TapcisForum  

Go Back   Tapcis Web Forums > Tapcis and OzWin Support > Tapcis Support

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 30th, 2007, 11:13 AM
Dodi Schultz Dodi Schultz is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York City
Posts: 250
Default TAPCIS and DSL

Is it possible to have DSL and still use TAP to read/write one's e-mail? If so: How does that work?

--DS
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #2  
Old July 30th, 2007, 01:15 PM
jdh jdh is offline
Registered User++
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 297
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodi Schultz View Post
Is it possible to have DSL and still use TAP to read/write one's e-mail? If so: How does that work?

--DS
The solution that most people used successfully in the past was COM-IP

http://www.tacticalsoftware.com/products/comip.htm

It costs $100 for a single seat license. I think it's still shareware and they give you a trial period.

It may be a little complicated to set up.

There used to be an earlier version of this software called COMt and it ran on Windows 3.x, I think. I don't know if you can still download it anywhere. I never tried it. COMt used to be available on one of the old Compuserve HMI forums (which no longer exist).

Another thing to consider is whether you might use Windows Vista in future. Vista may NOT have support for MS-DOS programs (e.g. TAPCIS) nor for Windows 3.x programs (e.g. WINCIM 1.x & 2.x).

If you expect to use Windows Vista in future or now, you may have to convert your TAPCIS archive, etc. files to another format that can be handled by a 32-bit Windows program that runs on Vista.

The ForKeeps program and the ForMorph program (latter less expensive) let you convert back and forth between Compuserve format files, TAPCIS format files, and other popular format files (e.g. MBOX format supported by Eudora, Thunderbird, Netscape, Pegasus, etc.).

If you are going to Vista eventually , make sure whatever you buy now will run on Vista or at least claims to run on Vista.

BTW, I don't know if Compuserve classic still has the $2.95 plan and $4.95 plan, which might work if you only use TAPCIS for email and don't have that much email. i.e. you could lower your CIS fee from $9.95 to one of them and add DSL for whatever per mo.
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #3  
Old July 30th, 2007, 06:06 PM
Judy G. Russell Judy G. Russell is offline
Chief Cook & BottleWasher
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: NJ
Posts: 13,076
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodi Schultz View Post
Is it possible to have DSL and still use TAP to read/write one's e-mail? If so: How does that work?
Not without very expensive add-on software (COM-IP is quite expensive these days) enabling Tapcis to ride a TCP/IP connection. Quite frankly, if you're committed to Tapcis (and we love that, but realize its limitations these days), you're better off maintaining a very cheap dial-up connection for email only and using DSL for everything else.

Alternatively, you can switch to another email program -- Eudora, Thunderbird or the like -- and import your existing email files to that program and continue to get your Compuserve mail via a POP3 connection.
__________________
-- jgr
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #4  
Old July 30th, 2007, 07:44 PM
Dodi Schultz Dodi Schultz is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York City
Posts: 250
Smile

Thanks, folks!

"JDH" (what's your first name?), I don't plan to move to Vista real soon (I've currently got 98SE, but of course TAP runs on DOS). I have the $9.95 unlimited-hours plan which covers all my online time. Are you saying that for $2.95 or $4.95 (which I'd never heard of; I assume time's sharply limited--which would be okay if it's strictly for TAP), I could continue to use TAP via dial-up and use DSL for browsers? On the same phone line???

Judy, when you say that I could maintain the dial-up arrangement strictly for TAP use and set up DSL for "everything else"--are you referring to the same thing as "JDH"?

As you know (at least Judy knows!), I am computerly challenged.

BTW, having NOTHING to do with all this: Judy, if you haven't been there already, check out http://www.orbitexperience.com/ and when you get there click on Photo Gallery and then sit back and watch the slide shows at Earth 1 and Earth 2. You will probably want to hitch a ride, camera in hand, on NASA's next trip.

P.S.: Any idea how my question (but not other things I've posted here) made it out to the Web, where I found it floating earlier today? (I was, for other reasons, Googling myself.) Also found out there: My Dixonary posting from June 2005 reporting the results of Round 1622. Weird.

--Dodi
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #5  
Old July 30th, 2007, 09:26 PM
jdh jdh is offline
Registered User++
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 297
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodi Schultz View Post
"JDH" (what's your first name?), I don't plan to move to Vista real soon (I've currently got 98SE, but of course TAP runs on DOS). I have the $9.95 unlimited-hours plan which covers all my online time. Are you saying that for $2.95 or $4.95 (which I'd never heard of; I assume time's sharply limited--which would be okay if it's strictly for TAP), I could continue to use TAP via dial-up and use DSL for browsers? On the same phone line???
Dodi,
Sorry for the name change, it's me, David Harper (aka JDH).

Used to have "pay as you go" for $2.95 for 60 minutes plus $2.50 per hour for additional time, per month. Long time ago that used to be the "checkfree" plan, I think. I used to use pay as you go before I got TAPCIS. Then I went to $9.95 for 5 hours.

Some time after AOL bought CIS, they added the "lite" plan for 3 hours at $4.95 per month plus whatever [?] extra for additional hours.

I used the pay as you go for a short time in 2005, before I dropped CIS completely.

You might have to ask to speak to a supervisor or tell CIS you're going to drop your subscription to make them tell you about these plans. I haven't been following this for a couple years so don't know.

DH
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #6  
Old July 30th, 2007, 10:01 PM
jdh jdh is offline
Registered User++
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 297
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodi Schultz View Post
Thanks, folks!
On the same phone line???
You'll only need one phone number. But you'll have 2 physical phone wires. One from your DSL modem to your phone socket and one from your regular serial modem to your phone socket. Which means you'll need a splitter for your phone socket. I assume the ISP will supply a splitter (but you can get them in hardware stores too) and a few filters (for your voice phone, answering machine, and regular modem, etc.) The phone wire from the DSL modem to your wall phone socket should be short to get better broadband thruput.

Your computer connects to your DSL modem with either a USB cable or an ethernet cable. If you don't have an ethernet card/board in your computer already, then you may have to have one installed if your ISP only supports an ethernet cable connection to the DSL modem they give you.

If you don't have a firewall, you need to install one BEFORE you switch to DSL, esp. if they give you a DSL MODEM and not a DSL ROUTER. A ROUTER will have a sort of firewall inside it already.

You should also learn how to completely disable the software firewall in your Win 98SE computer and how to re-enable it. In case you have problems with your DSL they, the ISP, will probably ask you disable the software firewall to diagnose problems.

Since I use Win 98SE too, I have to use an obsolete version of Zone Alarm firewall for Win 98. I've also used Sygate Personal Firewall with Win 98.

I assume you have a firewall already, but I or somebody else can probably point you to a free one that is adequate for Win 98.

To test your firewall you can go to http://grc.com and run Shieldsup.

Your DSL connection is always on whenever your computer is on. That's why a firewall is more important with DSL than with old type serial modems which only connect when you use Windows DUN. When MS first releases the (now old) Windows XP they had the firewall turned OFF by default, so some poor folks with broadband would get their PC hosed as soon as they connected to the internet, in just a few minutes, before they even had a chance to download any security updates from MS. So some had a new fresh from store PC turn into a doorstop as soon as they hit the Internet, until they had time to borrow a firewall program on CD from somebody and wipe the HD clean and install software firewall from that CD and then restore factory CD's BEFORE hitting the Internet the 2nd time.

Bummer.

DH


DH
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #7  
Old July 30th, 2007, 11:29 PM
Dodi Schultz Dodi Schultz is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York City
Posts: 250
Default

Thanks, David!

I understood part of what you said: I have a splitter on one phone line, because the line that my computer modem uses is also my fax machine's line. I have a different voice line (with answering machine).

Something tells me that, not being in a huge hurry most of the time, I'm very likely to stay with my $9.95-for-all dial-up for now. I have, however, printed out everything you said, for future reference.

Dodi
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #8  
Old July 31st, 2007, 03:13 AM
jdh jdh is offline
Registered User++
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 297
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodi Schultz View Post
Thanks, David!

I understood part of what you said: I have a splitter on one phone line, because the line that my computer modem uses is also my fax machine's line. I have a different voice line (with answering machine).

Something tells me that, not being in a huge hurry most of the time, I'm very likely to stay with my $9.95-for-all dial-up for now. I have, however, printed out everything you said, for future reference.

Dodi
It should make no difference which of your two lines, fax/pc or voice/ans, you request to turn into a DSL line, if and when you do.

I believe that ATT was required by the government in a settlement to offer a $10/mo. DSL plan for the next 2 years or so. You may have to look around to find it.

I'm on a $15/mo. Verizon DSL lite plan. I don't really need it except when I run my computer as a remote interface to somebody else's computer for support. With dial up the screen up dating on my PC would have been too slow. Some software updates used to be painfully slow on dial-up too, esp. when the files are 20Mb. Verizon required a 1 year committment. After one year they will probably raise the monthly rate. I hope to switch to another $15 special plan of another ISP then, or maybe to the $10 ATT plan.

I use the Yahoo USA long distance phone out pay as you go plan sometimes. 1 cent per minute. Increments or $10 or $25. Sound quality would be better for LD over DSL than dial up.

DH
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #9  
Old July 31st, 2007, 03:51 AM
jdh jdh is offline
Registered User++
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 297
Default

Several years ago when I bought a new internal modem for my Win 98 PC, I got a V92 [protocol , not brand/model] internal modem. It was only about $17 at Sam's Club, I think.

I set up my Dial Up Networking DUN so that it hangs up the Internet whenever the modem detects the "call waiting" signal that says there's another call incoming on voice or fax. That way, I can stay online for hours and hours and not worry about missing calls and still only use one phone line.

When I was downloading big files I used to "cancel call waiting" to avoid possible incoming calls breaking the download in the middle.

Of course call waiting is not cheap, Verizon charges $7.95/mo. for it alone all by itself. Still cheaper than two phone lines.

Of course, if you get DSL you probably may not want call waiting since you can talk regular telephone voice and surf the Internet on DSL at the same time, on a single phone line (but still two wires to the wall socket).

So for me, the $15/mo. Verizon plan is cheaper than $9.95 earthlink dial up plus $7.95 Verizon call waiting by almost $3/mo. I just did not like the idea of committing for a year to Verizon DSL, since the early cancel fee is about $80 or $100, I think.

DH
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #10  
Old July 31st, 2007, 06:33 PM
Judy G. Russell Judy G. Russell is offline
Chief Cook & BottleWasher
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: NJ
Posts: 13,076
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodi Schultz View Post
Are you saying that for $2.95 or $4.95 (which I'd never heard of; I assume time's sharply limited--which would be okay if it's strictly for TAP), I could continue to use TAP via dial-up and use DSL for browsers? On the same phone line??? Judy, when you say that I could maintain the dial-up arrangement strictly for TAP use and set up DSL for "everything else"--are you referring to the same thing as "JDH"?
Yes and yes. It's really nothing more complicated that you do now with your computer, fax machine, phone etc. Remember, DSL is just another type of phone line, basically.

(Note that I'm making your other comments new threads in the TapRoom.)
__________________
-- jgr
Reply With Quote
  View Parent  #11  
Old August 1st, 2007, 12:53 PM
Dodi Schultz Dodi Schultz is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York City
Posts: 250
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy G. Russell View Post
Yes and yes. It's really nothing more complicated that you do now with your computer, fax machine, phone etc. Remember, DSL is just another type of phone line, basically.

(Note that I'm making your other comments new threads in the TapRoom.)
I kinda figured you might. I thought instantly of you when I saw those photos.

And thanks!

--Dodi
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:54 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.