21.006 How can I read & send email and newsgroup messages with my Apple II?
Description
This article is from the Apple II Csa2 FAQ, by Jeff Hurlburt with numerous contributions by others.
21.006 How can I read & send email and newsgroup messages with my Apple II?
You can use a program by Tom Larson named "2qwk!". Many PC-based BBS's
and other servers have hidden among the door programs a "maildoor," which will
package all unread messages in a user's chosen news groups and make them
available for download as a single compressed file, called a QWK packet. (Hence
"2qwk", QWK access for Apple II; get it?!)
So, you have a QWK packet sent to your machine, which takes a few seconds
to a few minutes depending on how fast the modem is and how many messages there
are. Then, you can go off-line and launch 2qwk!. Selecting "Archiver" lets you
start the utility of your choice (such as Angel 0.81b, available separately) to
unpack the QWK packet and return to 2qwk!.
Now, you may select "Messages" to view your news groups, scan messages by
author and subject, and, finally, read individual messages. When you find a
post that needs a reply, you can decide how much of the message to quote and
type-in your words of wisdom. You can also haul in text from disk and, even,
pick just the right tagline (snappy words at the very end of many messages seen
on-line nowadays). Naturally, 2qwk! allows complete freedom to change a message
title along with the group to which it is
to be posted and to originate new messages.
When you are done reading and replying, you exit the program and it
creates a reply file, called a REP packet. The next time you connect, you
simply upload the REP to the maildoor. The maildoor will decide what goes where
and your messages will enter cyberspace pronto!
To use 2qwk! you will need an enhanced Apple IIe, IIc, or IIgs, with at
least 128k RAM and drive space to hold the QWK data. The program itself will
fit on a 5.25" disk with plenty of room to spare. Of course, the server to
which you connect must have a QWK-compatible maildoor. 2qwk! runs under ProDOS
2.x. It comes with QuickFix, a program to patch ProDOS, and other utility
programs to handle MSDOS-legal names.
By: Richard Der
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