Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.0 Part 2/4
Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in
         comp.sys.cbm.  This posting will tell you enough to get your
         computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced.  This file
         should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the
         group.  It should also be proofread by users who are currently
         active in comp.sys.cbm.
Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem
Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm
Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc.
Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com
Message-ID: <cbmmainfaq20895@msen.com>
Supersedes: <cbmmainfaq20795@msen.com>
Expires: 05 Sep 1995
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU


Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.0.p2
Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part2
News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part2
Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part2
Version: 3.0
Last-modified: 1995/08/04


  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Table of Contents (for this file)
  ---------------------------------

   6.  The Online Information Reservoir
   6.1.  How do I download?  What is a transfer protocol?
   6.2.  What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII?
   6.3.  Where can I find Commodore programs?
   6.4.  What is a file extension, and what do they stand for?
   6.5.  What is electronic mail?
   6.5.1.  What are mailing lists and how do I join one?
   6.5.2.  What is a Mail Server?  How do I use one?
   6.5.3.  How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.?
   6.6.  What is USENET or NetNews?  What is a USENET newsgroup?
   6.6.1.  What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
   6.6.2.  What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm?
   6.6.3.  Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly?
   6.6.4.  How do I post in comp.sys.cbm?
   6.6.5.  How can I access comp.sys.cbm through email?
   6.7.  What is a FidoNET echo?
   6.7.1.  What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
   6.7.2.  How do I post in an echo?
   6.8.  What is the World Wide Web?
   6.8.1.  What WWW sites have Commodore information?
   6.9.  What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)?
   6.9.1.  What FTP sites have Commodore Information?
   6.9.2.  What is an FTP Mail Server?  How do I use one?
   6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)?
   6.11. What else is available online?

   7.  Exchanging Data
   7.1.  How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines?
   7.2.  How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore?
   7.3.  How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore?
   7.4.  How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore?
   7.5.  How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore?
   7.6.  How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore?
   7.7.  Are there other ways to exchange data between computers?

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


   6.  The Online Information Reservoir

   How true this is.  There is information everywhere online, just
   waiting to be accessed and used.  Hoever, getting at the information
   can be a time consuming process.

   6.1.  How do I download?  What is a transfer protocol?

  To transfer files for another computer (another 64 or 128, UNIX, OS/2,
  DOS, MVS, VMS, Amiga, Atari, or other), you should use a transfer protocol.
  Although it is possible to transfer files by turning on the terminal
  program's capture buffer and receiving the file, this is not very
  reliable and is prone to errors.  When transferring any sizable amount of
  data, one should use some sort of error-correcting file transfer protocol.
  A file transfer protocol splits a file into many pieces, or "packets", and
  send a number of them at a time.  It then waits for an acknowledgement from
  the receiver that the received received the packets correctly.  At this
  point, the sender send the next batch of packets.  This process is
  repeated until the entore file is transmitted.  Each packet contains
  computed checksums and other error detection bytes to ensure the
  received data is not corrupt.

  Below are descriptions for some of the more popular protocols:

  PUNTER

  PUNTER is a Commodore specific transfer protocol that used to be the
  standard for file transfer.  However, with the increase in IBM-based
  bulleting board, it has been replaced by other protocols.  Most Commodore
  BBS systems still offer PUNTER as an option, but almost no other BBS
  systems have support for it.

  KERMIT

  KERMIT is the name of one of the oldest file transfer protocols.  KERMIT
  is unique in that it can encode the file being transmitted so that
  it does not contain any bytes greater than 128 and does not contain any
  special control bytes that terminals use to perform special actions.  As
  such, this protocol is the most robust, but it is also the slowest.
  A common statement is, "if you can't KERMIT it, you can't get it"

  XMODEM

  XMODEM comes in several varieties.  Standard XMODEM sends files in 128 byte
  packets.  There are two standard error-correction methods with XMODEM
  checksum and CRC.  CRC is the more modern of the two.  There is also a
  version of XMODEM which supports 1K-byte packets.  This version is most
  commonly known as XMODEM-1K, but is sometimes erroneously called YMODEM.

  YMODEM

  YMODEM is a "batch" XMODEM protocol, allowing you to transfer multiple
  files in one operation.

  ZMODEM

  A new file transfer protocol is ZMODEM.  ZMODEM is theoretically the
  fastest transfer protocol, but only shows a speed gain over the others
  on noise-free telephone lines.  It achieves this speed increase by only
  replying to the sender about the bad packets.

  Most terminal programs support PUNTER, XMODEM, XMODEM-1K, YMODEM, and
  KERMIT.  The Kermit terminal program only supports KERMIT, and Novaterm,
  as of version 9.5, supports ZMODEM receives, but not sends.


   6.2.  What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII?

  When Commodore designed the PET line of computers, they chose for the
  character set encoding a special encoding called PETSCII.  This set is
  similar but not the same as the American Standard Code for Information
  Intercahnge (ASCII).  Now, this does not cause any
  problem when transferring information between or among Commodore
  computers (except the Amiga, which I believe uses ASCII), but causes
  problems when exchanging information with othe computer types.

  The obvious solution is for all Commodore users to translate incoming
  information into PETSCII from ASCII when talking to another type of
  computer.  However, this effectively ruins binary files, which have
  no concept of character codes.  Therefore, the rules are:

  Do not translate when exchanging binary files with any computer

  Translate all textual information exchanged with non-Commodore computers.

  Translate textual information exchanged with Commodore computers only
  if they are translating it as well.

  If  a text file you retrieve looks like the uppercase letters should
  be lowercase and vice versa, then the file is in ASCII and needs to
  be converted to PETSCII.


   6.3.  Where can I find Commodore programs?

   Commodore programs are available from a number of sources.  For commercial
   software, please see Section 15.1 for a list of software dealers.  For
   shareware and public domain, you can use FTP (Section 6.9), electronic
   mail (Section 6.5.2), and bulletin board system in addition to the
   software dealers to download or buy programs and other software.


   6.4.  What is a file extension, and what do they stand for?

  A file extension is a 1 or more letter suffix appended to the end of a file
  name to indicate the type of file it is.  The extension usually indicates
  the contents of a file.  The list below describes some more common file
  extensions, what they are used for, and how to use the file.

  Please note that these file extensions are not Commodore-exclusive.  Many
  computers use file extensions.  Also note that some file extensions
  are cumulative.  IF a file is named "filename.tar.gz", this indicates that
  the file is of type "gz", and the file(s) inside the gz file are of type
  "tar".  To use this file, one would note that both extension are
  archival extensions.  One would undo the "gz" archival method to restore
  the "filename.tar" archive, then undo the "tar" archival method to restore
  the original file.

  Extension:    Meaning:            Notes:
  -----------------------------------------
  .txt          Text File           This file is not compressed, so it needs
                                    no decompression step.  However, the file
                                    may be in either ASCII or PETSCII format,
                                    so a conversion step may be necessary.
                                    Most terminal programs can do this
                                    conversion, and there are stand-alone
                                    programs that do the necessary conversion
                                    also.

  .sda          Self-Dissolving     Just load and run the .sda file to
                Archive             dissolve the archive.  Will dissolve
                                    itself into its constituent files.
                                    C64 and C128 .sda files are not
                                    compatible with each other.

  .sfx          Self-Extracting     Load and run just like a .sda file.
                Archive             The same archive can be extracted on
                                    either a C64 or a C128, memory permitting.

  .arc          ARChive             Use the program arc250.4 or earlier
                                    for the 64 or arc128 for the 128 to
                                    dissolve the archive.  arc128 is available
                                    as part of the CS-DOS package.  Other
                                    de-archive programs may exist.

  .lzh          LHArchive           Use the program lhx in CS-DOS on the
                                    128 to dissolve this archive.  These
                                    are not very common.  This archive
                                    uses the same format as .sfx files,
                                    but is not self-extracting.  It is
                                    a standard format also used by
                                    Amiga (and MS-DOS) computers.  This
                                    format originated on the PC.

  .lnx          Lynx Archive        The above formats all compress files when
                                    storing them; Lynx just stores them.
                                    There are many different versions of
                                    Lynx out there, so good luck dissolving
                                    these.

  .lbr          Library Archive     A format similar to lynx.  Library
                                    dissolving programs exist for both the
                                    64 and 128 to dissolve these.

  .uue          UUEncoded file      UUencoding is a process whereby a binary
                                    file can be converted to an all-text
                                    file, transferable by E-mail.  This
                                    encoded file can later be UUDecoded back
                                    to the original binary file.  Unix
                                    has uuencoding/decoding utilities.
                                    A program "uuxfer" for the
                                    C64 (by Fuzzy Fox) will both uuencode
                                    and uudecode.  Note that the contents of
                                    uue file could be another archived file.

  .uua          UU archive          An extension of uuencoding, a uuarchive
                                    file is a concatenation of one or more
                                    UUEncoded files.  So far as I know, this
                                    was introduced by Craig Bruce in his ACE
                                    shell for the C=128, and the utilities
                                    included with that shell create and
                                    dissolve uuarchives.

  .kar          Kevin's Archive     Another text archive format that seems
                                    to have originated with Craig Bruce,
                                    this is a proscription for concatenating
                                    a series of text files (which can include
                                    uuencoded files) into one file.  More
                                    information can be found in C. Bruce's
                                    documentation for his ace shell.

  x!<file>      ZIPCoded file       ZIPCode is a program that takes an entire
                                    disk and "compacts" it into 4 files that
                                    have a number followed by a '!' and then
                                    a filename.  Also, ZipCode can compress
                                    files, in which case the x is a letter
                                    (a,b,c,d) and there need not be 4 files.
                                    If ZipCode has compressed individual
                                    files, there will be an "i!" or
                                    "x!"-prefixed file on the disk that holds
                                    the directory of the file compressed.  To
                                    make things even more confusing, there
                                    are two versions of ZipCode (v1 and v2).
                                    The newer version will accept v1 archives,
                                    but not vice-versa.  Use ZipCode v2 to
                                    unpack such archives.

  x!!<file>     ZIPCode 6-pack      This is a ZIPCode archive that takes an
                                    entire disk and puts it into 6 files,
                                    each file containing GCS codes and header
                                    info for the tracks.  This is basically
                                    a nybble copier that stores the data it
                                    receives from the disk into files.

  .bco          BCODEd file         BCODing is very similar to UUencoding in
                                    that a binary file is converted into an
                                    all-text format that is 33% larger than
                                    the original.  The difference is that the
                                    BCODE format provides additional
                                    information for error detection and
                                    automatic data segmentation and
                                    reordering.  C-code versions of "bcode"
                                    and "unbcode" are available via FTP and
                                    Commodore versions are provided with
                                    ACE-128/64.

  .zip          ZIP archive         Zip is a file format used on IBM
                                    platforms and is created by the PKZip
                                    program that is available for some
                                    platforms.  There are two forms of zip
                                    files that have the same extension.
                                    Both are created by different versions of
                                    PKZip.  The first, version 1.01, can be
                                    dissolved on a 64 by using the program
                                    UNZIP64.  The second, newer format is
                                    version 2.04, which cannot be dissolved by
                                    UNZIP64.  Your best solution when in doubt
                                    is to dissolve the files on another
                                    platform.  For the 128, there is a version
                                    of the UNZIP64 program, called UNZIP128
                                    that has been modified to run in 128 mode.
                                    It is in a file called NZP12813.SFX.

  <file>]x      Compression Kit     x = 4,7,8, cmd, or c(xx) to denote type
                Archive             of media that was compressed.  The files
                                    can be extracted only with The Compression
                                    Kit, from Mad Man Software.

  .tar          TAR Archive         UNIX Tape ARchiver.  This program can be
                                    used to archive files as well.  The file
                                    must be decoded using tar.

  .Z            Compress archive    Compress is a program on UNIX that will
                                    shrink a single file.  It is usually used
                                    on .tar files in UNIX to reduce their
                                    size.  The file must be decoded by the
                                    uncompress program, available on UNIX, PC,
                                    Mac and other platforms.
+                                   Also, a very old version of GNU Zip used
+                                   this extension, although the file is not
+                                   fully compatible with the compress format.

  .gz           GZIP Archive        GZIP is a free program developed by the
                                    Free Software Foundation to freely shrink
                                    their software.  the resulting file must be
                                    decoded by GUNZIP, available on many
                                    platforms, before using.

  .taz          Compressed TAR      This is a file that should have the
                                    extension "tar.Z", but has been shortened
                                    for MS-DOS.  Run uncompress, then tar on
                                    this file.

  .tgz          Gzipped Tar File    This is a file that should have extension
                                    tar.gz, but has been shortened for MS-DOS
                                    Run gzip or similar on the file, then tar.

  .gif          Graphics            This is a compressed graphics format
                Interchange         created by Compuserve.  To view this file,
                Format              one must find a GIF viewer program.

| .jpeg         Joint               This graphics format can use one of two
|               Photographers       compression algorithms.  One, called DPCM
|               Expert              (Differential Pulse COde Modulation)
|               Group               retains all of the information in the
|                                   original file, which is usually a picture.
|                                   The more common algorithm, called DCT
|                                   (Discrete Cosine Transform), relies on the
|                                   inability of the human eye to distinguish
|                                   among some colors.  DCT "throws away" some
|                                   information in the file (picture), while
|                                   still retaining the essence of the picture.
|                                   To view these pictures, one must either
|                                   obtain a JPEG veiwer or convert them to
|                                   GIF format.

  .jpg          JPEG                This is an MS-DOS named .jpeg file.

  .tiff         Tagged              This is a graphics format used on high
                Image               performance workstations.  To view this
                File                graphics format, you will need to convert
                Format              something else.

  .pcx          IBM Picture         This is graphics format used in DOS on
                                    IBM machines.  Convert this file to a
                                    GIF file to view.

  .pict         Mac PICTure         This is a graphics format used on Apple
                                    Macintosh machines.  Convert this file
                                    to a GIF file to view.

| .d64          1541 Disk Image     This file stores an image of one entire
+ .x64                              disk, for use with Commodore emulator
+                                   programs.  Several programs exist to
+                                   extract the image onto a disk or place a
+                                   disk onto an image.  The only difference
+                                   between the .x64 and .d64 file types is an
+                                   added 64 byte header on a .x64 file.

+ .t65         DataSette Image      This file is analogous to the .d64 file
+                                   type, but for tapes.

| .p00          PC64 (Emulator)     This file encapsulates a Commodore program
+               Program File Image  or data file.  To extract the original
+                                   file, remove the first 26 characters.

  .bmp          Windows Bitmap      This is a format used for graphics in
                                    Microsoft Windows and OS/2.  Convert this
                                    file to a GIF to view.

  .pbm          Portable Bitmap

  .xbm          X bitmap            This is a format used for graphics on the
                                    X windowsing system.  Convert this file
                                    to a GIF to view.

  .html         HyperText           This is a WWW hypertext document.  To
                Markup              view this file, you will need a WWW
|               Language            browser of some kind.  See Section 6.8
+                                   for more information on WWW.

  .doc          Document            This file could be a word processing file
                                    from a program like Word for Windows,
                                    Wordperfect, or any other word processor.
                                    Also, some text files that contain
                                    documentation use this extension.

  .cvt          GEOS file           GEOS files use a special file format. The
                                    files are called USR files, but they have
                                    special information in the file that
                                    normal files don't, so you cannot just
                                    upload a GEOS file like any SEQ or PRG
                                    file. You can pack all the extra
                                    information and the data into a regular
                                    Commodore SEQ or PRG file with a program
                                    Called Convert.  It has a version 2.5 and
                                    a 3.0.  The files that result from this
                                    conversion have the extension.  The file
                                    must be processed again by Convert before
                                    it can be used with GEOS.

  If the file type indicates an archive, there are many programs available
  that will handle most archival methods. One of these is called Omega-Q II,
  which includes one-stop compression and decompression of many of the above
  archival types.

  If you use a host system to download the files from, you may want to
  decompress the files before downloading.  Even though the files will be
  larger to download, the time to decompress them offline will not be a
  factor.  However, those who pay by-the-minute for download time would
  probably want the smallest possible file, which implies decompressing on
  the local machine, except in the case of a UU encoded file.  These files
  are actually bigger in the 'UU' format.


   6.5.  What is electronic mail?

  Electronic mail is the online equivalent of post office mail.  Although
  email is a general term, its use is usually meant to mean "Internet email".
  To use email, you must have access to an internet email program.  On UNIX,
  these programs are called mail, elm, or pine.  BBS systems usually have a
  special message area for Internet email.  You address a message to a user
  by using his or her internet email address, which is usually of the form
  name@machine_name.doamin_name.type_of_institution_or_country.  An example
  would be brain@mail.msen.com, which would be user "brain" at machine "mail"
  in doamin "msen" and the type "com" which means company or commercial.

  After addressing the message and choosing a sutiable subject, the body of
  the message is written with information meaningful to the addressee.
  Usually this information is textual in nature and reads much like a
  personal letter.

  It is possible to mail people binary files.  To do this, you need access
  to a program called uuencode.  Most, if not all UNIX machines have this
  command available, and there are versions available for IBM, Amiga, and
  Macintosh. There is also a version of uuencode available for the
  Commodore 64 and 128 as part of the ACE 128/64 OS replacement. (See section
  8.3)  The uuencode program takes a binary file and expands it so that
  it only contains 7-bit ASCII characters.  This resulting file can then be
  mailed to a recipient, who then uses a similar program called uudecode
  that will transform the uuencoded file into the resulting binary file.
  This encoding technique is a standard one used across multiple platforms.
  If you want to send a file to another Commodore owner, you can use bcode,
  which is a Commodore-specific encoding available in ACE 128/64.


   6.5.1.  What are mailing lists and how do I join one?

  A mailing list is similar to a USENET newsgroup like comp.sys.cbm, in that
  it provides a place for people to talk among each other and ask questions.
  The difference is that the mechanism used is mail.  You mail a message off
  to the list, the message then gets sent out to all members of that list,
  they read and reply to the list, and the process repeats.  It is used for
  topics that are considered temporary or topics that have a limited scope and
  may not sustain an entire newsgroup being devoted to them.  It may also
  be used when people want to privately discuss some issue.

  There are a number of Commodore 8-bit mailing lists for you to join:

  cbm-unix - This is a list devoted to the discussion of alternate operating
             systems for the Commodore line that have the familiar UNIX
             shell look-and-feel. You can join this one by sending mail to
             mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message:

             subscribe cbm-unix Jim Brain                 <use your own name>
             review cbm-unix          <this will show you who is on the list>
             help                     <this will explain how to use the list>

             you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
             cbm-unix@lists.funet.fi.

  old-cbm -  This is a list devoted to discussions of older Commodore
             equipment.  Typically, this list discusses issues concerning
             PETs, the VIC-20, Plus 4 and C16, and other lesser used
             machines.  You can join this one by sending mail to
             mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message:

             subscribe old-cbm Jim Brain                  <use your own name>
             review old-cbm           <this will show you who is on the list>
             help                     <this will explain how to use the list>

             you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
             old-cbm-unix@lists.funet.fi.

  c64-hackers - I do not know much about this list other than it is used to
             discuss issue realting to timing and special opcodes used in
             Commodore programs. You can join this list by sending mail to
             mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message:

             subscribe c64-hackers Jim Brain              <use your own name>
             review c64-hackers       <this will show you who is on the list>
             help                     <this will explain how to use the list>

             you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
             c64-hackers@lists.funet.fi.

  commodor - This is a list that is for all Commodore 8-bit computer
             discussion.  This list mirrors most of the discussion on
             comp.sys.cbm, so I would post to both places. You subscribe
             by sending a mail msg to:
             listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu with the message:

             subscribe commodor Jim Brain                 <use your own name>
             review commodor          <this will show you who is on the list>
             help                     <this will explain how to use the list>

             you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
             commodor@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu

  c65 -      This is a list that discusses the various aspects of the
             Commodore C65 Prototype system.  There are files and
             information available through this list to C65 owners.  Note
             that this is NOT the list to ask where a C64 can be purchased
             from, since the C65 is not a product, per se, as all available
             units were in-house prototypes liquidated at a warehouse.
             You can subscribe by sending a mail msg to:
             c65list-request@dce.vic.gov.au with the subject:

             subscribe

             You can then send mail to the list by address it to:
             c65@dce.vic.gov.au

  c=hacking - This list is set up to automatically mail out the latest copy
             of Commodore Hacking Online Magazine upon publication.  It is run
|            through Jim Brain's mailserver.  You can subscribe by sending
             a mail message to:

|            brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of:

             MAILSERV with a message of:

|            subscribe c=hacking Jim Brain                <use your own name>
             help                     <this will explain how to use the list>

+ trivia -   This list is set up to automatically mail out the latest copy
+            of the Commodore Trivia as soon as it is published on USENET.
+            through Jim Brain's mailserver.  You can subscribe by sending
+            a mail message to:

+            brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of:

+            MAILSERV with a message of:

+            subscribe trivia Jim Brain                   <use your own name>
+            help                     <this will explain how to use the list>

+ cbm-main-faq - This list is set up to automatically mail out any major
+            updates to this Frequently ASked Questions List.  It is run
+            through Jim Brain's mailserver.  You can subscribe by sending
+            a mail message to:

+            brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of:

+            MAILSERV with a message of:

+            subscribe cbm-main-faq Jim Brain             <use your own name>
+            help                     <this will explain how to use the list>

  c64coders - This list is for Commodore 64 coders.  Not much is known about
              the list, but here is how to join.  Send a mail message to:
              c64coders-request@uclink2.berkeley.edu with a subject line of:

              subscribe.


   6.5.2.  What is a Mail Server?  How do I use one?

  A couple of people are running servers that will respond to email requests.
  Each have a limited amount of files available.  To access them send the
  following email:

  To:  brain@mail.msen.com
  Subject: MAILSERV
  Message Body:

  help
  quit

  That will return a list of commands.  Currently the following commands
  are supported:

  help               retrieves a list of available commands.
  catalog            retrieves a list of files currently available.
  send <filename>    retrieves the file <filename>
+ subscribe list_name Firstname Lastname
+                    subscribes the user to a mailing list.


   6.5.3.  How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.?

  These online services have gateways to the Internet.  To send a message to
  someone on the following services, make sure they can receive Internet mail
  and address the message as follows:

  Service       Username        Internet Address

  Compuserve    12345,678       12345.678@compuserve.com
  GEnie         j.smith2        j.smith2@genie.geis.com
  Delphi        jsmith          jsmith@delphi.com

  FidoNet is special, since there are many fidonet nodes, so you need the
  specific node information for the system that the recipient is on.  Assume
  that Jim Brain is on a fido BBS that is node 115 on network 233 in zone
  1. (denoted in FIDO as 1:233/115)  The address would be:

  FidoNet       Jim Brain       Jim_Brain@f115.n233.z1.fidonet.org

  If the fido address is a point on a FIDO network (denoted as 1:233/115.200),
  then the address would be:

  FidoNet       Jim Brain       Jim_Brain@p200.f115.n233.z1.fidonet.org


   6.6.  What is USENET or NetNews?  What is a USENET newsgroup?

   USENET is a service on the Internet that presents the user with a variety
   of forums in which to place messages.  It can be viewed as the online
   equivalent of a set of bulleting "corkboards", like those in a hallway.
   Each corkboard or "newsgroup" caters to a different topic.  Users can
   place or "post" messages to the newsgroup for others to read, or followup
   to posts on the newsgroup.


   6.6.1.  What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?

  The first thing to discuss here is the dividing line between Commodore
  models.  All Commodore computers up to, but not including, the Commodore
  Amiga or the Commodore line of IBM PC Compatible computers, are
  discussed in comp.sys.cbm, which is what this FAQ covers.  The Amiga line
  of computers is covered in the separate newsgroups comp.sys.amiga.*,
  where the '*' indicates that there are a number of groups that match that
  name. The IBM PC Compatible computers are discussed in comp.sys.ibm-pc.*.

  comp.sys.cbm -

  This unmoderated newsgroup discusses all topics concerning Commodore
  8-bit machines, including everything from the KIM-1 to the Commodore
  65.  This is the flagship USENET newsgroup.

  comp.binaries.cbm  -

  This moderated groups permits the distribution of uuencoded binary files
  for the Commodore 8-bit computers.  The moderator is Mike Miller
  (mmmiller3@gac.edu).  If you have a favorite program you wish to put up for
  distribution, please download and read the comp.binaries.cbm FAQ (posted in
  its respective group).

  comp.emulators.cbm -

  This unmoderated newsgroup was created in 1994 for those who wish to
  run one of the many emulation programs available on other machines that
| emulate the C64.  This forum seems to be more appropriate for questions
+ concerning operation on "foreign" hardware and file types.

  zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.allgemein -

  This is a German newsgroup that discusses much of the same topics as
  comp.sys.cbm.  "allgemein" = general.

  zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.binaer -

  This German newsgroup parallels the function of comp.binaries.cbm.
  "binaer" = "binary".

  zer.t-netz.c64 -

  This is a general discussion group for the c64 computer.  It has the
  description 'Der am weitesten verbreitete Rechner', which means "The most
  widely used/most popular computer."

  zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.hardware

  This German newsgroups discusses hardware topics relating to the C64 and
  C128.


   6.6.2.  What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm?

  Any discussions about Commodore machines excluding the Commodore Amiga
  line, the Commodore IBM PC Clone line are encouraged in comp.sys.cbm
  These machines are commonly referred to as the Commodore 8-bit line,
  whereas the Amiga and PC line is not 8-bit.  Please make sure any question
  you intend on posting is not already answered in this FAQ.  Also, when
  posting a troubleshooting question about inoperative equipment, please give
  as much detail as possible.  Be considerate of others in the group and keep
  questions not pertaining to some aspect of Commodore 8-bit machines and
  peripherals out of comp.sys.cbm.  The group does realize, however, that a
  large percentage of Commodore 8-bit owners also own another computer system
  and might have questions about interfacing or emulations.  Just use your
  own good judgement.


   6.6.3.  Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly?

  Although comp.sys.cbm discusses all Commodore 8-bit machines at times,
  the C64 and C128 get most of the attention.


   6.6.4.  How do I post in comp.sys.cbm?

  You first need to access the newsgroup comp.sys.cbm through the use of
  newsreader.  There are many available in UNIX with names like rn, nn, tin,
  and trn.  I can't begin to tell you what command each uses to construct
  a posting, but your machine administrator should be able to tell you.
  All posts should contains relevant Summary and Keyword info, as well as
  a descriptive title.  If you are posting a followup to an existing article,
  and are quoting the article, please only quote the relevant portions of the
  existing article.

  If you find that you cannot post to a newsgroup via your newsreader, but do
  have Internet electronic mail capabilities, you can post to the newsgroups
  via e-mail.  For example, to posts a message to COMP.SYS.CBM, simply mail the
  message to either comp.sys.cbm@anon.penet.fi or comp-sys-cbm@cs.utexas.edu.
  It is probably best to use the U of Texas address, since the other is an
  anonymous posting service, so people won't know who originated the post.
  Such disguises are unnecessary in the CBM newsgroups.


   6.6.5.  How can I access comp.sys.cbm through email?

  If you do not have access to the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm and do have
  access to Internet email, Allen Smith has graciously set up a list server
  that will mail each day's postings to you.  To use this service, email
   listserv@compsmth.soonet.ca with NO subject and ONLY

   SUBSCRIBE comp-sys-cbm

   in the body (no leading spaces, no signature) to use this service.


   6.7.  What is a FidoNET echo?

  FidoNET is a "grass roots" network that originated to link bulletin board
  systems across the country together.  Unlike the Internet, which uses
  dedicated phone lines at high speeds to implement its network, FidoNET uses
  regular phone lines at normal modem speeds that are not dedicated to
  providing networking to link the machine on FidoNET together.  FidoNET
  allows the exchange of messages in message bases called "echoes" among
  various boards.  To use the FidoNET echoes, you must connect to a system
  that has FidoNET access.  It is not possible to describe all the features
  of FidoNET in this FAQ, so you should consult your local User Group or BBS
  sysop for more info.

  The FidoNET echoes are similar to USENET newsgroups, although the echoes
  have more strict rules about content and topics.


   6.7.1.  What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?

  The relevant echoes for Commodore users are:

  CBM       Commodore 64 and 128 News and Discussions
  CBM128    Commodore 128 specific News and Discussions
  GEOS      GEOS News and Discussions
  PCWRITE   Cross Platform Computing, including C64 emulators
  CBM.GER   German Fido area for CBM discussion.


   6.7.2.  How do I post in an echo?

  Echoes are usually posted in the same way that you would mail a BBS
  message in any other area, although the BBS may operate differently.
  It is best to follow any online directions or consult the local BBS sysop
  for more details.

   6.8.  What is the World Wide Web?

  The World Wide Web (WWW or W3) is a Internet-wide Hypertext document
  retrieval and display system.  To use WWW, you must have access to a
  WWW HyperText Markup Language (HTML) browser.  Typical examples include
  lynx, which is a ASCII browser available on UNIX, and Mosaic, a GUI
  browser available for UNIX, Windows, Mac, and other platforms.  There
  are others, but these are a few.  Once in a browser program, point it at
  some of these WWW "pages".

  If you do not have WWW access to the Web, you can request pages be mailed
  to by sending mail to listproc@www0.cern.ch with the subject help.  The
  return mail should tell you how to request a WWW page.

  However, if you do have access to telnet on the Internet, you can access
  the Web.  Instructions on how to do this, in a file called wwwtelnet.txt,
  can be retrieved from Jim Brain's MAILSERV server.  See Section 5.X for
  information on how to access the server.


   6.8.1.  What WWW sites have Commodore information?

  A number of them!  Below is a partial list of WWW sites that contain
  Commodore information.  This list is not exhastive, but will provide
  many hours of Commodore information.

  http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/
  The main European Commodore site maintained by Marko Makela

  http://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/~csbruce/index.html
  Craig Bruce's site.

  http://www.msen.com/~brain
  Main US Commodore site maintained by Jim Brain

  http://www.prairienet.org/community/clubs/cucug/main.html
  The Champaign-Urbana Commodore User Group Site.

  http://monami.psc.edu/
  The Pittsburgh Commodore Group site.

  http://www.nada.kth.se/~d93-alo/c64/
  Commodore 64 Games Home Page.

  http://basil.cs.flinders.edu.au:2374/~gardners
  Paul Gardner-Stephen's home page, C65 information.

  http://www.rbg.informatik.th-darmstadt.de/~supermjk
  Marc-Jano Knopp's home page.

  http://www.infinet.com/~rbatina
  Robert Batina's home page.

  http://www.csd.uu.se/~d94aca/vic20.html
  Anders Carlsson's home page

  http://ix.urz.uni-heidelberg.de/~fs1/c64/
  Andre Fachat's home page

  http://131.188.190.131/~poldi/c64.html
  Daniel Dallmann's home page

  http://www.cs.tu-berlin.de/~poing/
  Demo scene info.

  http://www.cs.tu-berlin.de/~poing/english/padua.html
  Frank Michlick's home page

  http://130.239.24.82/asv/phred/index.html
  Fredrick Backman's home page

  http://stekt.oulu.fi/~jopi/
  Jouko Valta's (Jopi's) home page.  X64/128 emulator project home page

  http://www.industry.net:80/users/speck/
  Sean Peck's home page.

  http://www.alkymi.unit.no/~sveinw/
  Svein Yngvar Willassen's home page.

  http://www.cs.vu.nl/~ipoorten/8bit.html
  Atari 8-bit Home page

| http://www.accessone.com/slab/prodc64s.html
  Seattle Labs (C64S Emulator) WWW home page.

  http://www.engr.wisc.edu/~conover/c64.html
  Commodore 64 (*.d64 and *.t64 Archive) home page.

  http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/
  Ftp.funet.fi (via WWW)

  http://www.cs.umd.edu/users/fms/comp/
  Personal Computing and Emulation Homepage

| http://www.yaho.com/Computers/PCs/Commodore/
  Yahoo Commodore Index

  http://www.armory.com/~spectre/cwi.html
  The Computer Workshops WWW site.

  http://www.futurenet.co.uk/computing/commodoreformat.html
  Commodore Format magazine home page.

  http://www.futurenet.co.uk/computing/amigaformat/commodore.html
  Info on status of CBM and Amiga Format mag info.

| http://hangar18.acns.nwu.edu/users/aforte/cbm/cbm.emu.faq.toc.html
  Commodore Emulation FAQ.

  http://chrom.imbg.ku.dk/bonzai.html
  Bonzai home page.

  http://www.ling.umu.se/asv/phred/cbm64/cbm64.html
  Phred's home page.

| http://www.ccn.cs.dal.ca/Services/PDA/commodore.html
| Chebucto Community Net Commodore Public Download Area

  http://www.jyu.fi/~np/c64cheats.html
  The Great C64 Cheats Compendium

| http://www.netaxs.com/~rmk/com.html
  Rick Kephart's home page.

  http://www.kaiwan.com/~sirfitz/qlink.html
  Charles Fitzhugh's Qlink home page.

  http://www.portal.com/~steward/qlink.html
  Another Qlink home page.

  http://www.warwick.ac.uk/~stuce/default.html
  Peter Weighill's Original CBM WWW site (soon to go away)

  http://www.giga.or.at/pub
  WWW mirror of Guenther Bauer's ftp site.

  http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/Web/People/mjw/Computer/Amiga/News/AR/index.html
| Amiga Report Home page

  http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~pfkurek
  Peter Kurek's Interactive site for the C128/64.

  http://sdsdabmc.nesdis.noaa.gov/GEOF/wac.html
  Washington Area Computer User Group home page.

| http://www.webcom.com/~softdisk/c64.html
| LOADSTAR and LOADSTAR 128 Home Page (Softdisk Publishing).

  http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426444/index.html
  Commodore SID Music home page.

| http://www.ccn.cs.dal.ca/Technology/CUGNS/CBM.html
  The Commodore User's Group of Nova Scotia WWW Site.

  http://www.lut.fi/~veijalai/
  Kimmo Veijalainen's home page.

  http://www.jyu.fi/~np/
  Niilo Paasivirta's home page.

  http://www.rhi.hi.is/~aaj/
  Agust Arni Jonsson's home page. NemeSID collection.

  http://www.inf.bme.hu/~mrc/
  Peter Suba's home page (Delta System home page).

  http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/cross/
  Douglas W. Jones', author of the SMAL cross assembler, home page.

  http://www.earthlink.net/users/engcon/webdocs/
  Engineering Consulting WWW home page.

+ http://www.msen.com/~brain/guest/Gaelyne_Moranec/
+ Gaelyne Moranec's WWW home page and QWKRR128 information.

+ http://www.fastlane.net/homepages/msessums/
+ Metroplex Commodore Computer Club (MCCC) home page.

+ http://www.fastlane.net/homepages/msessums/msessums.html#METRO
+ Metro C-64/128 Users WWW home page.

+ http://www.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de/~grfrog/
+ Greenfrog's WWW home page

+ http://www.infinet.com/~mbendure/cnet/
+ C-Net 64 BBS home page.


   6.9.  What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)?

   File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a service available on the Internet to
   allow users to send and retrieve files on the Internet.  To allow anyone
   to access some machines, the special user "anonymous" or "ftp" is used
   to log into another machine for ftp.  These machine, which hold public
   domain (PD), shareware, and freeware files, are called "anonymous ftp"
   sites.  To get files from these sites, you use (on most systems) a program
   called ftp.  A typical ftp session (assuming you are running from a Unix
   system) would be as follows:

  SAMPLE SESSION:

  %ftp ccnga.uwaterloo.ca                   <ccnga.uwaterloo.ca is site name>
  Connected to ccnga.uwaterloo.ca.
  220 punisher FTP server (SunOS 4.1) ready.
  Name (cco.caltech.edu:rknop): anonymous     <Use "anonymous" for user name>
  331 Guest login ok, send ident as password.
  Password:                                   <Type your E-mail address here>
  230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
  ftp> cd /pub/cbm/utilities                         <"cd" changes directory>
  250 CWD command successful.
  ftp> dir z*                             <"dir" alone lists whole directory>
  200 PORT command successful.
  150 ASCII data connection for /bin/ls (131.215.48.57,2084) (0 bytes).
  -rw-r--r--  1 root     root        15427 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.070
  -rw-r--r--  1 root     root        14107 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.doc
  226 ASCII Transfer complete.
  remote: z*
  134 bytes received in 0.44 seconds (0.3 Kbytes/s)
  ftp> binary                           <specifies binary files. IMPORTANT!!>
  200 Type set to I.
  ftp> get zed-128.070                            <requests file zed-128.070>
  200 PORT command successful.
  150 Binary data connection for zed-128.070 (131.215.48.57,20) (15427 bytes)
  226 Binary Transfer complete.
  local: zed-128.070 remote: zed-128.070
  15427 bytes received in 0.1 seconds (1.5e+02 Kbytes/s)
  ftp> quit                                      <quit when you are finished>
  221 Goodbye.
  %

  To submit files to an ftp site, you use the command "put".  Again, make sure
  to first specify "binary" for programs and other binary files.  Typically,
  ftp sites will only accept submissions in an "INCOMING" directory.

  To download software (files) from an anonymous ftp sites, one has to
  be aware that there are two connections to be concerned about.  The
  first connection is from your Commodore to you host computer and then
  the connection from your host to the ftp site.  In addition you need to be
  be aware of the nature of the information in the desired file, particularly
  if you are downloading programs.  If the file is not known to be in
  printable ASCII form, consider it a binary file.  It may also be be in an
  archived form, i.e. a form where it is packed with many files or in a
  shortened format.  Consider these to be binary unless it is of the "uu"
  type which is an ASCII format.


   6.9.1.  What FTP sites have Commodore Information?

  A number of sites on Internet have areas for Commodore files. The list
  of current Internet FTP sites can be retrieved from the Jim Brain's
  mail server as file cbm-ftp-sites.MM.YY where MM is the Month and YY is the
  year that the list is for.  (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to
  use the mail server).  The FTP List is maintained by Howard Herman and a
  copy of the latest file can be obtained from him at
  72560.3467@compuserve.com.


   6.9.2.  What is an FTP Mail Server?  How do I use one?

  If your service provider does not allow access to FTP directly, there
  are some systems that will perform the FTP session on your behalf.  These
  systems are called "ftp mail servers".  These allow the user to request
  files to be retrieved by electronically mailing a message to the server.

  To use the service, you must first learn how the service works.  This is
  done by mailing the server address with the word "help" in the body of
  the message This will result in the directions being sent in a message to
  you.  Then, following the directions, you can request files from any
  FTP sites through the server.  The server will send both the retrieved
  files and a message detailing the execution of your request.

  Here is a sample request message:

  To: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
  Subject:
  Body:
  connect ccnga.uwaterloo.ca anonymous brain@msen.com
  chdir /pub/cbm/comp.sys.cbm
  ls -l
  quit

  Please note the following:

  This service is only for retrieving files.

  Binary files will usually be uuencoded.  They must be decoded before use.

  Large files may be split into smaller pieces.  The resulting pieces must
  be editted back into one piece, and decoded if necessary.

  Potential ftpmail servers include:

  ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
  bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu

  Craig Bruce has set up a ftp mail server off his regular email address.
  Here is how you would utilize it:

  To: csbruce@little.uwaterloo.ca
  Subject: ftpmail
  Body:
  help
  bcode
  ftp ccnga.uwaterloo.ca
  cd /pub/cbm/os/ace
  dir
  get ace12.doc
  quit

  All of the regular FTP commands are supported, with the addition of
  the following commands:

  help   - gives help information.
  bcode  - requests the data be sent as bcoded files.
  hexcode- requests the data be sent as hexcoded files.


   6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)?

  Internet Raley Chat (IRC) is an online version of citizen's band radio or
  BBS chat rooms.  The service is worldwide and is available on the Internet.
  To use IRC, one would normally use a client program (typically called irc on
  UNIX machines) to access the service.

  Although the program used to access IRC varies, the commands are pretty
  much standard.  All commands are entered on the text line and begin
  with a "/" character.  Here are a few important ones:

  /join #c-64               Join the #c-64 channel, which discusses topics
                            concerning Commodore hardware and software.

  /msg Commbot help         will get you info on Commbot which carries C64/128
                            software to download.

  /msg Filebot help         another C64 bot with software to download from.

  /msg coolhand xdcc list   if he is online, this user has many c64 files
                            which can be downloaded via this command.

  /quit                     leave.

  /names *                  List names of all people in current channel.

  /dcc send (nickname) (filename)
                            Send a file to person (nickname).

  /dcc receive (nickname) or
  /dcc get (filename)       REceive a file from someone.

  If you need more info on how IRC works, there is a file available on
  Jim Brain's email file server called irc-info.txt that explains IRC in
| more depth.  (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to use the mail server)


   6.11. What else is available online?

  If you are looking for other places on the Internet to talk Commodore,
  there is the Commodore forum on CoSy, a system accessible from the
  Internet.  To access this service, you must have access to a telnet
  program.  Here is the relevant information:

  telnet cosy.softwaords.bc.ca
  login: cosy
  CoSy: j commodore

  This will bring up a list of topics pertaining to Commodore.  The forum
  moderator is Robert Todd and his email address is robert.todd@bbs.serve.org.
  This forum is ideally suited to discussions about the Color64 BBS
  system and other Commodore BBS systems.  If you wish to post in the
  forum, please send email to that effect to Robert Todd.


   7.  Exchanging Data

   At some point in time it becomes necessary to move data from one machine to
   another.   Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is not.  This section will
   help you decide which way of transferring files is best.


   7.1.  How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines?

+ You can exchange data between Commodore machines in a number of ways, but
+ each way requires an exchange medium, whether it be tape, disk, modem, or
+ null modem.

+ To transfer files between any Commodore machines besides the Plus/4
+ series that have datasette ports, the file can be save to tape and
+ exchanged.  The Plus/4 series tape drives read and write data in a format
+ not compantible with any other CBM system.

+ To transfer files between any Commodore computers with disk drives, you
+ need to find a drive that can be connected to either computer, or two
+ drives with compatible disk formats.  Some examples of two drive setups:

+ 2031   1541
+ 4040   1541     (Read but not write compatible_
+ 8050   8250     (can't use back side of 8250 disk)
+ 8050   SFD1001  (can't use back side of SFD1001 disk)
+ 1551   1541
+ 1571   1541     (can't use back of 1571 disk)

+ Modems can be used to exchange the information, if both computers can
+ use modems.  Just perform a dowload on one end, and an upload on the
+ other.  Null modems can make this job simpler, by removing the data->
+ telephone line step performed in a modem.

+ With all of these methods, data files should transmit fine, but program
+ file written in ML will most likely not work, and BASIC programs will
+ usually fail is loaded on a machine with a differing version of BASIC.


   7.2.  How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore?

  Commodore computers use a disk format which is not compatible with the
  disk formats of other computers.  However, some programs exist which allow
  you to read foreign, specifically MS-DOS, disks.  Note that in general to
  do this, you must have either a 1571 or 1581 disk drive.  The 1541 cannot
  read MS-DOS disks without some hardware modifications.

  A commercial package, The Big Blue Reader, from SOGWAP software, runs on
  either a 64 or a 128, will read and write MS-DOS format 3.5" (with a 1581)
  and 5.25" (with a 1571) disks.

  Other freely distributable programs exist to read and write 5.25" MS-DOS
  disks.  One such program is Crosslink, (available on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca
  although it is limited to reading files 43K in size or smaller.  Finally,
  there are a few CP/M MS-DOS reading utilities that work in the C128's CP/M
  mode.

  RUN magazine (4/89 to 6/89) published a series of programs that would use
  1571/1581 drives to transfer MS-DOS files to and from a C= drive.  It is
  also limited in file size handling ~43-44K.

  Issues 4 and 5 of C= Hacking magazine presented a program called Little
  Red Reader for the 128 that will copy files to and from MS-DOS floppy
  disks.  The menu-driven program requires two disk drives to work, where the
  one containing the MS-DOS disk must be a 1571 or 1581 (or compatible).  The
  program does not buffer data internally, so the only size restriction on
  copying is the capacity of the target disk.  The program provides PETSCII/
  ASCII conversion but will work only with the root directories of MS-DOS
  disks.  The program is also available via FTP and is FREE.

  To read and write to MS-DOS disks with 1541 disk drives you have to make a
  small hardware modification. The 1541-dos package contains instructions on
  how to modify Commodore 1541 and Oceanic OC-118/OC-118N disk drives, and
  programs to read disks in MS-DOS format and to write to disks in a format
  that can be read by MS-DOS computers.  The newest version of the package is
  available via anonymous ftp on ftp.funet.fi in /pub/cbm/documents/1541-dos.

  To read CBM disks on an IBM, you can use the program x1541 available on
  ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in /pub/cbm/emulation.  This program uses the PC parallel
  port to emulate a C= serial port.  You need to have a unique cable built to
  make the connection.  The cable is connected to a 1541 drive.
  The documentation has a schematic for the cable.

  Also, if you own a Commodore 1581, there is a PC program which can read
  1581 formatted disks.  It is called 22DSK13.

  There are no programs that will read a 5.25" Commodore disk in a 5.25" PC
  drive.


   7.3.  How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore?

  TransNib

  The TransNib 1.00 package for Amiga allows transferring files
  C64<->Amiga at up to 60000 bps. It uses a parallel<->user port cable that
  currently transfers 4bits at a time. Uses 2-way handshaking. 2 versions
  of the 64software are in the archive. Requires a disk drive. 1541
  fastloader compatible. The Amiga side software can be run from shell of
  WB, multitasks fine and has nice simple GUI.

  For more information, get the archive from ftp.wustl.edu,
  /systems/amiga/aminet/misc/emu/TransNib100.lha

+ PData

+ The PData 3.51 package for the Amiga allows transfer of both binary and
+ text files between the C64/C128 and the Amiga.  It's about 25 times faster
+ than a null modem cable, and it even leaves your Amiga serial port free for
+ other applications.

+ You can transfer up to 255 files in both directions in multitransfer mode.
+ The program works with an cable attached between the 64 user port and the
+ Amiga parallel port.  The Amiga software can be run from any Amiga,
+ although Kickstart v37.175 (v2.04) is required to utilize all functions.

+ for more information, get the archive at:
+ ftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk/computing/systems/amiga/mods/chip/NemeSIDs-Extra.lzh


   7.4.  How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore?


   7.5.  How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore?

+ Atari ST can read and write 3.5" DD disks formatted for PC. You need to use
+ TOS 1.4 or higher to format.  Using Big Blue Reader to write 3.5" PC
+ format on CBM will permit transfer.

+ ST also has RS-232 port, so one can transfer data by using RS-232 adaptor
+ on the C64 and some terminal/handshaking programs to control the transfer.


   7.6.  How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore?

+ One way is to use PC and then ftp to UNIX, unless the UNIX runs on a PC.
+ Some Sparctations have drives with MSDOS filesystem emulation, but it has
+ problems even with Atari/DOS disks.


   7.7.  Are there other ways to exchange data between computers?

  If you are transferring data to another computer (e.g. a PC) in the same
  room, or if you are lucky enough to have a terminal server line near your
  64/128(more and more colleges are putting such beasts in dorm rooms), you
  be able to connect your serial port directly to another computer.  If you
  have a terminal server port, all you need is a C= RS232 to standard RS232
  adapter (see 9.8).  If you are connecting to another, PC, you will also
  need a null modem.  A null modem is a simple device that you can buy for
  less than $10.  It typically is a small box with a 25-pin (or 9-pin) RS232
  connector on either side.  Put it somewhere in the line between your C= and
  the other PC.



