Genesis is a suite of programs with functions as illustrated in the diagram at right.
* The default editor and spell checker supplied with the package is DCWORD and the default mailer is FX UUCICO, which can each be replaced by the editor or the mailer of the user's choice.
The terms used in the above diagram are my own, and represent my perception of the way in which the application works, which in fact is quite seamless.
When Genesis is started it first prompts for its own password, then displays the first screen - the next unread E-mail message, or, if they have all been read, the last E-mail message in the message base.
A click on the right mouse button produces a bar menu at the top of the screen offering 13 choices.
If one decides to create a message for despatch, a box with entry bars appropriate to the type of message one has selected is presented for filling in. The box detail varies according to whether one wishes to reply to an E-Mail message, or to a Newsgroup article, or to create a new message or article, or to send a suggestion, bug report or cry for help to ITC, or to send an anonymous FTP request, etc.
Having filled in and OK'd the required detail, one is presented with a screen by the editor, which has the quoted message if one is replying, or is blank if one is starting a new message. Again, the right mouse button invokes the editor's menu, which enables importing files, spell checking, etc.
Exiting the editor produces a box which permits acceptance or cancellation of the work produced, and if accepted asks for additional instructions such as encoding, attaching files, etc, and on completion, sends the result to the mailer for spooling.
The mailer controls the serial port, the modem, and the UUCP protocols. When instructed to make a call, it does so using the dialling and login scripts. Having achieved a connection the mailer sends all spooled messages with any attachments, receives incoming traffic, unpacks and decodes as required, and finally tosses the results into the appropriate message bases, which are automatically reindexed and displayed on the screen by Genesis.
Searching, marking, deleting and routine culling of message bases are easy to control and make the navigation of what is becoming a large block of data reasonably free of pain.
The main bar menu, its windows style drop down menus and the dialogue boxes have been reasonably self-explanatory. Any difficulties I have had in understanding the intention have been quickly resolved by invoking Help by pressing
It has a fairly comprehensive hot-key Help File, and a Help message facility which has produced next day answers for me. The answers from support@itc.com have been clear, and when the helper has not known the answer he has said so and has added sensible alternative suggestions.
A bug report regarding failure to make daily timed calls and robot responses to incoming E-mail messages during a week's absence, was instantly acknowledged as a bug, a correction of which will be available in the next few weeks.
It did make the first call, and processed the resulting incoming mail, but froze awaiting an acknowledgment from me until I returned at the end of the week. I suspect that when this facility was tested, it was done without any newsgroups being invoked.
Installation is a two stream process: externally, enabling uucp through Postmaster@pcug.org.au; and internally, running SETUP.EXE, which asks a series of questions, the answers to 4 of which must first be obtained from Postmaster, and the remainder from your system setup. Genesis writes various configuration and script files that conform to the answers that you have given.
[To get UUCP set up for you on the Internet Project, contact postmaster@pcug.org.au by email from your Internet Project account. You cannot contact the postmaster any other way. -Tech Ed]
The dialling script will work as is, but the file called SCRIPTS will need to be changed from the default script written by SETUP, in order to match the log-in requirements of TIP. The script that I use is shown below.
The biggest call so far brought in 618 messages occupying 835 K, and lasted 12 minutes using 14400bps. Gzip would have improved that performance by up to thirty per cent.
Genesis can be obtained from ftp.netcom.com as the file /pub/intltel/gen7_0.exe. This is a self extracting file which expands into a suite of programs occupying somewhat less than 1Mb. Additional space will be required for sub-directories - one for each Newsgroup to which you subscribe, plus one for E-mail.
I have set my application's automatic maintenance limits at 200 messages per sub-directory or 30 days retention, whichever is the lesser. One of the newsgroups to which I subscribe brings in 50 plus messages per day and the program so far has not culled messages until I have read them. It has permitted up to 424 messages occupying 1Mb. As an example, tip.general is occupying 150K.
A trial period of 30 days is offered, but restricts the user to E-mail plus one newsgroup. A full evaluation key can be requested, which permits full operations for 15 days, after which it reverts to one newsgroup only for the balance of the trial period.
supreme "" \r name: \L word:-\L-word: \P >-->-->
terminal\sdownload >--> connect\ssupreme
login:-\c-ogin:-\c-ogin:-\c-ogin: \L word:-\L-word: \P
continue... \r bye]:-\r-bye]:-\r-bye]: uucp
I have altered the configuration file to ring more than 3 times before giving up on a call, and to extend the default block size from 64 Bytes to 4096 Bytes. I have asked the Postmaster to allow Gzip as the compression method for newsgroups instead of the standard 16 Bit Unix compression.System Requirements
Cost
US$39.95, with 50% discount for TNT owners who can quote their key number.
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