BetterTelnet

Panix - Public Access Networks Corporation

BetterTelnet

"BetterTelnet" is our favorite choice for use with Macintosh computers. It is small, clean, and has very good terminal emulation.

How to obtain it:

You use a web browsing program such as Icab or Netscape to go to one of the download sites. Choices include (among others):

The Panix local copy: BetterTelnet
The home site for the program.

From either of these sites, you should automatically obtain the compressed version. When you click on it, depending on your local system settings, you will cause it to expand. At that point, it will self-install, create a new folder and be ready for use.

Initial setup:

When you click the BetterTelnet icon, you'll get a standard looking menu choice at the top of your window. Specifically, you'll see:
[apple icon] edit session net favorites window key func
For most uses, the default settings built into the program are fine, and the only one you'll have to deal with is 'favorites'.

Setting up favorites:

Click 'Favorites'. This brings up a menu which has, as its first choice, the words 'edit favorites'. Click that, then 'new'. This gets you a window titled 'edit favorite' with a bunch of index tabs at the top. The key one (which is the one that should have opened up) is 'general'. (The others are 'network', 'terminal', and 'security')

In the 'general' window you'll see a bunch of fill-in spaces. The important ones are:

   1. alias

   2. hostname

For example, to configure BetterTelnet to connect to Panix, you would enter:

  alias:  Panix
  hostname:  shell.panix.com

And then you'd click "ok" to save it.

Using the program to connect:

IMPORTANT REMINDER: For BetterTelnet to work, you need an underlying internet connection in place, either a connection over a LAN, or a PPP connection for instance. Better Telnet can't dial a modem by itself.

Once you're online, proceed as follows:
To run BetterTelnet, simply click on the "BetterTelnet" icon. Then, once the program is running, choose "favorites" and then, from the drop down menu, click onto the site you want.
So, if you wanted to hook up to Panix:

BetterTelnet -> favorites -> Panix

A few seconds later you'd be transported over to Panix and get an entry screen, similar to:

  login: (type your username)

  Password: (type your password)

After entering the above correctly, you will see something like:

  Last login: Tue Jul 18 11:15:36 2000 from ********
  Copyright (c) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
  The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.  All rights reserved.
  Copyright (c) 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994
  The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.
  NetBSD 1.4.3_ALPHA (PANIX-USER) #0: Mon Jul  3 21:18:35 EDT 2000

Now you're connected to Panix.

Ending the connection:

When you've finished up, you first log out from the remote system the usual way (typically by typing "logout" or "quit", or just pressing "l" if you use the Panix menu system)..

The next step is to close out the BetterTelnet program. Just select "quit" from the file menu, or else press "Command-Q". (that is, hold down the Command key, also sometimes called the Apple key, and press Q.)

Special stuff:

There are various settings you can change in BetterTelnet. Usually the defaults are fine, but some systems may require tweaking.
The most common one is terminal type/emulation. The default is a vt-220. Sometimes you may have to change this to a vt-100. You might also have to adjust the number of displayed lines.
To do this:

  edit  -> terminals  -> change.

That will bring up a series of choices for terminal type, window size, and various other options.
It's quite unlikely you'll have to make changes to any of the other default settings.

webmaster@panix.com

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