting with Crosstalk
<EFBFBD> for NYPC and has provided this <20> and Smartcom, and going on through
<EFBFBD> review for the Gazette. We thank <20> RELAY and a number of public domain
<EFBFBD> him. <20> products. I can honestly say that this
<EFBFBD> <20> one is in a league with any of them and
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>ͼ in many ways better than most. Of
course, the first thing to remind you
is that Freeware is a concept deserving of your support; the program is freely
available for copying and distribution... You are urged, encouraged, and
vigorously enjoined to contribute as suggested by the author - you'll sleep
better, and no doubt he will too.
That said, let's look at features. In richness of capabilities, ProComm is
second to none. The most obvious first requirement is the ability to control
your communications parameters, and you may range through the usual baud rates,
stop bits, and parity settings. One very nice feature is the use of toggles for
several commonly annoying parameters (annoying when they're wrong, that is),
including the duplex setting and echo.
You can get help with the keys at any time with the Alt-F10 combination. This
brings up one of my very few quibbles with the program: I'm not thrilled with
the keys used for some functions. For example, the duplex toggle is Alt-E,
which is not exactly intuitively obvious. However, keyboard macros are
available by pressing Alt-M (a good choice here). You get a window, some help
which is very easy to follow, and the ability to set ALT-n (where n is 0-9) to
any 24 character string.
Terminal emulation : particularly attractive, and especially for us occasional
telecommuters, useful feature. ProComm supports a whole host (no pun intended)
of terminals: IBM 3101, DEC VT100, Televideo 910/920, and many more, including a
default setup optimized for BBS'ing called ANSI-BBS.
Dialing Directory : A 100-entry directory with communications parameters is
accessed with Alt-D, displaying 10 entries at a time. Revision or addition is
easy and the commands are displayed without any need to go somewhere else in the
program for help. You can specify codes for various long-distance services if
you're not using AT&T exclusively. Other directory features include an easy
directory print utility available from within the program and an auto-redial
mode which removes reached numbers from the list.
A utility called CONVERT.EXE is also provided as a standalone which will convert
your QMODEM or PC-TALK directory to ProComm format for you.
File Transfer Protocols : XMODEM support is, of course, a must these days, but
here an additional step is taken: a "relaxed" XMODEM suitable for use with
Compuserve's non- (some would say sub-) standard implementation. ProComm
automatically senses the use of CRC checking and will use it if it is
encountered, and in fact will automatically change to no parity, eight data bits
and one stop bit (N/8/1) if XMODEM is requested regardless of the existing
settings at the time the request is made. A variation of XMODEM called MODEM7,
which permits multiple files to be transferred in batches, is also supported.
There is also support for YMODEM, which uses larger blocks for faster
throughput, and YMODEM batch.
TELINK, often found on FIDO boards, is another variation which supports batches
and includes some file statistics as well (File size, creation date), and you
may use this if any of the boards you frequent are enlightened enough to use it.
KERMIT, the public domain protocol developed at Columbia, is supported on micros
and mainframes in may places where hardware, operating system, and other
incompatibilities make other modes of transfer impossible. In fact, I have used
it to transfer executable code through a mainframe network to another user on a
PC. ProComm implements all the newest features and provides a separate menu for
tailoring your use of KERMIT. For example, using "sliding windows" it is
possible to transmit and receive at the same time!
A special feature is pacing of ASCII upload. This is very useful when you find
that you're outrunning the receiver of your transmission. The pace is
adjustable in tenths of seconds after each line of transmission from 0 up.
ASCII download is, of course, a special case since no handshaking is performed
(although you may use XON/XOFF).
Command Files : These may be executed at startup with the /F option, which is
extremely useful if you have some fairly routine, frequently used needs like
checking your MCI mailbox and printing the contents. Alt-F5 selects a window
listing the available command files from within ProComm. The command language
is quite rich, but I will not cover it in detail here, except to note that some
examples are provided, and a lot of boards have command files contributed by
users. Here is another minor quibble: QMODEM supports the assignment of a
command file through the directory which is automatically invoked when an entry
is selected. This is very nice, although I'd like to be able to select and
request that the default command file not be used.
There is another wonderful standalone program called TEF for timed execution
facility which allows you to execute a given command file whenever you wish. It
is less programmatically intensive than other implementations of similar
facilities that I've seen because you are prompted for the time rather than
having to code it into the command file you wish to use and change it every time
you want to do something at a different time.
[ MORE. . . . TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE, PRESS ALT-RIGHT ARROW ]