I remember ZModem was a big thing when it first was developed. But there was another download protocol I used to use that was bidirectional and allowed you to page and chat with the person on the other end of the connection. It was really handy for transmitting message packets between 2 bbs’s. And if you started a download with it, you could page the sysop with it, even if their pager was turned off. Can’t remember the name of it, but it wasn’t included with any of the terminal programs, it had to be added or patched in.
Other bits that this thread has shaken loose…
My first forays into the online world was with an IBM PC-XT clone and a 300 baud direct-connect modem. I had to pick up a phone to dial the number, then when the handshake started, hit the Connect button on the modem and hang up the phone quickly so the two modems could talk to each other. Terminal software was IBM’s comm.bas - as the name suggests, it was a BASIC program, and would die if I hit a backspace. Fortunatley, as it did not control the modem, I could re-start the application and be right where I left off. If the screen suddenly filled with junk, I had to yell “HANG UP THE PHONE!!” as someone in the house was attempting to dial out.
Then I upgraded to an internal 1200 baud modem and learned all the agonies of IRQs and COM ports. After that, I bided my time until 14,400 modems came down in price to $469, which is what I paid for a Practical Peripherals external modem with LCD display, so you could tell what the beastie was up to. That modem served me for several years until the next PC had a 56k modem as an option. Next step after that was 3.0 megabit DSL.
Somewhere around the time I got the 1200 baud card, some kind soul mailed me a floppy with Procomm on it, so I never had to worry about backspaces again.
IIRC it was cunningly called Bimodem.
I was using a real honest-to-goodness VT-100 terminal (not an emulator), and it was pretty darned good at what it did.
I had a Commodore 64 with an RS232 card as well as my standalone direct-connect 300baud (usually) modem.
I wrote a little BASIC program that would do the “atdt” commands on the modem interspersed with “ath” commands, dialing up the local BBS and hanging up after 10 seconds. All I had to do was sit there with a magazine, listening to the computer dial, get a busy signal, and then hang up for a half hour or so.
And then I would hear the beep of the handshake tone!
I would spring into action, very quickly yanking the RS232 line from the C64 and plugging it into the back of the VT-100 before the modem decided to hang up.
I used the VT-100 because it was far better as a terminal than the C64 was.
I tried it once or twice but it never really caught on. Zmodem was the shit though.
That was one, but the one I was thinking of was HSLINK, which gave higher transfer speeds than Bimodem and allowed for batch downloads and uploads. (Found the link on Wikipedia.)
Wildcat! I remember connecting to a Wildcat BBS back in the day.
I also remember thinking that I would love to be a BBS sysop and when I was older it would be great to run one. (I was 17 at the time and didn’t have the money for a dedicated PC with a phone line)
Now I’m a web site developer. Close enough I guess.
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To answer the OP, check out BBS Corner.
Run down to the Telnet BBS guide for a list of boards that can be accessed via the internet using telnet.
Hint: Use Hyperterminal for a free telnet client.
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Commodore PET and 300 baud. Then $250 for my first 1200 baud modem.
Heaven!
Wrote my own ANSI terminal emulator. Complete with X-Modem!