IRATA.ONLINE and PLATOTerm for Amiga systems, Need testers and icon help!

[tschak909]

This is an introduction for my project, IRATA.ONLINE, to the Amiga community:

Hello, I'm Thom Cherryhomes, systems operator for IRATA.ONLINE, a unique on-line service for retro-computing enthusiasts.

The main website is here: http://www.irata.online/

It's based on PLATO, a legendary graphical time-sharing system with touch screen functionality that ran in its classic incarnation from 1962, until NovaNET shut down its last instance in 2015.

More info about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLATO_(computer_system)

As you can see there, PLATO was home to a huge number of innovations, many of which are overlooked in the greater history of computing.

I have taken a complete working PLATO installation, installed it within a supercomputer emulator (the computer being emulated, is a Control Data Cyber 170/865, which is a 60-bit supercomputer from the late 1970s), and have been tailoring it specifically for the retro-computing community.

To this end, I have also taken a terminal that I've written, called PLATOTerm, and have been steadily porting to every single available retro-computing platform that is at least capable of displaying bitmapped graphics 256 pixels across by 192 pixels vertical, and the net result is that clients are ready for, or are almost ready for the following systems:

* Atari 8-bit
* Commodore 64
* Commodore 128
* Apple ][
* TI 99/4A
* Sinclair ZX Spectrum (loadable directly from Spectranet!)
* Amstrad CPC464
* Atari ST
* TRS-80 Color Computer 3 (Thanks to Brett Gordon of FUZIX fame)
* FUZIX (Thanks to Alan Cox of Linux fame)
* Spectravideo SV-3x8
* MicroBee
* MSX
* Memotech MTX-512
* Tatung Einstein
* Commodore Amiga

And even more coming:
* IBM 5150 PC and PCjr
* TRS-80 Color Computer 2
* Anything that runs FUZIX (countless machines, Alan Cox of Linux fame is doing this port)
* Thomson MO5/TO7

There is also a port to WebAssembly, which will be the core for not only web users, but also Android and IOS devices, as well.

---- Of relevance to the Amiga community

I have a terminal working for the Amiga, and have been regularly cutting test releases. You can get a copy here:

http://github.com/tschak909/platotermamiga/releases

It is a program that goes OUT OF ITS WAY to use only v33 and below ROM calls, so it will work on any machine with KickStart 1.2 or newer, and I regularly test on a 512K only Amiga emulation, and it works there too.

The terminal is written as a serial.device application, and uses the standard exec I/O API for serial devices. You can change the device from the default serial.device to support other devices, such as baudbandit.device, or v34.device, or 8n1.device. OR.. if you have TCP/IP running, you can install and use telnet bridges like telser.device, this works beautifully, as you can see in this demo:



---- What I need from the community:

* People to test on real hardware, I have been developing exclusively in emulation
* People to help make icons for MagicWB, NewIcons, and GlowIcons (I have icons for standard 1.3 and 2.x, courtesy of AmigaL0ve)

---- Why am I doing this?

It is my hope, that I can provide the space in which a community of many different retro-computing users can grow, all of us communicating together, and since the system has its own built in programming language that is accessible to all users, it is my hope that we all can enjoy making new content, together.

...because you can't get a Commodore 64 onto Instagram, or a ZX Spectrum onto Facebook, but they can log onto this.

-Thom

[orphan264]

This sounds like a really fun idea!

[indigolemon]

Hi tschak909 - I had a quick got at getting connected tonight, but keep getting NO CARRIER when trying to connect.

My machine is running Roadshow TCP/IP stack, and i have created an AmiTCP: assign to install telser (which was apparently successful).

I'll keep poking it - just wonder if I'm missing something obvious

[tschak909]

You need to add a host alias using tsconfig. Be sure to select ignore negotiation, so it won't mangle the incoming data.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[indigolemon]

I'm in Now to have a good poke around

[tschak909]

PLATOTerm 0.3 for IRATA.ONLINE has been released for widespread testing.



New features
---------------
* Baud rate now selectable via menu
* Serial device and unit # now selectable via requester
* Clipboard.device support for both text and graphics!
* Lots of bug fixes for I/O routines (still more to do)

Since the serial.device can be changed, if you are running a TCP/IP stack, you can use a device like telser.device to bridge to PLATOTerm to use your existing TCP/IP connection, for even better performance

Here are two gif vids demonstrating the clipboard support.





Please test, and let me know how it works for you!

You will of course need:

* An amiga, with 512K of chip ram, minimum
* A supported WIFI modem, or TCP/IP connection

TCP/IP support requires grabbing a copy of a suitable serial.device such as telser.device from Aminet.

Cheers,
-Thom Cherryhomes / IRATA.ONLINE

[indigolemon]

Testing with 0.3, and I'm finding the following:

If telser is inactive (telser.device hasn't yet been used and telsermon shows nothing), and I start a fresh install of PlatoTERM, I can change the device, and it just works - I get access every time

If I then exit, any attempt to re-start PlatoTERM fails. It loads the main screen and shows 'ccc' where I'd expect the AT information.

If I delete the prefs file, start PlatoTERM, and then change the device back to telser, I'm back in business again (assuming telser is inactive that is).

Not sure if any of this information helps you tbh!

[tschak909]

ccc is okay, That's actually a side-effect of the echo packets that are still embedded in the splash screen (which I dumped off of PLATO after I drew it). You'll find that you still can type your commands, just fine.

These echo packets will be removed before 1.0 release.

(can you?)

[indigolemon]

Cool man, I'll have a play and see how I go

[tschak909]

http://IRATA.ONLINE now has over 500 users! What a way to close out the year! Thanks to all who have signed on, and are testing #platoterm which is now available for over a dozen platforms! Meets resuming after the new year! #irataonline #plato #platoterm #500users

[Estrayk]

Im sorry but I dont understand a thing, I use an A1200 with pcimcia-wifi and Roadshow TCP/IP stack. What I've to write in device? prism2.device?

thx

[tschak909]

It uses the standard exec serial.device interface.

So you would need to install telser.device (since you're using Roadshow, specify AmiTCP in the installer).

Once installed, run its tsconfig program, and add a dial entry for irata.online:

Hostname: irata.online
port: 8005

and turn on raw mode, so it doesn't futz with anything.

Once you do that, you can then launch PLATOTERM, put telser.device in the Settings menu, and then type

ATDTirata <enter>

(or whatever you named your phone book entry.)