Home
Announcements
C= Homestead
WebCams
About Us
Contact Us
VideoCam Services

Welcome to VideoCam Services FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions) File

Welcome to the online FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) area for our Telnet and Online Members. If you came here with a question in mind but the answer isn't already here, please send us Email to ask - we'll send you the answer and add it to this file. This way we can help get you the information you need, and you'll be helping other members who may have the same or similar questions.

Table of Contents:

  • General
    1. How do I change my login password?
    2. How do I use the menu?
    3. How can I find out when my membership expires?
    4. What is the Home directory, and what is the Web Directory?
    5. Where can I find the Welcome text/message you send out?
    6. Is there a printable version of this FAQ file?
  • Term problems
    1. How do I take care of 'Unknown terminal' so I can use Pine or Lynx?
  • Talk program
    1. How do I talk to Gaelyne?
    2. How to exit from Talk?
  • Email
    1. My login says I have mail but when I check using Pine there is no mail.
    2. Can I use the address book from my other ISP on videocam.net.au?
    3. How do I know if I have Email on telnet?
  • Newsgroups and Fidonet
    1. How do I post messages with Tin?
    2. Do I need to do anything special to send Fidonet messages with Tin?
    3. How do I send Commodore files to comp.binaries.cbm?
  • Using Offline Mail.
    1. How do I use UQWK?
    2. Can you give some general tips on using UQWK?
    3. Is there a way to test QWK packets online?
  • FTP
    1. How do I FTP files from my other ISP to videocam.net.au?
    2. How do I FTP files from videocam.net.au to my other ISP?
  • Links
    1. When I start links nothing happens?
  • C= Graphic conversion
    1. What is convert-cbm?
      •  
    1. General

       
      How do I change my login password?

      Type 'passwd' on the command line to change your password, or you can use the Change Password option in the menu. You will be asked to supply your current password and then will be asked twice to give a new password. It can be a little fussy - the new password can't be similiar to your old one, and it can't have any dictionary words in it. Please keep your password at a maximum of eight (8) characters long.

      DO keep your original password available as you will need it to access members-only web pages online, such as in the Web Support (http://vcsweb.com/support/) area.

       

      How do I use the menu?

      Type "menu" on the command line. The menu can be started for you when you log in. If you'd like this, please let us know and we'll update your login for you.

      • To move around the menus use the cursor keys,
      • Or use the number or letter key that matches the menu item.
      • Press 'Return' or 'Enter' to select an item.
      • ESC or q backs out of a menu. The ESC key is the backarrow key in Novaterm.
      • CTRL-c Quits Menu immediately.
      • CTRL-r Redraws the screen.
      • To log off the system, you need to quit the menu (CTRL-c) then type 'q' (or 'exit' or 'logout').
       
      How can I find out when my membership expires?

      There are two ways you can do this. From the command line, type:

      expiry

      There's also an option on the first menu screen that you can use too.  

      What is the Home directory, and what is the Web Directory?

      The home directory is where YOUR files (or files to do with your account) are. Here, your home directory is:

      /home/name
      or
      ~/

      Your user web directory is

      /home/name/public_html
      or
      ~/public_html

      Replace name with the name you use to login to VideoCam Services.

      Do you use a Ramlink or Hard drive? If so, all directories on UNIX systems are very similar in function to CMD style subdirectories. They are very useful.

      Any files that are visible on the web are always put in the public_html sub directory. Right now your public_html subdirectory has a file called 'index.html' and that contains your current default web page information as shown above. It's what Lynx and other web browsers see when they type in your URL (http://videocam.net.au/~name).

       

      Where can I find the Welcome text/message you send out?

      You can find it here: http://videocam.net.au/local/faqs/welcome.txt.

       

      Is there a printable version of this FAQ file?

      Yes, it's available at http://videocam.net.au/local/faqs/faq.html.

       
    2. Term problems

       
      Everything appears normal until I enter a Unix command (such as Pine), but the system responds with 'Unknown terminal'.

      One of the ways of fixing this permanently is by adding your term type to your login files. On our system, the file to edit is ".bash_profile" in your home directory. It should appear as:

      TERM="vt100"
      export TERM

      You may see a line that says something along the lines of:

      export PATH USERNAME (etc)

      In that case, add "TERM" to the line and make sure "TERM=vt100" appears in the file above the export line.

      Another way to solve this problem (but only for your current login session) is to type on the command line:

      export TERM="vt100"

      Then of course, make sure your term program is also set for vt100 as well. (You can set your terminal program to use ANSI, and have the online TERM set for vt100 - this seems to work best overall.)

       
    3. Talk program

       
      How do I talk to Gaelyne?

      Gaelyne uses a different computer to access the videocam.net.au site and is unable to chat.  
      How to exit from Talk?

      Exiting is done with:

      CTRL-c

       
    4. Email

       
      My login says I have mail but when I check using Pine there is no mail.

      Pine (and some other Email programs) puts a message in every folder it accesses that says 'Do Not Delete - for mail use only' or similar. This message doesn't get deleted when you access mail with Pine, Pop or other methods, but it also doesn't show when you use pine. To confirm that it's this message, you can view your mail spool file by typing:

      less /var/spool/mail/name

      Replace name with the name you use to login to VideoCam Services. Use the space bar to page through your mail file. It's probably just the one Internal Pine message, but this way you can at least see what it is.

      Another way to list the messages in your mail box is to use the 'List Mail' feature in the menu (it's Option #1 in the Email section).

       

      Can I use the address book from my other ISP on videocam.net.au?

      You sure can. A few members have done this and seemed quite happy about it. This works with .addressbook (for Pine) and other files you might want to have on both sites. See the FTP section (below) for detailed instructions. You can also Email files to yourself from your other account but FTP is faster and is less costly for us.

       

      How do I know if I have Email on telnet?

      Two ways. First, if you like, Email to your telnet account can be forwarded to your current Email address. Please let us know if you'd like this because we need to add it for you.

      The other way is to telnet here and check your mail box using Pine, either by typing 'pine' on the command line, or by using the menu option for Email.

       
    5. Newsgroups and Fidonet

       
      How do I post messages with Tin?

      After reading the message you wish to reply to press 'f' (for 'follow-up') and your reply will go back into the newsgroup.

      Pressing 'r' sends your reply via email/netmail.

      This applies to all newsgroups and many newsreader programs.

       

      Do I need to do anything special to send Fidonet messages with Tin?

      You may see an 'X-Comment-To' field as part of the header when replying to newsgroup messages with Tin. Although it's not *required*, it does pay to enter the recipients name on this line, as this will ensure the correct headers are applied for the Internet/Fidonet transition. Otherwise, the message will be addressed to 'ALL'.

       

      How do I send Commodore files to comp.binaries.cbm?

      First, uuencode them. Do this online by typing:

      uuencode filename filename >filename.uue

      Yes, you put the name in twice - once so it can find the file in your directory, and again so it knows what to name the file within the uuencode. 'filename.uue' is the resulting uuencoded file.

      Next, in whatever program you use for reading the news, post a message to comp.binaries.cbm and give a description of the file and what it's for, and then insert the uuencode as text within the message. If using Pine DON'T use the attach feature in the headers as that would send it as MIME.

      I don't know the preferences for the new moderator, but I know Cam preferred uuencodes. Maybe the new one won't care whether it's MIME or uuencode.

       
    6. Using Offline Mail.

       
      How do I use UQWK?

      At one time, we offered use of a program named 'olmenu' for using UQWK, but found in practice that it was a bit cumbersome to use. Instead, we've chosen to use the two files described in The Internet For Commodore Users book in the Advanced Email section, but modified for use on our system.

      The files are "domail" (http://videocam.net.au/local/faqs/domail) and "doreps" (http://videocam.net.au/local/faqs/doreps). We've found it's best if these files are in the users directory as that way you can edit them to suit your needs.

      You can download the files from the links above, or you can ask and we'll place them in your directory for you. If you download them, you will need to make them executable (so they run as a program file) by typing on the command line:

      chmod 764 domail
      chmod 764 doreps

      After you've tested and all is well with using the programs, you will need to change the line for UQWK in the file 'domail' to set it so it's no longer 'read-only'.

      uqwk +r +m +n +e

      Remove the '+r' which tells UQWK to do things in read-only mode. It should look like this when you're ready to for real use of it:

      uqwk +m +n +e

       

      Can you give some general tips on using UQWK?

      For Email you have to put the Subject line on the first line of the message as you've learned to do..... But for newsgroups you have to have a subject defined in the QWK packet. So if you reply to a newsgroup, just leave the subject line there in the field in QWKRR.

      You will always have a control.dat file in your directory. If you delete it, do so ONLY AFTER uploading any rep packets. In general, it's best to simply leave it in your directory.

      Be sure to upload any .REP (reply) packets BEFORE adding new newsgroups or downloading mail packets.

       

      Is there a way to test QWK packets online?

      Yes. We have an OLR ('offline mail reader') online for testing purposes, or if you prefer you can use this for all your mail and newsgroup reading.

      The program name is 'jmr' and can be started from the command line. Be sure to create a QWK packet using 'domail' first, and to do replies, you'll need to edit the 'dorep' text file and set the UQWK line to:

      uqwk -m -n -RVCSWEB.MSG

       
    7. FTP

       

      How do I FTP files from my other ISP to videocam.net.au?

      While on your other ISP, FTP to videocam.net.au, but instead of using "anonymous" for the login, use your login name and password as if you were logging in via telnet. This will place you in your home directory online.

      Assuming the file you want is named "bookmark.html", this is what you type on the command line within FTP:

      put bookmark.html

      It'll send the file, then you just type "quit" (without the quotes).

       

      How do I FTP files from videocam.net.au to my other ISP?

      Go to the FTP section of the menu, and select FTP (not ncftp). At the prompt, type in the name/address of your ISP.

      Instead of using "anonymous" for the login, use your login name and password you use on the ISP. This should place you in your home directory on the ISP.

      Assuming that the file you want is named "bookmark.html", this is what you type on the command line within FTP:

      get bookmark.html

      It'll send the file, then you just type "quit" (without the quotes).

       
    8. Links

       

      When I start links nothing happens?

      Quick answer: press the 'g' key then type in a URL. You can also press the ESC key (the backarrow in Novaterm) for a drop down menu with lots of different options.

      You can also start links by typing:

      links http://someurl.com/

      Just replace http://someurl.com with the site you wish to visit.

       
    9. C= Graphic conversion

       
      What is convert-cbm?

      As many of our members use Commodore computers, we have a special utility online to convert .gif and .jpg files to a .jpeg format and size that's viewable on the C64 using Steve Judd's JPEG Renderer (jpx) at: http://www.ffd2.com/fridge/jpeg/index.html

      The program finds all graphic files in your home directory that end with .jpg, .JPG, .jpeg, .JPEG, .gif, .GIF Of special note, the geometry command used will keep the aspect ratio of the image intact, and if the file is already smaller than the geometry size that will fit on the screen, it will not resize the file. This important, as otherwise thumbnail images would become over pixelated and not display correctly.

      To use this file on VideoCam Services, either use the option from our menu, or from the command line, type:

      convert-cbm

      A list of each graphic file found is listed on the screen. When it's finished, the new files that can be viewed will begin with "cbm-" and will have the same filename as the original. IE, if the file to convert is named mypicture.gif, your new image is named 'cbm-mypicture.jpg'.

      Download the cbm .jpg images. We suggest using:

      sz cbm-*.jpg

      Or use VideoCam Services menu option for downloading files.

      You can also FTP files to your regular ISP. Alternatively, you can zip the cbm-*.jpg files to download or ftp all files at once.

      This program does no housekeeping, so you'll need to delete the graphic files from your directory when you're finished with them. The assumption is that perhaps you have other uses for your images so it's better to let you handle any deletions on your own.

    Do you have a question not covered by this file? If so, please send your question to Gaelyne and we'll try to answer it for you, and will add it to this file.

     

    Helpful Links:

    Local Help Index:  http://videocam.net.au/local/help
        FAQ File:  http://videocam.net.au/local/help/faqs/
       UNIX Help:  http://videocam.net.au/local/help/unix.html
  More UNIX Help:  http://videocam.net.au/local/help/unixhelp/
  Home Page Help:  http://vcsweb.com/support/
   Members Pages:  http://videocam.net.au/local/members/


    Web Hosting & Design By:
    VCSWEB

    Copyright ©1998-2007 VCSWEB
    All rights reserved.

    Last modified: Monday, 29-May-2006 13:34:58 CST

    VideoCam Services / admin@videocam.net.au