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Così postavano

25 Settembre 2002

Così postavano

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Cercando in Google Groups per ricostruire la storia della Rete.

Alcuni di mesi fa, alla fine del 2001, Google ha messo online Google Groups, un insieme “mostruoso” di 700 milioni di messaggi dai gruppi Usenet, che oggi probabilmente è quasi vicino al miliardo di messaggi. Lo slogan con cui Google ha lanciato il suo nuovo servizio è stato: “Goditi il viaggio all’indietro, all’età d’oro di Usenet”. Google Groups è un altro incredibile Internet Heritage in cui è possibile pascolare in una smisurata quantità di messaggi postati nei Newsgroup dal 1981 a oggi. Questa eredità digitale deriva dall’acquisizione da parte di Google di Deja.com il noto e utilizzatissimo archivio di Usenet.

Google Groups permette ovviamente di compiere le necessarie ricerche in questo agglomerato di idee ove si trova un grande patrimonio di socialità, ma cercando bene anche pezzi piccoli o grandi della storia della Rete e dell’informatica, annunci importanti o fatti curiosi, “entrate in società” di personaggi che poi hanno fatto la storia di Internet.

È un affascinante viaggio a ritroso per capire come si comunicava ai tempi in cui c’era meno Web e più Usenet e probabilmente maggiore socialità in Rete. Dopo qualche mese di ricerche nell’archivione sono venuti a galla post storici, che andremo ad analizzare. Se ne avete altri da segnalare scrivete a [email protected]

Scusate ne sapete qualcosa di Macintosh? (1982)

Bisogna partire dal 1982 per trovare un messaggio di un carneade Ron Fischer che chiede alla comunità Usenet se è vero quello che si dice in giro, e cioè che Apple sta lavorando a una versione del suo Lisa con un “fabolous graphic display” e un costo di circa 10 mila dollari. Un prezzo assolutamente pazzesco per un utente come l’autore del messaggio.

GNU generation (1983)

Irrompe nei newsgroup nel 1983 l’annuncio del grande Richard Stallman, che annuncia che a partire dal giorno del ringraziamento inizierà a lavorare un sistema Unix like chiamato GNU, che verrà rilasciato gratuitamente. Il post di RMS è già un manifesto programmatico del piano di lavoro per il futuro: produrre un kernel e un set di utilities che permettano di scrivere altri programmi. Segue la presentazione di Stallman che si autodescrive come “l’inventore dell’imitatissimo editor EMACS”, nonché collaboratore del laboratorio di AI del MIT. Poi si iniziano ad assaporare i primi passi dell’Open Source o del Free software: “Considero che la regola aurea richieda che se mi piace un programma io devo condividerlo con altri che lo apprezzano”. Quasi vent’anni dopo questo post, le sue idee hanno cambiato il modo di concepire il software.

Millenium Bug: chi era costui? (1985)

Un secondo carneade, tale Spencer Bolles, è stato colui che ha portato agli onori dei newsgroup il problema tanto (troppo?) temuto di fine millennio. Scrive Mr. Bolles: “Un mio amico mi ha posto una domanda interessante: dato che i computer sono nati nel ‘900 saranno preparati a capire le date dal 2000 in poi? Io non ci posso credere, perché mi sembra senza senso. Io pensavo che il mio amico scherzasse, ma sembrava vivamente preoccupato”. E in effetti c’era da preoccuparsi. Il problema, come sappiamo, si è poi risolto, ma è costato qualche decina di milioni (di dollari).

Gopher: l’eroe mancato (1991)

I vecchi pionieri di Internet ricorderanno Gopher, lo strumento per navigare nei documenti inventato dall’Università del Minnesota, dove vivono simpatici roditori che si chiamano appunto gopher. Lo strumento non aveva molti fronzoli e scarso impatto grafico, ma era decisamente utile. È stato sostanzialmente ucciso dal WWW nato pochi mesi dopo. La sua struttura concettuale era simile al Web e permetteva di accedere a vari tipi di informazioni residenti su diversi computer attraverso un modello client–server. Gli autori del programma annunciano anche con il loro post che sarebbero state disponibili in rete le versioni client per Mac, PC e Next.

Permette mi chiamo Linus? Avrei un sistema operativo per voi (1991)

Sempre del 1991 è un post che ormai è considerato storico insieme al precedente di Stallman. Il cinque di ottobre del 1991 Linus Torvalds, dalla sua casa di Helsinki, probabilmente dopo una notte insonne a triturare codice, annuncia al mondo la versione 0.2 di quella che lui definisce “una versione simile a Minix per computer AT-386”, quella che poi diventerà famosa con il suo nome, ovvero Linux. L’incipit del post è assolutamente da culto: “rimpiangete i tempi in cui gli uomini erano uomini veri e scrivevano il loro driver per le periferiche” e poi altre proposte di sfide intellettuali a cui avrebbe potuto dare la risposta partecipare al progetto di Linux. Di circa un anno dopo sarebbe stata una storica querelle fra lo stesso Linus e Andy Tanenbaum, l’autore di Minix, sul tema se Linux, con il suo kernel monolitico, fosse un sistema operativo obsoleto rispetto a Minix che cercava di utilizzare la filosofia microkernel.

Lavoro a Ginevra e ho progettato uno strumento utile (1991)

Si vede tutto lo stile accademico e la metodologia di presentazione da scienziato nel post che ha presentato al mondo il Web da parte del suo creatore, Tim Berners Lee. “WorldWideWeb: Summary” è il subject e il testo è articolato con parole chiare e una gerarchia di concetti molto trasparente per rappresentare compiutamente il manifesto di quella che sarà la killer application di Internet. A leggere velocemente il testo di TBL tutto scorre così tranquillamente da sembrare terribilmente semplice. E proprio questa semplicità ha poi decretato il successo dell’idea dell’informatico del CERN ora diventato uno dei maggiori personaggi più influenti dalla sua posizione di direttore del consorzio W3C. Per saperne di più TBL consiglia di collegarsi a http://info.cern.ch che è passato alla storia per essere stato il primo server Web.

Vengo dagli USA e produco browser Web (1993 e 1994)

Vanno a braccetto i due post che Marc Andreessen lanciò sulla Rete a distanza di circa un anno e mezzo per diffondere la voce che il suo gruppo di lavoro, prima al NCSA e poi in una nuova start-up chiamata Mosaic Communications – dopo qualche mese diventata Netcape – aveva reso disponibili due nuovi browser. Il primo messaggio è quello relativo alla prima versione beta di Mosaic, strettamente riservata per gli utenti di alcuni dialetti Unix. Il messaggio è molto lungo dato che Andreessen scelse di descrivere estensivamente le maggiori features del loro nuovo prodotto. Un modo anche da vero Nerd per compiacersi della varie potenzialità del proprio lavoro. Il post successivo è invece relativo alla versione 0.9 beta di Netscape che viene descritto “ottimizzato per i modem a 14.4”. Il ragazzone americano, che con il suo gruppo era diventato famoso in tutto il mondo dato che erano state scaricate milioni di copie del loro Mosaic, questa volta è molto più sintetico nel suo messaggio focalizzandosi su aspetti maggiormente legati al business che alla tecnologia.

Il Green Card Spam (1994)

Quasi tutti gli osservatori considerano il messaggio di Laurence Canter e Martha Siegel, avvocati in Phoenix, Arizona, il primo grande caso di spamming ovvero di invio massiccio di informazioni non richieste. In effetti, il loro messaggio finalizzato a ricercare clienti per i loro servizi di assistenza legale per la green card lottery per tentare di ottenere la cittadinanza americana, non era particolarmente lungo o intrusivo rispetto ai messaggi che siamo abituati a ricevere via e-mail oggi. Il fatto è che l’Internet di quei tempi era molto meno tollerante nei confronti di azioni contrarie alla netiquette e che i due avvocati americani avevano architettato un crossposting selvaggio che aveva coinvolto praticamente tutti i newsgroup più frequentati. Il loro “Green Card Spam” cambiò però Usenet per sempre e procurò ai suoi autori gloria, ma anche qualche grana seria.

Jeff cerca sviluppatori Unix (1994)

Il Jeff in questione non è un Jeff qualunque, ma Jeff Bezos, ovvero mister Amazon: amato, idolatrato, discusso, poi riamato inventore forse del maggior successo nell’e-commerce. Nel suo messaggio Bezos cerca una figura professionale tecnica in grado di realizzare la piattaforma di commercio elettronico di quella che lui descrive come una “well capitalized Seattle Start-up”. Nello stipendio del personaggio ricercato, che oggi sarà probabilmente un milionario in dollari, vengono specificatamente descritte delle azioni societarie. Interessante notare la citazione di Alan Kay che chiude come signature il post: “È più facile inventare il futuro che prevederlo”. Profetico!

Vuccumprà Ebay (1995)

Sembra davvero il banchetto telematico di un vuccumprà digitale il post di Pierre Omidyar, creatore del fenomeno Ebay, che con il suo messaggio mette a disposizione dei potenziali compratori i vari pezzi, alcuni assolutamente improbabili, pronti per il suo nascente sistema di aste online. Ci trovate un po’ di tutto: oggetti per maniaci di souvenir (da non perdere una foto autografata di Elizabeth Taylor e un poster di Michael Jackson), auto, moto e autoradio, aggeggi elettronici assortiti. Un vero bazar. Quello che poi diventerà davvero Ebay nel corso degli anni.

———————–

Post famosi

From: RUTGERS@sri-unix

Subject:Good rumors

Date:1982-08-21 03:17:09 PST

From: Ron

I have heard from a reliable source that there will be a SmallTalk-80 implementation for the Apple “Lisa.” There is however some question as to whether it will be fast enough. This aside from the problem of what Xerox will decide to do with SmallTalk as a whole (sell it, public domain, etc.).

This lends weight to arguments that the “Lisa” will have a fabulous graphic display. I believe it was mentioned here that it is supposed to cost about $10k. This is unfortunately becoming a “market price” for workstations, i.e. personal machine of reasonable power withgraphics display.

Anyone want to expand on the “MacIntosh” rumor, that there will be a stripped down Lisa built for home use (or at the least be cheaper)? Please reply to WORKS at RUTGERS also.

(ron)

——————————————————————————-

From: Richard Stallman

(RMS@[email protected])

Subject:new UNIX implementation

Date:1983-09-27 10:35:59 PST

Free Unix!

Starting this Thanksgiving I am going to write a complete Unix-compatible software system called GNU (for Gnu’s Not Unix), and give it away free to everyone who can use it. Contributions of time, money, programs and equipment are greatly needed.

To begin with, GNU will be a kernel plus all the utilities needed to write and run C programs: editor, shell, C compiler, linker, assembler, and a few other things. After this we will add a text formatter, a YACC, an Empire game, a spreadsheet, and hundreds of other things. We hope to supply, eventually, everything useful that normally comes with a Unix system, and anything else useful, including on-line and hardcopy documentation.

GNU will be able to run Unix programs, but will not be identical to Unix. We will make all improvements that are convenient, based on our experience with other operating systems. In particular, we plan to have longer filenames, file version numbers, a crashproof file system, filename completion perhaps, terminal-independent display support, and eventually a Lisp-based window system through which several Lisp programs and ordinary Unix programs can share a screen. Both C and Lisp will be available as system programming languages. We will have network software based on MIT’s chaosnet protocol, far superior to UUCP. We may also have something compatible with UUCP.

Who Am I?

I am Richard Stallman, inventor of the original much-imitated EMACS editor, now at the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. I have worked extensively on compilers, editors, debuggers, command interpreters, the Incompatible Timesharing System and the Lisp Machine operating system.

I pioneered terminal-independent display support in ITS. In addition I have implemented one crashproof file system and two window systems for Lisp machines.

Why I Must Write GNU

I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. I cannot in good conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license agreement.

So that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles, I have decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that I will be able to get along without any software that is not free.

How You Can Contribute

I am asking computer manufacturers for donations of machines and money. I’m asking individuals for donations of programs and work. One computer manufacturer has already offered to provide a machine. But we could use more. One consequence you can expect if you donate machines is that GNU will run on them at an early date. The machine had better be able to operate in a residential area, and not require sophisticated cooling or power.

Individual programmers can contribute by writing a compatible duplicate of some Unix utility and giving it to me. For most projects, such part-time distributed work would be very hard to coordinate; the independently-written parts would not work together. But for the particular task of replacing Unix, this problem is absent. Most interface specifications are fixed by Unix compatibility. If each

contribution works with the rest of Unix, it will probably work with the rest of GNU.

If I get donations of money, I may be able to hire a few people full or part time. The salary won’t be high, but I’m looking for people for whom knowing they are helping humanity is as important as money. I view this as a way of enabling dedicated people to devote their full energies to working on GNU by sparing them the need to make a living in another way.

For more information, contact me.

Arpanet mail:

[email protected]

Usenet:

…!mit-eddie!RMS@OZ

…!mit-vax!RMS@OZ

US Snail:

Richard Stallman

166 Prospect St

Cambridge, MA 02139

From: Spencer Bolles ([email protected])

Subject: Computer bugs in the year 2000

Date:1985-01-18 20:43:17 PST

I have a friend that raised an interesting question that I immediately tried to prove wrong. He is a programmer and has this notion that when we reach the year 2000, computers will not accept the new date. Will the computers assume that it is 1900, or will it even cause a problem? I violently opposed this because it seemed so meaningless. Computers have entered into existence during this century, and has software, specifically accounting software, been prepared for this turnover? If this really comes to pass and my friend is correct, what will happen? Is it anything to be concerned about? I haven’t given it much thought, but this programmer has. I thought he was joking but he has even lost sleep over this. When I say ‘friend,’ I’m NOT referring to myself, if it seemed that way.

“I’ve never really written anything like that before”

Spencer L. Bolles

Da:Paul Lindner ([email protected])

Subject:Internet Gopher v0.2 Curses Client and Server is available

Date:1991-09-10 01:18:15 PST

The Internet Gopher

A Distributed Information Service

Unix-Server, Curses-Client Release 0.2, 9 Sep. 1991

University of Minnesota

Computer and Information Services

The Internet Gopher is a distributed docuemnt delivery service. It allows a neophyte user to access various types of data residing on multiple hosts in a seamless fashion. This is accomplished by presenting the user a hierarchical arrangement of documents and by using a client-server communications model. The Internet Gopher Curses Client allows a user on a terminal to access the vast array of information available on various gopher servers. The Internet Gopher Server accepts simple queries, and responds by sending the client a document.

Also included in the release are experimental clients and servers for real-time radio, utilities for using gopher in shell scripts (written in perl), and some sound utilities for NeXT machines.

Other Internet Gopher Software available includes:

Macintosh Gopher client written in HyperCard.

Macintosh Gopher Server software.

PC Gopher Client with a Borland Turbo Vision Interface.

Full Text Indexing servers for NeXT machines.

NeXT Gopher client (provided by Max Tardiveau of the University of St. Thomas.)

All of this software is available for anonymous ftp to

boombox.micro.umn.edu (128.101.95.95) in the /pub/gopher directory.

The Internet Gopher Development Team can be reached via e-mail as

[email protected]. If you prefer paper we can be reached

at:

Internet Gopher Team

132 Shepherd Labs

100 Union Street SE

Minneapolis, MN 55455

| Paul Lindner | [email protected] |”You have to spit

| | Computer & Information Services | to see the shine…”

| | University of Minnesota | — Babes in Toyland

——————————————————————————-

From: Linus Benedict Torvalds ([email protected])

Subject: Free minix-like kernel sources for 386-AT

Date:1991-10-05 08:53:28 PST

Do you pine for the nice days of minix-1.1, when men were men and wrote their own device drivers? Are you without a nice project and just dying to cut your teeth on a OS you can try to modify for your needs? Are you finding it frustrating when everything works on minix? No more all-nighters to get a nifty program working? Then this post might be just for you:-)

As I mentioned a month(?) ago, I’m working on a free version of a minix-lookalike for AT-386 computers. It has finally reached the stage where it’s even usable (though may not be depending on what you want), and I am willing to put out the sources for wider distribution. It is just version 0.02 (+1 (very small) patch already), but I’ve successfully run bash/gcc/gnu-make/gnu-sed/compress etc under it.

Sources for this pet project of mine can be found at nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) in the directory /pub/OS/Linux. The directory also contains some README-file and a couple of binaries to work under linux (bash, update and gcc, what more can you ask for:-). Full kernel source is provided, as no minix code has been used. Library sources are only partially free, so that cannot be distributed currently. The system is able to compile “as-is” and has been known to work. Heh.

Sources to the binaries (bash and gcc) can be found at the same place in

/pub/gnu.

ALERT! WARNING! NOTE! These sources still need minix-386 to be compiled (and gcc-1.40, possibly 1.37.1, haven’t tested), and you need minix to set it up if you want to run it, so it is not yet a standalone system for those of you without minix. I’m working on it. You also need to be something of a hacker to set it up (?), so for those hoping for an alternative to minix-386, please ignore me. It is currently meant for hackers interested in operating systems and 386’s with access to minix.

The system needs an AT-compatible harddisk (IDE is fine) and EGA/VGA. If you are still interested, please ftp the README/RELNOTES, and/or mail me for additional info.

I can (well, almost) hear you asking yourselves “why?”. Hurd will be out in a year (or two, or next month, who knows), and I’ve already got minix. This is a program for hackers by a hacker. I’ve enjouyed doing it, and somebody might enjoy looking at it and even modifying it for their own needs. It is still small enough to understand, use and modify, and I’m looking forward to any comments you might have.

I’m also interested in hearing from anybody who has written any of the utilities/library functions for minix. If your efforts are freely distributable (under copyright or even public domain), I’d like to hear from you, so I can add them to the system. I’m using Earl Chews estdio right now (thanks for a nice and working system Earl), and similar works will be very wellcome. Your (C)’s will of course be left intact. Drop me a line if you are willing to let me use your code.

Linus

PS. to PHIL NELSON! I’m unable to get through to you, and keep getting “forward error – strawberry unknown domain” or something.

——————————————————————————-

From:Tim Berners-Lee (timbl@info_.cern.ch)

Subject: WorldWideWeb: Summary

Date:1991-08-06 13:37:40 PST

In article <[email protected]> I promised to post a short summary of the WorldWideWeb project. Mail me with any queries.

WorldWideWeb – Executive Summary

The WWW project merges the techniques of information retrieval and hypertext to make an easy but powerful global information system.

The project started with the philosophy that much academic information should be freely available to anyone. It aims to allow information sharing within internationally dispersed teams, and the dissemination of information by support groups.

Reader view

The WWW world consists of documents, and links. Indexes are special documents which, rather than being read, may be searched. The result of such a search is another (“virtual”) document containing links to the documents found. A simple protocol (“HTTP”) is used to allow a browser program to request a keyword search by a remote information server.

The web contains documents in many formats. Those documents which are hypertext, (real or virtual) contain links to other documents, or places within documents. All documents, whether real, virtual or indexes, look similar to the reader and are contained within the same addressing scheme.

To follow a link, a reader clicks with a mouse (or types in a number if he or she has no mouse). To search and index, a reader gives keywords (or other search criteria). These are the only operations necessary to access the entire world of data.

Information provider view

The WWW browsers can access many existing data systems via existing protocols (FTP, NNTP) or via HTTP and a gateway. In this way, the critical mass of data is quickly exceeded, and the increasing use of the system by readers and information suppliers encourage each other.

Making a web is as simple as writing a few SGML files which point to your existing data. Making it public involves running the FTP or HTTP daemon, and making at least one link into your web from another. In fact, any file available by anonymous FTP can be immediately linked into a web. The very small start-up effort is designed to allow small contributions. At the other end of the scale, large information providers may provide an HTTP server with full text or keyword indexing.

The WWW model gets over the frustrating incompatibilities of data format between suppliers and reader by allowing negotiation of format between a smart browser and a smart server. This should provide a basis for extension into multimedia, and allow those who share application standards to make full use of them across the web.

This summary does not describe the many exciting possibilities opened up by the WWW project, such as efficient document caching. the reduction of redundant out-of-date copies, and the use of knowledge daemons. There is more information in the online project documentation, including some background on hypertext and many technical notes.

Try it

A prototype (very alpha test) simple line mode browser is currently available in source form from node info.cern.ch [currently 128.141.201.74] as

/pub/WWW/WWWLineMode_0.9.tar.Z.

Also available is a hypertext editor for the NeXT using the NeXTStep graphical user interface, and a skeleton server daemon.

Documentation is readable using www (Plain text of the instalation instructions is included in the tar file!). Document

http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

is as good a place to start as any. Note these coordinates may change with later releases.

Tim Berners-Lee Tel: +41(22)767 3755

WorldWideWeb project Fax: +41(22)767 7155

C.E.R.N. email: [email protected]

1211 Geneva 23

Switzerland

——————————————————————————-

From:Marc Andreessen ([email protected])

Subject:NCSA Mosaic for X 0.10 available.

Date:1993-03-14 21:11:16 PST

Beta version 0.10 of Mosaic, NCSA’s X/Motif-based networked

information systems browser, including full source code and binaries

(for SunOS 4.x, SGI IRIX 4.x, AIX 3.2, and DEC Ultrix), is now at

ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in /Web/xmosaic:

file://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Web/xmosaic/xmosaic-0.10.tar.Z

…/xmosaic/binaries-0.10/xmosaic-sun.Z

…/xmosaic/binaries-0.10/xmosaic-sgi.Z

…/xmosaic/binaries-0.10/xmosaic-ibm.Z

…/xmosaic/binaries-0.10/xmosaic-dec.Z

NCSA Mosaic provides a consistent and easy-to-use hypermedia-basedinterface into a wide variety of information sources, includingGopher, WAIS, World Wide Web, NNTP/Usenet news, Techinfo, TeXinfo,FTP, local filesystems, Archie, telnet, tn3270, and others. A list of changes made since version 0.9 follows this canonical features list:

o Support for accessing documents and data through Gopher, WAIS,

World Wide Web, FTP, NNTP/Usenet news, Techinfo, TeXinfo,

Telnet, tn3270, Archie, NCSA DMF, local files, and other sources.

o Friendly X/Motif user interface.

o Color and monochrome default X resource settings.

o Multiple independent toplevel windows.

o History list per window (both ‘where you’ve been’ and ‘where you

can go’).

o Global history with previously visited locations visually distinct;

global history is persistent across sessions.

o Hotlist/bookmark capability — keep list of interesting documents,

add/remove items, list is persistent across sessions.

o Personal annotations with GUI annotation entry dialog; annotations

can later be edited or deleted, and hyperlinks to existing annotations

are inlined into subsequent accesses of an annotated document. (Note:

any document from any server via any access method can be

annotated.)

o Audio (voice) annotations with GUI for controlling recording process

(SGI and Sun only).

o Support for recognizing and handling GIF, JPEG, TIFF, audio, AIFF,

DVI, MPEG, MIME, XWD, RGB, PostScript documents and forking

off appropriate viewers.

o Transparent and automatic uncompression of compressed (.Z) and

gzip’d (.z) files.

o Inlined images in formatted (HTML) text: X bitmaps and GIF images

can be included anywhere inside a document, and can act as hyperlink

anchors. Image files themselves can be located anywhere on the

network.

o Binary transfer mode, for pulling down arbitrary binary files and

saving them to local disk without viewing them.

o In-document search capability.

o Fully 8-bit clean for formatted and plain text.

o Options for new window per document (aka TurboGopher interface)

— always, or via middle mouse button.

o On-the-fly font and hyperlink style selection.

o Many common document and data source choices accessible via

menubar.

o Keyword search capability (for WAIS, Gopher, Archie, etc.).

o Cut and paste formatted text into other X windows.

o Smart handling of documents too big for single X window — virtual

document pages via inlined hypertext.

o Save/mail/print documents in several formats.

o Online hypertext help and FAQ list.

o No config or resource file installation required; self-contained

executable.

o Extremely customizable.

o Integrated with NCSA Collage and NCSA DTM to broadcast

documents into real-time networked workgroup collaboration

sessions.

A list of changes made from version 0.9 to version 0.10 follows:

o Support for tag: inlined images in HTML documents.

o Handles X bitmap and GIF formats so far.

o New resource, colorsPerInlinedImage, can be used to restrict

color use of inlined images — default is 50.

o Image files can be located anywhere on the net (pointed to by

URL); image data is cached in memory for fast display and

reuse.

o Example of inlined bitmap:

o Example of inlined image serving as anchor:

o Better support for acting as binary file retrieval client.

o Each window can either be in binary transfer mode or not;

resource binaryTransferMode controls startup value (default

is ‘False’, and you probably don’t want to change this). A

toggle button in the Options menu allows changing on the fly.

o If a window is not in binary trasfer mode, data files with

unrecognized types will be displayed in the window as either

plain text or HTML (depending on the server type), as before.

o If a window is in binary transfer mode, data files with

unrecognized types will be dumped to a local file after being

transferred over as binary data.

o Regardless of whether a window is in binary transfer mode or

not, files with recognizes types (images, sound, etc.) will be

handled as usual, and uncompression will be transparent as

usual.

o The whole point of all this is to allow the user to select on the

fly how a given file of an unrecognized type is to be handled.

o Because files are currently typed by filename extension,

binary transfer mode should generally be kept off, otherwise

it will screw up things like WAIS searches pretty badly. Also,

since Gopher does things differently from everyone else,

things are different there too.

o Setting one of the multimedia resources to the text string

“dump” will cause files of that type to be dumped to local

disk as though in binary transfer mode.

o See http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/mosaic-docs/file-typing-issues.html

for a more thorough discussion of these issues.

o Audio annotations for Sun’s with /usr/demo/SOUND/record (or

something similar) are now enabled. Resources

recordCommandLocation and recordCommand are used to specify the

command used to record sound; theoretically, this approach can be

used on any platform with appropriate hardware and software,

although SGI Indigo & Sun Sparcstation are the only two that I know

of.

o Search capability within documents: enter search term, scrollbar

jumps to match and match is highlighted; repeat as desired.

o Enhanced support for various Gopher types, including binary files

and CSO phonebooks (sorry, phonebooks aren’t supported yet, but at

least now an error message shows up).

o Spaces converted to +’s in keyword queries now.

o Scrollbar arrows now increment a reasonable amount when viewing

large documents.

o Anonymous FTP password is now always [email protected],

enabling access to every strange FTP server out there that I know of.

o Pattern-matching to determine file type based on file name now uses

caseless string compare.

o Better default visited anchor color for non-SGI color displays.

o Messages from libwww now show up in pop-up dialogs like they

should.

o Telnet never gets asked to use unrecognized -l flag.

o Tar files are now always retrieved to local disk (and not displayed).

o Replacement (and better) Archie interface.

o Mail Developers window is cleared on each use.

o New resource trackVisitedAnchors; can be used to turn off tracking

of visited anchors altogether.

o Better transparent uncompression support:

o Gzipped (.z) files are now recognized and uncompressed on

the fly (as well as.Z files, as before).

o New resources uncompressCommand (default ‘uncompress’)

and gunzipCommand (default ‘gunzip’).

o As usual, little bugfixes and cleanups.

Finally, thanks *again* to everyone who’s been contributing comments

and bug reports — keep ’em coming!

Cheers,

Marc

Marc Andreessen

Software Development Group

National Center for Supercomputing Applications

[email protected]

——————————————————————————-

From:Marc Andreessen ([email protected])

Subject:Here it is, world!

Date:1994-10-13 06:51:10 PST

Mosaic Communications Corporation is a making a public version of Mosaic Netscape 0.9 Beta available for anonymous FTP. Mosaic Netscape is a built-from-scratch Internet navigator featuring performance optimized for 14.4 modems, native JPEG support, and more.

You can FTP Mosaic Netscape 0.9 Beta from the following locations:

ftp.mcom.com in /netscape

gatekeeper.dec.com in /pub/net/infosys/Mosaic-Comm

lark.cc.ukans.edu in /Netscape

ftp.meer.net in /Netscape

doc.ic.ac.uk in /packages/Netscape

archie.au in /pub/misc/netscape

ftp.cica.indiana.edu in /pub/pc/win3/winsock/nscape09.zip (PC only)

mac.archive.umich.edu in /mac (Mac only)

Please make sure to read the README and LICENSE files.

An up-to-date listing of mirror sites can be obtained at any time by sending email to [email protected].

Subject to the timing and results of this beta cycle, Mosaic Communications will release Mosaic Netscape 1.0, also available free for personal use via the Internet. It will be subject to license terms; please review them when and if you obtain Mosaic Netscape 1.0.

A commercial version of Mosaic Netscape 1.0, including technical support from Mosaic Communications, will be available upon completion of the beta cycle. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

Have fun!

Marc and the gang

[email protected], http://mosaic.mcom.com/

——————————————————————————-

From: Laurence Canter ([email protected])

Subject:Green Card Lottery- Final One?

Date:1994-04-12 00:40:42 PST

Green Card Lottery 1994 May Be The Last One!

THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED.

The Green Card Lottery is a completely legal program giving away a certain annual allotment of Green Cards to persons born in certain countries. The lottery program was scheduled to continue on a permanent basis. However, recently, Senator Alan J Simpson introduced a bill into the U. S. Congress which could end any future lotteries. THE 1994 LOTTERY IS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE SOON, BUT IT MAY BE THE VERY LAST ONE.

PERSONS BORN IN MOST COUNTRIES QUALIFY, MANY FOR FIRST TIME.

The only countries NOT qualifying are: Mexico; India; P.R. China; Taiwan, Philippines, North Korea, Canada, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland), Jamaica, Domican Republic, El Salvador and Vietnam.

Lottery registration will take place soon. 55,000 Green Cards will be given to those who register correctly. NO JOB IS REQUIRED.

THERE IS A STRICT JUNE DEADLINE. THE TIME TO START IS NOW!!

For FREE information via Email, send request to

[email protected]

*****************************************************************

Canter & Siegel, Immigration Attorneys

3333 E Camelback Road, Ste 250, Phoenix AZ 85018 USA

[email protected] telephone (602)661-3911 Fax (602) 451-7617

——————————————————————————-

from: Jeff Bezos ([email protected])

Subject:Well-capitalized Seattle start-up seeks Unix developers

Date:1994-08-21 23:15:36 PST

Well-capitalized start-up seeks extremely talented C/C++/Unix developers to help pioneer commerce on the Internet. You must have experience designing and building large and complex (yet maintainable) systems, and you should be able to do so in about one-third the time that most competent people think possible. You should have a BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or the equivalent. Top-notch communication skills are essential. Familiarity with web servers and HTML would be helpful but is not necessary.

Expect talented, motivated, intense, and interesting co-workers. Must be willing to relocate to the Seattle area (we will help cover moving costs).

Your compensation will include meaningful equity ownership.

Send resume and cover letter to Jeff Bezos:

mail: [email protected]

fax: 206/828-0951

US mail: Cadabra, Inc.

10704 N.E. 28th St.

Bellevue, WA 98004

We are an equal opportunity employer.

——————————————————————-

“It’s easier to invent the future than to predict it.” — Alan Kay

——————————————————————-

——————————————————————————-

From: Pierre Omidyar ([email protected])

Subject: AUCTIONWEB: Interactive Web Auction

Date: 1995/09/12

Hello folks,

Here is the current listing of non-computer items for auction at AuctionWeb:

http://www.ebay.com/aw/

All items are offered by the individual sellers, and anyone is free to bidon any item, or to add items, free of charge.

For more information about any of these items, please visit the AuctionWebsite at the above URL.

Cheers,

Pierre

AuctionWeb Listings

Click on the title to get an expanded description or to bid on that

item. These items are not verified by AuctionWeb; caveat emptor. You

may jump to a particular category using this list:

* Antiques, Collectibles

* Automotive

* Books & Comics

* Computer Hardware

* Computer Software

* Consumer Electronics

* Miscellaneous

Antiques, Collectibles

Superman metal lunchbox,l967,used good condition

Current bid: $22.00

Auction ends on: 09/26/95, 21:30:48 PDT

Auction started on: 09/12/95, 21:30:48 PDT

Autographed Marky Mark Underwear

Current bid: $400

Auction ends on: 09/25/95, 10:09:29 PDT

Auction started on: 09/11/95, 10:09:29 PDT

Autographed Elizabeth Taylor Photo

Current bid: $200

Auction ends on: 09/25/95, 10:02:31 PDT

Auction started on: 09/11/95, 10:02:31 PDT

Autographed Michael Jackson Poster

Current bid: $400

Auction ends on: 09/25/95, 09:59:02 PDT

Auction started on: 09/11/95, 09:59:02 PDT

Toy Power Boat, late 50’s – early 60’s

Current bid: $60.00

Auction ends on: 09/23/95, 20:26:49 PDT

Auction started on: 09/09/95, 20:26:49 PDT

Hubley #520 Cast Iron Hook and Ladder Truck

Current bid: $300.00

Auction ends on: 09/23/95, 13:42:45 PDT

Auction started on: 09/09/95, 13:42:45 PDT

Collectors Multicolor Reflection Hologram

Current bid: $5000

Auction ends on: 09/22/95, 20:19:19 PDT

Auction started on: 09/08/95, 20:19:19 PDT

Czech Vase

Current bid: $25.00

Auction ends on: 09/22/95, 05:58:00 PDT

Auction started on: 09/08/95, 05:58:00 PDT

Cobalt to Clear Cut Glass Rose Bowl

Current bid: $25.00

Auction ends on: 09/22/95, 05:51:36 PDT

Auction started on: 09/08/95, 05:51:36 PDT

Automotive

Toyota Tercel(89)..64K Mi

Current bid: $3200

Auction ends on: 09/25/95, 14:18:18 PDT

Auction started on: 09/11/95, 14:18:18 PDT

Yamaha ’80 1100 cc Midnight Special Motorcycle(Chicago)

Current bid: $1350.00

Auction ends on: 09/23/95, 14:48:03 PDT

Auction started on: 09/09/95, 14:48:03 PDT

Electronic Auto Stereo AM/FM/Cass – CD Ready w/130 Watt Speakers

Current bid: $45

Auction ends on: 09/22/95, 14:07:03 PDT

Auction started on: 09/08/95, 14:07:03 PDT

1952 Silver Dawn Rolls Royce

Current bid: $38,500

Auction ends on: 09/22/95, 10:33:13 PDT

Auction started on: 09/08/95, 10:33:13 PDT

Books & Comics

The Maxx issue 6

Current bid: $0.75

Auction ends on: 09/20/95, 17:44:27 PDT

Auction started on: 09/06/95, 17:44:27 PDT

Consumer Electronics

Mattel Nintendo PowerGlove

Current bid: $20

Auction ends on: 09/26/95, 13:01:18 PDT

Auction started on: 09/12/95, 13:01:18 PDT

32x Genesis add-on system with 3 games

Current bid: $80

Auction ends on: 09/26/95, 12:56:55 PDT

Auction started on: 09/12/95, 12:56:55 PDT

cd32 system amiga game console with 6 cd’s

Current bid: $260

Auction ends on: 09/22/95, 23:12:40 PDT

Auction started on: 09/08/95, 23:12:40 PDT

Miscellaneous

Chicago Health Club Presidential Premier GOLD Membership

Current bid: $400

Auction ends on: 09/23/95, 15:24:22 PDT

Auction started on: 09/09/95, 15:24:22 PDT

Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.ebay.com/pierre.shtml

[email protected] Free Web Auction: http://www.ebay.com/aw/

L'autore

  • Vittorio Pasteris
    Vittorio Pasteris è un giornalista italiano. Esperto di media, comunicazione, tecnologia e scienza, è stato organizzatore dei primi Barcamp italiani e collabora con il Festival del giornalismo di Perugia.

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