[nos-bbs] Cross posting: [Fwd: [wl2kemcomm] Heads up...]

[maiko at pcs.mb.ca]

> Interesting timing ?

I won't look into it too heavily ... The WinLink guys are simply making
improvements to their system, just like everyone else does ...

> From the interoperability perspective, this seems like a new bogey ?

Why ? I have no idea what the port is for, I'm not part of the WinLink
development team. I'm sure they have a reason for it, to make their
system more redundant. I wouldn't necessarily call this a bogey.

Guys, let's be clear. I have no problem with WinLink as far as the
software is concerned. Targetting the windows environment is smart
of them, let's give them that much credit. Look how it's grown.

I want very much to target the windows environment as well, but the
nature of the applications will be like that of the KLMproxy project,
allowing windows applications to use a packet radio connection as a
tunnel to other services (via a NOS server).

If people want to use NOS, they need to have a love for Linux, or the DOS
platform (which is still supported in a limited way). Apparently the DOS
userbase is higher than I thought too, but I have no numbers :-(

IF people want to set up the equivalent of a 'Telpac' type of node using
JNOS, then they will have to do it on a linux or DOS machine, the latter
requiring a network card packet driver (TSR). I ran a system like that for
years, ending 2000. Don't laugh ! It worked very well, with uptimes well
over a month most of the time.

If people do not want to use linux or dos, and windows is what they feel
most comfortable with, then so be it. They can use the WinLink Telpac node
software as an introduction to the hobby.

Maiko Langelaar / VE4KLM